A little harsh aren’t we..

Dear Cleveland, All Of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters Wherever You May Be Tonight;

As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.

This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his “decision” unlike anything ever “witnessed” in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.

Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us.

The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.

There is so much more to tell you about the events of the recent past and our more than exciting future. Over the next several days and weeks, we will be communicating much of that to you.

You simply don’t deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.

You have given so much and deserve so much more.

In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight:

“I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE”

You can take it to the bank.

If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our “motivation” to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels.

Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there.

Sorry, but that’s simply not how it works.

This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown “chosen one” sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And “who” we would want them to grow-up to become.

But the good news is that this heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called “curse” on Cleveland, Ohio.

The self-declared former “King” will be taking the “curse” with him down south. And until he d

So a little after 9:00pm est, twitter, facebook and blogs bubbled over with information all about the man of the hour…Raul Gonzalez Blanco… ok, ok, Lebron James….Seconds after his annoucement, twitter went hot full of jokes i.e.  I’m gonna watch #lebrondecision tonite just in case Kanye interrupts to remind us that Jordan was the best basketball player ever and FB comments i.e. wut a dumb decision lebron they just tryin to take my LAKERS out of the ship but that aint gonna happen..we still gonna get our 3peat!!! Anywhoo… it was no Michael Jackson internet shut down… but I am wondering what the spikes in communication were… Oh and for all of you who might of went to sleep early? The full story is below check out the video too, Cleveland reaction:

N.B.A.’s Season of Suspense Ends as James Chooses Heat

From the New York Times

By HOWARD BECK

Cleveland Reaction:

by: Prentice Powell

Justice at playground

All it takes for me is one look at this picture of him looking at me….

You can look back at all the things you think aren’t fair and things you feel you don’t deserve.All the bad things you’ve done.All the coulda woulda shoulda’s.Single parenting.Bias Court System.Custody Battles. The Joys and stresses parenthood can bring.Milk.Diapers.Waking up every two hours.The nights he cant get comfortable because he doesn’t feel good, so you cant sleep either.The web cam chats because you have no other option. Or whatever the case may be in your own personal situation. And you can sit there..Cry, get depressed, pity yourself and ask God “why me?”
Or you can get your ass up and do something about it. You can work THAT much harder at attempting to attain the things you KNOW you deserve. You can stop feeling sorry for yourself and begin to be proud of yourself for setting the blueprint for your child/children through your own life. You can make sure that your LIFE is a reflection of how much you love and care about your child. So that when they get older, NO ONE can tell them that you didn’t do everything in your power to lead by example.

Now granted, you WILL make mistakes along the way. But its all about learning from them and bouncing back from adversity. Not living in fear. Fear of how powerful and successful you can be. Fear of not getting the results you want if you put in the work to obtain them. Having the courage to step out on faith and realize that if you dont get it done for yourself, NO ONE will do it for you. And when you have someone else to live for…who needs you…if it doesnt come naturally, you MUST learn how to put them first.
Do not allow the radio to raise your child. Do not let the media raise your child. 12 year old girls in low cut jeans and sidekick and an I Phone…..14 year old boys who KNOW they know everything.We wonder why so many youth think they’re grown at 10.Its because we treat them like they are.We dress them to look like Lil Wayne at 2. We place high value on material objects.If your 4 year old knows how to play X BOX better than you but cant tell you the letters on the buttons thats a problem.

Let your kid be a kid.

Let him know what its like to WORK for those Jordans rather than to EXPECT them.

My son wears shoes with winnie the pooh and Elmo on them because he is a CHILD.(and quite honestly im not spending $60 on some shoes that will only fit him for a few weeks)He loves to wear his Spiderman ( he calls him “maaaaaaaaaaaaan”lol) backpack full of pull ups, wipes and his sippy cup because he is learning that if things belong to you, you are responsible for keeping up with them.

I say the things that I say, participate in these documentaries and write these thoughts down to document my love for Justice.So that in his darkest moment, His father with do nothing but shed light. I pray that my son will find inspiration through his daddies life.

Lets instill the values that were, and were not given to us in our children so they do not go through the same situations that we did. Lets allow our kids to be KIDS. But we cant do that, until WE start acting like adults.

I pray that inspiration finds you to succeed and challenge things that you do not find right in the world.

Thank you for reading my random thoughts.

father and son

By: James Harris

One of the most anticipated albums in years drops tomorrow June 15, 2010.  Drake releases his first studio album, Thank Me Later, and as I predicted the critics have gone on a rampage.  There are mixed reviews over the album some saying that it has “let them down” or that it “didn’t own up to the expectations”.  The question is did Drake even have a chance to meet expectations with this album?  He’s been the hottest rapper in the game for the last year and a half, everyone and their grandmother has been waiting for this album, he’s been deemed the golden child of hip hop, and even greats like Jay-Z have co-signed him.  That’s like Barry Sanders saying some high school kid is going to be the best running back ever to play the game of football.  How do you own up to that?  What did people expect from Drake?  A friend of mine told me he thought that Drake’s album should have been more raw and uncut for a rookie album but instead it came off confident and more laid back.  People are failing to realize that Drake isn’t some unpolished rookie rapper off the streets of Toronto he’s been making music, he’s been in the spotlight, and he’s made money in the past.  He put out a mixtape that sounded like an album, booked a nationwide tour off that mixtape, and got signed off that mixtape. So Far Gone was the 5^th highest selling rap album of 2009 and it was only a mixtape!  Drake’s singles “Best I Ever Had” and “Successful” as well as his feature on “Every Girl” were smash hits of last year.  Bottom-line Drake has already had his rookie year we just didn’t recognize it.  Don’t get it twisted though Thank Me Later is still extremely introspective and raw in its own way but Drake has matured with his success and you can hear it in the lyrics and song choices.

In waiting for the album the only thing I worried about was that Drake was going to stray away from the format of So Far Gone and try something off the wall that fans were not going to accept.  Luckily he didn’t he stuck with what works and put together a quality album with great production and features that added to (but didn’t overpower) the project.  The album spans the emotional spectrum from victory to heartbreak in the 14 track playlist.  Drake allows the listener into his world of fortune and fame and the issues that come with it in “Fireworks” where he worries that his success will change relationships with his closest friends. Tracks like “Karaoke” and “The Resistance” show his internal struggle with trying not to change as he continues to grow in the spotlight.  The cocky more confident Drake comes out in tracks like his single “Over” and “Up all Night (ft. Nicki MInaj)”.  Drake holds his own on tracks with features by heavy weights such as Jay-Z, T.I., Jeezy, and label mate Lil Wayne.  Even though it seems that people were expecting Drake to jump out of their iPods in a “f@ckin red jacket and some zippers” and perform the album as a hologram in order for him to meet their expectations I personally am happy with the album. So I’ll thank Drake now for good music.  Album drops tomorrow go get it.

Favorite Tracks:

Fireworks, Show Me A Good Time, Light Up (ft. Jay-Z), Miss Me (ft. Lil Wayne), Thank Me Now

Tracklist

1. Fireworks (featuring Alicia Keys)
2. Karaoke
3. The Resistance
4. Over
5. Show Me a Good Time
6. Up All Night (featuring Nicki Minaj)
7. Fancy (featuring T.I. and Swizz Beatz)
8. Shut It Down (featuring The Dream)
9. Unforgettable (featuring Young Jeezy)
10. Light Up (featuring Jay-Z)
11. Miss Me (featuring Lil Wayne)
12. Cece’s Interlude
13. Find Your Love
14. Thank Me Now

I know its been awhile since the last interview but I got another jewel of an interview for you guys. One of Underground Hip-Hop’s greatest producers, who’s worked with just about all of your favorite rap artists you got playing in your iPod right now. I’m talking about the one the only, Will Tell.  Have a look see what goes on with one of Hip-Hop’s elites;

BlackIntel: Where you from and what got you interested in the whole Hip-Hop sound and movement?

Will Tell: I’m Puerto Rican but I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. What initially got me started was that my mother used to teach at a school called High School Redirection in Brownsville Brooklyn. One day she took me to a talent show that they had. This was back in the early 80’s and the majority of the show was breaking, popping and rhyming. I instantly fell in love with the culture! Time progressed and when i was in high school that’s what got the ball rolling for me. I went to an alternative high school called City-as-School in Manhattan. It was a school that you would go out into the work place, where you get school credits from whatever job you chose. Almost every job i picked was at major record label. Then my first job out of High School was working for Rap-A-Lot Records, which is based in Texas.
I was the East Coast Publicist, but I didn’t know if the publicity gig was right for me. Around this time I was still dwelling on whether or not I wanted to go to college or pursue a future in Hip-Hop production. My father hit me with a proposition that would decide the rest of my life. He said he would either pay for my college or buy my first studio…I chose the studio and the rest is history.

BI: So what are some of your biggest musical influences?

WT: My musical influences derive from all different genres of music. I truly love every type of music and am a student of it all! I keep an open mind and try to learn more about music every day.

BI: With having this great appreciation for music, what essentially crafts your production style what makes you different then most producers out there?

WT: I think what separates my sound from other producers is that I have never been one dimensional. I try not to have one specific sound. What I do for Hip-Hop artists from New York may be different from what I would do for an artist from Down South or from Cali. I also do music for video games, movies, and commercials so all of that would be something different as well. I have been told everything I do has a signature sound but I don’t know how to categorize it.

BI: Speaking of your signature sound as a producer you have been putting out these Will Tell Compilations for some time, when did that all start and how many do you have out currently?

WT: Well I started doing the Will Tell compilations in 1995, which spawned a new revolution at the time of producer compilations. Basically, I had done a lot of work with the best underground artists at the time and the songs weren’t being put out on any labels. So I accumulated my favorites, went to a wholesale CD spot and produced CDs, CD stickers and jewel cases. I had a CD burner that burned 1 CD at a time. I sat there and burned thousands of CDs, did the artwork myself pressed them onto the stickers, cut the covers for the jewel cases….Everything myself! After some time with pretty decent success, artists started asking for upfront payments. Since a lot of the work to put these projects together was all out of pocket, with no major label financial backing I stopped doing the compilations. All together I put out 5 Will Tell compilations. I also put out a few albums with other artist all in the same fashion. So grand total as of today I have put out 13 independent albums.

BI: So you mentioned you worked with some of Hip-Hop’s greatest…So who might that be and who would you like to work with that you haven’t yet.

WT: I have produced tracks for Sadat X, DMC, Talib kweli, Sean Price, Tony Touch, Dave Chapelle, Funk Master Flex, Thirstin Howl III, Jean Grae, Kool G. Rap, Killa Priest, Hurricane G,  Diobolic, The Bad Seed, Planet Asia, Brooklyn Academy, Block McCloud, Pumpkin Head, Mr. Met, Crayz Walls, Rack Lo, Word-a-Mouth, Shabaam Sadeeq, Twanie Ranks, Punchline & Wordsworth, LiL Sci, M.V.L.L , ICON, clothing line Echo Unlimited, SEGA games, the WNBA, The motion picture company BORICUA’S BOND, The motion picture company SHADOW DEAD RIOT, Lyricist Lounge Show (pilot tv show on MTV) & Lyricist Lounge Vol.1(Famous last words & Outside the lounge), and many more! In terms of who I would like to work with in the future, no one particular artist, the sky’s the limit!

BI: You mentioned you produced music for Sadat X, don’t you currently have a project with him and how’d you work that out?

WT: Why yes I do. Sadat X and I met a few years ago, when i had hired him to appear on one of my later production compilations, called Academics. We instantly had great work relationship, the chemistry was dope. After that X had to do a little bid(small jail time) in Rikers Island.  I would send him Packages and commissary and basically stayed in touch. When he got home we started recording. We recorded more than 100 songs once he came back and we took some of those tracks we did and put them out on Sadat’s solo LP called Generation X…

Funny story we kept on recording after the release and during these studio sessions we started filming funny commercials for different wines we liked and disliked called it True Wine Connoisseur’s.
I am the producer and director and Sadat is the face man. I eventually started posting some of the episodes on my youtube channel,  www.youtube.com/thetelathon ,and the reaction was amazing! People loved seeing this other side of Sadat. We’ve filmed quite a few episodes. We are now on episode 14 of season 2 with offers of Syndication. So this little joke has become something much more and we are responsible for bringing a new craze of Wine in the Hip-Hop community. But to stay on topic I also produced four tracks on Sadat X’s latest solo LP entitled Wild Cowboys 2, which I also co-executive produced.

BI: So do you tour often or at all and when you on the road what you got slappin’ in your iPod?

WT: In terms of touring I really don’t like that lifestyle. The whole living out of the suitcase thing really didn’t cut it for me. I mean I have toured the whole world and the money is good but it takes a toll on you. And as for who I listen too? To be totally honest I don’t really listen to any post 90’s Hip-Hop.  It just depresses me! Once and awhile I will hear a record from like a Jay-Z or someone else that’s from the 90’s that I liked but usually I listen to Soul classics and grown folk music..lol

BI: So any new projects out right now and how can people get a hold of your work?

WT: Right now like I said earlier, we have the Sadat X’s new solo LP, Wild Cowboys 2,  and I just released 3 solo LPs which I am excited about. The first solo LP is a mixtape concept called Crazy World, I call it that because in a sense that the sound and the style was very mixtap-ish, but I still did all the production on the album. The second solo album I dropped was the real solo LP entitled Chemicals and again I did all the production. Then on Valentine’s Day earlier this year I dropped my 3rd solo LP, K.I.S.S. Theory, which is an acronym for Keep It Simple, Stupid which was also the basic concept of my production on that LP. All 3 LPs I put out independently through my label and were distributed through Dashgo.com. Oh yeah and all 3 are available as well as Sadat X’s album are on itunes…cop them!

BI: Since you’re the man with the beats and you never know who’s reading these articles how could one of these readers/I’m an MC and need beats type people get a hold of you?

WT: Anyone interested in purchasing Will Tell production or interested in doing a work with me feel free to email me at willydoe@gmail.com But serious inquiries only please!

BOOM, and there you have it folks. The man is so down to earth and so gifted. We here at, The Black Intel, have included a song off the Sadat X Wild Cowboys 2 LP you can give a listen to and again look him up on iTunes, Amazon and anywhere else you get your music from. Be on the look-out for what we got lined up next it’s sure to be a dope interview as usual.

Sadat X-This is Your Life (track from the Generation X-LP)

Written by Nakia White

Lately, it seems that relationship issues have been in the forefront of everything: the news, magazines, blogs, and self help books. We have been inundated with celebrity cheating scandals, divorce, messy break ups, and the never ending curse of the American Black Woman who is doomed to stay single forever *cue Halle Berry’s endless rotation of failed relationships*

The issues of the single Black woman never really bothered me. Yes, I’m single. No, there are no options in sight. But I’ve always looked at life as there being more to it than marriage and birthing babies. Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t mind landing a tall, strong chocolate drop of a man who fears God, kills spiders, doesn’t snore, and knows how to cook shrimp fettuccine, but if that doesn’t come, it isn’t the end of the world for me.

One thing that has stuck out to me in numerous face to face discussions and blogs about Black women and their propensity to being alone, is the claim from men that we are too picky. We want a man to dress a certain way, speak a certain way, drive a certain kind of car, and be involved in certain organizations. I feel like I am drowning in male proclamations that Black women are either too bourgie or too educated, which causes us to X out a number of Black men who may be good guys but don’t have the credentials that we’d prefer (Chilli’s ridiculous list of “must haves” comes to mind; Star Jones had a list too and look where it got her). A male friend of mine once said to me that “… many women are blocking their blessings, because instead of looking at a man’s heart, they’re looking at his wallet or his accomplishments.” According to some men, our standards are just too damn high.

I can admit to not being strict to the “He has to have gone to college, make X amount of dollars and drive such and such car” criteria, but I completely understand why a woman would prefer a degree wielding, professional, money making man. Times may be changing but most of us were still raised to seek a husband who will be able to provide for a family. It makes perfect sense to me that women want a strong protector and provider as potential husband and father of their future children.

What I can not understand, however, is a woman shouting from the rooftops that her man must be willing to take out her cornrows, oil her scalp, and help her wash her hair or her wig.

Let me explain.

Last month, Nightline aired the special “Face off” style debate, moderated by Vicky Mabrey, titled “Why Can’t A Successful Black Women Find a Man?” They assembled a random panel of self proclaimed experts and representatives, which included Steve Harvey and Hill Harper, both authors of relationship self help books focusing on Black couples; Jacque Reid, journalist and VERY desperate star of Vh1’s reality show “Let’s Talk About Pep”, and Sherri Shepherd, comedienne and current host of “The View” on ABC.

During this ground breaking discussion, Sherri Shepherd revealed to the 600 people in the audience in Atlanta, and viewers throughout the country, that she wants a man who will help her take out her cornrows and wash her wigs and her hair when she is tired.

Say what now, Sherri?

“I don’t think my standards are too high. I don’t think I’m asking for… um… anything that’s too out of the realm of reality… I would like a man that I can come home at night and say ‘ahhhh’, sit in your arms and you tell me it’s gonna be ok. I would like a man that’ll wash my wig. If you see my wig is dirty, can you wash my wig? Can you take the cornrows out of my hair?”

I laughed out loud when Sherri said this because she is a comedienne after all, and the real discussion had yet to begin, but I cringed when she said it again, this time on the panel while in the midst of the serious discussion of what women are looking for. I also grimaced when Jacque cosigned and the other women in the audience replied with a ferocious round of applause.

“No, I dont think our standards are too high. We should be looking for what we are [looking for]. For me, I’m like gosh, a man who loves God, a man that loves his family, a man that gets along with his mother, a man that can support me as I will support him…I got a five year old little boy, so a man that can come in and add to my son’s life, a man that doesn’t mind seeing me take my wig off and helping me take the cornrows out my hair. Is that too picky?”

When Jimi Izrael, another panelist and the author of The Denzel Principle, responded with a resounding “Yes!”, Sherri revealed that she was not joking.

“That ’s the most intimate part of what I do. Yes, my girlfriends will help me, but if I’m sitting at home with my man, maybe instead of playing the Xbox all day and I’ll play with you sometimes, I’ll play football with you, and you can help me take the cornrows out of my hair. I don’t see anything wrong with that kind of partnership.”<!–

Men who help us wash and style our hair? Is this what Black women want?

Now, I’m usually a ride or die feminista but after hearing this, the first thing that came to mind was “Oh Lawd, we gon’ be single forever!”

Maybe I have a warped opinion on the matter since I’ve had a former flame assist in taking out my braids. He also willingly helped me wash and condition my hair. The result was a first class ticket on the Hot Mess Express.

Yeah, it sounds great, and romantical and visions of Janet Jackson in her “Again” video may dance through your head, but unless your man has gone to cosmetology school or your hair is cut into a Caesar, he won’t really know HOW to wash your hair. There will be water everywhere, wet clothes, shampoo in your eyes, hair in your mouth… not a good situation. Trust me, ladies. If you’re too tired to wash your own hair, either do it yourself or go to the salon.

But even if he kinda sorta knows what he is doing, why is this a requirement for a relationship?  Your mate is supposed to be your mate… not your beautician or stylist. This is one area where I think some women go a little bit overboard. Let your man be a MAN.

Let me type that again:  LET YOUR MAN BE A MAN.

It burns my soul to the core to say it but in this case, Harvey, Harper, and Izrael are damn right. Some of us are too picky for our own good.

I think a lot of us get caught up into wanting our men to do things with us that should be reserved for other women.

“Wash my hair!”
“Come with me to see ‘Sex in the City 2′ during opening weekend!”
“Read this new Terry McMillan book so we can discuss it.”
“Watch this old episode of ‘Girlfriends’ when Joan and Toni end their friendship.”
“Come shopping with me.”
“Help me paint my nails!”

And if he doesn’t do those things, he’s not a good man, doesn’t love you, never does the things you want to do, never wants to compromise, and doesn’t want to build a successful relationship.

The real problem is that you, yes, YOU, either need a girlfriend or two…or three (or a gay male friend) who can engage in these activities with you, or you’re a control freak who doesn’t want your guy out of your sight.

In the first scenario, my suggestion is to get some friends. Get to know your new coworker, call up an old pal from your college years, reach out to someone your age who attends your church or is a member of one of your social organizations, or schedule lunch with one of your neighbors.

In the second scenario, I say…I have no idea what to say actually. Stop being controlling, maybe? Lighten up. Get counseling. Let go and let God. And learn that those kind of demands will wear down the strongest of men and eventually you’ll have no choice but to do it alone because he’ll be gone.

Now, if your man is offering to help with your hair, similar beauty regimens, or any other outrageous request that you have asked of him, then by all means, embrace it. But forcing something like that on to someone who would rather watch the Magic beat the Hawks, or play Madden, or barbecue in the front yard on a sunny day, is simply ridiculous. Men like to do manly things and I highly doubt that washing your hair is anywhere on his list.

Personally, if my future husband ever asks if he can help me with my hair, I’m going to suggest he go outside and be a man: “Go chop down a tree!” “Paint the roof!” “Wrestle a deer!” because he is obviously bored and needs something to do with his hands. My hair will not be on the agenda.

What say you: Are Black women really this picky? Do we need to lower our standards and re-evaluate our expectations just a tad?

Written by J. Ado

Gone are the days of ballads. We’re in a time where our few real singers are either in the neo-soul genre (the only way to hear most of them is on the internet). The others are divas, who have been around for a while and have left the belting out of hard to achieve vocal ranges in the closet with the easy to slide on jeans. Now they mostly singing out metaphors similar to those of rappers over beats usually reserved for rappers or some kind of alternative/ electro band. Did I cover everybody?

Enter Shanell aka SnL aka another member of the Young Money crew that is not so slowly taking over the ears of young people everywhere.  In August, 2009 I curiously downloaded a song titled “Play in my Band” and I liked it. I wasn’t exactly sure where this song was going to lead me in my discovering of Shanell, but the song was a catchy, “on the way to the club” song. After hearing the song a few times I wondered if this girl could really sing, so when her “Shut Up and Listen” mixtape hit the net a couple weeks ago I didn’t hesitate to download it.

Sadly it wasn’t memorable. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve downloaded a couple more really good mixtapes right after it or because I was actually hoping for a little bit more to sing and ride along to.

Either way without actually opening my iTunes I can say that I remember her take on the classic Groove Theory song “Tell Me” being more of a question mark. Was there really a need for her to remake this song? It doesn’t go with the rest of the tracks and she didn’t do it nearly as good as the original.

This freebee wasn’t bad but it wasn’t spectacular either. With her better songs being the high energy tunes like “La La La La,” “Hit the Stage” and the Salaam Remi produced “Me n My” featuring an unexpected but pleasant surprise from rapper Eve. Shanell fits right into a genre I made up called Rock&B, a sub-division of pop where entertainers who aren’t strong singers or performers, but are entertaining none-the-less, can be found. As long as Shanell stay’s in that lane and her Young Money crew stays behind her, she might go the distance.

Tracklist

* 1. Leave a Message/Calling Out
* 2. Choose You (Remix) (Feat. Ryan Leslie)
* 3. Save Me
* 4. Tell Me (Remix) (Feat. Jae Millz)
* 5. La La La La (Feat. Jovi Rockwell And Mika Means)
* 6. Hair Down My Back (Feat. Siran)
* 7. Hit The Stage
* 8. It’s The Beat (Remix)
* 9. Work That (Remix) (Feat. Mika Means)
* 10. Me N My (Feat. Eve)
* 11. Otherside (Feat. Lil’ Wayne And Ne-Yo)

Click here to download the mixtape

Written By: James Harris

For the past week I’ve been listening to the same album on repeat, hearing the same two voices and dealing with the same feelings of sadness and disbelief. Little Brother released their final album 4.20.2010 entitled Leftback. The duo (originally trio before producer 9th wonder left the group) released their first album The Listening in 2003 and have been making waves in hip hop ever since. From their first release Little Brother has been known to bring it to the heart of their listeners by dealing with issues that many recording artists are scared to deal with such as the “shucking and jiving” that record labels make some artists do to be heard. Their single “Lovin It” was banned from BET because it was “too intelligent for the listening audience”. So as I listened to their final album on the day that one of hip-hops pioneers took his final breath (RIP Guru) I couldn’t help but be sad for hip hop.

I heard the rumors that L.B. would be breaking up and focusing on their solo careers for a while but I didn’t want to believe it; but when Phonte is doing interviews and describing the album as the group’s denouement (its ok google it I had to too) and with tracks such as “Curtain Call” where he basically passes the torch to hip hop youngster such as Drake, Pac Div and Wale and “Tigallo for Dolo” where he literally says “all by myself” the reality is inevitable. This is the final Little Brother album. We will have to wait for Phonte or Rapper Big Pooh to be featured on the others solo album to hear them together again. It is definitely a tough pill to swallow.

The album Leftback is a classic Little Brother album even though they are now working without producer 9th Wonder. I was worried that without him behind the production the group would lose its sound but they were able to maintain the same smooth sound accompanied by great wordplay. I’ve had the album playing for a week and I’m sure it will be in rotation for months to come. Though I hate to see them go I’m glad L.B. left out on a good note with a solid album.

So hip hop heads turn your faders down half way, B-Boys put your hats down low and lyricist cut your mics off for a moment of silence for the end of Little Brother. Thanks for making real music you will be missed.

Favorite Tracks:

Curtain Call, Tigallo for Dolo and Get Enough Pt. 2

Tracklist:

1. Curtain Call (Produced By Khrysis)
2. Table For Two (feat. Jozeemo & Yahzarah) (Produced By Khrysis)
3. Tigallo For Dolo (Produced By Khrysis)
4. Revenge (feat. Truck North & Median) (Produced By: Khrysis)
5. So Cold (feat. Chaundon) (Produced By King Karnov)
6. Second Chances (feat. Bilal & Darien Brockington) (Produced By Denaun Porter)
7. Go Off Go On (Produced By Khrysis)
8. What We Are (feat. Quiana) (Produced By Young R.J.)
9. After The Party (feat. Carlitta Durand) (S1 & Caleb’s Who Shot JR Ewing Remix) (Produced By S1 and Caleb)
10. Two Step Blues (feat. Darien Brockington) (Zo’s Purple Suit With The Matching Gators Remix) (Produced By Zo!)
11. Get Enough Pt. 2 (feat. Khrysis) (Produced By Khrysis)
12. Before The Night Is Over (Produced By J.Bizness)
13. 24 (feat. Torae) (Produced By Khrysis)

Written By: James Harris

A fellow music lover asked me a question the other day that I can’t let go, “Is music today, better than music 10-15 years ago?”  First off I couldn’t believe I was old enough to remember music 10-15 years ago (you’re only as old as you feel right?)! Secondly, I had to really analyze the question to determine what position I would take on the matter.

About 10-15 years ago albums like All Eyez on Me (Tupac), Illmatic (Nas), Reasonable Doubt (Jay-Z), The Big Picture (Big L), Capital Punishment (Big Pun) and Ready to Die (B.I.G) were in steady rotation.  There’s no doubt there were some real classic hip hop records made then.  These days mainstream hip hop pushes artists such as Jay-Z and Lil Wayne to artists such as Soulja Boy and The Party Boyz.  Obviously things have changed.  I can see how it would be easy to say that the state of music as a whole, at this point, is paling in comparison to the classics of the mid to late 1990’s.  However, I think that’s just surface talk.

Back in the day artists didn’t have the avenues to get their music to the masses like today’s generation (i.e. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube) so to be heard you had to be, without a shadow of a doubt, incredible.  Record Labels were not taking chances on someone that may be here today and gone tomorrow; they had to be relatively sure that if they released your album your skills would be respected and your records would sell.  In other words, you had to be damn good to be heard nationwide because the internet wasn’t as heavily used to self-promote artists.  Today, on the other hand, anybody with access to the internet can promote themselves as an artist.  Talented or not, with or without a fan base, anybody can set up a MySpace music page and call themselves the “Best Rapper Alive.” Companies are handing out record deals to people that get a million listens on YouTube or MySpace.  Due to this, we as listeners, are bombarded by a ton of music, some fantastic and some downright horrible.  And at times the horrible music is the music that makes it to the radio.  Again I can see how it’s easy to say music today…sucks. But I think that’s just background noise.

The fact of the matter is this, the different avenues of distributing music have served as both a gift and a curse to the consumer and at times the curse seems horrible.  But (I know this whole time you’ve been waiting for the “but”) these same avenues have brought us some real diamonds in the rough.  If you dig deep enough through all the music being thrown out there, you will find some great tracks, albums and artists.  The first time I heard a Drake track I was searching on YouTube and saw a clip that read “Congratulations Drake.” Initially I thought it was some type of graduation comedy clip.  I was obviously happily mistaken! Based on that clip I downloaded every Drake mixtape I could find from Room for Improvement to (at the time the most recent) So Far Gone.  I found the super group Slaughterhouse by running across Joe Budden’s twitter account and reading him talk about JoeBuddenTV where I heard my first snippets from the group (if you haven’t heard Slaughterhouse you are missing out- get the album).  In addition, it was because of the YouTube-based JoeBuddenTV that I found a new found respect for Budden (Escape Route was one of the best rap albums of 2009 in my not so humble opinion). J. Cole promoted himself, made a mixtape. It got into the right hands and somehow found itself on Jay-Z’s desk. I could literally go on for hours about the various artists that have benefited from the ability to get their music to the masses without a deal, promotion or a budget.

So what is my answer to the question?  I think music today is as good and in some instances better than music before.  I say that because we still have seasoned veterans making good music such as Jay-Z, Nas and Eminem and in addition to that we have a roster of new up and coming artists that have great potential such as Drake, Wale, Joe Budden, J. Cole, Joell Ortiz, and Crooked I to name a few. Look I know it’s easy to say that music is horrible right now if all you listen to is the radio- you have to dig deeper.  I know its easy to say that every time you get an email blast from MySpace artists you wished you hadn’t pressed play- keep giving it a chance.  I know it’s easy to say that back in the day wack rappers didn’t get to shine- don’t be discouraged.  You have to realize that there is more opportunity now for more people to try to be heard but if you look hard enough and listen close enough you’ll hear the type of hip hop that you’ve been longing for.  Its out there, trust me…

Guru, pictured here on on the left was born July 17, 1966 – April 19, 2010 DJ Premier on the right

The Black Intel is said to report that Hip-hop star and rapper Guru passed away Monday from complications of cancer. Born Keith Elam, Guru was best known as one of the two member group Gang Starr. According to reports, Guru had been in and out of the hospital since July and wanted to keep his illness private. Guru was 43 years old.