Nicole be Thinking...

If you know me, you know how much I love Etta James. To spend the whole day listening to her music doesn't seem like enough of a tribute because I do that so often, but I will anyway. She'll be missed. R.I.P. Jamesetta Hawkins 1938-2012

I did this last year and I liked it so I decided to do one for this year. The list is based on how much I play the whole album. It doesn't have much to do with sales, critical reception, or quality. The list isn't ranked, and it isn't up for debate. Just for fun, my favorite albums this year. =] 21 Adele (January) From the moment I first played "Rolling in the Deep" (for Aries Rapper/Designer, ironically) I knew I would love this album. Said to be inspired by " a deep well of Americana, music from Nashville," 21 is the sequel to Adele's soulful, stellar debut, 19. I truly have played this album the entire year. It opens perfectly with "Rolling in the Deep," goes into a full-circle story about cheating and revenge in "Rumour Has It," and on full force to "Turning Tables." Adele perfectly mixes her strength with her vulnerabilities in "Don't You Remember," "Take It All," and "One and Only...

I've never been really into my iTunes play count. I'm always listening to music but I don't finish a lot of songs. I have a touch of ADD... But I decided to see what I like the most according to iTunes. The result was surprisingly accurate has become one of my favorite playlists so I decided to share. Find these songs. Put them together. And enjoy. =] Bet You Want Me (Now) - Dom Kennedy, Original Dom Kennedy Designer Shit - Dom, OGDK Daydreams - Adele, 19 Best for Last - Adele, 19 Turn Me Out - Dom, OGDK Bodies - Cee-lo, The Lady Killer Why Don't You Love Me - Beyonce, I am... Sasha Fierce CDC - Dom ft. Casey Veggies & Carter, OGDK Nigga 4 Life - Dom, OGDK He Won't Go - Adele, 21 Self! - Deep Cotton Crazy for You - Adele, 19 Fool for You - Cee-lo ft. Philip Bailey, The Lady Killer Chasing Pavements - Adele, 19 Right as Rain - Adele, 19 Rolling in the Deep - Adele, 21 Fuck You! - Cee-lo, The Lady Killer Playas Punch - Dom, OGDK Do Ya Like - Ch...

So... Tia sings with the Williams College Ephlats . I wanted to share her solos and the easiest way to do that is through Nicole be Thinking. Take a break, enjoy. "Best Thing I Never Had" "Grenade" "Wild Young Hearts" I left out the ones where she shares a solo. Ion't care bout nobody else's kids, just mines! =]

I thought the best money I could ever spend would be when I got my KitchenAid, Dyson, and Sleep Number bed, but that DOM and this is making me think that I spent the best $15 I'll ever spend on music this week. GET IT .

Back when I realized that I couldn't call myself a Beyonce fan anymore, I got all nervous that somehow I was losing apart of myself (or some crazy quarter-life crisis bull) and I decided to immerse myself in Beyonce to find out what happened (similar to the way I tried to understand Kat Stacks …) I discovered some things in the process. For one… Her diehard fans are ridiculous. They can't see her objectively at all. They don't listen to music; they listen to HER music, and that seems to snatch their ability to think analytically. They believe her lyrics, print them out, bind them, and regard them as holy. It's hard to read reviews written by these fans because they call her "ahead of her time" right before they compare her to some old artist. They post "BEYONCE IS THE GREATEST, BITCH," on threads about the wackest songs for no reason and with no supporting evidence. At numerous points in this process I tried to use logic on this group thinking...

Get it. Now .

A while ago I realized that maybe I had outgrown Beyonce's music. And I know… That's not a big deal. But as a loyal Destiny's Child fan, the thought of not supporting "one of my own" is worrisome. (And, yes, I was looking for that Anjel release, and I support Kelly and Letoya in their solo endeavors. No comment on Michelle.)  So imagine my horror when Beyonce released some wack singles. After the third one, I was willing to admit to myself that I'm no longer a fan. I was prepared to ignore 4 the same way I had ignored I Am… That is… until a tracklist surfaced and I saw an Andre 3000 feature… (and y'all know how I feel about 3 Stacks…) Officially, 4 doesn't come out in the United States until tomorrow, but here are the thoughts of someone who's been unofficially listening to it for too long... "1 + 1" - I'm not feeling this ballad that much. I missed the "American Idol" performance , but I saw the rehearsal f...

So... some time last week I tweeted: No... I have not lost my mind. I was reading random things about her new album and it occurred to me that I am not looking forward to it. Like... No plans to listen... no download plans... Her single, "Run the World (Girls)," is hella wack. I felt a little ashamed that I had fallen off the bandwagon somewhere. I mean... I AM a Beyonce fan. I grew up on Destiny's Child. (Shoot... if girls today had some kind of Destiny's Child, they'd be more productive and confident.) I defended Beyonce's horrible acting in Goldmember . I purchased Dream Girls  (even though I haven't watched it since theaters...) But though I continue to defend her against haters and dick riders alike, I never actually listened to I Am...Sasha Fierce.  Ever. I didn't even try to. I mocked her performance in Obsessed  and absolutely refuse to watch her in Cadillac Records . (I do not care what you say. I draw the line at Etta.) How can I really c...

Generally speaking, I don't think it's fair to impose one's superlatives on another. My "Best of..." or "Most..." lists are usually humorous, personal, or not ranked. Music is subjective so it's even harder to give an honest assessment about something everybody loves, especially when your opinion is negative. This becomes even more  difficult when you appreciate everyone's hustle. Honest to goodness, I do not listen to Soulja Boy, but I believe there's a place in music for him. *shrug* Sue me. So... Now that my little disclaimer is out of the way, let's talk about House of Balloons . This is The Weeknd 's debut EP and it generated a huge buzz when it was released this March. I resist buzz, but I try to give everything a chance. Good stuff grabs me immediately. If I can rock to it sitting down, I love it. If not, I take it to the car. If I can ride to it, I love it. If I still need to convince myself, I'll listen to it while I...

I'm a little late to the KING party, but I never want to leave… They are a soulful trio out of Los Angeles who write, produce, and promote their own material. The Story is their debut offering. I don't like to use "perfect" to describe anything, but… this is. "The Story:" I find myself humming this at random times. It's calming, soothing, reaffirming, and true. "Supernatural:" The first time I heard the song I smiled and then the horns kicked in. My eyes closed. I went there . "Hey:" I can't stop playing this song. I have no words for it either. "Beautiful" isn't enough. It's the best $3 anyone could possibly spend these days… This EP is only three songs, but it's perfect. I can't wait to hear more from them. They've given me everything I didn't even know I was waiting for. Read their story , and buy their EP . You will not be disappointed.

I have to review this because I love the Clipse. I was a little nervous about it because I’m always weary when a part of a unit goes out on his or her own. But I didn't think it would be terrible... Let's see how it went... Intro : Just a plain Scarface clip. Not too impressive. My God (prod. Hitboy): The beat builds too slowly and it's not as aggressive as I want it to be. I Still Wanna (prod. Inkredibles): I feel like I've heard this song before. It has the same Lex Lugar tings that I'm not fond of. Money on My Mind Freestyle : I don't really have a comment on it. I just don't like it. I skip it too soon. Feeling Myself (feat. Kevin Cossum, prod. the Bizness): There's nothing particularly wrong with this. It's cool. But if I'm going to be feeling myself… I kinda want to do it to Mac Dre. Blow/Funk Flex Freestyle (prod. Unknown): I guess it's cool. It sounds like the rest of them at this point. I think it's interesting ...

I don't really have a Nate Dogg story. He was just embedded in my childhood, one of those people who isn't supposed to die before me. I'm still in denial. =[ Following are a few of my favorite Nate Dogg features... I probably won't admit that he's gone after this...

I LOVE this song... Like... it makes the favorite of all time list... That real, that deep, that burning, that amazing unconditional, inseparable love That feel like forever, that always emotional but still exceptional love Can’t nobody tell me nothing it is what it is And any mistake you make I, I just may forgive Right now, right now at this very moment I still love her like I loved her then I love her in and out and up and down and round and round and over and over again So rare they swear that you just don’t exist And It’s only one person I can think of that makes me feel like this And I’m a fool, such a fool for you! That deep, that sweet, that something That wet that fire, that powerful stuff That up and that down, that front and that back, baby I can’t seem to get enough Ooo Baby let me do it, let me do it ’til I’m satisfied Baby now please baby I ain’t got no more pride Sweet sugar I surrender, I don’t want no other woman. Baby you win And you ain’t never got to worry, ever got...

I love music. (In case you didn't know…) This year has been... ok for music for the most part. I have this playlist called "ShitIUsuallyWantToHear" and it is just what it says… Following are the 5 albums that are always on that playlist: New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) Erykah Badu (March) When this album came out, I remember realizing that Erykah Badu (whose first album came out when I was a 5th grader) has been the voice of my romantic reason and growth my entire adult life. This album is the first one that was appropriate as soon as it was released (as opposed to me buying it because it sounds good and pulling it out 10 years later after a break up). She is a master at the mini epic. "20 Feet Tall" is simple yet profound. "Agitation" is beautifully calming. "Fall in Love" is my anthem. I'm convinced that "Out my Mind, Just in Time" was written with me in mind. The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III) Janelle Monae (Ma...

If you're anything like me you downloaded each G.O.O.D. Friday track as soon as it was released, you watched Runaway when it premiered (and a few times after), and you've been eagerly awaiting My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy . This is probably Kanye's best reviewed album. Despite the ire his public persona brings, Kanye has managed to deliver an album that makes it "safe" to like him again. Critics are saying MBDTF is a "classic," a "masterpiece." Fans that jumped ship with 808s and Heartbreak are saying, "He's back." Hmmm… Let's take a look at the album. Dark Fantasy Kanye's life is all models and fashion now, and he is drastically different from the producer with the backpack we met in 2003, but on "Dark Fantasy" he shows that he hasn't forgotten about that kid. He reminds us he's always wanted this -- whatever this is. Part of the beauty in every Kanye album is that he's talking about whe...

[...with music .] As you were.

The majority of the artists I love these days exist in some open, genre-less space between R&B and Rap. Naturally, as I prepared to write about music, I listened to music. I began to notice that there was a lot of great stuff that I was skipping in my pursuit of "hip hop." Of course… My mind working the way it does, I began to wonder if hip hop could be considered "black music" and weather a black artist has to make "black music." Creativity in hip hop has steadily progressed with times, but the people's perception of what can be considered hip hop has largely remained the same. Most people expect men bragging about music and talking about women. These days, we want something we can dance to. Most don't want anything that may sound different or... "too artistic" or… something that may challenge the norm. Interestingly, much of what I love about hip hop (the attitude, the storytelling, the percussion) is found in what may be consi...

I have had a hate-hate relationship with Puff Daddy for years now. Anyone who knows me -- or has taken any amount of time to talk about music with me -- knows that I believe that everything that's wrong with music today is Puff Daddy's fault. It's like my own version of "Six Degrees of Separation." Look: Do you remember what female emcees were like before Puff Daddy came along? Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Roxanne Shante, etc. Salt-n-Pepa were as raunchy as it got. But then… Puff Daddy saw how much money he made when he introduced "hardcore" R&B singers like Mary J. Blige, so he decided to flip it, mind fuck us, if you will, and give us an uber sexualized "hardcore" female rapper. And voila… Lil Kim. What happens to female emcees after that? Foxy Brown, Eve, and eventually Nikki Minaj happens. Puff Daddy also made it cool to rap about excess and money. Mo' money, mo' problems, right? Had he not made that shift in the paradigm w...

Do you remember when Kenan Thompson joined the cast of Saturday Night Live ? It was weird. Not because Kenan's not really that funny… But because he was the first SNL cast member born after the show's premiere in 1975. It left some wondering how someone who didn’t witness the greatness of something could contribute to that greatness. That's an essential question of hip hop today. Ponder this…. Rakim and Jay-Z were about 10 when "Rapper's Delight" hit the top of the charts in 1979. When he was barely 20, Rakim released Paid in Full . Soulja Boy was 6 when Reasonable Doubt was released. And what did he give the world? "Crank That." What's worse… Soulja Boy had the nerve to "beef" with Ice T, to whom he owes much respect. Soulja Boy’s quest to legitimize his rap career has him doing somersaults on the toes of his forefathers. There appears to be a tremendous generation gap between older hip hop heads and the people enjoying the music t...