REFLECTION & REASON

I'm already a week late. Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire" album was released last Tuesday, November 27, yet I just heard it for the first time last night. I usually like to catch the albums of my favourite artists hot-off-the-press, but was glad that I had my first listen to it the way I did. I stumbled upon the video on YouTube: "Alicia Keys Premieres 'Girl On Fire' with Live G+ Hangout," and was locked in for a solid two hours at the unique in-studio listening session that was live streamed by Google on November 20th. Brilliant. While I would have really enjoyed catching the event in the moment, I was still pleased to be able to get the track-by-track breakdown from Ms. Keys herself as she sat in her New York studio, surrounded by friends, co-collaborators, and international online attendees (including ultra-sultry soul brothers, Maxwell and Miguel) to go through each song and take her fans watching online through the album's journey. ...

I know his name. I know his face. I know he's married to Alicia Keys. I know he's one of hip hop's top producers...but that's about it. That was as far my knowledge of Swizz Beatz went, until the other night when I watched a Breakfast Club interview on YouTube, and was pleasantly surprised to hear about just how deep this brother's repetoire goes. And I'm not talking about the producing. I mean, it's definitely worth mentioning. What's not to celebrate about "Jigga My Nigga" by Jay-Z, "Love is Blind" by Eve, the classic "Ruff Ryders Anthem" from DMX, or even "Fancy" by Drake? What's not to praise for a man that has created some of hip hop's sickest beats and worked with practically every legendary artist in the game, in his young lifetime? At 34-years-old, Kasseem David Dean is the true definition of a Renaissance man, and while the hip hop community has known his talents for decades now, he...