Another Day, Another Female Rapper

Everybody is their own boss on YMCMB.  Drake has OVOXO, Nicki Minaj has MAC and OPI, and Tyga has Last Kings.

Honey Cocaine is an Asian female rapper from Canada, and is the first signed artist to Tyga’s Last Kings record label.  Just like her name, Honey Cocaine is sweet and dangerous.  Similar to her female predecessors, she wants to be recognized as a female who can spit with the best of them (even if “them” are really men).

In the last eight years it has become standard procedure to release a mixtape in order to create a buzz. You can only imagine my surprise when I discovered the title of her debut mixtape is Fuck Yo Feelings Vol. 1.  At first glance I thought the title was very abrasive and grimy.  However, after 1:06 of the first track, I understood her decision.

Honey Cocaine has a few stand out tracks: Heisman, Heisman Part 2, Feel Shit, Too Pussy To, and Fuck Yo Feelings. After listening to the mixtape’s 15 tracks two things are undeniable: ALL 15 beats are fire, and she can definitely rap.  However, the problem is that her raps are so shallow; they lack content. Not every artist is going to rap about growing up poor and social/economic problems but REALLY?  How many tracks can a person make about being heartless, careless, and hard? Secondly, she tends to curse too much. At times it is just unnecessary.  Lastly, the choruses to her songs are basic and repetitive at best. This reconfirms that her raps lack substance.

In her defense, she is another female rapper that gives us what we have been missing since Nicki Minaj decided to go Pop. Hopefully, in the near future Honey Cocaine can invest in a ghostwriter so she can put out a stellar debut album. Even though she is better than Kreayshawn and V-Nasty, she has a tough road ahead of her.  (Follow me @eyediditmyway)

The 54th Annual Grammy Awards

Let’s just start out and give the crew of the Grammys a round of applause for all of their hard work and effort.  I know receiving news that Whitney died the night before the Grammys must have rocked their world.  Putting the Grammys together is no easy task, but having to incorporate a tribute in 24 hours..whew…commendable!

There are so many highlights on the Grammys. Bruce Springsteen kicked off the show in true Rock & Roll style; that is how you open up a show! Bruno Mars followed; surprising the hell out of me with his performance. He is a great singer and songwriter, but what a hell of a performance. He danced and sang live, and he managed to keep the crowd entertained…true pop star. Other incredible performances include Foster of the People with Maroon 5 and The Beach Boys, and Coldplay and Rihanna. I knew Rihanna had some moves, but she really impressed me with her dancing and choreographed routine. The illumination of Coldplay’s set was fantastic; eye catching at the very least…and the vocals of Chris Martin leave Rihanna’s yodeling in the dust! And speaking of yodeling, that’s what Taylor Swift usually does when she performs live. Not this time, Taylor made such a statement in her own little quirky way: take that Kanye! (Side note: I like a lot of Taylor’s music).

There were some misses though. As talented that Chris Brown is, his performance was lackluster. We have seen Chris Brown sing and dance live plenty of times; I have no idea why he chose to lip sync. Was he channeling his inner Ashley Simpson? He jumped around on some blocks, did some typical (do not try this at home) Chris Brown moves and that was it. His set was full of rainbow colors and I liked that shout to the gay people, but still it left me wanting more. Oh, and let’s not forget Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt’s tribute to the late Etta James. The intent was good, but the performance was flat, dry, and not needed. Other misses, Lil Wayne’s outfit. Some college students aren’t allowed to wear pajama pants to class anymore, he should not be allowed to wear stupid outfits. And the ABSOLUTE WORST performance of the night belongs to Nicki Minaj! I thought that it couldn’t get any worse than her “Stupid Hoe” music video. Somewhere in Nicki’s twisted little mind, she thought it was a good idea to introduce the whole world to Roman via an exorcism….on live TV….at the Grammys. It was really a WTF moment, especially after such a fantastic, powerful, and simple tribute to Whitney Houston. Whitney was known to embrace all young artists, and I am pretty sure she would have been confused at the performance. As I blogged before I am always pro non-conformist and I dig expressionism; but seriously Nicki do better. I will never question her spirituality because it is not my place to. It was just too much. Know when to censor, know when less is more, know when it’s not always a good idea to think all the way out the box.  The only positive thing about her performance was that it was  great promo for her because it has the world talking. Mission accomplished?

Overall, the 54^th Annual Grammy Awards was great. Where else can you get such a diverse selection of great music and learn some new artist at the same time? I wonder what they will have in store next year. (Follow me @eyediditmyway)

Madonna's Super Bowl Show

Now that the dust has officially settled, it is time to discuss Madonna’s 2012 Super Bowl Half Time Performance.  Who does not love and respect Madonna? Her music is trendy, diverse, and timeless.  With decades of hits that includes favorite songs such as, “Virgin, “Vogue”, “Music,” and “4 minutes,” she is truly the Queen of Pop. 

Sunday night Madonna put on one hell of a performance.  When you think of a Super Bowl Half Time show you want to see sort of a theatrical performance. Lights, pyro, dancers, glitz, glamour, costumes…as the audience we want a mini concert.  It was all there, Madonna delivered in so many ways.  Also, she had several surprise cameos in her Half Time show: the party-rocking LMFAO, the world-famous Nicki Minaj, and the rebellious British rapper/singer-songwriter M.I.A. 

M.I.A…

Apparently M.I.A thought that it would be a good idea to flash her middle finger while performing her part in Madonna’s new single, “Give Me All Your Luvin.”  Too bad, this was a LIVE performance for the SUPER BOWL! The Super Bowl is one of the most viewed programs every year; football is THE All-American sports game.  It brings families and friends together every week to root for their favorite teams.  So, why on earth would it be a great idea to do something sinister during a Super Bowl performance? Have performers not learned anything from Janet Jackson’s 2004 Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction? The whole world freaked over a nipple (although it was inappropriate).  Granted, in M.I.A’s defense she has a reputation of being artistic, creative, outspoken, controversial, and rebellious.  She is a leader of the new school; a trend setter.  These are the things you expect with an artist like M.I.A. In fact, this is why she signed a contract with NBC to not do anything controversial during the Half Time performance; rumor has it that at least she conformed to these terms during rehearsals. 

I love the non-conformist that M.I.A. is.  I am always pro-non-conformist! However, there is a time and place.  M.I.A actually has had a really successful career overseas and in the states, in my opinion she did not need the extra publicity.  In fact, this can get her [briefly] black-balled in the states. Secondly, she took all the shine from the biggest performance of Madonna’s career.  Now what will we remember about the 2012 Super Bowl Half Time Performance:

1.       M.I.A flips the bird

2.       Nicki Minaj kept her multiple personalities in check

3.       Cee-Lo’s outfit looked like something out of a Sci-Fi movie

4.       Oh yeah…and Madonna performed 

(Follow me @eyediditmyway)