Weekend Reading: 8/29

“Early in life I had noticed that no event is ever correctly reported in a newspaper.”

- George Orwell

Just thought I’d share some interesting stuff with all y’all.

Drake’s Racist Line? Not So Much.

I was confused at first as well when I heard the line, but Young Son sets it all straight. Side note: check out Young Son’s music. Dude is dope.

Interview with producer Dela

A good friend of M.E., Praverb snags an interview with Dela. Well done, all around.

Tips To Optimize Pandora

I use Pandora all the time. For those who do not know, Pandora provides a streaming service based on songs you already like. It can be tailored and perfected to match your tastes.

Master the Art of Knife Throwing

Who doesn’t wanna learn how to do this? Seriously.

Got a cool article you saw around the ‘net? Toss me an email!

New Music: “The Pigs”

New record from Musical Essence favorite One Be Lo! Aww helll yeahhhhhhhh!

“The Pigs” f. Mike Posner

via RH.

Legend of the Fall Offs: Common (Sense)

“I remember when you did your thing without a doubt tastefully
The problem was you didn’t know when to bow out gracefully
Once told, never burn out, it’s best to fade away
Preserve your value so that you can live to see a greater day”
-Busta Rhymes, “Legend Of The Fall Offs”

Lonnie Lynn Jr. is still capable of being a great hip hop artist. He’s released arguably one of the best songs of all time (word to I Used To Love H.E.R.). He’s released one of my favorite albums of all time (word to Like Water For Chocolate). But lately, Common, I don’t care about you and your musical output, your “acting career”, or anything else you could possibly do. I wouldn’t pay to see you perform live.
I’m sorry. I feel bad about it, really, I do. All it would take for me to be a fan again is for you to release some music that doesn’t make my ears bleed. I would start at the beginning, but I’m expecting the readers of the site to be somewhat familiar with the story of the Artist Formerly Known as Common Sense.
Let’s just look at the last few musical outputs from our main man Lonnie. Let’s start with 2005’s Be. Kanye West went ape-shit all over that album, still trying to prove himself, and provided our boy with the best beats of his career not involving the Soulquarians and/or Dilla himself (RIP). I own this album, and still revisit it from time to time, but it’s replay value has diminished, except for the intro and “Testify”. (God, that intro is fantastic).
Next up, 2007’s Finding Forever. Talk about a snooze-fest. With the only track of substance being “The People”, C-to the double M-O, to the N, (…motherfucker move back!) borrowed some influence from his own Electric Circus, and used that electricity to shock me into sleep every time that record comes on. I would elaborate more, but I’m usually napping.
Finally, Universal Mind Control. Originally called “Infinite Summer” I believe, but was then pushed so far back past a summer release, it would have been absolutely retarded to keep that album name. So, he went with something worse, and, if you can try to understand, an even worse album cover. A floating shirt, really, Common? That’s all you can come up with? Seriously? This album was almost saved by the banger that is “The Gladiator” (See? I told you I’m trying to be a fan.), except that every other track isn’t good. And I wanted to shoot Common, and then myself, after hearing “Sex 4 Suga”. So, needless to say, I enjoyed that album. /sarcasm.

Alright look Common, let me explain something to you. We, as fans, share the same disappointment when you come out with a new record. Mos Def must be teaching you some things. So, if you want an album that people will like and then subsequently buy (which makes you money), here’s what you need to do:

• Call up ?uest. Have him drum the shit out of all your record. (Sidenote: recently saw The Roots live. Excellent show.)
• Just rap. No more corny lines. (“I can like a pop machine!”)
• Throw in some featured artists that can help your song(s) be better. (Fuck The Neptunes, especially Pharrell)
• Maybe a Kanye beat. Or two. Or five.

If you do these, shit, at least some of them, you’ll have a much better record than the last two steaming piles you’ve tried to pass off as albums. Maybe people will buy them. Oh wait, you don’t really need the money. I forgot. You’re an “actor.” Right.

Housecleaning / Updates / General Information

Alright, here we go. Let me talk for a minute.

I haven’t written anything of substance AT ALL for this blog in quite some time. In fact, the only I really had were excuses, instead of written pieces. However, real life does tend to take priority over the blog. I transferred schools, have been working 40 hours a week, keeping up with the lady friend, and trying to stay in contact with some long-lost people. So, in that sense, real life has been keeping me busy.

I usually enjoy writing, but often I’d really not have much to say. Anything new and substantial in music is covered by the big blogs such as The Smoking Section, Nah Right, 2 Dope Boyz, and all of those. I mean, shit, Kevin Nottingham launched his own label. Good for you man, that’s awesome.

Some bloggers really have an identity, or a specialty, that keeps people coming back and more people signing up for the RSS feeds. Ivan’s got sample sets. Max does hilarious and informative reviews.  So, partly, I’ve been trying to figure out what makes my blog unique and compelling – basically, why anyone would give two shits what I have to say. Sometimes, writing is just an outlet, allowing me to talk about whatever I want. Many of my friends are not as into music and things as I am, so this crowd helps me out there.

This blog’s identity still hasn’t really formed. It’s clearly titled Musical Essence, but if I stick with just music, then: (1) there isn’t enough to talk about that hasn’t been covered, and (2)  see number 1. Right now, full disclosure here, I get about 50 hits a day. Which is basically practically nothing.

Finally, I’m gonna keep trying. I’m going to continue to write, basically about stuff that interests me. If you like it, let me know, and stay along for the ride. If you don’t, well then, peace. I’m gonna bring back a few old categories that haven’t been discussed in a bit. I had a HUGE Eminem post about how much he fell off, but then it was announced that he was headed back to the studio. Post pointless.  I read about 100 blogs per day, so I find all sorts of useful information: enter “The Rundown” – a weekly-ish compilation of cool/interesting stuff.

So, this new mentality is kicking into effect starting this second, as I’m prepping some outlines for a few posts right now. Expect them to be published in the coming days, no later than Monday. I’m trying to establish a posting schedule to keep myself on track. Also, if anyone has an idea for the banner up top, let me know – I’ve been trying to replace that for quite some time. I might get a new theme all together. Well, I’ve been typing forever now. If you read all this, word, thank you. Expect Musical Essence to kick it into high gear and come back with some heat.