Can't Tell Me Nothing...

     "This is my life homie, you decide yours….."  is one of the many lyrics on Kanye's single Can't Tell Me Nothing that speak to one of his best street anthems that he's ever released.  This was the lead single for his Graduation album from 2007.  Mr. West co-produced the song with DJ Toomp and is one of all time favorites.  The wonderful metaphor in the chorus can be sung by pretty much anybody as it has as many meanings as listeners…everybody's had that feeling of being told they can't do this or do that or not having the means to achieve their goals and thinking ..you can't tell me nothing…wait until I make it so I can show you, that yeah…..I am the man.  Which of course, is the perfect topic for Kanye, showing and telling the world where he came from to where he is now.  Even the clanging percussion on the song gives off a hardworking, hammering mood.
     Young Jeezy's laugh on the background vocals along with the looping Ooooohoohoho is the icing on the cake on this all time great.  The video isn't one of Ye's most original, but sometimes the video let's the song do the talking.

You Have To Fight For It...

     Those are the words and mentality of Clint "Deuces" Dempsey,  arguably, the best player on the US Men's National Soccer team and team scoring leader for English Premier League's FC Fulham club.  This candid sit down with Clint goes through his emotional mindset when it comes to his literal and figurative journey from Texas to England.  These world class athletes have a desire to push themselves past any limits set by others, distance, or circumstance.  They also are everyday humans just like you and I even though they seem larger than life, especially on two continents.  They have families, kids, and hobbies that they attend to.  Clint seems to be very grounded with his priorities and it has shown on the pitch as he enjoyed his finest season in the Premier League as he set the record for highest goals in a season by an American and also became Fulham's All-Time Goal Scorer.  He was voted top player for 2010-11 by the Fulham fans.  He's been a veteran of two World Cups and will lead the team in this summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup being played in the US.  Enjoy the video from USSoccer.com and here's the link to my previous Dempsey write up.

Yanks Sawks Commercial

     This New Era commercial is pretty awesome.  Real actors do lend something extra to advertising.  Alec Baldwin and John Krasinski do a hilarious job with the Yankees vs Red Sox rivalry.  Enjoy!
Update: I just added the first commercial between these two, which is just as good.

House of Balloons

     It's really refreshing when you hear something new that isn't quite like anything else you've ever heard.   The Weeknd released a 9 song mixtape in March that would be classified as R&B although it transcends that genre in many ways.  The 20 year old Toronto native, Abel Tesfaye, is behind this fantastic blend of modern love and raw emotion called  House of Balloons.  The production creates a landscape by going in different directions but all ending at the same point of delivering a very consistent sound.  This is an album that you hit play and listen to it in it's entirety.  It's worth it, believe me.   The hip-hop, electronic sound invokes Sade, The XX, and Drake, who has been one of The Weeknd's biggest supporters.  Another plus to this is that you can download the album for FREE from his site at http://the-weeknd.com/ or link through Drake's label's site, October's Very Own by clicking on the right hand side.   I'm definitely looking forward to the next release from The Weeknd.  Currently, there are no official video's released even though some fans have done their own versions.
You can download the album from this link as well.
Download The Weeknd - House of Balloons

I'll Be Your Motivation

     I've been listening to the song for the past couple weeks and looked for the video this evening.  I'll be honest and say the song is better than the video…most definitely, but I'll post it for the sake of Kelly Rowland looking fantastic, Weezy laying a spot on verse on a great song.  Disclaimer that I am not feeling all those dudes with no shirts on in the video.  I stay focused on the purple lipstick.  Props to Rico Love for writing another one.

Mr. Robinson

     Major League Baseball has set up a great site where numerous Major Leaguers and Hall of Famers share a moment of what Jackie Robinson means to them.  Today marks the 64th anniversary of when Mr. Robinson broke the color barrier as the first black player in Major League Baseball as a first basemen for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946.  The League retired his number 42 throughout the league in 1997 and have celebrated a Jackie Robinson day, April 15th, every year since 2004.  Each player in the league wears the #42 as their number on their jersey as well in respect.  It is pretty neat to see every player on both teams with the same number.  The public has no choice but to reflect and honor a true pioneer and symbol of strength and freedom in our country and as human beings.
     Go to the site www.iam42.com for the player video's and more great information on Jackie Robinson.

Sith Ink

     This is one of the coolest tatoo's I've ever seen, let alone, a Star Wars tatoo, which earns triple bonus points.  Obviously, she's a follower of the Darkside, with the iconic portraits of the Death Star, Darth Vader, and a Stormtrooper all intertwined with roses on her sleeve.  Love how the Tie Fighter is coming out of the flower as well.  You can follow the canvas of this tattoo on twitter, @PrincessLesha for many, humorous Star Wars related comments.  Kudos to one of the illest tributes.  Simply Awesome, I can hear Darth Vader's asthma from here..