Who's Real?

" Tainted love in the music business

People they lose thet brain just to get up in this

Let's be a star for day, everything in life is just ok

People say things they don't really wanna say

Hey but it's ok cause your a star for the day

People a smile at you when they really wanna frown

Well a that's just the way tainted folk get down "

- Slum Village -

I'm beginning to notice a pattern here. The fake, "decepticons", the misleaders, the gamers, liars. Why is it so complicated to be real to one's self.

The Lime-Light

The Front.

Everyone's popping bottles in the club, who's paying rent?

Seriously... If I find another chain wearing, bottle popping, groupie fucking, escalade driving broke as a joke dude, I'm going to die of laughter.

Pay some bills. Buy some groceries.

( at the end of the day, all they have is what's on their person & not much more )

The music industry, portrays an image of glitz and glam.

Reality is not a music video, and 90% of the people whom appear to have it all, truly have nothing compared to the rest of the world.

Spare me, all that glitters ain't gold.

With all the Ghost Writers, Leased vehicles, loans, fake chains, phony posse's, paid off models, and comp'ed bottles...it's surprising people keep acting so surprised when they find out the object/person in question is in fact fraud. Really though?!?! Come on people, you think Rick Ross is the first to rock something less than authentic? Truth is, rappers bonuses aren't as big as you picture them. We're almost expecting too much. Or is that the industries blame, for originally portraying that image?

From my personal experiences, I've even found out that many of the Highest-Paid in the industry are sporting fake chains. & Their wifey's have the grade A knock off's aswell.
Part of it is hilarious, part is actually saddening. They wouldn't do it if they didn't have something to prove.

"He's phony, she's fake that's the type of people I hate"

We've now got a "Fake it till you make it" Policy in action.

You're not touring, selling albums, giving speeches, producing, modeling, and you don't own any parts of your company. But some how you expect me to believe that you drive a lamborghini, and own a penthouse? Riggghhhhttttt. Sure buddy!

I know rich, I know wealthy, I know people with so much fucking money they don't even have to think for themselves. & You, Sir or Madam are not one of them, so why don't you save your funds, and give up that rental lambo, and year leased condo in soho.

I'm retouching this subject because I see more and more of the front daily, and no one really ends up saying... "It's okay, you don't have to be like that"

Personally I just want to hear good music again

At the end of the day, these rappers, athletes, actors, go home to the same things that most of us possess, if not less. They have their bored moments, and become adjusted to their lives, just as we have.

Spending all their money to just front the appearance of having money.

Selling themselves to the mainstreams wants and needs. Since when has being an artist lost the creative aspect. No one's making music to not be heard and the easiest way to be heard is to be on the radio, but you should never compromise who you are, your values or your morals.

And you know, art as commerce, doesn't really make too much sense, they don't go together. Art isn't meant to be mass produced. A lot of artists have turned into puppets of these major labels. Act this way, do this, wear that, go here, date them.

"But you have to be creative on how you sell yourself and market yourself."

-Talib Kweli-

Even those who're trying to be "different" end up being the "same" at the end of the day. They're all trying to achieve one thing. "Success"! But what is you're definition of Success. It is when our vision of what make's us truly successful changes. Is wealth you're definition? Wasn't your first dream to share your music & art with the world? But not it's turned into the love for money, no longer the love for music.

"She want that old thing back, she want those heroin tracks"

Is it too much to just ask that you invest your time into your music instead of impressing us with glitz and glam. I could give 10 less fucks what you drive, or wear. I can't see that in the music I hear.

Maybe then you'll stop writing lyrics about materialism.

Dear Hip Hop,
Give me something deeper to think about. I miss the old day's... now you're so vain.

Sincerely ,

Mish Goddess

xoxo

MM4: A Turn For The Worst

Internet Soldiers! Even though we have yet to be given the constantly delayed album, Joe Budden still finds a way to please fans with the forth installment in his highly praised Mood Muzik series. Mood Muzik 4: A Turn For The Worst gives us another twisted view into the mind that is Joey. I must admit I have been waiting for this since I heard it would be a bit lighter in topic content, I wondered how exactly he would do that and stay true to the theme of the mixtape series. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Mouse gives us just what most fans have been craving a solid project. How is it that Joe continues to shoot down haters from all sides? It's easy to see that he is driven by the constant need to prove himself and MM4 is no exception!

Production – 8

Joey’s achilles heel as far as I am concerned is his beat selection. There are times where he makes good on a project, but for the most part I don’t always like his choices. The good thing is, he could rap over elevator music and his words would take over. For Mood Muzik 4 he does a better job of picking beats, but I have to belittle this part of the tape, if anything. J. Cardim produced the majority of the tracks and surprisingly the two have great chemistry together, but it’s just a shame that he didn’t do the entire thing. A few times the beat just seems like something that gets in the way of Budden’s story and there is nothing worse then wanting to change the track just because of the annoying samples and weak drums. Even with that said, the tape still does a great job of giving listeners something they can bump and vibe out to while driving or just relaxing around the crib.

Lyrics – 9

Is it the Shoes? Hah… nah but in all seriousness, this is why one listens to this dude. His ability to paint a picture with words is like only a few in the game. I find myself having to listen a few times just so I can catch all the double meanings and similes that are thrown around. Ranging from topics that we can all relate to, Joey is just real and bares it all. This has become a staple for him as a rapper, when listing you get a sense that he’s giving you everything he has on every track in every line and that is comforting. Don’t get me wrong, there are those times where I think to myself, “what the fuck is wrong with dude and why can’t he rap about something happier.” I like how his content is a bit more uplifting then previous Mood Muzik installments, but he stays true to himself and his series. This isn’t your dumb down’d type rap shit, so if you don’t have at least a bit of intelligence this along with the majority of Mouse’s music isn't for you.

Songs – 8.5

I have to admit that besides Halfway House or MM2, this might be my favorite collection of songs that Joe put together. I like the lack of features, and could have even done without Royce on Remember the Titans. It was a good track without him and his flow doesn’t fit in for me. Crook kills on Sober Up, and has a song stealing verse. Role Reversal, Welcome Real Life and If All Else Fails are just some of my favorite tracks on the tape. Having said all that,Come Alone, 1000 Faces and Inseparable just didn’t do it for me. I know the latter two are good tracks and demonstrate just how personal Mouse can get on a track, but to me all these were fillers and a 14 song track list would have pushed this up a bit higher. Another standout part of the tape was Emanny, fans have grown familiar of the R&B singer song writer who I hope continues to work with Joe to create even more amazing music.

Overall – 8.5

Now before you Internet soldiers get all hot and bothered by the lack of slobbering, remember that this is just a mixtape and Joey still owes us The Great Escape As a fan of Hip Hop, I am constantly asking for new music and never satisfied. This mixtape has quality music and plays out better then most albums. Skits and all, not more can be asked for. If you have to nit pick again the only thing I could not get over were the beats. Some might say forget the beat his word play is so good it out weighs the production, however to be extremely honest isn’t that why Joe isn’t on a major now? Anyway, I look forward to seeing some visuals from this project, and to see when I finally take it would of my CD changer. To be a Joe Budden fan, one has to have an acquired taste, he's not for everyone, and if you're one of the lucky ones that it actually is your mood, it can not get any better.

Joe Budden Gives Possible Release Date

Even though many fans thought the Slaughterhouse move to Shady would've been a lot quicker and some fans may have even given up on the possibility of the deal, but Joe Budden has gone on record to confirm that the move will be happening in the near future.

"We are just about [signed to Shady Records]. It's so premature. It's four artists and a deal like that is just extremely complicated when you have four individual entities but the great thing about it is Em is just so passionate about Hip Hop" Joey explained to Power 105's DJ Envy. "Everything that this group was formed around, he is in 200 percent support of so shout-out to him as well. Late 2011 [our Shady Records debut will drop], I'll go on the record and say that."

President Obama Handpicks Common

President Obama has reached out to Chi-Town emcee Common to perform at an upcoming rally that will take place in Chicago.

On Saturday, October 30th the Chi-Town legend will take the stage at a massive rally in Hyde Park in support of Obama's re-election. Common will be performing at the Midway Plaisance Park near University Of Chicago.

The show will be free to the general public.

Does Kanye Have the Power?

I've listened to the song "Power" at least 30 times, I'm actually listening to it as I write this piece and I have one question. Is he currently the best rapper in the game right now, excluding nobody?

Early Ye fans will tell you his first two albums The College Dropout & Late Registration is when he was at his hungriest, therefore at his best, I'm not one of those fans. I believe his last two albums was when he was at his most evolved, therefore at his best. I believe, arguably, his best album was Graduation. I'll try and explain: I feel Graduation was the point when KanYe started to venture further than conventional Hip Hop songs. A hungry KanYe West didn't have the clout to do it, or he would've been considered a KiD CuDi type of artist. But setting the stage as he did with his first two Hip Hop albums KanYe gave himself some room to explore with songs like Stronger & Flashing Lights. A song like Bittersweet isn't a hot rap song in my opinion, its a hot song. If he's not the best rapper in the game right now, he's definitely the best musician in Hip Hop.

4 albums in and Yeezy has found a way to stay relevant throughout the ever changing Hip Hop scene and has mantained commercial and critical acclaim the entire time. The only album of his that received any backlash was obviously 808's & Heartbreak, but in my opinion I believe it was a great album. Welcome 2 Heartbreak is one of the most thought-provoking R & B songs I've heard in this generation. To understand how difficult that album was, picture Trey Songz making a Hip Hop album. By my count Yeezy has two classic albums and two hot ones, thats almost an unpararelled career. Ye might have another classic on his hands.

So now I have two questions to ask. Is he the best rapper in the game right now & how high would you rate him on your all-time list, factoring in albums, success (which IS the goal of being a rapper, whether fans like to admit it or not) and skill?

Who Is Jay Z'S Sports Equivalent

Jay-Z’s MLB Equivalent: Derek Jeter

The choice for this sport was very difficult, especially with some of the similarities between Jay and the players in the game. Jeter stands out as a match for his winning attitude and swagger in which he plays the game with, almost intimidating to pitchers when at the plate as he is never afraid to crowd the plate and take one for the team. Jay-Z has done the same when battling rival MC’s working his way up to the status he is at now and never backing down from opponents as they try to lyrically out do him. I guess you can say a pitcher like Roy Halladay is what Jim Jones is to Jay-Z?

Jay-Z’s NBA Equivalent: LeBron James

I would have to be living under a rock for the past 5 years to not be able to see the equivalency of these two titans. Ever since LeBron came out and said that he was a big fan of Jay-Z; it has been a very interesting friendship that has caught the attention of both sports and music fans alike. James has been seen in several games holding up the Rocafella Records signature hand sign after big plays in respect to the hip hop legend. Jay-Z has returned the favor by having James' back when it comes to his issues with rival players even if it is in the form of a song. Besides the money and fame each has accumulated during their careers their most obvious equivalence could be in 2009? I mean isn’t Brooklyn still New York any way?

Jay-Z’s NFL Equivalent: Al Davis

OK, so maybe Jay-Z is not in his seventies but he still has a lot in common with longtime Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis. Davis’ unquenchable thirst for winning has been his trademark, as he will do anything necessary to win and will not care about the criticism. He has been attacked in the media by former players and coaches for his decisions, but nevertheless still continues to make moves without any regrets. Jay-Z has been criticized plenty of times by former artists that worked for him under Def Jam and still continued to go on with his plan. This head strong stubborn attitude and desire to be the best makes these two more of a match then an odd couple

Jay-Z’s NHL Equivalent: Sean Avery

This equivalence may be a little surprising to some but not those who really know the two individuals lifestyles. On Sports Center recently Avery did an interview and discussed his fascination with fashion and how he enjoys designing quite the opposite of what his hardcore hockey style shows on the ice. Jay-Z has been a co owner of his own clothing line and has been a trend setter of style in many communities whether it is Yankee fitted caps or collared button down shirts; he has the ability to still be viewed as both a fashion icon and a hardcore rap artist. These two are examples of why you cannot tell a book by its cover no matter how fashionable it may be.