Chris Shields - "Rush" video

S/O to the homie Chris Shields and Hundred Grand Entertainment for dropping a dope video!

Indy 500

One of my most favorite things about Memorial Day weekend is the Indy 500. Of course Memorial Day usually signals the beginning of summer and all that jazz but for me and many others it signifies the 500. I know cars making only left turns for 200 laps is not exciting to many people. I truly get that. For me, it is one of my top 5 sporting moments of the year each year. I cheer for Andretti Autosport mainly because Mario and Michael Andretti were my favorite drivers growing up. Mario only one the Indy 500 once and Michael came close many times but never made it to victory lane.

As a kid I used to go to the Indy 500 Time Trials every year. So this time of year always takes me back to when I was a kid at the track. I miss the loud engines and the sheer speed dearly. So to me its more than going fast and left turns. I understand whats going on and the race strategy. One day when the grind of my life slows down, I will get back to Indy in the month of May. I know it's not for everybody, but come Sunday at 11am cst I'll be glued to my TV once again watching to see what happens!

Tip My Hat to the Bulls...

All BS aside, the Bulls had a great year. I will not pretend that I like the Bulls at all because I don't and I wont get into why but I do think that I am a pretty objective person when watching the games. I have to honor what the Bulls did by winning 62 games this year and having the best record in the league. Despite his performance as of late, I do think Derrick Rose is the MVP. Trust me Bulls fans, I understand yall pain right now because I would rather the Heat lose to anybody but the Bulls and yall probably feel the exact opposite. The Bulls will be a team that the Heat will have to contend with for the next few years and I'm not excited about that at all but congrats to the TRUE Bulls fans b/c yall had a great season!

P.S. I tweeted the following on Mar 28 and I been sayin it since Jan 15 after the first Bulls/Heat game this season:

"I KNOW THE GAME, ANALYST!"

The Most Important Cities In the Music Industry Today...

Where does the music industry live today, anyway? The simple response is 'everywhere,' because creation, innovation, and promotion can happen anywhere, anytime. But ultimately that answer is too simple, too digitally utopian. After all, great music demands great marketing, and careers require access to media outlets, contacts, communities, tours, and connections to scenes.

Turns out that location still matters after all, but which locations matter the most? That's a tough question, but when it comes to the music industry, we looked internally to find the largest, densest industry populations. Accordingly, we tracked IP addresses on Google Analytics (anonymously) for the past one million uniques, and found that incredibly dense hubs still exist in New York, Los Angeles, London, San Francisco (& Oakland), Nashville, and Boston, among others. Here's the traffic ranking.

1. New York (12.23 % of the past 1MM uniques)
2. Los Angeles (10.43%)
3. London (3.55%)
4. San Francisco (and Oakland) (3.24%)
5. Nashville (1.55%)
6. Boston (& Cambridge) (1.55%)
7. Chicago (1.44%)
8. Seattle (1.22%)
9. Toronto (1.16%)
10. Atlanta (0.96%)
11. Paris (0.85%)
12. Austin (0.84%)
13. Birmingham (UK) (0.81%)
14. Washington, DC (0.78%)
15. Sydney (0.72%)
16. Philadelphia (0.72%)

Granted, this tilts towards English-speaking cities, but several non-English cities also popped up. And close behind? Miami, Gainesville, Denver, San Diego, Vancouver, Melbourne, and Stockholm were also well-represented...

Baby Sol

You can find more of her music @ www.missbabysol.com

Just Wondering...

As Beyonce is getting ready to release her 4th album this summer I began to wonder about the thought process of creating your next album and how it differs from R&B/pop acts to hip hop acts. I've long said that singers have a easier road when it comes to this overall music grind in general, but this is a new dynamic I didn't previously realize before. I would argue that R&B/Pop acts don't have to show growth from album to album. They can sing about love until they're blue in the face and no one cares. Their subject matter is far more limited than hip hop. I feel as though a hip hop artist has to dig and create new and original masterpieces every time he or she goes into the studio to record an album. Let's face it, hip hop is judged harder than R&B/Pop and the shelf life of a hip hop artist vs. R&B/Pop artist is exponentially shorter. Feel free to disagree with me, but how many hip hop artists have had a sub par 2nd effort and gotten criticized for it where as a R&B/Pop artist may get a pass for a sub par sophomore album?

Jessie J

Facebook or Twitter

I'm just wondering, what's your feelings on Facebook and Twitter? I can say that I love them both and hate em at the same time. Facebook usually takes up my too much of my time when I'm randomly browsing through people's pages. I definitely hate that it's a necessary evil for me being an entertainer and I understand the reason for it but I don't like all that comes with it. But hey, nothing is perfect, right?

Do you prefer one over the other? Let me know what you think!

East Finals & Annoying Excuses

Its no secret that I am a Miami Heat fan living in Chicago so I enjoy the trash talking that people do with me via Twitter and Facebook before the games. That's all fine and well. What's weak is when people make excuses for their team. I for one, don't do that. For example, my tweet after Game 1 was the following:I had so many people after the game talking about:Yes, I was talking trash before the game but after it was over I had to own up to my team being whooped in Game 1. But whether you lose by 1 or 200 it still only counts as one loss in the series but I was sensing that Bulls fans didnt see it that way. Check the following example after the Bulls lost Game 2:You dont get a gold star for losing by 10 or 21. You get a big FAT "L" and at this point both teams have one. So my PSA to Bulls fans is don't get too far ahead of yourself cuz of what you thought you knew after the first game. As a Heat fan I KNOW that going into each game. I KNOW its just one game that could go either way. This is going to be a long series and if you want to talk trash, fine be my guest. But when you lose, don't be a bitch about it and make excuses. You lost and move on to the next game!

1 More to Go...

I'm still on a high from last night's Heat vs. Celtics Game 4! I've watched all but a handful of Heat games this season and I honestly thought that they were going to lose last night. They simply have not come through in situations like that. I am glad they proved me wrong last night and came out with the W! I am not going to get ahead of myself and say something like the "series is over" because of two reasons. 1) I know the Miami Heat lack a killer instinct at times and 2) the Boston Celtics have been a thorn in my ass for a long time now!!! They seem to always come through when they need to. I made no secret about fearing the Celtics in this year's playoffs and until Boston is out, I wont rest easy. I'm also not going to crown the Heat champions if they get by Boston either. But If Miami goes on to win the series, I will say "in de face" in my Akeem from Coming to America voice to all the bandwagon & diehard Celtics fans in the world via Twitter and Facebook!!! LOL

I Don't Know How to Describe This... LOL

Just b/c you rap about God DOES NOT mean you should! LOL

DEAR LAKERS/CELTICS HATERS...

Before you read the following you should know that I'm a diehard Heat fan but I'm a part time ESPN NBA analyst...

As I was checking everybody's tweets and facebook pages for the last few days, mainly Lakers and Celtics fans, it hit me... "Why is everybody writing them off so early?" Does your hate for these two teams make you so eager to forget what they have done since the 08-09 season? The Lakers have one of the best players to play the game on their squad and they are playing the Mavs who have repeatedly choked since the 06 Finals. Yeah, they are up 2-0 on the Lakers but do you really think they are going to beat the Lakers?? Can you really close your eyes and imagining it happening?

As far as the Celtics are concerned... As much as its gonna hurt me to say this, I have to say it; but all Miami did was win 2 home games. THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DO! Yes, the Heat looked great in those 2 games and the Celtics looked like an old washed up shell of their former self, but I have watched the Heat all year (NBA League Pass) and I'm telling y'all that the Heat struggle in spots like this. They have not shown that they have a killer instinct yet and that makes me believe their series with Boston is far from over!

So stop letting your hate hide the truth from your eyes! Both teams are down 0-2 but it is by no means "OVER"!

Get Em While They're Hot!!!

GET EM NOW!!!

Hey Mrs. First Lady Girrrllllllll

Quick Thoughts

I'd just like to thank everybody for being patient waiting on the album. I think this final version of HeartBeat is the 3rd of 4th version of the album. But I am satisfied with the project and happy for you all to finally hear it. I look forward to your feedback whether positive or negative. Shout out to everybody that had a hand in creating the album, whether big or small. Enjoy!

Peace.

HAPPY HEARTBEAT RELEASE!!!

The debut solo album of Pennjamin Bannekar has finally arrived. The much anticipated work has been in the making for the last year and has the finally launched today,May 3rd 2011. The success of the current single "ILLwrite" which can be seen on MTVU among other video channels, has many people waiting to see what the member of Project: Fr3sh can do alone. The album has a depth of range yet centers on the person Pennjamin has become through the journey of life. Producers such as Best Kept Secret helped shape the feel of the album which also boast features from Chicago's new school hip hop artist such as Omen and Phil G who give a standout performance on "Counterfeit." "Fast Cars" is a lyrical second to none but one of the most creative ways to talk about sex. HeartBeat is available on iTunes, Amazon and pennandpencil.com now!