skillz: 2007 rap up.

I keep getting hits on Google from people looking for the Skillz rap up for 2007, and I feel like it's a total disservice to NOT post about it.

As I said in last year's post, Skillz has been on the hip-hop scene since 1992 hustling all over the place, ghostwriting, freestyling, and dropping an annual rap-up since 2002.

This year's effort comes with a first-- a video, complete with supporting visuals such as an Amy Winehouse lookalike. It features references to...DJ Drama, The White Rapper Show, Cam'ron, 50 Cent, All-Star Weekend, Jennifer Hudson, Mims, Fantasia Barrino, Tony Yayo, Jay-Z, Amy Winehouse (duh), Robin Thicke, Bobby Brown & Whitney Houston, Karrine Steffans, Don Imus, Russell Simmons, Oprah, Anna Nicole Smith, Akon, Three 6 Mafia, ringtone rappers, Virginia Tech, Barry Bonds, Ray J, Diddy, Eve, Rihanna, Paris Hilton, the final episode of The Sopranos, Hurricane Chris, Lupe Fiasco, Britney Spears, Jamie Lynn Spears, O.J. Simpson, Usher & R. Kelly, Kelly Rowland, Beyonce Knowles, Jena Six, Michael Vick, the iPhone, Foxy Brown, Lil Wayne & T-Pain's omnipresence, Kanye West, Souljah Boy, American Gangster, UGK & Outkast, DJ Khaled, T.I., and Lauren London.

Personally, I think this is a huge step down from the 2006 rap-up. Did he really have to cut out paying his respects to those who passed away? There was no reason to mention Mims, Hurricane Chris, or Souljah Boy. All he needed was the line, "For most of the year, a ringtone rapper would make a hit and his career would disappear." Can we get a holler to Donda West, Ike Turner, Pimp C, Yolanda King...Kurt Vonnegut?

Not to mention that the animal rights activist within me is a little outraged at the line "It's a damn shame what they did to Michael Vick. You can't kill dogs in your own backyard but you can go to Iraq and kill whoever you want." Seriously? I can understand that he's trying to be socially conscious. I can understand that he's trying to make a point about taking a dog's life vs. taking a human life, even if I'm not certain I agree with it. However, I just can't get over the fact that he's trying to JUSTIFY dogfighting. Pssh!

Problems aside, Skillz gets kudos for simply coming up with such a cohesive look at 2007 as a whole. And you can't help but giggle at the line, "Kelly Rowland falls and yall think it's cool, Beyonce falls and yall take it off of youtube." When you put it all into perspective, the reason this rap-up sucks so much probably has more to do with 2007 sucking elephant-balls as a whole.

If anything good came out of 2007, I finally learned how to appreciate Prince. How? I made friends with a cassette tape of Purple Rain while locked away in a studio working on my printmaking senior thesis. Because of this, I direct your ears to the bonus track, which features Skillz rapping over "Darling Nikki."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------d/l: SKILLZ - 2007 Rap Up (YSI)
d/l: SKILLZ - 2007 Rap Up (Jimmy Rose Remix) (YSI)

d/l: SKILLZ - 2006 Rap Up (YSI)
d/l: SKILLZ - 2005 Rap Up (YSI)
d/l: SKILLZ - 2004 Rap Up (YSI)
d/l: SKILLZ - 2003 Rap Up (YSI)
d/l: SKILLZ - 2002 Rap Up (YSI)

BONER TRACK: SKILLZ - Darling Nikki freestyle (YSI)

- buy it - site it - space it - hype it - wik it -

bunny: box in a box

DOWNLOAD: BUNNY- Box in a Box
- watch it - space it - read it -

I discovered this super-late, but for those of you who haven't seen/heard this...you need to get on it! Obviously, it is a spoof of Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg's "Dick in a Box", and you must be living on another planet if you haven't seen that. Bunny's version is full of some trite vag jokes, but it definitely has some classic moments. I'm a big fan of the mention of "Cinco de Mayo" personally. According to her blog, Ms. Bunny has more magic to share with the world, including a future video by kid sister Lil Buns. This goes to show you the power of a good youtube parody. As Bunny says, "this internet thing...it's kind of a big deal." Fact.

skillz: rap it up 2002-2006.

EDIT: If you are looking for the "2007 Rap-Up" as well as active links for the rap-ups from 2002-2007, please see this post!
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SKILLZ has been on the hip-hop scene since around 1992, but has yet to become a household name despite brushing shoulders with some of hip-hop's hottest (and not so hottest) stars.

You may know him by his previous name "Mad Skillz", changed with his 2002 LP I Ain't Mad No More. Perhaps you've heard one of his freestyles, or you remember him from his verse on the remix of Aaliyah's 1998 hit "Are You That Somebody?" when he talks about others crying like the baby in the background.

If that doesn't ring a bell, perhaps you have heard his words...but not his voice. Skillz is notorious as a ghostwriter for the hip-hop community. In his 2000 single "Ghostwriter" he claims to have written hits for Foxy Brown, Jermaine Dupri, Ma$e, and Diddy. If you've ever heard any of those artists rap, you'd understand why they need a ghostwriter. Diddy is the only artist who has acknowledged that Skillz has written for him in the past.

With that out of the way, let's talk about his rap-ups. Skillz has been lyrically re-capping current events in hip-hop, R&B, pop culture, and beyond since 2002. The 2006 rap-up includes such prized lines as "Gnarls Barkley dropped 'Crazy' to the web on purpose, that song was everywhere even Foxy heard it" and "Nas said 'hip hop was dead' but northern cats spit all year tryin' to bring New York back. Yall need to lighten up son, get a hug. The only time New York came back was on Flavor of Love." He delivers his flow over Dr. Dre's instrumental for Jay-Z's "Lost Ones" referencing The Stealers, Eminem, Obie Trice, Dave Chapelle, Cam'ron, Jay-Z, Three Six Mafia, Terrell Owens, Shawnna, DMX, T.I., Yung Joc, Nitti, Tom Cruise, Dick Cheney, myspace, DJ Webstar & Young B's "Chicken Noodle Soup", Russell & Kimora, Dallas Austin, youtube, Rick Ross, Rihanna, Christina Milian, Cool & Dre, Janet Jackson & Jermaine Dupri, Gnarls Barkley, Foxy Brown, Young Dro, Lil Kim, Cassie, LeToya, Wyclef, Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Bobby Brown & Whitney Houston, Kevin Federline & Britney Spears, Nas, New York of Flavor of Love, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Lil Wayne & Baby, Mel Gibson, Playstation 3, Beyonce, Carmen Bryan, Unk, Michael Richards, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, J. Dilla, Gerald Levert, and others. All is tightly packaged into 4 minutes and 55 seconds of memories. Skillz keeps it real for the most part, showing props and dissing as necessary, but he throws in a tiny bit of gossip to remind us what had people talking.

I don't really intend to compile a "best of 2006" list, so this will have to do.

DOWNLOAD: SKILLZ- 2006 Rap-Up

DOWNLOAD: SKILLZ- 2005 Rap-Up
DOWNLOAD: SKILLZ- 2004 Rap-Up
DOWNLOAD: SKILLZ- 2003 Rap-Up
DOWNLOAD: SKILLZ- 2002 Rap-Up

BONUS TRACK: SKILLZ- Hip Hop Died

BUY Confessions of a Ghostwriter

BLOGWATCH: Cable & Tweed pays tribute to the great musicians we have lost this past year. The Blue Walrus has all the remixes you need to pretend you are a huge Hot Chip fan. I AM FUEL, YOU ARE FRIENDS promotes giving in the spirit of the season while bringing us back to "We Are the World". Lil Mike's Last Known Thoughts & Random Revelations gives you a complete listing of New Years gigs to check out.
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EDIT: If you are looking for the "2007 Rap-Up" as well as active links for the rap-ups from 2002-2007, please see this post!

wizard rock: don't take fame, take love

HARRY AND THE POTTERS have been featured on mtv.com and probably even more legitimate sites. They're celebrities just as much as Jeffree Star or Tila Tequila, both primarily known through myspace. While the latter two are mostly known by only internet users, HatP gain a different audience...book readers. I once interviewed Paul for my old blog and tried to post it in a popular pop culture forum that will remain nameless. My post was rejected because they said they weren't famous enough! I was furious because, well, they are! They just are! But I suppose any fan would say that.

I am awfully late in making this post. I failed as a fan to realize that their new album was made available for purchase on good ol' Independence Day...15 days ago! I have no other option than to blame Voldemort for this. Obviously I read about the new album Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love back then, but He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named put me under a vicious memory charm which only allowed me to remember about it today!

Now that I've been released from this curse, I would like to point you all in the direction of three new songs. Two are from the new album, and one is off of the Scarred For Life 7". These songs are a good indication of the maturing sound of the band. Years ago, HatP made up for what they lacked musically with hilarious lyrics such as "Cause I'd rather not talk about your dead ex-boyfriend over coffee" that gained them a solid, dedicated fan-base. Now, just as Rowlings books have evolved from childish fluff to dark adolescent drama, so has the sound of Harry and the Potters. "The Blood of a Prince" has incredibly dark lyrics. It's also much more complex than anything HatP had ever done up to this point. One could make claims that it's a legitimate rock song...because, well, it is. Even while maintaining their playful nature on "Song for the Death Eaters", they still bring in a new level of instrumentation and harmony that was never before heard on earlier tracks. Now, the boys are no longer just two brothers with guitars, a drum machine, and clever puns within their lyrics. They rock...literally.

DOWNLOAD: HARRY AND THE POTTERS- Song for the Death Eaters
DOWNLOAD: HARRY AND THE POTTERS- This Book is So Awesome
DOWNLOAD: HARRY AND THE POTTERS- The Blood of a Prince

BUY Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love

BLOGWATCH: The Rich Girls are Weeping has some new remixes of Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man". Dreams of Horses honors my favorite Prince song ever by featuring covers by both Tegan & Sara and Casiotone for the Painfully Alone.

blast from the past: cleopatra comin' atcha.

Cleopatra's single for "Cleopatra's Theme" (1998) was the first CD that I tried to play off as being purchased ironically. My sister and I thought the music video was hilarious, so I bought this single for $1.99 in order to hop on my bed and make fun of the three braid-headed sisters. I wouldn't admit it back then, but deep inside...I loved this song. And I still love it to this day.

You see, Ms. Cleopatra Madonna Higgins actually had a huge voice for a 16 year old. Even if it was incredibly screechy and she wasn't singing about anything important, the sista had SOUL. Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought this...as Madonna signed them to her record label, Maverick, and brought their music from the UK to the US. While Cleopatra scored four top five hits in a row and had their own sit-com overseas, their music failed to perform as well in the states. They weren't a complete failure though. They toured with the likes of Jessica Simpson, Next, and Brian McKnight. Later they became spokeswomen for Covergirl, as well as staples of the Disney Channel's music video line-up.

But enough about history...What really makes me love this song? Obviously, I am a sucker for self-referential songs. (This is evident in the fact that I love Kelis' mediocre single "Bossy" simply because she states, "That's right, I brought all the boys to the yard".) In "Cleopatra's Theme", the confident statement that their own group is "gonna blow the roof" is a main selling point for me. I mean, the fact that their first single is a theme song about themselves?...That's sheer brilliance! Subliminal self-promotion was clearly the future of music, and Cleopatra must have just been way ahead of the times. America wasn't ready for that until we heard Mike Jones.

WATCH: Their 2005 performance on ITV's Hit Me Baby One More Time

DOWNLOAD: CLEOPATRA- Cleopatra's Theme

NOTE: I no longer own the single. It was destroyed when I used it as a frisbee after my friend made fun of me for owning it. I was 13 at the time, so peer pressure was at an all-time high.

BUY Comin' Atcha!

BLOGWATCH: Head over to Republicum for a rarity by The Knife. Check out Beyonce's new single "Deja Vu" at Stars are Blind. Lastly, get a great remix of Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right" at childish gambino.

boy crisis: let's get blogtastic.

Boy Crisis is old news in some communities at Wesleyan University, but as far as I know...they have yet to make their blogosphere debut. They claim that they sound like, "a computer having sex with a beautiful bird or something like that"...but I'd have to say that they sound more like a bunch of boys who make delightfully energetic, silly dance music that you can't take serious at all...literally. You really can't.

Maybe it's the ridiculous music video for the silly song "Let's Get Fantastic" or exciting, interactive music video for "The Feelings are Real" (which allows you to make a hot dog float in outer space) both created by Jordan Fish of Teen Homicide / Channel 1o2 fame? Maybe it's all in the music? Maybe it's the baby monkey photo or album release date of 3006 listed on their page? Either way, there's a certain humor of Boy Crisis that I can't quite put my finger on.

Boy Crisis is certainly an acquired taste for some, an immediate favorite for others. Upon first listen to Boy Crisis, I decided that the music was far too repetitive and annoying. The following day, I found myself tapping my foot and singing the song in my head. It was as if they had some 24 hour subliminal hypnotism on their myspace page. It was the sort of hunger you have for a song when you can't get it out of your head until you hear it again. And I was stuck at work...with no speakers. The need for the song began consuming me. I knew it was wrong, but it felt so right. It felt so...real. I just want to...feel...real.

DOWNLOAD: BOY CRISIS- The Feelings Are Real

TRIVIA: Boy Crisis member Alex Kestner created the song for video-director Jordan Fish's pilot Teen Homicide. Boy Crisis member Victor Vazquez appeared later in the series as a man in a penguin suit carrying a knife. Boy Crisis member Tal Rozen never appeared in Teen Homicide, but he made some paintings once or twice.

congratulations! she has arrived.

Silvia Night is congratulating you!! Why? Because she is so amazing, of course.

This Icelandic superstar caused quite the stir at the Eurovision Song Contest this year. When her song "Congratulations" was translated to English, the lyric "the vote is in, I'll fucking win" was pointed out as being inappropriate by Eurovision exec Svante Stockselius. Silvia's response to his statements were "I'll fucking say what I fucking like." In a press conference, she called out a reporter for looking her in the eyes and demanded that her bodyguard take her away. Despite all of this, Ms. Night gained quite a following. She appeared on MTV Japan, telling the VJ that she arrived in Japan to purchase a baby because they're cute. The first thing she says to them is "Dont mention Björk cause she's a retard. I feel really bad for her cause everyone is making fun of her."

The profanity and generally offensive behavior didn't stop there. After Silvia's song did not "fucking" win, Silvia got violent with several reporters, stating "Somebody has been spreading lies about me and I think it is YOU...and you are a slut and I hate you."

WATCH: Eurovision performance (featuring men in short shorts & telephones that come out of candy-canes)
WATCH: Official Music Video

DOWNLOAD: SILVIA NIGHT- Congratulations

Unfortunately, Silvia's performance went beyond this song. She is actually a character created by a member of the band Ske, Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, and an actress on a semi-reality television show. Even the reporter who was carried out by her "bodyguard" was an actress. It actually took a while for the Icelandic and Eurovision audience to realize this. It only took me a few minutes thanks to youtube and wikipedia. At first I was disappointed, and then I realized what an amazing acting job all of this was.