The Wonderful World of Urban Geek-Chic

Will The Real 'A-Team' Please Stand Up?

2010-02-07T18:56:00.005Z

So 2010 is supposed to be the year that the A-Team come back to our screens.

You remember the A-Team. Four soldiers convicted of a crime they didn't commit, escaped from a miltary stockage and made it to the LA underground where they became soldiers of fortune......yada yada yada.

Well they've back. But of course since they're making it back to the big screens this has got to be a hell of a lot flashier than our beloved TV show.

(I wonder if anyone will actually get shot in this or will it be like the old days where noone could hit the side of a barn door)

So that seems to be my fix for the summer.....but wait a minute? What's this?

'The Losers' will also be out this year. Here's the plot synopsis:

After being betrayed and left for dead, members of a CIA black ops team root out those who targeted them for assassination

....sounds kinda familiar doesn't it ;-)

Surely that must be it. There's no way Hollywood would have three similar movies come out within the space of a few months. There's just no way.....

Spoke too soon.

So we have the remake of an 80s TV show, an adaptation of a Vertigo comic and an excuse for an 80s Action-Movie star reunion. And they all look the same. Geez

Now I don't mean to be overly critical. I'm sure these films will be entertaining. But can any of these movies bring it the way this man did?

PS I know there's noone that could ever really replace Mr T. But did they have to get this guy?

Method Man & Redman - A-Yo

2009-06-07T19:15:00.005+01:00

I'm such a freaking idiot.

I mean I knew Method Man & Redman were getting together to make a sequel to Blackout. But I didn't realise it's already been out on iTunes.

Christ! And this first single's dope as well.

Check out the rest of the album on Amazon

Haha! Just found this 'making of' video. It's dope! You have to fast forward to the 1.00 point. Meth is ace!

The DJ B Interview

2009-05-25T01:07:00.006+01:00

DJ, Presenter, A&R man.......is there anything he can't do?

DJ B is one of the top DJ's in the country. For the past 4 years, he's been on 1Xtra giving us the best R&B and breaking artists like Ne-Yo, Jazmine Sullivan and J Holiday just to name a few. If you wanted to get your fix of Soulful R&B

After 4 years he's walking away from 1Xtra and I caught up with him to find out why he's left, what he's got planned and chat about R&B in general.

(Pt 1 - We start off with what he's been up to recently) 7 mins

(Pt 2- We talk 1Xtra. How he got his start, best moments and the reasons why he left) 10 mins

(Pt 3 - We discuss why certain artists aren't sucessfull and the effect of downloading on the music industry) 6 mins

(Pt 4 - The Quickfire Question Round) 9 mins

As he says, can't nobody hold him down. If you wanna find out more about what he's up to check out his website IAMDJB.com

Amerie - Why R U/Tell Me U Love Me

2009-05-24T21:09:00.006+01:00

She's back!

After the underperforming Because I Love It, two new tracks have been leaked from Amerie's forthcoming album In Love & War.

There's Why R U:

and Tell Me U Love Me:

Well Why R U is clearly the better single. It's got a very 90's sound now that I think about it. It's definately a good choice for the 1st single.

Let's hope she delivers with the rest of the album. Apparently she & Trey Songz are gonna do a cover of Mint Condition's 'Pretty Brown Eyes'. Is there any chance it could be as good as this? :D

Mint Condition - Breaking my heart
Uploaded by welcomeback. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

'Alien Weed' indeed (NSFW)

2009-05-24T14:39:00.002+01:00

So this is what Turk does when he's not at Sacred Heart :D

Alien Weed from Donald Faison

Joe - Why Just Be Friends

2009-05-23T04:24:00.009+01:00

So i'm about to go to sleep and I'm hoping the sun's gonna be out so I can chill in the park, play some football and listen to this.

This is off the Joe Thomas, New Man album if you wanna check out the rest of the tracks. Enjoy :)

Oh and figured I might as well throw this in too :D

Joe - Let's Stay Home Tonight
Uploaded by foxysoul - See the latest featured music videos.

Yes!!!

2009-05-22T14:53:00.003+01:00

Been on the quiet side for the last week. Had a hell of a Media Law exam so just spent the last few days recovering. Am back to post some more goodness, including an interview with DJ B so stay tuned in peeps!

Live! (Common feat. Kanye West - The Food)

2009-05-13T12:52:00.006+01:00

"Cause the real deal's always better"

I was just watching some old Chappelle Show episodes when I stumbled onto this gem. For all the press Dave got for his sketches (I'll never forget 'When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong' - "WU-TANG!!"), he was also great at picking some amazing artists to play on the show.

Chappelle's Show

When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong - Vernon Franklin

comedycentral.com

Buy Chappelle's Show DVDs

Black Comedy

True Hollywood Story

Common was coming back from the disappointing performance of 'Electric Circus' and had gotten Kanye West to produce his new album 'Be'. This was the first cut off released off and even though it didn't get as much airplay as 'Go' and 'The Corner' I still think it was one of the best joints on it. Enjoy peeps.

Q-Tip, D'Angelo & Raphael Saadiq - Lynwood Rose (Mixtape)

2009-05-12T10:47:00.006+01:00

Yea I know I'm a little late with hey who cares. I believe this came out this weekend and as far as I can tell there's nothing new on this. But who cares, any free album that has 'Get Involved' makes me a happy man.

The link is here

(Thanks to Notes from a Different Kitchen for the link & cover)

President or Stand-Up Comic? :-)

2009-05-11T02:27:00.002+01:00

Mariah Carey feat. Joe & Nas - Thank God I Found You

2009-05-04T02:57:00.006+01:00

The weather's good, it's a bank holiday and this is the nicest summery song I could think of. Just wishing I didn't have work to do :-( Enjoy monday peeps :D

Big Boi feat. Mary J. Blige - Sumthin's Gotta Give

2009-04-27T22:01:00.008+01:00

I still dunno how this wasn't a hit.

Back when 'Obamamania' was still running strong (can you believe his first 100 days have already passed) these two teamed up to drop a critical yet inspirational rhyme bout folk strugging in the states. And they're still taking this message across the country.

Everytime I hear joints like this I wonder if Big Boi will ever get the same hype as Andre 3000. His new album's called Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty. And no I am not making that up :D Should hopefully drop later on in the year. Enjoy folks.

Drake feat. Dwele & Little Brother - Don't You Have A Man

2009-04-20T16:09:00.017+01:00

Now before anyone starts. I know this is old but it just doesn't get anymore soulful than this.

This Drake guy's actually pretty interesting. He shot to fame on Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. His character got shot and ended up in a wheelchair.

Pretty heavy stuff :-S

He's released two mixtape albums 'Comeback Season' & 'So Far Gone'. He has an official album called 'Thank Me Later' which is due out at the end of the year

See, now this is why I'm so disappointed that DJB's Soulful R&B 1Xtra show ended this Sunday. How else will I get to hear joints like this?

(Thanks to Hip Hop Lead and 5 Star Hip Hop for the mixtapes)

Live! (Jamie Foxx - Unpredictable)

2009-04-07T17:09:00.006+01:00

"Cause the real deal's always better"

Back in 2006, Jamie Foxx was still riding high off the success of
'Ray' when he released 'Unpredictable'. As part of the promotion for it, Jamie peformed a selection of songs from the album on AOL Music sessions. This is how we ended up with the pretty fly version of the title track.

It's a shame he's not doing stuff like this anymore. To be honest I haven't really listened to 'Intuition'. Really ought to do a review of it at some point.

Live! (Justin Timberlake - My Love)

2009-03-30T15:54:00.007+01:00

"Cause the real deal's always better"

Thought I'd put this up. JT (as he's commonly known) performed this on "Saturday Night Live" back in 2006. This was the same show that "Dick In A Box" first premiered. To be honest I've always liked this performance. It may not have TI's rap but you do get an ace guitar solo ;-)

Here's the link.

Metropolis - The Voyage

2009-03-24T15:38:00.008Z

Hi peeps. It's pretty much been a year since I've been on my blog so I figure I'm well overdue a post :D

I was introduced to this band by a mate a week ago and I can't stop listening. 'The Voyage' came out in 2005 and was pretty well slept on but this is some damn good modern R&B for all you grown folk out there.

The standout tracks off the album are 'Kick It'

and 'Lovin You'.

The album's available from CD Baby.

Mary J. Blige - Just Fine

2008-01-27T14:29:00.003Z

Finally back and I'm ready to start putting some good music. In the next couple of weeks I'm gonna post a couple of fly mix CD's up here and check out a couple of tracks from the Thriller 25 remix album.

For now, we'll start with the 2nd single from Mary J. Blige's new album, 'Growing Pains'. Been really digging this for a while. Can't wait to hear it in the clubs :D

Estelle - Wait A Minute (Just A Touch)

2007-11-16T14:40:00.003Z

This has been doing the rounds for the last month or so. Only heard it this week and I'm really digging it. Which is good cause Estelle's a great British talent and she really should be up there with the big boys. Can't wait for the rest of the album.

Here's the link. (Thanks Urban Review)

Ryan Leslie - Elektro

2007-10-23T18:09:00.002+01:00

Now this came out at the end of last year but never got a huge amount of airplay. It was meant to be a track off his debut album but it keeps on getting pushed back. It took me a few listens but I really like this song.

Anyway the guy's produced songs for artists like Beyonce and Cassie (not that i'm totally sure that's a good thing) so I think he'll be alright. You can get to his website here.

Joy Denalane feat. Lupe Fiasco - Change

2007-10-20T20:38:00.002+01:00

"German."

"German?"

"Really???"

See now I knew Joy Denalane had collaborated with Common on his album 'Be.' I also knew she had released her debut album 'Born and Raised' and that's where this track was from. It actually turns out that she was born and raised in Germany and this is her first album in english. If she can sing this well in a foreign language imagine how good her german work must be :D

Joy Denalane feat. Lupe Fiasco - Change
Uploaded by FourMusic

Here's the link

Underrated - Donell Jones

2007-10-15T18:09:00.005+01:00

For artists that should be way more famous :D

Donell Jones has been around for quite a while now.

His first album "My Heart" came out in 1996.

That got him into the spotlight with the absolutely class cover of Stevie Wonder's "Knocks Me Off My Feet"

But it wasn't till 1999 when he really hit the big time with the release of "Where I Wanna Be."

Everyone remembers this for his collaboration with Lisa 'Left-Eye' Lopes on the song "U Know What's Up"

In 2002, with the release of "Life Goes On", which had songs like "You Know That I Love You" Donell seemed to cement his place as one of the greats of modern R&B.

Donell Jones - You know that I love you
Uploaded by sweet_love33

Sadly in the last 5 years his stock has dropped which is a shame. His latest album "Journey of a Gemini" suffered numerous delays until its release last year and to add insult to injury was totally under promoted by LaFace Records. The irony is that it's one of his best albums. It had two solid lead-off singles with "Better Start Talking" and "Special Girl"

Donell Jones Feat. JD Better Start Talking
Uploaded by fantasy1986

But it's the other tracks on the album that are class. The standouts are the summery mid-tempo track "I'm Gonna Be"

Link

the soulful "My Apology"

Link

the summery mid-tempo "If U Want"

Link

and "Another Life" where Donell talks about a relationship going sour because of conflicts with his girlfriend's son.

Link

If you have any love at all for grown-up R&B then this album's a first-class buy.

Eric Roberson feat. Phonte - Been In Love

2007-09-15T12:05:00.001+01:00

Eric Roberson has been around for a while now. He's written songs for Jill Scott, Musiq and DJ Jazzy Jeff. He's also a solo singer as well. 'Been In Love' is from his fourth and most recent album 'Left'. It's one of the best examples of modern soul out there. The album's available to buy from Amazon.

Eric Roberson feat phonte- been in love
Uploaded by exotiklady

I-15 feat. Polow Da Don - Lost In Love

2007-09-11T21:58:00.002+01:00

Now this is a song that's really grown on me. It's pretty deceptive at first with that guitar intro but this is a good example of modern R&B. At least in my eyes anyway :D The band have a page on Myspace.

Here's the link

Oh and I just found the video.

TL Cross - Best Kept Secret

2007-09-11T21:23:00.000+01:00

Now I first heard this track about a month and a half ago and I've gotta say that this guy is really good. He's on Myspace and part of a group called Da Gutta Fam. Hopefully this is the start of good things for them.

Here's the link

A Gorilla, An Angry Gorilla.......

2007-09-11T21:07:00.000+01:00
I so know this is old news but I just had to put it up here. I mean this ad is so out there that it's actually genius.

.....And Here's Me Saying Hi

2007-09-11T20:29:00.000+01:00
It's been a good long while since I set up a blog and to be honest I'm not quite sure what to say. I guess I'll keep it simple. I'm mostly gonna be posting music up here that I think people will like but anything else goes too. Here we go.....