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

11

KING James? Not in WADE County!


Classic NY SOUR -no pun intended- Upper Clouds.

From a shunned Knick fan perspective:

What can I say? You promise the man the support, in Stoudemire and Lee, a chance to bring a championship to the biggest city you can play for, and the opportunity to make up to $1,000,000,000 by taking advantage of the NY market, as the face of basketball on the biggest stage. He didn’t want it, and who can say he’s wrong for that, nobody. At the end of the day, this argument isn’t about whether or not he made the best decision to get a championship, as he obviously did, theoretically. Wanting to see Lebron James on the Knicks brings a lot of bias to the criticism of the decision to play in Miami with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. However, you can’t lie, the Knicks had a championship contender situation built for Lebron James. The chance to play with Amare Stoudemire, David Lee, and another presence to come, would have been a better SUPPORTING cast than Cleveland was ever able to provide. While I would have loved to see D-Wade and Lebron on the Knicks, I wouldn’t be able to argue against the idea that it was a kind of surrender for them to team up, nonetheless.


From an NBA fan perspective:

I grew up watching basketball. Like many, dreamed to one day play in the league, and came to the realization that it wasn’t my calling, and settled for being a fan of the Pros that dedicate their lives to doing something that provides so many nights of entertainment and memories. Lebron James and Dwayne Wade shouldn’t be playing on the same team. If anything, they should be battling it out for supremacy of the east coast. This move to Miami says “if you can’t beat em’ join em”, with regards to these super-teams that are being built, like the Lakers and Celtics. All this will become in the NBA is total imbalance. The juggernaut teams will be few, but dominant, and it will bring about the end of other franchises, as there are only so many Hall of Fame worthy superstars to go around, save this shit for the Olympics. I couldn’t even put this team together in a Fantasy Draft in NBA2k10! The gripes can only concern the presence of the heart of a champion. If Lebron went to the Bulls, Knicks, Nets, or even stayed in Cleveland, there would still be the consistency of him being the LEADER Instead you go play for Wade County…as a member of the SUPPORTING cast, regardless of how much they pay you to keep you quiet.


Finally, from a Lebron “fan” perspective:

Maybe I’m just upset because I didn’t expect to see Lebron James playin’ “Pippen” after all these Jordan comparisons. When the man-child was dunking on his peers in the 9th grade, I didn’t view him as a role-player. When he gave me reason to actually take the Cleveland Cavaliers seriously, as a championship contender franchise, it didn’t remind me of Robin, it reminded me of Batman. Needless to say, D-Wade’s “Batman Status” is only being solidified, as the BEST Robin he could have ever found, is now his right-hand-man, as long as he STAYS IN HIS PLACE. As a “Lebron Fan” when I see the GM of the Orlando Magic saying “I thought he was, I guess, more of a competitor”, and I couldn’t possibly have a sensible argument to rebuttal that comment, I find it to be annoying. Yet, I can’t argue with Mr. Otis Smith, after proving time and time again that you can’t handle the pressure it takes to make it to the top, you’ve shown that you aren’t the leader you were hyped up to be, and shown a lot of character by having the courage to put your pride to the side and step down. It wouldn’t be me speaking, if I didn’t take the time to respect this factor of the situation, but when I’m reading “Lebron James, more Prince than King” in the headlines, I just don’t think it makes up for these consequences. Point blank, anybody trying to be the next Jordan can't do so like this...As a fan, it looks like he gave up on the iconic path I'd planned to see him run through. 

In conclusion:

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a fan of Lebron James anymore, as I’m still impressed by his ability, but not enough to watch that stupid-ass ESPN special on his decision to be a sidekick. Knick fan first, but he’s a great player, one I thought fit to be a King, among the best in the world. However, he’s no Jordan, and never will be, after this, as much as I hate to say it. D-wade may have the chance to claim those kinds of similarities down the road, as I expect them to get it together and win it all, at least once. I also commend D-wade’s expert executive skills, for the “pay-cut strategy” put in play to bring this together. I’m sure that move will pay off on his business resume after his retirement from actually playing in the NBA, might even land him a GM position. Lebron’s made his position clear, win a ring at all costs, even if you have to put the game on “easy”…Pass that to a Miami Heat fan…Wahh!
<--Suddenly this picture doesn't mean as much...Maybe when you step back in the boss seat. We know this isn't how u wanted to make it happen, and no amount of fakes in the bandwagon talking that "its all about the ring" nonsense can change that. Period - Cly

Ps. I say this ends in a trade, within 3 years. Hopefully this soft ass move doesn't resonate through the NBA for any longer than that. O iight

Click here --> for Orlando Magic GM Otis Smith comments: "Kobe's proven he can do it alone."



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

2

Is Fate Predetermined?

So....I'm in this "TYPE" of mood right now.....

Fate. Is it something that you believe in? Whether outwardly or subconsciously, most of us will answer yes to this question. Have you ever looked up in the sky and just wondered "what do you have in store for me"? I'm not talking about religion, I am talking strictly about the stars and the power that they seem to possess.
People believe that you make your own destiny in many cases. The argument to that would be how can you make your own destiny? By making decisions, and these decisions can in fact be swayed by both the constellations alignment and lunar activity. So, with that being said, does making your own destiny still count for as much? Obviously you are going to sway towards giving yourself credit and that is deserved, but to what degree? For instance, why do you think that it is a proven fact that the stars and moon can change our frame of mind and put us in a trance or psychosis? It seems strange that we can be swayed by something so far away.
That makes me believe that there HAS to be a reason. I have literally sat and pondered this dozens of times, weighing both ends, and now I know that there has to be a reason. It makes no sense why we can be coaxed into doing things during eclipses and what not. In conclusion, sit down, do what you with your "vibe", and ponder this one!

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!