http://www.indy.com/posts/4769 en-us ronlewhorn what's a d-bag? ha. j/k. Hey if Herbie Hancock can win ALbum of the Year with all covers who cares if Kanye stole Jesus. And if he truly did steal Jesus, Maybe that's why the tomb was empty! Oh my. Opening a can o' worms. Tue, 12 Feb 2008 10:21:54 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13841 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13841 obeythedoberman and he is also enormously talented as a d-bag. riddle me this batman. if i come to you with a sample and i write a song and you take that song, keep the sample the same throughout the entire song, keep the chorus as is but change the lyrics did you write the song, did i write the song or did we co-write the song? kanye did not "steal" the song from Rhymefest. he told him to his face, i'm taking this song because i have a record deal, you don't and this is a hit. this argument is so 3 years ago. why is this even being disputed? some of you think Kanye is talented and enjoy his work while others of us think he's a menace to society who can't keep his mouth shut when the camera or tape recorder is on. no one is wrong, it's just a difference of opinion. i know Kanye is very talented at taking a sample and turning it into a hit song. is there talent in that? some would say yes and others would say no. i love a good beat regardless of where it came from so i like Kanye in that respect but i have no respect for him as a man. i think he's pathetic. just my opinion. Tue, 12 Feb 2008 10:11:48 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13837 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13837 Matt.Gonzales Uh huh. Fest maybe wrote the hook and perhaps even the chorus, as well as some of his own verses (which Kanye didn't use). Fest got his songwriting credit. Nobody "stole" anything. I suppose it is possible that at first, out of envy or jealously or whatever, Fest foolishly told people West "stole" his song. Then he quickly realized that he didn't want to burn any bridges with one of his closest friends and collaborators, so he reined it in. No matter what Fest told you or one of your friends over beers or shots of Patron or Brandy Alexanders, this much is true: When Kanye recorded "Jesus Walks" on "College Dropout," he made it his own: The arrangements, production and vocal performance are the reasons that song (and so many other West songs) was such a huge hit. The man is enormously talented as a producer and a performer, no matter how you slice it. Tue, 12 Feb 2008 10:02:54 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13835 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13835 obeythedoberman and therein lies the difference of being a reporter with a tape recorder and someone just talking over a drink. the people in the know, know. that's all i'm sayin'. did you hear the one about Beyonce, Alicia Keyes and Britney Spears writing all of their own material? Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:43:00 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13830 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13830 Matt.Gonzales Rhymefest said this a couple of years ago when I asked him about people on message boards claiming that Kanye stole "Jesus Walks": "Those people are ignorant," he said. "They just want to have somebody to tear down. That song wasn't my song any more than it was his song. Ultimately it was something that the creator gave us both, and I was just part of the team that he chose to deliver it. I really think the credit should be given to God. And I'm no religious zealot, man." Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:37:59 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13829 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13829 obeythedoberman Matt, Kanye is the most recognizable name in hip hop. Fest is still trying to make it. Do you really think he would ever come out and say that Kanye flat-out stole the song? Go back in read past interviews. There are a few where he came pretty close. And you're right, he does spark conversation. Every time my friends and I hear about him we talk about what a d-bag he is and how we miss real hip hop artists like Tupac and Biggie. Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:27:42 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13827 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13827 Matt.Gonzales Even Rhymefest says he and Kanye co-wrote "Jesus Walks." If you ask him about all the internet rumors that Kanye "stole" the song, he says it's total fabricated BS. That they are still tight and still collaborate speaks to that, too. As for Kanye: Love him, hate him -- either way, he's in your head, sparking your conversations. ;) Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:18:36 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13826 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13826 obeythedoberman DUDE! You and I both know that "Jesus Walks" wasn't even written by Kanye! He stole that from Rhymefest, hence the reason Fest got a grammy for "co-writing" the tune. It was groundbreaking and Rhymefest broke the ground while ego-maniacal Kanye got the credit. Winehouse is a total crackhead but she's got something most people in the industry no longer do. Talent! Look at the state of music and look at all of the pop acts who lip-synch and then listen to Winehouse's voice. It's flawless. I wish there was an American pop artist to root for but it's hard. Outside of rock bands American acts are mostly manufactured. Hip hop has become pretty tiresome to even the most die hard hip hop fans. What's left? My question is how can you root for someone who tells you day in and day out how great he is? Kanye's act was tired 2+ years ago. Flat-out the guy is the textbook definition of the word jerk. And for the record, the 50th anniversary of the Grammys received their 3rd lowest ratings EVER after their single highest promotional campaign EVER! What does that tell you? Tue, 12 Feb 2008 08:58:02 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13815 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13815 URBAN The comments in this post show exactly what Indiana thinks , I am glad to see this so I can learn....diss kanye for paying tribute to his mom and give props to amy winehouse who is a crackhead. WOW I was also shocked to see kanye labled kan-gaye he too has sold millions and actually does all positive music..."JESUS Walk with me" was groundbreaking . By the way Kanye is from the midwest and is American! Cant Team USA stick together? Amy won her four awards shes not hurting ,besides she is from London! The awards hit a home run in merging older stars and the new music stars , It teaches youth who the music architects were . Mon, 11 Feb 2008 22:56:30 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13799 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13799 obeythedoberman partying with Winehouse is not as cool as you might think, that is unless you're a good looking girl who does blow and swings both ways. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:36:07 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13797 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13797 Shimmercore I want to party with Amy Winehouse! Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:04:32 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13775 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13775 obeythedoberman i like randydaytona. he speaks the truth. if you don't know Ronson's work check out his catalogue. he's produced stuff for Winehouse, Lily Allen, Rhymefest and more along with releasing 2 albums - both stellar! Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:01:57 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13774 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13774 obeythedoberman i just like to call people racists but i don't know how anyone couldn't like "Rehab." the song flat-out RULES! great beat, catchy lyrics, great voice. hands down song of the year. and by the way, when she wrote it she wasn't out of control. fact. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:59:26 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13772 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13772 randydaytona I have to agree with obeythedoberman, Mark Ronson is the f**kin man! But Amy Winehouse is not anywhere near moderately attractive. She's a dog. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:57:29 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13770 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13770 kathrynbelt That isn't racists that is predigests (sp) right? Well you know they they to sing about stuff you know. hehe. Makes it more believable. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:55:13 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13767 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13767 obeythedoberman wait, i just re-read the post. you liked the song before you knew she had a drinking problem and now you don't like it? um... ok. racist! Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:44:52 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13760 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13760 obeythedoberman stellarswarm, you must be a racist like ronlewhorn ya Eisley lovers! Winehouse is a wee bit more attractive than Sharon Jones, beehive and all. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:42:58 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13759 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13759 StellarSwarm Whoa, wait...WHO's moderately attractive? Personally, I don't think you can look much more like a drag queen than Amy Winehouse does. I'll admit, when I first heard "Rehab", I thought it was a catchy song. But when I discovered just how auto-biographical it was it completely turned me off to her music. I haven't listened to any more of her songs and don't plan to. @ronlewhorn - great call on Eisley! They are a great young, talented band. Another girl fronted band I've really gotten into lately is called "Company of Thieves" from Chicago. They'll actually be playing at The Underground at the Harrison Center on Feb 29th. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:29:43 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13755 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13755 obeythedoberman you were smart. you saved 3 hours of your life. it was fine and very safe as all Grammys are. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:29:22 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13754 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13754 kathrynbelt i didn't even watch them this year - did i miss anything? Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:08:59 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13749 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13749 obeythedoberman kmeelah, one last one and then i gotta go. Sharon Jones of Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings is AMAZING! Put her side by side with Winehouse and you'll see some strange comparisons between the two. Both great voices, both great songwriters, both share the SAME backing band (Winehouse uses The Dap Kings when she performs live) but guess what... one is edgy and moderately attractive while the other is not. it's a sad state of affairs but them's the breaks. Jill Scott and Angie Stone have insanely great voices but their labels never pushed them. Why do you think that is? Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:19:26 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13740 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13740 ronlewhorn absolutely. It's not that the talent isn't there it's that the demographic that pays the most money supports continuing to give us britney's and Jessica Simpsons. I love a great chick lead singer. Check out a group called Eisley. Song Telescope eyes! She's got pipes! http://www.myspace.com/eisley Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:05:15 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13739 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13739 kmeelah Trying to stop, cause I can go on forever with this online stuff... Last point I want to make, as you stated, "there aren't that many talented female singers brought to the forefront by the recording industry". So I hope you might agree that the fault lies with the wrong women being highlighted (sometimes more for looks than talent, which I don't think happens for male singers nearly as often) by the industry and other media forces, and not with women inherently. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:48:59 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13734 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13734 ronlewhorn Gamy Whinehouse is like Hilary Clinton. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:42:32 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13730 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13730 obeythedoberman my comment is completely sexist. i strongly dislike women singers, in general. i just do. but when i hear a woman's voice that i like then i get behind the music 150%. mainly because, to me, there aren't that many talented female singers brought to the forefront by the recording industry. just my own personal taste. i do not listen to r&b. alicia keys and beyonce do absolutely nothing for me but you put on a Nina Simone record and i'm content for hours. i've read time and time again that her live show has been terrible. this has a lot to do with the drugs and alcohol. i was lucky to have seen her when she was at least close to sober and i loved it. and yes, if she lays off the crack she will come into her own on the center stage. for now, her recorded music will have to do the talking since more times than not she messes up her concerts. she did get a new tooth last week though! take a look at the pictures. hilarious! Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:41:14 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13728 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13728 kmeelah That's an awfully broad, kinda sexist statement. Winehouse's voice is interesting, but I wonder how much of that is due to production values on the album. I've read about her live performances being very sub-par sometimes. I have not had the privilege of seeing her in person to know this for sure. Is she more of a recording artist or a well-rounded actual performer? Maybe a better live performer if she kicks her habits, you say? This is minutiae, though. Not all that important to discuss here, unless you feel like it. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:32:41 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13727 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13727 obeythedoberman racist! Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:29:16 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13726 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13726 ronlewhorn In all actuality we just wanted to get people riled-up so that we get lots of replies to our posts and thus recieve lots of karma points. just kidding. I'm not racist. I'm not homophobic. Heck Malcom X is the man! http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1486997,00.html I was simply mocking Kanye for making very stupid remarks and talking way to long. And the glasses were gimmicky. That lead to urkel and reminded me of suave "Stephan" who could have very easily been a modern politician. etc. etc. etc. . . Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:28:05 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13725 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13725 obeythedoberman Wino's voice is incredible! Mark Ronson is an amazing producer and the two of them just hit out of the ballpark. i've seen her live and i've met her and though she's cracked out of her mind i think she's brilliant. i got to stand on stage while she played for close to 25,000+ at Lollapalooza and I was blown away. everyone expects a lot from her because of how talented she is but she's still very young and, if she kicks the drugs, will all come with time. her first album is terrific as well (the one no one in America seems to know about it because relevant entities like the Grammys would have you believe she's a "new artist"). to be honest, i normally cannot stand female singers or female fronted bands but Holiday, Simone, PJ Harvey and Winehouse just do it for me. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:13:49 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13722 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13722 kmeelah Meh. Bleh, Winehouse. She makes me queasy. Why would she have to be the representative of female singers? She's not all that stable (I know, Billie Holiday was similar in that respect), and the songs of hers that I've heard I find quickly tiresome. Have you listened to her whole album or something? Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:04:52 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13721 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13721 obeythedoberman i think Hancock is an amazing musician. i also think that it's par for the course with the Grammys for that album to win Album of The Year and that's why the Grammys are so irrelevant. the people voting are so out of touch with reality it's unbelievable. Herbie has had an amazing career and without a doubt he is the most talented musician of all the nominees but that album just did not belong up there. honestly, as much as I like the man i'll always go back to Rockit and laugh. Winehouse got robbed. Love her, hate her or don't care about her she deserved to win. She's taking the dead art of female singers and bringing them back to the forefront and she should've walked away with a clean sweep. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:55:40 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13720 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13720 kmeelah Nah, I didn't say all that, I'm just saying narrowing him down to just "Rockit" is unfair. I know that's what most folks would know him for. I agree it's kind of lame to nominate an album full of covers. I read about that album and couldn't care less about it. I'll look at what you said. And that guy apologizing for what he wrote doesn't really make it ok. I feel like he's trying to be cute about it and I dislike stuff like that. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:51:31 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13719 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13719 obeythedoberman kmeelah seems to be missing out on the sarcasm of the post. that's a shame. keep reading, you'll get it. and on a non-sarcastic note if you think Hancock deserved to win album of the year for an album of cover songs you're sadly mistaken. i love Herbie Hancock but give me a break. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:47:15 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13717 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13717 kmeelah Also, though Herbie Hancock may be unfortunately best known for "Rockit" by non-jazz fans, I would say he's a pretty solid musician. What you said is like judging Miles Davis's entire career by the fusion jazz he did in his later years. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:45:05 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13716 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13716 obeythedoberman don't be so sensitive kmeelah. he was only joking and followed up his post with an apology. he brought up Obama because people were saying Kanye's retarded glasses last night looked like they belonged to Steve Urkel and he was comparing Obama's looks to the Urkel's alter-ego (smooth Urkel). are people really this touchy even in 2008? wow. i'm jewish. let the jew jokes commence. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:42:32 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13715 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13715 kmeelah I don't know what it is you're referring to, but what you wrote there was kind of ignorant-sounding. I don't know why you had to bring Barack Obama into this. It's pretty lame to dis someone by calling them "gay", too. Think a little harder before you post next time. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:35:41 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13713 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13713 obeythedoberman RACIST! You hate Kanye's mother!? how dare you. just kidding. Kanye sucks. Obama RULES though. I hope Kanye is for Hilary yet knowing that they're both from Chicago sadly means that Kanye will probably write him a song for his campaign. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:52:13 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13709 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13709 ronlewhorn Oh. Wait. I didn't mean for that to sound racist. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:38:34 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13705 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13705 ronlewhorn Kan-gaye sucks. Just tell him to shut up about his mom and move on with life. Is it just me or do those glasses look like Steve Urkel. And speaking of Steve, doesn't Barack Obama remind you of Steve's Alternate Self "Stephan"! Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:37:27 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13704 http://www.indy.com/posts/4769#comment_13704