I’m not going to do a track by track breakdown like I’ve done in the past; instead, I’ll just try to give you an overview of the whole thing and get you to the download as quickly as possible (most of y’all are probably scanning for the download link now).  To put it succinctly, it’s solid.  The production is hot for the most part, Drake’s flow is solid on pretty much every track, high profile guest appearance’s are present, he’s got introspective joints, joints for the ladies, joints for the clubs… But I can’t help but feel like not a classic.  It’s no Food and Liquor; it’s no College Dropout; it’s no Reasonable Doubt.  You could even argue it’s no So Far Gone.  I think Thank Me Later is a victim of unreasonable hype.  Drake would have had to put out one of the best albums EVER in order to live up to the hype surrounding him.  Thank Me Later is good.  It will most likely be up for Rap Album of the Year when it’s all said and done, but I think the door is still open for Lasers and Good Ass Job (if either of them makes it out this year) to claim those honors.

HOT:

Fireworks ft. Alicia Keys, The Resistance, Unforgettable ft. Young Jeezy, Light Up ft. Jay-Z, Miss Me ft. Lil Wayne, Thank Me Now

HONORABLE MENTION:

Shut It Down ft. The-Dream (last verse/interlude), Over

FINAL GRADE: B

Now, get it here! via Str8krack.com (PSA: Support artists you like.  Go cop in stores, or via Amazon, Zune, or iTunes when the thing drops June 15th)

Agree with my review?  Think I’m way off base? Download link dead?  Leave a comment.

Republican Scott Brown just succeeded the late Ted Kennedy for the Massachusetts US Senate seat over Democrat Martha Coakley. What seemed to me a landslide a few months ago, as Coakley lead by 30%, has since been an underdog’s determination to earn a seat. Scott Brown, who has more political experience than Coakley, fought relentlessly against the Democrat led BLUE state like Massachusetts.

But how did Brown really win? Easy, hard work beats favoritism, if the favorite is not working hard. Democrats in Washington thought Coakley was not taking Brown nor the election too seriously. Despite her lack of political experience, she had no agendas of her own besides the typical “I am passing Obama’s bills in Washington” slogans. During the winter break, Coakley went on many vacations and Brown hit the ol’ campaign trail with his standard American blue-collar truck.

Massachusetts spoke loud and clear that they want Obama to start upholding his promises or else they will take necessary action to make it clear that they mean business. In fact, 51% of Massachusetts voters as registered independent voters. This seat was vital for Obama’s Health care reform bill, but Massachusetts residents are all covered by safe-net hospitals and State wide health coverage for all by Mitt Romney in 2006 before allowing Obama’s friend Deval Patrick (who endorsed Coakley and the MA residents are not too thrilled with either) to take office. The main priority of Massachusetts residents is the return of the troops, which Obama went against the grain on that agenda that had him win Massachusetts by 26% against John McCain, and the ECONOMY.

So Coakley conceded even with the help of former President Bill Clinton, President Barak Obama, and even the wife of the late Ted Kennedy, Vicki. This vote takes the Democratic seats in Senate down to 59 and brings the Republicans up to 41, which can cause a filibuster in the Healthcare reform Obama had planned and push it back longer. Obama did congratulate Brown and states he looks forward to working with him on the floor at Washington.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King predicts Obama’s success

King ready to deliver his famous “I Have a Dream” speech

“I Have a Dream” Speech

King’s last speech in 1968

UPDATE: Added Life Change, just for good measure.  How are these guys not platinum?

The Los Angeles County Fire Department urban search and rescue team loads equipment before heading to Haiti Jan. 12. (Reuters Photo)

So call me a bit of a cynic, but in during a short conversation with a friend of mine on Twitter, I made mention to the fact that I would be interested in what the U.S. decided to do to help the people of Haiti, outside of just sending a couple dollars.  Because while it might seem like money is the cure for all of our problems, in situations like this, money is truly worthless.

While seeing people donating to the Red Cross, it was important for me that our government step up and do something, especially if we were spending the money and resources on a war in another country to try and spread “democracy” (take the quotation marks however you’d like).  That, and its not like we have the best reputation for acting quickly bringing aid to those in need (Katrina victims in New Orleans come to mind).  Well, color me pleasantly surprised when I went on a search to see what, if anything, we as a nation were doing to help.  The article I read on the subject claims that the U.S. is “spearheading” the global response to the issue and while I’m not sure as to the accuracy of that statement, we are at least involved.  The number of troops being sent isn’t exactly firm, but based on reports thus far I think it is safe to assume that we will be sending medical care and supplies, as well as an expeditionary unit to help find survivors.  Real flesh and blood people are going to go help, and I think this will do a lot more than the reported 3 million euros — worth $4.37 million in U.S. currency — that the European Union has approved to give to Haiti.  Not that the cash isn’t a good thing (because it is), but in this instance, I’m proud that the U.S. isn’t just gonna toss some paper at the situation and call it a day.

Fox News – U.S. Spearheads Global Response to Haiti Earthquake

Now while it sounds like I’ve been bad mouthing donations or cash aid this whole article, that’s not my intent.  I just didn’t want for us as a country to be sending cash and that’s all.  But for individuals who want to contribute to the relief efforts in Haiti, a cash donation is a great idea.  By donating to the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org), you are helping to buy food and medical supplies, and facilitating the sending of volunteers to help.

For those that want to contribute to the effort, please check out the links below:

• American Red Cross | How to Help Haiti Quake Victims
• CNN: How you can help

If you’re getting involved, let us know what you’re doing in the comments.

http://ritualsofchloe.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/omar-told-you-i-got-you/

Kwame Dancy, pictured, was found dead in the streets of Harlem after being shot in the neck with a shotgun.

I think it’s quite obvious that the whole ordeal didn’t start over Twitter, but the popular social networking site was used to exchange a few “last words” between Kwame Dancy and Jameg Blake before Dancy wound up dead, shot in the neck with a shotgun.

I don’t care what it was; a girl, some cash, whatever… nothing is worth popping your childhood friend over.  And on top of that, what kinda thug uses Twitter?  I’m not saying that Twitter users are soft, but really, when did gangstas start using the internet?  If it was like that, dude could’ve hopped on Facebook and pulled another broad, easy. #kanyeshrug #imjustsaying.

Jameg Blake, 22, is accused of shooting his childhood friend, Kwame Dancy, after an argument on Twitter.

Read more about the story here.

Can I just tell you?

Michel Martin

No One Asks Why Terrorists Do What They Do

“Finally, a few more words about the attempted bomb attack on that Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day. Back when I started in the newspaper business – when dinosaurs walked the Earth – we spent a lot of time crafting our ledes, that’s the first paragraph of a story.

It was supposed to have five elements: who, what, when, where and why. These days, in the computer-assisted, Google-saturated 24-hour cable universe, the first four are almost instantaneous. It’s that last one – why – that seems to elude us for far too long and with tragic results. I’m thinking here about two kinds of terrorists: the kind all of us seem to think about these days, and the kind only some of us do. The kind we are all thinking about are the ones that blow up buildings and themselves, that set off bombs in crowded markets and bring down airliners and command the attention of our brightest and most important people.

But I’m also thinking about the kinds of terrorists who only some of us have to worry about, who shoot people because they want their sneakers or are jealous of their girlfriends, who fire bomb the houses of grandmothers who want them to stop congregating in front of the homes these grandmothers have worked many hours to afford. And when I think of about both of these kinds of terrorists, I realize we know an awful lot about who they are but not a lot about why they do what they do.

Can I just tell you, it strikes me that we care a great deal about why they do what they do only to the extent that it confirms what we already believe? We believe they are super criminals or terminally evil, impossible to redeem or we believe they are poor, misguided, desperate for a way out. But it seems clear to me by now that al-Qaida, just like the urban thugs who roam a small but powerful number of our cities, that terrorists have many faces. As author Jessica Stern wrote in a piece in this weekend’s Washington Post about what motivates terrorists, some are desperately poor kids and some are bored rich kids. Some are motivated by religion, some by a sense of injustice. But some simply are motivated by a desire to be someone other than who they are now.

It’s the same with thugs, some are desperately poor and misguided, victims themselves of horrific mistreatment and others are sociopathic misfits looking for a shortcut. But our approach to all is one or the other: isolate, punish, kill, or throw up our hands and withdraw, or occasionally sympathize, then throw up our hands and withdraw. But neither approach recognizes the realities of human nature and all the varied ways in which people can be motivated to do evil and then sometimes to walk away from evil, to change.

I hate to ask, but is that because all the people we’re talking about here are brown and we have a hard time differentiating the many faces and motivations of brown people, that we can not see that they are as varied in their thinking and motivations as white Europeans? Or is it that we, ourselves, have become so polarized in our own thinking, so self-absorbed, so convinced of our own correctness and worldview, that when we talk about other people we’re really just talking about ourselves?”

- Michel Martin, NPR Correspondent.