As the end of the year approaches I find myself becoming really impatient. I've never really been to Las Vegas, but if it's anything like i've been hearing then this should definately be one for the books. I have my outfits laid out like a kid preparing for his first day back to school with his brand new clothes....yes.....I got me some good clothes. Bottles will be popped, pictures will be taken, and I've also decided that I will not be gambling. I work hard for my money and a few bright lights isn't enough to make me put it in a machine only for the machine to say, "Now get the fuck out my face!".
I guess one of the main highlights will be Jay Z performing at the Palms, and you already know.....I must be in attendance. I wanted to actually get a seat so I can drink and be merry, but it's peace. Either way....break out the red lights, welcome to the party life.
Suite :-)
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Mr. Lee Prepares For Vegas
Spoil'd Milk: Adidas x Looney Tunes EQT B-Ball Hi
What the hell?
Adidas and Warner Brothers got together to create this clusterfuck of a remix shoe for the Looney Tunes. The EQT B-Ball Hi comes in a "Tweety Bird" version. The upper is dominated by yellow, orange and baby blue. The Tweety Bird character is embossed on the ankle. The basketball shoe comes with two kinds of inner socks. One style is in all yellow, the other one comes in baby blue with Tweety printed all-over. 
WOW!
Found this wack shit @ Highsnobiety
Crooked I On The Wake Up Show
Tech believes Crooked I is smashin on Jay Z and also feels that he is the illest on the West...Zack Lee definately does not agree, but its peace.
Bobby Ross Avila (Avila Brothers) on keys....phew.
Friday, December 14, 2007
TALKIES: Official Ironman Trailer
Starring Robert Downey Jr, Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges
Ghostface should get a song on the soundtrack....
Pictures With Sound: Nikkel Plate the Great
Multitalented as an engineer and producer, Nikkel Plate stays with some heat. Along with a slew of other producers on the west coast, Nikkel Plate shows you that it AIN'T just about synths and g'funk on this side of the states. Enough words, check the vid:
Check out his Myspace!
Exactly
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Break A Leg: The Morning Benders (Dec. 13th)
The Morning Benders is comprised of 4 of the most jovial, talented, crazy guys ever! How do I know this? Well, because I said so! The bands only been together a little bit over a year and is garnering a serious SERIOUS buzz. If you're in the LA area, The Exactly definitely recommends you check them out LIVE TONIGHT and see if they're as dope as we say they are.
And also, stop by their Myspace.The Morning Benders
And Website TheMorningBenders.com
Focus: The Underwater Sculpture Garden
As if you ever needed more coaxing to get into the waters of the Caribbean, artist JASON TAYLOR has made the island of Grenada a mecca for snorkeling art lovers with his unique underwater sculpture garden, the first of its kind in the world. Covering an area of several hundred square feet just off the island’s southern coast, the “gallery” features hundreds of carefully placed objects and human forms created by Taylor (with the permission of the government) that coexist with the island’s natural reef systems without interfering with their function or damaging their structures. Since debuting last year the site has proven to be a magnet for divers who have flocked to the site by the thousands.
HAVE A LOOK:
View more images @ Supertouch
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
R.I.P.: Ike Turner Dies At 76
Music legend Ike Turner has passed away today (Dec. 12) at age 76 in his suburban home outside San Diego.
"He did pass away this morning," Scott Hanover, of Thrill Entertainment Group, which managed Turner's musical career told the Associated Press. A cause of death has not been reported.
Turner, whose career in music spanned five decades, was as much known for his musical prowess as his familial problems, which were often referenced in rap songs, including Notorious B.I.G.'s "Machine Gun Funk."
His marriage to famed singer and musical partner Tina Turner, which ended in 1976, was allegedly an abusive one. The couple's troubles were depicted in the 1993 movie What's Love Got To Do With It?
Following the couple's split, Ike Turner released a pair of unsuccessful solo albums and served a stint in prison for drug and weapons charges.
He was inducted into the Rock & Roll hall of Fame in 1991 and released the Grammy-nominated Here & Now in 2001.
The Exactly Blogspot says farewell to the inspiration for many a "Slap" reference in Hip Hop Music.
GearHeads: Nike Tech Pack Air Max 1
Nike knows how to start '08 off with a bang. With the upcoming release of the Tech Pack & Safari Air Max 1s. Each model features two different colorways. While the first releases of the Tech Pack were much more subdued and rather colorless, these upcoming packs are a bit more over the top. You'll have to wait for 2008 before these drop.
Only the freshest..
Is the Era of baggy pants coming to an end?
By Jermaine Dupri
"Last night the Atlanta school board voted unanimously to ban students from wearing baggy pants. This has been goin’ on all over the South lately, in Louisana and other parts of Georgia. It’s been on the radar in New Jersey, Oklahoma and even Yonkers, New York. They also talked about outlawing baggy pants in Baltimore, until they had the good sense to drop it. It’s some of the dumbest shit I have ever heard and now it’s in my backyard. It’s time for me to speak up.
This is basically all about the older generation hating on hip hop. They can’t ban it, so instead they’re gonna try and turn kids into criminals just for being themselves. Kids have been wearing this look for more than two decades. Since before I first discovered Kris Kross, and they wore their oversized pants backwards, kids have been dressing this way, and all of a sudden local governments and school boards all over America are deciding it’s “indecent”. So why now?"
Read rest of blog @ Bridging The Gap
In Zack Lee's opinion, banning baggy jeans is absurd. Granted, a certain stereotype comes attached to the baggy pants image, with 'Thug' being the most prominent. Of course, this mainly stems from an older generations point of view. While we believe its deeper than the older generation's disdain for it, we understand that's where majority of the heat is coming from. Basically, as Andre3000 put it, "Is every nigga with dreads for the cause? Is every nigga with golds for the fall?" Don't get caught up in appearance.
In The Studio: Ryan Leslie Creating Diamond Girl
"Me (the Artist), Myself (the Producer), and I (the Engineer) get together in the studio to create my single “Diamond Girl”. Great fun as usual:
Reviewing and re-sequencing the footage from this session revealed that it was possible to edit the video with an interesting twist: as though all of my alter egos were recording the song simultaneously, and even interacting with one another.
Please enjoy, request the song at radio, and share my music and vids with anyone else you think may appreciate them." - Ryan Leslie
This is pretty fly!
Source from Next Selection.com
Check out Full song @ Ryan Leslie's Myspace
Exactly..
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
NEW JOINT: Pacific Division - All I Want (prod. by Swiff D)
The F.A.T. LP Dropping March 18th 2008!!
Pac Div's MySpace
Pac Div's Official Website
Also Check Out Pac Div In The New Issue Of Scheme Magazine!
Click To Read Interview
Lupe talks about The Cool in Complex Magazine
Complex: You had a song on your first album called "The Cool". Tell me about the concept behind it.
Lupe Fiasco: Yeah, it was produced by Kanye West and it was about a hustler who gets killed and comes back to life and digs his way out of his own grave and then goes back to like the neighborhood that he grew up in and eventually winds up, at the end of the song, getting robbed by the same gun that he got shot with by some little kid. So it's very macabre, very dark but I always wanted to do that record, to tell that story of somebody who comes back to life, that kind of manifested itself into "The Cool". And "The Cool" went on to be like the inspiration for the next album. I thought that storyline, that kind of macabreness, that kind of spookiness, you know, leant itself to be even deeper, to be just like one part of a whole kind of storyline. So I put a little bit more thought into it and kind of expanded on it.
C: So would you say that this album is darker than your first?
Lupe Fiasco: Oh yeah, it's much darker just on the strength of the situation that I'm in, in life right now is kind of a happy period. It's a lot of success but it came with a lot of sacrifice and having my pops pass away and just recently having an aunty pass away and then having a friend pass away, Stack Bundles, a rapper in New York who got murdered out here and then to also have my partner get locked up, to get 44 years, all that stuff came along with the situation. It made the setting for me a more darker because I'm a little bit sad.
C: Did all of that happen between albums?
Lupe Fiasco: Yeah, it happened towards the end of Food and Liquor, kind of towards the end of the promotion for that, like the whole time we were recording Food and Liquor, we were on trial and you know, going through the motions of court with my partner and my father was in and out the hospital during the whole situation.
C: Do you vent about those specific issues directly on this album?
Lupe Fiasco: Yeah actually I do. I think I probably tell them through the story of "The Cool". As far as the resurrection, you know, it's kind of like a reach that I would love to have my father back or I would love to have my partner out of jail which, hopefully he'll be getting out soon. I wish that process was actually real and could actually take place.
C: When you mention that macabre kind of feel to the album or even to that song in general, a few movies come to mind like "From Hell" or "Jack the Ripper". Do those also tie into those songs or is that the feeling that you're trying to bring to it?
Lupe Fiasco: I think in a certain way. It's a little bit more serious, you know in this approach as opposed to the first album where everything was a bit more playful and I think that comes directly from just the mood that the album is in.
Read the rest @ Complex Magazine
BREAK A LEG - Pacific Division and Friends - Dec 13th
Pacific Division along with the rest of The Great Wall( Basik, Kartwright, Diz Gibran). Also performing that evening Dom Kennedy and The 87 Stick Up Kids.
WE IN THA HOUUUUUSEEEE!!!!!
exactly.
Lupe Fiasco's The Cool Leaked On MTV.com
Finally, the album leaked....and damn.
Congrats to Lupe for dropping one of the illest albums of this year.
Lupe Fiasco's The Cool @ Leaked on MTV.com
Jay-Z Announces New Year's Eve Weekend Concert In Las Vegas
Rapper and business mogul Jay-Z has announced that he will give an exclusive performance of his American Gangster album during New Year's Eve weekend at The Palms Casino in Las Vegas.
On December 29, Jay-Z will perform selections from the critically acclaimed album American Gangster inside The Pearl, one of Las Vegas’ best known concert theaters, which can accommodate up to 2,500 ticket holders.
"The evening is going to be a throw back to 1960’s style Las Vegas," Jay-Z told AllHipHop.com. "This is definitely going to be the place to be for New Year’s weekend."
The performance will highlight a banner year for the current President of Def Jam, who helped the Island Def Jam Music Group earn a total of 29 Grammy nods this year, 26 of them attributed to Def Jam artists.
Tickets to see Jay-Z at The Pearl go on sale Saturday (December 15) at noon.
Prices range from $128.00 - $228.00 dollars.
Fans can purchase tickets at any Ticketmaster location or at The Pearl Box Office.
Doors open at 7:00 PM.
Zack Lee will be there, how about you?
Exactly
Monday, December 10, 2007
Sybil Punking the Cops
if only it were always this easy. but then again, she's the united states king.
Racist Bugs Bunny Cartoon
I used to have this video on tape when I was a about 4. I used to love this shit, but then my mom took it from me and told me it was racist...I didn't even understand what that meant. It's funny how things have different meanings for you the older you get.
Stop Smiling Jay Z Cover & Interview
Jay Z speaks on a bunch of different topics
On Racism In Gangster Movies
SS: Black people love Italian gangster movies, but many of these films are blatant in their racism. One of the very first words Jack Nicholson says in Martin Scorsese’s The Departed is ‘niggers.’ Why are people willing to overlook this?
JZ: There are certain things the audience hooks on to. Yes, the character might be racist, but he’s still against the odds as he struggles against the world. However brief his rein might be, he’s living the good life and that’s what Black kids hone in on. They don’t pay attention to the racism, because racism is everywhere. We’ve learned to look past that.
SS: What about the word using the word ‘nigger’ in rhymes?
JZ: For me, it’s all about the intention. I could call you an ‘apple tree,’ but if I say it with venom and hate, that is what it’s about. It’s not the word that has the power, it’s the person. All of this came about because the Imus discussion turned into a hip-hop discussion.
Imus couldn’t name three rappers; well, maybe he could, but he couldn’t name their songs. Imus doesn’t listen to rap, so he’s not influenced by it. He didn’t get that from us. I missed the point the discussion stopped being about Imus.
ON VIOLENCE IN FILMS
SS: Do you think violent films or songs have an affect on teens?
JZ: The world wants to think that that people are drawn to violence, but when you live in the ghetto you see violence all the time, so that’s not the real excitement. If they want to see violence, all they have to do is go home. A lot of kids have never been out of their own neighborhoods, so they go to see movies where guys have big houses and is traveling around the world.
ON THE DECLINE OF NYC HIP-HOP
SS: Listening to the American Gangster, I kept thinking that this is also a great New York City album. Do you think the city has fallen off in terms of rap music?
JZ: Of course, but it was bound to happen, because we were spoiled. Not only did we own rap music since its inception, we also invented it. But, like anything else if you take it for granted, it will leave you. It will absolutely go to where the freshness is. New York started making robotic records. Down south, rap music is a celebration. They put their heart and soul into it.
ON RAP CENSORSHIP
SS: It doesn’t seem fair that Martin Scorsese or Denzel Washington are considered true artists when they portray gangsters, but if you or one of your contemporaries talks about street life then you’re dealing with Bill O’Reilly, Oparh Winfrey, Stanly Crouch and congressional hearings?
JZ: Of course, there is an imbalance, but I understand where it comes from. In hip-hop, the whole ‘keep it real’ has become more than a phrase. Scorsese and Denzel are not tied to the films they make, so people see the separation between art and life. Unfortunately, they don’t see that separation between Shawn Carter and Jay-Z. As far as they’re concerned, everything I talk about is happening for real. To them, at no point is it entertainment.
Rappers in general THEY ARE the guys telling their story. To me, real is just the basis for a great fantasy. Not everything I say in a song is true. I’ll take a small thing from life and build upon it, and usually it becomes a fantastic story.
SS: The song ‘Ignorant Shit’ touches on this subject. There are more curses and crime in a Tarantino movie, but nobody is dragging him off to a congressional hearing.
JZ: If rappers stop cursing tomorrow, is that going to fix the ghetto or the fact that our schools are fucked-up and the living-conditions are terrible. You can’t tell me not to say nigger or shit, that’s ridiculous to me. Is that really the problem? Are you serious?
Some people don’t understand the things people who live in these urban areas see in one day; and, that’s every single day.
CHECK OUT Stop Smiling Magazine
Pictures With Words: Common - It's Your World
Night blows, stoves don't work.
Hoes at work. A warrior, so I wear 'em on my shirt. Wish I was free as che was, I spend the day buzzed trippin off hypes, wishin for Nikes in different flavors.
The age of Cain and Big Daddy shown by Caddies, Uncles named Larry that really never grabbed me. My mother gave birth, but she really never had me. Left to the hood to play daddy. Raised by niggas named Butch, Boo and Be-Be. With wieght, so they weigh they, status on the streets,license plates that say they motto. This is Chicago in the hay-day. Similar to Good Times, I guess that I was Jay-Jay, a skinny nigga. Young girls with penny figures. So many niggas stacked upon each other. It's the black upon each other that we love so much. Wonder how many of us is drugs gon' touch. Used to gangbang, aint really thug that much. Rather have some thick broads
and a dutch to clutch. Went to school in Baton Rouge for a couple of years,
my college career got down with a couple of beers. Came back home, now I gotta pay back loans. Same niggas, same blocks, same shit they on. Only thing different quicker they click that chrome. In my defense, yo I had to hit that zone. Man to man I'm good workin' with my hands. My generation never understood workin' for the man. And of being broke, I aint a fan now I stand in the same spotas my old man. My life I planned not to be on this corner I still wanna see California, But this is my world.
I wanna be a duck.
Peter, Bjorn, and John - Writers Block
You probably know these guys from their hit song Young Folks. You know...the song with the catchy whistling at the beginning. Still don't know? Damn....ok, what about the joint Kanye rhymed over on his mixtape that had the whistling on it? Ok good....
Peter Bjorn and John were formed in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1999. Made up of members Peter Morn on vocals, guitar, and harmonica; Bjrn Yttling on vocals, bass, vocals, and keyboards; and John Eriksson on drums, percussion, and vocals. I heard a few of their songs in early 2006, and eventually I got a hold of their whole album which came out overseas last year. Writers Block is easily one of my favorite albums, period. It's an album I can listen to from beginning to end, without skipping one song...which is rare nowadays. I HIGHLY suggest that you buy this album!
Memorable Joints - Young Folks, Paris 2004, Up Against The Wall, Roll The Credits, and Poor Cow
VIDEO - Peter Bjorn and John - Young Folks
Will Ferrell & Andre 3000 in Semi-Pro (Trailer)
At least this looks funnier than Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
WTF: Commenting On Comments
Anonymous said...
Food and Liquor is average??Ur an idiot who knows nothing about hiphop,go cop the Massacre or some Southern shit!!Lupe is to intelligent for your ears!!Thats not your fault, I suppose your the kind of person who dosent like anything other than bitches,blunts,40's,guns,ho's, etc.
you're pathetic.
Our Response:
Lupe Fiasco's Food And Liquor isn't an average record, but lets be honest...its definitely not an Illmatic, Black On Both Sides, Bizarre Ride II, Reasonable Doubt, Like Water For Chocolate, The Chronic, Things Fall Apart, Me Against The World, Marshall Mathers LP, Ready To Die, Low End Theory, Blueprint, It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, Aquemeni, Doggystyle, 36 Chambers, etc. We're talking about albums that transcend time periods, albums that stand the test of time and still shine no matter what. As for the "too intelligent" comment,
"Just cause no one can understand what you speak don't necessarily mean that what you be sayin is deep." - Kweli
The purpose of this hip hop music is to connect with the people, now the people might be on some dumb shit, but if you're really representing this hip hop shit, then you are supposed to speak to those that are ignorant and educate. Food and Liquor, although great for rap nerds, backpackers, and white boy college kids (which you probably are)....the album as a whole didn't move as many people as any of the classic records I just mentioned. So please.....go suck Lupe Fiasco's dick on his website (www.lupefiasco.com), this website is for true hip hop enthusiasts that analyze records from all points and perspectives...and if we offended you or your boyfriend, our apologies. But lets be real, on the scale of classic records....that album doesn't have the proper weight to it. I bet you probably don't even listen to it anymore....do you??
Exactly.
- Z. Lee