Certified "GOON"

Urban Dictionary:

Goon
-this word has many definitions, but in Florida & many hoods across tha country, a goon is a real nigga: ready 2 ride or die 4 his/hers, takes care of their fam, not scared of tha law or any other nigga, makin his/her own money legally or not, never snitches always follows tha street code.




I have nothing against Plies, matter of fact Plies is one of my favorite rappers but...What really is a "Goon" and Plies are you really a goon? If you have ever listened to a Plies song or saw a video he constantly boasts about his goon image. But If you have watched an interview of Plies you would also know the man talks like an educated man instead of the southern hoarse voice his uses on tracks.



So I have come to find out that not only did Plies attend college he attended a school 45 min away from me that I am very familiar with.

Excerpt From Vibe Magazine:
-He briefly attended Miami University in Ohio to play basketball before transferring to the University of Central Florida his sophomore year. (He dropped out before completing his degree.) Former club promoter. Proud father of Nijier Lanier Washington, 5. Younger brother of Ronell Lawrence “Big Gates” Lavatte, the CEO of Plies’ label, Big Gates Records, who is currently serving two concurrent, three-year sentences at Coleman Federal Correctional Facility.

^Courtesy: http://www.vibe.com/news/cover_stories/2008/11/plies_cover_story/

So is being certified a "Goon" mean attending college? I mean I have no problem with that being a factor in the description. Yet it seems highly hypocritcal that one could be a goon, who wears a black mask and robbed people but also attended college. And I'm not making that up, Im just repeating what he says in his music. Because like he says his music is the reflection of his hood and him. Now I am in no means bashing Plies because he attended college, I applaud him as one of the few rappers who did despite his success to complete it. Not that many people know that he attended college and the sad thing is that It being revealed publicly could hurt his career because it would question one of the main focuses of his music. But I feel like how much of a "Goon" was he really earlier in his life?

Chip Tha Ripper

I got a lot of love for Kid Cudi and his new promising career coming out of Cleveland, OH, but I'm hoping this guy makes makes just as much noise in the music game as Cudi.

If your from Ohio you probably already heard of him, if not then your radio station needs help..but for all who hasn't heard of him please take some time to listen...you won't be dissapointed

Listen:

Supaswagman

Booty Freestyle

If you like those two joints you can get his mixtape:

Fashion Preview: Summer 09'

Here's a look at what will keep you fresh this summer:


First let's start with a must have this summer:

Ray-Ban Wayfarer style Glasses


These glasses have been real hot lately with the hipster/rock/skateboard influence, don't sleep on this look!

White V-Neck/Tee


Classic look for the summer, but please for my sake refrain from wearing Hanes branded T-shirts in public guys..

Gap $14 link

J. Crew $24.50 link

Boat Shoes







These shoes complete your outfit with a more grown elegant look, nothing against all white AF1 lows but we still can't be rockin them every summer...its 2009 now

Hats

Before you start you spring cleaning and think about throwing out some old hats I would stop first....the latest fashion are adjustable Starter caps, when rocking a more urban look..Yet with a more preppy look you can go with a Polo or Lacoste adjustable hat

Seersucker Shorts

One of my favorite types of shorts, its just something about them that defines a clean look

I Used to Get It In Ohio-Cam'ron

This ish goes hard regardless if he's puttin on for my state or not..

"The Hills" + Urban= BET's " Harlem Heights"

I just found out about this show today. It basically depicts the lives of inspiring actresses, editors, and sons and daughters of prominent people in the Harlem area. This concept is fairly close to MTV's hit show the hills. Haven't seen the show yet but I think it will be pretty good. I'm just hoping its not as cheesy a Baldwin Hills ( even tho thats my ish too! ha)


Air Yeezys



I'm not big on shoes..but for some reason I want these bad...
Release Date: TBA

Joe Budden TV

Joe Budden TV never fails to entertain me, between showing off his girlfriends a**, talking about how broke of a rapper he is now compared to 6-8 years ago, or talking about other NY rappers, Buddens career is hanging on for dear life..Yet he still remains in my eyes one of the most underrated rappers..

Lastly..

The Bachlor

I dont watch this show, but from all the hype after the season finale the other day, I watched a recap to figure out what had happened. Alot of women are saying screw Jason, but I say big ups to the man for being a man and following his heart. If it wasn't meant to be then it wasn't meant to be. I agree the girl that it was kinda foul for him to take her engagement experience virginity away from her, but would you want him to stay with you in a bad relationship because he doesn't love you?

Evolution of Alcohol in Rap/Hip Hop

First of all I would like to apologize to all my readers/viewers/subscribers for my lack of posting recently. This is due to two reasons:

1) School...Going to a school that has the nickname "The Harvard of the Midwest " is apparently no joke lol

2) I dont like to post bullshit...period...I am not going to blog just to blog...then it would be a waste of time for you to come to my page and read some useless stuff. Everything I post comes from random thoughts in my head, I dont sit and try to think of things to post. Anything I post I want to be enjoyable. From the feedback I am getting, I have fulfilled this task, and I will continue to do so.

Enough with all that, lets get to what your here for...

Something that has always stood out to me was the references of Alcohol in rap. Now I am not bringing this up to belittle it or disagree. But I find it interesting because it does a lot for the culture as well as the society. How you ask?

First let's start on the west coast. The oldest reference I could think of granted my generation of music references...

Now while this song may not visually might not fully encompass the use of the drink described in the chorus of the song, it still gets the same idea across. Along with the popular image of a 40 in a paper bag, which is also displayed highly in films based on west coast street life such as Friday and Boyz 'n' The Hood. But that kinda gets away from my main focus rap/hip hop...

Next..the infamous...

I don't have to say much about this..

That pretty much sum it all up..this song was a phenomenon at the time...I'm sure the company appreciated the free advertising..

Now we have my favorite..



Fabolous is the reason why I couldn't wait to taste Hypnotic when I was little lol. Back when I was a big fan of his he glamorized the drink highly in his videos and songs. The "This is my Party " video is a full out endorsement for the drink. The whole video is filled with the blue substance. The first words of the song are "They aint no tellin what this Hypno will do to me"

More recently we have..


"I'm on that patron so get like me" this line will never get old as made famous by Young Joc's "It's Goin Down" or we have Wayne's "I got that Patron in my system, somebody gone be my victim" Even T-Pain has a song called "Silver and Gold" were talks about his drunk experiences of mixing Silver and Gold Patron together.

Now it seems like the industry has stepped its game up...we just cant have regular liquor anymore..

Ron Brownz and Jim Jones club banger "Pop Champagne" basically says you aint ballin unless your pouring $150+ champagne on the ground..Drake even did a remix called "Pop Rose"


This man made poppin bottles famous...between and
No one else possesses more class than him in..it was because of him that people started drinkin cris

It doesn't just stop there...with Diddy and his Ciroc campaign and the recently popular Nuvo..all we can do is Blame It on the alcohol..

R.I.P Charles "Randy" Woods

Today would of been his 19th birthday...It hasnt even been a year since we graduated...Damn man I still can't believe it.. We miss you bra