"Man, it's been that long..."

Yes sir.. my wife and i have been married for TWO years on sept 15th.. what did we do? well i threw her a surprise party. she had no idea even though SOME people almost gave it all away. NO NAMES WILL BE MENTIONED... but we had fun. EVERY ONE WAS THERE. we had it at Akoye's and Lah's house . i got to give them a phat dookie shout out for looking out. Lah did ALL OF THE VEGAN cooking. It was delicious. they also helped call everybody.

It was good to see some of the people that were there. i have not seen some of those people in weeks. We had so much fun. Akoye and Lah made up a few games for everyone to play. THEN we played TABOO. of course the guys kick the girls butts. it was so fun.

it's good to be around FAMILIES with like minds and interests. it really is. Some people say "oh you have to be a part of a church or some organization to do that..." i don't think so. naturally, humans are social animals and will make friends if they have too.

but we are thankful to Oludamare, our orisas, and our ori for bringing us this far. Also our parents, relatives and most definitely our FRIENDS who in my opinion ARE FAMILY..we pray that our love is shared by others and that are example will be their guiding light. oh, there will be many more anniversaries and surprises. you will all see.

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XAVIER

his mother allowed me to pick him up for the party. he is so damn smart. i love him for that. he got along well with my man E... it was only for a few hours but we chopped it up. i will get him this weekend. we got so much catching up to do. we also have another surprise party to go to as well. he now goes to ANOTHER school. but he is happy. he was real glad to see me. he walks like me. but he looks like his mom.

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about Iraq:




'nuff said....

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big up to my man B.L.A.C.K. E.D.D.I.E.
on the journalism tip...

AQUI

Compilation a hip hop dream
By Rashaad Trapp | Staff Writer
rtrapp@iupui.edu



DJ Jazzy Jeff is joined by other talented emcees on his new album, The Magnificent.A long awaited and much anticipated album is greeted with rave reviews.

The almost-forgotten counterpart to the Fresh Prince (Will Smith), DJ Jazzy Jeff has finally made known that he is still alive and still making noise in the hip hop game. His latest project, The Magnificent, lets underground fans know why he has been gone so long. Great music cannot be rushed.

The compilation is a hip hopper’s dream come true. Head nodding beats accompanied by a lineup of talented emcees make for excellent listening. J-Live, The Last Emperor and Baby Blak are just a few of the hard hitters lined up. Except for Jazz himself (Jeff Towness), a lot of the production is unknown. After reading the credits, I finally know who to give kudos to. Of course some tracks are better than others, but as a whole, the album is solid all the way through.

Uniqueness is an integral part of The Magnificent’s success. Pauly Yamz and Baby Blak start the party off right with some inspiring rhyme on “Da Intro.” More than just an introduction, this track is more than three minutes of pure hip hop produced by Jazzy Jeff. Another standout selection is “Scram,” by old-school emcee Freddie Foxxx with beats by Kev Brown. This one is for all you cats who want real lyrics over a hard but funky beat.

I hate repeating myself but I’ve got to say something about J-Live. The New York native with Indiana ties gives us a jewel so vivid you can almost see his words. “A Charmed Life” is a biography at its best. He also brings it on with the song “Break It Down” while well-known DJ’s, such as Babu, Xcel, and Q-Bert, bless us with some ill scratches.

The Sister, Jill Scott, contributes her spoken-word poetry to “We Live in Philly.” Scott’s lyrical essence and Jeff’s mellow production combine to form a soulful arrangement that is definitely worth checking out.

It’s often difficult to find a compilation of true talent without a few flaws, but Jazzy Jeff has come about as close as any producer in recent memory. This is a Philly-style installment of hip hop’s evolution from old-school to new-school without all of the commercial activities that tend to lead the music off its true path.

To contact Rashaad Trapp, send an e-mail to rtrapp@iupui.edu.

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oh yeah, big up Aaron Macgruder says so much in a few boxes: