2010 BET Awards (aka) My Thoughts on the Chris Brown thing.

We can discuss the actual Awards ceremony later, what's heavy on my mind -- and the mind of the Twitterverse and Blogosphere as well -- is Chris Brown's little performance last night.

First off, BET Awards devoted their entire telecast last year to Michael Jackson. The King of Pop died just a few days before that telecast, but they still managed to squeeze in about four nice tributes to MJ by Ne-Yo, and Ciara among others. So when Jermaine Jackson came on stage and talked about the tribute everybody had been waiting on, I immediately thought Usher or even Justin Timberlake. Because both of those artists are the ones waiting in the wings for that King of Pop title, and Timberlake has never done any sort of tribute to MJ since his death. Usher took part in the Grammy tribute, but I figured Jermaine might have been saying that Usher never did a tribute for him on BET. Either way, whoever it was, I also thought about how every award show since last year had a tribute to Michael in so many different ways. What on earth could we have not seen yet, that is something we've been waiting for.

And after Jermaine said "Here He is", and sometime before the white curtain showing just a silhouette was dropped, I figured it was Chris Brown. And I was somewhat excited. Brown has always been a tremendous dancer and he's always sited MJ as his biggest influence so it's a no brainer that he would do well in the dance tribute he provided to the audience. And still mid-way through I lost interest, because is that really fair? Let's just imagine if Brown's album "Grafitti" didn't tank and he was actually invited to the ceremony to perform. I would have no problem if he used his time on stage to tribute Michael since he didn't get the chance last year. But it seems obvious that BET invited him to come on and do the tribute, as a way to get him back in the good graces of the public by using the fact that he didn't take part last year (and, I wonder if they invited him last year?). Which, is basically like them giving him a do-over. And I have a bit of a problem with that. What has Chris Brown done to make BET feel the need to sympathize with him and help him out over all the other struggling artists?

I'm over the Incident with Rihanna. That's not really my issue with him. It's his behavior afterward that has soured my respect for him. His playing the victim in interviews, the trying to get people to feel sorry for him, even when he was the villain in the case was the wrong move. Even aside from that, and totally aside from the domestic abuse case, his behavior on Twitter following the disappointing sales of his album showed what an entitled cry-baby he is. He went on a Twitter tirade when he assumed that Walmart wasn't carrying his album (even though they officially came out and confirmed that they were, just not that particular store because they had sold out), and he begged his followers to boycott the chain store. He begged his fans to request his songs on radio, because in his own mind (with no proof what so ever) he felt they were blacklisting his music (and "I Can Transform Ya" actually played on radio stations and was building at a point), and than a negative piece of press from a female journalist had him going off on Twitter once again calling the woman names just like a little child would.

So what about his behavior this past year showed BET that he was this changed man? Why did they feel like he deserved a second chance? I personally don't feel like he's done anything, he put out a solid album and he should have focused on that and not the negativity and he would have possibly come out on top. Even if "Grafitti" turned into a massive, un-savable Flop, he should have known better to ignore the negativity and keep hustling. Instead he complained, whined, bitched and moaned. Acted just like a volatile kid, and here BET is giving him another shot. (SMDH!)

So back to his little tribute, after going through I think 4 different songs (just dancing by the way, he didn't even have a mic at that point) Chris slowed it down and the music for "Man in the Mirror" swelled up. And this is where #FAIL comes to play, he couldn't sing. I'm sure he was out of breath, and I'm sure he was genuinely emotional for various reasons after his dance tribute. The emotions from being back on stage, from tributing his idol, even from the lyrics of the song. Whatever it was, he started crying (Balling, literally sobbing and spitting) and he just couldn't get his vocals together to complete the song. And at a certain spot he seemed to stop trying altogether. And I don't blame him, the crowd was applauding him on as if his not-singing was a good thing!? I just feel like if you're going to be a professional, and this is supposed to be your big chance to show people what you can do, there has to be a point where you need to pull it together, look beyond the emotion or even use the emotion to help with your vocal, but do SOMETHING don't just walk back and forth crying and lipping the words.

Okay I know I may be a little harsh-sounding right now, because I understand where certain other people are coming from who said that he did a good job. For me, he did a great job in the dancing but I wouldn't have ever expected him to do less than a great job because he's a great dancer and he probably spent most of his childhood mocking Jackson's moves. The vocals were a hot mess, and I just can't forgive him for not at least trying to get it together and SING.

And than, Brandy and Ray-J (who I also can't stand, Ray-J a lot less than Brandy who I used to love but her new reality show has completely turned me off) presented an award for the best Fans (or some kind of bullsh*t award), and surprise surprise Chris Brown won. The thing that irked me about his acceptance speech (aside from Ray J. making everybody give him a standing ovation) was his "to my fans, I know I let you down but I promise I won't do it again". Okay dude just shut up! He's still on that "oh every one needs to feel sorry for me" kick and after almost two years we've heard that enough. Just let it go, Rihanna is on her world tour right now and she's gotten over it, why can't you!?

Anyway the awards show was pretty cool. Not the best. I'll post a full review later.

Album Review: Drake

He lived up to the hype!

After the entire summer of 2009 being dominated with Drake's "Best I Ever Had", I was beginning to think maybe his hype would die down and nobody would even pay attention when he finally released his solo debut. And people Need to pay attention to his debut "Thank Me Later" which was released today, because surprisingly it's becoming one of my favorite albums of the year. His stuff leading up to this debut, his work with Lil Wayne's Young Money and his Mix-Tape "So Far Gone", gave us just a little taste of what to expect on a very thoughtful first album. And what he manages to do with this album is paint a picture of where he's at, while proving he's an excellent lyricist definitely worthy of all the pre-album buzz and praise.

From the Alicia Key's assisted album opener "Fireworks" the album plays as a journey in his mind, with the plot being his move into a prime spot in the Hip Hop game. "Today it begins, I've missed them before, won't miss them again, I keep having the same dream, and I think that I just realized what it means" is the start of him pursuing his dream, while "The Resistance" he talks about how people around him change once the fame starts to come ("she miss the old me, which made me question when I went missing, and when I start treating my friends different"), and "Over" being his determination to block out the negativity and keep on "doing me, and that's what I'ma do 'til it's over". As the fame rises, he is ready to enjoy it "Show me a Good Time" and splurge "Up All Night". After he gets advice from the Leaders of the game Jay-Z and Lil Wayne on "Light Up" and "Miss Me", he feels confident enough to tell the Game to "Thank Me Now". And even though Drake does fall victim to alot of the same Hip Hop concepts, his lyrics make them feel a little more personal. Like he's just stating his reality and not showing off, which is a fine line for a lot of other rappers but he does it effortlessly here. Also he goes in and out of rapping and singing, which is a nice touch to make the album different from every other Rap album released. He's not the best singer, but his singing voice is always perfectly placed by softening up a song when his lyrical attack get too intense. A lot of times it actually feels like he's a featured artist on his own song, which sometimes make the guest appearances a little much, but it always ends up working in the end.

The production on the album, largely supplied by virtually unknown 40 with big names Kanye West Timbaland and Swizz Beatz thrown into the mix, is really seamless in keeping a Epic but calm vibe throughout. Which is probably why the Rap/Singing thing works so well, the tracks literally beg for the various changes he does with his voice. And just to add another layer, it seems like most of the songs have both lyrics your typical Hip Hop fan would appreciate, but also respectful odes to women. The mostly sung "Karoake" speaks about having to let love go because of the fame "I was only trying to get ahead, but the spotlight makes you nervous", and of course first single "Find Your Love" which finds him at the end of the album willing to put his fame aside for love. Even on "Fancy" and "Shut it Down" he finds ways to honor women instead of just using them. Something as simple as him telling his women to "put that fucking dress on" in "Shut it Down" (yeah that's right. put it ON!) is shocking in both Hip Hop and R&B these days (he does ask her to take it off once the song makes a genius turn towards the end).

I literally can go on and on about all the beautiful layers of great music and great talent that Drake has combined to make a truly Grammy worthy album. And let's not ignore the risks he took, with producers and his super long bars at times. He showed his talent, stayed pretty much contemporary, while stretching the boundaries a bit. This is my favorite album of the year and I wasn't expecting to like it, I was never all the way on board with the Drake love last year. He delivered though, he made me forget all about his "Degrassi" rep by making great music. And doing it by being himself, another thing I Love about the album is that he never tries to play the Thug (which is something I've always loved about an obvious inspiration Kanye West), he's just a guy with the passion that wants to make it big. I can feel what everybody must have been praising him about before, he has the talent to go all the way. He says in my favorite song on the album "when you get to talking about the Greatest, I just hope that you think of me, cause I'm trying to be Unforgettable" and I honestly already can't wait for the follow up album, but this will more than do for the rest of the year.

Album Review: Christina Aguilera

There was a time when acts like Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Beyonce were the newbies in the industry. Now with the Rihanna’s, GaGa’s and Bieber’s taking over as the new breed, those former newbies are all transitioning into either Living Legends or Faded Stars. At this point, Christina Aguilera is somewhere in the middle and her new album "Bionic" doesn’t seem to do much to push her towards either side. The album is by no means a Bad album, but it’s not exceptionally Good either. The first problem is that the album is way too long at 18 tracks (the deluxe edition extends that to 23 tracks), so as a whole it’s not an easy listen. Fortunately the good outweighs the bad (“My Girls” “I Hate Boys” and a few of the lifeless ballads), and when it’s good it’s Great! Aguilera molds her voice to the various genres included on this album. The Electro-Punk-Dance supplied by producers John Hill and Switch are some of the best on the album, “Elastic Love” and the title track are great examples of Aguilera stretching and shifting her power house vocals into an almost unrecognizable style that completely suits the production. Even when she goes into Latin-Dance (“Desnudate” a KILLER track that should be the next single -- should have been the FIRST single) Dance-Pop (“Glam”) and island influenced R&B (“Woohoo”) her voice provides the power without going overboard. And the choice ballads “All I Need” “I Am” and the albums best song “Lift Me Up” are among some of her best, but also show some vocal growth and maturity.
And than there’s the bad which, truth be told, aren’t bad enough to ruin the whole album but just play as unnecessary filler. The aforementioned “I Hate Boys” and “My Girls” sound like a desperate attempt to make something catchy for the radio, while “You Lost Me” and “Sex for Breakfast” sound like they could have been included on previous Aguilera albums (“Back to Basics” and “Stripped” respectively). After listening to over 90 minutes of music, the final result is a little lukewarm. And given the songs available on the Deluxe edition (“Monday Morning” being the best of the 6 tracks), it seems like the album could have been perfect If her or her label knew how to appropriately edit the album down. Leaving her with just an okay, somewhat uneven album. It definitely doesn’t push her any higher into the Living Legend circle, but it’s still good enough and shows enough promise to assure she still has a good place in the industry among her peers.

Edit:
Oh and another thing. I've actually compiled my own tracklisting of the album and have been listening to it exclusively ever since. The reason being, this album is horribly sequenced. It feels like it could have been split into two albums like her last album "Back to Basics" and worked better, but she goes from R&B/Hip Hop to ElectroPunk to Latin Dance, and than from Emotional ballad to Disposable Pop Trash ("You Lost Me" into "I Hate Boys") the album on the whole becomes a bit of a mess. I edited and have created (in my mind at least) a far superior version of the album. And I'm sure other listeners can do the same.

Album Reviews: Quick Update!!!

Finishing up my Spring semester was pretty time-consuming. And that's my excuse for
not posting in over a month, but I have alot of stuff in the pipeline because there's so much music i've listened to in the past month and have to share my reviewers for my loyal followers =)

So firstly I'm gonna do another Quick Update! A wrap up on some of the stand outs, but I promise I'm going to post more reviews, longer reviews too, really soon.

MGMT "Congratulations"

This is the album is where I caught my writer’s block. Trying to wrap my thoughts around MGMT’s sophomore outing "Congratulations" was a bit of a challenge and still to this day I can’t really think of the appropriate words to describe it. Much like their debut breakthrough, their second is also very different and very weird. While their first album was very "indie" in style – pretty dark and pretty dingy production – at least those songs had some catchiness to them. "Congratulations" strips the duo of anything that might be considered radio-friendly and gives listeners a true feast for the ears. This album and the debut both have heavy psychedelic influences; this outing softens the mood and is definitely a more calming relaxing album on the whole. "Lady DaDa's Nightmare" is especially good, and it's an trippy but laid back instrumental. However there are some major peppy moments, like "Brian Eno" and first single "Flash Delirium" which prevent the album from being a snooze-fest. Simply put, because this album isn’t simple, "Congratulations" is complex and totally entertaining, and a proper follow up album from a very creative group.

The Black Keys "Brothers"

Truth be Told, I haven’t listened to the full album. I did one of those "listen to the 30 second clips on iTunes and download accordingly" thing I often do. I really enjoyed their 2008 album "Attack and Release" (produced by Danger Mouse), and was intrigued to hear this new album "Brothers" which is now their 6th album. Unfortunately, even though the sound of this album is a little more contemporary than their very Soulful output of the previous album, it leaves me feeling like this duo is a little “one-note” in their sound. The lyricism and vocal play were for the most part not oustanding, and some of the stuff is just a little dull to be honest. However there are some shining lights on this album, "Never Give You Up" is a gorgeous R&B throwback while "Too Afraid to Love You" and first single "Tighten Up" are great at matching their sound with with more contemporary techniques. I only listened to it once, and I feel like I may go back and listen at some point. So I may have to revise this later, but for now it's just (and i hate it when i see this "word") meh!

Toni Braxton "Pulse"

Another great release this year from one of my all time favorites, in Toni’s now 6th album "Pulse" the legendary Grammy winner tackles many styles that are invading the radio (Dance in "Make My Heart", Snappy R&B in the superior "Lookin’ At Me") but the heart of this album is centered in an area that made Braxton famous in the first place; authentic R&B slow jams and Pop Ballads. And this album makes one thing perfectly clear; Braxton has one of the best voices in the industry. 17 years after her debut, her voice is just as strong if not stronger. "Pulse" "Why Won't You Love Me" prove this because they can stand with her greatest ballads "Unbreak My Heart" "Let it Flow" and "Breathe Again" as her Best, and it's over a decade later."Pulse" is more than a solid R&B/Pop album that will undoubtedly be ignored, but deserves recognition as one of Braxton’s best in her career. It shows she more than still has it, and that her voice can still span genres.

Kelis "Flesh Tone"

Please go check out my review on Full Blast Magazine. YES! I'm actually writing for an online magazine, I've evolved to the online magazine status, so let's see how much further we can go after this!


B.o.B. "B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray”

B.o.B. seemed to have come from nowhere and attacked the singles charts with "Nothin’ on You" and "Airplanes". I guess a little endorsement from T.I. and getting Eminem on the "Airplanes" remix (or the "Airplanes Part II) is more than enough to create some major buzz in the Hip Hop and Pop community, but strangely enough while really being Hip Hop B.o.B.’s debut "The Adventures of Bobby Ray" plays more like a Hip Hop/Alternative album spanning various different styles. Many a rapper has tried and failed at delivering a more eclectic album and it’s impressive that B.o.B. was able to do so while still making an album that feels like an album. And the guests, also from various different genres (Weezers' lead singer Rivers Cuomo on one the albums best "Magic", Paramore singer Hailey Williams on "Airplanes", and Lupe Fiasco) contribute greatly to the material, but B.o.B. never gets really overshadowed which is a good thing. I’m not sure if he has any extraordinary skills when it comes to his lyrics or flow, but his musical influences and his versatility are something to be commended.