by Rihanna ft. Justin Timberlake for a few oh’s: Sometimes I see new videos but don’t post them because the song is considered “old” when the artist releases the track because I have had the cd for so long. However, to justify my actions for wanting to post this video, I am creating a new segment called “Videos” to house videos that I like and I think are hot! This happens to be my favorite song off Good Girl Gone Bad so it was inevitable that I would post the video. Doesn’t hurt that Justin Timberlake is in the video either. Just seems a little weird to me that Rihanna shows very little emotion in the video. I know the song is sad, but anything more than a poker face would have made me happy!
Today marks a sad day in history. Well it was a glorious day because Barack had his first interview on 60 Minutes after being nominated President-elect. However, today was the finale of TRL. When I interned at MTV last summer, the rumor that the show was near its end date was buzzing around the offices, but I never thought the rumor was true. From running home after school to watching the top ten countdown during the summer, I grew up watching the show. I think TRL helped foster my love for music. All the hottest videos premiered on TRL before I saw them anywhere else.I would tape all of *N Sync and Britney Spear’s videos and learn the dances. I would also record videos and memorize the lyrics – clearly this was before lyric websites were established. As a child, I wanted to be VJ! That was the hottest job on the streets! If anybody asked me today, “If you could have one job in the world what would it be?” My response will continue to be, “A MTV VJ.”
I’m glad Carson Daly came back to host the finale. I will be completely honest and voice my opinion that TRL went downhill after Damien took Carson’s place. There are a lot of other celebrities that stopped by to participate in what a few have called “a high school reunion” as numerous young artists’ careers flourished after being on TRL. The show was opened by Beyonce and included performances by Fall Out Boy, Ludacris, Snoop, and Nelly, as well as appearances by Diddy, Kid Rock, Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, and the list goes on and on. Then, there were so many people outside, the streets looked like NYC on New Years Eve. The show will definitely be missed
If you didn’t get the opportunity to watch the finale, I suggest watching MTV over the next few days. You KNOW they will repeat this about 4 times over the time period.
Ne-Yo ft. Fabolous: I have been jamming to two new songs ALL day, and this is one of them. This is that hotness! I’m always interested as to why artists release songs after their album debuts. I am referring to Year of the Gentleman and maybe this did not make the cut, or maybe Ne-Yo and Fabolous recently recorded the track. Whichever the reason, the track definitely puts Fabolous back on the radar which is good since he has a new album releasing in February 2009. Loso’s Way, based on Carlito’s Way, is Fabolous’ fifth studio album and will follow the format of Jay Z’s American Gangster. There are supposed to be a couple top notch featured guests on the album like Kanye and Ne-Yo….that’s about it. Everybody else I have never heard of and need to look up i.e. Red Café, Asia Cruise, Freck Billionare, and Paul Cain.
I’m back snitches! I have been EXTREMELY busy at work and also blogging on BlackWeb2.0, so 6inchvinyl has suffered a little bit :( I’m back to writing because I love music and I feel that this is my release in my stressful, demanding life. I saw a few tweets this past weekend such as R.I.P. Rap City. Now, I never watch BET but I find it amazing that 1. I missed the announcement that the show was cancelled and 2. That BET would be bold enough to completely do away with the show. Looking on the BET website, I saw a few videos of the finle and I did not realize how much history from the last two decades involving music could be found on Rap City - especially when I was listening to Hanson and N Sync growing up! I have always been amazed at the lack of appeal that BET has because the programming on the channel has declined in value over the years and the corresponding website for the channel is not up to par. Honestly, while some may view this as a sad time and may have withdrawals of rap and hip-hop videos, this was a good move for the channel! BET needs to totally be re-branded and it will take dramatic steps like cancelling shows to get viewers on board. In the early years of Rap City, the host of Teen Summit became the host of the show. Teen Summit was cancelled also, but I believe that shows that aid African Americans and provide information and/or show educated African Americans in a positive way is the type of programming BET needs to move towards. Brothers to Brutha, a show that recently premiered on BET, is one expample and it will take shows such as this to get the channel to meet the level of programming that is needed for positive progression.
by Q-Tip: With Election Day being yesterday, less important news was overlooked. One of those things included albums that were scheduled for release on Tuesday. The Renaissance was one album that was released and I really like it. I’ve been listening to this album for about two weeks and it is hip-hop thru and thru. You won’t find that weird voice machine people have been using, nor will you find T-Pain on a single track! However there are some brilliant collaborations on this album such as songs that feature D’Angelo, Raphael Saadiq, Amanda Diva, and Norah Jones – who happens to be the artist featured on my favorite track on the album, Life is Better. The album is a good mix of slow, upbeat, and chill music. The sounds are unique also. There are some old tunes sampled, but very modern. This is a great album and I doubt it will get the praise that it deserves since Jay nor Weezy are on the album. Although, I suggest that you take a good hour and jam to this musical creation that highlights lyrical expression without vulgarity.
November 4th. Election Day. Congratulations to President elect Barack Hussein Obama for being the 44th President of the United States and also the 1st African American to hold the position.
This is definitely a 6inchvinyl ‘Shout Out to Barack Obama’. Now it’s way past time for people to take those John McCain signs out of their yards!
by Toni Basil: If you know me, you know that my favorite food is cheese! Not pork chops or french toast, but cheese. I could eat it plain or as a topping on lots of foods. As a result, my boyfriend named me a ‘rat’. I guess he thought he was being clever when he gave me the name “Minnie” as in mouse, being part of the rat family. I told him if I was Minnie then he would be Mickey. I started singing this song to him, and he had no idea what I was singing. At first, I thought he must have been totally out of the loop when this song came out, but I realized he was only 1 year old. Then again, I wasn’t even born! However, I know the lyrics. Especially those that are fitting for him: Oh Mickey, you so fine; You so fine, you blow my mind; Hey Mickey!
by Tony Toni Tone: I remember this song playing one particular morning when my mom dropped my cousin off at high school, dropped my sister off at middle school, and then dropped me off at elementary school. I don’t think anything special happened that morning, but I definitely remember this song playing. Weird that was 15+ years ago… I won’t tell anybody, but after looking at this “video” I don’t think I have ever seen Boyz in the Hood in its entirety. We’ll keep that on the low! I like this song as it has a classic, mature, soulful sound. These harmonies are great and make me really miss R&B male groups. When will these groups stop hiding and appear to produce some first-class hits?
by Coldplay ft. Jay-Z: Every mix tape that I have listened to in the last week has this song in the line up. I really like this song, but I wish Jay had more lines on the track. If you heard the first 75% of the song, you would not know Jay was even on the track. Aside from that, great song! I like that Jay continues to step outside the rap boundary. I would love to see the day when a country artist and a rap artist collaborate for a track. As long as the personalities of the artists and their love for music parallel, that collaboration will be a pioneering sound for the music industry.
by Enrique Iglesias ft. Ciara: Enrique Iglesias back from retirement? And on a track with Ciara? Is this the weirdest mix ever, or is it just me? This is definitely Enrique’s style, but what is Ciara doing? Is this her attempt to branch out from urban into new genres? If so, I respect her attempt but she needs to give it a rest. I am excited to see what is up and coming from Enrique. However, Ciara’s first few tracks off her upcoming album have not been well received by her fans. This single is not on her album, Fantasy Ride, but is on Erique’s Greatest Hits album. Regardles, CiCi better get it together and quick. Album drops 1.09.
