Here is happy couple Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz at the opening night of the Broadway play “The Mountaintop” last night in NYC. Peep more photos of beautiful couples along with the cast of the play, etc. when you have a flippy thru…
Philly’s Qool DJ Marv has spent over a decade spinning in some of the hottest nightclubs in the world. In this exclusive to TheUrbandaily he shares why he thinks the extravagance of bottle service has hurt nightlife and the art of DJing. I have a strong opinion about bottle service and what it all stands for. Bottle service was the end of the model of the DJ as storyteller/ crowd motivator…person with the P.O.V. When it emerged it was the beginning of the end of that free spirited night life culture in Manhattan. You had parties where you heard different music, classic hip-hop and funk, all kinds. But the bottle service thing funneled it all into top 40, mash-ups and main stream rap. Before bottle service if you were presentable you could walk into a room. In the small bars and lounges you had the funky people, their whole point wasn’t to be inebriated from an entire bottle of vodka. You were there to be social, dance maybe have a couple of drinks, maybe one. Not to finish this entire bottle of vodka because you paid $250 for it. These are the middle-class, working people who just wanted to work off whatever they needed to work off with some music and some people. Bottle service says you can’t come in no more. All you have left is the people who used to be at the bar at those cool spots who felt like they were cool because they were [in the mix]. You had a corporate gig and you’re in this bar with a guy with dreadlocks dancing and you’re thinking “wow, I’m somewhere cool.” Those people drove the economies of those bars and venues. Those people that were glad to be there because it wasn’t work. They weren’t around “Biff” and “Wellington”, it was “Ahmad” and “Jose”.You had the mix of funky people and the people that drove the bar and it was all good. Then you had the geniuses that decided they were going to interpret the cabaret laws like “They can’t dance? Let’s charge them to sit.” It’s great for the capitalist but not for those paying a $200 entry fee. What’s left? The people who think they can buy their cool, credit card cool. But they’re not cool. They’re using their credit card to express their coolness. They start looking around and nobody here has flavor. Because everybody here is like me, they all PAID for it. “Hey DJ, play something we know.” A DJ in that scene [becomes] a human jukebox to people getting as drunk as they can possibly get. That kind of energy needs that kind of music and I’m not any of that. This place called Lotus opened up on 14th St and I got recommended to play there once by a guy that played there regularly on the weekend. And the manager comes to me during the middle of my set and he says “hey, you gotta pick it up. You gotta get it going.” I look around and see people dancing, etc. Then he says: “Did so-and-so recommend you for this gig? “Yes” “Well play like so-and-so…” They paid a lot at the time because they were charging people $200 plus to walk in the door. But I didn’t know how to be a robot, a human iPod. I didn’t know how to detach my whole point of view so that I could play street rap to 90% Caucasians scared to go to the streets. They’re looking at me like I should be their enabler, and it was weird. I couldn’t play act it, I couldn’t suffer through it. My ex-wife was disappointed that Lotus gig didn’t work out, I was too. I didn’t know if I’d made some mistake. But I knew that wasn’t the place to be. It ended up being a mutual decision. They said I was too mellow and I said “Thank you! I’m out of here.” RELATED POSTS: VIDEO: Diddy “Apologizes” To Vodka Rivals From Bathtub Qool DJ Marv Is HBO’s Secret Weapon [VIDEO]
Everybody can agree that music is a universal language. Many American musicians make note of the fact foreign audiences don’t understand what they’re saying when they are speaking, but the audience sings every word to their songs. Well, what happens when an audience speaks a musician’s native tongue fluently and they still don’t understand what the musician is talking about? I was at a party and the DJ had the beats knocking, until he threw Kriss Kross on . (Forgive him.) On “Jump,” the boys from the A rap, “‘Cause I’m the miggity, miggity, miggity, miggity Mac Daddy.” Can someone explain what a “miggity mac” is because I didn’t understand it then and still don’t. We will discuss a few of the most confusing lyrics in songs. If you think you can explain some of our selections, sound off in the comments. Labelle – “Lady Marmalade” This signature hit from the ladies of Labelle has it all–a racy subject matter, a funky groove, and a little bit of French thrown in there. The few lines in French translate to “Will you sleep with me tonight?” However, what in the world is a “gitchy gitchy ya ya?” I’ve heard of singers scatting, but that was never in the scat sounds dictionary. “Gitchy gitchy ya ya” sounds like a pause worthy slang term for a sexually transmitted disease. “ Yo, Son, you was messing with that girl around the block? You better get checked or something. I heard she got that gitchy gitchy ya ya, if you know what I mean!” To which a person would respond, “Pause. Damn, I’m going straight to the clinic!” Lady Marmalade Kanye West – “Roses” In 2005, Kanye West put out his sophomore album, Late Registration . The set was more introspective than his debut. His introspection was on full display on the track dedicated to his grandmother’s ordeal with being hospitalized. “Roses” documented how he had to deal with his popularity when he just wanted to be a human and look after his grandmother. While the song is remarkable, one line baffles even the most intellectual people I know. “So many aunties, we could have an auntie team.” Kanye , we know you like to act like you’re more forward thinking than the rest of us commoners. So could you explain what an auntie team is? To clarify, are we talking about a basketball team full of aunties? What kind of team are we talking here? Commoners, like myself, know you don’t write lyrics down. With lines like that, you might want to start putting the pen to paper again. Roses Whitney Houston – “Million Dollar Bill” When Whitney Houston was recording her comeback disc, I Look To You , she called upon some of today’s hottest songwriters to provide the material for her to reclaim her throne atop the music charts. The second single from the effort was the Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz confection, “Million Dollar Bill.” The disco-lite uptempo number had us in a groove until she sang, “I can see the way he’s making me feel this way about his love.” Honestly, I can’t blame Whitney. She was just looking for another hit song to flesh out her album. The real blame is on Alicia Keys . She’s a great artist and all, but for a woman who graduated high school at 16 and was accepted to Columbia University , she is all over the place with her writing. A few of her songs don’t make good use of a little thing we like to call subject-verb agreement . This line in “Million Dollar Bill” feels Mrs. Swizz Beatz threw some words at a wall and whichever stuck, she put in a song. No dice. Million Dollar Bill Lionel Richie – “All Night Long” In the 80s, light skinned fellas were all the rage. The leader of that light skinned male crusade was the crooner, Lionel Richie . One of his biggest hits is the party anthem, “All Night Long.” The word “party” is said in many different languages. The questionable thing about the song is about the chant at the end. If anyone has an explanation for “tom bol li de se de moi ya, hey jambo jumbo,” please holla at a player. Are those actual words in another language? I’m not too sure. My theory is baby Nicole Richie was learning to talk and she said this, instead of a real sentence and Poppa Richie just went with it. I could be wrong, but my theory is probably cooler than the actual story. At least, I’d like to think so. All Night Long Michael Jackson – “Wanna Be Startin Somethin” Michael Jackson released the seminal project, Thriller , in 1982. Though every song on there is a classic, one of the biggest fan favorites is “Wanna Be Startin Somethin.” When I was a kid, I was obsessed with this song. I played it so much my mom bought me a Walkman so she didn’t wind up breaking my tape. One thing about that song annoys me to this day. What the hell does “ma ma se, ma ma sa, ma ma coo sa” mean?! My mom told me it was Swahili and I believed her. Come to find out, she wasn’t far off. The King of Pop claimed the phrase was Swahili, in order to keep all royalties for himself. Apparently, the words come from a song by a Cameroonian artist, Dibango . Dibango’s words were, “ma ma ko, ma ma sa, ma ma ko sa.” Dibango sued Jackson in the 80s and sued him again in 2007 when Rihanna sampled the chant for her dance hit, “Don’t Stop The Music.” Rihanna got permission from Michael Jackson , but neglected to get permission from Dibango . They settled out of court for the second time before Rihanna’s album dropped. By the way, there is no clear translation of the chant, but it does have something to do with dancing. Wanna Be Startin Somethin Related Posts: Alicia Keys Or Beyonce: Battle Of The Baby Bumps Top 5 Worst Album Sequels Top 10 Freedom Fighters In Music
Poor lady. After going into surgery for a simple repair of her breast implants, Dinora Rodriguez, 40, awoke from the procedure to find that her plastic surgeon had left her with conjoined breasts – a uniboob, essentially. Without her knowledge or permission, the surgeon had also nip/tucked her eyelids, leaving Rodriguez with eyes that to this day cannot close all the way. Rodriguez learned the hard way — you always have to vet your plastic surgeon. Check out the video for more on this craziness: Source
Marsha Ambrosius isn’t the only R&B singer who has a strong message in their latest music video; Musiq Soulchild takes on cancer in “Yes.” The subject matter is sad, but he puts a positive spin on it. Check it out! RELATED POSTS: Musiq Soulchild Finally Reveals What Happened To His Eye [VIDEO] Musiq Soulchild “Alphabet” [MUSIC] Musiq Soulchild & Swizz Beatz “Anything” [MUSIC VIDEO]
Swizz Beatz and his baby mama Jahna Sebastian have finally settled their child support case. The two share a 3-year-old daughter Nicole who lives with her mom in Russia. Jahna, who also goes by Zhanna Andrianova, is a singer and the two shared a “relationship” before (maybe during?) his relationship with Alicia Keys (and maybe Mashonda…who knows?!) Accoring to the NY Post , “Lawyers for Andrianova say Beatz agreed to pay her $42,000 legal fees as part of the settlement, signed by him in July and her in August, and a judge at Manhattan Family Court granted them a money judgment Thursday to pursue payment, which could have resulted in his assets being seized or bank accounts frozen. Following this, a check for full payment was sent by Beatz to her lawyer, divorce attorney Raoul Felder on Friday.” Beatz has an 11-year-old son Nasir with Nicole Levy, a 4-year-old son Kasseem Jr. with Mashonda, the aformentioned 3-year-old daughter Nicole with Jahna, and soon-to-be year-old son Egypt with Alicia Keys. He’s a keeper, ain’t he? Why Christina Elizabeth Is Talking About What Swizz Beatz Did To Alicia Keys [VIDEO] Swizz Beatz’s Jump Off Christina Elizabeth On Sexting Scandal [AUDIO] Alicia Keys Responds To Swizz Beatz Sexting Rumors? Swizz Beatz Tweets Pic With Daughter Nicole [PHOTO] Swizz Brings His Kids Together To Celebrate Daughter’s 3rd Birthday [PHOTOS]
Earlier this week our sister sites, “ Hello Beautiful “, “ NewsOne ” and “ The Urban Dail y” participated in hosting an interactive conversation about the state of the union with top Aides in the White House. The discussion ended with a surprise visit from the President answering questions directly for over 15 minutes. The forum, titled “Open for Questions with Interactive One,” featured various administration officials discussing how the administration’s polices have affected and will affect the Black community, taking questions from the Interactive One network sites, TheGrio.com, and BlackPlanet.com. Make sure to visit the site and watch the discussion here: We Must Pump It Up To Pass Jobs President Obama charged all in attendance to get the truth out about the state of employment and what is happening across the nation. Though it’s difficult to be optimistic about the bleak job market when unemployment is stuck at around 9.1%, but a survey just released by employment services firm ManpowerGroup offers hope for job seekers in many places around the country. The survey reveals that the metropolitan area with the most optimistic forecast of all for hiring this fall is San Antonio, Texas, and there’s also the good news that employers in 45 states expect the bleak employment picture to perk up. In fact, hiring managers in dozens of metropolitan areas anticipate considerable increases in hiring, while others present a darker forecast. In fact, Baltimore-Towson employers are expressing similar sentiments. Twenty percent of that metro area’s hiring managers anticipate a bright fourth quarter. Meanwhile, 7% expect to decrease their payrolls, 71% anticipate no change and 2% are uncertain. This yields a net employment outlook of 13% and positions the Maryland metropolis as the third best place for finding a job this fall. Greensboro-High Point, N.C., St. Louis and Tulsa enjoy the same rank. Part of the fact is that America at large feels that lawmakers are acting like spoiled brats. Here is a recent poll taken during the debt ceiling discussion: Tell us what you think. We want to hear from you.
Christina Elizabeth is the woman who helped break up Swizz Beatz’s marriage to Mashonda, and her sexting scandal may also end his marriage to Alicia Keys. How did Christina lose her cell phone that contained the sexy messages from Swizzy? Has she heard from him since the scandal broke? And what did Mashonda say when she confronted Christina about sleeping with her husband? Find out the answers to all of these questions in this exclusive interview, and hear more from this scandalous chick from our affiliate, MyColumbusPower.com ! RELATED POSTS: Alicia Keys Throws Surprise Birthday Party For Swizz Beatz Does Swizz Beatz’s Gift To Alicia Keys On His Birthday Prove His Guilt? [PHOTO] Alicia Keys Responds To Swizz Beatz Sexting Rumors? Swizz Beatz’s Side Chick Admits To Affair! Swizz Beatz Caught Cheating On Alicia Keys?!
That is the room and villa where Swizz Beatz “allegedly” chopped down Christina Elizabeth. Turn the page to see the emails between Swizz and Christina Elizabeth.
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