Mos Def-Kalifornia

-Tight Mos Def song I just learned about. Shout out to Brittany Ferguson.

Snoop Dogg-I Wanna Rock

-New single off his upcoming album Malice in Wonderland. Produced by Scoop Deville.

Fabolous - Pachanga

-Normal.

-Chopped and Screwed.

Dunk of the Mother Fuckin Century

-Somebody get Anderson Varejao a tissue. D-Wade just hurt this niggaz feelings...

Drake ft. Colin Munroe - Material Girl

-New Drake, good shit.

Blac Roq Project Webisode

-Week 5 of the project. The collaborating of a song featuring The Black Keys, Nikki Wray and Jim Jones.

Massive Attack-United Snakes

-tight video.

Jay Electronica-Exhibit C

-Some new 2009 ish from the Underground New Orleans King.

Len Chandler-Beans in my ears

-early 60's throwback. Nice catchy lil tune I heard tonight while watching Bill Cosby win the 2009 Mark Twain award...

Nosaj Thing Visual Show

-practicing for a live show with Julia from fair--enough.com. cool shit.

Nosaj Thing Visual Show Compilation Test Shoot from Adam Guzman on Vimeo.

BET Hip Hop Awards 2009 Cypher

-Cypher at the BET Hip Hop Awards last night featuring Mos Def, Black Thought & Eminem. They all ripped it!

The Mo'Nique Show

-New late night talk show on BET, I like the rawness of it. The interviews and communication between the host and the guests seems very geniuine and real. Here are two interviews I liked watching:

Mike Epps:

Mike Epps TMS Int

Chuck D:

Chuck D TMS Int

Motives and Thoughts

Motives and Thoughts by Lauryn Hill

Rotating bodies, confusion of sound.
Negative imagery, holding us down.
Social delusion, clearly constructed.
Human condition, morals corrupted.

Trapped in reaction, lawlessness war.
Dissatisfaction from bowels to core.
Devils technologies strategy for-
Human mythologies, urban folklore.

Sicker psychology, counterfeit cure.
Wicked theology, robbing the poor.
Schemed demonology, mislead the pure.
Stricter strategically, studying war.

Lights shown in darkness, image exposed.
Few can see through the new emperors clothes.
Lustful this hustle turns humans to hoes.
When the blind lead the blind, it’s just more troubles and woes.
But it’s the mind that THEY chose, its designed to stay closed.

Standards of jokers, court gesture logic.
Cyclic and cosmic, from schoolyard to college.
Primitive man and his “civilized” knowledge.
System collapsed and he still wont acknowledge.

God is the savior, studies behavior.
Trying to fix the mixed mind that he gave ya.
Stiff necked scholars on prescription meds,
Wishing their problems were all in their heads.

Moral dilemma, pride at the root.
Misguided from youth, heart divided from truth.
Egyptians and Grecians, spiritually dead.
Imperially led by the gods in their heads.

Motives and thoughts, industrial wealth.
Global economy, in it for self.
Heart full of madness, covered with kind.
Pleasure designed to take over your mind.

Furnished in godliness, painted in good.
This tainted priesthood’s got real saints misunderstood.
While classes and government, set up the veil.
And cultivate minds for more mythical tales.

Typical Hollywood follies good girl,
While vice and corruption take over the world.

Motives and thoughts, check your motives and thoughts…

Blind with the wickedness, deep in your heart.
Modern day wickedness is all you’ve been taught.
Lied to your neighbors, so you get ahead.
Modern day trickery is all you’ve been fed.

Motives and Thoughts, check your motives and thoughts…

Flying Lotus-Auntie's Lock

-Yet another one.

Flying Lotus-Robertaflack

-Dope shit from the man, the myth: Flying Lotus.

Facebook Photography

-Recent photography I like. via my virtual friends on Facebook.

New Weezy Freestyle

-Freestyles over Jay Z's "Run this Town" beat. Needless to say, nigga OWNS that shit. Weezy is so above everyone in the game lyrically, the shit is astronomical! This song will be featured on his soon to come mixtape No Ceilings...

Triple C's ft. Gucci Mane-Trickin Off

-Lead single from Rick Ross' crew Carrol City Cartel aka Triple C's. Reppin MIA.

Aesop Rock - Battery

-Song suggestion from Mr. Brett Boules. live from Denver, Colorado.

Samiyam-Rounded

-new shit from the Michigan producer.

Timbaland ft. Drake - Say Something

-New song by Drake produced by Timbaland. Hot shit.

Young Jeezy-Trap or Die 2 LIVE @ Club Dreams in Atlanta

-New song from Young Jeezy, debuted live at Club Dreams in Atlanta, Georgia during BET Weekend 2009.

VH1 Rockdocs: N.W.A-The World's Most Dangerous Group

-One of the most riveting, powerful and relatable music documentaries I've ever seen. I'd say it is a must watch for everybody. Gives a great glimpse into the African American Experience, unique commentary on the human condition, and documents the birth and influence of Gangster Music in HIP HOP!

NWA: The World’s Most Dangerous Group tells the story of Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, DJ Yella and MC Ren. The forefathers of West Coast hip-hop and some of the baddest boys to ever come out of Compton. Narrated by Chris Rock, the documentary features performance footage and interviews and deals with the group’s high highs, and low lows

Thom Yorke-Hearing Damage

-This song will be featured on the Twilight-New Moon Soundtrack.

Random Art Vol I

-Robin Rhode and Leif Ove Andsnes

-Kerstin Zu Pan

-The LED Cubatron:

We Once Were a Fairy Tale

-New Kanye West mini movie directed by Spike Jonze.

Mayer Hawthorne-Green Eyed Love

-New cat out of LA. He's been co signed by the likes of John Mayer and The Roots. He's got the potential to take somebody's spot if he keeps movin in this direction...

Fashion Designer Alexander McQueen

-Fashion designer Alexander McQueen's 2010 fashion.

Installation Artist Esther Stocker

-Artwork from Esther Stocker...

Game ft. Nas - Letter to the King

-Throwback song from LAX.

Bob Dylan-Girl from North Country

-Folk song style.

Radiohead-15 Step

-In the Basement.

Big Boi ft. George Clinton, Too Short - For Your Sorrows

-New track from "Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty"

Phillip Glass-Modern Love Waltz

-Great rendition of Phillip Glass's "Modern Love Waltz" performed by Branka Parlic in 2005.

Beach House vs. Toro y Moi-Master of None

-Toro y Moi's remix version of Beach House's 2006 single "Master of None"

-The original verson of Beach House "Master of None"

J Dilla-Won't Do

-Throwback from Dilla The God's "The Shining" album.

Biography: H.G Wells

-One of the greatest minds of the 19th century, Mr. Herbert George Wells...

"I am english by origin, but i am early world man, and i live in exile from the world community of my desires. I salute that finer, larger world across the generations. And maybe someone down the vista may look back and appreciate an ancestrial salutation. "-H.G Wells

Damian Marley & Nas - Distant Relatives...coming soon

-Reggae Royalty, Damian Marley talks about the Distant Relative album with Nas, Rastafarianism, and the 1st time he visited Ethiopia. We also have Nas rhyming over Ragga beats and Damian rhyming over Primo beats, then they perform songs from the forthcoming album, Distant Relatives.

Drake ft. Nipsey Hussle - Killers

-Great new song from Drake featuring Nipsey Hussle entitled "Killers." Not quite sure if this is going to be on Drake's album since its downloadable off the internet. But it's still tight!

Andy Warhol - Beauty No. 2

-This is the last scene of Andy Warhol's 1965 underground film "Beauty No. 2" staring Edie Sedgwick. It's an interesting observation of a situation manufactured by Andy Warhol. It is an aesthetically pleasing startlet lying in bed with a man and talking to another man off camera. The camera is the only other prescence in the film. I find her posture to be the most intriguing, because she positions herself as though she knows the camera is watching...

Radiohead-These are my Twisted Words

-new leaked song from Radiohead. Good shit.

Tracy Morgan on Late Night w/ Jimmy Fallon

-Comedian Tracy Morgan chatting it up with Jimmy Fallon. Tracy is one of the funniest black men on the planet!

Nelly ft. Pharrell-Let it Go

-New single off Nelly's Brass Knuckles album. "Let It Go."

Amanda Diva-Neon

-Tight new single from Amanda Diva off her debut album "Spandex, Rhymes & Soul." Do ya thang....

UFC 101: Declaration

-Anderson "The Spider" Silva is by far the greatest fighter I have ever seen!

Parade: A Private look inside the life of Brad Pitt

...This is a great article written by columnist Dotson Rader. Who was granted private access into the life of actor Brad Pitt for a rare and personal interview featured in the august issue of Parade Magazine. Pitt is a man I respect deeply for his thespian artistry, humanitarianism and just overall outlook on life...

"My life has been about big changes," says actor Brad Pitt. "It's always been that way. When I go down a path, I take it to the end. Then I take another one. I took the path of not having kids—now it's time for family." He tells me this during a long afternoon at his home in L.A.

"Children are a dominant value in my life now, and they weren't before," Pitt continues. "They were always something I thought I'd get around to having when the time was right. It wasn't what I was really seeking. In a way, I think I had to go and exhaust me before I could be good at being a parent."

Pitt was a big star before he met actress Angelina Jolie on the set of 2005's "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." But as a couple, they are an international phenomenon—photographed, admired, besieged. Their daughter Shiloh was born in 2006. Last year they had twins, Vivienne Marcheline and Knox. They also have three adopted children: Maddox, 8, Pax, 5, and Zahara, 4.

"I don't think I was all that late in becoming a father," Pitt says. He is 45, Jolie is 34. "My oldest boy is 8. Man, you just have to stay alert in case one of them has a problem, and then you need to find things to calm you down. I've discovered that classical music works as a great pacifier." He laughs. "This family is full of life! There are laughs, aggravations, irritations, but at the end of the day, it's fun. When life is really good, it's messy."

Pitt is delightful company—relaxed, thoughtful, and unpretentious. What is most disarming about him, however, is his eager hopefulness, his Midwestern good-guy optimism.

He resembles one of those average Joes whom Gary Cooper and Tom Hanks played onscreen—immensely likable, good-hearted, and a touch naive.

In short, Pitt is nothing like the man he plays in his new movie, "Inglourious Basterds," a World War II revenge fantasy about a squad of Jewish-American soldiers in Occupied France. He's the squad's commander. The film is due out Aug. 21.

Pitt was raised with two siblings in a devoutly Baptist family in Springfield, Mo. In 1987, he dropped out of the University of Missouri and moved to L.A.

"I had never been west of the Rockies," he says. "I'd never been on a plane before. When this celebrity business happened, it was like I hit a wall."

After his role as a sexy cowboy in 1991's Thelma & Louise, Pitt found himself in a string of hit films, including "A River Runs Through It," "Interview With the Vampire," and "Legends of the Fall."

"I liked to smoke a bit of grass at the time, and I became very sheltered," he recalls of his early days in Hollywood. "Then I got bored. I was turning into a damn doughnut, really. So I moved as far away from that as I could. I was done. In Missouri, where I come from, we don't talk about what we do—we just do it. If we talk about it, it's seen as bragging."

Pitt says he found a new path for himself when, in 1995, he bought a historic property in West Los Angeles that needed work and, by restoring it, discovered his love of architecture and design. He is a whiz at both, and it shows.

Immensely house-proud, Pitt takes me on a tour of his property—two early 20th-century Craftsman houses, a kids' playhouse, two pools, and an artificial waterfall that conceals a secret stone grotto. The last, he confides, "is a great place for sex."The entire property is walled with fences and hedges and overlooks the city.

"This was my first architectural experience where I tried doing something myself," Pitt says. "It is something I wanted to do for decades. This is like play to me. It's the only thing that can take me away from any problems I may have. After a few years of work, it came out so nice. Now I've got so many damn kids, it's the only place we could all fit in. We're double-bunking rooms as it is."

He shows me the two-room master suite he created out of stone and elegant hardwood paneling. The bathroom is marble, including the tub and toilet. "There's something about stone that feels so nice," he says. "Everything in this house is custom-made. I went crazy."

The bedroom's design is austere, paneled in walnut. There is a king-size platform bed and, nearby, framed photographs of the family.

As we leave the house, we run into Jolie and two of the children. Pitt introduces me, and she smiles. Jolie is wearing a black body stocking and an enormous yellow clown wig. The two little girls with her, Zahara and Shiloh, jump up and down and squeal with delight at seeing their dad. Their hair is dyed blue, and they have washable dye stains on their hands. "We've been to the party costume store," Jolie explains. She giggles and fluffs her wig with her hands like a flirtatious Mae West, and we laugh.

Pitt and I end the afternoon in his studio. He makes us drinks. "This isn't our primary home," he says, almost regretfully. "It's one of our base camps.

"Pitt and Jolie have homes in France, their principal residence, and in New Orleans, where he is involved in rebuilding an area devastated by Hurricane Katrina. It is only one of the many humanitarian causes to which the couple give time and millions of dollars.

"A while ago, when Angie returned from visiting Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., she told me about these injured young men there who'd come back from the war," Pitt says. "There was one guy who lost all his limbs and one of his eyes, and Angie told me about his great spirit, his bravery. So each day I can't help but think about him waking up with the same injuries every morning, dealing with his war-damaged body for the rest of his life. I don't know the answer for the kind of hurt he has suffered. I'm always amazed by people's stories and the pain that they carry—such real need and such courage! I feel fortunate I can try to help.

"I travel a lot," Pitt says about his itinerant ways. "I don't feel restless, I just like to travel. I like to see it all. We're trying to spend more time in the South of France, because our kids have a more normal life there.

"I don't believe there is any way around our kids being international," he says. "So we have projects in each of their respective countries, and we put a big emphasis on their learning their native languages." Each of the adopted kids hails from a different country—Cambodia, Ethiopia, Vietnam.

"I wish there had been an emphasis on learning a foreign language where I grew up," Pitt says. "It frustrates the hell out of me. I've studied French. I don't speak it. I'm working on it. It's real slow going. Oh, how I suffer! Those synapses never formed!" He taps his head. "They're dry-docked for good!" He laughs, and his eyes crinkle up in delight. He suddenly looks like a 15-year-old boy who just stole third base.

I tell him that he seems happy. He grins again and nods. "I guess so," he replies. "I have love in my life, a soul mate—absolutely." He is referring to Jolie.

Pitt had been engaged twice—first to Juliette Lewis and then, in 1996, to Gwyneth Paltrow. The following year, he broke off his engagement to Paltrow, and in 2000 he married Jennifer Aniston instead. He was 36. The marriage lasted four years. They were still together when he met Jolie.

"When someone asked me why Angie and I don't get married, I replied, 'Maybe we'll get married when it's legal for everyone else," Pitt tells me. "I stand by that, although I took a lot of flak for saying it—hate mail from religious groups. I believe everyone should have the same rights. They say gay marriage ruins families and hurts kids. Well, I've had the privilege of seeing my gay friends being parents and watching their kids grow up in a loving environment.

"Would it bother me if a child of mine turns out to be gay?" he asks. "No, not one bit. Listen, I want my kids to live the lives they want to live. I want them to be fulfilled. I hope I teach my kids to be who they really are."

He gets up and begins pacing the room. He is dressed in tan slacks, a black T-shirt, and an unbuttoned white dress shirt that flutters like a silk flag.

"Man, I resent people telling others how to live! It drives me mental!" he declares loudly. "Just the other night, I heard this TV reverend say that Angie and I were setting a bad example because we were living out of wedlock, and people should not be duped by us! It made me laugh. What damn right does anyone have to tell someone else how to live if they're not hurting anyone? How many times do you think real love comes to someone in a lifetime? If you're lucky, maybe two or three."

Pitt shakes his head in exasperation.

"Do you know how you tell real love?" he asks. "It's when someone else's interest trumps your own. I like to put it that way: trumps your own. Love of somebody else—of family, of your kids—becomes the most important, most worthwhile thing in your life. It's what you foster and protect.

"You have to recognize real love when it's there," Pitt goes on, "and know that in going after it there is always risk. To live with love, you have to chance losing it. That's also true when you decide to have kids. It's the risk you take for love."

He sits down and leans toward me. "As I've gotten older," he admits quietly, "I've become aware that time is fleeting. I don't want to waste whatever I have left. I want to spend it with the people I love, and I want to do things that really mean something.

"Angie's mom died a couple of years ago of cancer," Pitt says. "I haven't had to face a lot of death. I'm untried in that way, and I don't know how I will deal with it. My real fear at this point is the safety and health of Angie and the kids. The fear of losing them is what keeps me up at night."

Pitt sits back. After a moment, he says, "I don't know who or what is meant to be in my life, but this is certainly where I want to be. Here with them. I think this is the pinnacle. Even as I'm bound to this thing, in a way I'm freer than I've ever been."

Grizzly Bear-Two Weeks

-Great song, propz to Oliver the Perisian Gangster from Drake's blog. Video was edited by YouTuber JTHelms from a movie called "The Red Balloon." Good shit.

Easy Star All Stars-Subterranean Homesick Alien

-Live performance of renown reggae group the "Easy Star All Stars." This is a cover of Radiohead's song Subterranean Homesick Alien off their OK Computer album. The All Stars covered all the songs off OK Computer and put them in an album called Radioread. a must get!

Syreeta-Black Maybe

-An orignal song Written by Stevie Wonder and sung by one of his artist: Syreeta. This song would later be sampled by Kanye West for Common's "U, Black Maybe."

Phoenix-1901

Dope new band I just learned about today while at Kellie's Apt gettin my haircut. The songs called "1901" by Phoenix.

Madvillain-Shadows of Tommorow (Flying Lotus remix)

This is a Madvillain (Madlib & MF Doom collabo) track called "Shadows of Tommorow" remixed by Flying Lotus the great. The video was done by a dude on Youtube by the name of uhfekt. The video is dope and goes along well with the song. Flying Lotus is the shit!

Fight Club honored @ Spike TV's 2009 Guys Choice Awards

Director David Fincher and Film Stars Brad Pitt and Edward Norton accept the Guys Choice Award for 'Movie Hall of Fame' for their 1999 cult classic film "Fight Club." Fight Club is by far my favorite movie of all time.

THROWBACK MUSIC: The Doors-People Are Strange

Mos Def performs LIVE on Letterman

On June 8th Mos Def performed his second single "Quiet Dog"off his just released album entitled "The Ecstatic." Powerful performance...

Nike Hypermax

-Tennis Ball inspired Nike Hypermax. I'M COPIN EM!

Nosaj Thing LIVE in San Francisco 2008

-This clip features Nosaj Thing's live performance of "Coat of Arms" off his just released album. This performance was at a club dubbed 'Rickshaw Stop.'

Nosaj Thing-IOIO

-Still don't know much about this artist...But what I do know, is that he is part of the same Experimental Hip Hop scene in Los Angelous that Flying Lotus, Samiyam and Madlib are. His name is Nosaj Thing, and his debut album "Drift" was just released a week ago on an indie label. Kid Cudi also featured his "Aquarium" beat on his mixtape 'A Kid named Cudi' under the song "Man on the Moon." Nosaj has also been featured on the Low End Theory Podcast (Episode 4).

Erik Satie - Gymnopedie No. 1

-I'm currently learning this song on the piano.

-Great piano music by renown French composer Erik Satie.

Samiyam - Moon Shoes

- Great artist I've really been diggin out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. He currently resides in Los Angelos, California alongside Flying Lotus(only current musician on my myspace top friends, i'm a fanatic!). Samiyam has two other tracks off his "Return EP" that I'm really feelin: Return & Trick Platform. He's an awesome producer with a uniquely distorted
style.

Pro-Ject debut III USB

The Pro-Ject Debut III USB makes it easy for the DJ to get audio off of vinyl and straight to the computer via an output USB. Time to rip all of your old vinyl and load it onto the iPod.

Price: $499

Jerkin

Theirs this new dance craze slowly makin its way to the mainstream via Fairfax, California known as "Jerkin." It was originated by this high school gang who call themselves the Power Rangerz. I saw a couple of their YouTube videos, and being the young southern gentlemen I am I can always appreciate and commend swagger when I see it. And these high schoolers definitely have some swagger, plus I find the dance they do to be pretty cool, abstract and innovative. Ths dance, known as Jerkin, roots from this backward running-man like motion. And from this motion the "jerker" starts to express his style and way of which he "jerks." But now, Chris Brown is getting in on the action and has uploaded a video of him and Smiff(of the Power Rangers) jeking to this cool song. I think that Chris Brown will give this dance craze the exposure it needs to blossom into a certified movement and launch the Power Rangers into fame.

craWford - The Documentary

-Very interesting and insightful documentary I watched last night. A camera crew interviews several native citizens of Crawford, Texas leading up to George W. Bush's arrival in the small town and keep up with those same citizens throughout his presidency living there. This documentary conveys a credible portrayal of small town country life. And how an image, that is not authentic, can be constructed and projected to the masses. This documentary, to me, encapsulates the essence of Post-Modernism.

Throwback Radiohead Live

This is a throwback performance of their song "Climbing up the Walls" from the OK Computer album @ The Glastonbury Festival in 2003. OK Computer is one of my top 5 albums of all time.

TheRoot.com: Rock is Black Music, Too

Interesting article on the state of black music via The Root contributor Rob Fields:

Know what the problem is with black folks? No imagination.
Sounds crazy, I know, but consider black music.Every significant moment in America’s history has been accompanied by its own soundtrack. And black musicians have often written the music and the lyrics. But what’s our soundtrack now?
The music industry has imposed the same low expectations on black artists and black life that politicians and pundits have imposed on black folks with respect to education, business and simply managing our daily lives. And we’ve let it happen.
The blues and jazz gave meaning to our lives in the 20th century, and it still enjoys a fringe following. But it doesn't fit this new age. R&B is formulaic and predictable. And hip-hop? In its commercial form—the stuff that hammers us from radio and video outlets—has painted itself and its fans into a corner, boxed in on all sides by what Brown professor Tricia Rose calls the pimp-gangsta-ho triumvirate.
Essentially, we've let a small group of hip-hop "artists" of limited experiences, education and vision set our cultural agenda. In this age of expanded possibilities, it is time to broaden our musical influences. Hip-hop is out of ideas. If you need convincing, consider this: The best-selling rapper of 2008—Lil Wayne—is doing a rock album. Yes, a rock album.
It’s time to give black rock another look. From artists as diverse as TV on the Radio, Shingai Shoniwa of The Noisettes, Gnarls Barkley, Santigold and The Family Stand, to performers at the recent South by Southwest Music Festival like Ben Harper, Whole Wheat Bread, BLK JKS, Janelle Monae and Ebony Bones, black rockers take to heart the idea that our imagination and creativity are boundless.
Take, for instance, Grammy winner Janelle Monae. She created a dystopian landscape in her album Metropolis: The Chase Suite, that is part Blade Runner, part Fritz Lang's Metropolis. It's a radical, yet accessible, departure from the “keep it real” orthodoxy that pervades most of what's on black radio's playlist. And having seen hundreds of fans flock to her Central Park SummerStage show in NYC last summer, I wasn't the only one who saw her bring something refreshing and exciting to music. The tagline on the signs that many fans waved underscored a simple truth: “Imagination Inspires Nations.”
Black rock artists have gotten past the fear that prevents many of us from fully following our interests, even when those interests aren't seen as "traditionally" black. "I grew up listening to Joy Division, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Cure…." says TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone. "I simply identified with something in the [white rock] music.” He took that music as inspiration and, along with his bandmates, created Dear Science, the sharp, angry and euphoric genre-mashing album that Rolling Stone and SPIN unanimously named their 2008 album of the year. It was also one of the blackest albums I've heard.
Black rock can change lives. It changed mine. In the 1980s, I was a regular, middle-class kid from the Midwest, who started listening to Top 40 radio in eighth grade as a reaction to the repetitive playlists and limited subject matter on black radio. Top 40 radio introduced me to artists like Journey ("Who's Cryin' Now") and Styx ("The Best of Times"), who moved me with their melancholy and soaring guitar solos. AC/DC's "Back in Black" gripped me with its signature opening riff. And I found it impossible to ignore the incredible songwriting and storytelling that went into The Eagles' "Hotel California." For me, rock was simply more creative and raw than the slick, synthy sounds on black radio. It still is.
To reclaim our place as musical innovators, we need music that's up to the task. We need artists who have the courage to explore new sounds and ideas. But there's no way today's artists can do that if their grasp of music history only extends to the latest ‘80s record Diddy sampled.
Just as Stevie Wonder counted Joni Mitchell and her experimental chord structures as one of his big music influences, Beyoncé now credits Etta James and the roots of rock 'n roll for helping her to find more expansive ways to be herself.
The Black Rock Coalition's manifesto says, "Rock is black music, and we are its heirs." These times call for substance, not swagger. Rock, America's subversive, anarchic, rebellious gift to the world, is ours, and we need to stop treating it like some bad four-letter word.

very insightful article, but I wouldn't go as far as to say Hip Hop is out of ideas, it's just being controlled by factions and conglomerates that are out of touch with the everyday listener. Their is still alot of great hip hop out there (Flying Lotus & Samiyam), record companies just gotta give underground acts a chance and a platform to shine.

Damien Hirst "Requiem Exhibition"

This exhibit just opened up in Kiev, Ukraine and features work of Damien Hirst ranging from 1998-2008. I believe Hirst is the most epic and transcendent painter/visual artist of our time. Check it out: