I must say I’m partial to Susan Boyle’s first performance of “I Dreamed A Dream” from Les Misérables because it is my all-time favorite musical, but her rendition of “Memory” from the musical Cats is nothing to shrug off.
Here she is giving her semi-finals performance.
“To me, the Mississippi Delta is the biggest museum of American history in the world. A cultural melting pot, the Delta seems to be its own nation covering years of history and so many different ethnicities. There’s so much to see in all of the small communities that make up the Mississippi Delta, two months hasn’t been long enough to take it all in. The contrast between life in the Delta and life in a big city is drastic. Time moves slower, you feel the heat here more then you feel it anywhere else in the country, and the mosquitoes are at times unbearable. All the more reason to come back. The differences are great and abundant but there is no other place I would have chose to spend my summer. I’ll never forget my time here. It wasn’t just the sweet tea, the catfish, the hot tamales, and the fried chicken. It was the people I met, the stories I heard, the places I went, and the things I learned. All of these things will continue to be my motivation to return to the most southern place on earth.”
-Kristin Hill (2006)
There is no place in the world like the Mississippi Delta. If you’ve never been, you don’t know what I’m talking about. If you’ve never been, then go. It will change you forever. I went back for the first time since the summer of 2006 and it was like coming full circle. Things had changed and they had stayed the same. Unfortunately, there was one particularly unwelcomed change.
Dr. Luther Brown, executive director of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning told us that the center was in danger of closing. Delta State University has fired all of his staff (including the amazing Lee Aylward) and somehow expects him to run the center on his own. Dr. Brown is struggling to pay Lee and the few other staff members, but those funds are going to run out sooner or later. basically told us that
A few of us have concocted an idea for a big benefit concert headlined by my great uncle Bobby Rush at UNC in the fall. We think we can raise over $10,000 and we hope we’ll send a loud message to Delta State that expresses how much we care about the center. Stay tuned for progress…
Y’all may have been on these cats already, but I’m just starting to get into them. The Noisettes (a.k.a. NOISEttes) are a British rock band from the UK but their lead singer has a lot of soul. Shingai Shoniwa can sing with the best of ‘em and she’s the band’s ever-so-talented bassist. The girl is bad.
They’ve released two albums to date, What’s the Time Mr. Wolf and Wild Young Hearts.
There’s talk that this group is on the verge of a Ting Tings-like breakthrough after perfectly timing the release of their spring-friendly sophomore effort. Check ‘em out, they’ll be coming to a city near you.
Man Arrested In Connection With Shooting Rapper – Hip-Hop Media Training
This is a real shame. I’m glad that someone has been arrested for this. Another young life cut short. Many have reported that the beef between Dolla and his killer was about a girl.
So I don’t actually watch Dancing with the Stars regularly. Some of the silly antics in the early rounds are just not worth tuning in. It does get pretty good towards the finals though. My mother watched the show incessantly the year Emmitt Smith won. She called and made me vote. This year she didn’t watch it as obsessively, but she did have her hat in for olympian Shawn Johnson.
I sat down to watch the first night of the semi-finals with the Allins and Sarah and was pleasantly surprised to find out that the final three couples would be performing a freestyle routine as opposed to traditional ballroom. Of the three couples, Shawn and her partner were the underdogs. That soon changed following their stellar performance that garnered the only perfect score of 30. Talk about the focus of an gold medal winning gymnast…she went for gold with that performance.
The second part of the finale tonight was just a good as the first concerning her performance. She and her partner entered the evening tied based on the judges’ scores. She gave another killer performance and sealed the deal with the win!
This cool little notebook was one just a paperback Moleskine that came in a pack of 3. Leave it to my buddy Gabriella to add her own personal flavor to it. This was her parting gift to me a couple days before graduation. Who does that anymore?! Not to mention this took her all of 10 minutes. Unbelievable. She does crafty little things like this all the time and just gives them away. She’ll be moving to NYC to work for a small play publishing company that is paying her just enough to toe the poetry line. Look at this “little” gift…can you say side hustle?! People would kill for this authentic stuff that isn’t mass produced and shipped out worldwide. I’m going to incorporate that girl if it’s the last thing I do!
Music Review – Cam’ron – Back in Living Color at the Highline, a Rapper With a History Takes the Stage
Interesting review from NYT. Cam’rom is finally back after a 3-year hiatus and his ties with his former crew remain unprepared. His new crew appears to be real shabby. Sounds like this wasn’t the greatest come back performance, but the album streets next week. Maybe it will be better.
Sean Paul – “So Fine”
Yep, after a long hiatus, Sean Paul is making a come back. Check out his first single from Atlantic Records, “So Fine.” Got a bit more hip-hop feel going this time around.
I have no plans to reference the title of this post, just wanted to wish y’all a happy one.
I’m wondering how Michael Jackson’s date from the epic ‘Thriller’ video just realized that she never received her royalties from appearing in the video. Wasn’t that like 20 years ago? You’re just noticing that you didn’t get paid? And now Ola Ray wants to sue?! C’mon lady, just say you’re broke.
Y’all remember Yeah-Yeah from ‘The Sandlot?’ Looks like he’s going to be placing some jailtime. TMZ says he hit his girlfriend in “self defense” while driving them home from a night club. Sounds real Chrianna-ish to me…stay tuned.
I don’t know what’s going on here with Jay-Z and Diddy getting all buddy all of a sudden. Something’s brewing in NYC. Watch out y’all! P.S. – Why has Jay-Z been refusing to cut his hair since like..the Grammys?
Check out the first African-American Playmate of the Year. All I can say is…Obama ‘08!
I can’t say I wasn’t surprised to find out that Dennis Rodman is actually still alive. I thought he might have left us. Apparently he’s still headed down that road and might be trying to slow the trip down with some rehab along the way.
Drake is the man. If you’re not on him yet, catch up, and get on him. Check the footage: http://bit.ly/16D4KZ
Eminem is doing all that he can to make this comeback the epitome of epic. This man is tweeting his album art, releasing 20-track song lists, and publishing a comic book starring himself. I see you Em, welcome back.
While listening to a mix with iTunes DJ, R. Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet” came up. The first 4 “episodes” played and I got to think just how epic this story was. We know R. Kelly is crazy as all hell and that’s cool…but the “Trapped in the Closet” project really was a work of art.
He had people captivated with the videos. I was one of the millions that was anxious to see the next video and find out what happened. But the thing that really gets me is that these episodes got radio airplay…and a lot of it! It was like back in the day when radio was all there was and families used to gather around and listen together.
He may like to pee on little girls, but R. Kelly has done some amazing things for the music. I hate to admit it, but he has!
