Did Lyor Cohen Make Ja Rule into a Rap/Singer? - 2:19 p.m.
I can answer that question real quick, "Nope." Ja Rule's R&B thug image is an Irv Gotti creation, they caught a hit and Irv set the machine for auto-pilot.. "ride this as long as you can." Ja could have provided some balance by collaborating with his original crew the Cash Money Click.

Consisting of group members 0-1, Chris Black, and Ja, the album was scheduled to be released in 1996 on TVT records. Chris Black got sent to prison but the group did record a video before he went away. Lyor is said to have been inspired to sign Ja Rule after seeing the video; in 1998 TVT signed a release whihc allowed him to sign to Murder INC/Def Jam Records. When Black was released the crew got back together to do the Cash Money thing again.. Ads for the album were placed in magazines, but the record never made it to the shelves.

TVT claims that Lyor Cohen stepped into to hinder production and release of the album and filed a lawsuit against Def Jam and Lyor for fraud, inteference with a contract and anything else they could find. Last Friday, they won the case and Lyor and Def Jam was hit with $30 million in damages.

It makes you wonder.. if they were any better than that other "neighborhood crew" The Murderers, maybe Ja's image wouldn't be so poppy. Peter Haivland, a lawyer for TVT says Ja Rule still wants to put the record out. At this point, it's gonna be pretty hard for anyone to take him seriously as a grimy dude after.. well you know.

I haven't seen his latest video "The Reign", but MTV describes a scene where he's on the steps of a courtroom and gets shot, then the faces of Big and Pac flash on the screen and the words "Hip-hop is Dying.. Reach for Peace." What's wrong with artists who depict themselves as winding up in bodybags? Hasn't Ja learned anything from .. Big and Pac.. just before their deaths they did the same thing. Not to say that it was the cause of their deaths, but the weirdness of it alone should've made him think twice about that.

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Calvin Klein and Spree Talk Fashion.
It's nice to know that being crazy is a universal thing.. in today's NY Post Jeane MacIntosh relates a story about Calvin Klein, yeah, the fashion designer.

During a Knicks-Toronto basketball game on Monday night in Madison Square Garden, Calvin Klein and four friends were in celebrity row and "looked like they were having a good time," eating chips and sipping beverages. Judging by the rest of this story, those beverages were a little more than juice or soda.

During the final minutes of the game, Spreewell was about to inbound the ball when Klein got out of his seat and walked toward him, eyewitnesses say, "he appeared to be stumbling and a bit off-balance." Security had to escort Klein back to his seat. It's said that he was intoxicated. His friends laughed it off, saying "he probably got caught up in the exuberance of the moment. He's a fashion designer - they get excited about things."

Calvin Klein, 60 years old has had drug and alcohol problems before. In May 1998, he checked himself into a treatment program at Minnesota's Hazelton Institute. The Post jokes that the two may may have been talking about a new line of "Spree-Wear."

This isn't all that serious, who doesn't have a few beers at the game? On the other hand, I can only imagine the headlines if Spike Lee was tripping over himself with a drink in his hand. *shakes head* Goddamn double standards.

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"Oh No!.. It's The Operation Iraq Show" - 3:03 p.m.
After three days of uninterrupted watching of CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, BBC, and every other station on the air.. I am officially worn the fuck out. If I digest any more information on foreign policy, bombs over Baghdad and the like, my head will explode.

It's the gift and the curse of technology, you have 24 hour news stations, the internet, cable and satellites orbiting the globe, information has never been so easy to distribute.. and in covering this war, the news stations are taking full advantage by hitting you with the Mother of All News coverage: The Operation Iraq Show.

I don't know how some of the reporters are doing it.. sometimes it's the same person sitting there in the morning that was on before you went to bed. How they're not nodding off in front of the camera is a mystery to me. Then again, someone like Dan Rather is taking the job of reporting this seriously.. as he should, it is literally history in the making. It's a good thing that so many journalists have "back stage passes".. if there was no coverage everyone would be in an uproar. It's just that you can get swamped by it all. But a quick summary of the events up to now can be summed up with one word: surprise.

On "opening night" Bush said that things might be harder than expected, but I don't think any of his crew expected to be facing Iraqi soldiers with as much determination as they are now. The plan was simple: intimidate them with "Shock and Awe" followed by a simultaneous attack from the North and South and it's a wrap. Turkey didn't allow them to attack from the North, and it seems like Iraq let them slide in from the South.. only to attack the troops from behind. Now the troops are spread out, fighting in towns from the shore to just outside Baghdad. Time to remix; now some of the troops have to travel backwards and possibly get into some house to house fighting.. which is not the easiest thing to do.

The day after getting bombed the Iraqi Minister of Information was damn near laughing, saying.. "Shock and awe?.. Your the ones who are shock and awed by the way we are fighting back." And don't even mention the POWs.. that was a big mistake.. that has the administration speechless.. all they can say is.. "uhh, you better treat em right."

The US definitely has the power to win the war.. but Bush messed up when he started talking about how we're going to liberate the Iraqi people. Now they have to play nicey nice and refrain from bombing the crap out of everything and label the casualties 'collateral damage.' .. And what's with the talk about Iraq fighting unfair? In a street fight there aren't any rules.. plus we have complete control of the air and are dropping two ton bombs on their heads, how is that fighting fair? I say we put Saddam and Bush in the ring and they go 12 rounds on Pay-Per-View.. tell me you wouldn't pay $49.95 to see that. With a worldwide gate they can balance the budget and decide who gets to pump up gas prices all at once.

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Styles Has a Conversation With God
In this month's XXL you might be amazed at DMX basically admitting that he heats the pipe ["Everybody here got at least three niggas f-cked up on drugs in their family.. It takes a real man to go through something and come up out of it and that's what the f-ck I'm doing now."] But what really got me was the story on Styles from the LOX, where he says that instead of the everyday bullshit, he cracks open books like Conversations With God.

Not that I think he would be reading Scarface or something.. but you can't tell me you'd think Styles was into books like this. It could be that he has time on his hands (you didn't know?.. he's doing a bid.. "I stabbed somebody in the ass.") Whatever the reason, he names four books he's read and it's a good look. Things like that, little name drops, is what more artists should talk about in their interviews.. beyond the beefs and other bullshit, put people on to what you do to develop yourself. Believe it or not.. I was put on to The Alchemist after reading a Sticky Fingaz interview and first heard of Machiavelli from a quote in a 2Pac interview.

All that to say.. Reading is Fundamental.

Don't expect Styles to switch things up though, "Still the hardest nigga on the street. Let's not get shit confused, ain't shit changed. Tell everybody they got six months to kick that hard shit. Six months left, man."

Does that mean that he's challenging 50 for the throne? Does 50 even have the throne? That's a whole nother topic.. At the time of the interview Styles hadn't even heard 50's album, just the mixtapes. But he was hype about that six month thing.. he mentioned it like three times. "When you write this magazine, tell everybody: in six months, I'll be home. Do what you gotta do, cause the hardest nigga is coming back. When I come out tell them to watch they ass." Hah! That's a good idea seeing what he's doing time for.

The LOX are finally dropping a new album which is set for June, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was pushed back to coincide with Styles release from jail. A little too late to join 50 Cent on the summer tour circuit.. which you guess would happen being that they are the only "hardest niggas in Yonkers" rapping right now.

That's concerns for the future.. for the next few months it's about those conversations with the almighty, "Right now, I'm just relaxing. There's times in your life when you gotta bank what you doing. And if I go right to work, and then think about that [making music], I ain't really clearing my thoughts out, you know what I'm saying? Right now, I'm on my 'clearing my thoughts' process - what I gotta do as a family man, a business man and all that kind of shit. The words come easy to me, so it ain't nothing for me to get to a beat and just do my thing. That's what I was born to do."

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Wanda's Gonna Knock U Out! - 1:52 p.m.
"Hi, I'm Wanda Sykes. My show premieres March 19th, but the war in Iraq will have probably premiered then too. I ain't worried about The Bachelor - I'm worried about Tom Brokaw kickin' my ass." Read that in Entertainment Weekly

Who knew there was anything else on television besides the war. Operation Iraq is in full effect; as of yet nothing BIG has happened. No "shock and awe" (that starts today) and few victims.. r.i.p to those in the helicopter crash and a soldier shot in a skirmish today. The war is being televised 24-hours a day and rightly so. It can get redundant but imagine if the networks weren't showing what was going on? I appreciate some of the coverage.. I mean last night on CNN they had a long range camera lense showing a group of Iraqi soldiers setting up for oncoming troops. It was like you were right there in the field.

Too bad for Wanda Sykes, she was supposed to do it big this week. While Chris Rock is off making wack movies, Wanda Sykes scored her own FOX TV show Wanda at Large. You know Wanda.. last year she played the "black friend" on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, but is more known for her comedy sketches on The Chris Rock Show. I gotta tell you.. war or not, I didn't know a damn thing about her getting a show. It's a pretty big deal though.. how many black women do you know starring in their own tv series?

On the show she plays Wanda Hawkins, an on-the-street reporter for a Washington DC political talk show. The official description: "Her mouthy, tell-it-like-it-is style infuriates the show's conservative, button-down spokesman Bradley (Phil Morris) and amuses the show's other anchor Rita (Ann Magnuson). However, for the station's manager, Wanda is exactly what is needed to shake up these conservative talking heads." .. it's sounds like a fleshed-out version of the reporter segments she did with Chris Rock.

Scheduled to debut on March 19th, FOX saw that the prediction of Tom Brokaw kicking her ass would come true, they pushed the show back to March 26th. No matter how successful the show ultimately becomes, Wanda Sykes has come a long way from her days working in the National Security Agency.

A graduate of Hampton University with a Bachelor of Science Degree, Wanda spent time at the NSA working on.. uhh, I'll let her tell it, "I was buyin spy stuff. I never knew what it was. The engineers would [give us] designs, and we'd send'em out to contractors for bids. I was miserable. So I sat down at my desk like all good government employees do - and did work that had nothing to do with my job." Meaning she sat there and wrote jokes.

After performing five minutes of killer material at a Coors Light Super Talent Showcase in DC, the host of the show took her around to all of the hot comedy spots. Before long she was performing and writing material for The Chris Rock Show. As a producer and writer for Wanda at Large, no doubt she'll apply the advice Chris Rock offered before her recent Comedy Central special. Chris told her, "I'm gonna give you some advice Andrew Dice Clay gave me before I did Bring the Pain: Treat it like a training session; it's not just a routine. Watch Rocky." Wanda replied, "Well um, alright, I'm not gonna go as far as to actually watch Rocky - talk about bringin pain.. but I'll treat it seriously. I got the message: Work hard."

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Was That A Saddam Hussien Double?
Operation Iraq began with the US taking a shot at a bunker that Saddam and his sons were said to be camped out in. Shortly after the attack Hussein's son Uday Hussein was heard over an Iraqi radio station telling his people to rise up and defend the country at all costs. A few hours later, Saddam appeared on Iraqi TV with a similar message. Or was it him? Officials were saying that he looked different. Some reporters were saying that it might be one of his many doubles or a taped message.

I'll tell you this.. the dude was sure nuff looking studious with those glasses. That was a new look. The man was seriously preparing for war..studying up. And he was kinda stiff. His face was fat and puffy, and that scarf.. he looked like a muppet. Today the word is he was at least injured in the attack.

Dan Rather, the only guy to actually interview Saddam said that he wasn't so sure. Pointing out that he is a slippery, slick mufa.. who lives to survive. He's known to get out of the tightest circumstances, even escaping from prison in 1967.

Considering that at this moment Shock and Awe is going down.. the thought is if he's not dead he will be soon. Just hope they're not taking out the whole population. Anyway.. What do you think.. is Saddam, Dead or Alive? ..

*edit - 2:19 p.m. * In the aftermath of "shock and awe", Donald Rumsfeld is getting roasted by reporters in a press conference.. First time he has ever looked confused. Like he's thinking.. " Hey, we just did a good thing."

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The Dixie Chicks Stumble on the Charts - 2:05 p.m.
I don't know your musical tastes, but I have a good feeling that if your a regular whudat visitor your not a big Dixie Chick fan. I mean, I know their name, but they could walk right by me and I couldn't pick them out.. much less name one of their songs.
They are music artists.. country  music artists.. but I found this interesting. During a London concert last week, Natalie Maine (the girl on the right) made a comment about Big Dub: "We're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

Word got back to the States, to their fans and fellow Texans the Dixie Chicks could have pimp slapped Jesus. .. Angry phone calls came into radio stations across the country fan belt; from Memphis to Kansas City, to Longview, Texas, people were pissed-d off. Some Dixie Chick fans were reported to have ripped up and burned tickets they bought for an upcoming tour. Some radio stations set up trash cans where listeners could come and chuck their Dixie Chick CDs, and one station in Bossier City, LA pulled out a tractor to run over Dixie Chick merchandise.

These events coincided with the group's songs being dropped from playlists. Michael Cruise at Houston's KKBQ-FM considered that the more rational thing to do, "They're turning this into a promotion. I don't want to look back after we've gone to war and know that we were sitting here crushing things with a steamroller."

When the Dixie Chicks got back to the states Natalie Maine apologized for her comment, " "As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect. We are currently in Europe and witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war. While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers' lives are lost. I love my country. I am a proud American." The groups label Columbia Records expressed support for them on First Amendment grounds.

Nevertheless, sales have dropped off 15% since the incident and Cumulus Media has instructed all 42 of its country stations to stop playing the group's music until further notice.

Bob Richards at WFMS-FM in Indianapolis says he's continuing to play the records as he was before the controversy. "So far, it has not been a major issue with our listeners," he says. "What I'm choosing to do is offer Natalie forgiveness."

I don't walk around with a "Stop the War" t-shirt on, but if someone were to ask me I'm telling them, I'm not with the smash and grab. There is so much information out there, some being twisted and shaped that it's inevitable people will have differences in opinion on this Iraq crap. That's what I call it crap.. it's also crap that people get all childish and taking things personal over the issue. I mean pulling out the steamrollers and burning posters cause they don't agree with the war/invasion/Operation Iraqi Freedom? I say we agree to disagree and eat lunch.

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How About Spending A Few Years with Bubba?
War hasn't been the only discussion going on in the halls of Congress. Wired reports, at a recent subcommittee hearing on intellectual property rights, Texas Republican congressman John Carter submitted the idea that jail time would stop the downloading of mp3 and movie files. "What these kids don't realize is that every time they pull up music and movies and make a copy, they are committing a felony under the United States code. If you were to prosecute someone and give them three years, I think this would act as a deterrent."

Yup.. yo ass can be washing another man or woman's draws for a few years, doing things in prison you would deny ever happened as you lean off with a funny walk; just for downloading a music file. Recently, Colleges have gotten a lot of attention by the RIAA because students are said to download files by the gigabyte. Some university officials have stepped up efforts to stop piracy on their networks, but say jailing students is not the solution.

Carter disagrees, saying that sometimes you have to make an example of someone to let the majority know that your real with yours. "Sometimes it takes the shock value of someone actually being punished," Carter said. "In this particular instance it might also send a message to these kids that are operating on these networks that, 'Hey, I better stop.'" He continues, "That information sent out to kids would be a real eye opener. I think you would have a 50 percent falloff, at least, of these people (who are pirating files) .. I'm not out to get the kids, I'm out to get their attention."

Carter, is a new jack to Washington, serving his first term in the House, but he comes from the ballbusting state of Texas. Where Dubya used to handout death sentences like they were party flyers. Carter says that if he were back home people would likely be prosecuted.

The Recording Industry Association of America seems to agree with Carter's plan, "We support criminal prosecution of those who break the law and believe that effective deterrence is a necessary part of combating piracy."

For now.. know one had been convicted, but the the RIAA sent a letter to 2,300 colleges urging them to clamp down on their networks. In some cases they point out particular students and the student will lose net access while the college investigates the claim. John Lerchey a systems administrator at Carnegie Mellon says he's not sure if the "big hammer" approach will help much, "Whatever they are going to do (to discourage illegal file trading) has got to be consistent, and it's got to be very widespread. I've heard from students that as long as the chance of them getting caught remains low, they're likely to continue to do peer-to-peer file sharing, regardless if they are violating copyright laws."

That kinda supports John Carter's lock em' up and they'll learn position.. but it's not likely to happen, there's no way to racially profile this stuff yet.. You can almost guarantee that if this could be proven to only happen in Harlem it would be signed immediately. Thank T. Lee for digital anonymity.

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Breaking Down the War Links.. - 1:36 p.m.
Gotta hit you with more war talk.. it's not the most fun thing to talk about, but ignoring it is kinda brainless. This week's Newsweek cover story, The Arrogant Empire breaks down the Bush administration's flawed approach to foreign relations the way it should have been done six months ago, when it might have made a difference. .. They also do a story on what the oil companies want once this is over. Something that has been pointed out by the so-called unpatriotic, crazy folk, from the beginning.

It was hilarious to hear Bush warn the Iraqi military last night, not to burn the oil wells because it's the wealth of the Iraqi people, it belongs to them. Hah! And I'm sure we'll play zero part in helping them out with that... "One for you, two for me.. Two for you, three for me.. .. Three for you, four for me."

On the heels of The Bush Countdown to War, MTV2 will air a music video called "Boom!" from rock group, System of a Down. it's an anti-war clip that was directed by Michael Moore, the author of Stupid White Men. Here is a short preview of the video. It's more about the statement and the willingness to speak out than the entertainment value of it. Something that I wish would come from some of our hip-hop peoples.

I know a lot them have pronounced their disagreement with the war, but a musical statement would be even better. Then again, the Escalade is probably being fitted for 24's today, no time for that.

Lastly, a little backtrack to Michael Moore.. the guy in the picture. He wrote a short letter to George Bush on the eve of war that we'll call "A Letter from Michael Moore to George Bush on the Eve of War". Hah! That's so creative, I know. But that's the title. Take a look at it.. he sums up the feeling that most people have about this madness quite nicely.

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Jay-Z Records Remix of Aaliyah's "Miss You"
This isn't exactly new, but Jay-Z MTV reports that Jay-Z has recorded a remix of Aaliyah's "Miss You." On the song he says, "What's up baby girl? You know I had to talk to you again.. Dame [Dash] told me to tell you, he's doing well/ Due to the circumstances it could've been Bellevue/ I ain't got to tell you, you looking over us, our little angel."

He also addresses HOT 97 radio host Star, for the on-air joke he made about her death - you know, the sound effect of a plane crashing. The thought is nice, but it's way late to be commenting on that. Where was he when it actually happened?

In any case.. wait a minute.. I'm reading this as I'm writing.. he goes on to talk about Tupac and Biggie, "expressing disdain for all the MCs who bit their rhyme style, and he tells them how rap hasn't been the same since they were murdered." He has got to be kidding.. this is coming from the man who jacks lines from Biggie on the regular ("when the Remy's in the system ain't no telling..) and trashes an entire Tupac record. In no way was the Beyonce Me and My Girlfriend collabo a tribute to Pac or a decent remake.. can we say again, that Pac was no friend of his and the joint was just wack.

I don't think that Blueprint 2 was a double coaster, but it damn sure was marketed like one. He's playing catch up now with the "Excuse Me Miss" video and is once again, back in the studio. He recorded a remix with Talib Kweli for "Get By" and made an appearance on a record with an indian dance artist MC Punjabi.. or is that Panjbi MC?

On the Roc-A-Fella front he has recorded songs for a mixtape that will be released the same time as the Reebok S. Carter Collection which hits stores on April 18th. He'll drop a few unreleased freestyles, maybe a song or two. If he's gonna talk about how the game isn't the same, let's contribute to the cause. Meaning surprise people with a CD that does step up the game, even if it is a "mixtape." He can't complain about not having competition and being bored.. I'm not gonna say the name. You know who have it locked to the point of disgust.

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"Get Set, Ready... Charrrggeeeeee!!!" - 2:13 p.m.
That's it. The debate, if you can call any of which took place over the last few months debate, is over. In a few days, possibly even as early as tomorrow, the war/invasion/forced disarmament of Iraq will begin.

This afternoon Colin Powell announced that the US would revoke their second resolution, effectively saying that the first one, resolution 1441 was adequate and that "serious consequences" equates to war and the majority of the UN had approved that one already. France had promised to veto any resolution that suggested immediate military action, a feeling that Germany, Russia and China have agreed with. So rather than face that humiliation, the feeling is no more bullshit, forget a public opinion poll, we're going in on the strength of the first resolution which slipped by.

I say "slipped" because when 1441 was drawn up many of the diplomats had problems with the vague description of "serious consequences" in the face of non-complaince. Regardless, they signed their name on the dotted line, giving the Bushies something to wave around when they later opposed it.

Tonight President Bush will be making a speech, it's assumed that it will be to brace the public for the war. Nonetheless, I'm sure it will be an eloquent speech. Who is more well spoken, more quotable than George Dubya? Nobody. He doesn't play around with deep concepts, he gets right to the heart of the matter.. with straight-laced language.

Yesterday, Vice-President Dick Cheney appeared on Making the Press,  he was asked what he thought about the description of Bush as being a "cowboy." He replied, "The notion that the president is a cowboy is not neccesarily a bad idea. He cuts to the chase.. The leaders who will set the world, if you will, on a new course, who deal effectively with these kinds of threats we've never faced before, will be somebody like President Bush." That new course, would be the path that 9-11 busted open. It's a course that Cheney says other countries don't understand, so we have to show them the way to deal with these types of terrorist threats.

The funny thing was he said that this approach requires them to go after countries that are known to harbor terrorists.. I'm thinking didn't the so-called, second-in-command of Al Quaeda just roll out of bed in Pakistan. Isn't Osama Bin Laden, the "mastermind" of 9-11 thought to be hiding out in Pakistan? If the War on Terror means that your going after those countries that support and harbor terrorists it seems to me like your looking in the wrong place.

I'll leave that alone though.. getting into all the reasons why their approach seems flawed. There is really no point. Shit is gonna happen. All I'm gonna do is sit back and watch the fallout. For everyone who thinks this is a good idea, I hope you prove me wrong. My heart goes to the United States soldiers.. whether they agree or not, they have to carry out their orders. I have a cousin who has been in the Navy for a little over 10 years now, he was lucky enough not to be called to the Gulf War and has yet to be called for Part 2.

Anyone who has people over there, I'll keep my prayers for them. And even if you don't.. let's hope that casualties are low, on both sides. Here is a page from one of our soldiers.. he was in the Gulf War and posted some flicks. Check it out.. click on the Middle East links, kinda gives you a view of what the current soldiers will be facing.

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Tommy Hilfiger Feeling the Pain
When was the last time you bought any Tommy Hilfiger gear? There was a time when you'd walk in a department store and the Tommy section would be swarming with people picking up everything on the racks, right down to the socks. It didn't matter what the design was.. as long as it had a Tommy Hilfiger logo it was a go.

And Boy did Tommy love you for that.. his profits skyrocketed and people in the fashion world thought it was because he was some kind of genius. Like he knew exactly what the hip-hop community was feeling. Not.. really, he was just doing what he had always done, minding his own and suddenly he saw an uptick in sales. Someone in the hood started sporting his gear and people felt it; he reaped the benefits to the tune of 4 billion dollars.

That was before Urban designers, started to get in the game. Karl Kani was chipping away, but Fubu really opened up the doors for the various urban lines out right now. Fubu broke the spell on the Tommy Hilfiger fascination.. and gave an opening to Sean John, Roc-A-Wear and the like.

Tommy Hilfiger financials for the fourth quarter of 2002 were at a loss of $22.1 million on sales of $477.3 million; overall sales have dropped to 1.9 billion. In no way is that petty cash, but it's far from where he stood five years ago. The company is closing 37 out of 44 Tommy Hilfiger specialty shops in the US, some of which were just opened a few months ago.

They aren't alone.. Polo and Nautica have seen their cash registers stop ringing as well.

Joel J. Horowitz, Tommy Hilfiger's chief executive says that the denim business is now dominated by urban brands who have become successful in using their own logos. He says Tommy, "needs to be more fashion-right with the denim details that we put forth through fabric or sophisticated washes, and compete more on the product side versus the logo side."

What that means is that instead of ads featuring r&b and hip-hop artists, you'll see a focus on a uhh.. lighter shade. More latte, less mocha, if you will.

He's gotten some criticism for his new approach. A billboard above the West Side Highway in Manhattan features what a competitor described as "Pacific Sunwear meets Ralph Lauren meets `From Here to Eternity,'" Analysts and others in the retail industry have wondered why he has switched his game so dramatically. "Now it's Robert Redford," said one fashion designer, who knows the brand well. "Why would he try to go back to being Ralph Lauren — when that market is already saturated?"

I didn't even write this to defend him but the more I think about it.. he's doing what he has to do.. focus on his foundation. He pocketed some money from the bubble and it's back to the basics. Not only did he have to face opposing lines, the Tommy line was dry and way out of date. Better to redirect your energies than trying to beat a dead horse. It's like chasing after some chick when she's not feeling you.. leave that bitch alone. (see.. now she's a bitch)

As long as it doesn't come with a tall cold glass of Haterade for being sent back to the beach.

*Quotes came from an article in the NY Times - Reinventing Tommy: More Surf, Less Logo

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Sean John.Com Gets Hacked - 3:49 p.m.
Someone hacked the Sean John site and linked the pic to the Deathrow site. I doubt if this is the work of Suge Knight.. Do you really believe he's that proficient with a computer? The site has been fixed, but here's a snapshot of what it looked like earlier this morning. I see you ohsokool, he hit me with the the screenshot

P Diddy Radio: "It's Phase Two Baby!" - 1:24 p.m.
With the ink still drying on his Universal contract. Puff quickly rolled it up, tucked it in his back pocket and is getting ready for months of 22 hour work days. No sleep is the rule. Ask anyone on his staff, they know all about caffeine and No Doze. The national P.Diddy PR machine has been activated.. "It's phase two baby!"

That's right, it's time for life after Biggie. What, you didn't no? All of the success he's had after Big's passing, becoming this international playboy who parties with Arabian princes and vacas in Belize came from the momentum built up over that whole Biggie era. Bad Boy was the only thing going at the time and he was able to maintain the flow for a minute.. lost it.. then reemerged with a single here.. a "Making the Band" there.. enough to tread water, but ultimately his reputation relies on his ability to keep the heat up under that ass. He's got to take it back to the foundation.

Puff made his name by giving the streets the sweet and the sour. He made the hood sexy by putting thugs in hard bottom shoes and had chicks living lavish.. even if they had to skip a light bill payment to look good for the night. We were all living for the weekend, but it was straight hip-hop, those times made for mad memories. Nobody's hopping in time machines yet, traveling back to the 1990's so last night Puff sat in for Funkmaster Flex on HOT 97 with the aim of ushering in a new Bad Boy era. Taking over the radio airwaves for three hours, it was P. Diddy Radio for a night. He had to follow the regular program schedule, but had plenty of time to hype up the new music he'll release this year.

He leaked a Mary J Blige white label where she sings over "In Da Club", another Loon song, a New Edition drop, a Cheri Dennis song, a Mario Winans track and some special guests came in.. people who used to have beef with him. It's all love now.. the love and peace movement (he stated his position on Iraq). Like Dame Dash, this man can talk; unlike Dame.. most of his talking is name dropping his entire two-way fam. If your looking to find out who's who in the music biz, or at least catch a few names.. grab a pen, cause Puff won't and doesn't stop shouting out until the mike goes off. So I sliced and diced, but for continuity purposes it's still a 45-minute clip.

After the New Edition song he did say something that had me screaming: "Yeah that's Ralph singing. He cut the shag off.. he's totally up to date now."

Listen to it - Download it (Real Audio 10.9mb) - Download it (Zipped mp3 10.5mb)

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Give Me a Super Duper Order of Freedom Fries - 2:26 p.m.
By now you've heard, when your in the Capitol Hill dining room you are to no longer call French Fries by that name. Repeat after me.. "Freedom Fries" "Freedom Fries" "Freedom Fries" Know it. Love it. Remember it. Anything else will get you nothing but a blank stare from the cashiers and waitresses; they have been told to ignore anything besides "freedom" when a customer wants a burger and fried, uhh.. potatoes.

This all started in early last month when Cubbies, a restaurant in Beafort, NC decided that the French name was not relevant to the times in which we live. Neal Rowland, the owner of the restaurant, decided it was a way of showing support for Pres. Bush and the men in uniform. With a military base nearby he probably knows some of the soldiers by name, "It's our way of showing our patriotic pride."

The story was all over the news yesterday, after Republican senator Bob Ney, who has say in what happens in the government cafeterias, decided to follow Neal Rowland's lead. He had a different reasoning though. "This is a small but symbolic effort to show the strong displeasure of many on Capitol Hill with the actions of our so-called ally, France." That's right.. if you disagree with the United States policies we'll take your ass off the menu. French Toast is now Freedom Toast as well.. but why stop there? French Bread is now.. Freedom Loaf. French Dressing.. Liberty Dressing. French Vanilla Ice Cream, let's call it.. Land of the Brave, Home of theFree Vanilla Ice Cream. Frenchie from American Idol.. Fun Freaky Freda.

Osama has changed the course of history. He and Saddam have made their mark on the world.. similar to the Germans who stirred up Anti-German sentiments and caused Americans to start saying hot dog instead of frankfurter. A name which stuck pretty well, unlike sauerkraut and hamburgers which were renamed liberty cabbage and liberty steak during that same era.

Is this ridiculous? I could go along with Cubbies, he's showing his patriotism. But when you think about it in Bob Ney terms.. because the French disagree with us we're gonna stop using their names on things? What happens with Mexico they don't agree either. What no more Burritos? He better get out a screwdriver and start packing up the Statue of Liberty too.. that was a gift from France.

Then there's the generally accepted idea that the Belgians created french fries in the late 1800's. Taken from the "The Original Belgian Fries" website. "The poor inhabitants of this region ate mostly fish. When the river froze, they cut their potatoes in a fish-shape and fried them." And to 'french' the fries describes the process of cutting any vegetable into lengthwise strips. French string beans anyone?

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Suge Knight on Jimmy Kimmel Live
Suge Knight is back the streets you know.. the question is what difference does it make? Tha Row has yet to do a damn thing. Suge has steadily been speaking on Crooked I and how he's the next big thing, but the chances of him getting an audience are slim to not gonna happen.

He can prove me wrong if the soundtrack for Eddie Griffin's movie Dysfunctional Family  jumps off - it's a Deathrow project with Jay-Z's "Hovie Baby" remix and a new Ashanti song tacked on the end.

Suge was on Jimmy Kimmel Live,  a talk show that debuted on ABC after the Superbowl. I have never watched or felt the need watch it until last night.. there was nada on the tube. For some reason I had on ABC and this Jimmy Kimmel guy was entertaining to say the least. During one of the segments he mentioned that Suge Knight was on the previous night. I shrugged it off, cause you know what Suge is gonna do and say already. No surprises. This morning sniper sent some links to the interview posted on the Deathrow site.

Even though you know Suge's routine.. it's funny seeing the host and guests reaction to him. Jimmy Kimmel is unsure of how to act. John Leguizamo was there and didn't say a word, just sitting with a nervous smile through the whole thing. Then there was this comedian, Jeffrey Ross. He must have realized that they were on TV and Suge is one strike away from striking out, so he was throwing little slick comments and trying to grab the mike from Suge at the end of the show when he started bogarting and giving shoutouts like it was 106 and Park.

Suge and Irv Gotti are supposed to be tight. I wonder is Suge will give him some help with those 50 Cent disses. And if that does happen will 50 fire back?

Not to push the situation. I'm more in line with Snoop, who recently said that he's past all the BS and is willing to sit down and squash his problems with Suge. He's focused on grown man activities, family, making money and all that.

In any case.. here's the interview, it's in Windows Media format.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

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Larry Wilmore Fired from the Bernie Mac Show - 2:58 p.m.
Just to follow up on a comment made by Coco Yasmin regarding Larry Wilmore.. he was let go yesterday. He was informed that if the show is picked up for a third season his services will not be needed. The Hollywood Reporter  writes, "The decision to let Wilmore go was said to have been a consensus that had been building among Bernie Mac, the network and the two production entities."

I find it hard to believe that Bernie Mac played a big part in the decision, most of the unique production qualities of the show, the things that got the show a Peabody and an Emmy award among others, were his ideas.

The ratings were a little shaky, but they weren't at the time that the show was taken off for two months and preempted for god knows what.. I used to watch it and lost track of the time it came on. Wilmore's downfall had to be those quotes from the Entertainment Weekly article, saying publicly that they wanted him to tone down the "poignancy" and that it's all about the c.r.e.a.m., which had people in the room shaking their heads agreeing with him. Pretty sad when you get blasted for speaking the truth.

The Reality Show Roundtable/Noah's Ark - 1:55 p.m.
In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly,  Larry Wilmore one of the creative forces behind The Bernie Mac Show, and other execs in the TV industry participate in a roundtable on the reality television craze. Reality shows got started in the UK with Survivor, Big Brother, and Pop Idol the British version of American Idol.

There have been a bunch of spinoffs, but with the recent success of FOX's Joe Millionaire  networks are falling over themselves looking for the next big hit. It's said that the major networks hear between 5 - 15 pitches a day. Brian Robbins the executive-producer of Smallville commented that when his wife pitched him an idea at 11 PM when they were in bed, he knew it had hit the peak. In the article they go back and forth about the positive and negative sides of reality shows. The general consensus was while reality shows provide a quick boost in ratings and cost little to produce, they give the networks no value in the long term. Networks and actors make a lot of money from syndication - that's why Bill Cosby is still swimming in dough, all those reruns - reality shows don't have repeat viewing value. And while reality shows aren't the death of civilization, the networks are flooding the market at the expense of other programming.

The Bernie Mac Show  which had just received numerous awards including Golden Globe and Writers Guild nominations, was ignored for the praise and was preempted by FOX for two months and then pulled during sweeps week. Larry Wilmore says they have been told to dumb down the content of the show. "We actually get notes where they say - and this is not an exaggeration or a reinterpretation - they have actually said, "No more poignancy."

He attributes the flood of reality shows to greed and a few other things. "There are three things that govern a network. Fear is the first thing. It drives almost every decision they make.The only thing that trumps fear is greed. If they think they can make money on something, the fear goes away. And the thing that can triumph over greed is stupidity, and stupidity usually wins the day. And that's why Who Wants to Be a Millionaire  was put on all those times a week. Because as greedy as ABC was, they weren't smart enough to say, 'Yeah, but this is short-term.'"

You can read the entire interview here When Reality Attacks In the meantime, we switch gears to a new UK reality show called The Ark. In the game, 12 contestants will assume the persona of biblical characters. Onboard a virtual Noahs Ark, the official rules state, "The Divine Dozen will play games, complete tasks, overcome crises, discuss big issues of the day and argue over whose turn it is to muck out the gorillas. They can even go into the confessional to talk to "God", who gives them directions and answers their prayers."

Every fourth day, one of the contestants will be tossed off the ship by their fellow shipmates. The final winner will be determined by the audience. The twist? The game takes place online. Online "survivor" games have been done in the past between communities of webloggers, but this is the first time that it's gone corporate. Hmmm.. maybe there's a whudat reality show coming in the future.

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It's Just Begun - 2:33 p.m.
Okay, let's believe the Bushies when they say this upcoming war is not about oil. One undeniable fact (at least now) is if you have friends in the White House and don't exactly get your hands on those oil wells, you will at least receive some residual benefits, like firefighting contracts.

A Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root, just won a contract to oversee any firefighting duties in the Iraqi oil fields.. you know, just in case Saddam Hussein tries to torch the goods. Halliburton which does extensive work with the military is also the company which Vice-President Dick Cheney served as CEO from 1995 - 2000. Other beneficiaries of this deal could be a company called Boots and Coots International Well Control Inc.. another US company that has ties to Haliburton.

Got this from Reuters.. and they add that a spokesman from Haliburton directed all questions to the Defense Department. Good luck getting them to talk in detail.

2 + 1 = 3 Little Women - 1:59 p.m.
Well, well, well.. the search for Naturi's replacement in 3LW is over, 15 year-old Jessica 'J' Benson. Talking Ice Cream flavors, she's a Chocolate Deluxe just like Naturi. Couldn't believe it when I first saw the picture.. but it all makes sense. If they would have went any other way - Butter Pecan Rican, Creamy Caramel, French Vanilla, Bubbly Brown - they would have fueled Naturi's argument that she was discriminated against because she was the dark-skinned girl.

They tried every means possible to say that Naturi was just p-noid and they had no idea what she was talking about. Judging by their non-existent record sales, did you even know it was released, they lost a lot of credibility. Anyone other than Stevie Wonder could see that there was some race based marketing positioning going on in the group. So what do you do? Start over with a new girl that's just as chocolicious as Naturi. . uhh, I don't mean that in a Kelly way.. now they can go on 106 and Park and say, "See, I told you Naturi was nutbar."

That's not to take anything away from Jessica B, I'm sure she's a great girl, look at that smile. I just believe that a major part of the reason she was selected was for her to truly  be a replacement for Naturi. Hopefully that doesn't include having food fights at KFC.

Jessica Benson currently lives in Severn, Maryland and auditioned at the Washington DC tryouts in January. The official line says that she was selected after showing her singing and dancing skills and after various meetings between her family and the group to determine how well they got along with each other. They made their first public appearance at the Soul Train Awards, which I didn't see.. maybe someone can enlighten me on that. Jessica or "J" as they have dubbed her, will spend the next few months shuttling back and forth between NY and DC finishing up her 10th grade studies.

In a public statement Kiely and Adrienne said ""We are so happy that J has joined us as the new member of 3LW. In the short time she has been with us we have become like family. She has proven that she is a hard worker and a fast learner - the exact qualities we were looking for in a third member. We are also glad that with J we can move forward as a positive image for all girls of color."

It'll be interesting to see if the group continues along the same path that 3LW was headed.. with the girls dressing and acting way above their age. My guess is that they have learned a lesson and will tweak their image a lil bit.. nothing like looking at donut numbers on soundscan to wake you up.

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Your Phone is Tapped What You Gonna Do?
Seems that the National Security Agency has been tapping the phones of members of the UN Security Council. A recently disclosed NSA memo details a surveillance operation which involves interception of home and office telephones and emails of UN delegates from Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Mexico, Guinea, and Pakistan. The Bushies already knows that France, China, and Russia are not going to cooperate with their plan to march into Iraq. The previously mentioned countries represent the so-called "Middle Six" that would weigh the balance in their favor in any debate.

The memo dated January 31, 2003 was leaked to the London Observer. Written four days after UN inspector Hans Blix gave his report on Iraqi compliance with resolution 1441, it's directed to senior NSA officials and advises them to gather information on how the delegates would vote on a second resolution, their negotiating positions, alliances, and any other info that can help them to ward off any surprises. Many diplomats at the UN assume that they're phones are being monitored, but the uncovered memo was surprising in the scale of the interceptions. Home phone.. Office.. and email? How about bathroom?

Sounds like no big deal. Isn't this what you'd expect from the government. I'm thinking.. isn't this how things are done? Sure, but it's not supposed to be exposed.. it's what's called "dirty tricks." And in some cases illegal. The kind of thing that's usually revealed after the fact.. but with the advent of the internet.. news travels fast. Most of the major US media outlets have been ignoring the story or brushing it aside, but it's big news overseas.

The London Observer says that sources in Washington familiar with the operation said last week that there had been a division among the Bush administration over whether to pursue such a high intensity surveillance campaign. Those against it warned of the consequences of discovery. Officials in the White House are said to be "deeply embarrassed" but they have the press by the balls anyway.. so it won't make the front page anytime soon.

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