UR Gives Thanks

Yeah, yeah, we're a day late + a dollar short on this whole giving thanks thing, but blame the coquito-induced coma for our tardiness. Anyway, some things that we are giving thanks for this year:

Photo courtesy of MissInfo.TV

Me? I'm thankful for Kanye West's mental health.  Did anyone peep his ode to Earth, Wind + Fire outfit at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade? Pure entertainment.  That man has me laughing for days. ~ pemora

I'm thankful Jay-Z's Decoded was only 18 bucks on Amazon.com, because if it wasn't it would have stayed right there on the shelf. Not to mention in one week I've already run into two cute women (bookworms of the non-chicken variety) also reading it at the same time.
~ IMTHATDUDE

I give thanks for super long remixes with every rapper like on Chris Brown's "Deuces" that make you forget about the original song. ~ JBoogs

I'm thankful for rapper names like Wocka Flocka Flame and Wiz Khalifa.  Wait...how do you spell Wiz Khalifa?
~ Paj1

Holiday Wish List (for the ladies!)...by pemora

When I was little, I thought Santa Claus was a cute old white man but never believed that he was the one actually bringing me presents.  I always knew that my parents were the ones hooking me up, so at a very young age I decided I would help them.  Once the Sunday circulars arrived at our house promoting holiday sales, I would gather them all up and create a master shopping list for my parents.  This included a clear description of every item I wanted, with comparison prices at each of the major stores.  For efficiency, I would also highlight the lowest price for my parents, so that they knew which store to go for the bargain deal.

I was such a thoughtful kid.

This habit still lives strong, as I usually tell my husband the 1 or 2 items that I would really like and even email him several links, so that he knows exactly where to buy it from.  Although this removes the element of surprise, I was never one to be left in the dark, so it is always a success.*

*Note: I do have 1 quick admission...the occasional times when the baby daddy DOES surprise me? Always ends up being the BEST gifts and ones that I never ever would have thought of/asked for/seen myself with.

So, here is a little holiday wish list.  For all of you, not me.  I am trying to do this "giving" thing.  But if you buy me one of these items, I would not complain.

Get Your Read On....by pemora

Note: this is not a book review. I have not read either book and I am still debating whether or not I will.  I DO know, however, that I am purchasing the anthology for the baby daddy for Christmas.  And I can say that on this public forum because, as supportive as he is, the baby daddy NEVER reads UR.  Which says a lot about our relationship.  But, alas, I won't go there.

Recently, Dough put me on to this New York Magazine article by Sam Anderson.  Trust me, you need to stop reading UR right now, click on the link and then come back to us.  It will be worth the minute it will take you to read the whole article.

Back?  Okay, I found that article to be quite nauseating (seriously, son, you have never heard of a 2pac song?) and even the idea of two professors compiling lyrics for the anthology has me a bit skeeved.  Let me try to explain -- like the good Dominican mother that I am, I am overprotective of the genre of hip hop.  I quite often feel that it is 'ours' not 'theirs' (lately, my definition of those two words has come to mean a generational difference) and I fight with people over the commercialization of the music.  Of course, I also like me some Weezy, so I am a case in contradictions.  But this is why I can never fully explain my defensive nature when it comes to hip hop.

I am intrigued by the idea of this anthology and wonder what some of my favorite songs look like on paper.  And while I am annoyed that Sam Anderson asked the ultimate hip hop question (who is the best lyricist of all-time), I thoroughly enjoy thinking about it. 

So, will you purchase the book?  What do you think of this anthology?

By the way, while looking this up on Amazon, I came across Jay-Z's Decoded.  After eagerly awaiting its release when I was teaching a course on 90's hip hop last year (see? Contradictions again), I completely forgot that it was dropping this month.  Given that I consider Jay-Z to be one of the best of the best, I might have to purchase this one for myself.

Some background -- the original concept of the book was to explain and give context to his lyrics.  It looks like they have expanded on the idea a little, with Jay-Z also adding some social commentary.

In all, it looks like I am purchasing both books this winter.  What about you?  Any interest in either book?