The Makings of a Man

Only Kanye West would have an album cover like this.

Kanye West is ready to celebrate again, but not in the way many come to expect. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is not casually titled. West’s fifth studio album is a sinister, orchestral, hugely pompous affair that owes as much to the artist's self-aggrandizing ego as to the voracious id that would destroy it publicly (yes step your vocabulary up).

Exhibit A: West to album cover portraitist George Condo: "Look, I'm a let you finish, but can you make me look even douchier?"

West is without question a prince among narcissists. He has never been afraid to marvel at, pose questions to, or generally bask in the inner folds of his psyche, but there was only one way to interpret the early message sent by "Runaway." He calls himself an asshole, in the chorus of an epic, piano-driven single. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is filled with similar moments, as if West is working from a checklist of his faults. Workaholic. Commitment-phobe. Loose cannon. Substance abuser.

On "Dark Fantasy," the album's opening track, he raps:

"The plan was to drink until the pain over / But what's worse, the pain or the hangover? / Fresh air, rolling down the window / Too many Urkels on your team, that's why your Wins-low."

See what he did there? Loss becomes win.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, West’s rather complex drama -- an extrovert's attempt to invert what's internal -- wouldn't work so well without an equally complicated score, or with one that simply contrasted his increasingly greater vision-of-self against triumphant rant.
This album's production is loud and proud, but also poignant and gripping that always hinting at some looming danger. You can hear it in those tempering first moments -- where Nicki Minaj delivers a cracked fairytale rap over a chorus of angels and demons -- and also in the closer, "Who Will Survive in America," which samples, at length, Gil Scott-Heron oratory about the death of a nation's blind idealism (or perhaps West's).

The tracks in-between is just as dark, twisted, and beautiful. There's "Power," a contemplation on fame and obsolescence that cleverly quotes King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man." "All of the Lights," wrangles everyone from Elton John to Rihanna to help tell a story about a man whose selfishness drives his family away. "Lost in the World," transforms Bon Iver's melancholic "Woods" into a perversely bright experimental dance track. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is not a flawless album. Too many songs dash around or hover past the six-minute mark. The guest list on posse cuts "Monster" and "So Appalled" could've been pared down. West could've skipped the three-minute solo on "Runaway" altogether.

From the looks of things, West is not claiming to be flawless anymore. He's trying to make a masterpiece. Trying to be honest with us. Trying to be honest with himself. Trying to figure out if he's closer to God or to something else entirely. Far more important than his aim, however, is the fact that he tries at all. The Grammy’s, the platinum packs, the tickets stub from all the arenas he's rocked -- they aren't laurels to be rested on. They're a jagged, unbalanced bed that West could spend a lifetime squirming over, perhaps finding only 60 or so minutes of thorny comfort at a time. That's eternally daunting news for him. But for us, it's a blessing.

Rating: 9 out of 10

R&B singer Trey Songz  will release his 4th studio album, “Passion, Pain and Pleasure” on the 14th of September, with the music industry hoping it can spike sales after a record weekly low last week. A preview of a few songs off the album was given to UStream last month as a teaser for fans, as well as surprise calls to some lucky ones (like myself) who got to hear his CD first.

As seems to be usual now for many artists, some of his songs were leaked on to the Internet, which he gave a little acknowledgement to by saying “Shout out to everybody who didn’t listen to the leaks,” he said. But the singer brushed off the premature release of some of his tracks, adding, “Bootleggers gotta eat. I ain’t mad at y’all boys.”

Much of his lyrical content has to do with pleasure and passion, not so much pain. With lyrics like “wouldn’t it be nice if all night I was in you?” from ‘Love Faces’, and “That thang cold, y’all, that thang cold,” in the same song, women all over the place are going to be driven wild and saying how smooth the singer is.

Despite its overtly simplistic theme the album is pretty decent and could mark a transition in Songz’s career. This is probably his most complete work so far, it showcases a lot growth and definitely more maturity. The production here is stellar, the vocals although not groundbreaking are interesting, things only get shaky when lyrics are in play. There is room for improvement lyrically for this young star in the making. Songz has a bright future in this industry.

According to the early estimates Songz’s “Passion, Pain and Pleasure” album is expected to sell between 230,000 and 250,000 units in its first week of release. This is a big leap forward for the “I Gotta Make It” singer whose last CD and best selling release yet, 2009′s “Ready” only sold 131,000 copies in its debut week.

As most of you are probably aware, Fantasia has been getting some unwanted publicity for her affair with a married man. The fact that Fantasia was involved with married man, Antwaun Cook, has been a pretty frequent discussion topic on various gossip sites for the past year; however, it seems that being a focus of the divorce proceedings was such a shock to Fantasia that she attempted suicide. Fantasia might even be more shocked to realize that, now that she has, thankfully, recovered, she could be facing an alienation of affection lawsuit for coming between a man and his wife.


First and foremost, let me say that I am glad that Fantasia failed in her attempt at suicide and is doing better. Although we may disagree with her actions (or alleged actions) with a married man, suicide is not the answer. She is a mother, and it would have been devastating to her child and the rest of her family and friends if she had succeeded in her suicide attempt. But now, Fantasia has to face the repercussions of her alleged affair, which are financial in addition to being emotional.
North Carolina is one of only a handful of states that still allows alienation of affection lawsuits. These types of lawsuits (which have been eliminated in most states and are considered antiquated by many) are aimed at punishing those who participate in an affair with a person they know to be married. In North Carolina, the three elements of proof that support an alienation of affection claim are:

1. The marriage entailed love between the spouses in some degree
2. The spousal love was alienated and destroyed
3. The defendant's (in this case, that would be Fantasia) malicious conduct contributed to or caused the loss of affection.

I don't believe for one moment that Fantasia didn't know this man was married, and I also don't believe that Antwaun Cook was separated from his wife, Paula, during the time he and Fantasia were dating. Concerning the possible alienation of affection lawsuit that Fantasia may be facing, the official date of separation is of vital importance, because conduct that takes place before the separation date is considered completely relevant to proving the claim. If Paula Cook can prove that most of the affair occurred before the married pair separated, she could be in for a big payday.

Conduct that occurs after the separation date is considered relevant only as it corroborates conduct that took place prior to the separation date. Given this, it should come as no surprise that Fantasia's married boyfriend is claiming that he and his wife separated early last year, while his wife claims that they only separated a couple of months ago.


If Fantasia is ultimately sued for alienation of affection, it could have a devastating impact on her pocketbook. There have been several large awards granted in these cases in North Carolina, including a case involving one mistress who was ordered to pay $5 million in compensatory damages and $4 million in punitive damages. As Fantasia has had serious money issues in the recent past, an alienation of affection lawsuit could obliterate her financially just as she's beginning to get back on her feet.

Fantasia is in a terrible situation no matter how it plays out, especially given all the children that are involved. For Fantasia, even without the potential for financial loss from a lawsuit, the damage that is being done to her image is likely to cost her in a variety of ways, ranging from losing projects to dropped endorsements. This will be especially true if certain evidence is presented at the divorce and/or alienation of affection trials, such as an rumored sex tape that she made with her married lover. In addition, lawyers' fees for these two cases will cost a pretty penny.

Hopefully, this situation will be a learning experience not only for Fantasia, but all men and women out there who are involved or would consider getting involved with a married person. Even if you don't live in North Carolina, it can cost you in ways that you may not be ready for.

---Class Dismissed

Throughout my travels on the world wide web, I've come across so much idiotic nonsense. There seems to be entire generations of people that abhor education, knowledge, and refinement. (The habit of typing like you speak is crazy to me) Folks analyze the educational trends in this country and across the world lay the blame on a multitude of forums; music, television, film, videogames, drugs, poor teachers, etc. I've always said that everything begins in the household, and I continue to stand by this statement. However, I'll add music to the suspect list starting today. Read this passage from a recent Lil Wayne interview:


What are you reading right now to help you…



I don’t read a damn thing. That’s why I don’t write music. I’m too cool to be reading and writing…I’m a very intelligent nigga. I can read like a motherfucka. I don’t want motherfuckas to think I’m illiterate.


You’re in college so…


I don’t read, other than that shit.


But we talking about books for leisure.


Nah, I’ve done that like once or twice. It’s just not my thing. I’m not into made-up stories.


You know how people get together and they like, “Yo, you read…”


I’m not even in that conversation circle. That would be crazy, I can’t answer nothing so why would I sit there and talk? I ain’t read no books. I sit and watch ESPN all day. I can tell you what happened in sports. I do what floats my boat.

Now it's not my business to regulate what another man does, but who is his publicist? They allowed him to unleash that garbage out of his mouth? At the moment, Wayne is quite possibly the most listened to artist in the world, so his influence is unmatched. If you have any doubts, just listen to any of the hundreds of songs, take a peek at the scarves, colored pants, tatted faces, and dreads running around out the blue. Obviously, these young people are easily influenced and nonsense like the above quote is doing unbelievable damage.

When did it become cool to be dumb? Growing up, my parents taught me that 20 years after the "bad kids" in school were cutting up and not doing their work, I'd be able to laugh at them as I sped past in my Lamborghini. The image has never left my head, and served as incentive for long nights of studying. Wayne's attitude is not uncommon, and unless more people wake up and understand that knowledge is power, we're all destined to remain enslaved.