What Happened to the Music?

So, instead of finishing my English take home exam (it's always English that throws me on a tangent) I decide to organize my iTunes music folder. Yes, I am a nerd - I cannot help that, but I digress. and I start realizing that my collection is lacking some classic songs - no Earth Wind & Fire, one Tena Marie Song some Mint Condition but the rest was just ... bleh, for lack of a better description at 1:30 in the AM. So I start thinking and feeling like I need to vent. I open Microsoft Word and everything just starts flowing like lyrics over a tight beat and I end up with what you are about to read.

What happened to the music?
A Literary EP by Endia Z.

Track 1: The Intro-lude

Leela James said it best in her ode to the good ol’ days, simply titled Music. Don’t get me wrong, you may see me jamming in the club to some new dance records (probably because I’m a little inebriated) but if I’m ever driving in my car listening to the radio or searching the web for some great music or even watching videos on TV in hopes of finding something worth listening to – I just get frustrated. If I hear one more song dedicated to ass, cash or another damn crank dat song, I’m going to have to resort to desperate measures. I want to call a boycott – a nationwide prohibition of all garbage that is filling the heads of our people. Dear God how I wish I could just get the GOOD heads, people who know what real music is and appreciate it and is tired of just plain wackness in general, all together and march the streets of Brooklyn, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Atlanta, Long Beach Californ-I-A and just raise our fists in honor of what’s real. Blast our stereos in the fashion of Radio Raheem and just burn down every record company that is only in this business for the love of money and the love of what it should be, the root of everything – the music. But, let’s not get radical. Every generation has their flukes and fads of the moment. Do we not remember Rico Suave?

It would be easy to blame all this on 2 Live Crew and get it over with, but they’ve already won one 1st amendment case, let’s not go through that again. Now I’m not just talking some “Hip Hop is Dead” nonsense; it’s not dead – just going through a midlife crisis. And it’s not just hip hop, it’s soul music, it’s R&B, it’s blues and even gospel who are going through this musical menopause. There’s just so much to comment on about the state of music today. So groove with me and nod your heads as you experience this written EP.

That was what I dubbed the "Intro-lude". I know you've all seen that between your two favorite tracks on your favorite CD, right? Well that was track 1. Track 2 will be coming u soon.
Let me know what you feel, what you think I might be talking about in future tracks -whatever you want! Do you like this concept? Will you read further? Just pop into the comments section.
Also check out the new addition to Pure Brown Sugar Blogs, Urban Connection has now been added to the list.

Your January Monthly

Here is January's AWESOME music compilation. If you haven't heard these songs especially like, Pull It Out, Say Yeah or Music is Ruling My World, you NEED to DL this mix. Your life won't be complete without hearing it.

1. Killa - Cherish ft. Young Joc
2. Honey - Erykah Badu
3. 1234 - Feist
4. Pull It Out - Idle Warship ft. Dappa Flex
5. Love Song - Jean Grae
6. Givin' Me A Rush - Tyra Bolling
7. It Don't Make Any Difference To Me - Kevin Michael ft. Wyclef Jean
8. Say Yeah - Wiz Khalifa
9. Music is Ruling My World - Kutiman
10. American Boy - Estelle ft. Kanye West
11. The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaelson
12. Superstar - Lupe Fiasco
13. Who Am I To Say - Hope
14. Work That - Mary J. Blige
15. crushcrushcrush - Paramore
16. Love Like This - Natasha Bedingfield ft. Sean Kingston
17. Bonafide Girl - Shaggy ft. Rik Rok & Tony Gold
18. White Picket Dreams - Solange

Part One

Part Two

Leave a coment and let me know how you feel about this months mix.

Anticipated Movies

By the looks of my list this month it seems originality has really gone out the window. Everything has been done before. So iguess the only real reason to watch a movie this month is to see which version is better.

Here are my picks for movies to see this month.

1. First Sunday

Ice Cube, Tracy Morgan and Katt Williams – doesn’t that just sound like a great movie? What more to say? It looks like it will be a great comedy to watch with the whole family.
Plot Synopsis:
In this hilarious comedy, Durell (Ice Cube) and LeeJohn (Tracy Morgan) are best friends and bumbling petty criminals. When told they have one week to pay a $17,000 debt or Durell will lose his son, they come up with a desperate scheme to rob their neighborhood church. Instead, they end up spending the night in the presence of the Lord and are forced to deal with much more than they bargained for.The all-star cast also includes Katt Williams as Rickey, the flamboyant church choir-director, Chi McBride as the Pastor, Malinda Williams as his outspoken daughter and Regina Hall as the mother of Durell's son.

2. 27 Dresses

After seeing Knocked Up I'm really excited about see Katherine Heigl in another movie and what better than this? I think it will be a funnier more romantic version The Wedding Planner.
Plot Synopsis:
Jane has always been good at taking care of others, but not so much in looking after herself. Her entire life has been about making people happy - and she has a closet full of 27 bridesmaid dresses to prove it. One memorable evening, Jane manages to shuttle between wedding receptions in Manhattan and Brooklyn, a feat witnessed by Kevin (James Marsden), a newspaper reporter who realizes that a story about this wedding junkie is his ticket off the newspaper's bridal beat.Jane finds Kevin's cynicism counter to everything she holds dear - namely weddings, and the two lock horns. Further complicating Jane's once perfectly-ordered life is the arrival of younger sister Tess (Malin Akerman). Tess immediately captures the heart of Jane's boss, George (Edward Burns). Tess enlists her always-accommodating sister to plan yet another wedding - Tess and George's - but Jane's feelings for him lead to shocking revelations...
and maybe the beginning of a new life.

3. Mad Money

As cheesy as it looks I’m actually slightly interested in seeing it. It looks as if it will be a solid effort.
Plot Synopsis:
Bridget Cardigan (Diane Keaton) is shocked to learn that she is on the verge of losing her home and comfortable upper middle class lifestyle when her husband Don (Ted Danson) is downsized from his job. Armed only with a decades old English degree and years as a dedicated mother and corporate wife, Bridget is forced into the unfamiliar labor market with no job skills. Finally, she accepts the only position she can find -- janitor at the Federal Reserve Bank.The one-time suburban mom soon discovers she has more in common with her new co-workers than she thought. Bridget forges an unexpected bond with Nina (Queen Latifah), a hard-working single mom with two kids to raise, and Jackie (Katie Holmes), an exuberant free spirit with nothing to lose. Caught up in a system that underestimates their talents and keeps their dreams just out of reach, Bridget, Nina and Jackie set out to even the score. After a lifetime of playing by the rules, the three devise a plan to smuggle soon-to-be destroyed currency out of the supposedly airtight Reserve. As the unlikely crime syndicate amasses piles of cash, it looks like they have pulled off the perfect crime -- until a minor misstep alerts the authorities. With more money than they know what to do with, the women are pushed to the limits of their ingenuity to stay one step ahead of the law!

4. How She Move


Okay so it’s basically a mix between Save the Last Dance and Stomp the Yard. And as sick as I am of the urban dance movies I’m sort of interested in this one. Well it’s more curiosity than interest. It’s one that I’ll probably wait to some out on DVD then wait for it to go on sale to watch it.
Plot Synopsis:
Bursting with raw talent and intelligence, Raya Green (WESLEY), the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, has always been the family's one great hope. She won the rare chance to break out of their drug and crime-infested neighborhood when she was accepted into the exclusive Seaton Academy. But when her sister dies of an overdose, the family is shattered and Raya is forced to return to the place she tried so hard to escape.It's not easy to go back - especially when one-time friends, including the tough minded Michelle (TRÉ ARMSTRONG), see Raya as a stuck-up traitor who left the community behind. Feeling trapped and looking for a way out, Raya learns about a step competition with a $50,000 cash prize that could change her fate. Most of the crews that win the big money are all male, forcing Raya to fight her way in as the sole female member of the Jane Street Junta (JSJ), led by the reining champ of the local steppin' scene Bishop (DWAIN MURPHY). As sparks begin to fly between Raya and Bishop, a false move by Raya leaves her without a crew, and she finds herself in a battle between her loyalty, her determination, her family's ambitions and her heart. As the big contest approaches, she realizes it's no longer just about the money or the opportunity, but also the one thing that she's been missing in her life: a sense of self.

5. Untraceable


I get sort of a less paranormal version of feardotcom feeling from this movie. Mixed with the suspense of Saw.
Plot Synopsis:
The story of a technology-savvy serial killer who displays his graphic murders on his own website. The FBI Internet Crimes division must work quickly to track him down.

Center Stage

So instead of reading The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin for ENG 253 I decided to do some blog surfing. I came across one that caught my eye called, Soul Imperialist. I’m reading and happen to clink on a MySpace link for a friend of the blog owner named Dawn Norfleet.

The first song that played, 19 Gone, gave me chills. I first saw her picture and thought – okay whatever, it’s just some chick with a flute. But the melody of the instrument ran through me touching every musical point in my mind and then came that voice. Think Anita Baker just a little more soothing.

19 Gone
Then I Loved You

Make sure to visit her MySpace
Also stop by her Official Site to buy your copy of her CD For Your Inner Ear.

Leave a comment to let me know what you think of her.

Coming Up:

The Great Debaters
Juno
Alicia Keys
Much More

'Twas the season

I know what you're thinking ... "Another new blog with good intentions goes right down the drain." Well, you are mistaken. Yes, I neglected the blog for a whole month but for good reason ... Winter Vacation! So we're missing a whole month of updates, reviews, etc. etc. but I'm back in school with not much to do in my spare time so I'm back on the scene and have review galore in the upcoming weeks. Maybe even a layout change if I feel so compelled to do so - we shall see.

Anywho, thanks to everyone who visits the site in hope of something new. Please continue to show support and tell your friends to do the same. Drop a link and I'll be sure to visit.

Ciao bellas!

Your November Monthly cont'd

Like I promised here is that awesome mix I was telling you guys about. The tracklist is as follows:

1. Portrait of Love - Cheri Dennis ft. Young Joc & Gorilla Zoe
2. Gossip - Lil' Wayne
3. Apologize - Timbaland ft. OneRepublic
4. Violet Stars Happy Hunting! - Janelle Monae
5. We All Want the Same Thing - Kevin Michael
6. Put You Up On Game - Aretha Franklin ft. Fantasia
7. Sweetest Girl - Wyclef Jean
8. Just Fine - Mary J. Blige
9. Blue Magic - Jay Z ft. Pharell
10. After Love - Keri Hilson
11. Wind On Me - Jagged Edge ft. Ashanti
12. Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
13. Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore - Bon Jovi ft. LeAnn Rimes
14. Resentment - Jazmine Sullivan
15. Hate That I Love You - Rihanna ft. Ne-Yo
16. Lolita Fairytale - Vanessa Carlton
17. Cop's Up - Lyfe Jennings
18. Inconsolable - Backstreet Boys
19. Like You'll Never See Me Again - Alicia Keys
20. I'm So Hood Remix - DJ Khaled

You need to DL both links for the whole CD.

Part One

Part 2

Check out the Pure Brown Sugar Sunshine Blogs on the right we have a new addition, Pretty Pink and Baby Blue. Check out her site along with all the others.

And remember if you have a band or any musical act or anyone who you think needs more exposure direct them this way! If you're a writer, send me a poem or an exceprt from a short story, I'll be more than happy to feature it as part of the monthly. And remember to vote in the poll!

Coming up:
Colbie Caillat - CoCo
Alicia Keys - As I Am
Chris Brown - Exclusive
Anticipated Movies

Your November Monthly

Heart, we will forget him!
Emily Dickinson

Heart, we will forget him!
You and I, tonight!
You may forget the warmth he gave,
I will forget the light.

When you have done, pray tell me
That I my thoughts may dim;
Haste! lest while you're lagging.
I may remember him!


Ever been so enamoured with someone and for a while you think they feel the same, but after a while you don't get that same smile or wink of the eye? There used to be that look that jumbled my speech and filled my gut with butterflies - you know that cliche love thing. Now I see you with that same look, same smile, same sparkle in your eye - but it's not for me. Yeah, we were never "official" but jealousy takes hold and I can't help but wonder, "Who is She?"

Emily knew her shit, man. If the heart still feels, there's no way you can ever forget. :: sigh ::

Anywho, next post will be the rest of Your Monthly.