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Are those…Sergio’s?

CBC, Concerts, and Celebrations 038

You Belong in the Damn Barrel

By Urbansocialight

Have you ever seen a girl at the club that just looked excited to finally be out of the house? I think that was the case with this young lady. I saw her face, the girl was pretty, but this outfit is pretty much a mess. Let’s break this down:

• Pink Floral Corset- Why you would purchase a powder pink corset and actually wear it out of the house is beyond me. But I could live with it if it wasn’t for…

• Knee Length Sergio Valente Denim Skirt- I’m not that big of a fan denim skirts in 21 and older clubs, but I wouldn’t have paid it much attention except for it was a Sergio skirt! WTF? Did I fall asleep and wake up in 1999? No? Or maybe it’s 1979! They don’t even sell Sergio’s anymore, so we know you’ve been hanging on to that skirt for years. Just let it go girl, they’re not coming back!

• Leggings- You know I’m the #1 fan of leggings but WHY with this outfit? You have on a knee length skirt. Who are you, my grandma? It’s the club, get sexy on em!

• Awkward length square toe cloth boots- No comment…it wouldn’t be nice.

Since she bought a table, perhaps she could have budgeted for a new outfit (and a new weave but that’s a different post).  Seriously, where were her girls? And why would the let their girl step out looking like she stepped out of the last millennium? Every girl in the club was going on her. Look hun, I know it may have been a while since you went out but save yourself the worry and do some research on what’s actually in style before you waste your money on a babysitter and end up as the fashion victim of the week on CNB!

The Way I See It- PHZ-Sicks

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The Way I See It, is a new guest blog feature for Crabzinabarrel.com.  Every week for an entire month, we will feature a guest blogger who will tell us the way they see it.  Our first guest blogger, PHZ-Sicks, is repping VA to the fullest and making sure the DMV is getting its due shine.  He’s a versatile rhymer with a hype live show.  With this blog, he shows that he’s also a good writer with a unique view, calling for DMV UNITY so the DMV can take over this music ish!

The Calm By PHZ-Sicks

There’s a storm a brewin’. There’s calmness in the air, stillness. Those that have witness the potential change this storm could have on the landscape are bracing themselves and wishing for the best. What is this storm? It’s the DMV, but more specifically, the music. This year has proving to be a great start from where we see ourselves in the future (an area that is on par with NY and ATL in the industry). Right now, the DMV is currently in the calm before the storm.

The Sound of Thunder

This region’s music has been slowly spreading itself around the nation and world. I would not be writing about this subject if I didn’t think recent events in the industry backed up the facts. Just look at the stats: Wale, signed to Allido/Interscope/RocNation, & Tabi Bonney has taken the sound, visuals, and feel of DC globally, R&B singer Kevin Ross just signed a publishing deal with Akon’s KonLive, Don Juan signed with Jive, RAtheMC rocked the stage for MTV’s VMA Best Breakout Artist, Pro’Verb “rocked the bells” from MD to LA, Tae Barz did his thing on 106 & Park, Studio 43 w/ XO & Marky are making moves, Lady A gets her video picked up by MTV, Phil Ade went on tour with the likes of J. Cole and the Clipse, Wayna & Koyaki was a Grammy nominee and the list goes on endlessly (lets also throw in The Beat Ya Feet Kings who were on America’s Best Dance Crew). In the time I’ve been in the area (15 years), I’ve never seen this much activity musically and for it to be so exciting. On the same night, you could be in a packed club watching Don Juan & Wale tear shit down and further down the street another artist is rocking a crowd with the room also packed. Each week, there seems to always be a performance that everybody is going too. At this rate, every place considered a lounge or clubs are going to have to build a stage just so they could profit off this.

There are two things I believe are the cost this musical expansion: the ability to perform/put on a show & the individuality in our music.

Continue reading The Way I See It- PHZ-Sicks

When the Sky Turns Green (Mixtape) review……

when the sky turns green

Thanks for the review Sasha Vann………….

Sigmund’s Dope- “Music Notes” 1:1 – When the Sky Turns Green

One small leap changed the color of good music. That’s what Greenspan decided to do on his latest mix tape “When the Sky Turns Green.” A multi-faceted collaboration between Greenspan, supremely recognized producer Judah, illroots.com, DJ Benzi and illvibes-dmv.com, the well-packaged LP serves as a parachute to any aspiring artist who needs some get-up about their business towards a shifting music industry.

Tracks like “Sky Dive” and “Mirrors” establish the viewpoint of Greenspan, making a testament of fearlessness and faith in pursuing the path of music and performing. The all-balls-out content of “Sky Dive” makes bold jabs at unmotivated individuals at large—warning them of the result of failing to represent themselves in a better light:

‘Baltimore n—– put they ‘hood in a handshake/ you represent something or content with the slave name/ End of the Dutchmaster comes nothing but ashes/ and high!’

Stamping the track with lines like that is only cream to the treading, yet transcendently liquid beat by Judah.

“Mirrors,” produced by Greenspan’s leading producer Live Beats, matches the passion of the rapper’s introspective rhymes and bands it with the unyielding voice of Nykki Smalls. Don’t get it twisted though- there’s more than the rock. Greenspan’s ability to deliver thought provoking scales is balanced by tracks that reveal his musical influences. Immortal hip-hop sounds like “Head Bop” featuring Feevaleo and DC’s leading lady on the mic, RatheMC, keep it unprocessed and delivered fresh on the track. “You Know My Name” plays on a rendition of Alicia Keys “You Don’t Know My Name” where Greenspan affirms his cockily-confident persona to certain types of females, who in his words ‘can’t get space in the Blackberry.’

A sample from old-soul squad The Moments puts “Wings” in a different element, like, summer nights on the streets of Detroit 1976-type element. Judah simply produced an environment for a black super hero with Greenspan giving third-person POV on a character needing divine intervention to make it. Black Boo of Mambo Sauce punctuates the song with a paced and firm flow.

One can tell Greenspan is a fan of true music with his choice of production, emcees and vocalists. Especially the vocalists. Staying away from the machine formerly known as Auto tune, Greenspan gives the music world the voices of Smalls, Karron Johnson and Theo, re-creating the primary concept of an R&B/Hip-Hop collaboration in 2009. Other guest producers include Chess the Creator and Kleph Dolla, who without a doubt left their prints on wax. If DJ Benzi was thinking any other way when mixing this tape, the vibe may have been different. However, the music flows emphatically from one track to the next, keeping your ear close to the beat while waiting on the next transition.

Bottom line, Greenspan’s got it. He undoubtedly went in lyrically and cleverly put out a project with the #1’s of the DMV area. If the sky is green now, we can only imagine what it will sound like when Greenspan lands on solid ground.

—Sigmund’s Dope

DMX Has Issues with Hov……………..

There have been a lot of artists over on Def Jam that have stressed their issues with Jay-Z, the former president of Def Jam. DMX has been the latest artist who has voiced his opinion on his relationship with Jay-Z. DMX said Jay-Z was motivated by money. I seem to think Jay-Z was motivated by money, but let me explain myself. Jay-Z was in a position where he had to make revenue for one of the most respectable music labels of all-time. Do you really think he would waste his time on artists that had no buzz or couldn’t make revenue for Def Jam. I think not. I have some other reason that I don’t even want to get into. In the mean time check out the video and tell me what you think about DMX having issues with Jay-Z.

In Your Closet: Zippers

Zippers

Zippers take a back seat to no one! This notion, whose purpose is to close a garment, is now THE focal point. Design houses like 3.1 Phillip Lim can solely be held responsible for being innovative when it comes to zippers. Maybe they had an extra supply of zippers. Who knows, but what we do know is that they created a much-desired look. I applaud Phillip Lim for using zippers. This is what fashion is all about. Making unconventional items conventional. Fashion forward celebrities such as Beyonce, Solange and Aubrey O’Day have been spotted wearing a 3.1 Phillip Lim zipper dress or skirt. Could you imagine an outfit made of other notions like Velcro or snaps umm that wouldn’t be very appealing.

Solange and Aubrey are wearing the same winding zipper dress, but in different colors. The dress alone is a whopping $894.00. Ladies please note the difference belting a dress makes. We all have a have waist…..no matter what size you are accentuate it!! Beyonce chose to wear the 3.1 Phillip Lim zipper riffle skirt, which retails for $ 675.00. I don’t know about you but if I spend that much for a zipper dress I want platinum zippers.

If you are daring and bold enough to tackle this look GoJane makes a leopard print zipper dress for $24.80. If you don’t want to mix too many fashion trends together (like the print and zipper) try the denim zipper dress also by GoJane for $25.90. Forever 21 makes a black tank dress with a zipper front for the very affordable price of $13.80.
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Whitney Rebounds, Well Sorta

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By Urbansocialight

Ok, you have to admit that although Whitney Houston was a superstar diva, she fell pretty hard and was almost down for the count but she’s back! The haters said she couldn’t do it (sounds like crabz in a barrel behavior to me), but Whitney proved them wrong packing Central Park yesterday with some 5,000 for a Good Morning America performance (which airs this morning on ABC), and looked FAB! That was the good news. The well, not so good news, is that Whitney couldn’t sing. Her voice was nearly completely gone. She told the crowd that it was because she’d just done Oprah and was talking too much, but it may have something to do with the years of vocal neglect.

Her new single and album are called “I Look to You” (listen to the single here). I really don’t like the single, it’s corny and drawn out.  The album would be good for any middle age pop singer, but it’s pretty mediorce for Whitney.  The one thing you cannot mistake is she just doesn’t sound the same!  I find myself thinking, since when does Whitney sound like a fake Patti LaBelle?  The best track is probably the triumphant ballad, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength”.  So although she looks great, her sound is lacking.     It’s not just me either.  Other reviews are mixed too, check out NPR’s thoughts here. When the first week sales stats are released, we’ll see if Whitney’s new voice matters to her fans.

On a better note,  I was on Twitter yesterday following the the future male version of me, PR superstar, Jonathan Cheban (or Chebs as Kholoe calls him), was front row at the Whitney taping. He was just twitpicing the best pictures of Whit, so I couldn’t help myself. I’m just SO happy to see Whitney looking like her old self again! Fans of Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane, will recognize her right hand man, mister BJ Coleman who was there with Chebs too.

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BJ

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All pics via Jonathan Cheban’s Twitter. Follow Chebs on Twitter at twitter.com/jonathancheban

Follow BJ Coleman on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcoleman

New Wale – My Sweetie

So yeah Wale is doing big things now.  Can’t call him a crab in a barrel no more.  Not when you’re performing on BET and are on 106 and park.  But he still gets love from the  Crabzinabarrel fam for being one of the few hip hop artists from the DMV to go national!   Check out this hot new song from Wale.   He  samples a classic African song on this track.  If you’re African or ever been to an African party you will probably instantly recognize what song it is.  Look out for his album coming out in October.  I would give you a date but its Wale we all know his album is dropping on Nigerian time.

Also, in cased you missed it, Wale’s Rising Icons aired at 12am this morning.  Lucky us, some got that ish and posted it to Daily Motion, which usually takes longer to get shut down than YouTube joints.  He puts on the DMV, so eff the hating azz crabz trying to pull him back in the barrel!

Jay-Z BP3- What Do You Think?

BP3

By Urbansocialight

I’m going to be honest. We here at crabzinabarrel.com can’t get our sh*t together on this one. I’ve got my opinion, El Solo Dolo has his, and ReneeWoods has a whole different opinion all together. Today we’re going to do something a little different. We’re not going to comment on Jay-Z’s BP3. I’m going to let the listeners express their own views. So go ahead, tell us what you think about the songs you’ve heard thus far.

Here’s the link to the download if you haven’t heard it, hurry up before they shut it down. Download BP3 here.

BP3 track list below: Continue reading Jay-Z BP3- What Do You Think?