Brutha #1's Worst Remakes part 1

Yeah I'm back...I really don't mind people remaking songs but they need to come close or surpass the original. The list below reflects my thoughts on some REALLY bad remakes...no real order just a list

1. All Cried Out by Allure & 112. Originally this song was done by Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam. This song really didn't need a remake. The original is a CLASSIC. Allure and 112 provided a weak vocal in comparison to the original. Plus they missed the essential passion of the original. When Lisa Lisa cried.. "her body never knew such passion, her heart never knew such pain".. you could feel it. I think Allure & 112 failed miserably.

2. Tell Me If You Still Care by Monica. Originally done by SOS Band. This was a terrible remake but I think Monica's youth played against her here. I didn't think she pulled off the yearning of the original. Production wise something seemed off too.

3. Emotions-Destiny's Child originally by the Bee Gees. This is one the worst remakes ever IMO. While I give them props on the harmony.. this was just overly affected. Beyonce's wailing, Kelly trying to out do Beyonce, and Michelle sounding like a startled cat..it was too much

4. Ginuwine gave us a double play of horrible.. he had the audacity to think he could pull of When Doves Cry AND She's Out Of my Life. While the latter was better than the former I think he treaded on sacred ground and lost. Ginuwine covering MJ actually looks good on paper b/c there are some similarity but the execution was terrible. Sorry G.. you lost twice

5. Knockin Da Boots- Pretty Ricky. Quiet as kept I actually like Pretty Ricky but they must have been smoking if they think it was a smart idea to remake H-Town sex jam of 1993.

6. Got To Give It Up- Zhane. This breaks my heart because Zhane is one of my favorite acts. They are usually on point but their tribute to Marvin Gaye fell flat for me. It almost didnt even sound like Zhane. Good news not too many have heard this version. They are too talented to release such material.

7. Our Love- Mary J Blige. Sorry, vocally, Mary is just not Natalie Cole

8. Open Arms- Mariah Carey..... why oh why Mariah. The original by Journey was schmaltzy enough it didnt need the MC ballad treatment.

9. Right and a Wrong Way- Mario......sigh.......say what you will about Keith Sweat and his voice he had a way with songs and made them his own. I dont think Mario did horrible.. but some songs are so identifiable that they shouldnt be remade. This is the case with this song. It should not be remade.

10. Secret Garden- Silk.. After the 1990 original no more versions of this song. There was a female version too with Patti Labelle and Teena Marie that should be destroyed along with Silk's version.

20 Questions

To honor what use to be my fav Magazine from 93-00..VIBE.. I'd like to present a 3Bruthas Passing Judgement 20 Questions for 90's music/pop culture.

1. Why was Brownstone so loud?
2. Why was Michael Jackson considered New Jack Swing?
3. Why did Mariah really bring rap/sing collabos to prominence in the 90s and it continues to this day?
4. Why was Veronica Webb ever considered to be a Supermodel?
5. Why did the 90's have so many damn groups?
6. Why did the 90's have so many good group?
7. Why is the 90's the golden age for Hip Hop?
8. Why was rock music so moody in the 90's?
9. Wasn't VIBE the music BIBLE?
10. Why were the Clinton years the BOMB for black people?
11. Why did rap in the 90's go from great to good to hood?
12. Why were soundtracks bigger than the movies they were associated with?
13. Why was Kelly Price the go to background singer for BadBoy?
13. How come we thought Badboy was never gonna stop?
14. Why were teen acts so talented in the 90's
15. Why was FOX the network on Thursdays night?
16. Wasn't reggae hip hop the ish in the club for like 4 years straight?
17. Why was the 90's all about the REMIX?
18. Why were jeeps so popular?
19. Where art thou' Cross Colours and Karl Kani?
20. Why was R&B so damn sexy?

Top Ten Rappers of All Time (Brutha #2)

As the 2nd oldest brutha on 3 Bruthas Passing Judgement, I grew up slap dab in the middle of the true school and beginning stage of hip hop’s decline. The rappers on my list seem to all be from the golden era or started out during that time. I tried to consider some of the rappers who stepped on the scene post 1999, but I couldn’t find anyone deserving to be on the list. There are a few rappers (i.e. The Game, T.I.?) who could potentially be one of the greatest after a few more albums, while others are clearly good top ten contenders for a ringtone countdown. Before I beat a dead horse with a rant dealing with the state of today’s hip-hop(maybe another blog for another day), here’s my list to round out our top 10 rappers of all time:

10) Master Ace.

Talk about someone who is underappreciated in the rap world. He goes way back to the Juice Crew days when he killed it on“The Symphony”. I didn’t get into Ace until he released the joint “Born To Roll” from the album Slaughterhouse, then I began to check out some of his other projects and he is amazing. He reminds me of a less lyrical Nas who has a way of making you visualize scenarios on screen when he rhymes…that’s a talent.

9) Chuck D.

Looking back at some of the rap to come out of during the late 80’s, there was a lot of socially conscious hip-hop. Many of those artists were fly by night and had no impact what so ever. It says something about Chuck if he managed get everyone to stop and listen to him worldwide.

8) Lauryn Hill.

Let me first say when I heard her kill it on the “Nappy Heads” remix in ’94...I was obsessed and knew big things were on the way. Putting aside all of the erratic behavior she began to show years later, L was once a force to be reckoned with. Every rhyme that came out of her mouth was flawless.

7) Gangstarr.

As a group they had the best chemistry. I sometimes wonder would Guru even be as successful if he wasn’t initially paired with DJ Premier to create a masterpiece like “Manifest” , “Just To Get a Rep” or “Mass Appeal”. To be honest, Guru is just an ok rapper i.m.o. and it was the Gangstarr synergy that made them an incredible group.

6) Common.

I’ve been following Common before he had to drop Sense from his name for legal reasons. The first time I REALLY paid attention to him was when the song “I Used to Love H.E.R.” dropped. It wasn’t until the album One Day It Will All Make Sense dropped that I went out and bought his album. He’s poetic without going over your head and probably one of the best REAL freestylers.

5) Big Daddy Kane.

Kane is swag’s inspiration. Before T.I. redefined swagger, Kane was the dude every rapper wanted to emulate. His wordplay still remains top notch even after two decades.…Who comes with better lyrics than this:

“Here I am, r-a-w
A terrorist, here to bring trouble to
Phony mcs, I move on and seize
I just conquer and stomp another rapper with ease
Cause Im at my apex and others are below
Nothing but a milliliter, Im a kilo
Second to none, making mcs run
So dont try to step to me, cause I aint the one
I relieve rappers just like tylenol
And they know it, so I dont see why you all
Try to front, perpetrating a stunt
When you know that Ill smoke you up like a blunt”
---Big Daddy Kane Raw

4) Jay- Z.

Jay shined the most from 1995-2001 in my opinion. I respect his ability to expand and take risks by working with artists like Punjabi MC ,Coldplay, and Linkin Park. Plus he’s a master next to Diddy when it comes to marketing himself.

3) Wu-Tang Clan (selected members).

The distinct personalities in the Wu made them stand out for me. Most rap groups before them consisted of members who seemed to all be cut from the same cloth. Wu Tang came along and brought storytelling, complex lyrics, and party hip hop together backed by RZA’s unique sound. So they rightfully deserve to be in the top 3.


2) Tupac.

This was a hard decision. I battled between choosing B.I.G. and Pac for this position. Pac’s writing ability and how he addressed issues of everyday people gave him an edge over BIG. I’ll just end there before I start comparing more…lol. Both Pac and BIG were intriguing people but this one goes to Tupac.

1) Nas.

I still can’t believe Nas was only 19 when he created the Illmatic album. Can you think of anyone today that age or even older creating anything on that level? He is hip hop at its finest. Some of his other gems were Stillmatic, God’s Son, and It was Written.

Brutha #1's Up and Coming R&B Song of the Week

My pick for "up and coming" this week is a artist I found on YouTube(he has some really nice songs on the Tube). I originally heard the song on Sirius and it had such a great 90's R&B sound and vocally dude is pretty good. I sometimes hate the phrase "grown and sexy" but this is a good joint to chill out to with your girl... hope you enjoy

K-Jon On the Ocean



Enjoy

Can Girl Groups Make A Comeback ? (Vol.1)... DEAR JAYNE

15 years ago girl groups like Jade, Xscape, SWV, Brownstone, TLC & En Vogue were making their mark in the billboard charts. Pumpin out hit songs we still know and love today. 10 years ago 702, Destiny's Child & even the Spice Girls were making their mark in the industry. Within the last few years we have had little to no girl groups compared to the 90's.

Brutha 2 and myself (Brutha 3) have a soft spot for girl groups (not too sure about Brutha 1, he's very sometime-ish, lol j/k) but I have hopes that one day girl groups (with substance) will make a comeback onto the music scene which leads me into this post...

Exibit A - DEAR JAYNE

Dear Jayne (from l-r) Lindsey (19), Ashlee (22) and Jasmine (22) are an r&b/pop trio now hailing from none other than ATL. Some sources say the group was formed in 2005 others say 2006, but at this point that shouldn't matter because still NO ONE KNOWS THEM.

Dear Jayne is mentored by The-Dream (not sure why) and started to record and release material in 2007. In Feb 2008 Dear Jayne released their first single "Rain". The beat driven mid-tempo track didn't fair too well on the charts. The single only peaked at a dissapointing number 99 on the Billboards hot r&b/hip-hop songs chart. Their second try was the uptempo "Fallback" (featuring The-Dream) which was released in August of '08 and charted even lower than their first single.

Now The-Dream hasn't given up just yet on Dear Jayne. They have decided to spice things up for 2009 by releasing a brand new song "Double Take" (rumored to be their new single). The sound of the moment right now is "International Pop", artists are not thriving to just please America anymore now they have realized that if you want to get PAID in this fickle industry you need take thangs across the globe.

"Double Take" has a very rock'n'b-ish vibe to it. If they label decides to release it sometime soon (like within the next 2 weeks). They could possibly have a female summer anthem on their hands. Although my only complaint is I'm not sure what Ashlee is singing about in the 1st verse, and maybe they should consider altering it. "he's the only one with strut on the range", "sho thinkin something mean in those jeans". I'm guessing they mean his car is nice and he's well endowed I'm not sure lol.

You see I'm from Canada so maybe someone can fill me in on what they mean (If I don't understand how would Europe) lol. With those minor changes maybe this time they may get noticed at least.....

What Do YOU Think ?

Will & Que Get Into It on MTB4

So, I just finished watching whatever number episode just aired of Making The Band 4, (sigh)

I don’t even know why I’m blogging about these catty men (because that’s exactly what they’re acting like). You would think the split of their ex-label mates Danity Kane was a wake up call showing them that they need to get their act together, but of course not. In the episode that aired at 9 pm tonight, Will and Que get into a heated argument over not having "dance rehearsals" at 12:45 am. Now if anyone had woken me up to dance at 12:45 I would have reacted a lot less calm than Will did. I feel for Que though, because it seems like he's constantly trying to prove his manhood to his other group members in the house. I seen a little bit of it last season, but this season since there's no Danity Kane (despite what Dawn and Aundrea want to believe, lol) it's a lot more evident that he's somewhat of a lost soul. Judging by the preview for next week's episode, the BITCHASSNESS ain't over just yet.

It baffles me that these 5 talented bruthas (I’m really not a fan of Que, and this episode made things worse) can’t put their ego’s to make and stop bickering with each other, make an album (a good album), tour and most of all make MONEY like they all want to do. I saw this "poor plea" coming even before Diddy made Day26, look at the label their on... Nuff Said...

If you missed the fight, peep the important part of it below. As my boy said, "the battle of the light skinned bruthas has just begun", lol... One thing I can say is dull Dawn definitely gained some points in this episode.

Brutha#1 says:

Yeah Brutha 3.. I was beyond distracted at all the head and neck-rolling and lip smacking going on with Que. He keeps trying to prove his manhood...perhaps thats the problem..maybe he keeps trying to FIND his manhood..I dont think for a second that he wanted it with Will. I think Will would have beat him all up and through that aprartment..but I digress.

This band actually got solid potential b/c as Puff stated earlier there aren't any groups out and they really have a chance to make an impact. Problems with groups like this is they werent friends or acquaintances to being with and were put together so they have the growing pains of learning and working with strangers in intimate settings.

Give me Que and Will arguing any day as opposed to Brian and anyone...lol. Brian needs counseling IMMEDIATELY.. he is a time bomb waiting to happen. .. when he goes into his eighth octave its a wrap, dude sounds like a banshee.

Can Puff just fire Donnie already.. he has no buzz and is pretty boring

Top 10 Rappers Of All Time (Brutha #3)

What’s up yall, I’m the 3^rd and the youngest “brutha passing judgment” Now when I was putting this list together I wasn’t aware that I could include female rappers or rap groups, so that made it even HARDER for me to compose. When I was composing this I realized it’s all over the place, but I also realized that THIS IS MY LIST, So who cares what anyone else says, lol.......... FYI Before you read this list YOU’VE BEEN WARNED that most of my choices are either rappers or groups that were signed to Bad Boy Records, or are from New York, lol.

10. T.I.

This is the man who re-defined the word “swagger”. Now 4 years ago you could never get me to say T.I. was even in my top 100 favorite rappers list, but as time went on his lyric’s and popularity skyrocketed, and unlike Lil’ Wayne, this was one bandwagon I jumped onto quickly, which really wasn’t hard because unlike most I was following him since he released his 1^st single “I’m Serious” with Beenie Man back in like 2000. Either way he’s come a long way and really deserves this spot for what he’s contributed to the game post 2000. Hopefully he will get outta jail by like September on “good behavior” just like every other rapper.

09. Fabolous

This is one of the few rappers where I own the original copy of every album he’s released (even the mixtape “More Street Dreams”, lol) Fab came out during a phase in my life where everyone was having house parties, and with interesting, quirky punch lines like his, a Fabolous song with him effortlessly spelling out his name was always a party starter. Not only does he know how to please a crowd, but he’s been consistent with his material since day one. From his 1^st single down to his latest, he’s displayed some nice club bangers, but has also proved he could flow hard, and make songs for the ladies. All the ingredients of a successful rapper balled up into one. New York Rapper #1 of many.

08. Foxy Brown/Lil’ Kim

These are the only two females to make my list. Now, the thing is I like Foxy more than I’ll ever like Kim, but when narrowing a list down to TEN rappers, I have to place them together. Hardcore is my fav rap album by a female in the 90s. Whereas Broken Silence is my fav rap album by a female to emerge from the millennium, so I just joined the 2 together to end my misery. They both have their own pro’s and con’s and I could only imagine what life woulda been like if they actually put their petty BD aside and actually did that Thelma & Louise album, it woulda been a killer. Surprise New York, New York again, lol.

07. Blacksheep

One of my favorite rap groups and the first “parental advisory” cassette tape that I owned was “A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing”. Although I feel the duo has never matched the creativity of their debut, I can say that to me they will always be deemed one of hip-hops most underrated rap duo’s ever. New York again

06. Wu-Tang Clan

Love ‘em. Although Wu has one of my most hated rap song of all time (Da Mystery Of Chestboxin’) I still think that their catalog is major. I first took notice of them when they released “Triumph”. I was one of the people who bought Wu-Tang Forever during the 1^st week it got released, and it was a really good album. So good it made me jump back into their discography and buy “36 Chambers” which was equally as good. They completely lost me with “The W” album, but all is forgiven because 8 out of their 9 members had either good albums or enjoyable singles to make up for where they went wrong in the millennium. Note: I will NEVER be a fan of U-God. This right here is like New York to the 10^th power.

05. NAS

Nas is of the only rappers to always spit knowledge on a track, no matter what the circumstances seem to be. One thing I’ve always respected about Nas is that he evolved musically as a rapper. He never released an album spitting regurgitated bars. He was always original and he always found a way to make his songs and album into interesting stories. “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” is clearly a hip-hop classic, and even his last album had its standouts….. okay that’s a lie, but he’s still Nas, lol. Although lately I haven’t been feeling his material as much as his early work he’s still the man, oh and I’ve officially forgiven him for releasing that rubbish called ‘Nastradamus”. NY again…..

04. Jay-Z

I feel like nothing has to be said here. We all know Jay’s greatness and he’s got an amazing catalog. So this is a well deserved spot. However he’s going to bump himself down to about spot 8 if “Blueprint 3” isn’t a banger. He does have one of the hottest chicks in the game though, so he’ll always stay top 10, hahahaha (New York again…..)

03. DMX

This was the first rapper I was a huge fan of after BIG’s death. When DMX came out on the scene I was 13, thinking I was a grown man, and DMX was the perfect person to follow (back then). I think I know at least the chorus and a verse to every song on his debut, which is another one of my favorites. DMX is one rapper where if I had to choose just ONE favorite song by him, it would be so hard. I can do it for everyone else on this list, everyone but X. He might not be on anyone else’s top 10 list, but ask anybody who tore up the rap game from in the late 90’s and they would have to go with DMX as one of their choices. He came, he saw he conquered and now he’s on some next ish, ugh! It’s so embarrassing. X you’re in my prayers brutha. NY Stand Up!!!!

02. Twista

Now I’m aware that people might laugh, and holler at the fact that Twista is my second favorite rapper, but if you are familiar with his music, you’ll understand. Twista is very underrated and I must say it takes WHOLE LOT of skills to rap so detailed and so damn fast, so you gotta respect that. I can admit as much of a favorite he is of mine I don’t know much of his work when he went as Tung Twista, but once it hit it hit HARD. I was also not one of the people to jump on his short lived bandwagon after he released “Slow Jamz”. I was a fan way before that. The moment I heard him featured on “Po Pimp” I thought it was a member of Bone Thugz (which is a group I also used to be a big fan of). After I found out who he was, I just couldn’t turn away. He’s also another rapper that has consistently put out above average albums and pretty good singles, a well deserved non New York second place.

And The #1 spot goes to……….

01. NOTORIOUS B.I.G.

I was just 9 years old when I first saw the video for “Juicy” and from that moment on I knew I was gonna follow this dudes career. Although I used to have to hide to listen to this album, it was so worth it. I can go on and on about how I think he’s the greatest, but why bother waste time… Listen to the first 3 songs on “Ready to Die” that says it all…

P.S. If I had to do a list of 15 rappers, I would have definitely added…. Snoop Dogg (I still can’t believe there wasn’t enough room for him, that’s my dawg), 2Pac Shakur, A Tribe Called Quest, Mobb Deep & either Pharcyde or Lost Boys (probably LB), but this is what it came down to folks….

*goes to blast Machine Gun Funk*