Skillz is For Real

The latest single and video from Richmond, Va.'s Skillz. Don't leave your girl around him.

Bush Frees John Forté

President George Bush has given progressives and his critics a lot to complain about the final days of his presidency. While his last minute laws regarding abortion, drilling in national parks and "clean air," aren't unexpected considering his policial leandings, the president made a move today that few could have anticipated, he commuted the sentence of Fugees affiliate John Forté.

Forté was nabbed at in a Newark airport in 2000, when two women, caught with liquid cocaine, named him as their contact. The producer and rapper has always maintained his innocence and refused to accept a plea deal. Despite help from friends in high places like Carly Simon, he was sentenced under mandatory minimum drug sentence laws to 14 years in federal prison in 2001.

The rapper concedes he made a mistake that day, but he and his legal team argue that his sentence was unjust. George W. Bush appears to have agreed with them. Forté was among 16 people who were pardoned or had their prison sentence commuted. Besides being convicted the Bush's home state of Texas, its unclear why this case caught W's attention. Perhaps he's caught the holiday spirit and this is just the beginning. Remy Ma home for Christmas? We'll have to wait and see.

MC Breed, dead at 36

Midwest rapper MC Breed died yesterday. He was admitted to the hospital in September for kidney failure after he collapsed during a pick-up basketball game. He released more than 10 albums was known for his songs "Ain’t No Future in Yo’ Frontin’” and ”I Gotta Get Mine." The latter song featured Tupac and follows below.

More ..."Ain't No Future ..."

The Subject was Dwele

As rap music became boring and homogenized, Wavelength, the failed hip-hop video show that inspires this blog, began to incorporate R&B music into the playlist. Not just any urban music, however. Most of the singers that made it onto our show (AmelLarrieux , Anthony Hamilton, D'Angelo) would've been categorized as "neo-soul" back then.

Dwele gave us a few minutes after his soundcheck at the now defunct nightclub Bojangles in Richmond, Va., back in 2003. The Detroit native, now on his third album, talks about his music, his new video and reveals that was once ... a rapper.

BTW, I'm coming up on my 100th post and I've got something special planned. Stay tuned.

It's a New One

Will.I.Am might be in line for a cabinet post considering all the work he's done for the Obama campaign. Though this doesn't come close to his first effort, its much better than his sappy second video and a fitting end to the trilogy of propaganda films. Listening to this make me wonder what happened to Cody ChesnuTT?

Yes, we did.