ByronCrawford.com

A nation mourns

Hashim Warren retires from blogging.

Talib Kweli slapped by a woman

http://www.zshare.net/audio/03-27-07-talib-kwali-hot97-slapped-whoo-kid-www-worldstarhiphop-com-mp3.html

Silverchair - Young Modern: Album Review

Silverchair, Young Modern (Atlantic, 2007)
The new album by Australian post-Nirvana kiddie rock legends Silverchair - their first in five years - won't be out until July here in the US, but it comes out next week in Australia. I hope it doesn't get widely bootlegged or anything.

If you want, you can stream the entire thing at their MySpace:

• Silverchair @ MySpace

The Real World: Denver - Episode 21: Episode Summary

So yeah, I was pretty disappointed by last week's episode. Not only did Tyrie not give Jizz-all the vicious beating that I think we all kinda hoped he would, but he broke down like a little bitch and started crying because he got arrested. For taking a piss on a wall in front of a cop car. Hopefully that wasn't intended as this season's peak event.

This week's episode seems like it's going to revolve around Stephen. It begins with Stephen on the phone with his boss, explaining that the two of them need to talk, and Tyrie and Davis in the car talking about their issues with him. Tyrie considers Stephen an "acceptable negro," and doesn't like the way he insists on talking shit about black fraternities.

Chris, their boss from Outward Bound, stops by the house to go over some things about their job with the displaced kids (refugees, if you will) from New Orleans. Stephen's not there though because he had to go home for his sister's. Not to be outdone in the bitchmade olympics, Tyrie whines to Chris that he isn't sure if he wants to stay in Denver at this point.

If I was him, I'd go home, too - and see about growing a sack!

Timbaland - Shock Value: Album Review

Timbaland, Shock Value (Interscope, 2007)
Timbaland had a shiteload of "futuristic" pop bullshit lying around from his stunning run of hits last year with the likes of Justin Timberlake and the newly tolerable Nelly Furtado, so he decided to compile them all on this, his umpteenth solo (-esque) album.

• Timbaland @ MySpace

Borrowing while black

News You Can Use
You ever drive through the ghetto and see these ads that make home ownership sound more affordable than copping the new PS3? As it turns out, it kinda is, and it kinda isn't: You can buy a house (albeit one in the ghetto) with no money down and some ridonkulously low interest rate, but you're just going to lose it in a couple of years anyway, when the "real" interest rate kicks in. With the housing market drying up, such borrowers are now losing their homes at staggering rates.

On the one hand, you can't help but think that that's what they get for falling for such an obvious scam. In fact, I'm not even sure what's more bothersome - the fact that the TIs would pull some shit like this, or the sense of entitlement that would lead someone to believe that they could swing a house working at McDonalds. Here's the thing though: as with everything in this life, of course there's a race element. It looks like black people are being targeted with these loans at a much higher rate than white people of similar means.

HOW GULLY ARE HAITIANS, REALLY?

I've been waiting to comment on this Tony Tayo-Jimmy Henchmen beef until somebody actually got shot, but now I'm beginning to wonder if anyone will.

If you haven't heard, Tony Yayo supposedly slapped up Jimmy Henchmen's 14 year-old son on the street outside Henchmen's Czar Entertainment offices. Henchmen is said to be pissed, but it's not like he can really do anything to Tony Yayo, right? People will just know it was him.

CRASHING THE BOSS' CAR

After the jump is a clip of Eddie Griffin crashing a Ferrari Enzo into a wall at a race track. He was out promoting the new film Redline, and the car, valued at $1.5 million, belonged to the film's producer.

Maroon 5 - Makes Me Wonder: Track Review

Maroon 5 were like the Fray of 2004. Seemingly overnight, they went from opening for Michelle Branch (Remember her? She was hot!) to complete and utter ubiquity. Their first song, "Harder to Breathe" or whatever, was an annoying piece of shit. But its follow-up, "This Love," was admittedly kinda catchy the first few times you heard it.

I enjoy my share of marginally talented pop-rock artists, but I wouldn't have posted about  Maroon 5 had I not heard their new song and found it to be actually pretty dang good. Idolator, which posted an mp3 of it earlier today, compared it to the Whispers' "Rock Steady" (I'm saying though!), but I'm actually picking up more of a Thriller-era Michael Jackson vibe from it.

Am I saying it's that good? Obviously not, but it's a damn sight better than I would have expected. Lead singer Adam Levine is still pretty annoying, except when he's singing in his falsetto, in which case he's awesome, but it's the groove - a funky, '80s R&B-ish sort of thing, but with a somewhat more organic feel to it - that really makes "Makes Me Wonder."

Young Buck - Buck the World: Album Review

Young Buck, Buck the World (G-Unit/Interscope, 2007)
Young Buck's 2004 debut Straight Outta Ca$hville did reasonably well as far as G-Unit side projects are concerned, but that's been going on three years ago and G-Unit has been in a bit of a slump lately. Can Young Buck buck the trend? No pun intended.

Redman - Red Gone Wild: Album Review

Redman, Red Gone Wild (Def Jam, 2007)
Redman was the, uggh, man back in the 1990s, but then his career kinda ground to a halt about five or six years ago. He spent quite a bit of time doing commercials, films and a TV series with his hetero life mate Method Man, but it's been six years (yep) since his last album was released. Does Red still have it?

• Redman @ MySpace

Boston is the best band named after a place

According to Last Week's Poll
Even as far as this site is concerned, the topic for last week's poll was rather asinine. My bad.

The results:

Best band named after a place?

1. Boston (121 votes)
2. Chicago (84 votes)
3. Nazareth (36 votes)
4. Europe (35 votes)
5. Kansas (29 votes)
6. America (17 votes)

So Boston ended up winning, which I guess isn't that much of a surprise. They're definitely one of the better groups on the list, and they've been in the news lately because lead singer Brad Delp recently took the easy way out.

Of course I had to vote for Chicago. For me, it came down between them and Boston, but Chicago just has way more hits. I mean, they were around for a while before Boston, and they were still cranking out hits as recently as when I was in grade school.

In fact, I'll even cop to being more into the '80s era, "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" Chicago than the '60s and '70s version of the group, which seems to get played a lot more on the radio these days. Damn.

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After the jump is the video for "You're the Inspiration." Next week's poll, which is already up, is a very special poll that will carry an important message for today's youth. Vote early and vote often.