Friday - September 1, 2006 by Carl Chery
Ludacris

In this special VMA edition of the Pulse Report, Ludacris clarifies who is being dissed on "War With God," Lil Wayne disses Gillie Da Kid and Remy Ma moves on without Fat Joe.

Earlier this week, SOHH.com set up shop at the Pre-VMA Media Forum and had the chance to chop it up with Luda, Weezy, Birdman, Remy Ma and Chamillionaire among many others.

1. Luda clarifies "War With God" target. It turns out that Ludacris' "War With God" wasn't about him afterwards. Within hours of the track leaking onto the internet earlier this summer, heads began speculating on who Luda was targeting on the track.Luda had then supposedly revealed that the song wasn't aimed towards Young Jeezy or T.I., but himself. Hmmmmm, not really! "They misquoted me saying it was about me. What I was telling them is that I divulged a lot of information about myself. I'm not battling myself on a record, that's ridiculous" Luda told SOHH.com exclusively. "What happens is, you got a lot of people taking subliminal shots at me, but nobody really says my name, so I'm not for sure, so that's my way of taking subliminal shots right back." So there you have it. One could say it's not aimed at anyone in particular. But if the shoe fits, wear it. "If anybody wanna catch feelings too hard then you can definitely do so," Luda added. "But I'm sitting here letting you know."

2. Weezy responds to Gillie Da Kid. While Gillie Da Kid has made his rounds, alleging that he has written for Lil Wayne, Cash Money's youngest in charge has yet to say much on the subject. Maybe cause the Birdman Junior doesn't have much to say. "Get rich, son...cause I am," Weezy challenged as he looked straight into the SOHH camera.

"That's just cheap talk," Birdman added. "We getting paid to talk." Weezy then continued, "All I'm saying is if you wrote something for me, how come you ain't rich. A nigga like me good. That nigga said he got 25 thousand a pop for when he does songs for us. Un-fucking believable!"

3. Remy steps out on her own. Last we heard, Remy was reportedly up for sale. Ma told SOHH she was already hard work on a sophomore disc, There's Somethin Else About Remy, but doesn't know where it'll be released. One thing is sure, don't expect it to drop via Terror Squad Records or SRC. "As far as the Joe situation, that's my dude but we gon keep it strictly friendship," Remy shared. "The whole business thing, I just felt like it was a conflict of interest to me, the business situation." Remy also spoke on the lack of label support the Ne-Yo-featured "So Good" received from SRC. "I wanted to kill people, but you know...that's illegal. I went up there (SRC offices) in April. I'm telling them, 'this is the one, I'm telling you. It could be the next 'Lean Back'... and they didn't wanna shoot the video," Remy recounted frustrated. "They had their own agenda on how they wanted things to work out. At the end of the day, they didn't shoot the video and the record is still being added. Even without the support, I've managed to stay in front of the line, mainstream, in people's eyes so you could see."

4. Chamillionaire speaks on working with Paul Wall and Mike Jones again. Though Chamillionaire and the Swishahouse camp have agreed to disagree, heads are hoping that a collaboration may still be in the cards. While he seemed iffy about recording with his former label mates, Chamillionaire didn't entirely dismiss the idea of working with them. "It definitely would be dope. I just can't rule that out," he told SOHH a future collaboration with Wall and Jones. "But I feel like we need to do our best to keep Houston moving right now. There's power in numbers. I think even a tour would be dope. If all of us went on a big tour and really just went everywhere across the nation and overseas, we could make it happen. It's just about everybody putting pride and egos to the side."

5. What you may not see at the VMAs. Sohh... as SOHH chopped it up with the likes of Luda, Pharrell Williams, Weezy and Birdman, the interviews unfortunately conflicted with Ciara, Snoop Dogg and Monica's availability. Missing them was cool, but missing Cassie was unacceptable. While you won't see her on any upcoming VMA-related podcast, you'll also miss me complaining to Slim Thug that he's the cause for me missing Cassie. You won't see rappers in awe as they cheese for photos with the Hulkster, you won't see Ne-Yo and Cool and Dre exchanging numbers and making plans to work together, Tyrese declaring he loves Remy as he passed by the SOHH camera or Rem calling Method Man all sorts of names, including his government to get his attention. Oh, and you definitely won't see me call Webstar of "Chiken Noodle Soop" fame Webster. However, you can catch some of the highlights of the Pre-VMA Forum on SOHH's VMA Sneak Peak.

[For any questions, comments, criticisms, hatemail, etc hit up Carl Chery on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/hdottt.]

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Fuck, has it been another year already?

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Due to prior obligations, I couldn’t attend the VMAs to give you folks the lowdown on what was really goins on… so we’re just gonna do what we do best. Thank god last night’s production was by far the worst VMA I’d ever seen. We’re gonna sit around in a circle and light these niggas up.

Nacho, you’ve really let yourself go, haven’t you? Jack Black look like he bout halfway to Chris Farley. Okay, maybe only a third. But he’s definitely a space cowboy with Burger King in his food tube.

Speaking of big, bucking chicken… why does Rihanna sound like Penelope Cruz? I’ve never heard her speak aside from announcing the award with 2005 Johnny Mathis. (Yes, that’s a closet joke.)

I was, of course, paying attention to the cutaways and seating arrangements just as much as you were. Did Jay-Z and Nas really have to sit next to one another like best buddies? Got Kelis and Beyonce on the outsides posted up like The First Wifeys’ Club. Boss lady got her ring. I wonder how long Hova is gonna pipe for free.

Did y’all catch that Beyonce performance? It was pretty good. I respect going live with the dance routine a la Janet Jackson in her prime, pre-titty. However, what the fuck is goin on? I am convinced Beyonce goes to the bleach clinic. She continues to get lighter every time. A couple years ago I thought I was watching a J-Lo performance on SNL. This time she came out looking like Carmen Sandiego. I’m waiting for some 11-year-olds to run around dropping placemarkers on the floor looking for Uzbekistan.

Switching gears, All-American Rejects really ripped shit. They also got hella ripped. When they won their award I don’t think they had any idea they were even up. Dude was blented, coked up and talking to hoes. Did you see the acceptance speech? “I’m getting sooooo trashed tonight.” Yet the rappers are supposed to be the bad influence on little Timmy in Idaho.

I'm surprised them backstage cameras didn't catch nobody snortin up or puffin on a vanilla Dutch.

You know who else is filthy? Panic! At The Disco. That was one of the better live performances I’ve seen at the VMA. The dudes on the treadmills were cool. If only Jamiroquai hadn’t shut that routine down 10 years ago, it would have been really impressive.

WTF is up with Jared Leto? Wasn’t he a semi-respectable actor at one point. Oh… Jake Gyllenhaal took all his cookies, didn’t he? Daaaamn, homie! In high school you was the maaaan, homie. The fuck happened to you? I remember cats used to want to be him. Little did we know Jared wanted to be Freddie Mercury, but settled for lead singer of The White Stripes. (Except Jack White will lean your punk ass.) I guess this is J-Let’s final role.

Damn, I gotta get up on my white boy music. I’ve obviously been slippin this year. Too much “Chain Hang Low.”

You know something is wrong with the VMAs when that Stayfree maxi pad commercial Shakira and Wyclef made is nominated for like fitty-leven moonmen. Sweet Christ! Do you think Clef hit it?

Puffy is getting more Deion Sanders by the day. As this thought crossed my mind, Young Dro and T.I. come out to “Shoulder Lean.” “Now I’m ridin’ Deion!” Strange, indeed.

I can’t be the only nigga that likes “loaded AYYYY! OHHHH!” better than “loaded .44” in “What You Know” can I?

What the fuck was Napoleon of the South doing with that chorus of retarded children? Was that the well-behaved MIS class of Bankhead? Looked like Jerry’s Kids doin the lean wit it, rock wit it.

On the subject of retards and otherwise Special Olympic hopefuls, I've never suggested or endorsed anything like this even in jest, but... If you watch “Laguna Beach,” kill yourself.

Peace to Chamillionaire. No jokes this time. He got burned one of the hardest on the blog this season. His acceptance was truly heartwarming and he deserved that shit. "Ridin’" was definitely the best video out of the ones nominated. Kanye believes the outcome would have been different had “Touch The Sky” been nominated instead of “Gold Digger” but eh, fuck Kanye.

Also, fuck Fergie. How she gets to come on stage without Peas is beyond me. Their entire institution disgusts me as you all well know.

Eh, fuck that little girl too. Little Miss Sunshine or whatever. She can’t read or dance and she ain’t gonna be “cute” forever. She better watch Macaulay Culkin’s moves real close or else she gonna be on Flavor of Love in 15 years.

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This program has been brought to you by JC Penney.

"We have no chance in hell of getting you guys to buy this shit. We hope your parents are watching!"

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"Hmmm. How do we get these niggers to buy this shit?"

[email protected]

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Friday - September 1, 2006 by Carl Chery
Method Man

With his fourth solo album, 4:21: The Day After, hitting stores, Method Man spoke to SOHH.com on the state of hip-hop and his preferences on independent labels versus major companies.

After releasing albums via major labels for well over a decade, Method Man has since himself gone from a priority to an act fighting for his company's support. In fact, independence is looking pretty good to Mef these days.

"The indie route is the best route right now, all you need is distribution. You don't necessarily need the record companies anymore," Mef told SOHH.com. "That's why I root for the underdog. I'd love to see more independents doing shit, for the simple fact that I'm tired of getting raped." [Watch]

He may be turned off by majors, but Mef isn't part of the "hip-hop is dead" bandwagon like most veteran artists. He just thinks some key emcees aren't given a voice.

"What do I think of the state of NY hip-hop? Well NY hip-hop, I mean it's still here just the right motherfuckers just ain't being heard, and like I said, the media is playing a big part in that, cause they poppin all that shit like we ain't significant anymore, but a lot of it has to do with the music," he explained. "There's this new production going on now and It's like either you get with it or get lost. It's like NY always had its own sound and shit, you know niggas is stubborn, 'we ain't trying to do that, let them do that, that's they thing, we ain't trying to do what they do, that's they thing, let them do that, we gonna do us.' It all comes back around though, they gonna want the grimy shit again." [Watch]

Method Man's 4:21: The Day After is in stores now.

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By J. Alise

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Before Miskeen Originals could be found in stores across the country, and even before the likes of Bernard Hopkins, Bun B, Snoop Dogg and Alicia Keys donned the colorful, hand painted shirts; artists were painting and selling Miskeen in the streets of West Philly. The team built a buzz, their brand and a name in the fashion business by opting for the unique concept of making every piece an original piece of art. Since the time founders Yaniv and Ilan Zaken painted their first shirts, they have expanded Miskeen’s to 34 artists.

Just how does Miskeen seamlessly merge art with fashion? AllHipHop.com Alternatives went behind the scenes at their Camden, New Jersey headquarters to investigate the secrets of this innovative company.

The Miskeen factory itself is just as colorful and ornate as the clothing inside, with graffiti murals covering the outside walls of the factory. Inside the studio, the sales and marketing teams work side-by-side with the artists, ensuring that the artistic and business aspects are in sync. The art transcends just fashion; there are hand-painted desks and chairs along with the vibrantly colored walls decorated with original paintings. Next to the office area is the silk-screening room, where the silkscreen artists work directly with the design team to create images digitally and translate them to shirts. The entire process from computer to production, theoretically, takes only a couple of hours. In reality, the team experiments with colors and styles, and apply their own creativity to make each work original.

“We do silkscreen in house, and we do hand art in house, because fashion catches so quickly and we have to be prepared,” Marketing Director Jasmijn Rijcken explained during our tour. “For instance, as soon as Bun B wore that Pink Panther shirt [in Beyonce’s video], everyone else wanted it the next day.”

On the other side of the silkscreen room is a huge art studio where about 15 to 20 artists create the looks for Miskeen simultaneously. They start with an initial design and add their individual flavor and flair to each shirt. Once the shirts are produced, it is up to the retailers to pick and choose which designs they want to sell. However, when they place the orders, store buyers are not entirely sure what they will end up with, as each shirt is uniquely made. They will know what color shirts they will receive, but the finished product depends on the artist’s vision at that moment. From time to time, Miskeen does create exclusive lines for certain major retailers, such as Finish Line.

While Miskeen’s customer base is mostly men, they do have a women’s line in the works. They have 37 stores throughout the United States under their Dr. Denim line, and the Miskeen brand is available at hundreds of retail stores nationwide.

According to Jason Moody, Sales Manager for the Southeast region, the South has embraced Miskeen and boasts some of the best selling stores in the country. “There is a store in Raleigh, North Carolina that might be the best damn store in the country. I’ve been to some big glossy stores, and then I’ve been to some hood ass stores, but the love that the clothing line gets is crazy nationwide.”

In addition to spreading their artistic vision across the U.S., Miskeen is working closely with Upliftment Jamaica, a St. Thomas based non-profit organization dedicated to educating and empowering Jamaican youth, supported by Russell Simmons, Dr. Ben Chavis, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Buju Banton and other industry heavyweights. In their hometown of Philadelphia, the Miskeen crew organizes frequent fundraisers to support Upliftment Jamaica’s vision. In July 2006, two Miskeen artists flew down to Jamaica to teach art classes and design shirts with some of the Upliftment Jamaica campers.

The secret of Miskeen’s success is, that through their original art, they can always breathe new life into fashion. They can adjust in accordance with the frivolity of fashion, and can always rely on their basic artistic skills as trends come and go.

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Kelefa Sanneh of the New York Times is fastly becoming one of my favorite writers. In the Thursday, September 7th issue Sanneh pens a story about there not being a true summer hip-hop hit. Looking at the songs that ruled the Billboard charts, Shakira featuring Wyclef's "Hips Don't Lie", Nelly Fertado featuring Timbaland's "Promiscuous Girl" and Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" all come to mind, however none are a true hip-hop hit, and of course none are a true R&B hit.

But since we are in a culture where traditional radio is almost obsolete and iTunes and last.fm rules the popularity of songs I ask, what song ruled your summer? (add me as a friend on last.fm, user name: cartierkev so I can see what y'all listening to!)

At the top of the summer many latched on to LeToya Luckett's "Torn." Some were more into Chingy featuring Tyrese with "Pulling Me Back." One or two of your probably featured "Call On Me" by Janet Jackson featuring Nelly or "Deja Vu" by Jayonce. Last night, I looked at my iTunes and last.fm charts and it seems that Brandy gets the most burn on my computer even with no new material release. For some reason Cherish was pretty high on my list too. I reset the count on them just because that wasn't a good look.

What's on repeat in your car, cd changer, iTunes, Windows Media Player, Music Match Jukebox, WinAmp, 8 Track or casette player?

But now that summer is over and the picnics, roof top BBQs and concerts in the park are being replaced with house parties and weekend getaways (big up to those hitting the big Philly Meet Up) I have a few predictions for the fall.

John Legend's "Save Room" will run amuck on both urban and adult contemporary radio. Have you seen the video? Check it out. (best viewed in I.E.)


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I like that song... a lot.

I also predict that the lines between pop and R&B will blur even more with highly anticpated releases scheduled by Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Omarion, Mya and Alicia Keys.

If none of those work for you maybe a few of these will.

Chingyfeaturing Timbaland - "Let Me Love U"

Johnta Austin - "U Remind Me"

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For all the Mary J. Blige fans who have been wondering about all the random new music is coming from, wonder no more. It seems Ms. Blige is releasing a new CD this year just around Thanksgiving.

Despite selling over 700,000 copies of The Breakthrough during it's first week of sales during last year's holiday rush, many of you said you didn't see what was SOHH special about the album. You said you were tired of Mary whining and her 'woe is me' approach to music.

Well this new album will be more of the same since it is the long-awaited greatest hits collection that was suppose to be released last year. As you remember The Breakthrough replaced Reminisce, last year's original scheduled release. Check out some of the songs that might be on Mary's new CD.

Listen to "Outta My Head"

Listen to "Turn Off The Lights" featuring Jay-Z

The new CD may also include "If I Don't Love You This Way" and "Fever". Download them here:
If I Don't Love You This Way and Fever.

But if you are not moved, feel free to stick around for our...

SOHH SOULFUL TOP 5 SONGS OF THE MOMENT!

Omarion - "Electric"
This dude ain't half bad. Don't let the baby hair fool you.

Justin Timberlake featuring Snoop - "Pose"
JT is the shit. One by one he is converting Usher fans to JT's Witnesses. Let the church say AMEN!

Mya - "How We Carry"
Don't sleep on Mya. She bosses up a little on this track that is clearly for the ladies.

Beyonce - "Irreplaceable"
One of the more bearable tracks from B'Day... "I can have another you in a minute...."

Christina Aguilera - "Hurt"
While Mimi is off on an adventure, this voice is a suitable seatfiller.


BONUS... check out this Usher featuring Pharrell track titled "Don't Take It Personal." I am not sure if it's new or left over from Confession

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