JumpinJack AJ

I think the whole thing is stupid. There's nothing wrong with those pictures. It's a picture of two people hanging up and clearly talking to/facing someone else. The angle that they happen to be on a bed is a weak and easy low blow from the tabloids. People are stupid.

I enjoyed this more than the stuff you previously shared. There's some great lyrics and I think having music under you has you introducing more rhythm to how you flow.

ERICA CAMPBELL - Changes Help (2014)

Ahhh, it must have been the preview on SoundCloud. Well, you can download the song here.

Here's the first collabo Jazzy has released with Dayne Jordan. I know I've peeped this song somewhere before (he probably put it on Facebook or something). Not exactly what I'd expect from Jeff, but I like it. Something fresh, dope scratches, a refreshing beat, and a new school emcee who isn't relying on cussing/ho's/money/sex/self-centeredness.

We knew it was coming, and here it is. The article only mentions her suing Viacom, so I'm wondering if she left TLC, L.A. Reid, and VH1 out of it. http://www.centrictv.com/music/articles/2014/04/28/perri-pebbles-reid-sues-viacom-for-40-mil.html The former manager of TLC sues over portrayal in group's VH1 biopic Justin Dwayne Joseph Posted: 04/28/2014 10:14 AM EDT Perri “Pebbles” Reid---singer and former manager of the R&B trio TLC---is suing Viacom for $40 million over the group's made for cable television biopic. PEBBLES BREAKS SILENCE ON TLC DRAMA, TALKS CHILLI AND L.A. REID AFFAIR In federal documents filed in an Atlanta court on April 25, Reid, 48, claims that the 2013 VH1 movie CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story portrayed her “as a conniving and dishonest business woman who hoodwinked three innocent girls and exploited their talent for her own personal gain.” PLAYLIST: THE MUSIC OF PERRI "PEBBLES" REID “[Viacom] ignored fundamental canons of journalistic and literary conduct by publishing false and defamatory accusations with actual malice,” states the documents. The lawsuit also states that contrary to what was depicted in the film, Reid never controlled TLC’s lawyers or accountants, never withheld contract terms from group members, and always paid the group what they were owed. WAS PEBBLES SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR TLC'S MONEY PROBLEMS? After selling 11 million copies of their 1994 album CrazySexyCool, TLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Members Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, and the late Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes sued LaFace Records and Reid's management company, Pebbitone, claiming they were each paid only $50,000 in 1993 and 1994. A spokesperson for Viacom said, “It’s our policy not to comment on matters in litigation.”

I couldn't believe it when I read it yesterday. Here's the first decent article I've seen on him. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dj-e-z-rock-of-it-takes-two-fame-dead-at-46-20140427 DJ E-Z Rock of 'It Takes Two' Fame Dead at 46 Rodney Bryce leaves behind ubiquitous tracks that helped hip-hop infiltrate pop world Rob Base (left) and DJ E-Z Rock during 2005 VH1 Hip Hop Honors Gold Carpet at Hammerstein Ballroom on September 22nd, 2005 in New York City. KMazur/WireImage By Jason Newman April 27, 2014 6:07 PM ET Rodney Bryce, who made his mark on hip-hop under the name DJ E-Z Rock, died Sunday, a spokesperson for Bryce's friend and collaborator Rob Base confirmed to Rolling Stone. The cause of death has yet to be revealed. 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time: Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two" Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock released their first single, "DJ Interview," in 1986, but the 46-year-old Bryce cemented himself into the hip-hop canon with 1988's iconic track "It Takes Two." Produced by Teddy Riley and built around a vocal sample from Lyn Collins' 1972 hit "Think (About It)," the song blended hip-hop with house music and became a nationwide hit, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Songs chart and helping to lift rap into the pop consciousness. The track would later be sampled by Snoop Dogg, Gang Starr, Girl Talk and South Korean girl group 2NE1, among many others, and has long become a pop culture staple, appearing in everything from the soundtrack to the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to a scene in Sandra Bullock's 2009 romantic comedy The Proposal. Questlove included the track on his Top 50 Hip Hop Songs of All Time for Rolling Stone, singling out James Brown drummer John "Jabo" Starks' work for the Brown-produced "Think." "Jabo's sparse, all-on-the-one funk was more at home with conservative soul lovers, which is why it makes total sense that... Jabo was the anchor of the New Jack Swing movement," wrote the Roots drummer. "Jabo's go-to magnum opus was on the five-break-filled JB-produced 'Think (About It)' by Lyn Collins. James' holy ghost yelp almost threatens to upstage Starks' show, but it's Starks' steady glide that gave R&B music its blueprint some 15 years after its release." The duo released two other singles from their debut album —"Joy and Pain" and "Get on the Dance Floor"—but "It Takes Two" would be the standout single off the group's debut album of the same name. The album was certified platinum in 1989 and reached No. 31 on the Billboard 200, an impressive feat for a hip-hop album at the time. Bryce would not appear on Rob Base's 1989 follow-up The Incredible Base, but reunited with the rapper for 1994's Break of Dawn. Rob Base and E-Z Rock both grew up in Harlem, becoming friends in the fourth grade. "Back then, there were other groups and we used to see other people perform," E-Z Rock told Pennsylvania newspaper The Morning Call in 1991. "I bought a set of turntables and he bought a mic." As E-Z Rock recalled, the duo sent "It Takes Two" to hip-hop label Profile Records and received a call from the label the next day. "At first, it was kind of weird because we only had one record," Rock said of the group's first hit "Make It Hot." "We would open up for people and get on for 15 minutes doing that one song. Then, when 'It Takes Two' came out, we started headlining." Speaking to The Boombox in 2011, Base was asked about the group's pop- and R&B-influenced sound. "Well, I know definitely I was one of the first artists to do the hip-hop and R&B thing," said Base. "When we did it, I just wanted to do something different. I didn’t want to do the same thing that the other groups were doing at the time. So we just did it that way and I really didn’t care what people said. There were a few groups that were saying, 'Oh, you’re selling out. You’re this, you’re that.' And I look at them now and they can’t even get one show." Various hip-hop artists paid condolences to the DJ on social media. DJ Scratch posted a late-Eighties picture of the duo on his Instagram, while Biz Markie tweeted, "R.I.P. to EZ Rock from Rob Base and EZ Rock. You will truly be missed." DJ Red Alert tweeted, "We Have Lost Our Very Own From Harlem NYC & The Hip-Hop Culture Our Brother DJ E-Z Rock. Rest In Peace…" and Base himself posted a picture on his Instagram with a picture of Bryce and the message "R.I.Power DJ EZ Rock. Team Fearless Salute." Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dj-e-z-rock-of-it-takes-two-fame-dead-at-46-20140427#ixzz30EFtdd5W Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

ROB BASE + DJ EZ-ROCK - Break of Dawn Break of Dawn (1994) Rest in peace, DJ EZ-Rock.

LATRELLE w/ LEFT EYE - Dirty Girl Dirty Girl, Wrong Girl, Bad Girl (2001) I don't know why they never released her album, Latrelle embodied everything that was great about radio-ready R-N-B in the early 2000's.

KELLY ROWLAND - Angel Down To Earth Soundtrack (2000)

I'll see what I can do. I saw my cousin today for Easter and I asked him to take a look at my scanner, which has been down for months. He's gonna try to swing by the crib sometime soon. Once it's fixed, I'll try to get it up here. I haven't read it in years, but it's a great article.

I like how Nas addressed it, but FP addressed it in the Source back in 1997 (Puffy is on the cover of the issue). He says how when he was writing some songs, Nas would be like "I like this, but what if you flip it this way?" It was casual and minor collaboration between peers Nothing less, nothing more.

And no, it’s not as simple as “hip hop is dead,” because it’s not. If you’re plugged in to what’s going down at Coachella, you’ve no doubt heard by now that one of the most illustrious hip hop acts of all time suffered a disastrous reunion set in California on Friday night, to the point where Andre 3000 asked the lackluster crowd mid-performance, “are y’all still here?” As the set progressed, people streamed out of the crowd and the supposed climax of “Hey Ya!” went over with the intensity of a poorly faked orgasm. Well, this got off to an awkward start…I guess appropriately so. There’s no other way to describe a legendary reunion show being met with such malaise. Fifteen years ago when lyrics-based hip hop ran the popular music scene, a Coachella audience would go crazy for a show like this. Live hip hop was the most exciting game in town, and your average festival-attendee would have a more personal connection with the act on stage. They were more likely to buy their ticket not with a “music festival experience” in mind, but with particular artists in mind. With the advent of the modern music festival, driven by dance music, this sentiment has shifted dramatically. A large portion of your average, mainstream festival-goer of 2014 heads out their front door with a different expectation than their counterparts in the past. Festivals today with any sort of electronic tilt have implicitly promised stratospheric production values, insane light shows, and flawless control of crowd energy: in summary, an opportunity to lose your ****ing mind. You can plop down hundreds of dollars without knowing a single artist and still know you’re going to have a blast. The needle has slowly shifted away from “music,” towards “party.” That’s okay. We all like to party and dance around. But now a great deal of people that come out to festivals have an expectation of immediately accessible music. You could have wandered into Dillon Francis’s Coachella set without knowing a single song and absolutely loved it. EDM, in a live setting, has a way of being instantly entertaining – and here’s the kicker – in a way lyrical, 90s-style hip hop really has no chance at matching. When you’re accustomed to thousands of perfectly synced strobe lights and the energy-building peaks and valleys of a common electronic dance music set, suddenly, watching a guy pace back and forth on stage uttering halfway-audible lines isn’t as entertaining anymore. So when Outkast took the stage, and began performing Outkast songs, with no dramatic flourishes or fireworks displays, the crowd almost seemed puzzled. A song that should be easy to sing along with, “ATLiens” for example, barely got a vocal reaction from the crowd. Wave your hands in the air, that simple command they could understand. But calling out one of the quintessential hooks of the 90s? Not happening, because most of the crowd didn’t know it already. What we saw in full force Friday night was a generational disconnect, mixed with a mismatch of expectations. To be fair, not a single person could be expected to go berserk for “Aquemini” if they were hearing it for the first time at a concert. If you’ve been bumping that album for a decade and know every word, you’d be loving it – but that type of person is increasingly becoming an endangered species at massive festivals. When Andre asked “Coachella are you tired?” it was indicative of the fact that most of the crowd had no idea what was going on. Having no idea what’s going on works just fine at most popular EDM performances – that’ll soon be remedied by a catchy melody, easy-to-follow chorus, or blast of bass – but at a hip hop show it’s fatal. Lulls between hit songs used to be tolerable, because A) it was expected to happen, and B) the crowd would be stocked with fans who knew every song anyway. But now the percentage of people like that has been diluted, and perhaps most critically, everyone is conditioned to that time between hit songs being filled with, well, more hit songs, often from other artists. Which is why many forms of music outside of the electronic sphere now just can’t hang with even a GTA or a Deniz Koyu at a major festival. The bar for energy and excitement has been set too high, and the mainstream interest at attending music festivals, driven by the proliferation of EDM mega-fests, has brought in a wide swath of people who simply aren’t what readers of a site like this would consider music fans. Everyone, from the most intense fan who listens to full albums on the day of release, to the casual listener whose only source of music is the FM dial in their car, can have a great time at a big EDM show. Toss that same wide cross-section of people in front of Outkast performing “Spottieottiedopaliscious?” You get the artist exclaiming, “I feel like I’m here by my goddamn self.” Can you even imagine a DJ at Coachella having to say that? It’s a new era for live music, and acts that aren’t going to be bringing the requisite amount of energy to please a crowd filled with thousands of casual fans need to consider their audiences more carefully now than ever before. You can’t expect someone who just staggered away from getting their brain rearranged at an explosive, confetti-filled Zedd performance is going to respond in any meaningful way to lyrical hip hop, unless they’re already a fan. It’s sad in a way, that a duo with such a storied career can no longer sufficiently entertain a large festival audience - but all is not lost. It’s a matter of “picking your spot,” and I can say with complete confidence that Outkast, or any of their contemporaries from the bygone golden era of hip hop, can still rock a crowd of thousands. Just not at a mainstream festival anymore. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFK6IaRFNKc

I think it was recorded in 1999. I believe Tim believes they might have done two songs together. It's been awhile since we discussed it, so my memory is a little foggy. It would have been great if they released a proper MIIB soundtrack...it would have been the perfect way to release the song. MJ also did a song with LL Cool J after Bad but before Dangerous. I have it on the mixtape.

I haven't listed to "Escape" (the version that leaded 10 years ago, or so), in a long time. It's on my parents computer and I just haven't been able to get my music off it yet. I remember sounding more slick and even more like some of the stuff on Invincible. I'm pretty sure this is remixed with a vintage MJ feel incorporated.

That's awesome! I've never been into collecting plaques. They are so pricey and just sit there...but this makes it all worth it!

Okay, this is throwing me off a bit. "Xscape" is available for streaming and this polished version isn't as good as the original. That's not really surprising. The thing is the point of remixing it should be to make it better...at least make it sound fresh. The original sounds very 1999ish and this version sounds just as dated, but not as good. I'm looking forward to getting the deluxe version with the origionals. Check it the remixed version of "Xscape" here. http://www.okayplayer.com/news/michael-jackson-xscape-mp3.html

I love the random banter in between the info...LOL

I love how candid she was with her answers.

LITTLE MIX - Case Closed DNA (2013) I gotta say, Little Mix is one of the few newish acts I care about. I miss having some R-N-Bish Pop groups that aren't doing top 40 dance music. They take me back to the late 90's/early 2000's groups.

I previously posted this on my Facebook. I'm so happy something new is coming out! I'm also really happy they are releasing the remixed/re-polished versions along with the originals. Nearly every 2Pac original was better than the doctored versions...especially as more albums were released. I would kill to have the chance to have mastered versions of his originals. I have a feeling that both the originals and remixed songs are going to be great. I got Xscape (which was originally spelled correctly) yeeeeeears ago. The leaked version was great quality, so I'm glad to see it getting a proper release. I liked the Micheal album, but it definitely didn't feel like an album when you listened to it straight though. Hopefully this one flows a little better. This is my first time hearing of the project, so I love that the wait isn't too long.

I just listened to it from start to finish last week. They album has aged well. It doesn't sound dated in the least. I couldn't find an official thread about the album being released, but if you go back about 50 some pages, you'll find a TON of posts we made about it. Here's the post I made about going out to get it at Walmart so that I could get it at midnight...lol... '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>>

Prepare yourself for pure dopeness. De La Soul just released a mixtape with Jay Dee/J Dilla beats! I've only got to preview it, but I'm already in love with it. Download it here... http://www.wearedelasoul.com/

IDINA MENZEL - Let It Go (Dave Aude Club Mix) (2014)

I agree with all you said, except I can deal with Mark being chosen over FP. Mark hasn't taken breaks like FP has. Also, while Mark has movies that seem written for him (Italian Job, Four Brothers, Shooter, etc), he has taken on a wider variety of movies with a variety of budgets. I think that's the edge he had on him for the list.