Profit from Misfortunes

You know how they say artists make more money after they die? Well, I think this concept should also apply when an artist has something tragic happen to them. For instance, the Jackson family has made millions after Michael died, Justin Timberlake's album Justified was a success and I feel like it was because everyone was anxious to see what he wrote about his and Britney Spears' break up, pretty sure The Beatles sales go up every time a member dies (RIP Lennon and Harrison),and Adele's album is amazing due to her break up with a love. But the main reason why I'm writing this is because of Chris Brown's new album, Graffiti.
There has been mixed feelings about him and the album, but I'm going to straight out say I'm a supporter. Yes, I would scream it out in public if someone asked me to. At first,I did have some inner struggles about liking the album because of the whole Rihanna thing, but honestly that situation is responsible for this great album. A lot of the songs are , well at least I assume they are about Rihanna.

Song of the Day: "Maniac"

Timbaland is coming out with some great songs. I really like this song because of it's fast tempo and Keri Hilson's voice is growing on me. I think this is also a great featuring for Chris Brown and D.O.E. They kill their parts. The website that I got it from says it's a Timbo song featuring everyone else, but I must say Keri shines in it. Give it a listen!

Song of the Day: "No Air"

My friend Sasha brought this song up yesterday and I tweeted about it, but if you don't follow me then you don't know what I'm talking about. I originally liked this song, but listening to this after you know that Chris Brown beat Rihanna, it just seems wrong. You have to listen to the lyrics really close and you'll shake your head. Pay close attention to Jordin Sparks's parts, especially the ahhs. You'll either think this is hilarious or horrible. (Sorry for having to use an Idol performance)

New Chris Brown? : Young Steff

I just read about a "New Chris Brown." haha Thanks to Vibe's editor-in-chief's tweets..she's introduced me to Young Steff. I think they're doing a vibe session with him right now.  

He definitely sounds similar and dances similar to Chris Brown, so lets just hope he doesn't come with the drama too. 

I went to his website and it's actually really good, especially for someone who isn't that big right now. I'm impressed. It says that his album will be available in 2009, so I dunno what that really means since it is 2009. 

His single "Slow Jukin" is the featured video on his site, but his single "Professional" is a little more intriguing to me. It features Maino and it sounds like there's steel drums...love it. Here's the video, but check out his website too. http://www.youngsteffworld.com/

 

New Chris Brown Song

Even though I don't agree with his situation, I'm still going to share his new song, "Nothing," with you. Give it a good listen. I couldn't stop shaking my head at this one. Let's get emotional. Download here.

Oh, Chris Brown

So Chris Brown pleaded not guilty and is now making a deal with jail time..all of this is according to other sites I've read just for clarity. 

First thing, Not guilty, c'mon. Pretty sure we've all seen the pictures of Rihanna.

Second thing, jail time might be good. Just because he's a celebrity doesn't mean he should be treated easier than anyone else. 

Who knows what is going to happen...until April 29th. Just keep praying for the both of them.

My article

Here's my article that ran in Jerk. 

Everything I hear on the radio lately reminds me of my deceased neighbor who used an electrolarynx after a tracheostomy. Strange, Martian-like sounds contaminate the songs of Weezy, T-Pain, Kanye, and others. And it's all because of a little thing called Auto-Tune.

A gentleman named Andy Hildebrand introduced Auto-Tune to the music industry in 1996. Thanks a bunch Mr. Hildebrand, for causing the downfall of music! Originally, Auto-tune helped fix shitty singers' pitch problems, honestly, I don't think I could listen to Britney Spears or Rihanna without its help. But now, artists use Auto-Tune to distort voices and produce a robotic yet captivating sound. It's hypnotizing. It's addicting. It's annoying.

We've gone from improving bad singers to distorting good singers. For example, Chris Brown and Jamie Foxx are now altering their sexy voices in the spirit of T-Pain and Weezy. Chris Brown and Jamie Foxx make my knees weak and my heart flutter, but T-Pain and Weezy make my ears bleed. It's not music that Auto-Tune is producing, it's straight-up noise.

But this noise is what makes Auto-tune so appealing. It's ruining our music, but at the same time, it's mesmerizing. The kind of mesmerizing that makes you want to do stupid shit like dance on furniture, chug cough syrup, and leave the house without underwear. I'm horrified to find myself singing and dancing to such ridiculous degrading lyrics. The cosmic sounds possess me. And those strange sounds let rappers get away with stupid, immoral, raunchy, and blasphemous lyrics.

Take Weezy's "Lollipop." This little ditty inspires houses full of college guys (and girls) to scream about their desires to "lick the wrapper." I'm aware that guys want their wrappers icked, but I haven't heard many girls singing about their love for heading south. And yet, they love singing this song, too. I must confess that I've blasted these lyrics and talked about dick-flavored lollipops, but I blame it on the whole hypnotization thing. 

Original, self-written, soulful music has been replaced by robots that sing about dick, thrusting dick , and getting dick sucked. Technology like Auto-Tune tricks us into liking this crap instead of the good stuff. Bring the quality back and stop taking advantage of us with outer-space effects.