New Edition- Gold (2 Disc Collection)

I know most of you remembered these six talented individuals known as New Edition featuring Ralph Tresvant, Ricky Bell, Ronnie Devoe, Michael Bivins, Johnny Gill, and that damn Bobby Brown.  They are one of the most successful r&b groups in the 1980's and 1990's with countless hits as a group and solo artists as well.  They were one of the pioneers of that 'boy band' craze that is influential in the pop music culture. The Jacksons and Temptations made it a possible for New Edition to do their thing in the music industry.  When New Edition first came out, they were compared to the Jacksons in their preteen to teenage years.  The group was soon compared to the Temptations as they matured with the music.  These brothers came from Boston, MA/Washington DC to take the music world by storm with their harmonies and dance steps. New Edition was no joke when it came to live shows. You would pay good money to see a top quality concert performance from the group.  NE has definitely been on point at their shows wearing the same outfits, supported by a 4-5 piece band, changing microphone position on different songs, and those ladies acting wild for their favorite members.

This two disc compilation gives music lovers the true reason why N.E. is a powerful force in the history of music.  They were able to mix up hip hop, r&b, pop, and a little gospel all into one package.  What can you say about the hits like Cool It Now, Mr Telephone Man, Can You Stand the Rain, If It Isn't Love, Count Me Out, Hit Me Off, A Little Bit of Love (Is All It Takes), Lost in Love, You're Not My Kind of Girl, My Secret, With You All the Way, and I'm Still in Love With You.  The disadvantage of this cd was not including their early hit records such as Candy Girl, Popcorn Love, Jealous Girl, and Is This The End. Those songs were from an independent label called Streetwise before they signed with the major label MCA. There are remixes from the hit songs Crucial and NE Heartbreak (which is one my favorite NE joints of all time. The video had them dancing in Hammer pants and riding the mopads.).  The cd also have some rare and unreleased cuts such as Once In A Lifetime Groove, Helplessly in Love, One More Day, You Don't Have to Worry and the remake of a 60's classic song Earth Angel. Then came the solo years of New Edition. Bobby Brown was known as the 'bad boy' of r&b during the late 1980's and early 1990's with his signature raunchy dance moves and hip hop style of stage presence.  This dude was on top of the world at one point then reality came crashing down hard on him from his legal troubles to his turbulent marriage to Whitney Houston.  You could not deny that Bobby was that dude when he released the classics My Prerogative (#1 and his signature hit record that changed the r&b sounds which led to the New Jack Swing movement marrying r&b and hip hop beautifully), Don't Be Cruel (first r&b song i heard including a rap in the song.), Every Little Step (certified pop/r&b classic with a hip hop flavor also the video was crazy with the big letter words of the song title and three beautiful ladies walking in tall boots with a top notch sexy vibe), Girlfriend (his first solo hit since he broke away from New Edition and nice ballad at that), On Our Own (classic banger from the Ghostbusters II movie that saluted his greatness of being a major success), and Humpin Around (one of the final hits in his career before the downfall ). The disc did not contain classic ballads Roni and Rock Wit Cha and uptempo tracks like Get Away. Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and Ronnie Devoe became the powerful trio Bell Biv Devoe with hits like Poison (this song still gets the party started by listening to drum kit patterns in the song), Do Me (I bet people got in trouble with this song. These dudes were strictly on the sex tip.), BBD I Thought It Was Me (one of their best jamming songs in their career which gave them platform of the style of hip hop and r&b together and adding a little pop to the style), and the classic ballad When Will I See You Smile Again (Ricky Bell gets major props for this joint and became certified as a beast on the vocals).  BBD were the background cats in New Edition because there were many speculations about about them being successful on their own.  They were heavily popular during the 1990-1992 time frame in music.  Johnny Gill is one of the most talented singers in modern r&b and soul music history.  He paid his dues in this industry from his early years of with Stacy Lattisaw then joining New Edition in the late 1980s to help give the group a mature sound.  This powerful career move benefited both NE and Johnny because Johnny was able to gain major recognition and being a member of member of NE when they were successfully established.  Johnny reached his peak solo wise with the classics such as Wrap My Body Tight, Rub You the Right Way, and his signature slow jam My My My.  He had a few more hits that could have been on the disc such as Fairweather Friend, Long Way from Home, and Half Crazy. Ralph Tresvant was the lead singer of New Edition and had a few hits as solo artists.  People had said about Ralph would have more of a successful career if he would have went solo during the 1980's.  He chose to remain faithful to New Edition until the other members were focusing on their solo projects.  During the short span of his solo career, Ralph was able to break a few hits such as Sensitivity, Do What I Gotta Do, and Money Can't Buy You Love (which the song from the soundtrack to the movie Mo Money featuring Damon and Shawn Wayans along with beautiful actress Stacey Dash.).

New Edition proved their mark in music by showcasing each individual in the group.  They successfully  created spinoff groups and solo artists with all six members.  The group gets together on certain occasions for performances and recordings.  So much talent in the group makes you wonder about any egos involved. The group members have admitted in different interviews that egos came into play with their success.  There are times when you can't get all the guys in one room because they have got very comfortable with being successful in their solo careers.  New Edition will always have a place in the history of music.  So many artists and groups owe their careers to the guys. These dudes are still giving good concert performances. Whenever they are in your hometown, be sure to check them out.

Stay Single For A Long Time.

Relationships in modern days are becoming very overrated because of the material things and selfishness to impress a mate.  There were those times when a young man was so confident in looking for companionship and the lady would genuinely accepted to be his other half. You and her could discuss future goals to get a better understanding of one another without any judgement.  In today's relationships, you have to show out with your money, jewelry, cars, and nice clothes to attract the attention of the opposite sex.  There are individuals involved in unprotected sexual activies that led to diseases and pregnancies.  You never know about the person you're having sex with might be filled with multiple partners to participate in different acts of sex.  As a conscious person, you would show much concern on allowing certain people to enter certain areas of the body. Drama causes many relationships to fail.  Couples arguing on daily basis about different issues from sexual performances to finances.  The other half would be frustrated with their mate about their lack of commitment.  When the communication comes to a default, no hope is there for reconciling.  In most cases, it is important for the individual to remain single until the time comes for them in getting serious in relationships.  You may be lonely as a single man or woman but no worries about another person bringing you down with unsolved issues.

I made a choice to stay single because I need more time to get my life in order.  There are some cycles in my life that I need to break free from financial issues to spirituality.  At this point, a relationship is not on my list of agenda.  There will be a time for me to find love and happiness with a special woman.  Right now, I am on the rebound path to make major changes in my life.  Family members and friends have tried to put pressure on me to get involve in relationships. I informed them about waiting a long time to find the special one because I need learn how balance my life out and make better decisions.  I admit to doing some wrong things in my life.  I saw how it affected the people in my life. I took action on gaining back my reputation as loving and productive person in this strange world. Also I am working on getting more in touch with my spiritual roots. I am not trying to be a religious freak at all.  I need some major peace in my life to get very closer to the man above me known as God. God will bless me with that special lady in my life that would love, care, and honor me as I will give her the same treatment. I also plan to take care of my body.  Maintaining a certain level of body weight and better food choices will allow my body to be in great health. I am working eliminating some of the heavy stress in my life because it adds on to the poor choices that were made.  Give me time to mature  physically, spiritually, mentally, and financially. Once the changes are completed, I will take the next step in finding the special one.

Original 7ven aka The Time New Video 'Trendin'

Hope a lot of musicheads remember this band called The Time.  They were once from the Prince camp.  They had hits like Jungle Love, The Bird, The Walk, Jerk Out, 777-9311, Gigilos Get Lonely Too, Cool, Get it Up and many more. The band is back with a new single and video featuring all seven original members: frontman Morris Day, hypeman Jerome Benton, top producing duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, guitarist Jesse Johnson, drummer Jellybean Johnson, and keyboardist Monte Moir.  The single is called Trendin' with a sound of classic funk mixed modern upbeat dance tempo track.  Check it out below.

Why I Dig Music So Much

Music has an important effect on the world. It can create different moods on being happy, sad, angry, concern about life from a different prospective.  The way I look at music it has gotten me through me hard times and happiness in my life. All I could do is lay back and play the sounds of music to enjoy.  I have a variety range of music that I listened to from soul, funk, rap, hip hop, a little bit of gospel, some blues, and some rock and pop. I appreciated the different selection of artists such as Michael Jackson, Tupac Shakur, The Temptations, New Edition, Phil Collins, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, N.W.A., Rick James, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Notorious B.I.G., James Brown, Eminem, and countless others.  I could be laying down in bed at night with the cd player on the side with jams that could put me to sleep.  Depending on different moods, I can always count on music on making my day complete.  The internet has definitely made more comfortable in appreciating music.  I am always using the website Youtube to watch music videos and live performances.  I would stay on Youtube for hours looking up songs and different artists on a daily basis.  I had my share of concert experiences from artists like R Kelly, Keith Sweat, Gerald and Sean Levert, K-Ci and Jojo, New Edition, Jay-Z, Doug E Fresh, Tony Toni Tone, The Gap Band, Slick Rick, MC Lyte, Biz Markie, The Whispers, Teddy Riley, and others. Music is always apart of my life and that will never change.  I couldn't imagine my life without music.  I always find myself in conversations with family members and coworkers about my musical tastes. Without music, the world would be so damn boring with all the politics and employment issues. Music helps me and others get on with life through joy and excitement. I hope to find a significant other very soon that also has an equal musical taste as me.

Thoughts of an Autozone Employee

I worked for Autozone for over 4 years. I witnessed managers and coworkers get fired, quit, and even had death in the company.  Throughout my journey with the company, I am blessed to be standing strong and God kept his hands on me in protecting my job.  I had my share of wroteups and warnings from upper level management but i overcame all the issues that as an Autozoner.  Even my  solid relationship with regular customers helped me remain with the company. I have a lot of people rooting for me to get a raise and promotion because i went out my way to assist them in whatever problems they had for their vehicles.  There are some boundaries I set when it comes to customers' cars.  I don't mess with the A/C unit at all and definitely the engine.  I would point out the problem if i can spot it without any doubts.  Depending on certain issues with vehicles, I would tell the customers that a few mechanics need to get involved to provide more descriptive opinions on their vehicles. Just start with me by giving you some free advice and share it with a mechanic and/or dealership so maybe they could reduce heavy costs in servicing vehicles. I am usually a multitasker at the job. I look up parts on the ZNet software on the computer, answer the phone lines for customer service, helping out with batteries and light bulbs installation on cars if it takes me short amount of time to do, clean up the store, and organize the merchandise.  I have my moments of bad experiences at work dealing with irate customers, covering for irresponsible coworkers, and also slipping up on work performances sometimes.  Anyway, I managed to maintain my position there at the company. I have ambition and goals that I want to accomplish. I don't intend to be at the place all my life. While I'm still there at the company, I am continuing to gain more knowledge and experiences that could help guide me in my future endeavors.

Code Name- The Cleaner movie with Cedric the Entertainer, Nicollette Sheridan, and Lucy Lui

Cedric the Entertainer has his ways of making you laugh with his style of physical comedy. He is known for participating on BET's Comic View, sitcom The Steve Harvey Show, movies such as Ride, Barbershop 1&2, Kingdom Come, and Big Momma's  House, and also apart of the successful tour the Original Kings of Comedy.  In this film, he is joined by Nicollette Sheridan from Desperate Housewives and Knots Landing, Lucy Lui from the Charlie Angels movie trilogies, Niecy Nash from Reno 911, and DeRay Davis (a Chicago comedian who appeared in Barbershop films wih Cedric also). Cedric plays a custodian that has amnesia after waking up closely to a dead CIA agent in a hotel room with a briefcase full of money.  Nicollette Sheridan plays Cedric's wife in the film and convinces him that he is a part of CIA agency squad.  He had difficult moments remembering Sheridan being his wife and he questions himself about being in an interracial marriage. I will say that Nicollette was looking very sexy in the movie when she wore an all white outfit that had a suit jacket and skirt to match.  There was a scene when Sheridan gave Cedric a lapdance in the bedroom in her pink underwear and bra with some high heels on.  I never really watched Desperate Housewives but  managed to caught some episodes of Knots Landing when she was on the show.  She was mad young at the time acting on Knots Landing.  She is a hot older woman that will attract the guys attention.  She never had any kids so she's a cougar in my eyes. (Cougar is an older woman that attracts young men.) Lucy Lui plays an undercover CIA agent who Cedric had a past relationship with.  Lucy seems to get pissed at Cedric for not remembering her and bullied him around with pouring coffee and ice in his pants. DeRay plays Cedric's fellow coworker in the janitor business. DeRay is hilarious when he tries to protray the role of a rapper in the custodian business.  His attempts to become a rapper will have you laughing at him.  DeRay is a damn fool with his style of comedy. Neicy Nash plays the role a ghetto security agent who claims to have a relationship with Cedric in the past. It was mainly a cameo appearance for Nash. She wasn't in the movie for long.  The movie scene with Nicollette and Lucy facing off with each other is entertaining and sexy.  In Cedric's mind, he thought the two ladies would perform lesbian sexual activities.  I saw the behind the scenes footage when Nicollette explains that she takes kickboxing lessons as a form of keeping her body in shape. Lucy is pro when it comes to martial arts. I saw her skills on Charlie's Angels movies 1 and 2.  She is like the 'female Jackie Chan' bridging the gap between martial arts and Hollywood acting. The movie is entertaining overall with its comedy mixed with action filled drama.  Cedric did his thing in the film while Lucy and Nicollette provided the eye candy for the fellas to appreciate their beauty onscreen.

Disorderlies DVD

Anybody remembers the legendary hip hop trio the Fat Boys which included Prince Markie Dee, Kool Rock Ski, and the late Human Beatbox Buffy.  They were ruling hip hop during the mid-80's with their comic style of rap.  They always rapped about food in their songs.  Buff was one of the pioneers of the beatboxing sound along with another fellow pioneer Doug E Fresh. Around 1987, the group made their starring film debut in the movie Disorderlies. The trio already had some experience in the movie field when they appeared in 1985's hip hop classic film Krush Groove.  This movie was funny and entertaining at the same time.  Fat Boys portrayed the role as caretakers for an ailing elder rich man (played by Ralph Bellamy from Trading Places with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd) named Albert.  They were hired by Albert's nephew and also set up by him in attempt to kill his uncle to pay back his gambling debts.  Movie critics dubbed the Fat Boys as the' hip hop Three Stooges' because of the constant handslaps and random funny outbursts.  The group had performance scene in the film when they performed the song 'Baby You're A Rich Man' which is from the soundtrack. Anyway the movie is a must have in your collection because you are to laugh like it's no tomorrow.  The Fat Boys did good in their starring roles.  I thought they should have more acting opportunities but the film expanded their legacy.