You Need To Know >>J.Cole

About a year ago my buddy told me he was making a song with J.Cole and I looked him up, but it never went any farther than that. I have yet to listen to any of his mixtapes and all I know is his verse in "Everyday A Star is Born" and "All I Want Is You". After I saw him perform live that will soon change. I'm not saying J.Cole is newest favorite rapper, but I defiantly gained more respect for him. Jay-Z taught him well about stage presence.

Check out my video of his performance below.

You Need To Know << Imag

I got a chance 2 interview this DC rapper named Imag... He just came out with a cool mixtape. Im not a big on hip-hop, but its worth listen. Check out the audio below and the link to his mixtape "Use Your Imagination"



Upside
A diverse mix of music

Downside
He does this "singing but Im still rapping" thing that ppl like Diddy n Chris Brown do n it drives me crazy.

Listen Up<< Jade Alston

Hmmm I randomly found this lovely lady singing n I must say SHE'S DOPE!!! Not only did Miss Thang write this song herself she plays an instrument.. SHEEZ! YALL ALREADY KNOW MY EARS HAVE DIED N GONE 2 HEAVEN. Check out da video 4 yourself.

Her youtube channel is: http://www.youtube.com/user/JadeAlston

You Need To Know << Black List Vol. 3

I FINALLY got to watch The Black Vol. 3 this morning and it was sooo inspiring. Two stories that spoke volumes to me were Debra Lee and Hill Harper. I never knew Debra Lee's story so it was interesting find out that she wanted to pursue a career in government/law. Hill Harper spoke volumes to me because his story was all about following your heart. You have to watch the program to get the full effect, but here are they're Youtube videos.

You Need To Know (I Am Legend)

I LOVE the movie I Am Legend and I got word from a close friend of Will Smith that he is doing a part 2. This movie will focus on flashbacks before Dr. Robert Neville dies. YES!!!! whoop, whoop and CHA CHING CHA CHING =].

o0o Damon Dash...

Everytime some1 walks into my room their eyes are drawn to my inspiration wall on the wall their are many quotes from ppl, pictures of me and heavy weights in the industry, and also cut outs of ppl I admire. One of those pictures is Dame Dash. I adore dat dude. I jus loved his hungry and his strong presence. You can say what you want about the fall of Rocafella but Dame Dash started ALL dat shit! He gets much respect from me. Below are 2 videos I found of Dame Dash telling it like it is!

You Need To Know Perfectionist Pen

FACT: I respect a songwriter, before I respect the artist singing the song.
These two fellas are not only handsome with great personalities, THEY CAN WRITE AMAZING SONGS!!! I saw this jam session on youtube and I was at the edge of my seat screaming MORE MORE MORE! I wish I could capture an emotion and put it on paper. AAAHHHH how I envy/adore a great songwriter lol. Def be on the look out for Ant and B.Hines. I can def smell the next Dre & Vidal, .:sniff:. .:sniff:. or mayb even the next Gamble and Huff =). Check out this youtube of them freestyling.

The chit chat ends at 1:06 so start it there.

You Need To Know About Harlem Heights

I HATE reality shows on BET, but this one seems pretty cool. I kinda wish I was old enough to be on this show =[.
o0o yea f.y.i. one of my homies is gonna be featured on this show HIP HIP HOORAY!!! so it gives me more reason to watch it lol

"BET has announced Harlem Heights, a new reality series that will follow eight young African Americans as they attempt to make their mark on New York City, will premiere Monday, March 2 at 10PM ET/PT.


Each Harlem Heights episode will document the lives of the eight diverse 20-somethings, all of whom are recently out of college and looking to succeed in New York's historic Harlem neighborhood.

Harlem Heights' cast consists of the ex-girlfriend of an international music star; a budding lifestyle editor for a magazine; a struggling actress; a young man with a troubled family; a native Harlem-ite and father of a young daughter; the hard-partying son of a prominent Harlem political leader; an aspiring lawyer with big ambitions; and a driven fashionista.


Harlem Heights is a production of MC Filmworks, Minna Mae Productions, KurtWurks Inc. and BET."

-www.realitytvworld.com

You Need To Know Soundz

"What Would The Music Be Without Soundz?" was a drop that I kept hearing as I listened to Sterling Simms album, entitled 'Yours, Mine, And The Truth', for the first time. Since I brought his cd via iTunes I couldn't read the credits (which drove me crazy) so I had to bother Sterl and ask him the who, what, where, and hows about the producer of those tracks. Come to find out it was a fella by the name of Soundz. Most of you guys would know him through his hit single "Love In The Club Part 2" by Usher, Beyonce, and Lil Wayne. The guy is seriously talented and everytime I listen to one of his tracks I'm blown away and left asking myself HOW DID HE DO THAT?!? The placement of his drums, snaps, etc. are so PERFECT.

REQUEST FOR SOUNDZ: I'm gonna need you to do a Ryan Leslie type of youtube so that I can steal some of your tricks (j/k)

Here's A Playlist of Some of His Songs
note: when listening ignore the lyrics just hear the beat.

You Need To Know Steve Stoute

THE BLACK LIST: VOL. 2 profiles some of today's most fascinating African- Americans. From the childhood inspirations that shaped their ambitions, to the evolving American landscape they helped define, to the importance of preserving a unique cultural identity for future generations, these prominent individuals offer a unique look into the zeitgeist of black America, redefining the traditional pejorative notion of a blacklist.

The list of people featured in THE BLACK LIST: VOL. 2 includes activist and artist Majora Carter; activist and academic Angela Davis; producer Suzanne de Passe; actor Laurence Fishburne; Anglican Bishop Barbara Harris; Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick; pastor T.D. Jakes; physician and academic Valerie Montgomery-Rice, M.D.; filmmaker Tyler Perry; singer Charley Pride; fashion designer Patrick Robinson; actress Maya Rudolph; musician RZA; filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles; and artist Kara Walker.

Thu 2/26 08:00 PM

Here is Steve Stoute (one of my music exec heros) on Black List Vol. 1

In White People News...

Let me be the 1st to say I LOVE BLINK 182! They were my favorite band in middle school. I used to rock out to everything from "First Date" to "We Miss You". My boys are back BITCH!!! lol



Tom, Mark and Travis have a message for their fans:

"This past week there’ve been a lot of questions about the current status of the band, and we wanted you to hear it straight from us. To put it simply, we're back. We mean really back."

You Need To Know Ryan Leslie

R. Les is the man! I've been stalking him for a while (since Cassie's 1st album to be exact) and he never fails to amaze me. He's under rated 4real! I have so much flippin respect for him as an artist and a producer. I can't wait for his LP to drop. I rarely call myself a fan of someone (I look at myself as a supporter), but DIS DUDE RIGHT HERE (in my Katt Williams voice) I am def a fan of.

The Life of J.Gill

Yesterday was CRAZY and I didnt have time to update my blog, but to sum it up I started school and my homeboy sterling was in town so I rocked out with him and some other friends. It was a lllooooonnnnggggg day. But Im happy to be back.