The Cavi

“One Good Thing About Music, When it Hits You Feel No Pain”- Bob Marley

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Where Are They Now? Part 1

Have you ever been listening to the radio and heard a song from your past, then asked yourself "Damn, what happened to them?" Well I have, thank heavens for Google and YouTube.

When I was in high school there were a lot of different songs and people in rotation on radio playlists and 106 and Park, today more than half of those people are almost non-existent in the industry.

Smilez and Southstar

Do you remember them? The black and yellow duo from Orlando? They had songs like "Tell Me" and "Now That Your'e Gone", but where are they now?The only information I could find on them was a rumor that they signed to YMCMB in 2012, whether or not that is true has not been confirmed as of yet. 

Petey Pablo

This North Carolina bred Mystikal sound alike made his way onto the music scene with "Raise Up"  telling DC and Maryland to take their shirts off and wave it over their heads like a helicopter. With a hit like that where would he disappear to? Jail of course...Pablo got arrested in an airport for having a hand-gun in his carry-on bag.

  Chingy

Chingy came on the scene with "Right Thurr" and followed up with my personal favorite "One Call Away" and if that wasn't enough he had a hit with Tyrese "Pulling Me Back"  ....wait that might actually be my favorite. That song had me feeling some kind of way every time it came on, maybe because it sampled SWV's "Rain" . Either way he was definitely on the come up, so what happened? A few things actually, First he had issues with his boss Ludacris, then he was rumored to have been with a transgender woman, SydneyStarr, although those were said to be false by both parties I believe that had a bit to do with his decline. Most recently though Chingy has been said to be having meetings with different labels trying to get back in rotation we will see...

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If men really kept it this real I think there would be a lot less confusion in the world. I mean, simple things like “we should chill” have to be deciphered before a decision can be made, the question females ask themselves is, “does chill really mean chill, or does it mean chillllll?” (you know the difference). Some men lack the ability to be direct so although the intent may not be to mislead the female he is talking to the lack of directness causes it to occur. Example, guy meets girl, guy gets girls number, guy tells girl he wants to get to know her better, guy and girl hang out a few times, guy and girl have sex, girl thinks this means more than what it does, guy doesn’t clarify, guy moves on to the next, girl plays herself attempting to play a role she wasn’t approved to play. Its like signing up for anything (phone plan, insurance,etc), if you don’t ask for details and specifics, you may end up with the basic plan but be paying for premium ….Know your role by asking questions, then stay in you lane or create your own.

The thing i dont understand is when the person actually know what their position is but thinks that that position is interchangeable at anytime just because they get comfortable….To avoid the embarrassment of being put back in your lane, check yourself.

I love Hump Day Romance!!!

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You Don’t Look Jamaican...

  “Oh wow, you’re from Jamaica? You don’t look Jamaican.”

Pause, what does a Jamaican look like? Or “Can you speak Jamaican? Let me hear.” I wasn’t aware that we spoke a different language. I guess when people are ignorant to other cultures and can only rely on televisions representation there is bound to be some form of stereotype. There are plenty of stereotypes about Jamaicans but here are the ones that I have experienced time and time again.

“You smoke?”

All Jamaicans smoke weed - honestly the weed smokers are the minority in Jamaica, marijuana is illegal in Jamaica, and though its said that the best weed comes from Jamaica, not every Jamaican has had an encounter with the drug.

“Aww man you’re from Jamaica? I ain't messin' with you ya’ll females are craaazzzzy.”

Jamaican women are crazy - women as a whole can be irrational sometimes, but I guess if you mix the irrationality and the accent together then it can be a bit scary.

“Speak in Jamaican let me hear.”

Jamaicans don’t speak English - Actually English is the nations language, though we are made of many one people, our primary language is English, our broken English which is the equivalent to Ebonics up here is called Patois (pat-wa).

Jamaicans are never on time - ……maybe that’s true, but what black person is?

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Get With The Program A$AP

  So what exactly is wrong with using the formula you used to get you famous before you were famous? People thought you looked good before you had the plastic surgery so why did you go and do that? So many people have fallen victim to this disease it must be contagious. Vivica Fox, Megan Fox, Lil Kim, Nicki Minaj, Nene, and so many more.

This formula change isn’t limited to plastic surgery; I mean you have a formula for how you want your music to be presented before you were known why change it after? A$AP Rocky kept it between the ASAP family with his LiveLoveA$AP  mixtape, which is arguably one of the better mixtapes of 2011. The question is, what happened with LongLiveA$AP? All of a sudden almost every song was flooded with an artist that wasn’t from the A$AP Mob. I mean don’t get me wrong, a feature here and there is expected, but the whole damn CD Rocky? Really? Smh. You should have taken a page out of Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole’s book and just kept it between the fam. I believe that when you stay true to your fans and yourself more supporters will follow.

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My Guilty Pleasure

Thursdays will never be the same for me again, Grey’s Anatomy has my heart but Scandal has been my guilty pleasure as of late. There is something about a “classy side-chick” that intrigues the inner ratchet in me. Olivia Pope, Olivia Pope, Olivia Pope! Enough said. Kerry Washington has been one of my favorite actresses ever since I saw that movie she played in, Our Song. What is it about her that just makes the wrong seem so right? Wasn't she the almost other lady in I Think I Love my Wife? She embodies that character as if it were the role she was born into. It took me a while to watch the show but I hopped on the bandwagon after weeks of my timeline and news-feed being flooded with #scandal. I just wanted to see what the hype was about, what was it that had the men and women in twitter country going wild?

So on the show Olivia Pope is the presidents Boo Thang, the Ebony to his Ivory; did I mention that the president is married with children? And that his wife is pregnant?  Yeah, the drama gets real. I am a believer in faithfulness, honesty, and loyalty, but I've gotten so caught up in the show that I’m rooting for Olivia Pope to fight for her man. Contradicting myself and my beliefs for the sake of a good story line, It’s a shame how television can compromise morals. The writers of the show have done a wonderful job in showcasing the side of the “other woman”. The show puts a lot of emphasis on the relationship between the president and Olivia that I’m starting to believe that the wife is the true side chick, her role is almost non-existent on the show.

There used to be a certain want and need for discreetness, then "Super Head" came out and I guess all the side chicks felt entitled after that.  So the show just brings back a sense of dignity so to speak, and though I stated before I don’t support the side chick movement I do however recognize class in a room full of ratchetry.  Basically what im saying is, I’m feeling the show, it’s like the chronicles of a side chick with pride an oxymoron I know but I’m tuned in baby. #teamOlivia

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Good Music...

Back in the day, which isn’t too far back (I’m in my mid 20’s), I just remember good music. I’m talking about music that just took me to another place. I’m talking about the vibe that the music created; it was something like magic to me. I mean, I remember my first time hearing “Crossroads” by Bone Thugs and Harmony, I was on Air Jamaica on my way to Maryland and it was my first time hearing rap like that. In Jamaica at that time everything was either reggae or dancehall, the only rap you heard was the intro to Fresh Prince Of Belair. Then, I remember being 8 years old hearing Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill, and it had to be at that point that I realized that music was going to be a big part of my life. As time went on the music slowly changed, it wasn’t noticeable but the same love I had wasn’t really there anymore.

Somewhere between T-Pain’s Rappa Ternt Sanga (I believe is his best album to date) and Lil Wayne’s Dedication 2, my Freshman year in college was headed towards a change. That dull feeling I had that could only be revived at late night dancehall escapades (shout out to the CSA at Cookman)was going to disappear. It was then, my Freshman year, that I came across an artist on MySpace through mutual friends, it is safe to say that in that moment my love for music came back full throttle. With songs like “Recipe” and “Lets Fall in Love,” it’s easy for a female to want to hear more, but when those songs are followed by “Clever” and “You Know What Time It Is,” it is hard for any connoisseur of good music to deny. If I were to try to find words to describe the genius in music that this man does it would take me weeks. The only word that I can think of that still does this man no justice but will do for now is prodigy. You know, something extraordinary, or inexplicable.

Articulate (or Artic as he as now known) is like a breath of fresh air for me, and although it is natural to try and compare one artist to the next, it is almost impossible to do so with him. When listening to any project that is released by Artic you get the sense timeless music, it has no specific era just good vibrations. I am able to ride out to strong hometown tracks like “B-town” and “Hungry” but then feel the emotion and love in songs like “Don’t Go” and “Second Chance.” Representing Baltimore and serenading women aside, Artic is no stranger to sending verbal warnings to other rappers telling them to get it together like on his track “Get on your Grind.” I could write for days but you can hear for yourself, check out his latest track "B-Town II" below: