Sade.

Now many of you may not be familiar with the sexy Britain due to her penchant for taking extensive vacations from the studio but when she’s ready to record, the R & B world is treated to something different, enjoyable. Not to say there aren’t any gals out now doing their thing, but Sade whispering to you through a pair of Bose speakers is virtually unmatched in its ability to grab you.

Anyway, she’s back with Soldier of Love. It’s a pretty good appetizer until I get a chance to here the whole album.

Oh yeah, I recommend picking up some of her old stuff if you can. You or the special person in your life wont be disappointed.

The former nine-shot taker turned Vitamin Water huckster hit the studio one last time for Interscope to let his ego run ass-out crazy.   The album starts out strong enough  with Fif offering his enemies a chance to “come get some” on the opening track, The Invitation.  It’s set to a piano-laced beat Mr Jackson handles fairly well.  Problem is, the lyrics don’t bring anything new.  We’re basically being reminded of Fifty’s collection of weapons ready to be used against those foolish enough to step to him “in the hood.”   Now honestly, no one, at least I hope, believes the 400-million dollar man is still hanging out on his old block squeezing off on rivals, which makes the whole hustler-on-the-rise thing almost comical at this point.

Never known for a solid flow or clever word play, his strength always relied on the low raspy tone of his delivery.  It always lent a seriousness to his buildups which we all bought in the past.  Here, it’s tired and worn.  For instance, it’s utilized in Death to My Enemies, a sprawling mess of pop references and cliches where the former Queens hustler’s message is lost until the hook reminds you and it’s like: oh, he’s pissed at a few people.

We all know the diss track is to New York what the runing of the bulls is to the people of Spain.  Fifty adds to his native state’s legacy with So Disrespectful.   Old beefs are resussitated with Jeezy, The Game and Young Buck,  three people no one gives a damn about anymore.  Worse, nothing is being said to make you want to revisit those issues.  Well, I don’t know…how do you feel about this ? It’s crazy how I make this shit look oh so easy. They say, 50, man don’t fuck with him, he’s oh so greasy.

I know.  Stop it, Mr Jackson, please.

Not being able to let go of the past aside, The rest of the album slowly morphs into a hacky attempt to grab ladies through dry R&B powered tracks, even managing to recruit fading Chicago crooner R Kelly for one of the most forgettable collaborations since Bone Thugs in Harmony and Phil Collins. Right, exactly.

After the release of Curtis, critics and fans felt Fifty was becoming soft, human even.   Naturally, moving into your 30s will bring new life experiences and Curtis cracked a window for us to take a personal look at an artist evolving from boy to adult.  Frightened of losing his fanbase after the experiment, BISD was a road map to guide us back to the “dark side.”

Well, we’ve seen that side before and it was fun for a while, but maybe it’s time to get back to growing up, Fif.

A few weeks went by and my friend came running into our house yelling at me to turn on Soul Train. They were about to re-run the show with the “cold” MC.  Better than DMC?  Get Serious.

We pop the set on and watched Don Cornelius give dry introductions to FM-friendly songs.  During station breaks we laughed our asses off at silly Classic Curl commercials by Johnson Products.  Most of them featured couples with ridiculously greasy jheri curls taking turns finger twirling each other’s do.  Have you ever touched a Jheri Curl? I have. Your hands look as if you spent the afternoon trying to remove a stubborn oil pan.  Why anyone would think this look was sexy is a mystery best explored by decorated academics.

The time finally came.  About 15 or 20 minutes into the show, Don, in classic stone-face form, through the stage to the MC and his DJ.  When the set ended, my view of rap matured.  DMC, for all his gifts, would relinquish the thrown.  A light had been turned on to welcome a new way of thinking toward lyricism.

Enter Rakim.

We became devoted followers to the man who would later become the “God MC.”  Everything, and I mean everything, Eric B. and Rakim produced was dissected by us.   Rakim’s cinematic storytelling dipped in prophesy grabbed us.   His writing broke through the clutter with the aid of an unfamiliar component.  The binding element: flow.  Now, keep in mind, flow wasn’t a part of the rap lexicon at the time.  He was just “the shit” to us.   Sure, we knew his oratory had rhythm as others. but unlike simply being rhythmic, flow is the melding of muscular language with music.   It’s when you’re not concerned with matching words at the end of lines for the purpose of similarity of sound.  Masters of the craft can massage the english language into submission, adjusting tone and delivery to create a certain mood.  It makes their compositions more muscular, pulling you into the MCs place in the world.   When Rakim told us in the timeless In the Ghetto, “I learned to relax in my room and escape from New York and return through the womb of the world as a thought”, you were within those four walls absorbing the experience with him.

I guess when I heard Rakim would release The Seventh Seal I got pumped over the chance of some of the current top-selling rappers who claim to love him to try harder.  Or maybe, just maybe, TSS would inspire a burgeoning lyricist to do something different, shake the community.  Many rappers have come along with elevated lyrics since Rakim.  You know the few.  But today the radio is flooded with hook-driven songs.  I’m not one to get steamed over what’s real Hip Hop and what’s not.  Every style has a place.  Times Change.  You accept it.   Hopefully, rap is cyclical.  A new MC will eventually arrive to touch the intellect.  I only have one thing to say to kid in the future who will run into his buddy’s house to tell him about the innovative MC:  Rakim is King.  End of argument.

What’s interesting about the film is that it takes a look at the  ”love-hate relationship with graffiti and Hip Hop” culture.  Now, this is something many of you may not have known because we all know graffiti is one of the essential elements of Hip Hop.

Some of the kings of 70′s urban art are interviewed and give a history of the movement.   Cornet and Blade recall tales of “bombing the No. 2 and No. 5 trains in New York and ditching school to watch their creations flow through the city.

The film’s directed by Peter Gerard and you can download it here.   No set price, they just ask for a small donation.

More information is available at justtogetarep.com

Morgan also talks about his backstage relationships at SNL where he expresses his dislike for former castmates Chris Kattan and Cheri Oteri.

Promotional cards with Morgan’s special brand of humor are being used to spark buzz.

In the meantime, you can check out this quick review posted on Wired.com

You can find a more thorough inspection of the 8GB model here at CNET.com