Monthly Archive for March, 2010

Gina “Showtime” Yashere

Published on March 27, 2010

I have seen many stand-up comedy performances in my time. Perhaps too many. And even though there are thousands of terrible comics out there; some have made a strong impression on me with one joke like Anjelah Johnson’s “nail salon” set, others have invited me into their whacky families like Kathleen Madigan and others are simple genius. Gina Yashere is a comedy genius.

On Thurs April 8, 2010, you will be able to enjoy the full Yashere experience on her 1 hour SHOWTIME “Skinny B*tch” special at 10pm ET/PT.

Here is one of my favorite GY jokes

Nneka rules SXSW

Published on March 24, 2010

SXSW was a long, tiring experience for me. Thousands of bands playing day and night, panel discussions, meetings and the general walking around from bar to bar in weather that ranged from sweltering heat to sharp, freezing winds. The range of talent was sometimes overwhelming, in both genre (indie, rock, rap, rnb, latin, pop, electro, country etc) and ability (beginner, newly signed, superstar and “stick to your day job”) so there was no way on this earth that I was going to see all the bands and artists that were on my list.

Anyway, highlights of the trip (in no order) included V V Brown, The Ettes, Estelle, Correatown, Master Shortie, Dark Room Notes, Katy Red, Washington and Nneka.

Nneka’s performance really made an impression. The Nigerian-German singer-songwriter delivered a unique mix of rnb, afrobeat, funk, and hip hop. She has been touted as the new Lauryn Hill, but in truth she brings something fresh to the table. Philosophically, musically, and vocally, Nneka is a talent to be taken seriously. I recommend that you listen to her album Concrete Jungle. Here is a taste

Sista Gotta Work It Out

Published on March 17, 2010

It’s a real shame. No more compliments about my “six pack” and no-one asking me “are you a dancer?” like they used to. It seems as though my crazy schedule, vanilla lattes and tasty veggie burgers with cheese, avocado n fries are contributing to a serious lack of fitness.

Time for some action! Dinah shore is around the corner and summer is nearly here. Considering that I live 20 min away from the beach, I need to fix this before it gets out of hand.

It always helps to have some uptempo, energetic music to work out to, so here is an instrumental gem that I stumbled upon. Courtesy of Spoonface, singer, producer and the main man behind FAADA (a record label open to experimenting with diverse independent music releases).

My Soun’ Riddim by Spoonface Enjoy and I’ll see you at the gym.

Prada – old, fat and ugly

Published on March 12, 2010

A senior manager at Prada is suing the fashion label claiming that she was ordered to get rid of “old, fat and ugly” staff in the Italian fashion label’s Japanese stores.

According to Rina Bovrisse, she was also summoned to a meeting and informed that Mr Sesia (CEO of Prada Japan) wanted her to “change her hairstyle, to lose weight” because he was “ashamed of Ms Bovrisse’s ugliness, so he doesn’t want visitors from Italy to see her”.

I would love to see a photo of this woman, because I’m sure there is nothing particularly unattractive about her. In fact I’m sure she’s no uglier than most of us, which leads me to think that, if her allegations are proven to be true, we should all stop buying their products as we’re probably too old, fat or ugly for Prada.

Read the Telegraph for the full article

Stuff White People Like

Published on March 10, 2010

Most comedy is based on stereotypes and unfortunately most stereotypes are based on truth. I saw this list of stuff white people like by Hardie Grant and it made me laugh out loud, so I decided to share it with y’all.

A few highlights:
#131 Conan O’Brien
#128 Camping
#125 Bob Marley
#115 Promising to Learn a New Language
#113 Halloween
#96 New Balance Shoes
#88 Having Gay Friends
#42 Sushi
#32 Vegan/Vegetarianism
#27 Marathons

Full list here!

The funny thing is, I like a lot of stuff on the list too. Not sure if it’s a Sign o’ the times, or something about me, but I have been promising to learn Spanish for nearly 2 years now and I’m about to go get some salmon tempura.

Freakin Estelle

Published on March 8, 2010

Estelle and I go WAY back. I’m not saying we’re close mates or anything, but we’ve known each-other a long time. I have DJ’d at the same club nights that she performed at, played her early tunes (before the hits) on my specialist radio shows, and interviewed her at least 3 times: Galaxy 102.2 | Choice FM | BBC 6 Music.

Estelle is one of the most talented, intelligent and stylish performers of our generation and is always pushing her creativity to new heights.

Her latest single is no exception. Apparently Estelle has a freaky side that she would like to share with us

Buy Freak

Guru “Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal”

Published on March 1, 2010

It was reported over the weekend that rapper Guru, who rose to fame with pioneering group Gang Starr and later released a series of successful “Jazzmatazz” solo albums, is in a coma after suffering a heart attack.

My prayers are with him and his family at this time, but as I observed all the #Guru twitter activity yesterday, I couldn’t help but think that we need to show talent like him support when they are in good health, not just when we hear shocking news about sickness, accidents or worse death.

So while you head to iTunes for classic Gang Starr music, take some time to update your iPod with some Big Daddy Kane, MC Lyte, Salt n Pepa and Rakim etc. I’m sure they could do with the download sales plus the knowledge that we appreciate their contribution to Hip Hop.

iTunes

Here’s a taste of Guru’s talent: Gang Starr “You Know My Steez”