Please don’t confuse it with “JUST RAP MUSIC”.
Monday Mood: Jay Z – “The Takeover”
Kanye West Lands A HUGE Active Political Endorsement! Guess Who
In case you had a life and missed the VMA’s this last Sunday, Mr. West declared – among other things – that “I have decided, in 2020, to run for President”. That was complete with the mic drop heard around the political arena. It was heard by the none other than the current highest profile presidential candidate who thought:
Somehow there are comparisons made so often, which is interesting… I don’t quite get it
That’s it, America. Are you really that surprised? You MADE this happen. You wanted it. In fact, you were kinda askin for it all along. It’s up to you to keep this going, or call and end to it all. Either way, this is your rodeo now.
Turnip Tuesday: Kanye West – “All Day” (Live At The Brit Awards)
Two Reasons to TURN UP to this:
If you can’t wrap your mind around that yet, it’s okay. Have some coffee or O.J. to wash it down… ALL DAY!
Now, GET LOW:
Top 7 Vicious Reactions To Geno Smith’s Broken Jaw #NoChillZone
*smfh*. Look at y’all! You’re proud of yourselves, aint you? With that smug-face, looking at the New York Jets already uphill battle to bhahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAH! NO…. NO! It’s not funny! That man is now out for virtually the whole season because, he had a teammate who was as much of a childish ass as y’all are for these jokes about Geno Smith’s broken jaw! Let’s review some of what you said:
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LEAVE. MY PATRIOTS. OUT OF THIS.
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Fun Fact: Kanye’s jaw was fractured in 3 places. Geno’s jaw got fractured in 3 places. Coincidence? I DON’T THINK SO!
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Succint. Straight to the punchline. We’ll allow it… like Geno did.
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https://twitter.com/richarddeitsch/status/631167050250067968
If you have a problem with me bloggin about Trump, you should probably take 5…. months, or however long it will take for him to drop out.
Okay, we get the general drift of this. How bout we try one?
Sources close to the Jets say Geno threw the first punch… but it was intercepted as it was 6 yards short.
How’s that? That work? Uuuh, you’re the twitterers… not us. But follow us there @benandsiyablog
Then see if any of our non-violent suggestions over $600 disputes are fitting for ya next office altercation, eh?
Morning Commute: “Good Morning” – Kanye West
Why Young Thug Is Like Bob Marley; Kanye Is The Greatest Living Rock Star
This is not my original idea, but one from today’s self-proclaimed “GREATEST LIVING ROCK STAR ON THE PLANET“. If that self-affirmation, and this post’s headline made you cringe or cock your metaphorical gun while searching for my metaphorical address, joke’s on YOU – I’m literally homeless. You are also missing the point, entirely. For one, you’re a little late to the party. This isn’t the first time he made that EXACT statement. See 2013 on BBC Radio [CLICK HERE for Full Thesis Interview] :
So when he closed his 2015 Glastonbury Festival set with the bold statement:
… and that got your knickers in a bunch so you had to go off lookin like an old square stuck in the land of literal interpretation of artist’s rant, you lost by even responding or taking that personally at all.
In kindergarten (or preschool – for you blokes) school, everybody had access to the same crayons, paper, and space. Some winced looking to color inside the lines better than anyone, some were looking to finger-paint the best stick-man the classroom floor had ever seen, and some naughty nitwits were just content jumpin around in the mud outside all day. But, OTHERS were busy drawing their bicycles with wings. After all if planes can fly, and they can bicycle real fast, whats a couple thousand feet of lift and jet fuel? They were outfitting their families’ heads with fire-breathing dragon heads. So what if that’s a constant fire hazard? They were focused on getting their play-family to fly with them by any means necessary and available to them at that point! End of Story, enjoy your rules!
These OTHERS grew to create timeless pieces like “One Love” (singin: lets get together and feel alright), and “I Shot The Sheriff” (actual lyrical reasoning: Sheriff had it comin for killin my vegetation but, HEY at least I didn’t shoot the deputy!) in the one breath with the exact same intensity and integrity. If we try to follow them from one point to the next with iron-clad 1+1=2 logic we will never spot these mythical beings dancin around among us “sane” people. To them – the messages in BOTH “One Love”, and “I Shot The Sheriff” are equally valid and deeply true to the very same world they occupy and observe – despite the varying levels of literalism.
So if you’re like Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, you’re not just wrong – but, your well thought out logic on Kanye West’s self-opinion is baseless and has no effect on the validity of that very statement. Best of luck arguing against somebody who believes in:
“saying $hit that sounds wrong… we have the right to be wrong sometimes“
The Who’s Pete Townshend may never come to the opinion of Oasis’ Noel Gallagher (who was outspoken against Kanye’s big-brother headlining the traditionally Rock festival a few years back)
“it was as fuckin good as it gets”
For now, we’ll consider all opinions on that performance and the not-so-absurd statement he had repeated plenty of times as valid as judgement on who had the “best” idea in that pre-school/kindergarten classroom.
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So WHY is YOUNG THUG LIKE BOB MARLEY? Because, that weirdo who colored the wings on his bike pink, and infused mythological creature heads with human anatomy has SO FEW PEERS in the adult world outside of that childhood stage. When he recognizes a kindred spirit, it is his duty to not only embrace them – but to encourage them to draw the biggest fuggin flame he can on his dragon! HELL – add some dinosaurs while you’re at it! That is why Kanye’s encounter with Young Thug went a little something like this:
“[Kanye] didn’t have a phone for like 3 or 4 years, When I first met him, he was like ‘We gotta keep in touch; here’s my email.’ But he called me Bob Marley. He had a Beats Pill and was like, ‘I wanna hear all of your music in the world that’s not out.’ So I was letting him hear all the music. Then he said I was like Bob Marley and he wanted to do an album with me. I was like, ‘Let’s roll!’ He’s a fan (and) fans are the main reason you stay motivated and become who you want to be. Kanye is like my brother, but he’s a real fan. He bought me some Yeezys (Kanye’s perpetually sold-out shoe line) and went on eBay to get them for me. That’s motivation”
To quote an exceptionally well put review of Thugger Thugger‘s controversially released “Barter 6” offering: “Young Thug is not into literalism. He thrives in gray areas, animated by the electricity generated by the tension of his own contradictions, and he never, ever offers a straightforward explanation”
How Kanye makes the Bob Marley leap is as wild as the dragon heads in that kindergarten room, or as ridiculous as promoting love and making violence sound sweet in the same tune. Don’t worry bout it. It is valid with or without your approval because, it has now been put forth into existence with or without your permission. If his last album – Yeezus – is any indication he is not afraid to artistically work towards Rock proficiency after perfecting rap with the critically acclaimed “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” album. This mantra and self-affirmation will continue to exist in that ether until he makes it an undeniable reality, or tragically and thoroughly fails in front of all of us all like a kid learning to ride a bike, tittering and crashing into bushes that don’t care about black people, and getting bruised for our entertainment.
If nothing else, isn’t that what “the greatest living rock star” is supposed to be doing? Or, is that title reserved for those that accomplished great things in the past, but rarely push the boundaries of expectations and artistry moving forward – as they coast to Hall of Fame inductions?
Flashback Friday: Watch Pharrell’s Reaction After First Hearing Young Kanye
Looking back at it now, “Never Let Me Down” was as solid of a covenant as you can get in rap. This is an arena where alliances are declared ‘4 Life’, but come and go (see Death Row, Bad Boy, G-Unit sorta, and on and on). Coming to think of it, the only hip hop treaty that stayed true to the ‘4 Life’ moniker is ‘UGK 4 Life’ (R.I.P Pimp C). College Droput was Kanye’s debut, and after helping deliver Jay a classic in Blueprint – it was only expected for Jay to knight the newcomer with a sharp verse. Knight he did.
Not only is this one of Jay’s best verses of that era (Blueprint – Kingdom Come), but it was clear from that first declaration that Kanye would be the best sparring partner for Jay (like Drake and Wayne,T.I. and B.O.B., or dare I say Rick Ross and Meek Mill?). Maybe Pharrell was amazed at the beat, or the flow – but wait till the end for his reaction when he FIRST hears the song before anyone else.
What Gives Kanye The Biggest Smile, But Makes Woody Harrelson Lose His Erection?
That’s not a click-bait title! Because, the answer lies directly within that lil square you’re about to press play on down there. When David Blaine performs his witchcraft, its usually about the defiance of physics. But, we’ve seen Harrison Ford kick him out of his home when things went too far for his taste.
This time, he visits Jaden Smith’s family, Kanye West (who is for some divine reason hangin out with Woody Harrelson – I’d watch just THAT show), and those guys from Breaking Bad (which I’ve not see a single shot off for some reason). Woody Harrelson’s reaction is – as the title suggests – “well I just lost my erection entirely”. That’s the punchline, but the build-up and foreplay is the real… meat here. If seeing the rare mythical creature that is a Kanye smile is your thing, watch this and lose it like everyone does at the plot-twist:
Humpday Hymn: Muse – “Uprising”
“Drones” is the latest Muse album that just dropped this week. The drums on it are so perfectly mixed, sounding clean and full! The closest Hip Hop has recently gotten that purity in drums is Kanye West’s “Black Skinhead”. Really, the only producer with drums that rival rock’s in general is none other than the legendary Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley. Feel free to checkout Justin Timberlake’s latest 20/20 album for that.
On This Humpday, we need the familiar clap and sing along cadances with a sticky hook, though. So RISE UP to this oldie-but-goldie!
Turnip Tuesday: Skepta – “Shutdown” (Punk Slaves Live Cover)
Okay, the original song was already LIT AF as evidenced by the attached video at the bottom. So when – punk group – Slaves stopped by the infamous BBC Radio Live Lounge they practically tossed a gasoline covered dynamite stick on it. It seems the young British-Nigerian Grime superstar didn’t mind the fallout at all
@Slaves Was smiling the whole way through that. Sick guys, big up.
— SKEPTA (@Skepta) May 7, 2015
A lil background on Skepta: Continue reading Turnip Tuesday: Skepta – “Shutdown” (Punk Slaves Live Cover)
Ben and Siya Blog Shit 