JumpinJack AJ

Same here. Believe it or not, there are people in this would without the internet...and even without computers. CD's are getting more inexpensive and they are still being promoted heavily. While many people are into downloading, there are millions of people who are still going out and buying complete albums/CD's. That fact that CD's can be burned is another reason they will stay strong for a good while. That of course is another reason why they have had declining sales over the past few years. The fact that CDs are small and allow u 2 quickly skip thru' an album make them just as convienient as they were when they came out. And lastly, since DJ's can now "scratch" CD's like vinyl, they will definitely stay in production. After all, that's probably the main reason vinyl is still pressed. As music fans start demanding more from artists, some will probably go back 2 the idea of loving "the album." The complete work of art, complete tracklisting, the concept, the artwork and inserts. CD's seriously have nothing 2 worry about 4 awhile. Even with increased internet music distribution, there are many people who only get CDs (like myself) or support both (CD's for the good artists...and downloads for the catchy songs). Think of all the other formats of music. They have all come and gone. The CD is so convenient in so many ways, it seems pointless to try and replace it. Even if the industry changes alot down the road, making it so that CD's would be produced on a smaller scale, there will always be music stores with them. I love the idea of the independent music store coming back (as they existed in the 90's).

I applaud her for that letter. Her actions have been pretty embarassing 4 awhile now. Reading that letter actually reminded me of a few times in my own life which makes me feel like she is getting on the right track. U can tell by the way it's written that she didn't have any PR people write it or alter it. Hopefully she continues 2 get things 2gether. I actually really like her In The Zone album from 2003 and hope she comes back with an album done in that same tradition.

R. KELLY - DOUBLE UP This is the kinda album u can kinda judge by the cover. The cover is boring, too simple, and played out with his name in an iced out font. The music reflects the same. This is probably his most boring album. Notice i didn't say "bad"...just boring. Boring in the sense that one of the greatest producers, songwriters, and artists of all time coming out with product that doesn't reflect even a portion of his talent. His lyrics go from one extreem to the other. Some of them of the subject matter is creative and fresh...some is common and played out. Some of the writing is quality, some of it is similar to the crap on the radio. His sound has gotten kinda watered down 2. Some of the production is strong and some is kinda generic...suitable for just any artist. His vocals are what u'd expect from the R....but over half of his guests are worthy company (Usher, Keyshia Cole, Snoop Dogg, T-Pain)...then there is everyone else (T.I., Swizz Beatz, Nelly, Huey, Polow Da Don). The album opens with "The Champ" which has great lyrics and energy. The whole fact that Swizz Beats is featured is a joke...u can only hear his turned down vocals in the background chanting...which is 4 the best. "Double Up" with Snoop Dogg has a nice slick kind of sound but the subject matter is tasteless overdone sex stuff. "Tryin' To Get A Number" is just straight wack. The beat is awful, the lyrics and chorus are stupid. Nelly does what he does on pretty much every soon. "Get Dirty" with Chamillionaire also has awful production. The subject matter is tiring but Chamillionaire's flow is nice...reguardless of the boring subject matter. "Leave Your Name" is a nice track with a smooth piano supported track. R. Kelly sings on this track...ha ha. His voice is synthed up from time to time. Real nice song tho.' I expected "Freaky In The Club" to be a crunked out high energy track by the title. But it's actually got a light-weight breezy sound that's actually nice. The unimaginitive lyrics don't fit over the sound at all. Part of me still likes listening 2 this one tho.' "The Zoo" is a good song. Yeah, another freaky song, but this reminds me of the stuff he did between 1998 and 2000. I just really like this one. He used 2 perform this live...so he just put it on wax. We've all heard "I'm A Flirt (Remix)" on the radio. Not amazing, not bad...just a catchy, fun song. "Same Girl" with Usher has gotten alot of play where i live. Definitly a good song. Solid sound and a fun topic...yet u might see this as "The Boy Is Mine" 2007 with the topic flipped. "Real Talk" is one of the albums best tracks. R. Kelly is at home on this song. This does his signature 'hood soap opera type stuff on this one. "Hook It Up" has a nice harder edged beat. Kelly's lyrics are pretty standard and the featured rapper (Huey) is just unnecessary. "Rock Star" is a confusingly forced song. Ludacris brings his dime-a-dozen lyrics and while the song also features Kid Rock, his vocals are so turned down that u wouldn't know he's on it without the billing. Not awful, just forced. "Best Friend" is another solid one featuring the often impressive Keyshia Cole. "Rollin'" is absolute trash. Don't even bother listening 2 this track. This is the worst R. Kelly song EVER. "Sweet Tooth" totally redeems the album after u thought Kelly lost his mind on the last one. Smooth, sexy, and the kinda stuff long-time fans have been waiting for. "Havin' A Baby" is another dope one. Why couldn't the whole album be like these last few songs?! "Sex Planet" is really nice 2...reguardless of the kinda song the title would make u think it is. "Rise Up" is a touching inspirational song he recently cut in tribute towards those effected by the Virginia Tech shootings. Sadly, after such a great song, there's a song as track 20 which is just a silly "ringtone" song. All in all, real R-N-B fans and R. Kelly fans should check the following songs if they wanna peep the album...Leave Your Name, The Zoo, Same Girl, Real Talk, Best Friend, Sweet Tooth, Havin' A Baby, Sex Planet, and Rise Up. I guess having half of the album dope isn't bad...but Kelly should have kept his game tighter across the board. If u get the album at Wal-Mart, u'll get a BET Official DVD featuring 90 minutes of R. Kelly. I haven't watched it yet but it's got the following stuff on it...106 + Park interview, BET 25 Strong performance, Access Granted episodes for I'm A Flirt, Ignition, and Trapped In The Closet. Music videos for I'm A Flirt, I Wish, Ignition, Trapped In The Closet (Chaper 1), You Saved Me, A Woman's Threat, and Step In The Name of Love, the previously unreleased song for Katrina victims "Let Your Light Shine", and a sneek peak at Trapped In The Closet 12.5.

BOYZ II MEN - Grandfather Clock Grandfather Clock (Japan Import Single) (2004)

SPEECH - (If U Think The System's Workin') Ask Someboedy Who Ain't (Remix) Ask Somebody Who Aint Promo (1996)

If things continue the way they are, i think CD's will become a subculture. Where fewer of them are distributed. I think that there will always be people who love the album and love buying CDs. I think their will be exclusive music stores (featuring CDs, vinyl, posters, t-shirts, etc.). I think we might get back 2 the independent music stores which i personally love. I do think it's important for those who love music 2 still buy albums in stores to help weather the storm of our crashing music industry. They still make VHS and vinyl...so i think it's safe that CD won't REALLY fade out 4 quite some time.

Yeah, i listened 2 the commentary back when it 1st came out on DVD. I gotta say that i don't think the movie waz that good. Very average 2 boring depending on the moment. I think it's funny that it's loosly based around "Rock The House" and JJ+FP. FP's scene is the best scene in the movie and contains 90% of anything in the movie that actually means anything. I love the idea of the movie, i just don't think it waz done right. I haven't watched it since 2004...maybe i'll have 2 give it another try. It's the only FP movie i've watched once.

I just gotta throw out there that everytime i listen 2 this album, it gets better. We are talking LEGENDS here.

I'm done with this topic. Most of the other old heads are gonna waste time defending their opinion this long. If i don't like someone's music, i'm gonna call it wack. What i think is wack is something someone else is gonna like and vice versa. I don't think that's tough idea 4 us all 2 understand. I really like Nick Cannon's records. Alota people here say they suck. I might defend him in a reply but i'm not gonna spend my entire existance on this board trying 2 change the opinion of everyone else. I consider FP and Nick Cannon straight Hip-Hop with mainstream appeal. Sure, it might sound good on the radio when it gets play, but they aren't doing what everyone does 2 fit in and guarentee a hit. 50 Cent and Ja-Rule are doing what they do in every song and what other people have done for years. If u wanna overlook the heart and the art in it all, fine. But i feel that the heart and art of FP, LL, NC, and so on are what confirm their stuff as Hip-Hop...and the lack of heart and art of Young Joc and Babyboy classify them as commerical Rap...on top of the fact that their music is trash. Say what u want, disagree all u want, but i'm done with this post. It waz dead posts ago. Any further ?uestions can be directed 2 the first joint off that KRS-One + Marley Marl album.

That's cool. Maybe he needs 2 sign up 2 the board!!

Nice article...thanx 4 sharing. I really wanna see JJ+FP live again. It's been the highlight of my life in the past....4 real!!

USHER - Pop Ya Collar Pop Ya Collar (Promo) (2000)

Turntable. Listen 2 yourself. UGK. They truely suck. Pimp C and Bun B are garbage rappers who think that sex, drugs and money is a new concept in music. Even album reveiws from their fans have said stuff like "they don't a whole lot to say"..."every verse has referenced to drugs and sex." Anyone who is gonna say "Hip-Hop is about sex and drugs" is just an idiot. Those fools didn't stand up for their own music and get off Jive. Jive refocused their music 2 pop music, dumping most of their Hip-Hop and Rap acts. UGK's music from today is the same crap that they were doing over 10 years ago. I have some mixtapes, compilation albums and soundtrack albums with music by them...it's awful. They aren't doing anything that Babyboy, Three 6 Mafia, Lil' Jon + The Eastside Boys, and Young Joc aren't doing. This last paragraph isn't even necessary. All i really gotta say is this..."Tribe Called Quest...UGK." Any questions?!? Visqo, i know u are being sarcastic with that post...but incase we need a brush up on wackness. Wack means bad with no redeeming qualities. Not "the lyrics were great but the production was weak" or "that song is awful, but Common Sense's verse waz good." Wack mean unforgivably bad in every way, shape, and form. And when it comes 2 greedy "quick 2 make a buck" artists, not everyone is doing what they do just 2 make money. Look at it this way. G-Unit obviously spends no time trying 2 write good songs. They don't care about having a song that has no lyrical focus or a wack chorus. They shamelessly will put out whatever. They want money and they talk about it all the time. They don't have any real respect for Hip-Hop music or Art in general. THAT'S COMMERICAL. Sure, FP puts out music videos and wants respectable numbers, but he's actually trying 2 do something with his music. He's telling a story on "Scary Story." He's packing the dancefloor with "Switch." He's making people laugh with "If U Can't Dance." He's showing concern for the world with live in on "Tell Me Why." He's venting on "I Wish I Made That." He's speaking his mind on "Lost + Found." He is making $20 million dollars when he makes a movie. Do u think has has any reason 2 rap anymore...any reason 2 promote his music. Heck 2 the nizzo...he does it 2 balance out the crap some of u support. He does it 4 the fans. Speech releases half of his music online with promtion. Public Enemy makes music videos still even tho' they aren't going 2 get aired. They do it for the fans...4 the people who have a moral standard 2 what they listen 2. DJ Jazzy Jeff puts out The Return of The Magnificent with no music video, no real money behind the project, yet talented artists come out 2 be on it and the production is 100 times better than any album in the top 20 right now. I feel like i'm beating a dead horse with this post. Either u get it or u don't. U feeling Rakim or are u feelin' Young Joc. U feelin' UGK or are u feeling De La Soul?? Do u think Ja-Rule is lyrical or do u think LL is lyrical. Do u think Slim Thug is talking about his actual life in his music or do u think Common Sense is talking about his real life in his music. Like what u wanna like and listen 2 what u wanna listen 2. But don't ever tell me that Young Buck and Young Dro make quality Hip-Hop music. Hip-Hop is something u live and something u feel. Commerical Rap is for those who are motivated by sex, money, drugs, and material things. Shallow, pathetic, negative people who can only talk about that garbage aren't Hip-Hop...nuff said.

Yeah, the production of the whole album is raw but good. It totally took me back 2 the time when u didn't need fancy sound effects and sugar-sweet slick, over produced beats. Not one beat is bad, but they aren't made for radio at all. The pure Hip-Hop sound like on the album makes it so that, and i know this is a crazy idea for some people, u'll actually listen 2 the lyrics. The emcee actually had 2 write something dope so u aren't noticing that it isn't a Jus Blaze or Neptunes track. The lyrics are pretty creative across the whole album. KRS has always been this creative and consistant tho.' That waz a nice article 2. I've always hated when people knocked emcees for doing commercials. I mean, as long as they aren't promoting something negative, let 'em do their thing. I remember the Jazzy Jeff/Starter promo, MC Hammer/British Knights and Popcorn Chicken commercials, and the dope Sprite commericals from back in the day (A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One, Kris Kross, etc). I never saw that as selling out. I remember the mid-90's commericals for some alcoholic beverages by Snoop and 2Pac. Whenever commericals like that came on, i waz like "put that on an album!" cuz the music waz do good.

I don't think there's ever been a bad time for a new WS or JJ+FP album. I think certain times call 4 it more than others...since Jazzy just dropped The Return... i'd love an FP solo album with a JJ+FP album officially in the works. L+F did good things for FP's music career. So if it gets in the lab sometime soon, i think the album would be welcomed by music fans. The state of Hip-Hop and Commerical Rap is incredibly interesting at the time. Sure, alot of crappy music is still on the radio, but it just feels like something crazy is gonna happen sometime soon.

H A P P Y B - D A Y, K E V ! ! !

I might have 2 check this out. I saw the 1st when it hit DVD and thought it was good, but waaay overrated compared 2 what everyone was saying. I didn't bother seeing the 2nd cuz nobody said they liked it. But if the new one is good, i might watch the 2nd and go see the 3rd.

JJ+FP is amazing live...but i honestly rather have a new album. It's just been soooooooo long. I want it more than anything. It'll hold me over much longer than a show. If they only wanna tour, that's fine...then release a live album!!

This isn't an album review...cuz i'm just now skimming thu' the album. But let me say that all true Hip-Hop fans NEED 2 check this album. I know i waz kinda turned off when reading the article saying KRS-One and Marley Marl were doing any album 2 show that beefing artists can squash it and work 2gether. That article waz corny and wack. It made the whole album sound like a stupid gimmick. However, when i saw the album being advertised in an ad, i just got HYPE. KRS-One, arguably the best emcee ever and Marley Marl, arguably the best beat maker working 2gether. We are talking about 2 Hip-Hop greats...2 kings, making an album in this pathetic days. I scooped up the album and i'm loving it. The beats are pure unadulterated, unsweetened Hip-Hop...and KRS's lyrics...well, need i say more. Just check this album. This week it's on sale at Circuit City for just $11.99 (tho' they had 2 fix it in the system at my location). And the Circuit City version has 3 bonus trax on it. And i can tell why they weren't part of the album...it's definitely worth getting this version if u can. I'm lovin' this!!

KRS-ONE + MARLEY MARL - I Was There Hip-Hop Lives (2007)

U have raised your kids well...ha ha. Yeah, i don't doubt Master P growing up. Even if i don't appriciate an artist's musics, i totally respect ideas like this....providing it truely is coming from their heart and not a PR move. Seems like every one is calling 4 a change which is great, even tho' we could have used it 10 years ago.

This is the most respectable, mature, and articulate thing Master P has ever done. His music is awful, but i respect what he's doing here. I think it's kinda strange that someone like Master P is "reaching" out to FP, Latifah, and Run since he doesn't make music like them. Great idea tho' and hopefully it's one of the steps taken that changes the game. And hopefully it serves as inspiration to get the 3 of them in the studio with new albums.

WHITNEY HOUSTON: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Posted May 21st 2007 9:45AM by Karu F. Daniels Filed under: Entertainment Newswire By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices What's really going on with Whitney Houston? Said to be on the comeback trail, the Grammy Award winning diva is back in the news again -- in good ways, and bad. Last week, the former top-charting chanteuse was made headlines. And she also made head turns, as well. According to 'Fox News' gossip guru Roger Friedman, sources said that the 'I Will Always Love You' singer looking "stoned" at Stevie Wonder's lavish 57th birthday celebration during the star studded opening of The Cove in The Bahamas. But a record label source dismissed that talk. "Whitney ... is straight as an arrow, not doing drugs and working hard in the studio. That's the word from her record company Monday in response to my weekend report," Friedman wrote two days later. Okay. Back at the ranch, her ex-husband Bobby Brown filed papers in California's Orange County Superior Court recently challenging the terms of his April 24 divorce. According to 'MTV News,' the former pop star turned reality TV personality is claiming he was distraught, depressed and so strapped for cash at the time that he couldn't afford a lawyer. He's now specifically trying to contest a judge's decision to grant physical and legal custody of the pair's 14-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina, to his ex-wife. 'Access Hollywood' obtained papers that support Brown claims. The documents reportedly claim that "Whitney repeatedly assured Bobby that he need not file a response and that reconciliation was possible," and that "Whitney did so at a time when she knew that Bobby was particularly vulnerable." A June 15 court date has been set for Brown's new case. And while Whitney is done with Bobby, Verizon is officially done with Akon. But she said to be ready to make musical magic with the Senagelese singing sensation -- even after the telecommunications giant dropped him as a spokesperson (thanks to the internet footage of him in a comprising position with a minor.) The 'Locked Up' crooner has reportedly signed on to write and produce material for her big comeback project. According to 'Billboard,' Akon says the songs will most likely represent everything she's been through over the years, as well as where she is now in her life. The album, which may feature collaborations with Ne-Yo, Diane Warren, R. Kelly, Jermaine Dupri, Jennifer Hudson and Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, is expected to be released later this year.

LOOSE CANNONS - Jamie Got Her Boobs Done Life Goes On (2006)

HAPPY B-DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!