I never could beat this damn game. Looks like all I needed was some hip-hop inspiration.

 
Thanks to SwitchbladeComb for the tip of the gloves.

For the most part, hip-hop isn’t my thing. It’s too bass heavy, I can’t understand what the artists are saying and outside of the stuff I listened to in the 90s, there are few new artists that get my attention (over the last few years, the only one I can stand is Jay-Z).

Earlier this week a friend sent me over this song after I thanked him profusely for his help. I listened to it once and then again. Not to be sucked into buying an album that only had one song I liked, I cruised You Tube for more of this guy’s stuff and discovered that most of it is this style of melodic hip-hop and to boot, he’s an artists that promotes the positive rather than violence.

Meet Lupe Fiasco. Reading later that he is a contemporary of Jay-Z and a man who has been called a “hip-hop Generation Next vanguard” comes as no surprise since listening to his latest album “The Cool” was a bit of a revelation. It’s a type of concept album, each track – starting with the declaration “Baba Says Cool for Thought” – encourages listeners, youth, to think twice about what they think is “cool.” This type of lyricism is what I liked from the earlier days of hip-hop and I’m happy to see it’s making a comeback. I can’t wait to get my hands on his first album, the critically acclaimed “Food & Liquor.”

Even if hip-hop isn’t your cup of tea, give this guy a listen. It’s likely to surprise you.

Eminem is releasing his first album since 2005′s Encore, and I’d say the majority of mainstream rap fans are looking forward to it – or at least curious. While I definitely got out of my listening-to-rap phase during high school, I still kick it to some Warren G, some old school Tupac, or even some of Dre’s Chronic 2001 every once in a while. Like any genre, there is some good to go along with the plenty of bad.

I still remember vividly the first time I heard of Eminem, seeing his first hit single My Name Is pop up on MTV while at my friend’s house. We watched with fascination at this guy who was making fun of just about everything and everyone, from President Clinton to Pamela Anderson. “What is this?” we wondered to ourselves, much similar to how we felt about South Park which debuted around the same time. Mainstream rap hasn’t been the same since. Eminem’s influence is undeniable – and really, so is his talent, whether you personally care for the guy’s music or not.

I don’t see myself rocking out to Eminem’s new album (unless it’s 1:30 AM and I am at a college bar), but I’m curious enough to check it out still – because while his single’s are generally fused with pop and silliness, the guy can rap and there are always some catchy, well-made songs on his albums.

What do you all think? Care? Don’t Care? Indifferent?

While it is impossible to find his music video without embedding disabled, you can check it out still over on YouTube.

If you’re flying in Canada, everyone knows that WestJet does things a little differently but even they haven’t come to this (that I know of at least – it’s been a while since I’ve flown). In the US, someone else is doing things a little differently.

From the looks of things Southwest Airlines is trying to mix things up a little too. I’m assuming that the OK comes from management but some airline attendants are making your flight a little more interesting. Who actually listens to the pre-flight announcements? Everyone knows about the exits and we’ve all joked about the hand signals that have been around as long as people have been flying commercially but at Southwest, they’re shaking things up just a little.

There are a number of videos kicking around of David, an attendant for SWA that delivers his pre-flight information in a rap and it’s pretty entertaining. Who knew on board entertainment could be this good? Check it:

I still vividly remember the first time that I saw the music video for Eminem’s My Name Is. I was a pretty young fellow and at my friend’s house playing some Goldeneye on Nintendo 64. After a few hours, we got bored and turned it off and flipped over to MTV, where they were premiering some new rap song by some new cat. We then proceeded to watch the video and we laughed all the way. At the time, it was fresh, it was funny, and it was catchy. It went on to become one of the biggest hits of 1999. His next album, The Marshall Mathers LP went on to break records, and his following two albums would be chart-toppers as well. Since 2004, when his last album Encore was released, he’s been pretty mum and declared he was taking an indefinite hiatus.

It was fine by me as I had grown out of my enjoyment of the man and had tired of his antics in the public eye. I passed through my rap and hip hop phase back in junior high, although I’ve never particularly enjoyed much outside of the likes of Dr. Dre and Tupac. I was a fan of much of Eminem’s work then, but generally found his radio play singles to be grating. Still, it is undeniable to recognize the man’s talent and that he helped reshape the rap world (for better or worse), large in part due to the help of his friend and mentor Dr. Dre (who he has collaborated with on many occasions in the past).

Now Eminem’s first single, which includes both Dr. Dre and the 50 Cent, from his upcoming album release Relapse has hit the net. You won’t ever see me jamming out to this music in the car. This isn’t my niche, but it’s causing a huge stir, so something like this is just begging to be commented on (but don’t worry, I won’t make a habit of talking about music such as this). This is what I call “bar music” (music I will inevitability hear playing on the jukebox when I go out) and I view it much differently than I view the music I would choose to listen to on my own.

I’m legitimately curious. First of all, what do you think of Eminem as an artist? Secondly, what do you think of the new single?

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