Newspaper Page Text
Arts & Entertainment
Game, Set, Match
Album Review
James Pendleton
Managing Editor
“The Documentary,” the debut
album from Dr. Dre’s newest prodigy,
The Game, is an album of affirma
tion- that Aftermath maintains the
strongest stable of rappers; that the
West Coast, birthplace of the initially
subversive and now commercial
ized “Gangsta Rap” genre, is back;
and that Dr. Dre is one of the single
greatest influences in Hip-Hop... ever!
The album begins with the bass
driven beat and instrumental move
ment trademark of Dr. Dre on “West-
side Story.” On this track, The Game
fires, “Since the West Coast fell off the
streets been watching/ The West Coast
never fell off, I was asleep in Comp
ton,” making reference to the coma he
fell into as a result of being shot five
times, including once in the heart.
While sharing similar stories with
other members of the G-Unit clan, The
Game does not belabor his time as a
drug dealer or his time spent in a coma.
The Game offers a suitable dose of death
threats, ego, gang shout-outs, and glo
rification of various criminal activities
and tempers that now typical message
with a steady stream of introspection,
reverence, self doubt, anguish, and so
cial commentary, all wrapped- excuse
the pun- in articulation and ambition.
His depth as an artist is showcased
on such tracks as the Kanye West pro
duced “Dreams,” as well as “Don’t
Need Your Love” and “Start From
Scratch,” featuring sultry hooks from
Faith Evans and Marsha of Floetry,
respectively. On “Hate It or Love It,”
The Game even prompts 50 Cent to re
flect for a moment on being raised by
a single, lesbian, drug-dealing mother.
With a braggadocio not seen in
a new artist since Jay-Z’s “A Rea
sonable Doubt,” and a level of self-
evaluation not approached since the
late Tupac Shakur in “Me Against the
World,” The Game draws from many
of rap’s titans for his first album.
The innumerable references to
such rap luminaries as Tupac Shakur,
The Notorious B.I.G, Jam Master Jay,
Snoop Dogg, Nas, Jay-Z, and Eric
‘Easy-E’ Wright ring less as a doting fan
and more of an appreciative, yet aspir
ing great. In the title track of “The Doc
umentary,” The Game boasts that he’s
“‘Ready to Die’ without ‘A Reasonable
Doubt’/ Smoke[s] ‘Chronic’ and hits it
‘Doggystyle’ before [he will] go out/
Until they sign [his] ‘Death Certificate’
‘All Eyes on Me’/ [he is] still at it, ‘111-
matic’, and that’s ‘The Documentary.’”
While one of the stated purposes of
“The Documentary” was to revive the
West Coast rap scene, the presence of
production by Kanye West, Timbaland,
Havoc of Mobb Deep, Hi-Tek, and Just
Blaze, call into question the effective
ness of “The Documentary” in realizing
this purpose. Musically, the hypnotiz
ing “Higher” and the oft-played “How
We Do,” bring the music back from the
brink of psuedo-New Yorkism to give
a decidedly California sound to com
pliment the Compton native’s home-
spun perspectives. Alluding to khaki
suits and Chuck Taylors, lyrically the
album is loyal to the West Coast with
out embracing the buffoonery typical
of West Coast rappers such as E-40.
The Game pays homage to Dr. Dre
on the title track saying, “I’m the sec
ond dopest n**** from Compton you'll
ever hear/ The first n**** only puts out
albums every seven years.” The Game
goes on the exclaim, “I’ll show you
how to do this s***/ I’m a son of a gun
‘cause moms was a Hoover Crip,” then
adds a parting shot at a fellow Compton
rapper, “I take all of the credit for puttin’
the West back on the map/ If you can’t
get with that then sign Guerilla Black.”
“The Documentary” has enough
“club-bangers” to keep even the most
superficial listener appeased, yet
enough substance to warrant more
than a passing interest in the most
hard-line of rap enthusiasts. In total
ity, “The Documentary” is a complete,
entertaining, and cathartic album,
characteristic of Dr. Dre’s produc
tions. Go buy it, download it, bum
it, steal it... well, DO NOT STEAL
IT, but get your hands on it and wrap
your ears around it. Only time will tell
whether this album will take a place
along side the benchmark submissions
The Game so openly believes it will.
African-American Performers Lead the
Field of Oscar Nominees
Lauren N. Stokes
Features Editor
“I'd like to thank the
academy...” The prestigious Academy
Awards, also known as the Oscars
is the oldest, most known, and most
influential of film awards. The awards
have been presented annually since
1929 by a non-profit professional
organization - the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS),
based in Beverly Hills, California, and
founded in 1927. The Academy Awards
honor the best films made during the
previous 12-month calendar period.
Like any other awards, recognitions,
or “best” lists, the top nominees and
winners do not necessarily reflect or
objectively measure the greatest that
cinematic history has to offer. Many of
the most deserving films of all-time did
not win Academy Awards, and in some
cases were not even included in the
nominees. In addition, Top Box-Office
Films aren’t always guaranteed awards
success either. And certain Film Genres
(particularly westerns, science fiction,
and comedy) as well as independent
films are not represented in balanced
numbers throughout Oscar history.
This year, the Academy
Awards are held on Sunday Feb. 27,
broadcasted live from the Kodak
Theatre at Hollywood and Highland
by the ABC Television network at 5:00
pm PST, and hosted by black actor and
comedian Chris Rock. In the 77 year
history of the awards show, only 67
African-American actors, actresses,
directors, writers, and musical artists
have been nominated. Of these 67, only
15 African-Americans hold the title of
both Academy Award nominated and
Academy Award winner. Of these 15,
only 8 were for acting capabilities (not
including the honorary awards and
statuettes). The remaining seven were
awarded for non-acting categories such
as the John Hersholt Humanitarian
Award, given to Quincy Jones in
1994, and the Original Song Award.
Even though African-
Americans are writing, directing,
producing, and starring in quality films
such as Malcolm X and Amistad, they
are not winning Oscars, let alone being
nominated. This year only four African-
Americans are nominated for Academy
Awards, the most nominated since
the Academy Awards was established
(except in 2002 when Halle Berry, Will
Smith, and Denzel Washington were all
nominated, and Sidney Poitier received
an honorary Award). Actor Jamie
Foxx is nominated for two awards,
one for best actor in a leading role for
his performance in Ray, and the other
for best actor in a supporting role, for
his performance in Collateral. Don
Cheadle is nominated for best actor in
a lead role as well for his performance
in Hotel Rwanda, along with Sophie
Okonedo who is nominated for best
actress in a supporting role in the same
film. Morgan Freeman is nominated
best actor in a supporting role for his
performance in Million Dollar Baby.
Some critics may say that
the Academy Awards is bias toward
African-Americans and that they
are designed toward white actors for
their performances in predominantly
white movies. On Feb. 1, Morehouse
College alum, Spike Lee, held a
forum in King Chapel entitled,
“Hollywood in Black & White.”
Lee believes that in these
particular awards ceremonies, “We
need gatekeepers.” When mentioning
the black actors that were nominated, he
also said, “It’s great that the Academy
acknowledged all these great actors...
there will be some color up in there.”
Lee also commented on the
selectiveness of the awards show. In
1992, A1 Pacino won best actor for his
workmScentofa Woman, against Denzel
Washington for his performance in
Malcolm X. Ten years later, Denzel won
a best actor award for his performance
in Training Day instead of Hurricane,
which was nominated in 1999.
From this evidence, one can
conclude that black actors just don’t win
Academy Awards when they portray
the life of another African-American in
film. Will Smith, Halle Berry. Denzel
Washington, Angela Bassett, and
Lawrence Fishbume were all nominated
for their portrayals of legendary
African-Americans, but were shafted
when it came to the awards ceremony.
This year Jamie Foxx is
nominated for his portrayal of Ray
Charles in the groundbreaking film Ray.
Even though he did receive a Golden
Globe for his phenomenal performance,
will the real accomplishment for him be
an Academy Award to add to his mantel,
or is it still just an honor tobe nominated?
— 6 —
Recycle The Maroon Tig
A Day in the
Life of Ludacris
Jordan Brown
It’s 4pm on a brisk Dec. afternoon
and the sun is already beginning to set.
As usual, downtown Atlanta is congest
ed with bustling traffic and the force
ful wind is enough to make corporate
executives scurry to their cars. Nine
stories up in the Citizens Trust build
ing (this is Hot 107.9's headquarters
and broadcast center) the atmosphere
is completely different. Today Ludac
ris will be stopping by to talk about his
fourth solo LP—The Red Light District.
Inside the main studio the atmo
sphere is like unrefrigerated Cristal—
warm and bubbly. Ludacris, along with
his manager Chaka Zulu, is surrounded
by a dozen crewmembers, publicists
and radio personalities. About four
unbelievably shaped females are pres
ent for eye candy and mingle freely. In
between on-air drops and cell phone
shout-outs (“Ay Luda holla at my little
brother, he loves you folk!”) Ludacris
has the demeanor of a normal guy rath
er than the huge rap star that he is. As I
make my way through the crowded stu
dio, Ludacris is the first to dap me up
and greet me with a smile so infectious
that it couldn’t have been fake. Once
back on-the-air, a side of Luda comes
out that few of his fans ever get to see.
“I love giving back to the com
munity. I’d much rather get out and
use my celebrity to help people than
just cut checks to these organiza
tions,” he says in a genuine tone.
It’s clear that although he’s cov
ered in a blinding combination of rose
gold and colorful stones, he’s not the
only one who has benefited from his
success. He loves his city, and if he’s
winning, Atlanta’s winning. As his crew
wraps up their afternoon of promotion,
a tired Ludacris gives me two minutes
to holla at him about the new album.
Maroon Tiger: What’s behind
the name Red Light District?
Ludacris: Well, the Red Light District
is an area where there are basically no
laws so this title represents freedom.
It’s a metaphor for life on the edge.
MT:WhatseparatestheRedLightDistrict
from the other albums in your catalog?
L: On this one I expanded on the top
ics more. I learned a lot in between
this album and Chicken & Beer and
I think the fans will see that I’ve
grown as an artist.
MT: Fans know you for your wit
ty lyrical acrobats, but you are not
credited as being a hip-hop lyri
cist. How do you feel about this?
L: I think that slowly more and
more people are starting to recog
nize me as a lyricist. It’s gonna
come- especially after this album.
All in a days work for Ludacris.
The Red Light District
John Burnett
Album Review
Ludacris is back for the fourth
time (or fifth depending on if you want
to count Incognegro). The flow is there.
The production is on point. He’s mov
ing units. He has the charisma and a
voice that resonates over a track like
no other, yet many critics tend to leave
his name out when talking about the
best in the game. Luda has fell short
of making a classic album to this point
and what makes it worse is that based
on actual flow there are not too many
who can match up with Cris. With Red
Light District, the southern jugger
naut tries to prove his supremacy not
only in the south, but in the nation as
one of rap’s elite.
This album
falls short of clas
sic status. Albeit, it
is still better than
ninety percent of
the rest of the rap
albums that are out,
which is a credit to
how gifted the Illi
nois-bred but dirty-
South raised artist is.
Luda com
mences this album with another ag
gressive lyrical output, similar to his
previous albums. On the intro Luda
flows effortlessly over the beat enu
merating his sales, financial affluence,
his determination to stay at the top of
his game, and finally his exclamation:
“I am the best and I don’t really have
to say that s—t!”
The premise for these songs is
hackney, yet that does not discount
their strength. They are all solid tracks.
Luda does experiment on the Red Light
District, which shows signs of growth.
We see Luda providing some real talk
on this album especially his introspec
tive track. Hopeless with Trick Daddy,
where the two rappers discuss the per
plexities of the black race in America.
The production spews southern flavor,
the lyrics are well thought out and
Trick’s cameo makes this a solid effort.
Again, we see the southern artist’s
versatility when we raps on Virgo with
appearances from Nas, and the, Doug
E. Fresh. This track is reminiscent of
street comer, beat boxing ciphers. Both
artists shine. Luda shows he can match
punch lines and wit with one of the best.
Another sign of Luda’s dexter
ity comes on the track featuring west
coast legend, DJ Quik. This west coast
relaxation anthem shows that Luda
has a universal flow that can be ef
fective over sundry beats. Cris takes
this album from up top with Nas to
down bottom with Trick and then over
to the west with Quik.
This album provides
something for someone
from every walk of life,
except the crunk crowd.
Get Back is a high en
ergy track, but it’s not
really something you can
get crunk to, yet that has
never been Luda’s forte.
And did you think I was
going to finish this re
view without mention
ing “Number One Spot?” This has
to be the sample of the year. Anyone
who can flip an Austin Power’s track
into something this hot has to be ap
plauded, and kudos to the production
team that worked on this one.
Any way you paint the picture, no
matter if you look at sales or lyrics, Luda
is the cream of the crop and definitely
holds the title as the king of the south,
though he never proclaims it. Pound
for pound one of the best emcees in the
game—east, west or south—the respect
he has valiantly worked for is due.
With the release of Red Light District
Luda will invariably have another plat
inum album, but more importantly has
showed that he can consistently bang
out quality music that is sure to stay in
heavy rotation until the next release.
er