After getting out of that other game and coming back inside, my mom and I visited The Elders and The VIPs far less often. She wasn’t aware this other game had taken place, so it was difficult explaining the crowds of people greeting us and pressing dollar bills into my hands as we made our way to the apartment.
That’s when Granny, the second oldest Elder, took over.
At the time, Granny lived on the opposite side of the city, worlds away from the block where that other game took place. She and her six siblings—The Elders, collectively—grew up in a neighborhood similar to the one where that other game was played, a former slum where restaurants, coffee store chains, office buildings, and a Catholic high school for boys now stand. Growing up, she and her four sisters used to play the same game I did. Their two brothers and an endless supply of male cousins were the VIPs.
The Elders made tons of money over the years and split it up amongst themselves. When they started having kids and their kids starting having kids, some of them were taught that other game, too. A few made it out, but not with their minds intact. Most others didn’t make it out at all.
“I can’t believe she played that game with you, you’re just a kid!” Granny said after I came to her with all the money I’d made. Up to that point I’d just been holding the cash, unsure of what to do with it all. Spending it freely would have raised a lot of questions and brought some serious attention to that other game.
She plotted vengeance as we figured out how to get rid of the money. We consulted one of my five uncles for guidance. Unk has much experience with the other side, cleaning up the aftermath of their messes in court. He told me I’d avoided a big one playing that other game, but the good thing is I made at least 50 times my weekly allowance, if not more.
“Everything from here on out is small money, but never forget that you, as a person, are priceless,” he told me.
Ultimately, we gave the money away to a nearby church where our family has a dedicated pew.
After we got rid of the money, Granny asked me to give up the deets. If we’re going to beat them at their game, she said, I have to spill their secrets.
I thought I was already out of that other game, but Granny said that other game had just begun. I told her there weren’t many secrets to spill; nobody dared touch me in that other game, unless it was to hand me their money afterward. The biggest secret was one of my own: I’d won the game through reading Cuzzo’s mind.
Granny didn’t seem shocked and wasn’t in awe like the others were when I told them I could read minds. When I told her they thought I was an angel because of it, she guffawed, slapping the table to balance herself.
“You’re no angel, you’re a very lucky and smart little girl.”
Playing that other game, I had forgotten I was only seven.
“If you spend enough time with someone, after a while it is like you’re reading their mind,” Granny said.
“I can do it, too, you know. In fact, I taught The Elder who got you into this other game how to do it. That b*tch.”
Granny convinced me to disconnect from Cuzzo’s mind and suggested I start reading hers instead.
I was skeptical at first. Then again, I was skeptical of most adults after playing that other game.
The way Granny spit it, through observing, learning, and implementing her ways, I could win the game this Elder started with me.
“I don’t know why they chose you,” Granny said, “but they chose wisely, ‘cause I’m on your side. They won’t always listen to a little girl like you, but they’ll for damn sure listen to me.”
Once I accepted her offer, I was all Granny’s responsibility.
We connected immediately.
We stay out of the streets, inside is safer. Hoodrats disgust us, but their antics are amusing. We don’t listen to rap music, just the Top 50 charts and Bing Crosby or Nat King Cole if we’re feeling frisky—and only at a reasonable volume. We watch Matlock at 9 am, our block of soaps operas at noon, Oprah at 4 pm, and Golden Girls at 8 pm, and the news between shows. We go to bed early and wake up before dawn. We stock up on prunes and milk of magnesia to stay regular. We’re not big on flashy gifts or wads of cash, we prefer compliments on our cooking instead. Oh, and we take sh*t from no one, especially that b*tch next door that keeps letting her dog use our front lawn as a toilet.
Reading Granny was the anti-hood. As often as I could, I’d let her know how boring I found the new rules of the game.
“It’s more exciting than being dead in the streets,” she’d say. Point taken.
One day, Granny surprised me with an announcement: we were finally gonna get back into this gangsta sh*t I kept talking about—and getting hit with a fly swatter for for saying “gangsta sh*t.”
Unbeknownst to me, Granny was regularly calling shots over the phone, dispatching orders to her siblings and nieces and nephews. This day, she decided to let me back in on the operation.
Granny would offer up a tough scenario and ask my opinion on what I’d do if I had a limitless supply of money to fix it. At first, I thought she was taking scenes out of the soap operas she devours. Over time, I realized the scenarios she’d offer up were nothing like what was on TV at the time.
Most often, the two of us would figure out how to divvy up that closet of stacks Cuzzo showed me. We put our vote on which families in The Elders’ and VIPs’ hood would get their light bills paid that month. Whatever was left over at the end of the month, we saved a portion of for ourselves and funneled the rest into that church with the family pew.
One of the toughest scenarios we encountered was that of the junkie mom.
Junkie Mom was one of the many people from that hood who bet for me in that other game. Granny told me The VIPs were ready to wipe her out because she owed them a lot of money and hadn’t paid up.
“What would you do?” Granny asked me.
I told her I would spare the junkie, not only because I personally got a lot of money from her, but also because I knew she had five small kids living in a one-bedroom apartment there. If The VIPs wiped her out, who would take care of her kids?
Granny was pleased. “You might be an angel after all,” she said, and delivered our verdict in a call to The Elders.
Junkie Mom was spared, but wound up dying anyway a few years later from a drug overdose. Her five kids grew up and joined The VIPs.
Soon after Granny let me in on the higher level aspects of that other game, she moved in with my immediate family. I was fed more rules of the game daily: introductions are everything, so make sure they’re good ones; fear no one; be clever—but not a smart a$$, nobody likes a smart a$$—and hungrier than the rest to get ahead; getting A’s and winning awards is the way out of difficult situations; if somebody feels some type of way about that, 1. F*ck ‘em and 2. Give ‘em more reasons to talk and be jealous; every time you leave the house, remember you’re representing more than yourself: you’re representing me, my kids, and your cousins, too; carry yourself well and always be prepared; as often as you can, show people we’re not part of that other game’s team.
Et cetera, et cetera.
I took vigorous mental notes over the years, but the downside to receiving all that wisdom so young and so often is that one gets jaded quickly.
Hearing about everyone else’s issues and trying to solve them while also keeping grown folks from coming at each other’s necks got very messy and exhausting, even with Granny on my side. By the time I was thirteen, I felt like I’d sacrificed my childhood so ungrateful people could live better. I was all the way over it and wanted out of The Life, but couldn’t see a way out. The Life was all I knew.
Around this time, my middle school received the results of a standardized test taken a few months earlier. Even though my grades had started to slip from the stress of playing that other game, my English teacher came up to me excitedly, saying I scored the highest of all the students in the school.
My unenthused demeanor concerned her. She wanted to know why scoring yet another win wasn’t cause for excitement.
I told her some of what I got into after school hours with Granny and how I was feeling the burnout from it. She asked why I was put in that other game, and I told her my history and the battles of my youth. My middle school English teacher was the first non-family member to label what I was part of: a gang.
I burst out laughing, not seeing the connection between TV and movie gangsters and Granny and myself. I saw none of our family in shows or movies like that.
Very seriously, Teacher asked if I wanted out.
“It’ll be tough since you live with one of the major players,” she said. “Tough, but not impossible.”
After consulting with outside resources (“No cops,” she promised), she came back the following day and asked if I wanted to participate in a study.
8/22/12
Grandma's Girl
3/7/11
Facebook Pepsi Family Bizness
Five more days til mah birfday!!! ::Happy dance:: I'm still tryna figure out exactly how I wanna celebrate... so much desire, so little time. Anyhoo, thought I'd kick off the week with a recent revelation: The Social Network guy & the Pepsi Girl from waaaay back are related! The resemblance is uncanny, can't believe it's taken me this long to connect the two.
Hallie & Jesse EisenbergEven though I rolled my eyes whenever she appeared on my TV screen, it's funny to me that old Pepsi Girl and new Facebook Movie Guy share some DNA.
Speaking of familial relations, it's also funny to me that out of all the Sheens, Emilio is the "sane" one now. I mean, dude starred in Mighty Ducks (kids hockey is brutal) AND was married to Paula Abdul (::glug glug glug::). That's a recipe for disaster right there, it's a wonder he didn't turn to The Sheen to get him through.
2/25/11
2/21/11
This made me LOL: Business Cat Meme
Happy President's Day! I guess not for my folks that are stuck at work... but fret not. Business Cat is here to save your day! Don't you wish all bosses were this adorable
Patrick Bateman! D'awww
1/28/11
If Best Picture Movie Posters Told The Truth
You know how sometimes movie posters can be misleading as sh*t? The Shiznit ~improvises~ on this year's Oscar nominees.
11/22/10
Like a 'Ye-onix, I rise
So, I finally got around to watching all of "Runaway," the film compliment to Kanye West's soon-to-be-released album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I admit, I was a non-believer at first. But I've seen the light! Despite his wack reaction to interviews and generally egotistical nature, Kanye is a very talented dude. Too bad that doesn't extend into his or Selita Ebanks' acting, but I think understand what he's trying to convey with this piece.
The phoenix (played by Selita Ebanks... I see ya girl! Getcha bird on) falling to Earth is supposedly to represent the huge media blowup after the whole Taylor Swift/MTV Awards scandal, and also 'Ye's return to the spotlight following that incident. Kanye's nurturing of the bird is representative of him regaining his creative prowess throughout that whole ordeal.
'Ye takes the fallen phoenix under his creative wing, so to speak, and nurses her back to health—but not before taking her out to a high society banquet first. I found the dinner scene most hilarious.
"You know she's a bird, right?" whispers one of the party-goers to Kanye.
LMAO. Total Amber Rose reference.
Shortly before dinner is served, the scene segues into its eponymous title track. Ballerinas dressed in black fill the floor; this scene is one of the very few that focus solely on Kanye as opposed to him and the phoenix. As he tinkles away on a piano, you really get the feeling that it's just 'Ye and the music, totally representative of the creative process. The song "Runaway" is quite meditative itself, and the scene captures that emotion well.
After the performance, a turkey dinner is served. This offends the phoenix, who breaks out into a loud screech, scaring the other guests away. In this scene, Kanye struggles to keep his creative self under control without offending people, not unlike the situation with Taylor Swift, notes Jezebel.
Following dinner, the phoenix takes comfort in nature, chillin' out in the green expanse of Kanye's courtyard, petting sheep and whatnot. In the next scene, 'Ye and the phoenix discuss statues. The phoenix says statues are phoenixes turned to stone. This whole scene is poorly acted but you get the gist of it: basically, that to stifle yourself creatively is a kind of death. The phoenix tells Kanye she must burn in order to go on living (from the ashes of a former phoenix, new phoenixes are born... Greek Mythology 101 
Yes, he bones it.
Now that might seem a little strange or maybe even sort of predictable to you... HELLO, the bird is a Victoria's Secret model! Of course he bones it. But like the rest of the film, this seemingly random progression of events is metaphorical, too. As we all know, Kanye's an egotistical bastid. How he relates to his creativity is no different than how he'd relate to any other thing: he'd tell you he's the best at it, master it, think he's The Don because of it, etc. etc. This scene could also be representative of his creativity screwing him over, tortured genius that he is.
Shortly afterward, the phoenix makes a dramatic, fiery ascension into the heavens, leaving Kanye all alone on his terrace. Don't you just hate one night stands? Kanye runs frantically into the forest looking for the phoenix, but she's already risen. The film ends where it began, in the woods. The final scenes I find representative of being true to oneself; Kanye begs the phoenix not to leave but in the end, she is compelled to do what comes naturally to her.
Overall, I found "Runaway" to be a very ambitious film. I see where Kanye wants it to be this epic, "Thriller"-like piece, but that's a mighty feat to take on, especially for a first time director. I feel the metaphors could have been executed more clearly, which would really drive the poignancy of the piece home for a lot of viewers. I get the feeling Kanye made this film more for himself than for his fans, though, so perhaps a level of ambiguity was what he sought.
The cinematography was excellent; one could take a stillshot of any of the scenes in this film and have it look like it came from a high fashion spread. Kanye tapped visual artist Vanessa Beecroft as the art director for "Runaway," and her influence definitely shows. Beecroft's work also deals a lot with identity, which meshes perfectly with the themes in both the album and the film.
Speaking of meshing perfectly, the way the soundtrack compliments the film is astounding. In that sense, "Runaway" is more like an extended music video than a full out movie, which is not an unlikely comparison considering it was written by Hype Williams. Not to mention "Runaway" the film is great promotion for the ...Fantasy album, which itself is pretty epic.
I definitely wrote "Runaway" off at first, but there's no denying Mr. West's talent. There's no denying his creative growth over the past year, either. "Runaway" isn't the best film of its kind, but it's certainly promising and worthy of at least a couple viewings.
10/19/10
One down, eight to spare
After the car accident I was in, my uncle said I must be death-proof, like one of our favorite Tarantino films. Ha.
Some background on the clip:
Stuntman Mike is this psychopath that goes around causing fatal car crashes in his souped up vintage Chevy named "Death Proof." There's one particularly gruesome/hilarious scene that shows more than enough of his damage (don't worry, I spared you). One day, he decides to stalk the wrong group of chicas...
By the way, this is has to be one of THE greatest car chase scenes--no CGI!--in cinematic history. Enjoy.
7/29/10
Stuff I've been into lately
MUSIC: Curren$y
MOVIES: Experimental film
A still scene from the very disturbing A Serbian FilmAs soon as someone describes a movie as "notorious," (A Serbian Film) "at once horrifying and mesmerizing," (Gummo) or just plain "odd," (Dogtooth) I MUST see it and judge for myself. These are the reviews/synopses of some recent films I've seen:
DRINK: McD's Frappes & smoothies
I try to avoid McDonald's as much as possible, but the Golden Arches' latest offerings of ice cold Frappes and smoothies have drawn me back in. I LOVE iced coffee and chai lattes in the summer time (hell, even in the dead of winter) so the caramel Frappe is right up my alley. I've tried both versions of the smoothies--Mixed Berry & Strawberry Banana--and while they are both tasty, I'm partial to the Mixed Berry myself. I got free coupons for these in the mail, so check yours or scour the internet for some free deals on the Frappes and smoothies this week.DYING TO: Go to the pool! Haven't been in or near one all summer and it's blowin' me man.
7/2/10
More reasons I love cable: Soul Power & Let The Right One In
I recently saw two fantastic movies: Soul Power and Let The Right One In (WARNING: minor spoilers ahead). Soul Power is a music documentary that follows the events leading up to (and including) the legendary concert held before the 1974 Ali vs. Foreman "Rumble in the Jungle" heavyweight championship fight in Kinshasa, Zaire. If you're into old school soul music like I am, you'll love this movie. It features behind-the-scenes footage and performances of both American and international soul artists, like Bill Withers, BB King, James Brown, Celia Cruz, Miriam Makeba, and a variety of African performers. One of the most poignant moments in the film was an interview with Muhammand Ali, who noted that black Americans were "scared" to travel to Zaire for the concert and fight. The irony here, he says, is that in their own communities, many blacks were just as susceptible, if not more so, to random acts of violence than in the motherland. Watching the portions of Soul Power where Ali is interviewed also made me appreciate Will Smith's performance in the biopic Ali even more.
Another great moment in the film is when an American backup singer was trying to teach some of the concert's African dancers how to do "The Bump." You just dip a little, swing one side of your hips into whoever's next to you, rinse and repeat. Easy enough, right? Well the African girls had their own interpretation... one that involved seductively grinding to an imaginary beat as, facing each other with their hands on each other's shoulders, they shimmied down to the floor. Lmao. It was vintage freak dancing. Even though the African dancers tore it up on stage during the concert, I couldn't believe how avant-garde their dances were, especially compared to American dances today. At one point I thought, "I saw a chick break it down like that in the club last week!" Remarkable.
The way Soul Power was filmed is also intriguing. Though the footage is of an event that took place in 1974, the film quality is such that the movie looks like it was filmed yesterday. With their groovy outfits and hair styles-- and the film being edited in such a way that every word spoken is there intentionally, full of meaning--the subjects being filmed are more like actors than actual people. Very vivid colors, great sound, none of the graininess typical of vintage film. I haven't found much information on how this film was shot and edited, but I suspect it was simply digitally restored, rather superbly, from archival footage.
The film ends on a strong note, with the closing credits rolling to split-screen footage of James Brown in his dressing room post-Going Crazy Insane (as only the Godfather of Soul should) onstage. As he shoos the cameramen away, his now sweated-out press and curl dripping profusely, the credits end and a full-screen shot of Brown appears, reminding moviegoers that despite whatever outside circumstances they may be enduring, to say to say aloud, "I AM SOMEBODY." It was a very powerful end to a great movie.
The film tells the tale of a bullied preteen boy, Oskar, who dreams of exacting revenge on his tormentors. He's a pretty creepy kid, and there are shots of him adding to his collection of murder clippings from the local newspaper and also of him practicing his stabbing skills on the trees outside of his apartment at night. On one of these nights, he is visited by a girl vampire who is around his age. Immediately the vampire, named Eli, tells him they can't be friends. This, of course, intrigues Oskar; despite her warning, they are soon rather close, with Eli advising Oskar to fight back at school and Oskar teaching Eli Morse code knocks so they can communicate between the shared wall of their apartments.
Though Eli tells Oskar she doesn't remember her birthdate, and he always sees her in the frigid Swedish weather without a coat or boots and comments on her strange smell and inability to enter rooms without an invitation first, it isn't until he sees her viciously lapping up his spilt blood in a blood pact gone awry that he realizes she is a vampire. Their relationship is further complicated when the man who Eli is living with next door to Oskar, a man** she's turned into a serial killer to fulfill her bloodlust, purposefully injures himself on the job. Since he can no longer do Eli's dirty work for her, he offers his own blood for her to drink, then falls to his death from a hospital window. Now Eli's on her own, and some of the townspeople are on to her...
I couldn't possibly ruin the film for you; it must be experienced in its entirety. I will say that aside from the excellent direction and skill of the actors (the main actors were actual 12-year olds), the manner in which this movie was shot beautifully captures the Swedish landscape and really contributes to the bone-chilling ambience of the film. It's truly a must-see if you enjoy well-done, honest-to-God horror films.
Unfortunately, the American market can't leave well enough alone. A US-version of Let The Right One In is slated for release on October 1, 2010.***
*As a longtime fan of the horror genre, I can attest to the fact that very, very few "horror" movies released these days are truly terrifying. Maybe terrifyingly bad. Whomp whomp.
**This man's relationship to Eli is left up to interpretation in the film. In the book this film is based on, the man is a convicted pedophile who holds Eli captive to fulfill his urges and as a pet of sorts. She pays him regularly to fend off his advances and as compensation for all the murders he commits for her. I type this as proof-positive that watching a film before you read the book of the film is often far more rewarding than vice versa. Now I'm really looking forward to reading the book to understand the movie on a whole new level
***I can already see the American version being a watered down, "safe" interpretation of the original; the sh*tacular mainstream film market here is why I'm so interested in independent and foreign films to begin with. NOT anticipating to that release
4/8/10
Reasons why OnDemand is the shiznit: Eraserhead & Mulholland Drive
I recently saw two David Lynch films for the first time: Eraserhead & Mulholland Drive. Both were highly intriguing; Lynch is one of those directors whose films you can watch multiple times and always find something new each viewing. Both films were also very dreamlike, something I can appreciate as my favorite video director, Jonathan Glazer, has a similarly dreamy style.
Eraserhead, at first, comes off as a student art film. It's shot in black and white, there's very little in terms of set design, and I swear I could almost see the strings holding up some of the props in the film. But all of this takes a backseat to the very strange story at hand. I won't ruin it for those of you who haven't seen it, but Lynch is a director known for films with much depth to them. What begins as a disturbing and sometimes confusing piece... well, it ends as one, too. But a little internet research and some reading of a few critiques of the film, and I'm eager to watch the film again, if only to view it in a completely different light than I did during my first watching.
Mulholland Drive has very similar stylistic qualities to Eraserhead, though they were shot 25 years apart. The story at hand centers on several characters, but primarily "Rita," an amnesiac who takes her new name fom a movie poster, and who finds herself in the apartment of a young Hollywood-bound actress named Betty. There are many points in the film where a storyline and characters are introduced, only to have their plots semi- or completely unresolved. This technique lends heavily to the dreamy quality of Mulholland Drive; the viewer is never really sure where one story ends and another begins, or whose story we're even following. This might sound frustrating to some, but Lynch handles it in a way that, to me at least, makes you want to watch the film again and again to try and make sense of it all. NGL, after watching this film, I hit up its Wikipedia page and my mind was totally blown, again. This one is definitely worth watching a second (or third... or fourth) time.
Anyways, I'm a big fan of well-done psychological thrillers and the only other director whose films I've been this eager to watch in the genre is Stanley Kubrick. So, internet friends, who are some of your favorite directors?
3/9/10
HATED IT
4-word review: Read the book instead.
1/6/10
Avatar = Pocahontas?
I saw Avatar 3D a few nights ago and I thought it was pretty dope. I did find the movie oddly reminiscent of another Disney film I couldn't quite put my finger on. Then I saw this:
[click to enlarge]
12/21/09
Date #3: The movies/broke at the drive-thru
Anyways.
Because it's been soooo long since I've seen a Disney cartoon, I kinda forgot how they are all basically musicals. I hate musicals 
I won't ruin the movie for those of you that haven't seen it, but overall it was a cute little film. My favorites were Mama Odie and Louie the Crocodile, who looks suspiciously like a dinosaur. I've never seen a croc with double chins and belly rolls, ha.
Juju & Mama Odie; Louie & friends
And of course, Ray!
To further explain my change situation, I give exact change not only to lighten up my purse, but also because I hate getting change back. But, yeah, doing that at the McD's drive-thru just made me feel like a broke fool, lol. Oh well, I still got MY #11.
*Actually, it was between this and Armored, but Date agreed to let the lady choose
12/13/09
So I watched the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movie last night...
Two words: PURE HILARITY. Oh man, I hadn't seen that movie since I was, like, 5 years old, hahaha. And for a reason: the movie kinda sucked. But it was an OK sucky, the so-bad-it's-kind-of-good sucky, you smell me?
My favorites growing up were the orange turtle (Michelangelo) and the purple one (Donatello). Turns out they actually have personalities and stuff, I was just digging them because orange and purple were my favorite colors at the time
From Wikipedia:
- Michelangelo — The easy-going and free-spirited Mikey provides much of the comic relief. While he loves to relax, this Turtle also has an adventurous and creative side. He wears an orange mask and wields nunchaku. He is the youngest of the four. He is named after the Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet Michelangelo Buonarroti.
- Donatello — The brilliant scientist, inventor, engineer, and technological genius. He is perhaps the least violent Turtle, preferring to use his intellect to solve conflicts. He wears a purple mask and wields the bō staff. He is named after the Italian sculptor Donatello.
My favorite TMNTs actually describe me, lol. Which turtle(s) was your fave?
12/2/09
STFU: Tiger Woods (runner-up: 'Tiger does his best impression of Carlton Banks on a booty call')
I don't condone cheating in relationships. But really, there's a RIGHT WAY and a WRONG WAY to do that mess. One, don't leave your name on the VM message! Don't even leave a VM, but if you must, don't leave YOUR NAME! Ugh. Two, you're Tiger-effing-Woods. You can win golfing tournaments galore but you can't keep your side hos in check?! WTF.
You gotta be hella discreet when pulling a Tiger. You'd think Mr. Woods would have figured this out by now (especially since he named his yacht PRIVACY).
The only VMs worth leaving are these:
- I'M BOUT TO TOUCH DOWN
- YOU KNOW WHAT'S UP
- I'M ON MY WAY
- YOU ON YOUR WAY?
- IT'S ME
- YOU COMING?
- WE GOIN OUT?
- YOU HUNGRY?
- YOU REMEMBER WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT?
- HEY [thanks Dr. What?]
*SMH* at all of this.
10/7/09
Afro-Punk: Saul Williams & The Niggy Tardust Experience
A movement, a movie, and now... a tour! From an Afro-Punk email (yeah, I'm on their mailing list):
Seeing Saul Williams perform is believing!Described as a boundary-smashing 'unclassifiable hybrid of Afro-Punk, metal, industrial music' and hip-hop, this is gonna be one to remember. Check out the videos of his performance and interview at the 2009 Afro-Punk Festival to get a taste of what you can expect at "The Niggy Tardust Experience" tour in a city near you!
Needless to say, I'm hella excited for this show! They're coming to DC November 1 @ The Black Cat.
Watch the movie if you haven't already. Really, you need it in your life.
7/28/09
6/23/09
A real life game of "Clue"
This story has had me hooked since yesterday, when I read the first installation in The Post. Creepy! I used to hang out a lot in Dupont Circle in late high school/early college. Even got a tat and a couple piercings done not too far from where the townhouse is located...
SEMI-SPOILER ALERT: I can't believe that, despite knowing that someone was MURDERED in that house, it still sold for more than a mil.
I'm not sure if it's their "generic white guy"-ness or what, but the suspects look hella familiar to me. Goes to show ya, you never know what people, even supposedly upstanding, well-educated and accomplished people, are into in their personal lives.This whole situation reminds me of American Psycho (the movie that convinced me that everyone, especially preppily-dressed folks, is probably a serial killer).
6/9/09
6/1/09
On sale, 50 Cent!
I noticed that one of my top tracks for the past week (according to my handy little Last.fm widget to the right) is "Corner Bodega" by 50 Cent, a great riding song btw. Which led me to the thought, Remember when 50 Cent used to be cool? Like, right when he first started getting mainstream attention in 2000. At the lunch table in high school all everyone would talk about is how 50's that new hotness, how his mixtapes are pure fire, and how dope his then-album was. He's mad corny now, like a caricature of his former multiple gunshot wound, street warrior self, amirite?
Now he does press junkets with Bette Midler (major confused face here, what do these fools have in common?):
When I was in NYC a couple summers ago, I asked this guy from Queens what he thought of 50. He said almost no one in the community respects him anymore, that once he got famous, he ditched his old neighborhood and got straight corny with it. In other words, he "sold out."Yeah, go figure ::rolls eyes::
So many artists eventually sell out: Black Eyed Peas pre-Fergie; Missy Elliott--remember when she tried to capitalize off of that one really hot album she had, Miss E... So Addictive, by releasing two more really sh*tty albums right after? Yeah, FAIL; Ja Rule; Nelly. OMG there are SO many. And definitely not just in hip hop either. What musical sellouts are you guys still listening to, even if it's just their one hot song?
(PLEASE don't say Drake... I have the feeling with all this hype, he's gonna pull a "50" reeeeal soon. Which brings me to another thing that really grinds my gears: when an artist I knew about and listened to for ABOUT A YEAR before he/she blows up goes mainstream (remember when that song Drizzy did with Trey Songz a while back, "Replacement Girl," dropped? Hotness. Also totally annoying, when MIA's song "Paper Planes" got popularized by that Pineapple Express movie. Hello losers, that song was out for a good year and a half before it blew up AGAIN).
