To set up the release, Scooter Smiff has whetted fan’s musical appetites with buzz releases of the title track “Head Of My Class,” featuring Chris Brown and “Fresh To Def.” With producers as diversified as Swizz Beatz, Eric Hudson, and Polow Da Don working on the debut release of Head Of My Class, it promises to be the ultimate tour-de-force for the urban teen music set.
If working on a new CD and the recent 52-city “Up Close and Personal” Chris Brown tour were not enough, Scooter Smiff is also an accomplished actor who played Daniel on the third season of the hit show Lost and makes his dramatic feature flick debut with Gardens Of The Night (opposite John Malkovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Tom Arnold and Evan Ross), where he plays a abused child named Young Donnie, will be hitting screens in the Winter.
And before you ask the question Scooter Smiff gets accosted with by fans the most, let’s let Scooter himself set the record straight: “I am called Scooter because of my grandma—when I was little, I couldn’t crawl, I just scooted, so she nicknamed me Scooter and it stuck!”
Scooter Smiff hopes to be doing a tour of his own around the release of Head of My Class and says he will also be hooking up again with Chris Brown on the road at some point.
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Written by Ryan the Admin - Visit Website
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Ryan is from California. He graduated from USC with a degree in English. In his free time, when he isn’t working as a Literary Illusions gopher (er…editor) he enjoys writing short stories.
If you’re a fan of gangsta rap this might be right up your alley. Until now, I had never heard of Savage before, but after listening to his new song “Swing” I couldn’t help but want to hear more. If you’ve never heard him and want to check him out you can do so below.
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Written by Ryan the Admin - Visit Website
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Ryan is from California. He graduated from USC with a degree in English. In his free time, when he isn’t working as a Literary Illusions gopher (er…editor) he enjoys writing short stories.
Making her stunning entrance in a dizzying cascade of piano and layered vocals, The Inc./Universal Motown Recording Artist ASHANTI puts it all on the line in the powerfully soulful and grandly dramatic “The Way That I Love You,” the first single and video from her upcoming album THE DECLARATION.
The home truths of ASHANTI’s “The Way That I Love You” are drawing a loud “Amen” from the radio and video outlets that have supported her from day one of her multi-platinum career as an artist and songwriter. The track is the No. 1 most-added song at Urban-formatted radio in it’s first week, with more than 50 adds at major stations blanketing the east, midwest, south and west coast.
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Written by Ryan the Admin - Visit Website
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Ryan is from California. He graduated from USC with a degree in English. In his free time, when he isn’t working as a Literary Illusions gopher (er…editor) he enjoys writing short stories.
‘THE TRUTH’ is on the way, and judging from every early sign, Sho’Nuff Records/Capitol Music Group quartet CHERISH is about to prove beyond doubt that in 2008, America wants ‘THE TRUTH,’ the whole ‘TRUTH,’ and nothing but ‘THE TRUTH.’
THE TRUTH, the second Sho’Nuff /Capitol album by CHERISH, will be released on April 29th, 2008. As on their first RIAA gold certified album, Unappreciated, the four sisters of CHERISH (Farrah, Neosha, Felisha and Farron King) are primary songwriters throughout, and on this new project, they also collaborate with super-hot hitmaker Terius ‘The-Dream’ Nash. Album track producers include such top-tier names as Don Vito (“Killa”), Jazze Pha, Adonis & K-Fam, and Eric Hudson.
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Written by Ryan the Admin - Visit Website
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Ryan is from California. He graduated from USC with a degree in English. In his free time, when he isn’t working as a Literary Illusions gopher (er…editor) he enjoys writing short stories.
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Written by Ryan the Admin - Visit Website
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Ryan is from California. He graduated from USC with a degree in English. In his free time, when he isn’t working as a Literary Illusions gopher (er…editor) he enjoys writing short stories.
Cast: Nelly, Katt Williams, Common, Kanye West Rating: Not Rated Studio: Paramount Release Date: March 18, 2008
Every now and then something shows up on my desk and I immediately wonder why it was put out on DVD in the first place. Music awards shows like this are one of those things. I just don’t get the point. Don’t get me wrong. I am sure there are some decent performances to be watched, but in the end you have to wonder how many times someone is going to watch an award show.
I don’t know about you, but I rarely pull out my 1989 Academy Awards DVD for the same reason. If you’ve seen it once, you’ve seen it and you don’t need to see it again. If you didn’t see it the first time it still doesn’t warrant a purchase unless you’re too embarrassed to know that the Blockbuster employee was laughing at your rental choices the minute you shut the door on the store.
The release of the <em>BET Hip Hop Awards 2007</em> on DVD just baffles me in so many ways. When I received my copy of this in the mail, initially I just stared at it. I flipped it over, examined the front and back of the box, but in the end it was still an award show. I didn’t see the appeal. After watching it, I still don’t see the appeal. If you’re a huge fan of BET award shows you might end up loving this. Otherwise, there is nothing worth watching here more than once.
Release Information:
Considering the fact that this is an awards show, the primary reason for purchasing it is going to be the performances that occur on the disc rather than the awards. In this case, this will be a popular choice with rap fans. This one disc DVD comes in a standard DVD case with the awards show and a small set of special features. You can pick up the BET Hip Hop Awards 2007 courtesy of BET and Paramount on March 18, 2007. At that time it will be available through various retailers including Amazon where it will cost you just under $20.
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Written by Dominicus - Visit Website
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At 23 years old, I feel that I’ve lived enough life to share my opinion with the world. That’s what I’m doing here, as a writer, for Literary Illusions. I was born in Florida, raised in California, and currently living in Colorado, where I go to a small school in the middle of nowhere.
Majoring in Business Administration, I have the goal of one day ruling the world. Interests in life include dating, movies, sports, hanging out with friends, drinking, bar hopping, and writing in both an inebriated and sober state.
I remember when Tupac Shakur died in 1996. I was a huge rap fan from the days dating back to my youth, when I listened to groups like NWA. During his career and in the years following his untimely death, Tupac has become the highest selling rap artist in the world.
His unique lyrical style mixed with some fly beats sent rap in an entirely new direction. With the help of Tupac and other rappers of his caliber, rap showed it political socio-economic capabilities. To say Tupac was a social activist would be an understatement. His lyrics blended the telling of stories about hardcore life in the ghetto, political issues, racism, and a host of other social problems he had personally experienced at some point in his life.
Best of Tupac is a compilation of some of the best music that Shakur wrote in his life. Through the effort of Shakur’s mother, Afeni, producers such as Eminem, Death Row/Interscope Records, and Universal Music Studios, this 2-part CD set has come to fruition. The first CD is released as Best of 2Pac – Part 1: Thug and the second CD is Best of 2Pac – Part 2: Life. The CDs are available individually and not in a pack. Each CD features 11 songs and nearly all of the songs will be familiar to those who have listened to Tupac’s music. Both CDs are selling on Amazon for around $10 a pop. They were released on December 4, 2007 by Interscope Records.
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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
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Dominick Evans is in his late 20’s. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.
I’m a big fan of hip hop and rap music. I’m selective in what I listen to, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from Necro, in his first album produced by Koch Records. Necro has been a part of the underground hip hop scene for years. Known for combining his love of heavy metal with rap and horror movies, I had no idea what I was going to find when I popped this CD into my player.
This review is being done live as I listen to the music. You will get my initial feelings and thoughts as I listen to the CD, and then I will provide an overall analysis of this CD at the end of this article.
The CD, Death Rap is Necro’s fifth album. It features 14 songs. Here is some information and my thoughts on each song on this album.
1. “Creepy Crawl” – I first noticed the funky beat had an old skool kind of feel to it. I can’t really even explain how weird the beat is for this song. I’m not sure where the metal sound came in on this, but most of it sounded like crazy rap to me. This wasn’t one of his best songs. We’re off to a bad start.
Grade: C-
2. “No Remorse” – I like the beat already. It has more of a metal feel to it then the last song. The lyrics are a bit more reflective of what I’d expect from a death rapper. I definitely like this song better than the last one. The chorus is a bit simplistic compared to other rappers. However, the rest of the lyrics are pretty damn fly. The background chorus sounds like a Gregorian type of chant and it’s pretty sweet. All of the elements of this song go together well.
Grade: A
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Written by Dominicus - Visit Website
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At 23 years old, I feel that I’ve lived enough life to share my opinion with the world. That’s what I’m doing here, as a writer, for Literary Illusions. I was born in Florida, raised in California, and currently living in Colorado, where I go to a small school in the middle of nowhere.
Majoring in Business Administration, I have the goal of one day ruling the world. Interests in life include dating, movies, sports, hanging out with friends, drinking, bar hopping, and writing in both an inebriated and sober state.
Cast: Nelly, Katt Williams, Common, Kanye West
I remember when Tupac Shakur died in 1996. I was a huge rap fan from the days dating back to my youth, when I listened to groups like NWA. During his career and in the years following his untimely death, Tupac has become the highest selling rap artist in the world.
I’m a big fan of hip hop and rap music. I’m selective in what I listen to, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from Necro, in his first album produced by Koch Records. Necro has been a part of the underground hip hop scene for years. Known for combining his love of heavy metal with rap and horror movies, I had no idea what I was going to find when I popped this CD into my player.
