College Candy

Summer break has arrived!! (Sorry to those of you still studying for exams. You’ll enjoy that sweet taste of freedom soon.) No more studying or exams or long nights writing papers, but summer isn’t quite the freedom fest it used to be. Now you have jobs and internships taking up most of your tanning time. So, to help you make the most of the little time you will have to bask in the sunshine, use my book reviews as your summer reading list! I promise not to disappoint.

Now, I love my fiction, but sometimes I just get a hankering for a real fact-filled, non-fiction book. I was watching MTV Canada one day saw Rodrigo Bascunan, the author of a fantastic book called “Enter the Babylon System,” being interviewed. On a whim, I decided to get it from the library (if MTV likes him, then he must be bad ass, right?) and boy was I impressed!

Now, before you go grab this book yourself and stare blankly at the cover thinking “WTF is this sh*t?” let me explain something: the book is about guns.

Yeah, I know that you probably have no interest in guns, their history, or their evolution, but hear met out; the  book was seriously great. Read More »

(We’re back with another weekly installment of G.W.W.E [Guys We Want to Eff]. Looking for a fella who has smart taste, style, and talent to boot? Check out Mos Def, our main rapper/actor we wanna eff!)

I have to confess that I’m a sucker for talent. I mean, who isn’t? If all these dancing/singing/acting/yadda yadda reality shows are doing so well, then the American public is certainly thirsty for some grade-A pizzazz. But while the hometown hotties on such shows are nice, what’s really effable is someone who’s taken time to hone their skills and grow into the limelight. A self-made man. And who’s a better example of that than Mos Def?

This week, he’s totally tops on my effable charts.

The Brooklyn hip-hop lyricist, born Dante Terrell Smith, first started recording music alongside his brother and sister as part of a group called Urban Thermal Dynamics. He has since broken off as a solo artist, and his 1999 album Black on Both Sides was his breakout achievement. He has also collaborated with such big names as Talib Kweli, Kanye West, and Common. And his slick, sexy, introspective side acquired a lot of recognition for his work on Russell Simmon’s Def Poetry on HBO. Confidence + smooth delivery= ultra-effability.

But that’s not all. He’s a respected actor whose Hollywood resume includes roles on The Chappelle Show, The Italian Job, and the newest Michel Gondry flick, Be Kind Rewind. Mos Def has been nominated for an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and multiple Grammys. Yeah, you could say he knows his way around the entertainment industry. Meow!

Mos Def’s newest film, Cadillac Records, opens today. How am I excited? Let me count the ways: 1) It’s a ’50s period piece (retro movies are always fun), 2) there’s sure to be a great soundtrack (it’s about a recording studio!) and 3) Mos Def plays Chuck Berry, the dynamic early rock-n-roll star. So while my man will be singing “Johnny B. Goode,” I’ll be thinking: Mos Def, be good to me tonight!

We heard him say…he’s the voice of our generation?

New ladies are taking the reigns tonight on SNL.

Mariah wears holiday lingerie on her own.

Lindsay still likes dudes, and wants Sam to be okay with that.

Angelina giving up acting?

So hot right now: zipper booties!l

Will Spencer please STFU?!

Un-effable names for dudes.

[Like a magpie, you gravitate towards things that are shiny: cell phones, TVs, anything that allows you to play Rock Band. But just because you love ‘em doesn’t mean you know much about ‘em. That’s where we come in. Every week we will be highlighting the best, coolest and shiniest in technology. Consider us your personal Geek Squad. And let us tell ya; with CC on your side, geek has never looked so chic.]

So who’s a fan of Adult Swim? I know I am.

Ever wonder who the rapper with the high pitched voice is on ATHF? You know MC Peepants/MC Vald. That would be real Nerdcore rapper, MC Chris.

I know what you’re thinking right now: what the hell is “Nerdcore”? Well think Weird Al Yankovic’s “White and Nerdy,” but, you know, BETTER.

Nerdcore is a genre of hip hop, but instead of rapping about ho’s, bling, and money, they rap about games, computers, and other fun geek stuff. I mean they talk about boobies too, but it’s just different. Read More »

You know the setting: you’re at a dance, you and your friends are bopping along to the music with your well-intentioned renditions of the sprinkler (it’s okay- I’m totally that person, too).

Well, I just found a video that is the ultimate in one-upmanship when it comes to hot dance moves. A group of elderly women in China decided to form a hip-hop dance troupe for fun and for exercise. The Hip-Hop Grannies rock G-Unit tees and bandanas, and a third-place finish in the national Chinese hip-hop dance competition qualifier rocketed them to fame. Since their development in 2003, the Hip-Hop Grannies have shared the joy of dance, healthy living, and social activity with many senior ladies. Not to mention they’re good at it, too!

I hope I’m just as cool when I’m 65.

(Editor’s Note: I’m not this cool now.)

Yay! Project Runway was so good last night. So good! It was just like old times; the designers got to choose their models for once, which made this is first episode all season where models started to cry and designers turned on one another. A potential catfight between Leanne-inmal and Suede? Where do I buy tickets?

Then the designers find out they have to design for one another, which is when everything got really fun, because their designs had to be inspired by a certain genre of music.

And someone up above was watching over this situation and fulfilled my dreams of finally laughing at an episode of Project Runway by putting the most ridiculous pairings together.

Here’s the breakdown:

Jerell has to be dressed in rock and roll (where is Leatha Stella when you need her?)

Suede must be donned in punk rock attire.

Kenley is to look like a pop star

Korto has to go country.

Leanne has to rock the hip hop look.

Yeah, this is bonafide comedy fo sho. Read More »

I’m going to say what everyone is thinking. Ludacris is a modern day Shakespeare. Yeah, I said it, someone had to. If you don’t know every word to “Roll Out (My Business)” then I’m not sure you can be considered an American.

What could be better than a modern day Shakespeare? Pair him with today’s JFK or some other awesome leader of yesteryear. That of course, is Barack “Yeah I did coke, so what?!” Obama. Luda plus Obama? It’s like Batman and Robin, peanut butter and jelly, Paris and Nicole, boxed wine and passing out on a sidewalk! They just make sense together.

Naturally I was psyched when Barack and Luda first met up to talk about AIDS, empowering the youth or bling. My hopes were built up by a conversation that I could only assume they had.

Ludacris: YOU’S A HOOOO, OHHHHH!

Barack: Together… we can change America, Ludacris.

Ludacris: Yeah man, you’s going for that number one spot.

Barack: I want you, to be… my running mate.

Ludacris: YEAHHH Baby. Hells YES we CAN OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! LUDA! YEPPP! Read More »

We all deal with the trials and tribulations of bikini line maintenance on a pretty regular basis. So, why (oh why) are we forced to ignore the hair problem when it comes to our men?

Those days may soon be over. When I was sitting at my salon waiting for my appointment, I was flipping through this week’s Us Weekly, when I learned some very personal information about some of Hip Hop’s biggest stars.

Apparently, both Puff Daddy and Jay-Z are all about the male Brazilian. (Yeah, Beyonce!)

As in: hot wax, being applied to their man parts (and cracks!) and being ripped off by a large woman (most likely in need of a lip wax). Jay-Z was even quoted as saying, “bald is beautiful.”

So. Many. Thoughts. Going. Through. My. Mind. Read More »

(Last week we began this series about meeting your dude’s friends. This week, we continue it as promised. Because we love follow through]

The Awkward Guy

If He Were an Animal He’d Be A : Sun bear. Has a vacant, awkward stare, poor fingernail maintenance, adorable, loving.

The awkward guy. I’m not going to call him a ‘nerd’ because sometimes the awkward guy is a totally jacked gym rat and sometimes he’s a complete sports freak. But sometimes he is a nerd. He’s got hobbies. Mad hobbies. They keep him from familiarizing himself with the female sex. He’s probably a professional Halo 3 player, a collector of ‘miniatures,’ comic books, DVDs. He likes to gather stuff and store it in a sterilized container.

Mostly, when you’re around, he either stares at you, the floor, or occupies himself with something else. He might be really quiet, soft spoken, or maybe just a man of few words. The truth is he’s got a lot of words in there but they probably involve orcs or batting averages or obscure Rhode Island based hip-hop artists.

He’s a little nervous about a girl breaking into ‘the club,’ and he’s not sure how to handle it. He and your boyfriend are mates because they like the same stuff. Same taste in music, video games, whatever, and he wants to do that stuff a lot.

He’s the most likely guy in the circle to really want to make a good impression, and such, because most of his interests are maybe a little off center, he’s not sure what he’s supposed to talk about. He doesn’t want you to think he’s a massive nerdface. Read More »

Last time, four new broads showed up in the house because the original season girls weren’t pretty enough.

Of course the originals think that these girls have nothing on them. Let the naming re-begin:

First girl is called Black because that’s what she’s wearing.

Second is Prototype because she says that she’s perfect.

Third one calls herself Luscious D.

The last one is supertall. Prancer thinks that she’s a man and I might too. Flav calls her Tree and says that she’s the black Bridgette Nielsen. That can’t be a good thing.

So I think that the old timers are just fine – they are going to put aside their differences to take down the new ones. Flav is unable to sleep because they are SCREAMING at each other. This happens like every night and twice a day, no?

Amid the screams, this is the only line that I hear is: “What is your education level? Do you got a GED?” Read More »