If Headz Only Knew I'd Be On AOL (MP3)

Yes, that was Jersey City's Heather B. in a recent AOL commercial.

Back when the Real World was actually legit, she starred in the inagural series in NYC. She also put out a slammin' LP with loads of help from DJ Premier in '96. She even dropped a little heard sequel in 2002.

Her finest tunes boast a vigorous thump from Premier, exemplified in this weeks selection, "If Headz Only Knew."

Heather B.
"If Headz Only Knew"
1996
DOWNLOAD HERE

Jose Canseco vs. Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth

This is how shallow I am. I'd take VH1's "The Surreal Life" over 60 Minutes any day.

Volume 5's cast has just been announced.

The C-Listers this time around:

Jose Canseco: Baseball's Benedict Arnold
Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth: Legendary Apprentice mini-tornado
*Janice Dickinson: America's Next Top Model Judge
Sandi "Pepa" Denton: Part of pioneering hip-hoppers Salt-N-Pepa. Ex wife of Naughty By Nature's Treach.
*Caprice: British model
*Carey Hart: Motorcrosser
Bronson Pinchot: Played Balki on "Perfect Strangers."

* Indicates I couldn't indentify any of these folks in a police lineup.

Xzibit is Norml

With Xzibit heading to DC in a week for a concert, I was contemplating his recent arrest in Guam after being caught with wacky weed.

According to an AllHipHop.com report, "he was very relaxed" about getting got. Draw your own conclusions from that.

Speaking of getting nabbed, there's been loads of busted celebs when it comes to sticky green situations. NORML's got a database and among those listed are:
David Lee Roth
John Lennon
Paul McCartney
Whitney Houston
Willie Nelson
and GASP!...Snoop Dogg.


More offenders.

I Leap Over Lies In A Single Bound (MP3 Inside)

With a nod to innovators at Soul Sides, Cocaine Blunts and the like, I'm gonna get into this sonic blogging thing. I'm aiming for a musical post with download once a week, every Wednesday. I've ripped damn near a zillion tunes from loads of sites, so it's time to give back.


To commence the proceedings, it's a man who established a legendary hip-hop career with one song--Jeru The Damaja. Since he's appearing in DC this weekend, I thought he'd be a nice pick.

I remember catching a show at the old 9:30 Club with Gang Starr back in like '92. When the boys brought out Jeru to do "Come Clean," the place flipped. He verbally smacked fake gangsters and didn't have to name names. Plenty of "ooohs" filled the dingy establishment. Just like that, Jeru was ghost after a single song.

"Come Clean" stands as a legendary track, thanks to the deadly combo of Jeru & Premier. Rumor has it that Jeru was so fed up with Primo's production props, he ended their musical relationship after their second album. Ain't been the same since.

"You Can't Stop the Prophet" was another inventive, metaphor filled masterpiece. Blessed with the Pete Rock Remix, Jeru battles Mr. Ignorance, hatred, jealousy and envy with panache.

"You Can't Stop The Prophet"
Jeru The Damaja
Payday, 1994
DOWNLOAD HERE.

By The Power of Grayskul

After catching the Atmosphere and Grayskul show the other night here in DC, I learned a few things.

1) Atmosphere is Slug. With a band or just Mr. Dibbs, there's not much difference because it's all about Sean Daley. Justifiably so.

2) If folks read my review, they might think I thought Mr. Daley was full of cliches. He wasn't.

How it read: "Soon after, he opted for a rap cliche -- commanding all the beautiful folks in the audience to make noise."

How it was written: "Soon after, he opted for a rap cliché--commanding all the beautiful folks in the audience to make noise. Slug turned the tables on the predictable roar by flipping the bird to all in sight and emotively ripped through "Godlovesugly." "I wear my scars like the rings on a pimp," he expressively rapped. "I live life like the captain of a sinking ship."

Morals: Don't create an image of extended middle fingers for the newspaper audience and life's a bitch.

3) Grayskul has a legit shot at single handedly resurecting horrorcore. Assuming that people want to recussitate the genre. What do ya think about that Flatlinerz & Gravediggaz? Note that Grayskul's name doesn't end with a "Z," which might preclude them from doing this. However, MC Onry Ozzborn's last name boasts a pair of Zs. Does that count?

Check Grayskul's video for "Prom Quiz." Dope.

Random Rundown

Hey Ya'll.

Long time, no blog.

Random Thoughts:



My man Sam has a fantastic peek into one of the most successful India hip-hop labels in history. Check it here.

I'm feeling pretty guilty lately. The culprit: a dislike of this brother's tunes and I'm virtually ashamed of it. More on this later...



Common's back with "The Corner" (click for the video) and seems to be favoring neckties. I liked his last record's experimental feel, but I'm hella glad he's given the boot to the Hacky Sack fare. Some folks are complaining that Kanye's guiding too much of his new LB "Be" (out in May), but whatever he touches has a shot at garnering Billboard love and it's about time Common's sold some records. I'm rooting for him!



Going to see Atmosphere tonight at the 9:30 club here in DC. Slug's got a band this time and left Mr. Dibbs at home. Grayskul is on the bill too. I'm curious to see a hip-hop act with a pair of mc's and a bass player on stage. More in a few days...