BIGGEST weekend of the fall

If you live in the Triangle/Triad, you don't need me to tell you that this is going to be the biggest weekend of the fall.

NC A&T and Winston Salem St. open their football seasons facing each other in Greensboro, as Winston Salem St. is now a member of the MEAC.

UNC opens its football season against Rutgers at home.

NC State faces defending D-II national champion, Appalachian State in Raleigh.

Duke (I know) plays Richmond in their home opener.

St. Aug's goes up against Laine to begin it's home schedule.

NC Central is at home against Shaw in the second annual "Labor Day Classic" on Sunday.

Now, that we have sorted out all of the games in the area... the events.

THURSDAY
Greensboro
Thursday Night Countdown, hosted by SQ Prod. and 2Fold Ent
10 PM
The Greensboro Ballroom off Wendover

Mardi Gras, hosted by NxLevel
10 PM
Renaissance Jazz Cafe on Greene St.

Durham
Varsity Thursdays
10 PM
Varsity Ale House off of Chapel Hill Blvd.

Chapel Hill
ICEd Out, hosted by Paul and Gabe
10 PM
6123 Farrington Road Apt. F-10

FRIDAY
Greensboro
Stomp On The Yard Stepshow, hosted by Farnsworth Bentley
7 PM
Greensboro Coliseum

SATURDAY
Greensboro

The Aggie-Ram College Football Game Afterparty, hosted by Pretty Boy Produktions
10 PM
Gabriel's at 4312 Big Tree Way

Durham

Labor Day Classic Stepoff & Predawn, hosted by K97.5's Young Knuckles
Stepshow beings at 6 PM, Party begins at 11 PM til 3 AM
McLendon-McDougald Gym, L.T. Walker Complex

More info coming soon...

First Saturday

Albany State @ NCCU
And it begins... Being a member of the NCCU Marching Sound Machine, let me tell you that tonight's halftime show will be somethin serious, and I'll leave it at that.

What's good with Central? In the past five years, Central's population has increased by 53%, is 70% female, and is developing at a crazy rate. Just check out the new residence halls lining Fayetteville Street or the planned two story cafeteria to be finished in the next few years. All of the sudden Central is the place to be and for those who grew up in Durham (as I did) today's NCCU is one we don't even recognize. The band is big, the football team is raw, the Greeks are deep, the parties are crazy and although A&T is bigger, Central is definitely on the come up.

Tonight there are a few parties y'all might be interested in...

Durham
Senior's Party & Ballas Bash, hosted by So Seductive Ent. w/ Ray Felton, Sean May, Jawad Williams and David Noel
10:00 PM
Varsity Ale House on Chapel Hill Blvd.

Greensboro
Backyard Band & Wale, hosted by Di Stingktiv Phenomes
10:00 PM
Dynacon Event Center on 2100 E. Wendover Ave

Lupe Fiasco - Daydream video feat. Jill Scott

Thank you Honorable Media. You did it again.

Lupe is already on the roster of G.O.O.D. Music... I think it's just a matter of time before he joins the "Grammy Family" too.

Oh, and I am now officially a Lupe fan. I always been feelin him, but I was just a lil unsure if he could shake that, "I'm with Kanye" tag. This track is rediculous. The strings on the production... "had the hood on me like Abu-Ghraib"... wow.

Lil Wayne at his best

Easy - Paula DeAnda feat. Lil Wayne

powered by ODEO

This new track featuring the best rapper in the game today (yes, I said it) is blazin. Being a "Wayne Head" I don't normally find much I dislike in his flow/rhymes, however, I appreciate Lil Wayne stepping outside the box in his latest musical efforts. Hollywood Divorce is a track I've had for a while now, and will be on Outkast's Idlewild yet I figured I would post it with this track, just to display the versatility of this man. You go from Easy, a pop production with a sick flow, to a funky, groove track like Hollywood Divorce. In the Outkast record he raps about the materialism of hip hop, which he admits to helping create, a far cry from his Tha Block Is Hot days with the Hot Boys. Amazing how we, his listeners, have been able to witness the maturation of this MC in his 15 years in the game. Hard to believe he is only 24...

Hollywood Divorce - Outkast feat. Lil Wayne & Snoop Dogg

powered by ODEO

First week

After a short absence... we back. It's been a steamy week, and school has started or is about to start for all schools in the area. But no worries, there is plenty this weekend to keep you occupied. Look out for the following:

Saturday:
Winston Salem
THE S.H.Y.T., hosted by Deucefold Entertainment
10:00 PM
X-Clusive Millenium Center on 5th Street

Durham
Pool Party, hosted by NCCU Drumline
10:00 PM
Verge Apartments on Old Chapel Hill Road

Sunday:
Durham
T-Hes' Birthday BBQ, hosted by S.P. and Ant Robinson
2:00 PM
ZAFA Temple on S. Alston Avenue

Go-Go royalty coming to NC

So I've been in Washington DC all summer, and though I listened to and actually liked some go-go music before I got here, I never realized how serious this music was to the people of the DC metro area. My freshman year, the Backyard Band performed at Metrosport in Durham, so it's not rare for these bands to come down to NC, and if you are open minded and want to have a good time, you've got to check out a go-go concert.

Dig Dug - Wale

powered by ODEO

1 Thing About A Playa - Wale

powered by ODEO

We were up in Platinum club on my first Sunday up here when I heard these two tracks, both by an artist named Wale (pronounced: Wah - lay). I'd never heard of this dude, but the ENTIRE club went crazy and knew every single word to these tracks. I swear they were in some sort of trance jammin to these songs, and you can't help but feed off some of that energy when it's hype like that. When Wale actually performed live at Platinum later in the summer, the place was packed and the line around the corner.

A few weeks ago, I got word from my boy Chris at NC A&T, that both the Backyard Band and Wale will be in Greensboro performing at the Dynacon Event Center on 2100 E. Wendover Ave on August 26. Backyard are DC legends (check Thug Passion) so you definitely won't be disappointed, but you got to check this joint out if you looking to groove to some Chocolate City flavor. Check the flyer above for the details and let me know in the comments how you feel about Wale.

Oh yeah. Big props to the folks over at Honorable Media. They definitely ahead of the game, and even let ya boy offer some words on the latest Diddy track. Check em out.

Legend returns

Save Room - John Legend

powered by ODEO

The Legend is back. John Legend played UNC's homecoming in the fall of 2004, around the same time his first single, Used To Love U was dropping. At the time, he told us we were the largest crowd (about 500) he had ever played for on his own, as a solo act.

Fast forward two years -- Legend is hailed as the heir to Stevie Wonder, with one classic album, Get Lifted, already under his belt. Instead of small homecoming crowds, his recent performances include Super Bowl XL (with Wonder), the 2006 NBA All-Star game, and the 2006 MLB All-Star Game. And still, his first single off of his sophomore effort displays yet another side of his musical identity.

Save Room is good, no doubt, but it is different. His voice is somewhat mellow and a little raspy, but his abilities are still on display. The track itself has a blues feel, instead of R&B, but it works. Check it for yourself, and leave some comments on your thoughts.

Welcome back

Classes resume:
UNC-Greensboro: August 14
St. Aug's: August 16
Shaw: August 17
NC A&T: August 21
NC Central: August 21
NC State: August 23
UNC-Chapel Hill: August 23
Duke: August 28

Seeing as how the two largest schools in the area start back on the 23rd, I'm sure we can expect to see some fireworks the weekends before and after that Wednesday. Also, don't forget that the Labor Day Classic between NC Central and Shaw (A&T who?) is on September 3rd and as always, brings with it a battle of the bands, step shows and numerous parties across the Durham-Raleigh area.

Phonte delivers fire

Phonte as NC Central student
Backstage Girl - DJ Shadow feat. Phonte (of Little Brother)

powered by ODEO
CREDIT:Honorable Media

Jay-Z did it with Lenny Kravitz... twice. Lil Wayne did it with Robin Thicke more recently with Shooter and now Phonte, of underground king Little Brother, has his own flow over an electric guitar filled track. Phonte has established himself as the best rapper America doesn't know about (thank you BET) and this record documenting groupie love of "insignificant others" simply reinforces his position. DJ Shadow took a break from the Cali hyphy movement on this one, and the end result is simply masterful.

"She approached me with a smirk, that said we can do work, no matter what time of day of the week it is. / So thorough that backstage girl, she'll fall to her knees just to pray on your weaknesses."

Summer's end

So you gettin calls, texts, emails and messages on facebook from people you ain't thought about since May... must be time to head back to school. I always appreciate the people who ask me how my summer was, assuming I can sum it all up in a short discussion.

The first day back will always be eventful. We try to act like so much has changed since high school, when cats used to know a week in advance what they were going to wear on that first day back. College is no different. You know you're going to look clean and try to impress with something you picked up over the summer. Whether that be some fake D&G shades you picked up in DC or a BAPE shirt you spent your entire summer's savings on... you are probably going to rock it, and rock it hard. Then when you back in class and realize these clothes ain't doing a thing for your professor, you wonder if it was all worth it. "We all self conscious, I'm just the first to admit it." (c) Kanye