Nikki's All about the Benjamins Baby!!

For those who care and those who've been following this young lady for sometime now, looks like the most unique and interesting chick in rap, in a long time, will be dropping her first LP very soon. She's now officially signed to Young Money/Universal Records and is scheduled to release her first album in the first quarter next year.

Of course I had my doubts about Nikki Minaj. I thought, oh boy here we go with another bubble gum rapper trying to be the next Lil Kim. Now, I don't know why she doesn't like the Lil Kim comparisons when a) Kim's a legend and b) she purposely did a photoshoot channeling Kim's Hardcore album cover. I mean come on now Nikki, you knew exactly what kind of feedback you would get from a move like that. Furthermore she stay rapping about... well... you know... the usual Kim ish!
But to be quite honest our generation grew up to Kim and Foxy. They were all we had to emulate so it's only natural that you'd here their influences in artists of a certain age coming outta NY.

But anyway, after doing my homework on her I must say that I really like her and I'm rooting for her success 100%.

She seems like an overall driven and talented young woman that's not going to come and go as quietly as people may think. She has her eyes set on (print) modeling and acting, and she has a pretty good singing voice on her too. Girl I say go for it ALL!

I do still believe that she is a bubble gum rapper in the sense that, the whole Pop, girly-girl image is her thing! She stay's in pink, sounds and dresses like a cartoon character, however her lyrics are far from soft. Yes, her voice has the tendency to get very ANNOYINGGG!! But, her skills makes it tolerable cause you want to hear what her next punch line will be.

In the above footage Nikki describes her ideal guys as "Old wrinkled and white on a green peice of paper"!! hahahaa I love it! I don't think there's anything wrong with women being all about their paper. There's a time in life for everything and right now she's grinding and won't allow boys to deter her from her many goals.

On another note, if you don't want to be compared to Kim take it easy on the body distortion Nikki. Already she has a** and t*ts bigger than ever before. smh

Her mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty has been extremely well received and she's always featuring on somebody else's joint. Can't wait to see what she does with her own album.

Check out some of her old and new joints and tell me what you think of her:

Warning here

Playtime is Over here

Envy here

Still I Rise here

She Gotta Donk remix here

Go Hard remix here

I had to throw this video up here just because she's repping super hard! lol Trini!! yeah yeah!!

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ROCNATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This has to be one of the hottest commercials ever!!!!

Now if you know me then you already know this post was coming. Just had to give myself some time to absord the masterpiece and marinate in the greatness that is Blueprint 3.

Breaking Elvis' record for the male solo artist with the most no.1 albums, Jay-Z is officially a living legend!

My favorite tracks are:

Track 2 - Thank You
Track 4 - Run This Town
Track 5 - Empire State of Mind
Track 9 - A Star is BornTrack
Track 10 - Venus vs. Mars
Track 11 - Already Home (this might be my favorite!!)
Track 12 - Haters
Track 14 - So Ambitious

Here are some of my favorite quotes off Blueprint 3:


"I’m in The Hall already / On the wall already / I’m a work of art, I'm a Warhol already / On another level, on another plane already / H-O-V I got my own lane already (already)"
- Already Home


"I felt so inspired by what the teacher said / Said i'd either be dead or be a reefer head /Not sure if that’s how adults should speak to kids /Especially when the only thing I did was speak in class /Ill teach his ass "
- So Ambitious


"Rap like I rap without lying and then tying both together like iron my n-gga /
write 16’s in between running 16 businesses, all the while showing these young punks what the business is"
-Reminder


"Oh yeah I'm rare, I'm aware that I'm rare / I rap and I’m real, I’m one of the few here / These other boys lyin', I wonder if y’all care / They stories out this world, I wonder if y’all hear"
- Real As It Gets


"And really the fact is, we not in the same bracket /Not in the same league Don't shoot at the same baskets / Don't pay the same taxes, Hang with the same bitches / So how am i in the way, what is it i'm missing? / N-gga I been missing N-gga I been gone / The shit that you just witnessesing I been on"
- Already Home


"I don't run rap no more I run the map"
-What We Talkin About

I can go on and on so I'll stop here! lol

This album is so grown up. It's Jay looking back at the entire journey of his career through the gaze of the successful business man that he is today. Saying I told you so to those that doubted him, giving due praise to his peers that have also lived out their dreams in this game (Young Jeezy, Kanye, SwizzBeats, Pharell) and lastly showing love to the future leaders of rap by featuring them on this historic album (Drake, Kid Cudi, J. Cole) .....Clap for him!

I don't know if it's the beat or his flow or a combination of both but "Thank You" really reminds me of Reasonable Doubt Jay. I think he should have made this the leading track on the album (Track 1 is my least favorite).

oh! and forget about Empire State of Mind! FIIRREE!!!! Like seriously I feel like New York ain't have an anthem this big since Sinatra sang his praises of this great city... even Lil'Mama couldn't contain herself during Jay's performance at the MTV VMA's this year ha!:D

One last note... I think Jay did the right thing by taking a stand against Autotune. He is an elder in this game and sometimes kids need an adult to set them straight. I mean just think how many songs came this year alone with an Autotune hook. It's to the point where you can barely distinguish between artists because everyone's music is starting to sound the same.

I remember when Ron Brownz started his little run. I was happy for his success because he's a Harlem native and I am familiar with his story and his struggle. I was just happy that he was finally shining My boyfriend however was never a fan of his from day one. As he put it, RB was trying to be T-Pain. I didn't get it then. I thought my boyfriend was just "hating". But he was absolutely right. Yall rappers are T-Paining too much! where's the originality? the true talent? .............................stop the shinanigans......................

Well D.O.A. is a perfect reminder of the real talent source of rap. It's a blueprint for those that have forgotten how to make a hit without synthesized riffs. Ill lyrics and hot tracks, period. Shoot sometimes you don't even need a highly orchestrated production to make a hot album. Just raw emotion, a sick steady flow and a story to tell... minus the added on b.s. and you're good money (see Drake & J Cole). Now don't get me wrong, I know music evolves and I'm in support of that. But there's a clear difference between evolution and a point of standstill and I feel like autotune was preventing the music from progressing. Thanks Uncle Jay! lol

RocNation all day!!!!!!!!!... sorry Haters! (no I'm not)

By now we've ALL heard the new album so please feel free to leave your thoughts about it ..........................................

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Weekend Outings: Mayweather vs. Marquez Rooftop Fight Party

This Saturday was Mayweather's highly anticipated return fight since his lay off of almost 2 years from Boxing. I, like many others, already knew he would win loooong before the first punch was thrown. While I definitely enjoyed the atmosphere of the rooftop setting, the skyline and fresh air, the fight itself was a disappointment. Mayweather needs to step up the ante and fight a more challenging opponent. I learned nothing new by watching him outmove and outskill Marquez. But hey I guess that's why they call him Money Making Mayweather, because that's what it's all about for him.

Many boxing enthusiasts want to see a Mayweather/Mosley match-up and I can't lie that sounds like a must see event!

I attended Mosley's fight against Cotto held in Madison Square Garden and was so disappointed that he lost. I felt like he could have won that fight. Nevertheless, the potential and talent to beat Mayweather is definitely there to be tapped into.

The next fight I'm looking forward to is Paquiao/Cotto scheduled for November 14th. That should be good.

(shout out to Dream Team Nation for having a wonderful event!)

If you got to see the fight over the weekend please feel free to share your thoughts on it............................................................... Read more!

Beaches!!!!

Aw man, one of my favorite movies growing up came on last night. Do you guys remember Beaches! All the women in my family loved this movie and I remember watching many times as a child. Blossom killed in her role as a young Bette Midler or should I say CC Bloom.

Here's a clip of one of my favorite scenes!! :D



I couldn't of said it better honey, that's the story of LOVE!!

Enjoy guys!!! Read more!

"I Style Myself"

Call her what you want but I call her B.A.D! I personally think that "model" Amber Rose is one of the most stylish chicks in the game right now. To quote her boo exactly:

"Swagga on a hundred, thousand, trillion!!"

Everytime we see her she's in the latest and greatest fits and in the below clip she wants to make it clear to everyone that... like me and many other flygirls... she STYLES HERSELF!!!!! Don't get it twisted.





Now it may be because this is all new found fame to her and she wasn't able to afford a stylist, even if she wanted one. But then again, I'm pretty sure that her boo Kanye could have hooked her up with one if she made the request. Word has been that 'Ye himself has actually styled Amber for various photoshoots and events.




Here are a couple pics of my fave Amber looks, you tell me she ain't BAD!:

Her Shades game is on another level!!!

LOVE IT!!!!!

At the end of the day, with a body like Amber's you can make pretty much ANYTHING look good!!!! Trust me! I'm working on mine right now ;) .... I got so much stuff waiting to be worn it's ridiculous....

If you have an opinion of this new "it" girl and her style please feel free to leave a comment................................................

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What's your Alter Ego

Ok, so we all watched the episode of Real Houswives of Atlanta where Nene Leakes summons all the girls to do an Alter Ego photoshoot with reknowned ATL celebrity photographer Derek Blanks. The girls looked like they were having a ball during the shoot... and some even bonded a bit. Well finally those highly anticipated pictures have been released. Let's take a look shall we:

Sheree:

Nene:

Lisa:
Kandi:
Kim:

I personally think Kandi's is the best out the bunch! What do you think???

Nonetheless, all these shots are really good. Derek Blanks is one of the best! I'm going to look into having an Alter Ego shoot myself. Hmmmmm let me think, what's my alter ego? Chedda Fierce lol!!! Make sure you check back in to see what I come up with for my shoot.... this should be interesting!

I can't get enough of these ladies. While most choose to call them Ghetto... I think they're entertaining, just like the ladies on all the other RH cycles.... please feel free to leave a comment on your opinion of the show.............................................

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Got ZARA?!?

Yes Yes Yes!!! I am sooo excited about this. I just caught wind of some very fashion forward news. One of my favorite stores, Zara, will soon add an e-shopping option to their site. I live for online shopping and this is just going to make my web browsing days alot more interesting. The Zara website currently serves as a "Lookbook" and is a great way to stay informed on what you can expect to see hitting the chain stores in the near future. However, with the option to actually purchase what your heart desires right there on the site you can eliminate the frustration that comes with crowded fitting rooms and racks full of peices in every size but yours.

I must say that I am a bit jealous that the U.S. will be the last stop on this train but better late than never!

Stay tuned fashionistas!

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OMG Oprah!! really...

My girl Mocha is too funny!! Last night while she was watching Whitney's second interview with Oprah she called me telling me about how she thought that Oprah's right heel broke off her Christian Louboutins. I wasn't in front of a T.V. at the time so she sent this pic to my phone:

From the looks of this pic I agreed and was cracking up!!

But what's that about Oprah??? Why not just change the darn shoe!? She really rode it out through out the entire interview missing a heel.... yes, we all know that Oprah can afford shoes out the wha-zoo, and maybe she was so engrossed with the emotion of the interview that she could care less about one pair of red bottoms down the drain... but cameraman really!!! You couldn't find another angle or at least cut down on the feet shots lol...

Hey, if it works for Oprah I guess it works for me. Hilarious tho!!

Check out the 2nd part of the interview here:
From the very begininng of the below clip you can see that something funny is going on with her right heel.

I wasn't the only person Mocha shared this info with. She contacted one of our favorite bloggers Necole Bitchie and shared this lil tidbit with her too. Well, this morning as I'm doing my daily rounds from blog to blog catching up on the latest news of the day guess who's name I see on the most recent post on www.necolebitchie.com, YES!! my girl Mocha done blew Oprah up to millions. Harpo gone find you girl lmao!!


If you caught the interview please leave a comment and let me know what you think about Whitney's story and the progress she's made since those dark days............................................. Read more!

Remebering

Hey all! I just wanted to share some thoughts on the anniversary of one of the most horrific days in American history; Septerber 11, 2001. I have to be honest, at first I didn't really want to blog about 9/11. I actually tried to tip-toe around it for most of the day. I have the tendency to get extremely emotional and I didn't think that I was up to the tears and sorrow today. But then I thought about how many people lost and sacrificed their lives 8 years ago and I realized that remembering them and blogging about my memories of 9/11 is the absolute least that I could do in their honor.


I remember being a freshman at Howard University just getting myself together for class when this alarming news came on TV. A plane struck the twin towers...

None of us could believe these tragic events were really true. It was surreal watching everyone in Lower Manhattan run for cover, confused and amazed at what was happening right before their eyes. And as the first tower fell everyone was covered in a sheet of powdery ash. It was that visual image that symbolized just how unifying this day would become to us all. For a moment in time we stopped being black & white, rich & poor... we were all compassionate people genuinely concerned for each other's well being...


All my friends were already so emotionally fragile as it was. We were just beginning to accept the recent passing of our beloved Aaliyah. And then this mother load of all diasters hit us head on and we were all devastated by the inhumane actions that those cowardly few chose to carry out on this day 8 years ago.

And it only got worse!! As we were trying to cope with the madness on the TV screen reality came to meet us in D.C. as Flight 77 smashed into the Pentagon building only about 9 miles away from Campus. I remebered thinking were we next to get hit?
The smoke from the Pentagon was visible from our doorm windows and the fear and confusion grew stronger, smh!!





9/11 has not only physically reshaped our skyline but has psychologically reshaped our reality.

No matter what our city looks like, we will always remember the beautiful souls we lost that day. And because of their sacrifice we have to fight stronger to keep freedom and democracy alive. No nation should have to live in fear and I think because of 9/11 we try harder everyday to make sure we don't have to.

Now I know that there are many views on what the true cause of these attacks are. These are just my thoughts and opinions. I refuse to believe in a conspiracy theory that our government was behind 9/11. Yes, maybe there were signs that were ignored, and yes maybe there are facts that are kept from the general public but at the end of the day there were thousands of innocent hard working civilians and civil servants that we lost and today is a day for remebering and honoring them!


If you're interested to hear more, learn more, or observe more about 9/11 check out this site: www.allbonjovi.com/9-11/1.html
There are amazing testimonials of people who were actually in the Towers at the time of the attacks, as well as memorials from those who lost loved ones in the ordeal. It also gives detailed time breakdowns of the events of the day, the structure of the buildings and other interesting things.

Your light will always shine bright in our hearts!! R.I.P. to everyone we lost!

Please feel free to share your feelings and thoughts about the Tragic September 11th Terrorist Attacks on America.................................. Read more!

People kill me, we vote for change and then get scarred the minute Change actually begins to happen. All I hear are Republicans... excuse me... certain people talk about how great the US healthcare system is. Why does the quality of the system even matter if everyone does not have access to receive the care they need. It's like boasting of an education system that only teaches a few. Come to think of it we need to tackle that problem as soon as we come to a resolution on this Healthcare issue.

I just thought this video was touching and a REAL protrayal of what's going on in America and I wanted to share it with you all.


Please feel free to leave a comment regarding the Healthcare issue or what you think about this video................ Read more!

Weekend Outing: Labor Day 2009

Well... being the Trini to De' Bone that I am, of course I had a blast this weekend repping my beautiful island to the fullest for Labor Day Weekend. By the time the actual Labor Day Parade rolled around on Monday I was completely exhausted... so no, I didn't make it out to the Parkway. But I had so much fun taking part in all the festivities leading up to the big Parade.

I started my weekend of festivities by heading straight over to the Hookie Reunion Party @ club Venus. I saw lots of familiar faces from my junior high/high school days. It was the perfect warm-up to a long weekend.

Me & Alicia @ the Hookie Party:

Friday night I had a ball at Brass Fest: The hottest Soca artists of today performed: Machel Montano, Iwer George, Bunji Garlan & his wife Fay-Anne Lyons, KMC... etc.

The museum was packed!:

Don't mind the Blackberry pics ;) ....

Repping my set:

KMC:

Husband & Wife:
Iwer George (the wildest man in Soca)

and the main man himself, Machel Montano:

(pics courtesy of TriniSoca.com/not taken at this year's Brass fest)

Then on Saturday I headed to the Museum once again for Panorama. I can't lie I was extremely disappointed as the best band was cheated out of the #1 spot. CASYM Steel Orchestra were the true Champs this year but the judges gave it to, Sonatas. On the low, I heard there was alot of politics involved with this win, as many big-wigs flew in from Canada and Trinidad to play with the band. Hey, that's Trickidadians for you.

The true Champs (C.A.S.Y.M.):

I ran into my favorite boy in the Museum taking in the culture:

On Sunday night I went to Volume 2's afterparty to Amnesia (one of the best parties this weekend!)

My brother & I:

Lastly, after Volume 2, I stopped thru my girlfriend Aviance's baby shower held @ the Picnic House located in the middle of Prospect Park. The spot is beautiful and so was the mommy to be. Unfortunately I don't have pictures to share at this time because my friend Arlene is a Major procrastinator and hasn't sent them to me yet!! ugh! I'll update as soon as I can.

Overall I must say that this Labor Day Weekend was one of the best I've had in a long time. The weather was great, I hung out with family and close friends and it just feels really good to get in touch with you roots every now and again.

If you have anything to share about how you spent your Holiday weekend please leave a comment.................................

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