This week’s Throwback Thursday is dedicated to Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith collectively known as EPMD (Erick and Parrish Making Dollars). Their first album, Strictly Business, was released in 1988 and had heaters after heaters. “You Gots to Chill”, “It’s My Thing” and “Strictly Business” to name a few. The first time I heard “You Gots to Chill” I went nuts, that beat was sooooo nasty. It wouldn’t be long til we heard from the duo again as they dropped Unfinished Business the very next year with bangers like “Get the Bozack” and my personal favorite “So Wat Cha Sayin”, this rhyme right here had me hitting rewind over and over:

“Yo, I’m the hip-hopper, plus the show shocker
Down with MD, yes the microphone doctor
One wrecks, the other destroys
And if you think that you’re ready to mess (kill the noise)”

There would be more hits along the way with jams like “Gold Digger”, “Rampage” which had LL Cool J on the track, “Give The People” and “Crossover”, but after that 1992 album, Business Never Personal, the two had a falling out and split apart with Parrish basically pointing the finger at Erick being responsible for his home being robbed. The two went their separate ways and did solo careers and founded some dope emcees along the way, such as Redman, Das EFX, K-Solo and Keith Murray to name a few heads. Eventually though the two reconciled their differences and teamed up once again, their album would be one of the most anticipated hip-hop albums ever, Back In Business, personally not my favorite, but it was dope to see the group re-united again. They would release two more albums with the last one coming out just this past December ‘08 called We Mean Business, which I personally haven’t heard yet.

EPMD “You Gots to Chill”

EPMD “Strictly Business”

EPMD “So Wat Cha Sayin’”

EPMD “Crossover”

EPMD “Goldigger”

Are you planning on attending the Inauguration in Washington, DC? Look no further, I have provided a list of parties, concerts, official balls and unofficial balls.

There will be many (as in hundreds) of events including DC’s night life throughout the week but the hottest tickets in town, besides the official Inaugural Ball, will have special celebrity guest performances. The festivities kick off with Jay-z’s Inaugural Party at Love on Friday.  The biggest show will be on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial, We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. The party will take place on Friday.  

Ready to go, fire it up!

Here’s a message from President-elect Barack Obama: Inauguration Night: Your Neighborhood Ball

Obama Inauguration Celebrities: Who, What And Where by Jake Coyle

NEW YORK — If you thought the Golden Globes was a party, just wait until you see Barack Obama’s inauguration. Next week, Washington will look a lot like a colder version of Hollywood.

Here’s a roundup of who will be where, keeping in mind that in the mad rush to D.C., schedule changes may occur.

THE BIG SHOW

_ On Sunday, tradition will be upheld with a free star-studded concert on the National Mall, starting at 2:30 p.m. Among the many performers: Bruce Springsteen, U2, Beyonce, Usher, Garth Brooks, Stevie Wonder, John Mellencamp, Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Herbie Hancock, Josh Groban, John Legend and James Taylor. Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III and Queen Latifah will read. Obama will stop by and HBO will broadcast “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.”

WHERE’S OPRAH

_ Winfrey will host a live episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” from the Kennedy Center Opera House on Monday. She’ll also host a second episode on Wednesday. Winfrey has not announced her plans on Inauguration Day.

WHERE’S SPIKE

_ Spike Lee will appear at a daylong symposium at Howard University on Monday to discuss topics including the impact of Obama on Black America. Also there will be Rev. Al Sharpton, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Henry Louis Gates. Lee will also host an after-party Tuesday evening.

OTHER CONCERTS

_ BET will hold an awards ceremony, the BET Honors, Saturday at the Warner Theater to honor Mary J. Blige, filmmaker Tyler Perry, Ervin “Magic” Johnson and others. Gabrielle Union will host and performers include Queen Latifa, Ne-Yo, Anita Baker and Joss Stone.

_ The Hip-hop Caucus will host a concert Saturday at Ibiza with Common, Mary J. Blige and Nelly.

_ Jessica Alba will host a kickoff event by youth voter initiative Declare Yourself on Sunday dubbed “A New Birth of Citizenship.” Maroon 5 and DJ Samantha Ronson will perform.

_ “Kids’ Inaugural: We Are the Future” will be held Monday night at the Verizon Center and air on the Disney Channel. Performing will be Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and Bow Wow. Michelle Obama and Jill Biden will host with their families.

_ The “America Feels Kinda Cool Again Inaugural Gala” will feature the Beastie Boys, Sheryl Crow and Citizen Cope on Monday at the 9:30 club.

_ Jay-Z will perform a concert “In Concert on the Eve on Change” at the Warner Theater on Monday.

_ Aretha Franklin will play a free concert at the Kennedy Center with Nuttin’ But Stringz and the Let Freedom Ring Choir on Monday.

_ Manifest Hope will finish a three-day-long, Inauguration-themed art exhibit with a party featuring performances by Santogold, Moby and De La Soul.

THE OFFICIAL BALLS

_ The Neighborhood Ball: ABC will broadcast this ball for Washington residents at the Washington Convention Center. Performing will be Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Faith Hill and Mary J. Blige.

_ The Youth Ball: This ball is for people aged 18 to 35 to celebrate “the role young Americans can play to serve their communities.” After announcing and then junking a similarly themed ball, MTV will broadcast it. Fall Out Boy is among the acts attending.

_ The other eight official balls are: the Home States Ball, the Commander in Chief Ball, the Biden Home State Ball, the Mid-Atlantic Ball, the Western and Southern Regional Ball, the Midwest Regional Ball, the New England Ball and the Southern Regional Ball.

THE UNOFFICIAL BALLS

_ The “Dreams of My Father” American Scholars Inaugural Ball will take place Sunday at the Four Seasons and feature Alicia Keys, Macy Gray and LL Cool J.

_ The Voto Latino Inaugural Party will on Sunday include Marc Antony, Rosario Dawson, Tony Plana and Wilmer Valderrama.

_ The Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball will take place Monday at the Harman Center and be hosted by Russell Simmons, LL Cool J, T.I. and Young Jeezy

_ The Huffington Post Preinaugural Ball will be held Monday night at the Newseum and feature performances by Sting and will.i.am. Attendees will include Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Denzel Washington, Shakira, Jon Bon Jovi, Halle Berry and Ashton Kutcher.

_ The Green Inaugural Ball will be held Monday at the Portrait Gallery and be hosted by Al Gore.

_ Muhammad Ali will attend the Kentucky Inaugural Ball on Monday at the Marriott Wardman Hotel.

_ The nonprofit arts and entertainment advocacy group Creative Coalition will hold a gala to be headlined by Elvis Costello and Sting at the Harman Center for the Arts on Tuesday. Also attending will be Anne Hathaway, Spike Lee, Tim Robbins, Maggie Gyllenhaal and others.

_ The Purple Ball, Tuesday at the Fairmont Hotel, will be hosted by Lou Gossett Jr. and Il Divo will perform. Expected to attend are: Ashley Judd, Patricia Arquette, John Cusack, Tim Robbins, Ed Harris, Ashley Judd, Josh Lucas, Amy Brenneman, Brendan Fraser, Susan Sarandon and Lisa Marie Presley.

_ There will be two American Music Balls: The Legends Ball, hosted by Dionne Warwick and featuring Chaka Khan and George Clinton; and the Urban Ball _ hosted by Ludacris and featuring Cedric the Entertainer and Monica. Both will be held Tuesday at the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel.

_ BET will host an inaugural ball at the Mandarin Oriental hotel Tuesday. The network will broadcast an hour special to coincide with the ball, which will include a performance by Wyclef Jean.

_ The Equality Ball, hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, will be held Tuesday at the Mayflower Hotel with appearances by Cyndi Lauper, Melissa Etheridge and Rufus Wainwright.

_ The Inaugural Peace Ball, Tuesday at the Smithsonian Postal Museum, will be hosted by Harry Belafonte and include Joan Baez, Graham Nash and Jackson Brown.

_ Rihanna will perform at the Recording Industry Association of America Inaugural Ball to benefit Feeding America on Tuesday.

_ Nas, Josh Groban, Slash and Robert Randolph are among those performing at the Heroes Red, White & Blue Inaugural Ball (benefiting military families and veterans) on Tuesday at the Warner Theater

Source: Inauguration Night: Your Neighborhood Ball

This is Nas’s second video for the album Untitled, the first being “Be a Nig*er Too“ which we posted awhile back. The second video, “Hero”, features RnB songstress Keri Hilson singing the hook. The video is directed by Taj, past work includes LL Cool J’s “Rockin’ Wit Da GOAT” and Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop The Music” amongst others. The new album, Nas’s 9th studio album, will be in stores on July 15th. Off course the album has been leaked all over the internet and a recent video of Nas, shows that he actually supports the leak of the album, but nonetheless peoples should head out and cop this on July 15th.

Cam’ron “My Auro”

Alicia Keys ft. LL Cool J “Teenage Love Affair” (Remix)

T.I. “A Better Day”

Missy Elliot “Best Best Pt. 2″

Busta Rhymes “Blackout 2.1″

Pharrell ft. Nicole Scherzinger “Heartbeat”

Lil’ Wayne “Never Get It” (Produced by David Banner)

First single and video off of LL Cool J’s upcoming album, Exit 13, which is expected to drop August 13th. The track name is “Rockin’ With The G.O.A.T” and video was directed by TAJ. Other singles expected to drop right now are “Cry”, “Rock The Pole” and “Champion”. Exit 13 will be his final album with Def Jam.

I can’t say that I’m stoked for this collabo. Retailer Sears has decided to follow in suit of its competition and launch their first designer collaboration apparel line. What’s a bit unexpected is that the “designer” will be rapper LL Cool J. I know. WTF?

According to WWD, LL Cool J for Sears will be a collection of “casualwear for juniors, young men’s, girls’ and boys’.” The pieces will roll out at 450 of Sears’ 900 stores in September, just in time for back to school and will range from about $22 for a graphic tee to $50 for a pair of jeans. Buyers can expect things like embroidered song lyrics on the back of tops.

And according to LL Cool J, he’s been preparing to do a women’s fashion line all his life. “I was raised by a matriarch, I have a wife and three daughters, so I know what women are looking for when they shop for clothes,” he said to WWD. “My main concern with juniors is to make sure the fit is right. The fabrics have to feel nice on a woman’s body, but sizing and fit are very important. I know that if she comes in, puts it on and it doesn’t fit, she won’t come back. Clothes have to make a woman feel good, relaxed and sexy. We are going to be constantly looking at fine-tuning the fit and we’ll get it right.”

Uh, Mr. Smith, I don’t know about this.

Image Source: Nitrolicious