Welcome to the last Bootleg of February, kids. Before we commence with the news, I should answer two of the most frequently asked questions from the past week or so. First, yes, I’m still handling the rap reviews. I’ll be back after the 411 relaunch next week, so look for March reviews of new ones by (inhale) Lil’ Kim, Fabolous, Benzino, LL Cool J and TLC.
Secondly, in my review for Nas’ Lost Tapes, I made mention of some feedback I received from a rapper and his label. The rapper was Shade Sheist and you can read the review that had his record label all in a snit right c’here. Trust me, you haven’t lived until you’ve had an email feud with representatives of Baby Ree Entertainment. Hey, it’s not exactly Green Lantern vs. Sinestro, but what can you do?
There’s a lot to cover this week, so let’s get into all the news goodness, shall we?
Springsteen on CBS Tonight
The network that brought you the Friday night staples of The Incredible Hulk and The Dukes of Hazard comes through again! The Boss and his E Street Band will garner a prime time appearance as CBS broadcasts portions of a recent concert in Barcelona. All of the best stuff from The Rising album will be performed. Now that ABC is Urkel-free on Fridays, there’s no other show to watch. Bruce and his crew complete the U.S. leg of their current tour in mid-March, then head for Australia, Canada and Europe.
Eminem to Debut Clothing Line
Who would have ever thought of Puff Daddy as a trendsetter? His highly successful “Sean John” clothing line has spawned a million and one copycats. In fact, if you want a really good laugh, head into any one of the Mervyn’s clothing chains. You’ll find racks and racks of unsold “P. Miller” apparel, which is the signature line for Master P. Anyways, Em has a deal in place to sell his “Shady Ltd.” clothing in Macy’s nationwide. If you choose to wear it, you deserve the ass whippin’ on the street you’ll likely receive.
Snoop to Attend Pimp Convention
The past few months haven’t been kind to Snoop. His most recent album was met with poor sales, despite excellent reviews. His show on MTV wasn’t picked up. He pretty much crashed and burned in a co-host stint on the painfully unfunny Jimmy Kimmel Live show. So, what’s a Dogg to do? He shows up at The Second Annual West Coast Player’s Ball, of course! Fans in Los Angeles can attend the March 1 show, scheduled to be held at Platinum Plus in Studio City. If you can’t make it, there’s a “Player’s Club” meet-and-greet scheduled to be held at Hollywood Park tonight. I love California.
Jessica Andrews In Sitcom Role
Tasty little country music vixen Jessica Andrews has landed a recurring role in the WB Network’s Greetings from Tucson. The good news is that it’s not five years ago when her WB options would have been The Wayans Bros. or The Parent Hood. The bad news is that it’s still the W f’n B for Christ’s sake. Andrews has been cast to play a cheerleader. Duh-rool, duh-rool.
Another Rock n’ Roll Porn Bust
Massive Attack’s Robert (3D) Del Naja was reportedly swept up in the same international child pornography sting that Pete Townshend got pinched in. Del Naja was detained and questioned for six hours before his release without being charged. In a related story, my Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue arrived last week. There’s a good little spread of tennis diva Serena Williams and an amazing shot of Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens’ wife. The chick has had like 80 kids (all with first names starting with ‘K’, baseball shorthand for a strikeout) and is rockin’ abs of steel.
Busta Rhymes’ SUV is Shot Up
The most unfortunate thing about this incident (since no one was hurt) is many uninformed fans and media outlets were quick to chalk this up to “a day in the life” of a rapper. Sure, Busta’s last album was straight doo, but he’s not one of these cats whose lyrics are all about guns and drive-bys. He’s generally kept his nose clean and stayed away from controversy. Here’s hoping the cops are making a serious effort to find the shooters before the next car they target isn’t empty.
Musicians Hate War
Who would’ve ever thought we’d see Sheryl Crow and 50 Cent on the same team? Well, believe it…or don’t. It seems a gaggle of rappers, singers and songwriters have united against the potential war over in Iraq. This quaint little left-wing clique calls themselves “Musicians United to Win Without War” or MUtWWW.
Opportunistic camera hog and ruler of Def Jam Records, Russell Simmons made the announcement during a press conference in New York yesterday. The gist of this little publicity stunt grass roots campaign is to support continued UN inspections of Iraq instead of invasion and future territorial occupation. Wait, it gets better.
Everyone probably saw Ms. Crow’s unspoken statements at The Grammy Awards last weekend. She had “NO WAR” spelled out on her guitar strap and accessorized with a humble little diamond-studded peace sign necklace. The unspoken statements and stances are oftentimes the most powerful. That’s never truer than when an idiot opens his mouth.
Almost on cue, we have Russell Simmons. During yesterday’s press conference, the man that continues to punish rap fans with Ja Rule records bragged about the “power” this alliance would have. As an example, he cited the “fact” that Sean “P. Diddy” Combs was more beloved worldwide than President Bush, while Jay-Z was more respected than Colin Powell.
Look, liberal/conservative, hawk/dove, I don’t care. However, if Mr. Simmons expects anyone to take this unit seriously, he needs to think before he speaks. Is he suggesting we send Puffy over to talk peace with Saddam Hussein? Is he suggesting that Jay-Z’s popularity with teenagers in retro NBA jerseys carries any weight on the world stage?
Hey, I’m 411’s most outspoken proponent of rap music and the hip hop culture (just check out any of my reviews when you’re done here…heh), but Russell Simmons is a joke. All of these actors and actresses, singers and dancers and other assorted camera whores need to just shut the hell up. I plunk down my hard earned bones to be entertained by these people, not lectured. Look, if you want to march for peace in the streets of New York, fine. If you want to pledge your support for W with a George Bush bumper sticker, that’s fine, too. Just do it because you’ve informed yourself of the facts and not because Dave Matthews and Fat Joe said so.
411 Fun Facts (Series One) Collect ‘Em All!
Sure, you’ve read this far, but do we really know each other?
#3: This year, my birthday falls on the last Sunday of March…and so does my brother’s!
#6: I am an insanely huge fan of both the Oakland A’s and Oakland Raiders, yet, oddly, I’ve never lived in Oakland or the Bay Area!
#7: I dated my girlfriend for seven years before I met her parents…two days before our wedding!
You know what I discovered the other day? Apparently, I’m the only man left in the free world who doesn’t pump his wife/girlfriend’s gas for her.
