Unless I was high on H2O, that's exactly what Chamillionaire said at his platinum party last night. The announcement arrived while he was presenting his customary "from nothing to something" testimony. Thankfully, that wasn't even the best part of his speech. Cham, not surprisingly, had a message for Mr. Paul Wall.
I'm still bummed that "Sittin' Sidewayz," a certified banger, was denied a nomination at the last VMAs or at any other award show for that matter. But, I'm moving on. Looking ahead to what Paul Wall has to offer on his second go-round, the aptly titled Get Money, Stay True. Paul recently gave a preview of this work-in-progress album.
Lauryn Hill must be laughing her ass off right now in Egypt (or wherever else she escaped to). Let me get this straight: Beyonce tells some magazine that she won't let the media drive her crazy like they did Lauryn, then B turns around and bites L-Boogie's infamous stance in an interview with Blender. And here I was wondering why the hell her sales on B'Day fell by as much as 70% last week and 44% this week (86,608 units).
It's been an awfully quiet year for H-Town. But, let's hope that this means everyone's regrouping and getting ready to unleash full force. Yeah, yeah, who am I kidding, right? Besides Z-Ro's 1 Deep and UGK's Return of the Trill, here are some other forthcoming releases and my thoughts on them:
Hey, calm down. The Awards isn't until next year.
However, the National Recording Academy (Texas chapter) came together last week to celebrate Houston hip-hop. H-Town's hottest hip-hopper of the moment, Chamillionaire, was there in all his glory. And so was Latium/Universal's own Rob G who drove the crowd nuts with his knockout performance. Yours truly was on hand to capture it all on camera (when I wasn't too busy chatting up the lovely ladies, that is).
I'm bumping "The Interview" as I type this, so let it be known that Rizoh considers Slim Thug one of the few plausible emcees to emerge from the Lone Star state. He gave the Clipse one of their better hooks so far. He also gets bonus points for being one of the most professional performers, and perhaps the most polite of his peers. (Chamillionaire fits this description as well.) That said, Already Platinum was a flop...commercial-wise. I can imagine Thugga in his diamond-encrusted office chair, swisha in hand, looking at his latest soundscan figures, anxiously waiting for the day his album will truly live up to its un-prophetic title.
But, you know what, Slim?
Thanks to erratic booty-shaking and Bey-loving teenies, B'Day is still soaring on the charts with a whopping 161,594 scans this week. Wish I could say the same for that other H-Town chick...
It's hard not to laugh at the mention of Chingo Bling and "financial empowerment" in the same breath. Chingo and Paul Wall joined Ludacris, Russell Simmons and others in the big "A" for HSAN's "Get Your Money Right" conference last week. Russell probably knew what he was doing when he picked Mr. Bling as part of his anti-bling campaign cabinet at Morris Brown College.
Just when you thought witty covers were approaching extinction, "Weird Al" Yankovic rekindles the flame. His "White and Nerdy" remake of Chamillionaire's "Ridin'" video is a must-watch.
Absolutely unsubstantiated but worth discussing nonetheless. What looks like the tracklisting for Chamillionaire's sophomore set, The Ultimate Victory, recently surfaced on the internet.
Natalie chunks the deuce.
Her lead single "What Ya Gonna Do" with Bun B is already a huge hit. Natalie is now ready to take it to the next level with her upcoming sophomore set, Everything New (Universal), which hits stores next Tuesday (September 19th).
Maaan...hold up.
The good news is that Beyonce smashed competition this week, selling 541,196 copies of B'Day to secure the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200. That's gold-certifed in one week. Phew!
The bad news?
2Pac - My Block
So, Pimp C's retort to New York's inifinite bashing of the dirty dirty touched on a few nerves, huh? Truth is a bitter pill to swallow, ain't it?
See, that's what's keeping our people from moving forward. We can't take a person's honest opinion for what it is -- an opinion. Everything has to be sensationalized. I didn't go bonkers when Ghostface rightly referred to D4L as bullsh*t and criticized fans for buying their stuff. Instead, I applauded Ghost for echoing my thoughts. We shouldn't have to get all regional-defensive everytime. It's not about East vs. South. So, put your swords to rest cause ain't nobody trippin' round here.
At least, not today...
Ever wonder how Lil Flip has been spending his time these days? How about this: YOU can freestyle battle Flip online for a cool $1,500.
"Y'all stop cryin' mayne, on the east. Y'all been eating for years... We all got grillz in our mouth, now they want grillz in they mouth on the east. I ain't trippin', do your thing. But, don't be crying that hip-hop's dead. If hip-hop's dead, it's y'all fault that hip-hop's dead. So, get your backpack, jump on the train and get your paying gig up and get in the know." -- Pimp C on 97.9 The Box. (There's definitely more to Pimp C's comments, so be sure to check it out at the end of this post.)
Not unlike 50 Cent's "southern rap hurts hip-hop as a whole" statement earlier this year. The problem with these claims is that people often take a specific controversial portion and run with it, missing the message entirely. Truth be told, 50 and Pimp are both right... in a way.
I'll explain.
It's not even a question; Trae is Houston's No.1 hip-hop draft pick at the moment. One spin of his madly enjoyable Rap-A-Lot debut, Restless, and you're convinced that this guy is in another realm. So, why have mass media outlets like BET and MTV constantly turned their backs on one of H-Town's finest? SOHH Houston caught up with the Screwed Up Click afficionado to discuss the shocking reasons behind BET's refusal to air his videos, why the original version of "Swang" never was taken off the album, and the long term implication of his stunted record sales. Swing in.
Next week, Beyonce's second entry, B'Day, is expected to debut at No. 1 with 600,000 units. Is the album really worthy of all the hype? Dig in for one person's opinion on B'Day
Wouldn't it be great to see Chamillionaire and Paul Wall put their pasts behind them and get their grown men on? After all, they wouldn't be as big as they are today without Get Ya Mind Correct -- their collaborative LP as one half of the four-man crew The Color Changing Click. In the words of Cham, "people started whispering" in both him and Paul's ears after the success of that album.
"Now what's everybody so mad at the south for? Change your style up..." - Fat Joe ("Make it Rain")
F**k a boring ass VMA, Southern Entertainment Awards is what's poppin' right now. OK, I'll take that back, MTV was smart enough to skip 50's overrated diss song in favor for Cham's "Ridin'" last week. But, moving on... check out a partial list of nominees for the 2007 Southern Entertainment Awards:
"I was sitting behind 50 Cent and he told me I was gonna win, I didn' t believe it"-Chamillionaire
Chamillionaire, Beyoncé , and Slim Thug all snabbed VMAs last night (August 31st).
