Archive for November, 2005
Freshly Squeezed
Freshly Squeezed
- When you’re as obsessive as Pharrell Williams about crafting melodies and spaced-out hip-hop club beats, you don’t even have to think about making a solo album. It just happens. Williams, one-half of the Neptunes hitmaking team — and the best-dressed man in the world, according to Esquire magazine — was fiddling around in the lab between recording sessions with artists like Mariah Carey, Omarion and Slim Thug, when out popped his new CD “In My Mind.” “When I’m working on certain acts — in between sessions, before the session, after the session, or like while they’re at lunch — I stay working, and I make beats,” Williams told asap last week while preparing for a Vibe Awards rehearsal. (continue reading)
- Songstress Ashanti is rumored to be at the top of the list of new artists being eyed by Bad Boy Entertainment. The fate of Ashanti’s label The Inc. is undetermined, with its current status being halted by a federal investigation for money laundering and racketeering. Bad Boy is newly distributed through Atlantic and insiders say that executives are hoping to woo Ashanti to their new home. Her last album Concrete Rose was released late last year on the boutique label, went it was still under the Island Def Jam umbrella.
- ATL’s finest come together to recreate famous 1958 ‘A Great Day in Harlem’ photo by Art Kane. On Friday, what seemed to be impossible was done. More than 50 members of Atlanta’s music community came out to stand together, unified. Literally. Call it “A Great Day in Atlanta.” T.I., Ludacris, Bobby Valentino, members of Disturbing Tha Peace, the Ying Yang Twins, T-Mo and Kujo Goodie, TLC’s T-Boz, the ladies of Crime Mob, Organized Noize, Killer Mike, Field Mob (okay I’m hating, them niggas are from Albany, GA not ATL), Mr. Collipark, Jermaine Dupri, influential music exec Kawan “KP” Prather, DJ Crew the Aphilliates, Bone Crusher, Boys N Da Hood, Young Jeezy and others gathered to recreate the famous 1958 “A Great Day in Harlem” photo by Art Kane. For the original, Kane assembled close to 60 members of the jazz community in New York’s Harlem neighborhood — including Count Basie, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and Henry “Red” Allen — to pose together. The ATL gathering will be part of the upcoming MTV special “My Block: Atlanta.” (via mtv.com)
You can see plenty of behind-the-scenes footage and the actual “A Great Day in Atlanta” photo which was taken by Amanda Marsalis December 11 at 4:30 p.m. ET on MTV2.
- This goes out to my BX crew: Remy Ma is giving away 600 turkeys and 400 hams (the good ones) for families in need today. Visit Beautiful Hustle for more info.
- Did anybody watch the AMA’s last night? I forgot all about it!
Family Business
Dear Family,
Please take time out from cleaning chitlins and smoking weed to read the following. Thanks.
- Wait until you get in your own house to take a dump.
- Cousin Angela stop being siddity for once in your life. Every year you turn your nose up at the food (the same shit you was raised on mind you) and talk about how “country” we are. Hoe sit down.
- BE ON TIME BLACK PEOPLE! Last year we were supposed to eat at 3 p.m. and didn’t actually get started until the infomercial for “Classic Soul Ballads” came on.
- Your kid breaks you buy.
- If you know your are one of those people who struggle to boil water please do not try to use this time to get your Rachael Ray on. Just bring some Chek soda and we’ll call it even.
- If I hear the phrase “Hey (insert my family’s nickname for me), you think you can watch the kids while I run up the street? I’ll be right back” this holiday season I am going to lose it. You know how many times one of my cousin’s trips “up the street” has turned into a six hour long escapade? Take your kid with you!
- Family gatherings do not equal amateur night at Showtime at the Apollo.
- This goes out to all of my”big” cousins: Get your own shit. Do not ask me to bring you back a couple of napkins, a peach soda, silverware, or a toothpick. This is why you have all of those damn kids for.
- Uncle Rawkus no one cares about your political views. Please refrain from using this family gatherings as an opportunity to tell us about the white man oppressing black America; we don’t give a shit.
- I said it once, I’ll say it 1,000 damn times: Stop it with the fucking Tyler Perry movies already! This is not the Madea film festival! “Meet The Browns” is not funny after you’ve watched it for the 2,000th time.
Other Great Holiday Tips
“Do not be ghetto and take a plate home if someone invited you over for dinner. It’s like a buffet, eat all you can while you there and leave with a full belly. Just assume the answer is no. – Dream
“There is only so many things you can do with left over Turkey, do not try to re-freeze it and save it for Christmas! ” – Es
“Don’t try to save wrapping paper for next year. My grandmother does this – - she saves bows and wrapping paper off of other people’s gifts. This is the only tacky thing I can think of that my grandmother does.” – Style + Grace
“Making sure not to get too drunk and reveal all of the family secrets to the family.”- Miss Keish
Unfresh
This picture is unfresh on some many levels its ridiculous. I’ll let you do the dirty work.
Edit – Shouts out to Suburban Diva, it really is a hard knock life for Whitney.
Hustler’s Ambition
You wanna be hustlers can learn a thing or two from 20 year old entrepreneur/community advocate Shola Adisa Farrar. This Oaktown native has been making moves long before she signed on as a one of the sixteen contestants of BET’S most recent attempt at reality television. While the Fordham University senior may not have been crowned the Ultimate Hustler by Dame Dash’s standards you haven’t heard the last from this future mogul yet. She’s got that ambition baby!
Fresh: So how has life been like for you since the show wrapped?
Shola: Life has been great! I’m in school at Fordham University and I will graduate in May.
Great, what is your major in?
I’m majoring in Music and minoring in Communications.
Big things, big things!
Yup! Yup! Yeah in addition to school. I have also been working with the Oakland Youth Uprising Center to get things popping off for Oakland, where I’m from. Also I have found an active acting agent so I’ve been going on a lot of acting auditions and casting calls. And there are many other things in the works, so you’ll be seeing a lot of me soon.
Do you think that the show did an accurate job of representing you as a person?
The last few episodes I think I was able to stand out as a personality on the show. It was a time during the taping that I felt more confident, and decided to really be myself regardless of any negative or questioning feedback the other cast members had about me. And I carry myself with a certain regard and I think it showed that. I’ve gotten e-mails about the class that I showed and how I stood out from the other contestants, so I think the show showed me for the most part how I am and in a positive light. There are some questionable things that happened at the end of my run on the show that tried to damper my image, but I think people saw through that and thought me being cut was a decision that had no grounds.
I totally agree with you. I respected the fact that you stood your ground when Seven was trying to “school” you in the SUV. Girl I don’t know how you did it I would’ve lost it!
Well thank you. Yeah, I think people thought I was a push over because I was kind of quiet in the beginning but that is not he case, I don’t stand for people disrespecting me or trying to tell me about myself.
Word. What did you think about Seven’s little spazz out session she had once Dame decided to give her the boot for her comments?
Well I think Seven was doing too much. She needed to accept the fact that what she did was wrong and let it go.
Exactly. Do you still remain in contact with any of the other contestants from the show?
Yeah I am in contact with most of them. Its funny because although Seven is the most opposite from me, me and her are cool and talk regularly.
Its nice to see that there isn’t any ill will between the two of you.
No not all…its a reality TV show, you cant take what happened on that show to heart, we were in competition mode. But now we are in networking-how can we work together to help each other mode.
Yeah that’s a good thing. We don’t want to see a showdown post show between the two of you like Oprah had between Omarosa and the other contest on “The Apprentice” (laughter).
(laughter) Yeah
So was there anything else going on in the house that the show has neglected to display so far?
No not really, not that I can think of.
So let’s fast forward to the last episode. Many people including myself and Sheryl Underwood think that Jen totally sabotaged the last mission by giving you the wrong bag when you made the delivery to Diddy. What was going through your mind once you realized that had occurred?
Well it never occurred to me that Jen had sabotaged me, honestly I don’t think Jen was smart enough to think that through. She just couldn’t complete the simplest of task of giving me the right bag. I was embarrassed and very upset that she would mess something up like that, that was so simple. She made me look bad in front of Diddy and I was mad at her for that. Plus we would have won that mission if she didn’t mess up.
I was shocked when Dame decided to let Biggs make the decision on who to send home. Did they not review the footage? “You are being watched”…whatever!
You’re funny (laughter).Yeah in this situation I was surprised that he let his man, Biggs, do his job. I was the only person that Dame didn’t decide to cut himself. I think Dame was worried about getting caught up in any controversy or back lash there could have been based on his decision-no matter who he chose. So he escaped that by deciding not to choose. But basically it shouldn’t have happened- there was no reason for me to be cut. And Dame let me down and I think the audience down by relinquishing his power to someone else when it came to making this decision.
I don’t think that was a smart move at all. Its Dame’s show, not his but I could go on and on about Dame. How did you feel about different people saying that you played the race card at the black door elimination?
That blew my mind! I definitely don’t think I pulled a “race card” and I resent that they said I did. A race card refers to someone bringing up race to play victim or use as an excuse, and I definitely didn’t say that comment to say she had it better than me.I was simply stating fact. Just as I would if I was in an all white environment, I would stand out. I think its interesting that we act like race doesn’t exist and that it doesn’t play a role. But in this situation it definitely played a role and I guess people want to be so politically correct that they don’t want to say what it really is or to even question it.
What went through your mind when Dame spoke those ever so corny words “you’re a hustler but … “
Well once he gave the power over to Biggs, I was like whatever at that point. So when he said “Well, Shola..” I said, “Dame”….(laughter) because it was just so obvious to me that this wasn’t a real competition based on people who could actually contribute and survive in the business world. This was very much a TV show and I think that came first before deciding who was really the Ultimate Hustler of the group.
Right. What’s going to be some new projects coming up next for you?
As I said in the beginning there are a lot of exciting things in the works. I don’t really like saying too much before contracts are signed, but there are some hosting things in negotiation right now. I graduate in May. You know hustling to take my singing and acting career to the next level. And keeping it Crunk (laughter). So periodically check out my website www.sholajoy.com to see whats new with me!
Weekend Buzz Notes
Is it possible to have the freshest weekend ever? I think so! I was able to get in touch with a couple of familiar faces to conduct interviews for the site. They should be up sometime this week so be on the lookout for that. I’m so excited I decided to post (Sundays are usually my day “off”, this chile gotta rest too).
While ordinary people like you and I sit home and watch the game, Alicia Keys, Vivica Fox, and Star Jones (ew?) all enjoy a nice courtside view. Lala, Styles P, and Jadakiss also took a break from “throwing refrigerators” at Diddy to come out and support Carmelo Anthony (read: my future husband).
Bonus Material
- I’m not 100 percent sure how recent these pictures are of
LisaRaye nor WTF was going on but whatever the case is she looks like she was having a ball (pun intended).- What does Lil’ Webbie, Redman, Juelz Santana, and Al Reynolds have in common? They all recently partied together. I can totally see the first three names on the list kicking it together but what is
Al doing there?I’m still trying to figure out what these two are talking about.
Ciao until tomorrow!
