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Getback

Tigallo Goes to the Movies

Peoples,

I'm feelin better than I ever felt befo todaaaaay... (c) 'Ye

A nigga finally beat that nasty head cold, so I decided to celebrate by catching up on a few movies (I'm craaaazy late on most of these, I know...)  It's hard to find time for 'regular people/everyday life' shit when you're always writing, recording, touring, blogging, interviewing, and still trynna bond with the people who bear the same last name as yours.  What better way to get up on some family time than to catch a flick together?  Here's what me and the fam peeped over the past few days:

Transformers
Rated: PG-13



The Backstory:  Truth be told, I was never really a big fan of Transformers as a child.  Instead of toys, I always wanted moms to buy me records and tapes instead.......still, I couldn't resist checking this one...

The Plot:  I'm convinced that whoever writes this shit is smokin that oooooooh weeeee (c) Martin  I seriously can't remember WHAT this shit was about.... something about these alien robot niggas who come to Earth to have their final battle over 'The Cube,' which is this awesome box that packs double the power of 100 Red Bulls and 10,000 Chuck Norris roundhouse kicks combined.  The Good Guys were Ratchet, Optimus Prime, and another nigga with alot of guns.....the main bad guy was Megatron...

The Verdict:  Dope flick.  Shia LaBeouf did his thing, and even my nigga Tyrese wasn't too shabby.  (Rumor has it that there's an alternate ending in which Tyrese obtains the cube from Megatron by singing his 1998 hit, 'Lately.'  Upon hearing Black Ty's melodious voice, Megatron weeps and comes to the realization that, 'no.....you HAVEN'T told me you loved me..'  However, that proved to be far too awesome an ending for 'Transformers,' and apparently Michael Bay is saving it for 'Go Bots' in 2009).  I must note that 'Transformers' was pretty long and isn't really a 'kids' movie, per se (my son went to sleep on it).  But even if you get lost in the story, it doesn't matter.  The special effects are dope, and the fight scenes are really something to behold.

The Grade:  B


Ratatouille
Rated:  G



The Backstory:  I am a HUGE Pixar fan.  Even though their last joint 'Cars' was arguably the worst of their best....it was still heads above any other animated feature that year.  With their long running streak, Pixar is now facing the gift and the curse of being a straight-A student:  Your dazzling work eventually becomes 'the norm' and people only notice you if you fuck up.  I wondered if Ratatouille would deliver...

The Plot:  Patton Oswalt is the voice of Remy, a rat who wants to be a chef.  I know the idea of a rat preparing food is kinda repulsive, but the nigga did know his spices tho....

The Verdict:  Excellent flick.....and a nice mix of humor and heart without being sappy.  I'm convinced that these Pixar niggas just can't miss.  I will say that the love story felt a *little* rushed....but overall I can't complain.  Even my son was laughin at this one....a nigga will be coppin the DVD soon as it drop..

The Grade:  A-


Talk To Me
Rated:  R



The Backstory:  Anything with Don Cheadle automatically has my attention.  But when I saw THIS clip on Youtube of the real Petey Greene, I knew my ticket was gettin copped off GP:

The Plot:  Don Cheadle stars as Petey Greene, a hilarious and slick-talking ex-con who ends up becoming one of Washington DC's top rated radio personalities and community activists.  Chiwetel Ejiofor co-stars as his boss/right hand man/manager Dewey Hughes.

The Verdict:  I spent most of this movie laughin like hell, but there were a few parts that had ya boy a little choked up (the Johnny Carson scene really hit home especially).  I can't say enough about my man Don Cheadle (he's excellent as usual), but the real sleeper is Chiwetel Ejiofor.  I don't know what its gonna take for this cat to 'break out' but damn.....from 'Inside Man' to 'Four Brothers' to 'Dirty Pretty Things' (don't be fooled by the white bidge on the box....the movie was essentially about him....)....this cat murders EVERY role I've seen him in.  Hats off to everybody involved in this production...

The Grade:  A


El Cantante
Rated:  R



The Backstory:  Most of you will probably wonder why I even fucked with this in the first place, but I'm a fan of Latin music (salsa, merengue, bossanova and samba in particular) and figured I'd take the time to learn about one of its legends, Jennifer Lope-..oops, I meant Hector Lavoe..

The Plot:  Marc Anthony plays legendary salsa singer Hector Lavoe, and Jennifer Lopez plays his wife, Puchi.  Shit is basically the Portreekan version of 'Ray,' along with every episode of "Behind the Music"

The Verdict:  Boy, boy, boy.....I REALLY wanted to like this one, but this shit just screams 'Oscar ploy' and J-Lo is trying waaaay too hard.  I swear at one point in the movie I saw her look dead into the camera and scream:  "Look at my layers of emotional depth!  I.....AM.....ACTING!"  Marc Anthony really did his thing as Lavoe, and the music is fabulous.....but as wifey pointed out to me, the nigga has damn near NO dialogue in a movie about HIS life!  In every scene, the nigga is either saingin, snortin coke, or yellin at somebody.  One reviewer compared it to seeing Tony Montana as a salsa singer...and that's not too far from the hilarious truth.  I mean seriously, if this script managed to get a greenlight then I'm on the first thang smokin to LA to pitch my idea for Tyler Perry's "All True Man:  The Alexander O'Neal Story"

El Cantante' was a mess....hopefully the Celia Cruz biopic will be much better...and her director will be a man who's skrong but sensitive...

The Grade:  C- (I really wanna give it a D, but the music was really, really good)

I'm out....gotta go pack for Philly....

Getback 9/25

Can't go a day without my sunshine,
Tigallo

13 Comments             

I’m sick as hell yo.....

Nothing much to say this week.....my sinuses are KILLING me and I ain't slept but bout 6 hours in the last few days.....

Anyway, check for me and Rapper Pooh comin to a city near you, lookin somethin like this:



Damn this head cold.....damn it to hell!

Getback 9/25

Doped up on Sudafed and chamomile tea,
Tigallo

25 Comments             

Chicken Noodle Soup for the Broke Rapper's Soul

Niggren,

I'm in Baltimore prepping for our show tonight at Sonar and I have approximately one hour before I have to get so krispy and go downstairs, so I'mma make this as quick, easy, and painless as possible....

Aspiring producers/rappers/songwriters always hit me on the email asking my advice on 'gettin in the game' and so forth.  I've never been the one to really give advice, but with the record business being on the edge of shambles and so many cats trying to make sense of it all....I thought I'd give you guys some insight straight from the front lines at Ground Zero:

1.  Good music is not good enough anymore.
You have to have incredible music.  Outstanding music.  Music that is simply excellent beyond all measure.  As artists coming along in the digital age, the key thing to remember is that we are not fighting for people's money, so much as we are fighting for their time and attention.  I mean, real rap......content is everywhere. Free downloads, screensavers, raingtones, Youtube clips, etc. Consumers are constantly bombarded with free shit, and finding your way through the bullshit to get to the good shit is TRULY a labor of love.  Part of the reason why me and Pooh made Getback a slim and trim 11 songs is to help cut through much of the clutter in today's market, and to give the listeners the straight story.....people don't have the time to sit through 18 songs, an intro, 5 skits, an outro, and 2 more 'hidden' tracks.  As artists we should always say what we have to say and PROMPTLY shut the fuck up when we're done.  (For those of you not convinced and still pissed about the short tracklisting, don't worry, there will be plenty of bonus cuts and exclusive material available at other outlets...) In our present age, brevity is golden.

2.  There is no better marketing strategy than great music.
Yeah, I'm talking to you, the nigga on his myspace page with his shirt off...AND you, the chick with 'falling objects' on her page with the words "R&B PrInC3SS and First Lady of *insert startup label/money laundering operation here*" 

While it is very true that all artists require an image to some degree, a great image means nothing if your music is shitty.  Your image may get people to look, but your music is ultimately what will KEEP them looking.  I can honestly say that in my few years in this game, everything I've ever gotten has been solely off the fact that people respected my music and understood what I was bringing to the table as an artist.....not because I had a big label budget and a video directed by Steven Spielberg and shit, just my hard earned respect.  Respect, in my opinion, is the cornerstone of any successful career.

Now, I will say that there's another side to this:  To keep people's attention, you must have either great music.....OR really, really, really, really, really shitty music that's just so hilarious and niggerish beyond measure that it makes people laugh. There's a reason why the Chocolate Rain nigga got over 2 million youtube views, folks.....and its not because we are laughing WITH him..

*moves away from the mic to breathe in*

Most of the music that gets passed to me from cats at shows, is quite frankly, just aiight.  Not terrible and definitely has potential, but not particularly great either.  In my opinion, this is the WORST kind of music you can make because it doesn't evoke a listener response either way.  So either be really great or really horrible....either way, people won't forget you and you'll grab their attention.  The kind of attention you want to grab is all up to you though....

3.  The 'rap as a hustle' ethos is pretty much dead.
Make music for the right reasons.  If you're looking to do this solely as a way to get paid, you will be very surprised (and disheartened) once you find out that there isn't much money to be made.  Not to make myself out to be Mr. Wendal or no shit, because I do pretty well to be a nigga with practically no mainstream radio/TV exposure.....but I gotta be real with y'all and hit you with a quote from the Holy Book of Elevators, Chapter Andre, Verse 3000:

"I live by the beat like you live check to check...."

This rap shit is uncertain, yo.  And with the industry being in the state of transition that it is now, its even worse.  My heart goes out to every one of you pursuing your dream of making music in this digital age......I couldn't imagine what its like to be a brand spanking new MC trying to be heard in 2007.  Trying to make it as a rapper in today's marketplace is like trying to convince a woman who's been raped to have sex with you.  I mean, imagine a woman who's been beaten, brutalized, sodomized, pissed on, Wesley Pipe'd, fucked in and out of every hole, forced to perform any and every depraved sexual act you can think of...........and here you come, the nigga with flowers and candy whispering in her ear and telling her that with you 'things will be different....'

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight....... (c) Dr. Evil

This is the uphill battle that we are all facing as artists:  an ever-changing marketplace, an artform that arguably has peaked financially, and a base of consumers that are much more cynical than ever.  *sigh*  Good luck...

4.  This shit really ain't that major yo....
Always, always, always remember this key phrase:  It's just music, people.  Yeah, I know its art and the voice of God workin through us and all that cosmic shit, but when all is said and done, school will still be open on Biggie's birthday (c)Chris Rock  So many of us throw our lives into this, often to the point of self-sacrifice and self-sabotage, and we often forget what is really important:  the lives of those around us, and the people we really love.  So whenever this music shit gets you down, just fall back, log off, go outside and get some fresh air, have a raspberry banana smoothie, hug your girl/wifey/kids and tell 'em you love em, and thank God that you're blessed to see another day.....





....or if that don't work go get the autotune plug-in for ProTools and saing all your songs like my nigga Terrycloth Pain.

Godspeed and best of luck, my fellow artists......you're gonna need it.

Getback 9/25

In the club with his shoes off,
Tigallo

25 Comments             

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