Kelly’s Not Beyonce

It’s been a while since the last post, so what better topic than this constant conversation about Kelly beating Beyonce, as if the two are in a competition of who’s the better artist. Before I even begin, I’ll go ahead and say that there will be some dispute to this, but here it goes anyway.

Let us first begin by clarifying that the fans of Kelly (or rather the haters of Beyonce) are in more a competition than Kelly and Beyonce. There has been a growing tiresome of Beyonce over the last several years, where people have been looking for someone, anyone, to dethrone her. At one point before Kelly’s new album, people were hoping for Keri Hilson to take the charge, which didn’t happen. In fact, almost every solo female R&B singer with high potential has been “put against” Beyonce by her “anti-fans” every since she created her empire.

Now, here comes Kelly. What better person to challenge than her former group member. Not only do they want her to “defeat” Beyonce because of the money and power, but Kelly also represents the underdog in many other ways. She’s the “dark-skinned,” held back, sidekick that never got the chance to shine as much in the group, and people are simply fed up with the “reigning champ.” The only problem though, is that this is not a legitimate battle. (and this is where the dispute comes in…)

Though people may want to consider Kelly better than Beyonce for their own, personal, hate-on-Beyonce reasons, they are in two separate categories, on two different levels. Kelly to Beyonce is like comparing Janet Jackson (or even Tito) to Michael Jackson, like comparing Soulja Boy to Jay Z, like comparing a dessert to a full course meal. There is no real comparison. Beyonce is an icon with a global reach and audience, who can reach audiences from practically every background and category through her global, universal music and its huge variety. From a talent standpoint, Beyonce’s vocal range is nearly untouchable. Kelly is good, don’t get me wrong. Kelly can sing pretty good, but doesn’t have the technical range of Beyonce. Kelly’s music is not at a global acceptance level yet, and the only way she got as big among the urban crowds as she did with this current album is for two reasons: people just want to see Beyonce disappear and she went the sex route. If it weren’t from the highly sexual tone of this new album, but merely showing vocal skill and songwriting only, Kelly would not nearly be as “big” as she is right now. Beyonce grew to her status without even having to take the cheaper, or freakier, route. What is so bad about it is that, even though her skill level may not be as large as Beyonce, she still is talented enough to show how good she really is WITHOUT having to go that route.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the irritation that people feel with seeing the same person on top for so long. It gets annoying to an audience. For instance, a lot of people are getting tired of the Young Money empire and as more time passes, more consumers will become increasingly impatient with them and hope for the next big rap empire (the same way they did when No Limit was dominating the market). It is a natural progression. Nevertheless, to compare Kelly Rowland to Beyonce as if it is a legitimate competition, is just an anti-Beyonce move, rather than a true comparison. Beyonce is falling away on her own, through natural progression, the world doesn’t have to pit Kelly against her for that, it happens automatically, but even if so, her skill level, her ability, her talent still remains stronger, even if her popularity does not. I’m just saying…

Charlie Is Not Sheen

This morning, a considerable amount of the news broadcast was dedicated to the rants and odd behaviors of the superstar, Charlie Sheen. As most are aware, he recently had an issue with drugs and other negative influences that caused him to have to take time off of his show, “Two and a Half Men.” He has been in rehab multiple times, and has been known for a lot of behaviors that have received negative attention. The culmination of these incidences have pushed the network to a point of practically halting the show.

Now, in response to this, Mr. Sheen has started giving interviews in which he is basically saying that he deserves more pay, apologies for the way he’s been treated, and the network should practically beg him to come back. Thus, this is the reason for the name of my blog. The word, “sheen,” means beauty, shine, etc. and this type of behavior is far from shining and beautiful.

I mean, sure, I understand why he would have such a huge ego. After all, he’s the highest paid actor on television! By the network paying him so much, they set themselves up to create a spoiled brat who wouldn’t care about the common courtesies and respect of others. How can any average man not allow that much money and power go to his head? This is the type monster that is created when you give someone more credit than you ought to. There is nothing wrong with paying someone well in comparison to the revenue they are bringing in to you, but at the same time, you also have to consider the stability, quality, and wisdom of the person you are paying…

Am I hating? Nope. I’m making a point to show just how easily the world is tamed from the insanity found in entertainment, even to the point that a large chunk of news is dedicated to it rather than things that are valuable and beneficial to the masses. Simply put, you have a spoiled man who is fussing, hollering, and throwing tantrums because he can’t get his own way in everything and he doesn’t want to follow decent expectations and rules. Why does this get so much attention in our society? And even worse, what does this teach those coming up about how to be respectful, productive citizens? Yet we wonder why there is such an increasing lack of respect in the society…

Oh well, I guess that as long as it sells… as long as people watch, which gives ratings… that’s all that matters. Entertainment, huh? That’s just how it goes.

Avatar – Is Truth Un-American?

So I finally saw Avatar this past weekend, after the crowds have had time to die down (though it still was a packed theater), and I give it three pats on the back (the equivalent of a top rating). The special effects were amazing, acting was effective, and the storyline…

The storyline is the actual center of this blog, so I will go into it now.  The storyline was excellent.  Yet, for some reason, there has been a lot of backlash.  One of the worst comments I’ve heard from critics, though, is that the movie is un-American, or unpatriotic.  One argument was that, though the person understands the point, the problem is that it was American soldiers that were the “bad guys,” and that just wasn’t the case.  Though I also understand their point and the point of the others, and I have one of the greatest appreciations for my soldiers, I have to disagree with the idea of it being un-American and this is why.

The movie was an illustration of history, TRUE history.  In this true history, it WAS American soldiers (or rather what would become the first) that wiped out multitudes of Native Americans, stealing THEIR LAND from them and trampling over their way of life.  You can really relate it to the “Westerners/Europeans” in general because the settlers were European.  They did the same to the Africans, bombarding the African land with mass killing and enslaving, stealing natural resources for their benefit.  Africa has some of the most oil rich lands, and African countries have the world’s largest supplies of diamonds, but yet the Africans are only low paid servants to the Westerners/Europeans that took control over the enterprise there so long ago.  I’m saying that to say this, the depiction in the movie Avatar truly an accurate portrayal.  Though, this movie primarily seems to identify with the Native American history though, and it is definitely an unflattering depiction, it still remains a TRUE illustration of the type of situation that occurred so long ago, in terms of the Westerners (Americans in this case) invading a foreign land (Pandora in this case) to take it and its resources for themselves at any cost to the native inhabitants.  There is an old saying that goes, “a hit dog will holler” and it seems to really apply with this movie’s criticism.

Why does it hurt so much to “look in the mirror” and see a depiction of our own ways?  I guarantee that if we were able to go to Mars for a much needed resources, and found native, living, humanoid organisms there that were trying to prevent us, we’d do the very same thing to get it.  And what makes us so hypocritical is that we’d justify it as though we’re the good guys and they are trying to stop us from surviving and advancing, but yet if some “aliens” invaded us (such as in some Science Fiction movies like Independence Day) for our resources (doing the exact same thing to us that we would do to them) they’d be evil.  That’s human nature though, to justify our wrongdoings while attacking the wrongdoings of others.

Neverthless, enough ranting.  The point is: Avatar is NOT un-American!!  The only way this movie can be un-American is if TRUTH is un-American, and if that is the case, we’re all in trouble.  Until we are able to look at our ugly past and accept it without offense at the mirror we’re looking at it through, we’ll never be ready to bring into existence a better, more beautiful future.  Out!

Teeny Has to Stop Acting Small

Anyone that has seen the Fantasia reality show, I’m sure, has developed some strong opinions of her older brother, Joe aka Teeny.  It took me one show of watching to develop some thoughts, of which I will be sharing in this post.

How is it that this is the older brother acting like that?  My goodness!!!  It’s that type of behavior that gives ment, especially black men, a bad name.  It is somewhat hard to believe that a grown man can be so irresponsible.  Yes, your sister has made it big and she is willing and wanting to give back to her family and take care of them.  She doesn’t have to, but she is willing because those are her values.  How is it then that you can just, straight up disrespect every piece of family honor, then have the nerve to say that she is the one that changed?  What the heck is that about?

As the older brother, this man is supposed to be one of the leaders in the family, but instead chooses to “mooch” off of his sister’s success.  He may not surpass her financially, but should at least be able to lead in terms of behavior and provide guidance, but yet decides to put on a fake persona, like he’s the “baller” that has it together.

I’m just saying, some things are just shameful, and this is one of those things.  But, just as Neyo and Rickey Smiley were discussing on the radio show this morning (shout out to Rickey Smiley morning show), people will be people, and it is terrible how bad even your own family will act once you make it.  There is no entitlement just because you are family; if anything, people should be that much more considerate when it is family that is trying to help them out.  Yet, money does often bring out the worst in people.  I just hope that Teeny, and any other’s out there taking advantage of the success of their loved ones, wakes up, grows up, and starts taking their own lives into their hands instead of bumming off others.

Trey Kelly, I mean Songz

So one day I found myself listening to the radio and heard Trey Songz’ newest song.  The thing is though, I didn’t know who it was.  When I first heard it, I thought I was listening to a new R. Kelly hit, from the intro to the ending.  Imagine my surprise when the DJ said this was Trey Songz.  I was like, “who, what, when, where, how?”  What is even more unbelievable though, is that there later followed this “beef” where he was dissing R. Kelly. 

You know, one thing I’ve always heard is that you should never bite the hand that feeds you.  By all means, R. Kelly is not Trey Songz’ boss or anything, but apparently Trey has been feeding off of his style, influence, etc., for quite some time.  It is so bad that he actually ad-libs like R. Kelly.  Personally, I don’t have a favorite.  They are both talented, they both can sing better than me (even though that is not that hard to do), and they both, apparently, greatly excite their female fans.  Likewise, they both seem to be consumed with sex that they need to take cold showers, get married, or join a buddhist temple or something.  That’s outside of the point though.

The point is, how can you be so bent on attacking the very person that you are trying so hard to copy?  What’s up with that?  Was it some sort of publicity stunt to boost sales?  Was it a situation where you were starting to sound similar to him and people were already comparing you, so you started “beefing” to distinguish yourself?  Or, were you just joking?  Regardless, you cannot help but deny the man’s talent, no matter what you may think of him personally; as I said before, both artists are extremely talented in both singing ability and production.

Nevertheless, I’m sure I’m not the only person who has noticed this extreme similarity between the two sounds, almost identical, so, if it is so similar, why not capitalize on it in partnership rather than fall divided?

To Trey Songz, if you’d like to, or be willing to, give us an interview to provide feedback on the whole “beef” thing, get at us.  It seems settled at this point though, so either way, do your best for yourself without having to diss to get ahead.

Diddy’s Son and the Maybach

Maybach… until recently when it started being talked aobut in popular music, most people didn’t even know what a Maybach was.  There are many who probably still don’t know.  For those that do, it is a car that epitomizes luxury, and it should considering the hefty price tag up around $300,000.  This car has a higher value/cost than the average person’s house.

Why then is Diddy buying it for a new 16 year old child?  By all means, you can do what you want with your money; you earned it. But where is the responsibility in it all?  The question is not asked out of “hate” or jealousy, but out of concern of what is being taught. If you look at the richest of the rich, people like Warren Buffet, you wouldn’t find them making such decisions, but instead would find them giving their child a normal, average priced American car, probably even used, in order to teach the child about true responsibility and allowing the child to be able to earn the greater items after proving proper stewardship.  A child who has had the chance to earn something typically has a higher respect for it, and Diddy knows that better than anyone.

I’m sure everyone remembers the “Making the Band” episode from the first season when Diddy had the “The Band” members walk across New York just to get him a special cheesecake.  He did this to teach them how much they really wanted it (to be successful) and see where their hearts were, because he didn’t want to just give them something they would take for granted. He understood that if you just give people anything undeserving or unearned, they will blow the opportunity.  With him understanding this, it is just a little shocking that he would start out his son with one of the most expensive cars made instead of letting him learn proper responsiblity first on a “lesser” car.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d expect Diddy to do it big either way because that’s just Diddy – flashy, classy, a mogul – but I also know that he understands the type of responsibility it took for him to get where he is and that if he had been given it all “on a silver platter” he probably wouldn’t be where he is today.  Either way, I guess that his son has more responsibility than many, for he was willing to donate his $10,000 money gift to charity (Yele) to help the Haiti victims, so Diddy must be doing something right.