Janelle Monae- The Archandroid

Janelle Monae is Amazing. I actually have her album, "The Archandroid," on repeat at the moment. I can't help but think of Lauryn Hill as I am listening to her. Don't get me wrong though. Ms. Monae is no copycat. She has a style and rhythm all of her own, a far departure from Ms. Hills work, but there are some noticeable similarities in their voices. Here I wanted to share her new video "Cold War" which I was blown away by. Enjoy~!

Why Is Kanye West Racist?

KanYe took to UStream earlier this evening to answer questions and discuss past and present work, his inspiration for his 90 second clip for his first single "POWER" and a slew of other topics. One person asked him why he was racist. Here is what Ye had to say:

“I don’t know a rapper before me that liked white people more than me. I don’t know a rapper that wore tighter jeans. I don’t know a rapper that collaborated with more white people. I know what it is that I did that made people put it in a box like that but it never came from a place of racism. I’m not going to dial into that but I would just like to say in no way am I a racist. Sometimes it frustrates me when people call me names and try to down me like I’m not a real human being. A Lot of times when I talk extremely cocky, I’m not talking about myself, I’m talking about the work. I think people should be proud of their work or they should never put it out. All I can do is take time and be a better person….. It’s no more time to be a rude asshole, celebrity or none of that. It’s about the art. I’m not allowing my attitude to get in the way of my creation anymore. I had to change my attitude completely and now my statement is only of amazing work."

Kanye said something in this piece that truly spoke to me. "I think people should be proud of their work or they should never put it out." With all of the flack he gets about being egotistical and always bragging about his work, he is so right. So what if he brags a little more than any other artist and so what if he's not modest. The man's work is genius. This quote also inspired me to be a little more confident in my own writing. If you don't believe in yourself who will?

Check out his new new video "POWER" below:

Religion

There is neither heaven nor hell-
Well...
I believe heaven and hell
Is right here
Right on this earth
And I truly believe that I knew this
Since birth
With this waging war between good and evil
And this split
Between malevolent and benevolent people
And everything in between that's going on
We all know the difference
Between our rights and wrongs

I believe in a god.
He is in me and you
I believe he is in everything beautiful
Anything true
And absolute.
And Lucifer
I believe in him too
He breeds darkness and hatred
In empty souls
That can take it.
Bill O' Reilly he's the devil
Even though you might see him
Trying to fake it.
And that bad ass kid in the subway
Trying to kill that pigeon
Well he has the devil in him too.
And it so happens Lucifer owns
Fox 5 news

I don't know if I necessarily believe
In reincarnation.
That I once was a
Caterpillar or a butterfly
Undergoing a Transformation
Or if in my past life
I was a man
Who was married
And had a wife

And so what if the Jews lied
Of how many people who have died
Oppression is oppression
We all have seen each other cry

And I'm sorry I just can't believe
The bogus folklore of Christianity
That was a religion given to the black community
All throughout slavery
Taught to us by the "merciful" missionaries.
Which taught us to pray for our pie in the sky
While the white man reaps his heaven on earth
That the bible is a be all, say all,
Chauvinistic, homophobic,
Literary work.
Filled with fables and fairytales
That goes against what's taught in scientology
And no I'm no Tom Cruise
But the bible sure does remind me of Greek mythology.

And no I don't think that the practice of Islam is evil
At the end of the day I think religion is beautiful and pure
What fucks it up is the people.

All That We Did

I know I have a bad case of writers block
But I'm just going to vent from what lays dormant in my heart...

Our past night spent with one another
Took me by surprise
And put you in my bed
Lips interlocking and heart pounding
So hard
I could feel it in my head
Memories ran fluid through my mind streaming past as if it were yesterday
As if you and I had just met
On that hot summers day
And as our story unfolded
No one could have told me that
We wouldn't be together
At the end of that very day
So when the tables turned
And you later learned
That I was swept away
You had me thinking the whole time that everything was A-okay

But it wasn't.

Like a grape left sitting out
My situation turned sour
And the moment I turned to you
Things were different
You had the upper hand
You held the power
The claim to your heart
Proved itself to be unsuccessful
I was adamant
But you remained recalcitrant

For a while...

Broken-hearted
I took doses of you
You were my fulfillment
A temporary supplement
But I held back to prevent you from becoming my
Substitute lover
I knew if we fucked up
There would be no do overs

But when I had decided
To let go and give in
To this unresolved, unrelenting love
Your vague interpretations left me un-mended
And when I called you oblivious
I had meant it

I cannot remember how we repaired it
But here we are
Right back where we had left at
Tasting on your bottom lip
Reminiscing on
All that we did.