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By Cly! Host of "The 4/20 Lounge"!

5

Drake, groundbreaking HIP-HOP artist, or Big Impact Pop Star, the difference may effect your EXPERIENCE…

Yow! Classic NY Sour for this one…perfect vibe. Happy Fathers Day!

Ok, so I hit this “FREE CONCERT” last week sponsored by Ray-Ban and Paper Magazine. The concert was said to feature Drake and Hansen, in an attempt to mix the crowd and express the aims of the magazine towards diversity.

What apparently wasn’t on the agenda was actually having the featured acts PERFORM! Another aspect of the show it may have been nice to plan for is the 20,000 New Yorkers that decided to make their presence felt! For whatever reason, on this particular day, one of the hottest acts in the game wasn’t supposed to attract a crowd in the busiest city in the world, during a FREE show. PM and I didn’t want to get there too late, not knowing what to expect from a free “Drake Concert”, and we couldn’t have gotten there early enough to be prepared for the situation that was about to unfold.

Contrary to popular belief, this is not a “Niggaz don’t know how to act” themed piece. This is more of a “What the fuck is going on” kind of vibe I’m working to establish. The crowd at the concert has been recently portrayed, as “the reason for the concert being cancelled” was the type of crowd that HIP HOP artists live and die to entertain. Ciphs among strangers, beach balls flying, crowd surfing, and general rare UNITY were among the features of this “angry mob”. They were actually so angry, that I was able to interview various people about current issues in hip hop. So, for the sake of not lying my ass off and going with the flow of bullshit that is the media, I deem this to be a “don’t blame us because you don’t have your shit together” themed piece. However, if we don’t hold promoters and artists accountable for things like this, how is it ever going to change?

What starts a “riot” is getting a big group of people together, and pissing them off. That’s precisely what happened. People came out to see Drake, some to see Hansen, and nobody saw anyone, except NinjaSonic, who left the scene unscathed, along with the DJ who got a few minutes to rock the crowd. Everything was fine until it came down to show and prove that you had the hottest act in the game here to perform for everybody, free of charge.

Nobody came out, hours pass as we wait for the DJ to get back to spinning. The moment never arrived, just the announcement that the concert was cancelled, and a fiery  reaction from the crowd upon seeing a TWEET from Drake, blaming his non-appearance on the NYPD, who blamed in on the unruly crowd, as the crowd blamed its unruliness on the lack of fulfillment of a promise. Up to that point, the only issue was people getting on roofs to get the best view! 

The crowd goes from unsettled, to unruly, to uncontrollable! Please take a moment to check the footage of the fights breaking out, a woman running with an infant -what the fuck she was thinking, remains a mystery-, various foods and bottles flying and landing with no direction, clear safety violations, nobody explaining anything, overly-aggressive police, and unified anger.  The worst part of all this, it wouldn’t have happened IF DRAKE CAME out. I just wanted to set the tone for this. Real MCs Move Crowds, they don’t move away from them. People got hurt, children were at risk, and more of the negative vibes that already saturate this city were incubated here. Somebody has to take responsibility, and I don’t think it’s your supporters Drake. It might actually be the photographer that was ON STAGE, TAKING PICTURES OF THE ANGRY CROWD...

Real Hip-Hop superstars would have made that scene into a moment. All the ingredients were present. What if it were Jay-Z, DMX, Jeezy, or Busta Rhymes? That scene would have been replayed for years to come. Thousands were screaming “We want Drake!”, but the question at the end is, what do you want Drake? I feel like I shouldn’t be upset, because of the repetitive claims of being in this industry for the money, but how about what your support is in it for? Does that shit matter AT ALL ANYMORE?! 

This “in it for the money” trend that’s taken over Hip Hop is translating to more than a loss of substance in the genre, but a loss of integrity and responsibility, as people don’t take the initiative to not buy your shit when you fuck them over. Congrats on the gigantic album sales Drake, I guess “Thank Me Later” was an appropriate title, because according to these interviews, one of the aspects that he's still developing is his stage presence, and I don’t see shit to be thankful for right now on these vids and pics. Except, a chance to see a lot of angry ass people that felt like he wasn't built for the NY scene. Keep that weak shit outta here...

Hold dat, WAhhh!

By Cly! Host of "The 4/20 Lounge"!

0
Posted in
FREE Drake CONCERT today, u trying to come? its in Manhattan. i'm gonna be there getting footage for the blog! http://The420lounge.blogspot.com

By Cly! Host of "The 4/20 Lounge"!

21

Clean Controversy, why not CELEBRATE!

Shouts to the Purple Kush,

I was on twitter, early evening 2 days ago and noticed a trend regarding Slim Thug and some statements he'd made to Starrene Rhett, regarding Black Women, Slim Thug's Blog via Vibe.com! Read this before you continue! 

Ok, so we have to talk about this for at least a minute. Houston's Boss Hog Thugga is sayin' that we all need to step it up in general with respect to our ways of thinking, especially regarding the standards we put against each other as black men and women. He even goes as far as to refer to white women as being generally more submissive, less materialistic and typically more willing to cook and clean, glorifying these qualities that make up the "best" relationship partners, at least for him.

The high maintenance "housewife"shit needs to stop, especially seeing as many of these standards are kept in low income relationships. Why the fuck are you trying to get a shopping spree out of somebody with one pair of sneakers? I agree with Slim Thug to a degree, black women need to step off the part of our recent culture that expects every man to have certain assets to be qualified to date them. Its only right to have HIGH STANDARDS, however, the main base of these standards can't always be MONETARY. Furthermore, I have to agree that my general conclusion of the argument of black contemporary woman vs. the old-fashioned black woman is; that the contemporary woman asks for more and expects to have less obligations than they used to, less of that ride or die kinda girl. Everybody can't live rich!

I just wanted to drop that gem for those of us that want to argue this, because I'm more than open to doing so. The uproar this shit caused is healthy and I think anybody offended or excited by what Slim Thug was saying should become a FAN of his, just to promote HEALTHY CONTROVERSY! I'd rather have somebody say something that's offensive, but somewhat thought out, to stir up some buzz. It'd be a lot better than this "so and so got punched" bullshit that I try to draw some kind of entertainment from, as i try to get the time back that i wasted reading about it...

Pass That...Wahh!

By DJ PM! Host/DJ of "The 4/20 Lounge"

1

Fans or Talent?

Posted in
Soooooo.....I'm sitting in a very heavy upper cloud mode with this kush and the thought comes to mind. What is more important as an up and coming performer in the entertainment industry, fans or talent? Firstly let's specify what "fans" means. A fan is anyone who supports your work and art enough to either come to your shows on a regular basis or someone who pays you for your services; i.e Club Promoters, to me, are just fans with a venue. So with that being said now we have to give the benefits of both:

Fans
- able to support you at a show and show other people that you have a following or "buzz".
- high class fans or "promoters" are people who can book you and help spread your name.
- able to purchase your music and make you money.

.......... leaving the rest open to comments and speculation...........

Talent
- gives you the ability to be booked more than once with the same group of "promoters".
- gives people that have actual pull in your career the ammunition they need to take you to the next level.
- allows the performer to expand his clientele in a more rapid manner by having mass appeal in his art.

.........................speculation............................

*****When commenting please remember to take into account that this is for a person who is UP and COMING not an ESTABLISHED artist!!!******

On a personal level, I need to stick with talent on this one. Fans are all well and good, but local bands and stand up comics have fans, but most lack what I NEED....Millions. Why?! You ask? The answer is simple yet again....Talent perks ears. It gives the people that are always listening to the same stuff over and over the chance to actually DO their job. At the end of the day, fans don't have the say that the almighty label reps do so I guess they are deemed as less crucial to your overall success. The public follows whatever the media deems as "trendy", therefore, fans can be attained after a signing as opposed to talent, which is the end all and be all to the actual signing. You get the point....NOW EXPAND ;0)

From the Upper Cloud.............DJ PM

By Cly! Host of "The 4/20 Lounge"!

5

Performers! All-Star or Benchwarmer?

I don’t even know what this shit is called…but me n PM in a good zone,

Fresh off a nice example of “Upper Cloud” life (see previous blog), hyped off of a couple successful meetings, we get to talking about what it’d be like when the label kicks off.

We hit the “Chance to Shine” showcase at the All Star Nightclub in Elizabeth, NJ, hosted by Rix Magazine’s D. Prados. PM and I have a rundown coming, judging the performers in detail, along with VIDEO within the next few days!

The grand finale of the night was a performance by Brooklyn’s own Joell Ortiz. I’m going to keep this to the point and say he might as well have got on stage with a briefcase and syllabus, as his intention was clearly to teach how to put on a show, for those who don’t know better.

From the entrance, to the interaction with the crowd that made this a cohesive show, rather than an artist performing song after song, the 10-15 minute set didn’t leave much to be desired, other than to hear more of Joell’s music, which I’m sure is the desired outcome, at this stage in his career. Performers lately have an urgency to get that “special record” that’s gonna knock in the clubs and get them the praise and admiration that they really are seeking, rather than trying to be great, and perfect a skill.

To each his own, but know that it shows when somebody sees you on a stage. Joell Ortiz gets a B, he’s dope, but there’s always room to improve. I’d like to see him use the stage more, and something more to separate him from the rest on the come up. Artists like Busta Rhymes and Ludacris are experts at using the stage til there’s nothing left untouched. P doesn’t think Joell is gonna be able to adapt to every crowd, versatility question. I'm sure Ortiz uses these ideas to become better every day.

When one claims to live this life, leaving it all on the floor has to be the only intention. Check out the Joell Ortiz Performance for yourself. It was poppin, shouts to Jersey!


By Cly! Host of "The 4/20 Lounge"!

0

Is the RECESSION what we NEEDED??




Ok, so I opened the bag...and it smelled disgusting. Sometimes that's just the aroma of life!

Lets talk kick some real knowledge tonight, on a "GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER" vibe...Capitalism (free-market system) has been hailed as a driving force behind the advances of the United States for many years. However, the current dilemma has caused many to question the good that comes from Capitalism because of the fact that it depends on constant consumption, and that consumption has been resulting in more bad than good as of late *for example, you may be one of millions who have recently been laid off, on some bullshit*, with regard to this recession the country has fallen into. While the system can’t be seen as the only reason for the country to be in a less than favorable situation, this lecture gives the necessary justification to place the blame on Capitalism for the eventual destruction of the foundation of the country, along with clarification of this country’s separation of classes not being what it seems. In other words, the way we set shit up, this was SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN.


In feudal times the separation of classes was the bourgeoisies vs. the proletariat. Respectively, this was generally the separation of rich vs. the poor, and after a more in-depth analysis, the separation of “owners” and “workers”.

OWNER refers to the group in control of the resources of the land that the people live off of. WORKER refers to the men and women that work for what it is they need, that the owner can provide, to sustain their livelihoods.

In our Capitalist society, the bourgeoisies and proletariat have been further divided into the Upper, Middle, and Lower Classes. The Upper class still consists of the owners of resources; the Lower class consists of those who work day by day just to get by, often with the most degrading & monotonous occupations. The Middle Class is portrayed as privileged workers, more comfortable than the average member of the Lower Class, but far from the income level of the Upper Class.

Major property, and outside “ownership” of certain high-price possessions mark members of the middle class. Yet, the middle class is exposed as only a distraction from the exact same situation of Owner vs. Worker. The middle class isn’t much better off than the lower class because of the fact that the middle class still consists of those who work for members of the upper class, one termination away from poverty. The distraction serves as the tranquilizer that keeps the members of the failing system in a state of peace, in order to ‘delay’ the inevitable revolution that is expected to take place in response to it.

Capitalism’s flaw lies in its basic formula. The bigger business sustains itself, and grows only by consumption of smaller businesses. From 1820-1970, the average worker in the United States produced more each year, as the years passed. Wages were increasing every decade, along with profits, a time that corporations took full advantage of as expected. As this production spike leveled out, money lost value, businesses left the country, and outsourcing had an effect on the work force.

The working class experienced the end of these rising wages, needing second and third jobs, and working more hours to compensate for money’s loss of value. In spite of this, in the 20th century CEO’s were earning 46 times the normal wage, and now they earn an astonishing 450 times the normal wage.

However, these deep pockets won’t be much help when the various media translations and propaganda fail to obscure the true classes of our country enough to keep society under control and content. The recession is difficult to endure, but with these observations taken under consideration, it’s only the beginning of the worst to come.


The idea i'm trying to push forward is that we get tricked into believing shit all the time. The same people who get the flashy car with nowhere to rest their heads, are doing so much more than that. In order for the big suit to stay in power, the little guys need to stay in their places. SADLY, a lot of us actually do that.

Content with a bitch, bottle, and blunt, while not making any progress toward anything but a re-up. Not a go. There's a lot to be done, but it won't get started if nobody says shit. Hopefully, this cycle Hip-Hop is going through will give the community a little more insight, with respect to wanting to become an OWNER rather than live life as the most PRIVILEGED WORKER you can be.

Don't even pass that to the left yet...Steam it for a lil, permission granted...Wahh!