Spring Break 2009 - Best Destinations For College Students

Spring break 2009 will most likely be another week of insane partying if the pattern holds true. The question is where.

A spring break destination can be popular one year and dry the next. Sometimes it's hard to tell where everyone is going. You don't want to spend your hard earned money on a spring break trip that will consist of mostly families. So how do we predict the future?

First, we take some advice from the stock market and look at the trend. Panama City and Daytona was the destination of choice fifteen years ago. It was a cheap spring break package. You could jump in your car and drive down. All you had to worry about was finding a hotel room that wasn't sold out for your week in March. My how things have changed. 1997 saw a shift from Florida spring break destinations to Cancun, Mexico. The hotels in Panama City and Daytona were increasing their prices dramatically in March. It was almost more cost effective to book a trip to Cancun. Also, Panama City Beach and Daytona Beach had become a very dirty and dangerous place. Violent crimes during spring break had escalated to the point where most hotels no longer allowed anyone under 21 to check into the hotels during the month of March. Parents didn't want their children to fall victim to the dangers of those destinations and their children felt the same way.

March of 1997 saw a full shift to Cancun, Mexico. It was ten times prettier than Florida destinations and the hotel owners let the college spring break students pretty much get away with murder unlike hotels in the states. Mtv helped fuel the fire by shooting on location. They were responsible for bringing thousands of college students to Cancun each year. A bidding war occurred (much like the Olympics) between the hotels. They all wanted Mtv to set up their music events on their beach and advertise their hotel during spring break. Unfortunately, it all came to an end in 2006. The record number of robberies and vandalism that existed in Panama City and Daytona turned into kidnappings and rape for spring break in Mexico. Hotels were being sued right and left. The police had to more than double their staff during spring break to handle all of the late night calls. It became worse than spring break in Florida and Mtv decided to stop setting up shop in Cancun soon after. Just when everyone thought it couldn't get any worse, the eye of a massive hurricane moved directly over Cancun and hotel owners were left with five feet of standing water in the hotel lobby areas. Major water and wind damage was present at every hotel. This was the first time a hurricane had hit them in many years. Most hurricanes take a caribbean path, this one did not. Almost two years have gone by and Cancun is still cleaning up from the devastation left from that hurricane.

March 2007 saw a near 100% shift to the Bahamas. Hotels in Florida and Mexico saw plenty of empty rooms during March, but hotels in the Bahamas were sold out before November 1, 2006. The same situation occurred in March 2008. Every hotel on the island was sold out prior to November 1, 2007. The Bahamas became the first choice for many college spring breakers because of two things. First, the price was right. They could cruise to the Bahamas, spend a week partying it up in paradise, and cruise back for around $350 per person total. They had been paying near or over $1000 for a 5 to 7 day spring break package to Cancun. Most spring break students ask the question "why didn't we do this last year?" They found a safe, cheap, gorgeous destination. The parents liked it because it was a few miles off the coast of Florida.

Based on historical data, the Bahamas will be the destination of choice for spring break 2009. If last year holds true again, most of the popular hotels will be sold out before November 1, 2008. Research early, book early, and make this spring break the best ever.

UNCle Tarheel?

Wilner: North Carolina the absolute favorite maybe

By Jon Wilner
Mercury News
Posted: 03/29/2009 09:25:58 PM PDT


It doesn't have four No. 1 seeds, but the 2009 Final Four has something that last year's event didn't: four schools that have won the national championship.
Clearly, the favorite is North Carolina, the unanimous preseason No. 1 and the pre-tournament betting favorite.
Loaded with future NBA draft picks and fresh off a dominating performance against Oklahoma in the South Regional final, the top-seeded Tar Heels are seeking their fifth national title and second in the past four years under Coach Roy Williams.
When their starting five has been intact, which it should be next weekend at Detroit's Ford Field, the Heels have lost only once in the past 21/2 months. Yep, they're the team to beat, unless it's ...
Connecticut, the preseason No. 2 and possessor of the best front line in all the land.
With 7-foot-3 game-changer Hasheem Thabeet in the middle and Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun in charge, the top-seeded Huskies are seeking their third national title in 11 years and have followed the same path (through the West Regional) that they used to win in 1999 and 2004.
If anything, the controversy surrounding alleged NCAA recruiting violations has unified them for a title run. So count the Huskies as the co-favorite, unless it's ...
Michigan State, the home team.
The second-seeded Spartans played one of the finest second halves of the tournament Sunday in the Midwest Regional, dominating No. 1 Louisville to earntheir fifth trip to the Final Four under Coach Tom Izzo.
And this is the shortest of the five trips, by far: Michigan State's campus is a mere 75 miles from Ford Field, which makes the Spartans the first team since Duke in '94 (in Charlotte) to play for the title in its home state. That could be decisive, unless you prefer ...
Villanova, the underdog.
The No. 3 Wildcats are the lowest seed left, which suits them just fine. They have won more games as a lower seed than any program in tournament history (think: 1985, Georgetown, 22 of 28 shooting).
And nobody — not even the homeward-bound Spartans — has more good karma than 'Nova. After thumping UCLA and Duke by a combined 43 points, the Wildcats toppled No. 1 seed Pittsburgh on a mad-dash buzzer-beater in the game of the tournament.
So pick a winner and cross your fingers. The call here is North Carolina ... until it isn't.
More winners (and some losers) from Week 2 of the tournament:
Winner: The Big East. The 24-year-old conference laid claim to having the best season of any league in college basketball history. After a regular season in which it dominated the top-25 polls, the Big East set tournament records with five teams in the Sweet 16 and four in the Elite Eight.
Loser: Arizona. The Wildcats' season began in chaos (Lute Olson's abrupt retirement) and ended in humiliation. Their 103-64 loss to Louisville was the worst by a non-16 seed in the tournament and the worst ever by a Pacific-10 Conference team in March Madness.
Winner: Scottie Reynolds. The Villanova guard made the shot of the tournament in a game for the ages, a leaning layup with 0.5 seconds left that pushed 'Nova past Pittsburgh. While it might not top the Duke-Kentucky '92 classic, Saturday's thriller is on the short list of the best non-Final Four games.
Loser: Pac-10. The conference followed an unimpressive regular season with an unimpressive NCAA tournament. After tying its record with six teams in the tournament and five in the second round, it advanced only one to the Sweet 16 (Arizona). Even more telling, the league went 1-6 against the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten and Big 12.
Winner: The mid-majors. Despite getting little respect from the NCAA selection committee, they more than held their own: eight wins, a bevy of upsets (i.e.: Cleveland State over Wake Forest) and tournament-worthy performances in all but two games.
Loser: Duke. The Blue Devils moved closer to total March irrelevance when they were blown out by Villanova in the Sweet 16.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski's team hasn't reached the Elite Eight since 2004, and four of its five losses in that span have come as a No. 1 or 2 seed.
The Devils simply aren't tough enough; they aren't good enough defensively; and they don't have enough players who can score off the dribble — three ingredients that are essential to March success.
Until or unless Krzyzewski changes the makeup of his roster, the Devils will keep rolling in December and faltering in March.

The DREAM: Step Ya Beat Makin Game Up Lil G's!

SHAM WOW!

Lately there has been a lot of talk about domestic violence. There is never a time or place for anyone to be abused. However in this case their pain is our humor. Vince Shlomi, better known as the ShamWow guy, took a hooker to his room after meeting in a night club. While in the room Shlomi offered the hooker $1000 after she propositioned him. After payment arrangements were made the pair kissed. At which point the hooker bit Shlomi's tounge and refused to let go. Shlomi then began to punch the hooker until she let go. Why she bit him is still not clear but Shlomi having to beat her off his tounge is all the information I need for my daily celebrity chuckle.

COMPLEX Magazine: Kanye West Cover Shoot

I think this shit is DOPE and should be considered............ Illegal.... ILLEGAL...... ILLEGALLLL!!!

Clothing Pic of the Week: The New Air Yeezy

IJust Incase You're Going Out Tonite

How to Make an Apple Martini Cocktail

APPLE MARTINI!!!!!!!

Is This Hotter Than The HP Commercial?!??

Forum nucléaire from étapes: on Vimeo.



YOU DECIDE!

VERY HOT! KING Magazine article on Kanye West

Can’t Tell Him Nothin’
Kanye West is a risk taker, rule breaker, trailblazer and the only rapper who is bigger than hip-hop

“But he’s a rapper.” Do you know how many people have been dismissed with that one sentence? No matter how much wealth Jay-Z accrues, how many Richard Princes he buys, how many Beyoncés he marries, those words will almost certainly precede him for the rest of his life. Even Diddy, who has come closest to penetrating other spaces—fashion, Hamptons society, Broadway, Hollywood—is still, in the eyes of many, a hip-hop interloper. It’s taken Kanye West to break the cycle.

Of hip-hop but not defined by it, Kanye is the exception to every one of the genre’s rules. He challenges its expectations from within and recalibrates how outsiders view it. He is both local and foreign. He exerts his own gravitational pull. Even though last year’s 808s & Heartbreak, his fourth album, will likely be the lowest selling of his career, it will mark something far more important: the moment that hip-hop began to mint stars bigger than itself.

For any other artist, the album would have been a failure, with its uncomfortably blunt lyrics, which are mostly sung (and poorly at that), and its often inarticulate production. It’s sometimes hard to remember that just five years ago, Kanye was a rap formalist, a producer known best for chopping and speeding up soul samples and, sometimes, awkwardly rapping over them. And yet, despite that, this new move didn’t seem so odd. In a world where egotism is the prime currency, Kanye has been a special case from the start, and releasing 808s felt like just another act of emotional and creative hubris.

Really, though, it was something more. First there were the circumstances: Both the death of his mother and the split from his fiancée left Kanye untethered. And so instead of planning for Good-Ass Job, the album that was to continue the life arc he’d set out on his first three albums, he knocked off to Hawaii for a few weeks with Kid Cudi, Mr. Hudson, Plain Pat, Don C and a couple of friends to put together 808s, a minor opus of depression and petulance.

And once it was done, he kept fighting the grain. Process? What process? He leaked some songs himself. (Some others snuck out too.) He tweaked the font. He changed the release date. And then, into the teeth of a recession, he just dropped the damn thing. No proclamations as to its greatness or its inevitability. Just a guy with an itch to scratch.

For an artist of his stature, this is a new model, one that prioritizes smallness, instinct, portability, urgency. All Def Jam could rightly do was get on board and get out of the way. Kanye used the label much as an independent artist uses a distributor: as a hired hand. The major-label system is increasingly unreliable, as is the major-label way of doing business. And so, instead of shooting for the blockbuster—Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III may well be the last rap blockbuster for some time—he went with the diary entry. The same week, Guns N’ Roses released its decade-plus-in-the-making comeback, Chinese Democracy, which sold half as much as Kanye, then promptly evaporated.

Kanye knows what their long-cocooned lead singer, W. Axl Rose, couldn’t possibly understand: There is only the now. So he didn’t release a rap album—big deal. He’ll go back to it when he feels like it. Choosing to forgo rap was but one of several idiosyncratic choices Kanye made last year. He blogged about his obsessions—Japanese streetwear, barely clothed models, mid-century furniture, big boats—and about how he was portrayed in the media. He expressed interest in interning with a fashion company so he could learn that business from the inside out. He tussled with paparazzi. He wore suspenders.

Kanye’s freedom is predicated upon the fact that he’s less established in, and therefore less beholden to, hip-hop and its mores. Still, people, even those with less complicated loyalties, follow his lead. Lil Wayne wearing tight jeans? That’s a Kanye move. Hipster rap? Blame ’Ye. Flagging sales for 50 Cent? Absolutely, in part, attributable to West and his influence.

Kanye gives people permission to be something other than what they’re generally asked to be. It’s not because he makes it seem easy but because he makes it seem inevitable. And because of him, the list KING comes up with when we’re looking forward from our 100th issue will be nothing like this one.

— Jon Caramanica

Old School Video of the Week: AND 1, VOLUME 1!!!

Bring the Classics BAAAACCCCCKKKKKK!!!

Very Poppin!

Stolen from Kanye's Blog

6 SEXY TIPS FOR SUMMER DIETING!

6 Best Summer Foods for Weight Loss

Lighten up your diet this summer with these refreshing foods and drinks.
By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD

WebMD Weight Loss Clinic-Feature Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

You don’t need to starve yourself on a wacky fad diet if you want to look look better in your shorts or swimsuit this summer. The secret to weight loss is to choose healthy foods and take in fewer calories than you burn. And it's just easier to make better food choices in summertime, when heavy, high-calorie dishes seem less appealing. The best foods for weight loss in summer are light, refreshing and, most important, keep you out of the hot kitchen.

The single easiest way to trim calories from your summer diet, experts say, is to load up on nature’s bounty. Produce is at its peak in summer. Delicious fruits and vegetables abound at farmers' markets and in your local grocery. Besides being low in calories, produce is loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.

"Enjoy fresh produce in season. You will be thrilled at how fresh, delicious, and satisfying it tastes," says Susan Moores, RD, a St. Paul-based nutrition consultant..

"Save the oranges and apples for fall, and load up on fresh berries, melons, greens, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, beets, pea pods, and all the super-nutritious and low-calorie fruits, greens and vegetables that grow in the garden this time of year."

As a bonus, you can forget about portion control when it comes to fresh fruit and vegetables, Moores say.

"Go for it, because it is hard to do much damage to your waistline with these super-nutritious edibles," says Moores

To keep your cool and cut your time in the kitchen, start with prepared produce, such as cut-up fruit and washed greens. Add rotisserie chicken, prepared soups, and pre-threaded kabobs when you need something a bit heartier. Pre-prepped foods may cost a little extra, but they save time in the kitchen.

Here are dietitian's picks for some of the best foods to help with weight loss during the summer.

Best Summer Weight Loss Food No. 1: Chilled Soups
Moores loves all kind of produce but says cold soups are among her favorite low-calorie dishes. Chilled soups like gazpacho or cucumber-dill that contain lots of chunky vegetables are a great way to start a meal.

"Research shows that a low-calorie, broth-based soup at the beginning of the meal will fill you so you eat less at the meal," says Moores, a St. Paul-based nutrition consultant.

Best Summer Weight Loss Food No. 2: Watermelon
Who doesn’t love diving into a crisp, juicy slice of watermelon when it's hot outside?

"Half of the watermelon comes from water. …It’s a wonderful way to satisfy thirst and a yen for something sweet," says Moores.

Best Summer Weight Loss Food No. 3: Grilled Veggies
For registered dietitian Dawn Jackson, a plate of grilled vegetables is a summertime must-have. She recommends keeping a plate of grilled onions, bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, eggplant, asparagus, and garlic in your fridge. You can use them to make dishes like:

Grilled vegetable and goat cheese salads
Grilled vegetable pitas
Grilled vegetable, ricotta, and fresh herb pasta and frittatas

Best Summer Weight Loss Food No. 4: Salads
Salads make for quick, healthy meals -- with no recipes required.

"Just give the produce a quick rinse; slice, dice, toss fruits, vegetables, low-fat cheese, a handful of toasted nuts with some salad greens and a light raspberry or ginger vinaigrette, along with a whole-grain roll, and you have a meal in minutes," says Moores.

Or try bean or whole-grain salads, such as wheatberry and tabouli.

Moore suggests flavoring your salads with herbs from the garden so you can go light on the dressing. And when adding meats or fish to your salad, she says, "think of them as an accessory to the greens, vegetables, and grains."

Best Summer Weight Loss Food No. 5: Low- and No-Calorie Beverages
Smoothies, sweetened specialty coffee drinks, sweetened teas and sodas -- they all go down so easily, especially when it's hot outside. But the calories add up just as easily.

"Beverages can be the Achilles heel during summertime because we need to drink lots of liquids to stay cool, but liquids quench thirst and don’t usually impact our hunger," says Jackson.

Jackson recommends these refreshing drinks and treats to enjoy this summer without blowing your diet:

Root Beer or Orange Dream Float. 1/2 cup vanilla frozen yogurt in 12 ounces of diet root beer or orange soda (100 calories)
Tart Lemon Pom Spritzer. 12 ounces of lemon sparkling water mixed with the juice of 1 lemon and 1/4 cup pomegranate juice, served over ice (35 calories)
Large Ice Skim Latte from Starbucks (130 calories)
White Wine Spritzer. 5 ounces white wine mixed with 3 ounces lemon/lime seltzer water (120 calories)
Best Summer Weight Loss Food No. 6: Fruit-Based Desserts
"Cravings don't take a summer vacation and your hot-weather sweet tooth can wreak havoc on your weight loss efforts," says Jackson. "Ditch high-calorie desserts and opt for these naturally sweet treats that can tame the most ferocious sweet tooth."

She suggests:

Grilled banana sundaes made with low-fat ice cream
Grilled pineapple with rum and pecans
Grilled white peaches with blackberries and honey
Frozen, dark, sweet cherries
A chocolate-covered frozen banana (such as Diana’s Banana, with 130 calories)
Frozen grapes

Drink of the Week: 357 MAGNUM!

Ok, ok, ok... Everybody is telling us the drink recipes we post are too costly for the regular college student. So here's us going inexpensive (big word!! LOL)! It's a couple of bottles but we guarantee, if you and your buddies each throw down a good Ten Bucks, grab these bottles and you'll be DRRRRRRRUNK for the next 3 days!

357 MAGNUM
1 oz Bacardi® 151 rum
1 oz vodka
2 oz amaretto almond liqueur
2 1/2 oz 7-Up® soda

Sip Slow... AHH WAT THE HELL! DRINK ERRRRR DOWWWWNNNNN!!!

(Shout to Clint Eastwood... And Chuck Norris too. LMAO)

Keri Hilson Drops Her Album: "In A Perfect World"

"In a Perfect World . . . " might be Keri Hilson's debut album, but it's hardly the work of a record-biz neophyte. As part of the Clutch, an Atlanta-based songwriting squad, Hilson has spent the last few years penning hits for such A-list acts as Britney Spears and Mary J. Blige, and in 2007 she dominated Top 40 radio as the female voice on Timbaland's smash "The Way I Are."

She's not shy about using her connections, either: "Perfect World" features production by Timbaland, Danja and Polow da Don, and sports guest appearances from bigwigs including Lil Wayne, Akon, Kanye West and Ne-Yo.

All that star power can leave little room in these futuristic R&B songs for Hilson, whose sturdy but unremarkable voice rarely transcends its role as a melody-delivery device. In impeccably arranged tracks like "Turnin Me On" and "Slow Dance" (the latter co-written by Justin Timberlake), Hilson describes the ecstasy of desire with all the warmth of an alien observing life on Planet Earth. And compared with Keyshia Cole's and Trina's typically fiery turns in "Get Your Money Up," Hilson comes off like somebody Polow hired as an in-studio chaperon.

She fares much better in the handful of cameo-free cuts, such as "Make Love," where she trills seductively over a slinky slow-jam groove, and "Intuition," a top-shelf Timbaland joint with a haunting minor-key refrain ("I've got this crazy feeling / I'm gonna be single again") that Hilson truly sells.

-- Mikael Wood

Keri Hilson
"In a Perfect World . . . "
(Interscope)
Two stars

A New Appreciation For Lil Kim

After seeing Notorious I've come to have a new appreciation for Lil` Kim. Although she's been catching heat for her recent color transformation, it's obvious she still has image issues. Really though how would you feel if you stood by someone's side constantly, yet they chose to have someone else be on their arm to the public. Big dogged her out, changed her style, and made her famous; but Kim was looking for love. Now a regular girl might just say oh well his loss but, touch her heart enough and there's no telling what she'll do.

After a stint in prison, exstensive surgery, and skin lightening Kim has emerged as a new woman. Currently appearing on dancing with the stars, which she fell in love with while watching the show in prison. Not suprisingly she's doing well and I would love to see her win. Notorious left her vulnerable and allowed fans to catch a glimpse of Kim before the lights came on. So being on this show might be good timing, maybe it'll help her realize that what's on the inside determine's real beauty.

It feels like she needs to find a way to love her self as she is. No more surgeries or skin treatments. This idea of trying to create beauty instead of embrassing yourself as you are seems as though its becoming an epidemic. The average person has had or has thought about some type of elective corrective surgery. why can't more people love themselves? What can we as a cultre do to help more people love who they are and what they look like?

-TT

Just Another Case of the Mondays!

I can't really say I hate Mondays because all days feel the same to me. Work, play, work, play, work, play... But for those of you who need a quick laugh because you partied all weekend and now the week begins, remember this movie???

RIGGGHHHTTTTTTT........

Damn, I Can't Shake This Cold For SHIT!

Most cold and flu drugs attack symptoms, not the specific viruses. They don't cure, but they can bring relief, lighter symptoms, or shorten your illness. There's no one right way to treat a cold or the flu. But here are some questions to ask your pharmacist to get the right over-the-counter medication for you.

#1 Should I take a decongestant or an antihistamine?
This depends on your symptoms. If you have nasal or sinus congestion, then a decongestant can be helpful. If you have drainage -- either a runny nose or postnasal drip or itchy watery eyes -- then an antihistamine may be helpful. Over-the-counter antihistamines often make people drowsy; decongestants can make people hyper or keep them awake. Antihistamines can make secretions thick, which can be a problem for people with asthma. Keep in mind that both these medications may interact with other drugs you may be taking for conditions such as heart disease, and they may worsen some conditions. Discuss with your doctor or pharmacist which cold medication may be best for you.

#2 Is it safe to take a decongestant if I have high blood pressure?
Decongestants can increase blood pressure and heart rate, and increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Pseudoephedrine is the primary oral decongestant available. In general, if your blood pressure is well controlled with medications, then a decongestant shouldn't be a problem as long as you monitor your blood pressure. This may not be true with certain types of blood pressure medications. Check with your doctor or pharmacist about what may be best for you.

#3 How often should I use nasal spray?
Nasal decongestants work fast to open breathing passages. But if you use them for more than three days in a row, you may suffer a "rebound effect," and end up more congested than you were at the start. Some doctors suggest using a saline spray instead of a medicated spray. Saline spray works more slowly but has no rebound effect.

#4 What's the deal with cough medicine?
An occasional cough may clear the lung of pollutants and excess phlegm. A persistent cough should be diagnosed and treated specifically. On the shelf you'll find numerous cough medicines with various combinations of decongestants, antihistamines, analgesics/antipyretics, cough suppressants, and expectorants. Ask your pharmacist which combination, if any, would be right for you.

#5 What should I take for fever and aches?
Fever may be a good thing. It helps the body fight off infection by suppressing the growth of bacteria and viruses and activating the immune system. Doctors no longer recommend suppressing fever for most people, except perhaps for the very young, the very old, and those with certain medical conditions such as heart disease or lung disease. However, if you are uncomfortable then it's fine to take medications. Young people (including those in their early 20s) should avoid aspirin. Acetaminophen (Tylenol and others) or the numerous other medicines like ibuprofen (Advil and others) are your best choices. Each has their own risks, so check with your doctor or pharmacist as to which may be best for you. Be careful not to overdose! These drugs are often mixed in with other cough and cold and flu remedies you may also be taking. Your pharmacist can help you make the right choice.

#6 What's best for my sore throat?
Drinking lots of fluids and using salt water gargles (made by combining a cup of warm water and a teaspoon of salt) can often be helpful for easing the pain of a sore throat. Some oral medications (such as Tylenol) and medicated lozenges and gargles can also temporarily soothe a sore throat. Get your doctor's approval before using any medications, including over-the-counter drugs, and don't use lozenges or gargles for more than a few days. The medications could mask signs of strep throat, a bacterial infection that should be treated with antibiotics.

-Via WebMD

A Hip-Hop Response to Chris Brown/ Rihanna by Bakari Kitwana

For nearly an entire week, the Chris Brown/Rihanna alleged abuse incident has dominated major news media headlines. Unfortunately, these sensationalized reports did less to elucidate the national epidemic of violence against women and more to cement into our national psyche the idea that the new face of domestic abuse is young, Black and hip-hop. Instead of accepting sole responsibility for one of America's most neglected pathologies, young Americans should turn this tragedy into an opportunity.
Inthe last two election cycles, hip-hop led the way in making involvement in national elections fashionable among youth. Hip-hop political organizers could do the same in extending that influence into the arena of public policy with the goal of establishing an innovative solution to abuse that shifts the way the nation thinks about its treatment of women....

For the rest, Log on to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bakari-kitwana/a-hip-hop-response-to-chr_b_177011.html

Sex and Hip Hop

Many have stated that sex sells with regards to commodities, hip hop culture in particular. However, in recent years the industries surrounding sex and hip hop have developed a symbiotic relationship. For example, rappers often use strip clubs to premiere records and circumvent mainstream radio payola. In turn, the porn industry employs rappers to promote its DVDs and websites. This connection not only allows the two industries to benefit financially, but also results in their mutual exploitation...

<<>>

We Love JOEY!

What The Hell is the World Coming to?

Stolen from Kanye's Blog...

Tree of Life

Life is What You Make it...

Get The Hell Outta Here!

Classic, nonetheless! LMAO

Drink of the Week: CALL A CAB!

As the weekend approaces, we have to tell you whats the best thing for this St. Patty's Day weekend! Do NOT drive to the bar... instead,

CALL A CAB!

1/4 oz Midori® melon liqueur
1/4 oz peach schnapps
1/4 oz coconut rum
1/4 oz creme de bananes
1/4 oz Stoli® Ohranj vodka
1/4 oz Southern Comfort® peach liqueur
2 1/2 oz cranberry juice
2 1/2 oz pineapple juice
2 1/2 oz Sprite® soda

Mix all ingredients together in a hurricane glass with ice, or combine in a blender. Add juices and sprite to fill glass, and serve.

Hansbrough Playing With Purpose!

By Andy Katz, ESPN

Tyler Hansbrough looked up in the Dean Dome and said he would much rather see another championship banner hanging from the rafters than his retired jersey.

The question posed to him two years ago during an interview on the floor of the Smith Center wasn't a trap. If a player had said he wants to see his name up there more than a title he would be seen as egotistical and selfish. That hardly describes Hansbrough.

For the rest, log on to: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney09/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=3989260

New Line for the Summer?

A while back Gossip On This gave word of a clothing line named Okley by M.I.A. launching in the U.S. some time this year. Well the singer’s clothing line, which launched in London earlier this year, was finally released to U.S. residents … online. Yup, that’s right! You can’t buy items from the line in stores just yet, but you can place orders online and have them delivered just in time for the holidays!

Just keep in mind that borrowing M.I.A’s swag does come with a “non-recession” price tag! Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Check out the links below

Serena, Iman and Tiraji on April 09 Cover!

The image above is sheer proof that “black don’t crack!” Serena Williams (27 y.o. tennis star), Iman (53 y.o. super model) and Taraji P. Henson (38 y.o. actress) are featured on the cover of the April 2009 issue of Essence Magazine, where they talk about being “sexy at any age.”

VIA: CUTIE CENTRAL

DAWN AND QUE GET FREAKY!

Dawn and Que gave the world a little too much information in an interview with Sirius XM’s Shade 45 Lip Service. Among other things, they talked about cumming on faces, licking nipples and an 8-hour sex session. Think we’re joking? Peep the video above!
POSTED BY: GOT STAFF

Lil Wayne Is An Expert On Hip-Hop And Sports

MTV Shows

Lil Wayne Is An Expert On Hip-Hop And Sports

Published by MTV News on Friday, March 13, 2009 at 3:54 pm.

By Jayson Rodriguez

Lil Wayne is a sports aficionado, for sure — from his ESPN tattoo to his gig as an ESPN the Magazine blogger and his recent appearance on the network’s “Around the Horn.”

But still, it’s impressive when someone who excels in one thing is particularly knowledgeable in a totally different field. Weezy is always on the road. Dude has a tour bus that might make John Madden jealous. And it’s not just that he always records or is grinding. He does it at such a high level that it’s incredible he has the capacity to even be competent at something else. Some rappers don’t even listen to the radio or other hip-hop because they’re in the studio so much.

Yet Wayne, responding to an offhand question about his thoughts on college hoops and Virginia Commonwealth’s improbable run, took the question seriously. He basically got out of rock-star mode for a sec and lucidly gave his analysis. He was all over the Big East Tournament. I’m sure after we talked, he peeped his BlackBerry, and someone had to tell him about the Syracuse and UConn six-overtime game. We got some more NCAA Tournament stuff from Wayne, so stay tuned for his Final Four picks and who he thinks is gonna eventually prevail in Detroit this year.

DIG THIS!!! Stealing Jane!

This dude is NICEEEEEEE!

School of Visual Arts' THINK CAMPAIGN

In an effort to get people to think, the School of Visual Arts launched their “Think” Campaign which features everyday objects made to resemble loose-leaf paper (college-ruled) so people can write down their ideas

What Happened to the And 1 Mixtape?

I'm not here to bash any of the newest And 1 Mixtape ballers, however, where are the legends? Is it me or did Hot Sauce never seem that good? To me, it seemed like Skip started it and Alimoe finished it. Nothing after. And 1 did a great job of FUCKIN UP THE STREET BALL Legacy! I'm a basketball junkie myself so I know the old legends of Rucker and of Black Tops everywhere such as The Goat, Dr J, Peewee, Helicopter, Jumpin' Jack, Connie, etc. For a long time, the blacktop basketball era remained a secret society until And 1 came and put out the mixtapes. Volumes 1 through 3 were hot. After that, they seemed to dilute the basketball world and turned it from pure, honest, hard-nosed, flashy basketball games to just a "business." WTF??? Skip revitalized the BlackTop world, The Black Widow carried the torch and the Professor and his squad dropped the ball. There's nothing wrong with making money but remember, everyone complained when Nas sold out and gave us wack albums such as Nastradamus, right? Nobody wants to hear Ja Rule sing anymore, correct?

So STOP putting out bullshit mixtapes and get back to the roots!

PLEASE BRING BASKETBALL BACK!!!

-PJ

This is a Crazy Hot Concept!

For all you young people who have never seen a cassette tape!

Kanye Performs On American Idol

Drink of the Week: TOXIC LEMONADE!

Toxic Limeade recipe
Justin Anthony is the inventor of the drink. This drink comes from Athens, GA. The inspiration came from a party. He said he had just a little bit of tequila left and no margarita mix. He noticed a bottle of sweetened lime juice in his friend's refrigerator and a bottle of sprite and just mixed it all. Everybody thought it was delicious.

1.5 oz 1800® Tequila
1.5 oz Sweetened lime juice
4.5 oz Sprite® soda

This drink can be mixed in just about any glass. Just put some ice in first (as much as you like), then add the tequila, lime juice, and sprite. Stir it around until it's nice and mixed and enjoy!

College Click TV! on internships...

As Fall turns to Spring, college students are starting the hunt for summer jobs. While many kids still work locally in their home towns, whether it be at a day camp or an office, it is important to start thinking about our futures. During college, a summer internship can really be helpful as a hands on learning experience that exposes you to the real world.
However, especially in this economic crisis, it may be very hard to find a summer internship. It is key to try and ask your parents, family, and friends if they have any ideas that you could pursue or if they could help you in anyway possible. Otherwise, you can take it slow and search different databases for possible internships in your area and send out as many resumes as possible. Get your name out there, it can never hurt to make contacts!
While we would all love to get the internship in the field we hope to pursue one day, we are still young students and should take any job we can get (especially one that will look good on your resume!). Internships can either be paid, unpaid, or be for college credit; regardless of what the compensation is, be happy you were able to secure a job and take it!

If you need help finding an internship, these databases can give you some great leads:
http://www.asme.org/Jobs/Advice/Student_Internships.cfm
http://www.monstertrak.com/lp/signup/?WT.srch=1&WT.mc_n=olmsrchtrk&s_kwcid=internship%20finder%7C989835739
http://internshipgold.com/handcrafted2.asp?run_init=1

GRANDMASTER FLASH PUSHES HIS ALBUM!

XXL Talks With JadaKiss about BIG

With today being the 12th anniversary of The Notorious B.I.G.’s death, XXLMag.com chopped it up with Jadakiss to speak on his plans for this important day in hip-hop.

Kiss, who has worked with the rap legend on several tracks during his run on Bad Boy, also eulogized the rapper back in 1997 on the Lox’s “We’ll Always Love Big Poppa.” “I’m just gonna sit back and reminisce, smoke something, drink something, think about the good times,” Jada said about how he’s gonna honor his friend’s legacy. “Listen to some of his music, listen to ‘Letter to B.I.G.” and do it real big for B.I., that’s the big homey right there for life.”

Earlier this year Jada recorded his “Letter To Big” tribute for the soundtrack to the rapper’s biopic, Notorious. On the song The Lox MC pens a message to the late rapper on hip-hop’s current climate. When asked if it was hard to sit down and put the words to paper, Kiss said the writing aspect was the easy part. “It was more emotional after it was finished, but actually sitting down writing it wasn’t too hard,” he said of the song process. “I coulda kept going for like two hours but I kept it clean, to the point. That I just wanted to write to my dead homey to let him know what I thought about the state of hip-hop, of what was going on with the game, from my point of view, right now.”

On Saturday (March 8) Kiss performed at Harlem’s famed Apollo theatre in anticipation of his upcoming Def Jam debut, The Last Kiss. To the crowd’s surprise, he brought out hometown hero Cam’ron to rock the crowd. Jada said the response was phenomenal. “It was a great, it was a beautiful thing for hip-hop and for New York,” he said. “The building was shaking.”

Jada said expect more things to come from him and Killa. “I’m about to hop on this joint on his album, [Crime Pays].”

The Last Kiss, originally scheduled to drop tomorrow (March 10) has been moved to a April 7th release date. - Elan Mancini

Back to the Essence: Notorious BIG Part 1!

Part 1 of VIBE's 1999 oral history on the life and death of The Notorious B.I.G.

Christopher Wallace was born on May 21, 1972 to Voletta Wallace, a single mother living in the Bed-ford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. From very early on, Ms. Wallace, a grade-school teacher, stressed the importance of education, determined to give her son opportunities she never had.
1977-1989
“WAY BACK, WHEN I HAD THE RED AND BLACK LUMBERJACK…”
Melvin Blackman: I used to work as an assistant teacher at Christopher’s daycare center, Quincy-Lexington Open Door Day Care Center in Brooklyn. He must been 5 or 6 – I remember him because he was one of the biggest kids in the class. He could eat and eat and eat! He was so smart. He was a heavier kid, and they tend to intimidate by just being, but [Christopher] used his mind. He dealt with kids mentally. I guess you could call it charisma.
Arty-B: We lived next door to each other in 226 St. James Place, between Gates [Avenue] and Fulton [Street]. We became best friends at the age of 8 or 9 because we were the only kids in the building. We both had West Indian parents, we had a lot in common. A typical Saturday for us would be hanging in the house all day. At 3 o’clock on channel 5 was the drive-in movie with the kung-fu flicks. The whole day was mapped out. We would build a tent out of me and my brother’s bunk bed. We would put a blanket from the top bunk to the dresser. Under the canopy I had a little 13-inch black-and-white TV, and we’d play Intellivision-that was before Atari – a car-racing game. We’d get little bowls and put in chips, Skittles, and cut-up fruits, like mangos, tangerines, cherries. And we’d have a little picnic thing going on there. So while we were playing our video game, we’re eating our snacks and talking about how we wanted to have all the things that Ricky Schroder had in Silver Spoons. It was definitely a joyous occasion.
Chris had a lot of personality. I remember once when my little bro was sick and real down. So Big thought of making a puppet out of cloth. We sewed it together and put faces on it and we put on a show for my brother to make him feel better.
Lil’ Cease: I was 7, so Big had to be 11 or 12 when we met. But when we got older, like when I was 12 or 13, that’s when I started hangin’ out on the corner, cuttin’ school and all that. That’s when I started bonding with [Big]. He wasn’t serious about the rap thing yet. We was just hangin’ on the avenue.
Justice Rivera: I used to see Big when he was, like, 14 or 15, hanging out on St. James Place. I would drive through playing Kid Capri tapes and Big used to love Capri. He’d come up to my car and ask, “Yo man, you think you could go uptown and bring me one back?”
Lil’ Kim: I would always see him on the block and he would be playin’ dice with his friends. And if he only won $5 that day and I was like, “Big, I’m hungry,” he would give me $2.50 of his $5.
Damion Butler: He was so smart that you could ask him questions like, How many miles is Pluto from Earth? and he could break it down.
DJ Mister Cee: People would be flocking to this kid like he was the mayor of St. James Place. Everybody would be around him, and he’d be joking with the Arab store owners.
Damion Butler: And everybody was scared of his mother. Ms. Wallace don’t play. When we were 15 or 16 I used to stay [at Big’s house], and if we came in at, like, three in the morning, trying to tiptoe in the crib, she would be right there. She’d direct you into the living room and sit you down on the couch. And she wouldn’t just be talkin’ to Big. There would be three of us and she’d treat everybody like her son. She’d say, “Don’t come in here this late, ya’ll gotta be careful, you smell like reefer.” She’d just always be on us, but not in a bad way. I mean, you can’t be mad at somebody who cares, you know?
Lil’ Kim: I was with Biggie way before anybody, and he was always romantic. When you don’t have money, you can think of more romantic things to do. One Valentine’s Day I went over to his house and he said he was gonna buy a bunch of roses and put them on the bed, but he didn’t have enough money. So he wanted to put a bunch of pennies on the bed instead, in the shape of a heart, but he thought I’d be mad.
Damion Butler: [Big] used to [rhyme] just for us. 50 Grand had some DJ equipment in his basement, so we would go there and smoke, drink, and Biggie would just rhyme, to, like, bug out. And we used to tell him, “Yo, you kinda nice at this.”
50 Grand: There was a little church across from his house and every Friday night there would be little parties there. [Big] and this kid Preme used to battle each other, [but] Big was always called the nicest in the neighborhood. He rapped under the name Quest [back then]. Then he was called Big, not even Biggie. He always said it stood for Business Instead of Games.
Justice Rivera: The whole area was telling me how nice this kid Big was.
Damion Butler: But he never wanted a [record] deal. He always used to say, “Man, I don’t wanna rap.” Once we got old enough, we got us a little Cadillac or whatever. And then one day we made a tape that we would just ride around with in our car.
Elizabeth Butler: Chris would come to my house with Damion – and you couldn’t separate them – maybe two or three times a week, most of the time to eat. His favorite was pineapple upside down cake. He’d call me Mom and I’d call him Babyface because he had such a baby look about him.
Carolyn Sampson: I used to study Jehovah’s Witness teachings with [Ms. Wallace]. I would go to her house every week, and I had about two sessions with Chris. He made promises to attend meetings, but he was always in his room with his friends listening to music and writing. Once he made connections with someone who could promote his [rhymes], that’s where I lost him.

Things to do On Thursday to Keep you from drinking!

From video games to movies, here are a few things you can do to keep you from developing that nasty alcohol habit you pick up on campus!

1. Video Games. You'll burn hours AND calories playing Nintendo Wii.
2. Air hockey/Pool. Put a wager on it and pay back some of those college loans!
3. Board Games. Grab your buddies and roll the dice!
4. Homework. The most productive but if its the end of the week, you'll probably fall asleep while doing it.
5. DRESS UP! Remind yourself what's in your closet, take pics and post them on Facebook in an album called "Random Ass Pics!"

Its Mid-March so here's our tribute to YOUR fashion life!

Its a recession, yes we know, however if you are "gettin' money," here's what your Spring layout should look like. A bit pricey, but fuck it. If you have- TURN YOUR SWAG ON!!!

FIVE YEARS?!??

The Dream: LOVE Vs. MONEY

I LOVE COLLEGE

Drink of the Week: Patron SILVER

Keep It Simple Stupid!

SJU TOPS G'TOWN!

St. John's Beats Georgetown In OT
Staff and Wire Reports | The Hartford Courant
March 4, 2009
St. John's erased a 15-point deficit in the last 10 minutes of regulation and went on to a 59-56 overtime victory over Georgetown Tuesday night in New York.

Rob Thomas made four free throws in the final 51 seconds of regulation to tie the score at 51 and force the first overtime in the 91-game series between the schools.

D.J. Kennedy hit two free throws with 1:15 left in overtime to give the Red Storm (15-15, 6-11 Big East) the lead for good at 57-56. After a turnover by the Hoyas, Justin Burrell dunked on a rebound with 10 seconds left to make it 59-56.

The Hoyas' DaJuan Summers missed a three-point shot at the buzzer...

LOG ON TO www.courant.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sports/hc-colhoops0304.artmar04,0,4840565.story

ILLMATIC: 15 Years Later

They called him prophet. Poetry was a part of him. And on Tuesday, April 19, 1994, when 20-year-old Nasir Jones released Illmatic, his debut album on Sony Music’s Columbia Records, true-believer hip-hop heads rejoiced. It felt like revelation.

The journey began three years earlier, with Main Source’s 1991 posse cut “Live at the Barbeque.” On it, the rap world was introduced to an upstart MC from Long Island City’s Queensbridge Houses. Queensbridge, the largest housing project in the U.S., was home to Marley Marl, MC Shan and the mighty Juice Crew, who’d fallen to the Bronx’s Boogie Down Productions in the famous “Bridge Wars” of the late ’80s. The son of jazz trumpeter Olu Dara, Nas was discovered by Main Source’s Large Professor—and was still in his teens when he stole the “Barbeque” single with lines like, “Verbal assassin/My architect pleases/When I was 12/I went to hell for snuffin’ Jesus!”

New York streets were buzzing heavy. 3rd Bass rapper MC Serch signed Nas to his Serchlite Publishing and started shopping for a record deal. Not all of the industry’s honchos were as enthused (Russell Simmons, for example, at Serch’s own label, Def Jam Recordings, turned him down for fear of commercial failure). But Sony Music A&R Faith Newman-Orbach eventually signed Nas to Columbia Records.

With an all-star team of New York beatmakers abetting Large Professor’s production, work began on hip-hop’s perfect album. Nas’s first recorded solo track, “Halftime,” appeared on the soundtrack to the 1992 indie flick Zebrahead, whetting fans’ appetites for what was to come. In the years leading up to the album’s release, overzealous DJs began liberating unguarded tracks via mixtapes and the college-radio circuit. In the face of such early bootlegging, Columbia rushed a short, 10-song Illmatic to stores in ’94—nixing original plans to include more material.

New York purists and the rap press raved, but Russell was right: The album was not a huge commercial success, selling a mere 330,000 copies its first year out. Its cultural impact, though, has proved to be immeasurable, marking Nas’s messiah-like arrival and the beginning of a nine-album, multimillion-selling career. A decade and a half after its release, XXL assembles the people who were there to bear witness.
—ROB MARKMAN
XXL Magazine

Log On To www.XXLMAG.com for the whole story

What The Hell is EMO-Rap?

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

Hip Hop has changed. Kurtis to Curtis to Kanye, hip hop has evolved and is expressing its feelings and emotions in various ways. Emotional Hip Hop has seemed to take over the airways and artists are no longer afraid to express themselves.

Mic Check 1, 2...

Doin' it ACApella

Taken aback for a second interview, Alert/Carter and Associates also known as ACA is definitely on the high rise. As we entered the offices of Jean Alert and Beau-Guy Carter, FORTY MILLION DOLLARS slapped us in the face. No, it wasn’t actual cash, but it definitely caught our attention. Above Mr. Carter’s desk was a phrase that simply read “$40,000,000.” He explained that with money comes false friends and new family. It is up to us to decipher between the stragglers and surround ourselves with real friends, real family and true business. Unfortunately, Beau was in a recent accident where he had to evaluate his surroundings carefully. With his downfall, many of the people he held closest to him left his side. Those who stayed are the people he will continue to further himself in life with. So, once again, the FORTY MILLION DOLLAR question arises. Mr. Carter’s response was, “When we hit that forty million mark, the people that you interview today are going to be the people that’s going to be there later on. That’s it.”
Up and coming business entity Alert/Carter and Associates is a motions picture, sports management and entertainment firm. Separating the business world from the personal, ACA provides a comfortable family environment while exemplifying their hierarchy of authority. Jean Alert stated, “You want them to feel comfortable with you as a friend and also understand we’re here for their best interest in business.” Alert/Carter and Associates provides a full service management company with their public relations personnel Tamar Bazin, who has worked with several people in the fashion industry including the whole Russell Simmons family. Some of the artists Alert/Carter and Associates represent vary from athletes to actors and artists. To name a few, football player Jeffrey Pope from the New York Jets, pianist Chloe Lowe, Actors Shaun B. from hit TV series The Wire and Alexis Diez from TV network BET’s Comedy Central, as well Rhythm and Blues singer/song-writer Corey Gibson. As each artist takes on separate career paths, Alert/Carter and Associates caters to every need for them to successfully propel into and maintain balance in the business world. President of the company, Derrick Loftin and developing executive Jonathan Sykes, find every and any way to make sure the company runs smoothly and their artists stay happy and successful. As Mr. Alert and Mr. Carter plan for the future, they say, “Everyday in every way, I get better and better and better.” Nonetheless, as he comes about progress, his company and artists do too.
Along with the needs of their artists, Alert/Carter and Associates gives back to the community, working with young boys in the public school system, teaching them how to tie ties. Believing success is in business and the arts, Alert/Carter and Associates has brought means of etiquette to young children in the public school system; who are going to be more than just our children, but our future. Jean Alert gives us a quote told to him from up and coming soul singer, Kimberly Nicole. He says, “People aren’t happy because they’re not living their purpose and a part of loving your life is living your purpose and living your purpose is living freely.” After the trials and tribulations of switching companies and no longer managing certain artists in the industry, such as Chrisette Michelle, Jean Alert and Beau-Guy Carter are venturing off into a greater adventure and doing as they please. From prospective works such as an Old School Hip-Hop tour over seas, a new movie in reference to life back in the 1980’s around Red Hook Projects located in Brooklyn, New York and lining up a SEVEN FIGURE deal with a mysterious NBA player, Mr. Alert and Mr. Carter have huge plans for the future. We haven’t been told who the mystery Athlete is yet, but we do know it is someone from the New Jersey Nets basketball team. Stay updated with Alert/Carter and Associates by tuning in and signing on to www.UniversityHustle.blogspot.com.

::By Courtney Johnson, UH Contributor

SLUG: ONES 2WATCH-CHARLES HAMILTON

http://www.myspace.com/hamiltonsmusic
http://charleshamilton.blogspot.com

Picture, for a moment, the future of Hip-Hop – embellished with pink hues, an old school Sega Genesis hedgehog, and syncopated sounds from an offbeat musician playing on a pink Hello Kitty guitar. His name is Charles Hamilton, signed to Interscope and slated to be the next superstar.

|GABB: “How does it feel to be an artist on the come up with a major label deal?”
|HAMILTON: “I try not to pay too much attention to it honestly.”

But while he articulates humble words, the 21-year-old confidently reclines on the couch in his Harlem apartment – removing his pink oversized Skullcandy headphones – with a swagger that can only be explained by his newfound rise to fame. It’s the quintessential contradiction. The mere presence of media in his living room suggests the magnitude of his inevitable stardom.

His ascend began early in 2008. It was after signing a solo artist deal with Interscope that the label prompted Hamilton to fortify his Internet existence. Consequently, initiating the launch of the “Hamiltonization Process” – one mix tape integrated into the blogosphere every two weeks for four months. Each submitted to a different blog site. It’s the first time an artist has gone back underground to suffuse the blogworld.

The “Hamiltonization Process” is the marketing stratagem of Charles himself with help from the Hamilton Administration of course. “I’ve had that plan for years,” he said. “And now I got a chance to execute it and show people exactly how much I think into my music.”

For Hamilton, music is more than just the spoken word. He plays the piano, various percussion instruments, bass and lead ‘pink’ guitar. “There are so many different elements to me, it’s just Hip-Hop is my gateway in,” he said. “I’m a musician before anything.”

Even in the womb Hamilton showcased an insatiable palate for music, flipping around to Michael Jackson’s 1987 Bad album, according to his mother Talice. “I knew Charles has always been gifted musically,” she said. “In terms of creativity it was always there.”

But the new deal forces Hamilton to transition to a more mainstream sound. Yet he still has all the underground components that have kept his style motley and distinctive. “I’m loyal to what I do which is the free music but ultimately I’m a mainstream artist,” Hamilton said. “I’m the first underground artist on the mainstream.”

Now a major label artist back underground, it’s noteworthy that Hamilton can personally respond to feedback from blog supporters and antagonists. Although he sometimes becomes consumed by the antagonistic comments, there is no shortage of praise from his followers. Especially after holding his own during a freestyle cipher with heavy-hitters Kanye West and The Game.

It’s his passion for pink and his fixation with the Sega Genesis character Sonic the Hedgehog that have the blogs buzzing. But it’s not a gimmick, Hamilton said. There is a personal philosophy behind his infatuation with the color. "God is a woman and pink is the inside of a woman's womb and that’s where life comes out of, so wearing pink is a way of showing respect to God," Hamilton explained. And as for Sonic the Hedgehog, well sonic means ‘sound’ and hedgehogs bury themselves underground, so “I’m Sonic the Hedgehog because I bury myself into sound,” he said.

His ideology is unorthodox, but what should one expect from a musical-genius type. If the dawning of a new day in Hip-Hop is feasible, Hamilton may be just the man to rally the troops to victory.

::By Gabby R., www.GabGoLightly.blogspot.com

Ms Olivia: WALK LIKE A CHAMPION

Ms Olivia: WALK LIKE A CHAMPION
By Tewauna Oliver

In an exclusive interview with Olivia, formerly the leading lady of G-Unit, and her manager “Wolf” Johnson UH was able to get the dirt on what really caused the split from G-Unit, her recent trip to Africa, and what her plans are for the future.
The Brooklyn born songstress spent a year at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, studying Entertainment Law, before transferring to Five Towns College, also in Long Island, to follow her musical dreams. It was here that her potential was recognized, “I didn’t even finish college I went for two years and that’s when Clive came and got me. I wasn’t gonna turn down a million dollars so I went.” She says laughing.

Being the first artist to ever be signed to Clive Davis’ infamous J Records was no small feat and contributed to the journey that only learning through experience could present. Olivia opened up to UH on the adventure that is her life and states, “Everything I’ve been through has definitely been a stepping stone and I think it was for a reason, I don’t regret anything that’s ever happened because I think it was supposed to be that way. I don’t think God makes me do anything just because. That’s how it was planned and I was supposed to learn a lesson from what ever, and you know; I have.”She continues to say, “From the J Records situation I learned how the industry works. I learned how finicky the industry could be and I learned how to handle myself and be strong because you hear all these rumors. Being on the next label it was politics. That’s what happened while I was at Interscope, it was a lot of politics. I learned the ups and downs and now I’m better, I know exactly what I wanna do, how I wanna be, how I want it done now, and what I’m most grateful for is that now I get a third chance. Most artists don’t even get a first, half the artists don’t even get a second. So that’s exactly how I know that I’m supposed to be here and I did everything the way it was supposed to be done because not most people get to the third round and I do.” She finishes with a laugh. Olivia’s manager “Wolf” also reflected on the changes in her career and states, “They were all different situations and that’s the great part about music, it’s not a destination it’s a journey. “

As for the situation with G-Unit Olivia says, “What people don’t know is that 50 and I talked, [a year] prior to me leaving. I wanted to get off the label because there was no R&B sense, it was all just rap and am I really gonna stay in a group with the four of ya’ll for the rest of my life. So we talked about that, but you know the media misconstrues everything and it turned out to be what it was and we all just ended up playing on it and it made it bigger than it was.”

Although the time spent with G-Unit definitely helped to shape Olivia’s career the singer felt like she wasn’t performing the style of music that she wanted. Where she was more into R&B her time spent at Interscope was more hip-hop driven. “You see I had 50 on the songs, I had Banks on the songs and that’s cause 50 thought that the rap would help it sell but I was like I’m R&B that’s why the people love me, because you brought R&B to the group. That’s why we did Candy Shop, that’s why we did Best Friend, that’s why we did So Amazing. But he only knows Rap so he thinks that would be the best way to sell it. He doesn’t know how to sell R&B. I was trying to tell him we have no R&B people to help at the label and you’re doing things as if I’m a Rap artist and I’m not, so that was the issue.”

However “Wolf” provides a little more insight into the issues surrounding the split. “It had to come to an end because we were kind of mixing oil and water. She’s a R&B singer, they’re rappers and it was good in the beginning, great for publicity and all that stuff but at the end of the day it’s a job for us just like it’s a job for anybody else. So at the end of the day when you work you expect to get paid.”

Although there have been lots of rumors circulating around the singers leaving the group the only real issues seem to be monetarily and creatively based. According to “wolf”, Olivia “wrote on Candy Shop and 50 didn’t give her credit for it and he didn’t pay me for it. She wrote on “Best Friend” and to this day he hasn’t given her proper credit or money for those songs and it would be nice it one day he did. I do have legal and tangible proof that she wrote the songs so my day in court will come and everybody will see what it really is. Don’t get me wrong I’m grateful for the time we had together and we had a good opportunity but fair is fair. At the end of the day when someone works hard and goes all out for you they should be compensated not pushed to the side. But history will show everything, it’s no secret that Game left G-Unit, it’s no secret Buck left G-Unit, there’s a reason for that, that all didn’t happen by coincidence. People have to get paid when they render services.”

With the stress of her past behind her Olivia is moving on to much bigger and better things. She recently came back from a trip to Africa where she visited three different cities; Utanga, Lubumbashi, and Katanga. It was on this trip, while performing for close to 30,000 people and feeding bananas to gorillas, that she decided it was time for her to lend a helping hand to her fellow artists in Africa. “I’m building the first big studio in Africa, they have none. So all of the Artists there fly six or seven hours to Brussels or Belgium from Africa to record, so I was like you know what I wanna give back and I love the country cause I’ve been there so many times why don’t I do something. So we talked about it and I picked out the land before I left and we drew up the architecture, I’m so excited. We’ll probably break ground in two months and start the building. It’s going to be called K.O.S, Katanga Olivia Studios.”

Her manager “Wolf” elaborated on the details of the studio for us. “It’s going to be three stages: recording/dance studio, radio station, lounge, and an office that’s the first stage. Once that is completed there will be eight shops where we’ll bring goods and services from Jamaica and America to give them a flavor of what we love… from wears to food and things that we think they would enjoy. The third stage is a theater. It’s going to be 2500 to 3000 capacity seating with a fully equipped green room, and TV station. It’s going to be a very nice project and I’m looking forward to it.”

The new studio isn’t Olivia’s only big move, she just finished recording her new independent album, through Universal records, that has already been released overseas and is expected to drop in the US early 2009. Also according to her manager Olivia has “just hooked up with Tracey Moore one of the most well known and respected acting coaches in acting. She’s taken Olivia under her wing and he’s going to start two months of lessons with her. She’s going to go full force with the music and film at the same time.”

So it seems even though we won’t be seeing Ms Olivia beside 50 Cent, that doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing her. It’s all too often that we see talented singers not make it and weaker singers who are easier to market steal the limelight. It’s time we get and keep real talent in the forefront.