Class Video

This is just a video that I put together for a convergence project for my journalism class. Just figured I would share it, since I put it all together myself, including, filming, editing, voiceovers, the works. So check it out, I'm pretty happy with the product.

MIMS: Guilt Album Review

After seeing the video for Move (if you wanna)," the first single off of MIMS sophomore album Guilt, my interest grew a litte bit. Before hearing that song and seeing the video, all I really knew of MIMS were his hit song "This is why I'm Hot" and another song that got less attention, "Like This." Both songs were two huge examples of why mainstream hiphop has been going downhill and the main reason why MIMS got so many people calling him a ringtone rapper. I was one of those people and thought nothing of the East Coast rapper. In fact, if it weren't for that video, I probably never would have even gave the album a chance. However since "Move" had gotten my attnetion I figured I would check it out.

Before really listening to the album, I decided I would check to see the buzz around the album and see what people were saying. What I found was pretty interesting. At HipHopDX.com, a site I visit pretty much everyday, I read a review absolutely destroying the album, saying that it showed no growth and was just another flop of an album. Read the review here: (http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/reviews/id.1151/title.mims-guilt) However, on the other hand, I looked at itunes to read the reviews that listeners had posted and what do I find? A cumulative rating of 4/5 stars out of about 170 total people. I sit at my laptop and write this review to give you the deciding vote and tell you this: In my opinion, hiphopdx's review is very wrong in many many ways. I believe that this album was actually a pretty solid step forward for MIMS and with the occastional bad song, find it to be a good album with energy and variety. Let me tell you why.

The first track takes on the same title as the album itself: Guilt. The reason MIMS chose this as his title is because guilt is exactly what he is feeling. He explains in this song his view about what happened and why his first album rightfully got so much criticism. He discusses through witty comparisons how he really got caught up in the whole "rap game" and the success that came with it. The song talks about how he is guilty of lovin' the cars, clothes and money that his rap success brought and as a result, he ended up making pretty terrible music. These material possessions blinded him and caused him and his large ego to make songs like "This is Why I'm Hot," which had absolutely nothing new or innovative to offer to the already slumping rap industry. He also adds he is still extremely thankful for the things that he has and the gifts he has been given. Overall, it is a good intro to set the mood and explain the basic concept of the album.

Moving onto two of the more hyped songs off the album, "Move(If you wanna)" and "Rock 'N Rollin'." "Move" is the first single that was realeased a while ago. MIMS brings a solid lyrical performance through a short winded methodical flow. With the deep bass banging in the background the entire song, MIMS raps over a more low key beat one minute, and explodes into a louder high energy drum break the next. This combination along with lines like
"I don't undrestand how can I have so many ha-ters Knowin I'm there father like my name is Darth Va-der I can get you hemmed up while I'm bein tay-lored Then I slide off to the side like a fa-der"
make for a sick song. The song "Rock 'N Rollin" got a lot of hype because of the appearance of KC native Tech N9ne. On itunes I literally saw multiple comments saying they bought the CD purely for the appearance of Tech N9ne. The duo don't disappoint bringing a concept similar to GZA's "Labels" in which they string dozens of rock 'n roll band names through clever lines over a dark beat with a demonic like chorus. Tech N9ne does overshadow MIMS a little bit purely because his uptempo verse sounds better than MIMS who raps pretty slowly(almost like he's talking) the whole song.

Contrary to what DX, writes in their review, I was very impressed by the song, "One Last Kiss." I thought the song was a breath of fresh air with the mixture of an alternative style song combined with a synthesizer to set up a heart felt song from MIMS discussing how much he misses his mother and how he just wants to spend more time with her. I dont really see how DX could say that this was a "straight pop record that falls flat," unless they didn't actually listen to the lyrics.

Some more songs that I enjoyed off the album were "On and On," "Chasing Sunshine," "Love Rollercoaster" and "I Do." "Chasing Sunshine" gets the point accross that he was distracted from his girl by his success, and that he has realized he can have all of the cars money and material things, but without her, he can't be happy. "On and On" has a tight beat to express some more of his feelings about his guilt and how he has changed. Saying "talking bread every verse he gets/talking about head every verse he spits/But that ain’t him man, that ain’t MIMS man," Mims tries to show that he realized his faults and knows he needs to fix them. "Love Rollercoaster" featuring LeToya Luckett will probably be the next single off the album, as it is a typical song about strife between him and his girl over a simple beat and melody. "I Do" is a song made for specifically for couples. Over this catchy piano based beat, MIMS uses the marriage term "I Do" to convey the message that relationships can be difficult, but they can work out if they are meant to.

Of the remaining songs, "One Day," "Makin Money," "Be My Hustla," "In My Life," and "Heal Me," I really wasn't feelin' "Be My Hustla (its the same mainstream bs)," "One Day(didn't really enjoy the flow or the appearance by Ky-Mani Marley)" and "In My Life(just wasn't feelin it)." "Makin Money" I really like the beat and he has some tight metaphors, but the chorus is kind of annoying and it is the opposite of his album concept. "Heal me" is kinda slow, but is very solid lyrically.

Overall I believe the album is a very big step up for MIMS and I applaude him for realizing his flaws and making an effort to fix them. He has shown me growth and maturity in this album (with the exception of a few songs), and I largely disagree with HipHopDX's review. He stepped his game up lyrically and put them on a lot of catchy beats to make for an overall great listening experience that will bang in your headphones. I'll give him somewhere around a 7 or 8/10 stars. If he makes this much of an improvement for his next album, it should be a great one. Keep it up Shawn Mims Jr.

Barbecue Beef

After saving 3 lives today by giving a pint of my very own blood, I came back to my apartment pretty hungry. As I rifled through my cabinets looking for an idea for dinner, I began to realize I really didn't have much more than pasta, cereal, peanut butter, and ritz crackers. Then I found a pound of ground beef that I had forgetten about in my freezer and decided I could make somethin relatively easy and quick with that. That something turned out to be a very easy version of "barbecue beef." All I did was brown the beef in the pan, get rid of the excess grease and then add some barbecue sauce, ketchup, mustard, and a little bit of hot sauce. Use a majority of hot sauce, but then lesser amounts of the ketchup and mustard. It makes a pretty tasty sloppy joe style beef to put on some hamburger buns and takes relataively no effort whatsoever. Try it out!

Ask A Bodyguard

This is just somethin i had to post...Its hilarious and I miss rob and big

Tiger Tiger Woods Ya'll

Next on the list: Tiger
Fresh off of his return to the links after an operation to surgically repair his knee, Tiger Woods returned to the Bay Hill Country Club looking to defend 2008's victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Going into this tournament, there were two moments absolutely burned into everybody's memory from all of the video playbacks. #1 was of course Tiger's improbable, yet expected victory at the U.S. Open in 2008 where he came back to force a playoff against Rocco Mediate and eventually took his 14th major title in sudden death. #2 was the constant replay of Tiger sinking the tournament winning 24-foot putt on the 72nd hole at last years Arnold Palmer Invitational. With one of the great golf legends commentating a lot of the tournament, Tiger got off to a decent start. After shooting a two under 68 the first round, he was sitting 3 strokes back of the leader. In the second and third rounds, Woods shot a 69, and 71. While this was not bad, the rest of the field was starting to leave him behind. At one point Sean O'Hair was -9 somewhere in the middle of the 3rd round. After 3rd round play had concluded, Tiger saw himself staring at a 5 stroke deficit. While comebacks were nothing new to Woods, a 5 stroke comeback would tie for his largest margin ever in his career. In order for him to win it, he would need a great round and maybe a little luck...He had both. Now, going into a final round, most people would think making up 5 strokes in 18 holes would probably be out of the question. However, this was Tiger Woods we were talking about. So, pretty much everybody just expected a full and complete Tiger comeback, like always. I even found myself and my roommates saying, "nah, he's fine, he's got this," like 5 strokes was not a big deal. Well, let me tell you from experience golfing that five strokes IS A HUGE deal. As I said before, Woods would have to play solid and maybe need some luck. Well, that "luck" came from a man by the name of Sean O'Hair. I'm not talking about Woods getting luck from a ball getting a crazy good bounce or a ball sinking into the cup from 160 yards out. I am talking about a meltdown from fellow United States golfer Sean O'Hair. After shooting a very nice 67 in the first round and a ridiculous 65 in the second, O'Hair was sitting nicely above the rest of the field. However, the troubles began in the 3rd round for the 26 year old Texas native. After having just 2 bogey's in all of the first two rounds, O'Hair collected two bogey's in the front nine of the 3rd round alone. On the back nine, Sean looked like he was back on track birdying 3 of the first 4 holes, but went on to bogey 3 of the last 4 holes to end at a +1 71 round on the day. While he had some struggles, he still was atop the leaderboard. Unfortunately for Sean, with Tiger in the field, that means nothing. With Tiger lurking behind him, Sean shot a dismal 73 (comparably) making 4 bogey's and just one birdie. Sean's collapse could be attributed to many things...
1. conditions (i hear they were pretty terrible the final round),
- but everybody had those conditions too
2. getting more tired in the final rounds after playing so much golf
-wait thats not an excuse you are a god damn professional golfer, man up sir
3. He was just having an off day on the final round
-though this is very possible in golf, he is still a professional, so if this is the truth, more than likely its his fault
4. The final reason is what I truley believe is what did O'Hair in...Tiger Woods was playing with him, in his group, with all of America watching, waiting, expecting something spectacular to happen. No matter how big of a lead you have, that is a hell of a lot of pressure. With golf being probably the most mental sport there is, this is just the thing that can get into your head and change the game completely. After making a bogey on 17 to give Tiger the lead, Sean lucked out when Tiger bogeyed himself on the 17th to set up a tie going into the 18th hole. Sean didn't stand a chance. This is the stage that Tiger is built for. He has been there so many times, I doubt it even fazes him anymore. It is probably comparable to putting a ball into a coffee mug in the office for you. Like everybody knew he would Tiger sunk his 12 foot birdie putt after O'Hair missed his, allowing us to witness yet another Tiger fist pump. To be honest, I don't even know how people go up against this guy. It is hard to believe that they truley believe they have a legitimate chance at beating him, but that's just me. As for now, I will just be waiting until his next 18th hole putt to win yet another miraculous comeback. I think its safe to say that he will be on his game at the Masters.

Dust off those Dirt Cleats

I was checkin out my blog and realized somethin pretty important: There really is nothing sports oriented on here yet, which is one of the main problems I created the blog in the first place. I think its about time that I discussed some topics I think are fairly important and relevant at this point in time.



CUBS UPDATE:

I'd first like to discuss the conclusion to the Closer battle that has ensued this spring between Kevin Gregg and Carlos Marmol. After letting last year's All-Star closer Kerry Wood get away to the Indians (along with Mark DeRosa...still pissed about those two) the Cubs went out and picked up 30 year old Right handed pitcher Kevin Gregg, who saved 29 games for the lowely Florida Marlins last year. This made for a competition between him and 26 year old Marmol, who was the dominant setup man for the Cubs last year. With Marmol's blistering heat and extremely high strikeout rate last year, a lot of people thought it would be a no brainer to put the Dominican Republic native in the closer slot. However while Marmol was busy being just mediocre in the World Baseball Classic, Gregg was crusing through spring training and hasn't givin up a run the entire preseason. So, when it came to decision time, Gregg was the clear choice, at least for the beginning of the season. Gregg looked very comfortable in the closer position last year, and will begin this season with his new team the same way.

Hip-Hop Woodstock

Hip-Hop Woodstock

When people think of large music festivals, names like Bonnaroo, Woodstock, and Rothbury come to mind. These are all multiple day celebrations of tens of artists, where people can escape the real world and relax and have a good time surrounded by music and people they love. These enormous parties play host to hundreds of thousands of people who are just looking to drink, smoke, and listen to music. While these festivals have a wide array of great artists (Rothbury 2008 quite possibly had one of the bets lineups last year including, Snoop Dogg, 311, Dave Matthews, Citizen Cope, Atmosphere, Modest Mouth, and many many many more), if you are looking for a great Hip-Hop focused festival look no further than The Roots' Picnic in Philadelphia. Last year The Roots assembled a solid lineup including themselves, Gnarls Barkley, Santigold, and Diplo, but this year the lineup is Stacked. The scheduled performers for this year's concert includes The Roots, PUBLIC ENEMY, The black keys, ASHER ROTH, KID CUDI, Santigold, and the Antibalas. When I saw this I was tempted to go online and buy a ticket that second. The lineup has a mix of everything, whether it is old school hiphop, up and coming artists, live bands, or one of the truest MCs in the game. This is the second year the The Legendary have put this concert together and I hope they continue to do it for many years to come. The presale is going on right now and you can get 5 dollars off. Here is the link:

http://www.okayplayer.com/rootspicnic/

Now, one of the reasons I came accross this lineup is also in part becasue of Jimmy Fallon's excuse for a late night show. Once again (after bringing Luda to his show for a sick tandem with The Roots), Jimmy Fallon's entire show was trumped by the geusts. On this night, he brought in Public Enemy, yes Flavor Flav, Chuck D and the whole crew, to perform "Bring the Noise" for a collaboration of epic proportions. Black Thought also had a verse to further mix one of the most influential hip-hop groups with one of the most "Legendary" crews today. The live band mixed with the old school feel made for a hell of a performance. Check out the video below and see for yourself

Bring The Noise

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

bangginn beatsss

Here are some links to some new songs by artists worthy of interest:

Rhymefest Feat. Queen Latifah: Goin' In

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/audio/id.7039/title.rhymefest-f-queen-latifah-goin-in

Wale Feat. Curren$y & Tre of UCB: Word play off of Back to the Feature

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/audio/id.7047/title.wale-f-curren-y-tre-of-ucb-word-play

Young Chris Feat. Wale, Bun B and Quest: Searching Remix

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/audio/id.7046/title.young-chris-f-wale-bun-b-quest-searching-rmx

Classified Feat. Royce Da 5"9' and B.O.B.: They Call This (Hip-Hop)

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/audio/id.7041/title.classified-f-royce-da-59-b-o-b-they-call-this-hip-hop

Slaughterhouse (Crooked I, Joe Budden, Ryce Da 5'9" and Joell Ortiz) Wack MCs

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/audio/id.7026/title.slaughterhouse-crooked-i-joe-budden-royce-da-59-joell-ortiz-wack-mcs

B.O.B aka Bobby Ray - Mr. Bobby

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/audio/id.7033/title.b-o-b-aka-bobby-ray-mr-bobby

Asher Roth - Lark on My Go-Kart

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/audio/id.7034/title.asher-roth-lark-on-my-go-kart

This group of new realeases has a wide array of artists. Whether it is The Queen outdoing Rhymefest on their song, Some Leaks of of albums from Ash Roth and Wale, or B.O.B. popping up again to make some solid new music under a new name Bobby Ray. Its also got some stuff from the Slaughterhouse group who I recently have realized spit some real good lines. I'm glad to see Asher has put up some better stuff too. Hopefully this will help shut up the people talkin shit about him until his album comes out and they see what he's really made of.
Also, Wale released so far that his album will be called Attention: Deficit and that his mixtape Back to the Feature will be coming out April 29th....too long to wait!

Opening Statements

Opening Statements

Here are a few things that are on my mind...

1. If you haven't picked up K'naan's new album, you probably should. Its got quite a few good songs on it and its somethin new with a raggae style added to hip-hop. (Not raggaeton) Its a good summer album.

2. Look for Saigon's release Tuesday. He is putting out an album with Amalgam Digital that is produced by Statik Selektah. They worked on it, produced it, and finished it all in 24 hours so that adds a cool element to the music. I have already heard "The Rules" and "So Cruel" and "My Crew" out of the 11 track playlist and they were all hot. Be sure to check that out tomorrow.

3. Don't ever watch For the love of Ray-J on MTV or VH1 whatever it is. He may have put out a couple good songs for the ladies but thats it. He is a manwhore and this show is crap.

4. CunninLynguists just put out a song "Don't Leave" called featuring Slug of Atmosphere and its fire. The song will be off of their upcoming Album Strange Journey Volume 1. They also have already put out the song "Never Come Down" and realeased the video. This song has a bunch of great one-liners and from what I've heard its a great song to get high too, which would make sense since it is all about that in the first place.

5. Also, Don't forget about Wale releasing the title of his album tonight I believe at 5 o'clock. If you want to make sure you see it first..check out his twitter...follow him at Waledc

Great Steak

So about 3 weeks ago my parents came down to visit me at Mizzou. When they arrived I not only got the joy of seeing my family for the first time in a month , but I also was met by my dad with a brand new 22" Weber Silver Charcoal Grill. With the weather starting to get better and after talking about buying a grill with my roommates, few things could have made us happier. Since then I been practicing and have learned how to properly set up the grill and charcoal and get it to a good temperature for cooking anything. With Jordan's friend Colin coming in this weekend and the temperature gettin up to a nice 60 degrees, it was a perfect day to grill. I decided to cook a pork filet and a sirloin steak and they both turned out great. I really did not even marinade the meat that long. Only about 20 minutes I defrosted the meat and put it in a small metal pan to mix with the seasonings. Here's what I put in: (btw, I don't really measure, I just kind of put stuff in and see how it tastes...usually it works out pretty well)

-Salt and Pepper
-Balsamic Vinegar
-Red wine vinegar
-Powdered mustard
-Extra virgin olive oil
-Garlic powder
-Dried red pepper flakes
-and a little bit of Brown sugar

I think that's it. I just let the meat sit in that for about 20 minutes before grilling and brushed it on while it was grilling as well. In addition I sauteed/carmelized some sweet onions to put on top of the steak and on burgers as well. Here is what I put in the onions:

-started cooking in margarine
(for the rest of the ingredients I put about a tablespoon of each)
-Green Tabasco Hot sauce
-Balsamic Vinegar
-Cooking sherry
-Brown Sugar
-Garlic Powder
-and some olive oil.

If you just mix that up with a fork or wisk and slowly ad this sauce to the onions to carmelize/sautee them at a medium-low heat they will become a nice golden brown color. I put this on steak and my friends put this on their burgers and it was delicious on both. It has a bit of spice to it but not too bad. I actually found the recipe for these onions after watching a "Build a Better Burger" show on Foodnetwork. All of the burgers looked amazing and I plan on tryin some of them out myself. If I do I will definitely update and let you know how it is. Until then, here site of the recipes.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food-network-challenge/challenge-build-a-better-burger/index.html

I hope you try the steak recipe and enjoy it. Let me know what you think.
Peace.

Centsports: My Legal gambling addiction

For years now I have been placing small bets on sports. It first started out in middle school when I would be sitting at the lunch table watching the March Madness NCAA tournament and I would bet a meaningless $1 with one of my friends. That one bet began to grow into multiple bets throughout the tournament. I had to start writing down all the bets on a peice of notebook paper just to keep track of who I had bet with. When I got a bit older I began to get into pools. The first pool I was in was of course a march madness pool for 5 bucks. After I won a couple of those I began to start into some other sports. (all while starting to play texas hold em poker online and at my house about every weekend). I got into a baseball homerun derby pool and a college football bowl pool as well. I have still yet to crack the money on the homerun derby pool(which is a 10 buck entry) but I get another chance comin up here soon. As for the Bowl pool...lets just say i have had some success. About 4 years ago I won the pool and got about 400 bucks for that. THen the next year I got 2nd place and got another 200. All of this is just to show how I have gotten into gambling on sports and how much I love it. It makes the games more intense, more exciting and they matter more. That's why i love the site CentSports.com so much. THe site is sponsored by their advertsiements so you never have to put in any of your real money. They give you .10 cents automatically and you can bet on just about everything, whether it is nascar, hockey or college sports. Now, even games like Cornell vs. Dartmouth can matter! haha...a game which should never be cared about no matter what the circumstance. So you can bet on the games and win more money. If you accumulate more than 20 dollers then you can try to cash out. Some people have had so much success on the site they have about $900! After that you can cash out and get real money. The best part is if you lose, they just give you ten more cents! So you never go into the negative, its not your real money, but you have the chance to win real money. How much better could it get? So check it out see what you think and start winnin some money. Use this link and we can become "Cronies."

http://www.centsports.com/?opcode=360937

Peace

Tony

Top Upcoming Hip-Hop Artists

Top Upcoming Hip-Hop Artists

Here are a list of a few upcoming artists that have the potential to become the next big things on the hip-hop scene.
1. Wale
This DC kid has got the most ridiculous wordplay and lyrical talent I have ever seen. He puts things into songs that nobody but him would ever think of. His only current single out is Nike Boots but he has much more music out there than that. He has 4 mixtapes....2 which are lesser recognized. His first was "Paint a Picture," then "Hate is the New Love," then "100 Miles and Running," and his latest "Mixtape About Nothing," which was brilliant. He is currently working on his 5th mixtape "Back to the Feature" and his new album. How could you not love this dude with lines like...
"young Ben Gordon, I play through all the bullshit"
"and you all mike Phelps, I can take you out the game and that medal won't help."
"I'll make a youngin' see like beta carotene"
or "Some good rappers ain't eatin' they olsen twinin'"

It just doenst get better than that! Here are some links to check him out..
http://10deep.com/WALEMIXTAPE/
http://www.getrightmusic.com/2008/01/11/wale-100-miles-running/

Btw..his album is supposedly droppin' this summer

2. Kid Cudi
This cleveland native caught my eye, not because of his lyrics, but of his fresh style. His sound is somethin you haven't really heard in Hip-Hop and it's good to hear somethin new. In his songs he often sings instead of really rapping, but definitely makes it work. His single Day N' Nite, which is about everyday things people can relate to, hit the charts and became a huge hit. His upcoming single "The Sky Might Fall" is off his upcoming album "Man on the Moon" and has nice chill flow. He currently has a mixtape "A kid named Cudi" out right now. Here's the link to get that:

http://10deep.com/KIDCUDIMIXTAPE/

3. B.O.B.
I haven't heard much from him lately but the content that he has put out so far has been solid. I like his style and he has a fun flow on his songs. I heard the song "Don't Break My Heart" from his new album, on which he samples "build me up buttercup" and loved it. However, its hard to find because they locked it back up after they leaked it. He also has a single out "Autotune" makeing fun of the device and it is hilarious. Check out his mixtapes and see what you think...

http://www.bobatl.com/category/mixtapes/
http://2dopeboyz.com/2008/11/16/bob-dj-scream-who-the-fk-is-bob-mixtape/

4. Jay Electronica
Pretty much the only reason I got introduced to this dude was because he was the opener for a NAS and Talib Kweli show. Let me tell you though...I was blown away by his 10-15 minute slot. His emphasis wasn't on the music behind him, but it didn't need to be. His lyrics are sick and he has a ton of talent. Look for him in the future. Here is his myspace and an article about him...there really isnt that much content on him on the web.
http://www.myspace.com/jayelect
http://www.urb.com/features/858/JayElectronicaASpotlessMind.php

5. Drake
My fellow blogger recently turned me onto this guy. He saw him open for a show for Lil' Wayne. Apparently he is one of weezy's proteges or somethin. Either way hes got some talent. Sort of like Cudi, this guy has a lot of songs where he sings as well as raps, but he has a great voice. When he does rip it though, its worth waiting for.... mixtape link:

http://2dopeboyz.com/2009/02/13/drake-so-far-gone-mixtape/

6. Saigon
To Be honest I really haven't heard a ton of stuff from this guy, that's why he's lower on the list, but what I have heard I have absolutely Loved. I have heard a few songs on hiphopdx and they have been pretty tight. He is featured in the song "Criminal" off of The Roots' latest album Rising Down. A lot of people also know him from Entourage, on which he was the unkonwn talent that Turtle signed. Here are some of his songs and a mixtape

http://www.getrightmusic.com/2007/06/17/saigon-belly-of-the-beast-the-scram-jones-files/
This song is sick:
www.hiphopdx.com/index/audio/id.6500/title.saigon-trans-atlantic-slave-deal

and this ones good too:
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/audio/id.6743/title.saigon-the-rules


7. Asher Rother
Jordan has already written about this dude on the blog, and it wasn't exactly a good post. Like Jordan said, he has put out some shit lately, however we see some potential in the guy. The single "I love college" is purely a track made for becoming top 10 on Itunes, which it did. Even is mixtape is has a pretty goofy and joking tone, but it definitely has some lyrical content. some lines he has:

"Spittin' Lincecum Hell yea I got a CANNON"
rapping bout doing cartoons: "Do Beauty with Beast: Eiffel Tower"
"does her bra size have to be a D at least, or can it be decreased if she real up on the beat"
"you would think that there was 2 of me, or like 10 of me, i have a tendency, as edison inventive with a pen and a sentence"

http://www.thedailykush.com/

Some of my favorite tracks on the tape are "The Lounge" "Cannon" "Cartoon Chick" and "The Sun God Free" ....give those a listen let us know what you think

Vegan Stuffed Peppers

When I met my girlfriend, she was a vegetarian. I had no problem with this and actually thought it might be interesting to find out a little more about it. I had no clue the kinds of things i would find out. In this past summer, she turned vegan so she no longer eats and animal products at all. Now personally I love to cook. However, I had never cooked anything vegan! I saw this as an opportunity to start trying some new foods and other new recipes. Earlier in the school year I cooked her some vegan stroganoff which which used portabella mushrooms as the "meat" of the meal. It turned out pretty good, and she liked it so I was happy. When this year's valentines day came up, I thought about taking her out to dinner, but instead of waiting somewhere to pay for a limited selection of vegan items, I figured I would make her something again. I surprised her with some Veganized stuffed peppers and a spinach salad with a raspberry walnut vinigarette on the side. Now, I had had my parents stuffed peppers with ground beef and rice with a tomato sauce. This was a bit different. Here is the link to the recipe:

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishentreerecipes/r/RisottoPeppers.htm

The peppers have a good flavor from being baked with the garlic powder/olive oil/salt mixture and the stuffing has a very good flavor. The rice absorbs the white wine and vegetable broth and also gets the seasoning from the sauteed onions and mushrooms giving it a nice warm not too salty flavor.

Also, I found that some sundried tomatoes with garlic powder and olive oil baked on the pan as well are a nice compliment

I would definitely recommend this recipe to any vegan and to anybody just looking for something new as well. I look forward to trying many new vegetarian and vegan alternatives.

Is the Old T.I. Really Dead and Gone?

Is He For Real?

If you are reading this blog, then I'm sure you know who T.I. is. You probably also know that he is currently is a bunch of legal trouble and has been in the past as well. In recent interviews, stories, and also portrayed in his latest album Paper Trail, T.I. has said that he has learned from his mistakes, understands what he has done wrong and will be a better person because of it. My question to everyone is: Do you believe him?

T.I.'s legal problems began in 1998 when he was convicted for problems dealing with a state controlled substances act and for giving false information. This was when he was put on probation. From then till 2006 T.I. was charged with numerous crimes for things such as possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana. In 2007, T.I. was hit with his biggest arrest just hours before the BET Hip-Hop awards (a show he was supposed to perform at). He was charged with two felonies: possession of three unregistered machine guns and two silencers and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. T.I. was hit with a $3 million bond and was required to be confined to his home until sentencing. In early 2008 T.I. pleaded guilty to the court for federal weapons charges. He will begin his year sentence in jail in March 2009 after completing the sentenced 1,000 hours of community service.

During the past year or so, T.I. has made some public efforts in attempt to show that he has become a better person because of his past and this will all be a changing experience for him. One of these includes his 6th and most recent solo album, Paper Trail. There are a couple particular songs I'd like to discuss. 1st is "Ready for Whatever." In this song, Clifford tries to explain why he had the firearms in the first place. In addition to having a pretty smooth beat, the song offers some insight into his thought process and why he had the guns in the first place. According to TIP, he feels all sorts of pressure mentally worrying about his life and his security. After seeing his partner and best friend Philant Johnson, he felt like it was absolutely necessary to be "ready for whatever" and to protect himself in a manner he thought necessary: with guns. He adds that he spends about $500,000 on security to insure that nothing happens to him. While he says, "But I'm wrong and I know it, my excuse is unimportant," the rest of the song gives you the vibe that he is doing exactly that: giving excuses. He says that he didn't break the law maliciously (aka along the lines of robbing or killing somebody), which may be true, but does it really matter? He still committed felonies, and while he may be in more danger than the average person, does this make it right? He also adds the lines about "father to my son, asset to my community" which is there to sympathize more with him. What all of this sounds like to me is that he knows he is doing something wrong and flat out doesn't give a shit. He knows he was wrong but did it anyway in his own self interest. Is that $500k on security still not enough?

The second song I'd like to discuss is "Dead and Gone," which has recently shot up the charts after a great performance with Justin Timberlake at the Grammy's. In the first verse of the song Harris discusses some ordinary occurances in the hood. He talks about people gettin' shot becasue of nothing more than their Pride. He says it happens becasue of gangs, money and drugs, and talks about how you could get shot and die anyday. He ends all of the verses with these lines: "No more stress, now I'm straight, now i get it now I take, Time to think, before I make mistakes just for my family's sake, that part of me left yesterday the heart of me is strong today, no regrets I'm blessed to say the old me dead and gone away." And this is exactly what I'm writing about. These lines seem pretty sincere. He is getting older and is possibly realizing that it's time to put away the more rough side of himself (T.I.P) for good and get used to the life of T.I. as a business man and family man.

He certainly is starting to put out that image. He currently has a show on MTV called T.I.'s Road to Redemption, where he is helping younger gangbangers and kids in the hood. He is trying to get them out of that lifestyle at a younger age and steer them in a direction that will better their future. While the couple of episodes I have seen do seem a little fake, that could just be becasue it is on MTV and its a TV show. Above all, he is doing something good to help kids who could use a rolemodel like him to show them that there is a better way of living and doing things.

Though it seems that he has turned the corner and made a decision to live a better life, I just don't see his attitude changing that much. He felt that he needed the guns to live before, so how is that going to change from being in jail for a year. I would like to believe that he won't have anymore problems after he gets out of the cell, but I just don't see it happening. To be honest, if it keeps him making more albums like Paper Trail, and he isn't causing anybody real harm, let him do it. Cause no matter what, he's gonna do whatever he likes.

Whats Up

How's it goin everybody? My name is Tony and I am just starting up this blog. I have blogged on a few other sites before, but I figured I would start my own on here. I am currently a Sophomore at Mizzou and I love every minute here. I am studying to be a magazine journalist so I can write about Sports, music (especially hip-hop) and food/cooking: some of my favorite things. That's also what I will be writing about on here. Whatever mood I am in I will either write about sports, music, or food...so I hope you like all those things. If you have a request about something you want to hear about just let me know and I'll do my best to give you my view on the subject. Thanks and I hope you guys like the site.