Blog Archives
Ryan Leslie @ Summerstage & The “Almost” Bodyroll
Ryan Leslie killed Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem.
He’s currently one of the most underrated artists out.
What was best about the performance was it’s immediacy– no openers, tightly clothed dancers, just Ryan & his piano, (which he barely touched. It made for a nice prop) band.
…Perhaps I fibbed about the lack of dancers. They just happened to be front row, male, and crotch-level with Mr. Leslie.
Never have I ever witnessed two grown men giggle like that. Over another grown man.
At any rate,ignore the people walking through the shots take a gander at the performances:
Valentine-
How It Was Supposed To Be-
@2:45- Notice the back up (front up?) dancers. 
@ 3:06- That’s not just naked glitter dangling from Ryan’s leg. It’s a Givenchy scarf.
@ 3:10- Dangerously close to a bodyroll. Perilously. Remember the Rules Of BodyRolling.
Everything, Everyday, Everywhere/Start It Up/You Be Killin ‘Em-
Diamond Girl-
@3:03 Yes, that’s Prince’s Diamonds & Pearls.
No interview– R. Les had a studio session right after the show. I should sit down with him soon, and we’ll talk about Harvard, Cassie, Why he’s linked to the NBA lockout, & of course, bodyrolling.
Love,
*Ms. Officer
Ms. Officer and The Jon B. Interview
It’s been a while since I’ve published anything here, and with good reason. I wanted my 1st post back to be special, and something you requested.
On a June afternoon, I hurry down to Herbert Von King Park to ensure I’m on time for my interview with Jon B. Hurry may or may not be an understatement, the blocks in Bed-Stuy have not yet all been gentrified. This is that section.
Jon headlined the show, with Olivia as his opener as part of the Summerstage concert series. Why they picked this venue is beyond me. Was Vanderveer Park overbooked?
Although I’d previously met Jon B. at his album release party for Helpless Romantic, I’d never actually seen him perform. He is an amazing talent who hasn’t had the greatest promotion behind him over the years. However– his fan base is extremely loyal.
Anyone who has ever been to Von King knows it’s recreation center resembles the 2nd floor of a Public School.
If you manage to not be distracted by:
- the Negro yelling in the background,
- my humidity fried hair
-the seizure my camera friend appears to be having
- the setting
…this shaped up to be a very good interview.
@ :14 Talks about intimidation from Ryan Leslie
@ :54 Future collaborations
@ 1:45 Working w/ 2Pac, Nas, Jay-Z, & other Hip-Hop Legends
@ 2:14 “Lame White People Who Don’t Understand”
@ 3:27 Getting credit for Robin Thicke & Justin Timberlake’s careers
@ 4:36 “Are you financially well off?”
@ 5:10 Comfortable Swagg album release date: 11/11/11
@ 6:10 Rumors of Jon & LeToya Luckett
And then he gives me a drop for MsOfficer.com…which you see me ask for.
Thanks to his Jon’s wife Danette for being so gracious, manager Jamal & Slam from YKIGS.
Here’s his new one with DJ Quik, “Real Women”. PREACH.
More to come, more to come.
Love,
*Ms. Officer
A Bobby Valentino Listening Event & Review: Fly On The Wall
I sauntered into Virgin Records to listen to Bobby Valentino’s new album, Fly On The Wall. Like you, I immediately thought of
But it’s not.
R &B’s favorite guy-that’s-not-Trey-Songz-so-he-doesn’t-go-topless is giving you his 4th effort, allegedly on March 22nd.
Once the Moet was poured & I’d consumed a respectable amount of chocolate strawberries before others recognized the true hippo that I am, we are ushered into a dimly lit room where a piano supports 3 tiny candles. If he doesn’t play, this is one hell of a prop.
A red bowtie takes front & center, introduces himself as Michael, and an eager Bobby V races in. His red Jordan 4′s lift him onto a stool.
Guess who was sitting front row, center seat.
Against my own will.
My biggest regret for sitting there came about 20 minutes in, when I retrieved a pack of gum from my purse satchel. I share, then bend down to put it back when a small palm appears before me. It belongs to the guest of honor. I deposit one cube, nod & smile.
My theory holds true, gum doesn’t stand a chance around Black people.
Valentino signals to the back of the room and “Words” begins to play.
It’s his current single, & #2 on the track listing. You can automatically tell this has been produced by Tim & Bob, those are his go to guys, and it usually works out. Not so much this time.
We go seamlessly through the rest of the CD, until we come to #8, “L-O-V-E”. Valentino pauses here and explains the techno-y song, saying that he did it because that “udst-udst-udst” sound is popular. He made it a point to mention he really went out of his lane on this one. I wasn’t expecting David Guetta, but what I got was…a song not that different from anything else Bobby V sings. What I got was… a song not that different from “Anonymous”.
Other producers– Jeff B, The Pentagon (formerly The Underdogs), & L.O.S. –belt out some decent records. Yet this, like his others, is mostly a Tim & Bob project. Bobby finally elaborated his obsession loyalty to these cats: When he first stared out (circa Mista), they’d been working with Tim. When BV reappeared in the industry Tim housed him for about a year in L.A., while they worked together.
So there you have it.
Listen to/DL Bobby V- Good Girls:
Of the 14 cuts, 3 stood out:
#4. If I Can’t Have You
#7. “Heaven”
# 9. “Altered Ego” Feat. 50 Cent
**Disclaimer: All song titles will be spelled correctly, i.e. “you” instead of “u”, “love” instead of “luv” unless otherwise noted by artist. If you feel this is a large enough problem to question me, choke yourself.**
If he releases either of the remaining 2 as singles, he can do pretty well.
Overall, I like Bobby Valentino as an artist. He just plays it too safe– if he pushes himself just a little bit more, he’ll get that mainstream big hit.
So do that, Bobby V. Do that.
Love,
*Ms. Officer
New Vid: Michael Jackson- Rock With You (Acapella)
We all know how I feel about Michael Jackson. And covers.
With that said, I hate Akon.
However, this vid emerged, reflective of an MTA subway ride. And I couldn’t be happier.
This assortment is called Duwende, which means something African “Phillipino mythical creature”, otherwise known as
It’s now safe to say this guy is not Chinese, but rather some sort of Chinese-y Latino-y mix.
There’s only one word for this:
Awesome.
Because:
-It’s not sh*tty
-There’s no autotune
-They can actually sing
Kudos to the cast of Doug.
If you want more on Duwende, it can be found here.
Love,
*Ms. Officer
Top 5 Songs of the Week, 6/7
It’s been kind of a slow week in terms of good joints I scraped together 5 tracks this week. This really could’ve been a list of two.
5. The Dream Feat. Diddy- Champagne
Why is this here?
Not because of the profound song content.
Not becuase of The Dream’s immaculate singing.
Because of Diddy’s verse.
Puff Daddy had the same effect on Wacka Flocka’s “Oh Lehhh Dooo Ittt”.
Ok, so the 1st couple songs here are about bubbly. I’m a connoisseur. Beyond that, this track is waaaaaay better than I’m Not An Idiot that other garbage he’s been putting out. Plus, it’s radio friendly.
Also, the big news is that Ne-Yo got engaged to his beard Monyetta. Congrats to the mystery trio couple!
Off of the upcoming Def Jam release Shutterbugg. Sometimes you forget just how good live instruments sound on a record.
Kinda makes me feel like I’m in Drumline again.
2. M.I.A. Feat. Jay-Z- XXXO (Remix)
The beat is tough, buy Jay-z verse it what makes it pop. Let’s be hooooonest (Drake voice)
1. Eminem Feat. Kobe- Talkin’ 2 Myself
Anyone who even remotely thought the Kobe featured here was
should be remiss choke themselves.
Talkin’ 2 Myself found it’s way onto my iPod (Via the “Test”) not even 30 seconds in. My only complaint is that Em did not release it sooner.
-Bonus Track-
Yes, please.
Love,
*Ms. Officer
New Vid: Dwele- What’s Not To Love
Dwele. One of the few artists I look forward to hearing from.
He’s also killing it right now on Power with Kanye West. You can find that here.
Just vibe on this one.
Love,
*Ms. Officer
New Music Overload
Beware cuz these songs r off the chain. I can’t stop listening to them or playing them in my mind. Can’t say I didn’t warn u!
Yes, I know I did that post on Slim, but it’s true! Still sounds good tho….
Ne-Yo & Fab clearly make a good combo…like Combos, Pizzeria Pretzel to be exact.
Residual Beyonce post:
This is not new– I’ve had it for some months now but have been particularly listening to it a lot lately, along with the next few songs below it….you’ll see a theme here, trust me
Sooooooo much better than that ‘Promise’ thingy
Mmmmmmmmm you Cannot go wrong w/ this man rite here. Someone hand me a towel.
And finally:
He’s baaaaaaaack!
Whew.
Thank Me later when u guys r done.
Love,
Ms. Officer
The Simultaneous Absence & Presence of Maxwell
How do I begin to explain what has been missing, yet here all along? With one word.
Maxwell.
I mean how does he just flat bounce in 7 years ago, no word of where he’s been?
No scandal.
No publicized baby mama drama.
No arrests.
No crazy ex-band members.
No skanky whores.
No gettin’ caught up in a back alley w/ someone madd suspect.
No wild sh*t on youtube.
No sex tape.
No drug addiction.
And he’s kept our attention for this long?
Then pops back up, virtually unannounced, here:
Saunters onto the stage, bangs out this gorgeous Al Green tribute, and goes back to where ever he’s been. Kinda.
This was 4 months ago. He reappears with a tour he’s currently on and sells his shows out. May I mention that these venues are nothing to scoff at. I mean damn this n*gga got us in a choke hold.
What is this trance Maxwell has over us?
It’s become obvious to me that Maxwell possesses a quality that a scarce amount of R&B singers have now– actual talent.
Allow me to plead my case. Ladies & Fellas, grab ur ‘significant others’ or whoever’s next to you that’ll suffice for now & enjoooooy the ride
What started it all:
ohhhhhh gosh
I know that’s right…
If you don’t know about Submerge, I feel sorry for you. I don’t know if I can continue w/ this post if I have to keep listening to these songs…
The point is that you get my point. This man has stayed consistent from day one…and I am certainly glad he’s making a comeback in the manner that he is.
Now he’s got this semi-single out called Pretty Wings. You know Maxwell is rockin cuz he’s got grown ass men going so hard to this joint. Let me tell you I ain’t never heard man with no gruff ass voice mention these two words together so lovingly.
The mere fact that he has been on our minds even in spite of the absence of his presence since 2001 means that whatever it is, he’s got it.
Yep, true talent is what keep drawing us to you Maxwell. How refreshing!
Make yourself at home cuz ur Welcomeeeeeee
Welcommeeeee, Welcomeeeee
Love,
*Ms. Officer
Really El DeBarge? Really?
What’s with the bang?
As you may know El DeBarge is no stranger to the criminal justice system. What you may or may not know is that the relationship between the two just got a little bit closer.
Not only was he charged with vandalism (what the hell was he doing- spray painting?) , domestic violence, and drug possession last year, he also had two warrants out for his arrest which led to him hangin out jail earlier this month.
Now he’s been nabbed for ‘possession of a controlled substance’ & was sentenced to 2 years in the slammer. Drug free, I presume.
But I don’t wanna dwell on his ‘circumstance’, especially since he was in court today agruing his case. What I do wanna give you, are the goods.
Damn that look like it coulda been what happened when he went to court
Are they Spanish? I Can’t tell.
Damn he was rockin here! (No pun intended)
Don’t play with me this is my sh*t! Al B. Sure! unibrow & all
Awww you should be right here with me babeeee
& Lastly my favorite- This is my jam!
Ooooooh & I like it
Come back El DeBarge. Pre substance.
Love,
Ms. Officer
A Refresher
Since the early ’90′s Brandy has given us some top notch material, including TV shows and movies, I just wanna talk about the music right quick.
When she started w/
Who was this girl w/ the braids?
Then she came out w/
and it was on. It became thee official ghetto girl anthem. Everybody’s ‘part’ was King Queen Latifah’s verse.
How precious is that its for Ray J?
But she’s really had some hits under her belt:
Hahah Donald is downstairs (ok, ok I thought he was cute too)
Not to mention this song was on the ‘Waiting To Exhale’ Soundtrack tape that I played incessantly
whaaaaaaaaat! w/ Mason Betha (+Harelm World/Bad Boy, pre minister, pre G-Unit– that was weird) That was a fun summer.
& who can forget
Now everyone who was fightin over a boy could play that song in the background & pretend that it was them.
A couple years later it was
(I hate those random Youtube-homemade videos for songs w/out videos too, but u get the point w/ the Usher remix to this song)
So it should come as no surprise that when she returned, it was gonna be with a hot song:
This is my joint, not to mention it is very easy to relate to. That’s real right thurr.
I like this one too- I’ve had this song for a while, but am now officially letting you know that its hot, so consider yourself put on-
Finally! Another female singer aside from Bey-Z w/ quality music who I can sing along to has come back!
Chea.
Love,
*Ms. Officer
Retro Jam! @ Madison Square Garden!
Ah, yes. Retro Jam ’08 w/ KRS-One, Rakim, Bobby Brown (yes, Crackhead Supreme), & my Favorite, Keith Sweat!
Big ups to my man Mike for hooking everything up!
So, I was a tad bit late, but it was ok.
Paul Anthony & Bowlegged Lou of Full Force hosted the show, & did a good job of it– they certainly kept me entertained.
Ain’t it always good to hear from them?
KRS One was 1st up, and of course, all the ‘Real Hip Hop’ Heads were in the house. U know, people that look like:
But his message was positive as usual and always refreshing to hear.
Then Rakim, who appeared to be madd bent came on the stage. Now I was led to believe this because he didn’t do much moving around the stage, but when he did,
Dat’s my songg tho!!!
It was about that time when they found 
(Well, just Grandmaster Dee @ least)
Shall We Digress?
That was nice.
Then here comes the self-proclaimed King of R&B, Bobby Mothaf*ckin Brown. One word, many syllables:
Lmao.
He started off in a suit& baseball cap, but somehow made his way down to a half opened shirt. I understood why he had the hat on though. He proceeded to hump the floor in true Bobby Brown fashion. This was only followed up by—what else? His kids dancing on stage. Gotta love Bobby.
When’s the new season of Being Bobby Brown coming owt?
….And finally, thee Grand Finale, Keith Sweat!!!
Chiiiiilllllle, Can’t nooobody tell me nothin ’bout no Keith!
Now I am well aware of this man’s age, but his smoothness (which is paralleled then surpassed by none other than Denzel Washington and Barack Obama themselves) is undeniable. He’ll have his own post later. Trust me.
Now he wasn’t on stage nearly long enough, but his finale was ‘I Want Her’. Ohhh, but he wasn’t alone. Not only did Bobby Brown, Bowlegged Lou, Paul Anthony and Rakim come back to the stage, (not to mention that lil’ dude with his hair so slicked down it resembled
), but so did this guy:
Flava Flav. I can’t hate him, I don’t love him. This is confusing.
At any rate I had a fantastic time. I thoroughly enjoyed myself- but I still think Keith Sweat’s part coulda been a little bit a lot longer. However, It’s always good to see the classics performed, done by the origionators!
Say Cheese!
Love,
Ms. Officer
The Pied Piper of R & Pee
Will be on BET Tonight talkin bout how he narrowly widely escaped the jaws of the law & slithered onto/into someone else in his 1st post- trial interview since he was found not guilty on 14 counts of child pornography. May I remind you that decsision came exactly 3 years to the day 
Ghostman himself got off (haha no pun intended). But it’ll be interesting to see what it is R. Kelly has to say about the accusations, threats & malarky that ensued during those years that he evaded going to court.
In my very own hypothesis I believe this man took a series of well calculated steps that brought him to the vindication of all these charges. I even wrote an op-ed piece on it, which I got a pretty good grade on. Allow me to share it with you (the abridged version, of course):
5 Steps To Being a Guilty R. Kelly But A Not Convicted R. Kelly
1. R. Kelly stuck with the formula that made him a star. His first official song he released after the whole scandal surfaced was 2003’s Ignition. This whole trial/rapist thing clearly hadn’t deterred him from talking about sex. There is a fine line between genius and insanity & he is tap dancing all over it. Kells was talking about putting his key in some girls ‘ignition’. Yet another reference and comparison of women to cars involving sex. Not to mention the wildly successful Dave Chappelle parody that accompanied it:
And what was with the mask he was running around with? The song went to number 2 on the Billboard US Hot 100 & R&B charts, fans were anticipating (and bootlegging) album, Chocolate Factory. This grabbed his entire audience. +1.
2. Step In The Name Of Love was for the older folk, or the “Grown and Sexy” as he referred to them (easily one of the most overused phrases). Kelly took that good ol’ Chicago steppin’ phenomenon nationwide, and now all of a sudden the whole county thought they were from Illinois. Not only did it become the dance instructional, it was the song that ended every party.
“Step, Step/Side To Side/ Left, Right/ Dip Now/Separate/Bring It Back/ Lemme See You Do/ The Love Slide”. I definitely hopped up every time I heard it and did as he instructed. R. Kelly won the approval of his elders. +2.
3. Kells teamed up with what was the biggest boy band on earth, the now defunct B2K and Nickelodeon mainstay Nick Cannon. R. Kelly played it safe. As many tweens & teenage girls did, I too loved them. He produced their explosive songs Bump, Bump, Bump and Girlfriend.
and
Feelin’ Freaky featured Nick Cannon and gripped the most lucrative and profitable group of people one could ask for, screaming teenage girls. We bought all that crap and loved it. How could he go wrong with these cute little boys? (Hahah)
Can I Ball? Please?
The very group he harmed was the same that embraced him all over again. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Damn! Kells foiled me! +5
4. 3 years out from originally being charged, he released Happy People/U Saved Me. You can never go wrong praising the good Lord. U Saved Me became one of my favorite songs at the time. Happy People gave us more of that Chi-town stepping music we were strung out for. What is R. Kelly doing in the Gospel section? He’s winning with the Gospel community and again with the grown and sexy old folks.
5. These skits called Trapped In The Closet Parts 1-12 originally released in 2005 had to have been some of the stupidest shit I’d seen in a while. The story kept finding ways to become increasingly obnoxious, including a wife’s tryst with a gay cop. Somehow a midget with a feather boa makes his way into the equation. Another R. Kelly production is successful, even if it looks like it was shot with my digital camera for community access TV.
How does he sing ‘Oh Shit’
It didn’t hurt that his albums TP 3: Reloaded and his Double Up were wildly successful.
But I think this easily sums it all up. I feel like this actually happened in the courtroom:
With all of this history built up, it is hard to indict R. Kelly. His celebrity allowed him to flirt with the justice system. Hell, I’m even guilty of checking to see if he was coming to a city near me for a chance to nab tickets. I don’t want to like his music because there is no question that what he’s done is wrong. But he has managed to trick myself and the rest of the public with his hypnotic melodies and talent.
Damn.
Love,
*Ms. Officer
Are You Black?
Sometimes I just can’t tell what race/ ethnicity someone is, but something about them (maybe its that great great great granddaddy no one wants to talk about which lends credence to the 1/8th drop of ‘Negro’ blood that ‘officially’ makes you Black) gives it away. Kinda. (I don’t mean that’s this dude’s case)
So, for my 1st installment of Are You Black, I bring you Brit Import UK pop guy Bryn Christopher:
Not bad right? Aside from the broach, the toucan on his shoulder & the shiny shoes a-la-Puffy & Mase circa 1997, I kinda like.
Buuuut are you black?
Whatever the case may be, his music sounds pretty good.
I just don’t get it.
I mean, not that it ever actually matters what race one is, we’re all one big meltingpot, family, brother sister, yada yada yada. Whatever.
Love,
*Ms. Officer
