REFLECTION & REASON

I like this album! And this time I'm not surprised. Last year when I purchased Rihanna's " Loud " album I was almost shocked at how much I was grooving to it...but this year, as an official "fan" of Ms. Fenty, I know that this CD will be on rotation for a while. Something can be said for music that makes you feel good. There are albums that inspire me. Albums that motivate me. Albums that excite me...and then there are albums that just simply make me feel good. Produced by Rihanna and Roc Nation, " Talk That Talk " is a combination of hot dance tracks, and traditional Rihanna pop numbers. High energy and fast paced for the most part, it's a great mark of Rihanna's evolution as an artist and woman, and a tribute to her stability in life. There were periods of darkness, insecurity, and sadness in Rihanna's music, and this second consecutive album of positive and uplifting compositions shows us that she's growing, she's enjoying...

Yes, I'm bitter. I was "stickin" as the Trinis would say. I was stickin, and I didn't jump on tickets the day they went on sale like I normally would. And so, tonight and tomorrow night (Nov. 23 & 24, 2011), Jay-Z and Kanye West will be just mere kilometers away from me, down at the Air Canada Centre for their Watch the Throne tour...and I will be at home, listening to the CD and cursing my bad timing. But so it go. Big concerts for me are like inspiration waiting to happen. Especially from big artists. It's an opportunity for me to take in someone else's phenomenal creativity, internalize it, and eventually reproduce it into my own art form: writing. Here are 12 reasons why I SHOULD have bought "Watch the Throne" tour tickets... #01) No Church in the Wild ~ I originally loved this song because Frank Ocean really reminds me of Canadian rapper K-OS. And I think K-OS is dope. The sombre rap-singing (now made signature style by Drake, of course)...

This week music lost another legend. Jamaican-born rapper/actor Dwight Myers aka " Heavy D " passed away on November 8 in Los Angeles due to respiratory distress. He was only 44. His death came only 4 days after the release of "Tower Heist," starring Eddie Murphy...a movie that would rejuvinate Heavy's acting career. Do you remember him in recurring roles on Roc , Living Single , and even on A Different World ? New Jersey Drive , Life ? He was a talented brother. What's crazy is that just a few weeks ago, he tore up the stage at the BET Hip Hop Awards (footage below). I was so happy to see him looking well, still moving like the ol' Heav, and bringing back the hits that I had grown to love. The crowd loved him, and it reaffirmed my appreciation of old school hip hop. No matter what Weezy, Jeezy, or Yeezy ever did on that BET stage...nothing compares to the old familiar feeling of hip hop classics. It is always sad to hear when one of your childhood icons...

I was born in Scarborough, grew up in Malvern, and lived the majority of my life in Ajax. Went to Pickering High School, and am by nature, acutely familiar with all things Durham. Even after years in Windsor, Detroit, and eventually settling back in Scarborough again permanently, I am often surprised at my allegiance to Toronto's east...the love for my home town, and particularly how much it feels like "home" whenever I head down the 401 and return to the Durham Region. Attending last week's (October 27) pre-season Oshawa Power basketball game against the London Lightning, and last night's (November 3) home opener against the Moncton Miracles, has confirmed my hometown support and furthermore, my Canadian pride. The more I learn abot the NBL in general the more I realize how dedicated I am to seeing this culture grow. Sports culture. Entertainment culture. Urban culture. Canadian culture. I love the progression, and I love what it represents. Upon entry to the ...

This has been on my mind a lot lately..."why" I have decided to dedicate my life and related aspirations to the art of writing. I have always been a writer. Those of us who are writers know that it has nothing to do with being a NY Times Bestseller, book signings, fame, fortune, or even literary status. Those of us who are writers know that we are writers because we have no choice. We need to write. We live to write. We write to live. And while the ultimate goal would ideally be to be able to write "for a living"...that doesn't ever stop a true writer from writing. It is what we do. Regardless. While on vacation a few weeks back, I decided not to pack my netbook, in order to save some luggage weight for shoes, clothing, and anything else fun I'd pick up while shopping at Sawgrass and Aventura malls in south Florida. So I didn't bring my computer. I didn't bring my memory key. I foolishly didn't even bring my journal, a decent pad of paper, or a n...

I love a good Canadian success story...and I love to read inspiring biographies of those who started with a dream, and didn't quit until that dream was fulfilled. The biography of Canadian comedian Russell Peters, " Call Me Russell " (2010) fulfilled both of these interests, with an easy read and a familiar tale. I miss having a good laugh, sometimes. And not the every day chuckle, giggle with friends, or sitcom humour. I miss like real hearty, eyes-watering, can't-breathe type of laughter. The type that only a true comedian can give you. Russell Peters is one of the few comedians who has been able to provide that type of laughter for me over recent years, and I'm proud that he is one of "our own." Of course we have Trixx and Jay Martin , Jean Paul , and a few others in Toronto who are definitely consistently hilarious, and provide comforting familiarity as well. Then there are the American greats like Katt Williams and Kevin Hart, also kinda making...

The word " urban " is a sticky one. It's extremely general, has multiple definitions that mean multiple things in multiple instances...yet it still manages to define an entire culture, movement, and demographic. Yes, " urban " at it's core means "of the city"...however, over the years it has also come to specifically mean "emerging and developing in densely populated areas of large cities, esp those populated by people of African or Caribbean origin." Hip-hop culture or "black" culture used to have strong racial connotations...however, it's fair to say that while culture does play a huge part in the composition of an " urban " entity...the culture no longer specifies race or heritage. The culture is a movement of it's own, and is easily comprised of individuals from a variety of ethnicities. The " Urban Toronto Tales " are specifically about the urban/city culture of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and thos...