Tabi Bonney Feat. Terri Walker - “Beautiful Lover” Music Video

Tabi always remains classy with everything he does. Even when showing his sensual side he portrays his main (and only woman in the video) as a beautiful human being. (Opposed to some romp shaking stripper down at Shakey’s Fried Chicken and Kittens.) Doing the ronchy BET UnCut thing just isn’t his style. Thank goodness.

His latest video is simple: he’s with a girl who dons lingerie. He raps about how great of a lover she is. Nothing too complex. However, the visuals perfectly blend with the heavy guitars Ski Beatz implemented in the song.

Plus: T&A for the fellas, chiseled man chest for the ladies. Everybody wins!

But: Lots of butt, actually.

What?: Tabi Bonney hangs out in a full bath with chucks, shorts, and a button-up. He wears less clothes while not being in a bathtub full of water. I guess he’s modest?

Watch the “Beautiful Lover” video for yourself.

“Time Warner is Running This Rap SHT”

You have access to a wide variety of things, right? Different cable channels, different radio channels, different webpages to view on the Internet, different music artists to listen to.

There’s only six major media companies that control EVERYTHING around you. Don’t believe the hype.

TruthIsScary.com drops the bomb:

Who Owns The Media? The 6 Huge Corporations That Control Almost Everything We Watch, Hear And Read

Back in 1983, approximately 50 corporations controlled the vast majority of all news media in the United States. Today, ownership of the news media has been concentrated in the hands of just six incredibly powerful media corporations. These corporate behemoths control most of what we watch, hear and read every single day. They own television networks, cable channels, movie studios, newspapers, magazines, publishing houses, music labels and even many of our favorite websites. Sadly, most Americans don’t even stop to think about who is feeding them the endless hours of news and entertainment that they constantly ingest. Most Americans don’t really seem to care about who owns the media. But they should. The truth is that each of us is deeply influenced by the messages that are constantly being pounded into our heads by the mainstream media.

Read the rest of Michael Snyder’s article at BlackListedNews.com.

Did Gangstarr Break Up Because of Drugs?

Every so often, somebody comes along and claims they were tight with [insert famous rapper here], and they had a falling about because [money, wild-for-the-night-behavior], women, their style got stolen, etc].

I remember when some dude who claimed to grow up in the Marcy projects stepped out and said Jay never actually sold drugs, and his dreams of grandeur were stolen. Being that Mr. Carter stole styles from Jaz-O to Tupac, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true.

This Gusmo person on the other hand, sounds like he just wants attention. Granted his story could be true but, bad timing and no alibis makes him look like a scornful man. And this entire story is now available for DVD purchase! Geez, I totally believe you now.

Plus anybody who’s been around anybody in the entertainment industry for three seconds could guess they’ve sniffed a line or two during their lives.

Rashad Phillips at HipHopDX reports:

Gang Starr Affiliate Gusmo Says Drugs & Theft Broke Up The Group
Guru’s close associate explains from his perspective why the group split.

Gang Starr Foundation member Gusmo recently spoke to Forbez DVD in anticipation of the release of his upcoming DVD documentary Breakup of the Chain & Starr, making shocking allegations about why Guru and DJ Premier went their separate ways. During the interview, he said that drugs and theft caused a rift between the group members and that Preem had issues at the time.

“[The DVD is] exposing how the whole shit went down and why Guru left. And the situation why he left, there was drugs involved and all of that. Preem, you know what I’m talking about,” he said. “Niggas was cracking that fucking nose candy. I ain’t saying everybody, but Preem know what I’m talking about. Niggas getting high, taking money, niggas robbing tour money… Guru just got tired of it and said fuck that, I’m out.”

Rest the rest of the story at HipHopDX.

Vic Spencer - Vic Greenthumbs Mixtape Review

Rating:

Vic Greenthumbs is Live for it’s confusing concept (as a whole project), dirty old man alter-ego, dope male and female Chicago MC’s, funny ad-libs, vivid and direct storytelling, and the the jazziest beats since ATCQ’s Midnight Marauders.

Who the FCK is he?

Err…a rapper? I found everything I could about this guy and posted it in my Hard Bars review. I don’t know anything about him, except he needs some serious search engine optimization. I typed Vic Spencer in Google and this guy came up.


Hahahaha. No SHT. His website is right here.
Oh yeah, he’s also a breast man, so there’s that (Vic Spencer the rapper).

Cover Art

The photo for the cover is simple. Vic Spencer is shown coughing/yawning/holding back vomit as he casually strolls through a Twilight-Zone dimension. Possibly it’s a place where single celled organisms grow a 16 hundred million times their original size. If that’s the case, his expression could be one of fear, or surprise. It might be a place where holographic clusters of marijuana float around, taunting his inability to smoke them. Maybe he ate some bad Chinese food and farted so hard he hallucinated. I have no idea what’s going on with the front cover; ¡que misterioso!.

In any case, his logo is dope as FCK. I seriously love it. ::hi fives::

The Bad

Vic Spencer’s Alter-ego Vic Greenthumbs: The concept of the mixtape is supposed to (I’m guessing) follow through like a movie. Detailed and emotional stories about relationships, life, Chicago, and of course weed, play out over jazzy, bass-heavy beats. Sounds good, right? Yes! It does. For one exception; Vic Spencer’s raspy-voiced alter-ego Vic Greenthumbs.

His constant ad-libs and interjections were annoying to say in the least. His scruffy voice and loud demeanor made it difficult for me to take a lot of tracks seriously; it distracted me from the lyrics, and clashed with the smooth instrumentals playing in the background. At about 15 of out the 31 songs on this tape featured this character (which reminded me of every dirty old ashy black man in every major city, EVERYWHERE).


Hide your kids.

Overall, the movie theme could have been better executed. Several skits depicting a storyline involving Greenthumbs would have been dope. A short movie accompanying the mixtape would have been dope. An outro and interludes to add closure to the mixtape would have been dope. If important facts about Greenthumbs were given on the tape, they totally evade me. I’ve listened to the entire project several times, and I’m still lost as to who Green really is and why he’s DMN near on half of the mixtape.

Maybe it’s me; maybe I missed the point. I honestly feel like the concept exists with good intentions, but the focus was lost somewhere.

5 Deadly Venoms: This track features ALL DOPE FEMALE EMCEES. YES! Vic doesn’t spit not one bar on this song. I appreciate it to the fullest. Why is it in the bad section? One simple reason: Lady Pharroah scares me. She raps like she’s DMX’s long lost sister. She sounds like she would deck your man in the face for your lunch money. I feared for my life when she yelled “I’m the MTHRFCKNG king” at me. I’m not gonna say I believe she’s the MTHRFCKNG king, but, I believe she’s the MTHRFCKNG king.

The Battle Crave: Objectively, there’s nothing wrong with this song. The sultry-smooth lays a good foundation for Vic’s well-crafted story about a quick fling. It’s vivid, and detailed; which is why I probably don’t care for this track too much. Being a female, I just don’t want to step into the mind of a man. It’s kinda like walking into a hoarder’s house. It looks completely normal on the outside, and then you walk in and go, “EWWWWWWWWWWWWW COOTIES!!!!”

Boys are nasty. ::scrunches face::

The Good

Vic Spencer’s Ad-libs: His happiness about the two bags of fat that protrude out of a women’s chests is emphatic, lively, and FCKNG hilarious. On several songs, especially on “Bunni Over East,” and “Detroit’s Tiger,” his background emphasis on monkeys and carrots literally made me laugh out loud. I don’t know if it was intentional, but BTCHS always like to laugh so, he gets points for that.

Felonland: This insightful tracks sheds light on Vic’s life. He passionately raps about his struggles growing up in group homes and dealing with family issues (“My auntie was heartless/ she kicked out her blood to take care of kids that was retarded”). The whiney harmonica embedded with a heart-felt bass guitar serves as the perfect plate for him to air the blues.

A Fried Mentality: Very few hip-hop beats sound good without the drums. However, whoever produced this track did a great job of creating an ambiance and a pocket without a rhythm section. Vic dives in with liquid flow that blends in with the instrumental perfectly. The entire song is about smoking weed, and if you don’t smoke it now, you will want to after you hear this song.

The Gray Area:

The mixtape includes a massive 31 tracks. That’s a lot of songs. The sheer amount of music made it difficult for me to pinpoint a common theme, and to review. I remember back in the day, I hated paying $20 for a five-track album. However, more isn’t always better. The Roots dropped UnDun with half as many tracks as Greenthumbs, and it’s probably their magnum opus. All the tracks on this mixtape overwhelmed me a bit as a listener, but at the same time, I love music. A project with less content would be easier to digest.

Dope or Nope?

After listening to Vic Greenthumbs with an open mind and intense scrutiny, I’ve discovered unfocused concepts, some hit or miss bars, and some really great music. I think with a little bit more direction and determination, Vic Spencer could SHT on most of these new rappers. In fact, I know he can do that now. He’s a great MC with a heavy background and an especially unique sound. Even the songs I don’t care for so much are still dope. Each individual track is excellent within itself, but the project sounds like a bunch of songs put together, instead of songs that function as pieces within a whole. However, it is iPod worthy none-the-less. Vic Greenthumbs is Dope to listen to on a snowy day with a blunt and a cup of tea.

Famsquad, Sir Michael Rocks, & Cashflow Ellis Video Clip

I’m not too familiar with Famsquad or Cashflow Ellis, so I cannot personally cosign for those dudes, and I’m currently too lazy to do any research on them right at this moment.

I know, shame on me. ::smacks the back of my hands::

What I can say is that I received this video with them in it, and It’s classy. Not hipster, not hood, but just right (the music’s not so bad either). Back in November, Famsquad and Cashflow Ellis performed their Keeynote-produced single “Attitude” at Chicago’s Funky Buddah Lounge. Sir Michael Rocks was also there serving as their swagged out lead crack-cooking dancer. He’s so good, he can do it with his eyes closed.

Syke naw. He was really there rapping.

No Ending Films turned clips of the performance into a promo for the Buddah Lounge. The visuals are dapper, the music is dapper, but the music editing? Well, just watch for yourself. (And sip on a glass of pinot noir while you’re at it.)

Funky Buddha Lounge Promo from No Ending Films on Vimeo.

Purchase Famsquadilliana’s “Attitude” on iTunes. You can also tweet these dudes: @Famsquadilliana @CashflowEllis @KEEYNOTE @NoEndingFilms.