Lotus Flower Bomb.

This doesn't really need a lengthy blog post or a proper introduction. I like Wale. I like Miguel. I think that they're both underrated. And this song is absolute fire. DMV, stand up!


BTW, Wale's new album, "Ambition" drops on November 1st :)

Dear Mr. Ocean...

I just have one question: When are you dropping an album? In all of my time of being a music-head (about 24 years, to be exact), I don't think that I've ever seen an artist release/ leak so much music for free. And not just music, but hits. Flawlessly produced, relatable, witty tracks...FOR FREE....some even accompanied by music videos.

I mean...I understand that you wanted to create a buzz, but you're WAY past that now. People know who you are. We get it.

And by no means am I complaining, but I just need an album. I like bodies of work. Tracklists. Plastic CD cases filled with booklets. I like the pictures that separate the credits that were written in the smallest font ever. I like to see which songs you sample, who produces what, and which record label allowed their artist to be featured on your masterpiece. I don't know why I like to know which city the studios that people use are located in, but I think it's worthy information. I even like to read the Thanks Yous at the end (just in case you happen to thank somebody who has the same name as me.)

Plus, in my mind, if you have an album, you'll have a tour. And that's really all a music-head dreams for. To see live talent. To hear the instrumentation amplified so much that you can literally feel it in your chest.

Oh. And you can get paid for all that stuff.

Sincerely,
Leslie

P.S - Thanks for this "Best Seller" track.

Let me do you a "Favor"...

I love Solange. I think her musical style is so underrated. The "Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams" albums should have been wayyyy more successful for the simple fact that it was amazing. I guess people can't see past the fact that she's Beyonce's little sister. I feel like people have expectations for her that are too different from who she really is.

But anyway...I just stumbled across this "Favors" track and I absolutely love it. Apparently, it's not going to be on her upcoming album (which I've been waiting on forever...) but it's good to hear that she's back. 

"You know a girl like me don't come 'round everyday..."

Nobody's Perfect

Nobody's perfect. So, I'll admit that I was wrong about J. Cole. But see what happened was...I was introduced to him improperly. The very first thing that I heard about him was that he was "better than Drake." (And c'mon now...we all know that I'm not having that. I love my Drizzy Drake.) The real problem is that they should have never been compared. They're not the same kind of rapper and certainly not the same kind of artist. (And I'll admit that J. Cole is more lyrical.)

But back to the matter at hand, when I first heard about J. Cole...I randomly downloaded a few songs. And since those songs didn't prove that he was better than Drake (like I was told that he would be) I felt like the kid was overrated. And the next time that I listened to him was when "In The Morning" (featuring Drake) came out (which I listened to for obvious reasons lol). So I downloaded the Friday Night Lights mixtape...and I thought it was cool. "Premeditated Murder" got put on a repeat for a few days and then I moved on.

THEN...I heard this "Can't Get Enough" track. His flow on that is crazy. But NOTHING has impressed me more than this "Nobody's Perfect" track with Missy Elliot. I think it's literally the only song that I've listened to since I first heard it on Tuesday night. That beat knocks incredibly too hard in the whip. And Missy's hook? Sheeeesh.

Plus, anybody who knows me, know that I'm a fan of the rappers that sing a little bit. So when he ends the first verse with that raspy singy voice....it was over. I'm sold.

So...there it is. I was wrong about the kid. You can count me in as a J. Cole fan. Nobody's perfect ;)


"Nobody's Perfect" by J. Cole ft. Missy Elliot

Ray-J Vs. Fab....Nobody's gonna clown Floyd?

By now, everybody's heard Ray J's ridiculous hilarious rant. Subsequently, you probably also listened to Fab's logical response. But I feel like everybody is focusing on the wrong thing. When Fab was questioning why Ray J was playing the piano in Mayweather's crib, my first thought was, "What the hell made Floyd think that a Ray J concert in his crib would be fly?" It kinda baffles me that nobody else thinks that Floyd is to blame for all this LOL.

THEN...I stumbled across the youtube clip of the "concert" that Fab clowned (because I didn't see it when it originally aired on HBO)...and this made it even worse. Skip to about 1:28 into the video and PLEASE see how HYPE Mayweather is about Ray J singing "One Wish." He's clearly the biggest fan of Willie Norwood Jr.

In conclusion, Fab shouldn't have come at Ray J...he should have clowned Mayweather for being so proud of this "serious concert" (as Floyd called it.) And Ray J should have swung at Floyd for having him look like a fool on cable TV. But then again, he saw what happened to Ortiz. (I probably definitely would have chosen an easier target too!) LOL But I digress... As always, Les is more ;)

Verse Simmonds

I kinda like this dude. His voice isn't amazing, but with some good production and clever lyrics...I can rock with the kid. He's been out for awhile...but he dropped another mixtape recently that's worth listening to. Check out one of the tracks below.

I gotta tat your name on me?

That just sounds so backwards to me. We need to know it's real before I get your name put permanently anywhere. The track is dope though. The production is on a thousand trillion, as usual. "Yea, I told you that it's our world, and you’re foolish thinking I'm wrong..."

Dopeness.

I stumbled across these sisters on YouTube who do an amazing job of covering songs. Their mash-ups are insane...but this one is easily my favorite. (I bet you can't guess why...)

Yo Trey.

I'm not really a fan of this new rapper persona that he's created...or the fact that he clearly hasn't had a haircut in awhile...but Trey still looks amazing. Me and Dace peeped the twinkle in his eye a long time ago (which can be seen in the 1.5 seconds that he takes the shades off)...but either way...dude is too cute. I guess he's done dropping singles off of "Passion, Pain, & Pleasure"(and rightfully so...) but he's obviously still putting in work. I feel like both versions of "Oh My" didn't takeover as much as they could have...but the video is here for the remix...and I'm not mad about it: This J. Cole track has been on repeat all day. That hook is TOO contagious. Trey definitely got his "Nate Dogg" on for this one. Clap for the kid. "IIIIIII need that."

Guess Who's Bizzack?!

"I've been gone for a minute, now I'm back with the jumpoff!!" Just kidding...(about the jumpoff part...I am back though! lol)

I've been on a little hiatus from this blog, not because I don't love it, but because some other people did and asked me to start writing for them. (Who knew that anybody was even really reading this? LOL)

But anyway, that's what happened. And although it's cool writing for different blogs, it's not the same as doing your own thing. They tell you that you can write whatever you want, but honestly, it only makes sense to stay within the theme of their site.

So, I'm basically doing all this rambling to say that there's no place like home. Especially the home that you're the head of.

So I'm back. Let's get it.

(Oh and I reformatted it a little bit. I had to steal the purple cassette tape background from my tumblr because I honestly can't think of a better symbol for me. I mean...it's purple. And it's a cassette tape. Too easy.)

"I'mma try to swim from something...bigger than me."

frank ocean [swim good] from christopher francis ocean on Vimeo.

I'm just sayin... *Drizzy voice*

After all of the hype of "Marvin's Room" (by Drake) has finally died down and everybody and their mother got to put out a remix, I figured I'd dig a little deeper into one of the lines that stood out to me from the very first time that I heard the song: "I'm just sayin, you could do better."



(I'm just using these 2 versions because they're my favorites lol)

How often to do you see someone with a person who you think is below their standards (or below what you think they're standards should be?) And I'm not talking about physically incompatible...I'm talking about when you know someone who is amazing. They're ambitious and intelligent. Funny, reliable, and honest. They're the kind of person that you can bring around your friends and have a great time...but respectable enough to introduce to your family. They're the kind of person who's easy to be around (which I think is the quality that gives them so much access to all these people who aren't, in my opinion, really deserving of their time).

This person is the same one who will end up with the girl/guy who isn't as smart and ambitious as they are. In fact, they end up with people who seem to lack many of the great qualities that you would hope any person would possess. It's kind of mind-boggling to me. I understand that opposites may attract but...damn.

Before I go on, let me clarify that I'm not talking about jealousy and haters here. I'm not talking about the scenario when you wanted somebody and they didn't want you, so now you're trying to find everything wrong with their new boo simply because you're a hater. I'm talking about situations like this girl that I know who's working on her PhD and married (yes, MARRIED) a guy who's working on his GED and they're the same age. (And if they had kids, I could see how this could happen, but they don't.) So, it's not just my opinion that she could do better, it's damn near a societal fact. And by no means, am I knocking anyone who has a GED. It's just that the disparity between a GED and PhD is drastic.

So, how do people get into these predicaments where they end up with people who aren't seemingly worthy of their time?

I don't know the answer to that question. There are too many outliers and mitigating factors to come up with a general answer to that. But the most important word in that question is "seemingly".

This whole thing is about perception. If I've looked at someone and thought, "I'm just saying, you could do better"...in my opinion, it either means that I think more highly of you than you do of yourself…OR…I’ve been misinformed about who you really are and what you want out of life and your relationships. I’m just not sure which explanation is more plausible. Either way, it's disappointing...and kind of confusing.

How could a person value certain qualities for his/herself but not value those qualities in their partner? For example, with the PhD/GED couple, she CLEARLY values education and understands it's importance to her career. So how could she MARRY somebody who obviously doesn't value that? And I understand that he could be the best person in world, with or without his GED...but come on.

And how do you tell someone that the person that they're with is a waste of life without sounding like a hater? What is it about these "undeserving" characters that make them good enough for the people that we think so highly of? Maybe the knowledge of self-worth is really the issue here?

It's an interesting topic. I don't think that everyone should be with people who are exactly like them, but people are better together if they can compliment each other. I believe that's true for any type of relationship or friendship.

Or maybe I'm completely wrong. Maybe everyone is deserving of whoever they have or don't have. I guess if they really needed more, they'd want more from their partner, right?

I just think that everyone deserves to be in a situation that's mutually beneficial. But if you're not, "I'm just sayin, you could do better."

As always,

Les Is More ;)