JumpinJack AJ

I miss the days when we'd post about new albums that came out. I just wanted to post about the new Beyonce album. I've been pretty hard on Beyonce, mostly because she's an amazing talent but her solo music is rarely amazing. Her first album was a nice effort of straight R-N-B with pop appeal. The ballads were the strength of the album (their production and their lyrics). BDay was tired, under produced, and predictable. Once again, the ballads were the only true gems on the album. I Am...Sasha Fierce was utter garbage (sorry Julie). The songs were over produced but didn't sound any good, her voice was rarely featured properly, many of the songs were lyrically stupid, and the Hollywood aspect of it was corny. Beyonce has come back with a fresh an interesting album. I really want a straight R-N-B, Soul album from her, but this is good too. Her voice is back. She's sounds great and she's really singing again. The lyrics, for the most part, are on point across the board. Sure, some songs have more emotion to them than others but I really like where she takes the album lyrically. The most important aspect of the album is the production. You simply can't put the album in the box. The sounds and the instruments used in the music are just different but not crazy. If I would have gotten the R-N-B/Soul album I wanted from her, it would have never sounded this interesting. I can't say I love every beat on the album but there are only 2 songs or so that I really don't like the production to. Beyonce definitely stepped her game up and took on a nice challenge that will almost certainly challenge the music industry to some extent. I gotta give her props. Peep the album if you think it might be your cup of tea. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBXMSwO5JKA On a separate note, the album has some really interesting photography in the insert which is often corny. She needs to remember that she's her most beautiful when she just looks like herself. If you are picking up the album, get it at Target. Target's exclusive deluxe edition has 3 bonus songs and 3 remixes.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. Annie is a classic and well loved story. I can't image them topping the original movie. Overbrook would typically partner with the right people to make this project but Jay-Z is not that right person. I grew up watching the movie as a kid and did the music in my early 20's. I find it hard to see this turning out amazing. They proved a lot of people wrong with Karate Kid (which I still haven't seen) based on the reviews I read.

If only we could hire all of the annoying teens who used 2 promote B2K on the Sony boards...we could spam the entire worldwide web with the cause.

I have posted it on his Facebook a couple times but its now set up so you can only see his posts, even tho' it gives you the ability to post on it. Last night I posted it on Jazzy's artist page and on the DJ Jazzy Jeff mixtapes page. Something is up with the group tho, when I went to it yesterday, I had to rejoin. This isn't the 1st time this has happened. I'm not sure if any one else is dealing with this.

LEFT EYE - Too Street 4 TV Dysfunktional Family Soundtrack (2002/2003)

My heart has always been in it. I just don't know what we can do to get this to spread. I complained 100 times that nobody on this board wanted to back this any more...lol. Let's shake things up! What's some new ideas we can come up with?

Missy Elliott Reveals Thyroid Disease Struggles By The BV Staff on Jun 23rd 2011 12:35PM Missy Elliott Hip-hop star Missy Elliott has revealed that she has been suffering from Graves' disease, an incurable autoimmune disorder that affects the thyroid. 1040Share After keeping her condition private for years, the 'Work It' singer has disclosed that she was diagnosed with the disease in 2008. However, when she experienced a sudden loss of muscle control recently, Elliott admitted that she's been undergoing treatment. "I was [driving and] trying to put my foot on the brake, but my leg was jumping. I couldn't keep the brake down and almost crashed," the Virginia rapper-producer reportedly told 'People' magazine. "I couldn't write because my nervous system was so bad -- I couldn't even use a pen." Elliott said she has endured several other debilitating hyperthyroid symptoms, including mood swings and hair loss, and has revealed that she turned to radiation treatment. The solution improved her condition, but cannot cure her of the disease. "I'm 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms) lighter because I've been exercising," she continued. "My thyroid is functioning, so I haven't had to take medication in about nine months. (But) you live with it for the rest of your life." While Graves' disease is rarely life-threatening, it is five to 10 times more likely to affect women. Though almost 2 percent of the female population are known to have the disease, its causes are not known. Elliott, who turns 40 on July 1, has been on the comeback since her diagnosis. She is working on new music with longtime collaborator Timbaland, and will be featured on the June 29 season premiere of VH1's 'Behind the Music,' where she will reportedly further discuss her condition, as well as the sexual abuse she suffered as a child.

JILL SCOTT - So Blessed The Light of The Sun (2011) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWyRe50FmBM The new album is great. It's not as good as her 1st (but well any of them ever be?) I'm just lovin' the new music. This is the only track done by ex-ATOJ producers.

It's not exactly my cup of tea (in fact, I don't even like tea) but I found this very interesting and and very well put together. Awesome job!

Praise God! JJ+FP forever!

SNOW - Rivertown Murder Love (1995) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6rYf0-Le7Y

This song is so dope. I've been following her on Facebook. I can't wait for this release!! Jazzy's production is a perfect mix of the old and new.

This is definitely a different kind of project. At this point I don't really have any input. The guy who is writing/directing the web series I'm doing (who is also one of my best friends) agreed that he can shoot anything needed from me.

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JOHN MAYER - Half of My Heart Battle Stories (2010)

Yeah, i hope this leads 2 some sort of justice. He could also be some idiot in jail trying 2 get attention. We'll see what comes of it.

I don't think I'm being unrealistic about him making more music. Unless he says he's done, and I'm still believing for more music, I'm not unrealistic...ha ha. And even at that point, I'm okay with that. At this point, I just see it as painfully long time between albums. Hip-Hop is a part of him and he's a part of Hip-Hop. He's quick to drop a rhyme at various events. His movies took alot of focus for awhile and now his kids' careers are taking his focus. I have a feeling between MIB3 and BB3, there's a good chance something will happen.

I haven't gotten to absorb the lyrics yet. I've just vibed to the production and the delivery. For the songs that I have listened a little closer to, the lyrics are good. As expected, they are light years ahead of the typically Wayne/Drake/Ross/Nicki crap. I will say that Eminem has more charisma on the songs though. I love Royce but his deliver just doesn't have the same energy as Eminem's. That has nothing to do with the lyrics though.

I love how 2Pac when from dissing Arsenio to being cool with him and doing his show multiple times. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz1n-7Dm9vk

Inmate Confesses to 1994 Robbery of Tupac Shakur By KEVIN DOLAK and SHEILA MARIKAR (@SheilaYM) June 16, 2011 A convicted murderer serving a life sentence in a Brooklyn, N.Y., prison claims he robbed Tupac Shakur in a 1994 incident where the late rapper was shot five times, insisting that a hip hop mogul hired him for the job. Dexter Isaac is listed as the author of a confessional letter to Allhiphop.com in which he claims that he was hired by entertainment mogul James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond to carry out the November 1994 robbery in front of New York's Quad Studio. Isaac is currently serving a life sentence for an unrelated crime. During the robbery, Tupac was shot, but Isaac didn't indicate who actually pulled the trigger. "He gave me $2,500, plus all the jewelry I took, except for one ring, which he wanted for himself. It was the biggest of the two diamond rings that we took. He said he wanted to put the stone in a new setting for his girlfriend at the time, Cynthia Ried. I still have as proof the chain that we took that night in the robbery," Isaac wrote in the statement. Isaac's allegations against Rosemond -- who manages the careers Mike Tyson and Sean Kingston through his Czar Entertainment -- come after Rosemond accused him of being a government informant. Claiming that he has kept Rosemond's secret for years, in the letter, Isaac accuses Rosemond of being the actual informant, stating that he has documents proving that Rosemond aided the government to arrest his friends in order to keep him out of prison. PHOTO: Tupac Shakur seen in this undated file photo. Ron Galella/WireImage/Getty Images Tupac Shakur seen in this undated file photo. View Full Size PHOTO: Tupac Shakur seen in this undated file photo. Ron Galella/WireImage/Getty Images Tupac Shakur seen in this undated file photo. Unsolved Murder: Tupac Shakur Watch Video Lil Kim Not Happy With Biggie Biopic Watch Video Teen Valedictorian Raps at Graduation Watch Video In the letter, Isaac also insinuates that he has further information regarding Shakur's unsolved 1996 murder and the death or rapper Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G., in 1997. He also implies that Sean "P Diddy" Combs is in cahoots with Rosemond in some capacity. "Now I'm not going to talk about my friend Biggie's death or 2Pac's death, but I would like to give their mothers some closure," it reads. "It's about time that some one did, and I will do so at a different time," Isaac says in the letter. "Jimmy, you and Puffy like to come off all innocent-like, but as the saying goes: You can't fool some of the people of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time." The 1994 robbery and shooting – in which Shakur was shot five times, twice in the head -- is widely cited as an instigating event in the long-running rivalry between Shakur and Wallace throughout the mid1990s. Shakur recovered from the 1994 shooting. In an interview with Vibe magazine in April of 1995, Shakur stated that he believed that Uptown Records' founder Andre Harrell, Sean Combs, and Wallace -- who were all inside the Quad Studio building at the time -- had prior knowledge of the robbery. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told the Associated Press that the department is looking into the allhiphop.com posting, and if it is determined to be legitimately from Isaac, they will seek to interview him. Rosemond's lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, said Isaac's confession is merely a ploy to get out of a life sentence for a crime unreleated to the Tupac incident. "All of a sudden, 17 years later, he's not looking to clear his conscience," Lichtman told ABCNews.com. "He's looking to get out of a life sentence for a murder he committed that has nothing to do with this."

I picked up the album yesterday. I really like it. Maybe 3 of the songs are filler songs but other than that, it's a completely solid album with dope production and emcees who are actually rapping correctly.

Today marks what would have been 2Pac's 40th birthday. Love him or hate him, he was/is one of Hip-Hop's most versatile emcees. His ability to be open and vulnerable on one song and then over the top angry and violent on another has yet to be unmatched. I think his emotional and open songs are his best, along with his down to earth, around the way kind of songs. However, "Hit 'Em Up" is the evilest diss track of all time. As outlandish as this sounds, I think that if 2Pac was never murdered, commercial rap would never be as crappy as it is 2day. Sure, his and Biggie's death led to the fun and bright time and Hip-Hop but it also got so much pop attention at that time that it changed what Hip-Hop artists had 2 do 2 be popular and sell records, ...sell out and compromise. In some people's eyes I think he's underrated and misunderstood...but he's still around and respected after all these years. Happy Birthday 2pac! (((Only wish him Happy Birthday in this post if u are going to post a 2Pac video, song, or interview.)))

BAD MEETS EVIL - Echo Hell: The Sequel (2011) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DlKU7LpHFs This is probably my favorite song on the album. I think three songs on the album are only okay but it's an overall a dope album.

That track is dope! JAMIZ - Get Loot Get Loot (Single) (1994) This guy was in the group G-Wiz, one of my favorite groups ever. I think I am one of the only people who got his solo single and loved it. I can't believe I found a music video for it (which is pretty awful). This is my 1st time seeing it ever...lol.

The 1st I heard this my jaw dropped. It's just beautiful song by an artist with a beautiful voice...and she's quite beautiful herself. I downloaded this song about a week and a half ago and at some point I posted it in the "What Are You Listening To" post. I've been meaning to post about her on Jeff's board but keep forgetting. I'm really excited about this release.