It's been a long time...

I should'na left you. I'll be back soon...

Bigg Russ

News. (Not) News.

I've been thinking.

This is what I've been thinking:

• Am I the only one not surprised to hear about a male flight attendant exiting his job... sliding down some rubber... through the back door?

• And Montana Fishburne's daughter... Please. So NOW it's news that a Hollywood famous so-and-so's daughter decides to screw on camera? Sure, I get the fact that it's Morpheus' offspring and all (I was gonna type Furious Styles' offspring ... but didn't want to lose half of you) but it's not really news. The real news here is that she wants to pattern herself after Kim Kardasian. I hate to break it to Female Fishburne but K.K. (the sexy one) isn't really a porn star per se. She's an opportunist. (Albeit, not as opportunistic as Ray J ... but hey, when you're that untalented you gotta make up for it somehow.) F.F. (the one who's not keeping it on the downlow) should do her homework. Can she at least show love for a REAL porn star like Vanessa Del Rio, Angel Kelly or Tera Patrick? Where's the respect?!

• A-Rod hit his 600th homerun. So what? And I'm a Yankee fan. Yeah, I shouted it out on my Facebook status and all that... but let's be honest. Baseball is tainted. Kinda like F.F. There's no going back. Mind you, that's not to say that A-Rod's accomoplishments aren't grand in scale. I'm just sayin'... shoot me up witht the same enhancement drugs he used and I probably couldn't hit the ball to center field (LOL @ probably). 'Roids don't make you the Hulk, they enhance your natural ability. Still... sucks to know it'll forever be seen as 600*. The ONLY homerun dude we should pay attention to from this point on isn't in the MLB yet. Believe that.

• Guiliani's daughter getting arrested for shoplifting. Nothing newsworthy here either. A Guiliani committing a crime?! Fruit. Tree. Something like that. Sephora gets no props for not teaching her spoiled ass a lesson either.

• Isiah Thomas gets re-hired by the Knicks ... then turns the job down. That's not news. The news is that something actually GOOD happened for the Knicks. It won't help them get wins but at least they're just that much less a group of laughing stocks.

• On a more personal note, someone just told me they didn't know Tyler Perry was gay. NOT knowing Tyler Perry is gay IS news. I should've called Fox.

• 700 people are dead and 1000 missing in China. That's not news. Whenever anything happens in China, a massive amount of people die. No disrespect meant to those dead or missing and the families and friends of them all ... but real news would've been had they said, "This just in... 5 people have died from [INSERT RANDOM EARTH-BORN UPHEAVAL HERE]! This ISN'T the worst disaster to hit this country in decades..."

• Google offices raided by Korean police. KOREA. I'm shocked they let Google in there to begin with.

I think I might need to start thinking less.

Thanks for reading.

Bigg Russ

An Open Letter To All Rhyme Sayers...

1. Create an ALBUM for a change. I dare you. Your continued use of 'mixtapes' are killing hip hop (again). Challenge yourself and try to put together a collection of related material. Try telling a damn story. There are more to tell. Trust me.

2. Try to make songs YOU can carry - by yourself. Must EVERY track be "Your Song" ft. [insert hot rapper/MC of the moment]"?

3. Polish your stage show. I don't know about you but what I see is what I get. If I don't 'get' you, that means I don't 'see' you. In case you haven't heard, music doesn't sell as much as it used to. Understand that CD's are no more than promotional items now. If your show sucks, you won't last.

4. Stop believing your own hype. Most fans don't really care about how hot YOU think you are. ALWAYS assume you can get better. Every rapper has fallen off at one point or another. EVERY rapper. Humble pie. Eat some.

5. Take a gamble. Find that diamond-in-the-rough producer. Most of you are SO anxious to 'get on' that you hire the same damn producers all the time. You know what happens when you do that? You all sound exactly alike ... despite whatever 'difference' you think you're bringing to the game.

6. Study the ART. There is a very real, very DEEP foundation in hip hop and it would seem only a handful of you seem to 'understand' it. Take a hint from some poets as well. They can teach you to say a lot in a much smaller space & time.

Yeah, that's all I got right now. Most of you need a lot more help though. I'll be back. Trust.

As usually, thanks for reading.

~ Bigg Russ

Killa Sha ft. Biggie Smalls *UNRELEASED*

Step It Up (Produced by J.Force) featuring a virtual newcomer by the name of Biggie Smalls.

You heard it hear first! Shouts to my boy, DaSaga for the love!

R.I.P., Killa.

Check it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yji-Vi1JQY

Bigg Russ

HANDS-ON AID IN HAITI - VITAL INFO! DONATIONS CENTERS INFO

FOR THOSE IN THE TRI-STATE/BROOKLYN AREA:

I heard on the news earlier tonight that if you want to do hands-on aid in Haiti contact the Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps for more information ASAP.
CONTACT THEM TO CONFIRM/GET MORE DETAILS.
727 Greene Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11221
(718) 453-4617
http://www.bsvac.org/contact.html

This is a list of Donation centers from state-to-state. Use this to find the nearest location to you: http://www.rockmasters.com/haiti-relief/relief-location.htm

Other donation centers in Brooklyn/Queens/Manhattan:
QUEENS RESIDENTS: Relief Location Dutch Travel Agency 221-09 Linden Blvd Cambria Heights, NY 11411 718-527-8594

Don't Forget Tomorrow Help support The cause for #HAITI. @ Redlight 163 08 HILLSIDE AVE TAKING DONATIONS OF ANY KIND.
Contact Delson Postman Laurent for more info.

BROOKLYN RESIDENTS:
Food/Clothes drop off point in Bedstuy
73 Lewis Avenue corner of Macon & Lewis Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11233

Church and Block association in Brooklyn N.Y
We are going to help, to send clothes and food. To donate clothes please
bring clothes to 817 Livonia ave New Hope Church. Contact Patrick Grant at 347-840-2410

MICHELE HELPING HANDS ALONG WITH THE HAITIAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION OFLONG ISLANDUNIVERSITY IS COLLECTING CLOTHES (FOR KIDS, MEN AND WOMEN)HYGENIC ANDMEDICAL PRODUCTS.... you can call DJ Ricky @ 347-542-2849please call please CLOTHES (FOR KIDS, MEN AND WOMEN)

St. Pauls Community Baptist Church (OPEN until 9pm tonight) 859 Hendrix St.(between Linden and Stanley Avenue) Has allowed Yele Foundation tocollect blankets, solar flash lights, power/proteinbars, clothes, andmedical supplies at this location.

Epiphany 34 Productions & The Problem Boyz Ent will be having a Haiti Relief drive. TOMORROW JANUARY 14, 2010 ALL DAY from 10am until @ 1790 Utica ave between ave I & J. Canned foods, clothes, medical supplies We are all affected by this Tragedy. For more information please contact productionsbyepiphany@gmail.com Thank you
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=296063631112&ref=mf

Donations of canned food or clothes to Savoir Faire 1175 Nostrand av(corner of Fenimore st.) Thier doors are open now...if you are makinga cash donation they ask that you make it out in the form of a check... There will be a live visual there this eveni...ng as well starting at7:30Pm...News 1 , Channel 11 news along with other Media Sources will be there ...
P.S. Anyone with relevant Informaton.. please feel free to forward it to me so i can forward it to those who want to know and are willing help

Manhattan:
BMCC is also collecting food and clothing.

MULTIPLE COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES and CHURCHES are collecting donations - so please feel free to contact them as well.

This is a list of Donation centers from state-to-state. Use this to find the nearest location to you: http://www.rockmasters.com/haiti-relief/relief-location.htm

Hey this is a PHONE NUMBER FOR PEOPLE SEEKING INFO ON FAMILY IN HAITI 1-888-407-4747. This may be useful info for some people.

Overstanding...

"So, me and my dudes is standing in the trap, 'naw mean? And 5-0 roll up like, "What's the deal, dunnie?" We started gettin' heated cause these pigs always wanna shake a brother down for something and $hit. We got mad like, "What y'all trippin', Columbo?! Shit is real all up on in these streets here! We just tryin' ta maintain, 'naw mean?!" Then all of a sudden, the big homie from up the block pulls out the jammie and starts buck off at them niggas! I'm like, "Say word?!" So, I pull out the ooh-wop like bam!! I'm like, fu*k it! I might as well start gettin' it in to, for real! I ain't no punk! If I'mma go out, I'mma go out like Corleone and dem niggas!!

Anyways, I break out like a porcupine with a poison ivy! I ain't wanna catch a charge neeva so I drop the rock candy down the sewer as I make my get away. I feel the wasps zinging by my ear as I run away, layin' low the entire time. I get about a block away and my dude is still firing the jammie! Then, all of a sudden, I hear one final shot from po-po's glock .... BLOW!! I turn to see my nigga just lyin' on the pavement, 'bout to take a dirt nap.

That's when I awoke from my mental slumber. After seeing my good friend get shot by the police, I realized that I did not want to die a senseless death as well. I stopped wasting my time doing things that I felt wouldn't contribute to a positive future for me or anyone in my circle. I had to. I was soon arrested. I've since come to terms with my mistakes and am peacefully repaying my debt to society. Alive. Not totally well ... but alive. Although I have done some horrible things in my youth, they have shown me the differences between right and wrong. And for that, I am grateful."

Don't ask why. My fingers just started moving and I couldn't stop 'em... 'Naw mean?!

Bigg Russ

The Crashing Sound of Tiger's Vanity

Okay, so if you haven't seen it, here it is:

Now that we got that out of the way, allow me to share my take on all of this. Tiger is not 'us'. And by us, I'm referring to the stereotypical, media-saturated, hip-hop loving African-American male that many of 'see' on a daily basis. He's not even your typical 'Black' guy. I will not use this particular space to discuss typical. You're an adult. You know what I mean. Let's continue.

I've read a lot of people discussing who's wrong here: Is it Tiger? Is it VF? Honestly, they're both to blame. But I have to lean on VF much more. Plain and simple: Vanity Fair fu*ked up. Period. But not because they did this to Tiger. Tiger did this to himself. I'm pointing my finger at VF because it was purely tasteless. Their decision to run this photo as its cover lends itself to an ugly undercurrent of (what I like to call) anti-socio-celebrityism. Simply put, it's part of the mob-like, 'cash in now' syndrome that permeates most mass media when it's time to break down and continually stomp on a celebrity who's too perfect. This article in the San Francisco Chronicle says it best: A bad idea at the worst possible time.

Again, VF is a mass-market magazine. And a mass-market magazine's main goal is to sell itself. And nothing - NOTHING - sells like controversy. Personally, I would've thought VF missed the Tiger Boat. People weren't really talking about Tiger anymore ... until this photo hit the web, that is. It's a shame but VF is guilty of perpetuating the same shameful tabloid journalism that it most likely claims it's not. Not only that ... but the cover is so unlike ANY of their covers over the past year. Google their covers. Go ahead. I'll wait.

See? All the other covers are 'pretty' and 'artsy fartsy' and 'jovial' and 'inspiring' and whatever other pleasant feeling you can muster. Why this cover, now? Why did Tiger even bother to take the photos in the first place? What was he trying to prove? It surely wasn't to achieve some type of street cred ... I hope. But unlike Wayne Brady's turn at being evil on Chappelle's Show (see video below if you've been living under a rock), this photo doesn't scream, "Look at my other side! Ain't it funny?!" It screams, "Help! I'm stuck in this facade and I can't get out!!"

Tiger, if you're reading this, the photo is stupid. Not because you were trying to look different for the sake of art or ignorance but because you didn't need to do it. We, and by we I mean everyone, didn't care if your clean image was real or not. That's how we got you and that's how we knew you and that's how we accepted you. If you wanted to cameo on Prison Break, you should've just had your people call Fox's people. And yes, the photo would've been stupid even if 2009 hadn't happened for you.

Vanity Fair Editor, if you're reading this, yeah ... ya fu*ked up. And now your magazine has gained a borderline racist hue around is page edges. For all intents and purposes, I know you view Tiger as 'Black'. Most people did, do and will continue to do so. Your calculation for releasing this cover is commercial genius. Judgmentally speaking, your timing straight sucks ass. You can make up for your mistake by putting the first Black-looking canoeing champion on your cover.

As usual, thanks for reading...

Bigg Russ