Wild About Wayne

Lil' Wayne just sold nearly a milli copies of his album Tha Carter IV this week. He closed the VMAs this year. And he's taking Jay-Z to task in a new diss. Now news today breaks that the BET Hip-Hop Awards has honored him with a whopping 18 nominations for his work. This ranges from Made You Look Award (honoring hip-hop style) to Best Lyricist. Interestingly enough, he faces Jay-Z in several of these categories. But the question at hand, is he rap's best or rap's most visible.

Now, I personally don't listen to a lot of Weezy's raps. Not because I don't like him, it's mainly because he reminds me of a real-life Gremlin with his speaking voice and multiple tats all over his body. Not only that but he slurs so much, I don't always understand what he's saying. But I can say, he does provide interesting guest raps in songs like "Look at Me Now" by Chris Brown and even labelmate Jay Sean's massive dance floor hit, "Down." However, there have been some missteps, like his rock flavored, Rebirth album released in the intermission between Tha Carter III and Tha Carter IV.

Lil' Wayne also has a shaky history with the law. He recently was freed from prison after a year behind bars and has had multiple arrests ranging from gun possession  to possession of illegal substances. But is he really living the life of a rapper? Or just trying to maintain attention for attention's sake. It seems to me that he is striving for creative control, but sometimes it also seems like he's over-saturating the market. I mean how else do you explain feeling like someone wasn't in jail when you hear them or see them on television on a regular basis.

Maybe this is just a result of the current business model of music. People have to get in quick and fast, making an impression the best they know how in order to keep up the money and the fame. I think Weezy is especially wise to this because before 2008's groundbreaking Tha Carter III, he was mainly known as a southern stalwart on Cash Money Records. But he steadily built his profile, appearing as a guest on records like Destiny's Child's "Soldier" and releasing a steady stream of mixtapes. It obviously worked because he reaped the rewards and awards necessary to increase his stature.

Not only that, but Lil' Wayne introduced a new stable of rappers known as Young Money featuring rap's biggest breakout acts Drake and Nicki Minaj.  But beyond that Lil' Wayne has realized that being in hip-hop these days takes stamina, depth, and focus. And you can't knock a guy for that.

Wayne's BET Noms
Lil Wayne Leads Nominations

Changing of the Guard

With Oprah's departure this past May, there are now several new players in the talk show game. I've decided to analyze a couple of these new forays into the talk show genre.

Anderson, Anderson Cooper
 As if AC 360 wasn't enough. Anderson Cooper is seeking to take over daytime as the host of his own show. He's been successful as a fill-in for Regis Philbin on Live with Regis and Kelly, but hosting a show day in and day out is different. He's going to have to be quick on his feet with hot topics and have valuable information on the people he's interviewing. And obviously since it's daytime he has to be more open and friendly than he is at night. I think it could work if he just goes with the flow and tries to not to be someone else.

Rosie, Rosie O' Donnell
 Rosie O' Donnell is actually having a second chance at talk show success. She had a syndicated show that ran for several years, ending about ten years ago after Rosie's coming out and controversial behavior. Rosie is now heading to the OWN Network, headed by Oprah herself. Rosie obviously has a long track record, including her stint on The View which went down in flames. I just hope Rosie can be interesting and not irritating.

Katie, Katie Couric
 I guess you're noticing a trend. Every person I've mentioned so far is naming the show after themselves. I would like to think Katie Couric would turn the tide after her much maligned stint at CBS News. She appeared on The View, trying to clarify her style on the ABC produced show. Time will only tell if she can be current, edgy, and interesting. Her show doesn't premiere until Fall 2012.

5 Things I've Learned from Watching Speed

I know this may seem unlikely, but I actually watched Speed for the first time last night. It wasn't because I decided to wait seventeen years after, but mainly because of timing. Speed was one of those movies that always came on when I couldn't or didn't feel like watching. It's original theatrical release was when  I was six but obviously if I did see it, I wouldn't remember it. So without further ado, I present 5 things I've learned from watching speed.

1. Make sure you know that the villain is definitely dead.

No, it' s not rocket science. The heroes, Jack and Harry (portrayed by Keanu Reeves and Jeff Daniels, respectively) didn't double check to see if Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) was really gone. Just because you don't see him, doesn't mean he expired. As Gus once said in Psych, "no body, no crime," or in this instance, "no body, no closed case."

2. Know your respective bus route.

I've known this since I was a freshman in college and I accidentally took the wrong route all the way to work. Fortunately, for me it was before I was actually supposed to be at work. Poor Doug Stephens (Alan Ruck) was a tourist without a clue and nearly went crazy during the whole adventure.

3. Don't stand around when there's a madman on the loose.

Harry, unfortunately learned this the hard way by looking aimlessly in Payne's house. Annie (Sandra Bullock) nearly paid the price for thinking a man in uniform is the right person to listen to. You have to be alert and make sure you know who you're dealing with before you do anything.

4. Make sure you know how to drive in LA traffic.

If you go too fast, you'll hit someone. If you go to slow, you'll hit someone. And even if you did get a ticket or other reprimand for speeding, make sure you know the consequences. If Annie hadn't had her licensed revoked, she probably would have never even had to get on the bus.

5. "Relationships under intense circumstances never last."
I think that pretty much sums it up.