Read This

Joan Morgan is awesome. Many years ago, I bought this book simply because I knew Morgan's byline and well, because I figured I would relate. What I found between the pages of Joan Morgan's When Chickenheads Come Home To Roost: A Hip Hop Feminist Breaks It Down was sheer brilliance.

Sure, there were some aspects I could relate to like the conflict between being a black woman and down for the cause at it were but still cherishing a culture that in some aspects, doesn't seem to see women as human at all. But there was also a lot that I learned about other people's perspectives, about the very real role that love plays in bad decision-making and obviously, about American hip hop. Through personal anecdotes (she's truthful about flaws and really funny) and statistical research, Morgan - whom you may have also seen in the My Mic Sounds Nice documentary about women in hip hop - really does break it down. I guess Amazon's synopsis can give you a better idea:

In this fresh, funky, and ferociously honest book, award-winning journalist Joan Morgan bravely probes the complex issues facing African-American women in today's world: a world where feminists often have not-so-clandestine affairs with the most sexist of men; where women who treasure their independence often prefer men who pick up the tab; and where the deluge of babymothers and babyfathers reminds black women who long for marriage that traditional nuclear families are a reality for less than 40 percent of the African-American population.

Read this!

Far From Ordinary

You be the judge.

When Dude hit me up this morning to ask me if I'd heard the 3rd installment of Joe Budden's Ordinary Love Shit, I wasn't quite sure what the big deal was. Just Joey being Joey (read super emo), right? But when someone preempts his leak with this tweet:

"Serious question 4 Budden fans... #OLS3 is comprised of nothing but my real life pain & agony, knowing that, do u REALLY wanna hear this?" - @joebudden

Then you have to at least give it a listen. And with that, for once, The Ordinary Girl - a certified president of Team Tahiry in my mind - is not judging Joey. His relationship with model, Esther Baxter sounds emotionally taxing so his ultra-EMO-ness is justified on this one. This is the final song in his series.



I know what you're thinking: he used Frank Ocean's Novacane instrumental? Why yes. We told you Frank is that dude. If you missed the first and second Ordinary Love Shit joints from Joe Budden then you can find them on Rap Radar here and here. And, lastly, you can download Ordinary Love Shit 3 HERE.

Team Tahiry PSA

We think it's in the public's interest to know that Joe Budden made a huuuuge mistake treating Tahiry like garbage. Let's reflect on the good times, shall we?



Where's Joe Budden TV today? Something tells us Tahiry doesn't care to know

More On The Hip Hop Girlfriend*

Yesterday these photos of Kanye West and Amber Rose, shot by fashion photographer Terry Richardson, hit the internet. And you know theblagg has plenty of love for ARose and 'Ye - even if there are rumours that Robocop might be smashing Kim Kardashians ex, Reggie Bush. So Dude and The Ordinary Girl had to say something. Hey, the 9 to 5s were getting to us. Here it is:

Dude: She was a good match for Kanye. She is his Tahiry.
The Ordinary Girl: Why do you say that?
Dude: I say that because now all the girls after Amber are gonna wanna act like her. They will wanna be in his pictures and wanna get modelling jobs like she did. Just like what Tahiry and Joey had.



The Ordinary Girl: And you think that's wrong? Aren't they entitled to do that if Amber could do it?
Dude: You see we will never know if she intended to do all that but the next girl coming into a relationship might want to come with ulterior motives. And then she'll be nothing but a user. You don't think that?
The Ordinary Girl: You know I love Amber but I don't think she was looking to be Kanye's beard. The fact that she is so different says all that. See the problem with the likes of Somaya is that they have nothing to offer. They aren't Somaya first before So-and-So's-Sidepiece. I think Kanye is in for a tough time because instead of Amber coming out with a "tell-all" book or whatever she actually sang Ye's praises. Acknowledged that she wouldn't be where she is today without him. Where else is he gonna find that?



Dude: Word up yo. He needs to get back to her.
The Ordinary Girl: I wouldn't say that though.. Do you mean he must go back because he might not find another person to make him happy? Not that he is unhappy right now but still... what are your reasons?
Dude: Okay, I admit he doesn't need to go back to her but I like them together.

Let's just hope ARose doesn't pull a Somaya Reece and go on radio talking about her ex's skills...



*still the American edition, of course.

AKeys Makes Us Giddy

Ok, maybe it's just The Ordinary Girl who is obsessed over Superwoman and Swizzy's new baby mama, Alicia Keys. How dope was her 2010 FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Concert set? The best by far. Yes, even that last 5 seconds of her collab with Blk Jks on Brenda Fassie's Too Late For Mama that we got to peep. Thanks a lot SABC.

Before you start giving us the side-eye. We know Tumi was wack. We don't know why he got his collabo on with Shakira - who knew one was allowed to dry hump a monitor on stage? We don't know why he was dressed like a reject from Mashamplani. We don't know why he sounded more Pras than Wyclef and we don't know what's going to happen now that the Americans and Colombians have left. So many questions, not enough answers. Let's just hope a rap version of Waka Waka, featuring T From The V doesn't surface.

If we had that Karen Civil kinda money we'd spend our 9 - 5 time unpacking why we're not too thrilled about Tumi's stage antics. But we don't. So you'll have to settle for us being a day late and a Rand short if you want the full breakdown. In the meantime, smile at the mommy:


PS: Get at The Ordinary Girl if you know where (and more importantly, how much) the soon-to-be Mrs Beatz's top can be bought.

UPDATED TO SAY: WE'VE GOT VIDEO!!!! Giddynessoverload!

Embedding was disabled for the real high quality stuff. Sorry.

The Need

Girls are needy. Hip hop is worse. And sometimes the music has the girl as head cheerleader. But mostly, they refuse to co-exist. It seems when it comes down to it, you can find another Tahiry (or better depending on what team you're on) anywhere. He doesn't need that. He needs the music more than he needs a Mrs. Always. Another slice of a day in the life of a rapper.

hi-tek - all i need is you by theblagg

"Come see you at night and in the morning you're alone."

"Imma Master The Unhook... Again"

I just have a way of weaving J.Cole's name into every conversation. I'm on my stan-game proper. Don't hate. So earlier today I was bumping Light Skinned Jermaine's Lights Please (Dude's favourite joint off the The Warm Up Mixtape) and these lines really stuck out for me:

"So I tried to show her/About the world and about just who we really are/And where we’ve come and how we still have to go really far/Like baby look at how we live broke on the boulevard/But all she ever want me to do is unhook her bra/Then all I really want is for her to go down low/Before you know it, she wet enough to get drowned slow/And all that deep shit I was previously down for/Replaced by freak shit I am currently down for."

And so I lamented that this was "a sad case of affairs" that led to this brief discussion:

Dude: Why "sad case of affairs"?
The Ordinary Girl: Because he's trying to school her and tell her who they were as a people and why they have much further to go and she's not trying to hear that. Not tryna stretch her mind. She's good to go if you master how to unhook.
It's sad because I don't think the girl he describes is stooooopid. I think there is no confidence in herself or in her people. She deals with the here and now. Don't tell her about the future or what she can become, all she has is what she is. Now. And while he knows better, what can he do. For real, what can he do because he is human and he needs the pleasure? Say no? GTFOH!
Dude: Imma master the unhook....again. Just playing.
The Ordinary Girl: You don't agree?
Dude: I agree. But he is to blame too. She is human too, why would she say no to pleasure. I agree with you. I am just stating that she is not alone in that he is also on some here and now tip.

So... sad case of affairs we're all in - yes? And J. Cole puts the mirror right in front of all young Black people. Well ok. The live version is dope too:


- T.O.G