In Case You Were Wondering...

...yeah, Alicia's still doing it.

*throws shade at Swizz*

Throwback Thursday: "Get No Better" -- Cassidy ft. Mashonda

Well there's a lot going on in this one, ain't there?

• First, and foremost, you have young Cassidy, at what appeared to be the start of a rise to stardom. Then his murder case and car accident sidetracked that rise, and the Philly hustla has never really found his way since.
  
• Second, you have Mashonda, the ex-Mrs. Swizz, who's gained more attention for Alicia Keys' homewrecking than for her musical talents. (And that's a shame, since she certainly has talent; "Hold Me" with Kanye is one of my all-time favorite tracks.)
  
• Last, but certainly not least, you have VIDA. My...god. I wish I could tell you how many times I heard "Yo, who's the girl in the Cass video??" after this joint first aired. Truth be told, Mashonda looks good. Real good. So for them not to make her Cass' love interest in the video took something—someone amazing. Vida, te amo, mami.

Throwback Thursday: "Bigger Business" -- Swizz Beats ft. Diddy, Baby, Jadakiss, Cassidy, Snoop Dogg, & Ronald Isley

Whole lotta firepower up in this 2002 banger. (With the exception of Baby, of course. God he's terrible.) A slew of famous cameos up in the video, too.

My crew did a mixtape track to this instrumental once. Personally I think the only thing that kept it from being hotter than the original was Swizz getting Ronald Isley for his. That's just not fair.

(Oh, and special love to Jada for rocking the Jerry Rice Silver & Black.)

Tail Report: 2012 Grammy Awards

My cousin was actually at the ceremony in L.A. last night, which means I'm extremely jealous of him. Not so much about going to the show itself—that just seems like a big waste of time. But the afterparties...damn. O.C., we're going to have some words next time you're in Pittsburgh, Cuzzo.


Katy Perry
She somehow manages to look reserved here (even with the aquamarine hair), but that rackage just refuses to go silently into the night. Damn.

Chrissy Teigen
I really, really, really, really, really, really, really want to hate on John Legend right now. But I can't. The brother's a pimp.

Alicia Keys
...I CAN, however, hate on Swizz. Damn Alicia looks thicker these days. Maybe she's still carrying some of the baby weight, but...she's damn sure carrying it well. (Fuck you, Swizz.)

Taraji P. Henson
MILFalicious (chocolate edition)...

Kate Beckinsale
MILFalicious (vanilla edition)...

Flo-Rida's Date
The press apparently didn't bother to get her name. They were probably too busy staring at her, uhh...accessories. I'm sure that's also why no one asked why Flo-Rida was worthy of red carpet photogs.

Rihanna
Including a picture of Ri-Ri almost feels mandatory anymore. Not that it isn't still totally worth it. Damn girl.

Lotus Partners with Swizz Beats

Following on the heels of Lotus' recent announcement that they are focused on reinvigorating the brand's name, the British automaker has now hired Swizz Beats as a "cool consultant" (so to speak).

From Inside Line:

Taking a page from the Victoria Beckham and Land Rover playbook, Lotus announced on Monday that it has hired Grammy-winning rapper and producer Swizz Beatz to serve as a high-profile consultant.

"The key is to infiltrate the market in a cool way," said Beatz, whose real name is Kasseem Daoud Dean, in a Lotus video showing the rapper's first day at work.

The video follows Beatz as he arrives at Lotus in a helicopter, is driven in a Lotus on a racetrack and later advises teams of Lotus employees, including CEO Dany Bahar.

The best is for "things to happen organically," Beatz expounds.

"They want flash," Beatz says in describing prospective Lotus buyers.

"Like Group Lotus, he means business: He's a risk taker with considerable credentials, including music producer, rapper, designer and painter," said Lotus in a statement announcing the appointment. "(He's) the perfect man to add to the Lotus lineup."

We've recently seen images of the Espirit, due to hit the market late next year. I wouldn't be too surprised if you see a prototype pop up in a few videos next year. It's an interesting marketing tool, and quite possibly an effective one as well.

It's also a complete 180 to how hip-hop has been viewed by companies selling high-end products. From the flap over the comments of Tommy Hilfiger (which were eventually found to be completely falsified), to the Jay-Z vs. Cristal beef (which, ironically, was mentioned in the Jay-and-Swizz collaboration “On to the Next One”), hip-hop artists have long struggled with being perceived as second-class citizens by companies that traditionally catered to society’s upper crust. Because being in a position to afford luxury products made by Rolex, Bentley, Cartier, etc. represents the upper echelon of success, these names have peppered songs, videos, and reality programming like MTV Cribs for decades. This, in turn, has provided these companies with an immeasurable amount of free marketing as generations raised on hip-hop have grown into adulthood.

But, to the stuffy-aired world of old-money that owns and operates these purveyors of fine goods, rappers and hip-hop have long represented a class of people “beneath them”. Whether due to racism or simply to elitism, the people profiting from hip-hop’s love affair with their products often balked at the very association.

The deal between Swizz and Lotus highlights just how much times have changed, and how some of the business world's backwards thinking has been turned around. Now if I could just get BMW to hire Crooked Straight as special social media consultants…

Download: Swizz Beatz ft. Push T. and Pharrell

"Went from Aesha to Adrianna Lima..." Good line.

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Download: Gucci Mane ft. Swizz Beatz "Gucci Time"

I have to say this character is growing on me.

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Download: Jay-ZxSwizz Beatz "Ultra"

I don't think these two could have gotten together and made a worse song.

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Video: Jay-Z ft. Swizz Beatz "On to the Next One"

I'm a big fan of both of these guys so naturally this was one of my favorite tracks on the album.

Video of the Day: Swizz Beatz "When I Step in the Club"

I don't know why, but when I heard this song it sounded really good. I've never heard it before today but I can only imagine hearing this in the club.



via kanye's blog