R'z Explains All

What happened to R&B MUSIC? For most of those that will be taking the time out to read this post, when I say R&B it will stir up a myriad of emotions: Negative, indifferent and positive. What I want to delve into is how a genre that has stretched over several generations manages divide opinions so extraordinarily. To understand the dichotomy we have to grasp that the terminology, R&B means something completely different to somebody in their 60’s than it would to somebody in their 30’s. During its inception during the 1940’s Rhythm & Blues borrowed heavily from Jazz music which was the popular music of the era amongst urban America. Contrastingly in the last decade we’ve seen most R&B acts influenced by the more prominent genre of Hip Hop. With the emergence of Hip Hop in the last 30 years and it simultaneously becoming an integral part of popular culture, traditional forms of R&B have taken a back seat to Rap music. Hip Hop seemingly speaks more to the...

In the wee hours of Sunday morning future hall of famer Floyd Mayweather Jr. cemented his place in amongst the boxing immortals. His 49 th consecutive victory against Andre Berto in the MGM Grand, Las Vegas saw him equal Rocky Marciano’s longest undefeated professional record. This subsequently was followed by Mayweather announcing his retirement from the sport of boxing and immediate debate over he is really, as he self-proclaims The Best Ever. Let us put my personal opinions aside for the moment, and take time to understand the journey. In order to do this we have to rewind back to The 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The Olympics have been the breeding ground for a number of American future stars of the sport for example; Evander Holyfield, Pernell Whitaker and Meldrick Taylor all gold medallists in 1984; Sugar Ray Leonard was the imminent star from 1976 in Montreal and most notably Cassius Clay. There is no better platform to potential stardom than an Olympics on home turf, an...

So that time has come again, the two most successful clubs in English football meet again tomorrow afternoon in a pivotal fixture, for both Manchester United and Liverpool at The Theatre of Dreams. The start of the season has seen mixed fortunes for both clubs, the same record (WWDL= 7 points) and already 5 points adrift from early season favourites Manchester City. Despite correlation in on the field fortunes, it is off the field where this week we have seen the focus lie. Pressure on Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has been unrelenting, since the abysmal showing at the back end of last season.  This coupled with a tough run of away fixtures to come fans are already baying for his blood. In contrast Louis Van Gaal has no real threat of the chop however rumors of an internal power struggle between his senior players and his strict mentality may undermine the overall progress of the team. The culture and open playing style of Liverpool under Brendan...

Well if you’re wondering as to why the title of this entry is called “My favourite all time X11” well you can embark on a mammoth task without having a warm up, I admit it has been a while… So I will be making a run down on my favourite… MY being the imperative word! Anyway MY FAVOURITE ALL TIME X11! Bearing in mind I was birthed in 1987 so it would be inexplicable for me to include players who were a bit before my time! I also hasten to add I’m a traditionalist; my team will be as balanced as I can possibly make it!  This a revised version of my 2011 Listing! GOALKEEPER: GIANLUIGI BUFFON Personally any keeper who justifies a transfer fee in excess of £30m deserves to be in any definitive list of greats! Not only has Buffon performed at the highest level, he has done it consistently for as long as I can remember! Great reflexes have seen him continually make impressive saves in the biggest games. His stop from Zidane’s header in the 2006 World Cup final springs to mind!...

The Future of the Knicks Let us rewind a year or so ago, a new President.  Phil Jackson, a former champion with the Knicks. The Zen Master himself.  The driving forces behind two of the NBA greatest Dynasties. With his return to the big apple fans were eternally optimistic in him heralding in a new and prosperous era at The Garden. What followed however… was nothing short of catastrophic! The Knicks racked up a record breaking number of Loses in the 14/15 regular season. In the process falling out of playoff contention in what was an otherwise weakened Eastern Conference. Despite all the optimism going into the season with the long term re-signing of Franchise player Carmelo Anthony, the triangle offence and handpicked selection of Derek Fisher to steward it, things looked promising. Fast forward to the trade deadline… Melo was shut down for season, J.R. Smith, Amar’e and Shump were all out the door and Phil couldn’t even be bothered to make it to games outside of...

Alright before I get down to it I'd like to apologise for my lack of activity over the past month! I know its been a whole month since y'll last heard from me (I know you missed me) but like I've explained to the few people I know personally I been busy lately! Still let me knock the proverbial dust of my pen and get down to my latest review... Wiz Khalifa's Rolling Papers album. For those who don't know otherwise this isn't Khalifa's debut album just his commercial arrival had to be stamped with something other than a mixtape called "Kush and Orange Juice" Just a little background infomation on the Pittsburgh native Cameron Thomaz (yes with a Z at the end, only God knows why). He has been around for a lot longer than people realise, in 2006 he independently released Show and Prove, a tentative effort which garnered little success in the charts but however amassed a small following for the 18 year old. This was followed up by a Rolling Stones ...

It is very rare that my musical ear is so quickly intrigued by a UK RnB artist, however for the first time in a long time I have been drawn to speak on someone who I feel deserves more than a mention. The artist in question is Alahna. unfortunately I was unaware of this Singer/Songwriter before my indifferent evening at the Sunday Show styled Young London Event on the weekend. Alahna performed two songs at this event, and did relatively well considering the poor acoustics at Clerkenwell House. I will not get into the fact the live band drowned out most of the artist's vocals, but Alahna despite this still showcased her ability to engage a section of the audience. After her stint on stage the customary handing out of material followed. I can't lie I usually decline any gestures of nature as post rave DJ line outs and hungry artists outside Footlocker on Oxford Street have ruined this sentiment, but strangely I ignored my usually "better judgement" on this occasio...