August 19, 2005
Mase Signing to G-Unit
Apparently these are Mase's feelings after releasing his album inappropriately titled, "Welcome Back" on Bad Boy last year. The album sold little, if at all and it seems that this is now the fault of Bad Boy Entertainment. It has nothing at all to do with the fact that the world was so over Mase's nursery rhymes long before 2004. Nothing, you hear me. It's all on Puffy and his staff at Bad Boy. Mase is a victim.
Mase went on to say, "I ain't going to be 50. I ain't gonna be Usher, but right in between." Although Mase seems to blame his disastrous album on the newly renamed Diddy, he says that there are no hard feelings. Mase said, "He pretty much knows I don't want to be there. It's nothing personal, but I don't want to be there."
Diddy doesn't seem to mind that he may be losing Mase, for the right price 50 is welcomed to Mase, who may have become more of a burden than a blessing for Bad Boy. Diddy said, "50 hasn't called me about signing Mase. If he's interested in signing him, we could always have a discussion. At the end of the day, I want everybody to be happy and where they want to be. But I'm available, I'm free, he's got my number."
Okay, 50 is doing too much. He seems to be signing just about anyone. Mobb Deep and M.O.P. really seem to a be a good look, but Mase, not so much. First of all, what the hell is Mase going to do for G-Unit? I mean they don't have the most lyrical talent in that G-Unit family and they don't need anymore mediocre lyricists. They just don't. Mase had one successful album. It was his first one, "Harlem World." It was cute, kind of bubblegum, but it served its purpose back in like 1998. He hasn't done a damn thing productive in music since then.
He released that wack ass group with his siblings in it, that was wack. Then he dropped another solo album and that flopped. He became a minister and then many moons later he came back with that "Welcome Back" bullshit. Not cute. Mase claims that he is going to be a cross between Usher and 50 Cent. That is so not likely. He is like 30 plus years old, he needs to sit his ass down somewhere and read the Bible. Nobody wants to hear his mess. Then he claims that Bad Boy forced him to go in a direction he didn't want to go in for the last album. Really? That shit sounded like classic Mase garbage to me. I can't say I heard more than "Welcome Back", but that was enough.
Mase claims that we all know him. Is that right? First he was the fast rhyming Mase Murda or Murda Mase, way before his record deal. Then he became the slow rhyming, slow talking Mase with the bubblegum songs and the pretty smile. Then he became a minister and I don't have a clue as to what he is planning to do with himself now, but I doubt 50 or Usher are getting nervous about being knocked out of position by the likes of Mason Betha. 50 needs to leave him alone, G-Unit will probably flounder on its own if they don't step their game up sooner or later, and they don't need any help from Mase.
Okay, after I wrote all of that stuff, I saw 50 on "106 and Park" saying that it is likely that Mase will end up on G-Unit. Good luck to all parties involved in that debacle.
106 and Park
Okay, so we all know that Free and A.J. left BET's "106 and Park", under what were probably not the best circumstances. Well I've been wishing them away for years, but now that they're gone, I feel like I wished for the wrong thing. Though Free and A.J. were as dumb as rocks and at times annoying, I was used to them and they weren't all that bad, in comparison to Tigger and Julissa.
Okay, Julissa has a very poor command of the English language and neither speaks or reads it very well. Then Tigger is just annoying as hell. He tries way too hard and his voice annoys the hell out of me. Stephen Hill, the man who runs things at BET claimed that Tigger and Julissa were only temporary solutions to the host problem. Then I looked and they had Mad Lynx or whatever his name is from "The Basement" hosting with Julissa. Julissa seemed to be reading slightly better and she seemed less annoying, but that was probably only in comparison to Mad Lynx, who needs to stay his ass in the basement.
This week, I saw Teairra Mari and J-Boog of B2K fame hosting the show. As sad as I was to admit it, they did a pretty good job. They're definitely in the right age bracket to host that show. Teiarra Mari is 17 and that B2K boy is probably 19 or 20. They are the voices that the kids who watch "106 and Park" want to hear. They also had really good chemistry. Teairra Mari isn't really burning up the charts, J-Boog hasn't been seen since Omarion dropped B2K like they were hot. They could probably be the permanent hosts of this show without it conflicting with any other schedules they have or don't have.
My one issue with Teairra Mari are her tacky ass nails. Her nails are like a foot long, they are so ghetto. Maybe that's hot in Detroit where she's from, I don't know, but that shit looks a mess and someone needs to cut those things down while she sleeps. I also notice that when she and J-Boog are just standing, she just busts out posing like Zoolander, only a little less obvious. It's not cute. She's a very pretty girl, but all of that is not necessary.
All this to say, I want Tigger, Mad Lynx, and Julissa off of my television. They have made me miss Dumb and Dumber, better known as Free and A.J. and I didn't think that was possible. I like J-Boog and Teiarra Mari, though for some reason I don't think their hosting the show is permanent. I don't really even watch "106 and Park", but when I do, I feel that it's well within my rights not to be irritated by the hosts. BET is going to really need to get it together.
Lil Mo Suing Ja RuleMo says that she had to find the right lawyer, which is why its taken her this long to begin pursuing the money that she claims is rightfully hers. She said, "I had to search for the right lawyer that would take the case so they wouldn't have any ties to Murder Inc. or Def Jam or anything to do with that song. I told the lawyer 'it's not about the money, it's about the principle.' Technically, off of that I could have retired or I could have gotten a crazy publishing deal."
Despite the huge fee she is suing for, Mo, whose real name is Cynthia Loving, claims that it is not personal. She said, This is beyond personal, this is business. This is my livelihood as an artist. We don't make money until the label makes money so as a songwriter that was a part of my career that I was supposed to receive a substantial amount of money." No one from Ja Rule's camp has released a statement in response to Mo's claims.
This is insane. Lil Mo was making her rounds to all the NYC radio stations a couple of weeks ago and she mentioned suing Ja Rule. Good for him, if he owes her, she needs to be paid. She's been talking about not being paid the money she was owed for that song for a while now. Lil Mo did do a lot for the career of Ja Rule. She pretty much helped establish his ass as the premier sing-song rapper, with an r&b chick on the hook. Lil Mo paved the way for non-singing ass Ashanti to be Ja's sidekick. They owe her so much money, it's ridiculous.
Now, it was Lil Mo's own stupidity to be doing shows for free when Ja was getting $50,000 a performance. Who does that? Obviously she was doing that shit on the strength and I hope she isn't looking to be compensated for what can only be chalked up to being a bad decision on her part. I hope Mo gets more money that she deserves, because they are playing with her livelihood and had it not been for her, Ja would have probably not been as popular as he was for that stretch before 50 came and obliterated Ja.
Lil Mo has a new cd coming out very soon. I can't remember the details, but I think it's next month. You guys should get it, she can sing, she's a good writer. She's every bit of what's missing in music today. Now this is not in anyway related to Lil Mo, but you guys should get Jaguar Wright's cd. It's all I've been listening to for the past few weeks and it is very good. It reminds me that all the real singers have not disappeared, they just don't sell much in this day and age.
Melyssa Ford and Superhead
While I was missing in action, Karrine "Superhead" Steffans, the most infamous hip-hop groupie ever, released a tell all book, chronicling her exploits with rappers, actors, and other celebrity types. There was a lot of drama surrounding the book and the things Superhead said, but now is not the time to get into all of that old school stuff. Anyway, Melyssa Ford, a former video chick, who now co-hosts "BET Style" had some public statements to make about Superhead and how she felt about Superhead's book.
Melyssa spoke to allhiphop.com and told them that she felt that Superhead's book was sending the wrong message to young girls. Melyssa said, "Her motivation for doing videos was for a stepping stone to become bigger in the entertainment industry and to be promiscuous. The fact that her story is being sensationalized right now sends a real bad message to little girls."
Apparently Melyssa feels that she is a role model to young girls and Superhead is not. Melyssa said, "I try to project a good message to the young girls, that you can use videos as stepping-stone if you do it the right way. You just look at it as a job, as a paycheck. You know don't fraternize with the artist after hours or in the trailer. Don't make passes at the directors or the producers. Do what you are asked to do, but respect yourself at the same time. Maintain that level of etiquette and respect and you will have longevity in this industry."
Even though she is not a role model, Superhead's book, "Confessions of a Video Vixen" has been a staple on the New York Times best seller list. Melyssa Ford irks me. I hate to see her on "BET Style". I have no idea why but there is something I find extremely irritating about her. While she irks me, she has a good point. Although, I seriously doubt Melyssa Ford is as virginal as she is making herself out to be. Superhead is nobody's role model, but who is? Superhead's only job is to be a role model for her own child and it doesn't really seem that she's doing too good a job at that, but who's to say?
It is not Superhead's job to base any career decisions on what the kids will think or how young girls will react to what she is putting out into the universe. While Melyssa Ford thinks she's this great role model, she should shut up. Any young girls looking to Melyssa Ford or Superhead as role models need to be removed from their homes promptly, because there's not a lot of great parenting going on in those households.
Seriously. It appears that Melyssa Ford just wanted a moment to say, "I was a video hoe too, but now I'm on BET and not selling my sexploits to make a buck." Melyssa Ford is a legend in her own mind and nobody cares if she's "better" than Superhead, who is basically trash. We really don't. It's not like she is explaining how and why she's better than say, Oprah Winfrey. But, since it seems to make Melyssa Ford feel better about herself, we can all just acknowledge that Melyssa Ford is better than Superhead and move on.
Eminem Hospitalized For Drug Addiction
Rapper Eminem canceled his European tour citing exhaustion and "other medical issues" that remained unspecified. Just two days after the tour was canceled, Em's spokesperson released a statement saying that Em was hospitalized for sleep medication dependency. The official statement from Interscope Records reads: Marshall Mathers, a.k.a. Eminem, is in the hospital under doctors' care. He's being treated for dependency on sleep medication." Details to where he was being treated were not released.
Okay, I don't really want to call Em a crackhead, because sleeping pills aren't really crack, but still, I call all drug addicts crackheads. I wonder how long he's been a crackhead? Either way, I'm glad to see he is taking care of his dependency issues before they spiral out of control. It's not like he doesn't have enough problems without being a crackhead on top of everything else. I wish him well.
- reported by Keshawnta J.