#RandomThoughts on Zlatan Ibrahimovic (and his 4-0 dismantling of England)

• Did you SEE this goal???????  - 

  Click here to view the embedded video.

• What the f**@#(*&$)(*#!@&!@#*&(!@*#&_!@*!!!!

• But Joe Hart is one of the best goalkeepers in the world?!?!? But Joe Hart is one of the best goalkeepers in the world!! But Joe Hart is one of the best goalkeepers in the world…

• Oh.. and incase you think he just started this kind of insanity recently, check out this goal from 2006: 

  Click here to view the embedded video.

• Zlatan Ibrahimovic.. aka Chuck Norris

• It’s fun watching soccer clips where the commentary is not in English. I just get a kick out of the way the commentators sound like they’re convulsing/hyper-ventilating. “DKJFPWEIf…qoweip. Zlatan.. aoqeiwuw…ichhh… GOOOOOAAAAAAALLLL!!!” Gets me every time.

• There are very few footballers crazy enough to attempt that type of shot in that situation. And of those lunatics, 9 out of 10 would not score. But this is Zlatan we are talking about here. And this is what he’s capable of.

• Even though he’s one of my favorite players to watch, I’ve never actually heard Zlatan’s voice. And I’d like to keep it this way, because in my head, he has this totally FANTASTIC Swedish-Version-of-Arnold-Schwarzeneggar’s-Terminator Voice. I don’t even picture that he makes full sentences. He’s just like a Goal Scoring Cyborg Robot, sent from the future, to torment the defenses of this generation. And he absolutely refers to himself in the 3^rd person. He says stuff like “Zlatan score now”. “Zlatan angry”. That type of shit. Hehehehe. I don’t wanna ever hear him speak and then he ruins it for me by having some really gentlemanly type of voice. F*ck that.

• Sometimes, I think life has been a little unfair to him. The man has won NINE league championships, been Serie A footballer of the year three times, and is the only player in history to score for SIX different Champions League Clubs. However it seems like he’s always kind of left out of the “Who’s the Greatest” conversation. The reason? Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo. It’s unfair to people like Zlatan, and maybe even RVP to a lesser degree, etc.. to have been born in the Messi/Ronaldo era. The best you can ever do is 3^rd place. That’s just unfair. But then I think about how much money people like Zlatan and RVP make, and I quickly change my mind. It’s not unfair at all.

• Zlaughtered – (def): to absolutely decimate, destroy and humiliate..  with no regard, respect or pity for your victim’s feelings or reputation.

I was cute as a kid wasn’t I? Wonder what went wrong… heheheh

To my Unborn Child…

I pray that you go farther
I pray you, or one of your siblings, go to Harvard
I pray me and your Momma found true love
And that we showed by example what it’s made of

I pray that we made you rich
But if we didn’t give you all you want, I pray we gave you all you need
I pray you get the best of me
I pray you’ll strive to be all that you can be

I pray that you find the one
And that you never let her go, don’t be like me son
Or babygirl, yes I pray that you find him,
And that you never let a man treat you like I treated some girlfriends

I pray God makes this clearer:
The only person standing in your way is the one in the mirror
And Most of all, I pray that you win
And that you never ever pay for any one of my sins

… To My Unborn Child. 

~ B.W.

PS: This is an excerpt from a poem/song that will appear on my forthcoming “R&BW” album. I’m almost done completing the project; New singles drop on the 19th of November 2012, while the album is due to be released on Valentine’s day, 2013. Stay tuned please

PPS: I kinda wanna feature 2 other people on this song, but they have to:

1) Not have kids yet (cuz of the title of the song) and

2) Be “deep” enough to pull this off

Any suggestions on who I should work with are welcome, in the comments section. Thanxxx.

No, not THAT type of divorce… I’m talking splits, really.

Jay-Z and Damon Dash; 50 Cent and Game; Don Jazzy and D’banj; 50 Cent and Young Buck; PSquare and MayD; Fat Joe and Fried Chicken; Trybe Records and Eva… Wyclef/TheFugees and Lauryn Hill… Mocheddah and Knighthouse… Diddy and every Act signed to BadBoy in the 90’s…

Y’all get the idea right?

One minute, it’s Roc4Life. It’s G-G-G-G-G-Unit!! It’s Mo-Hits.. it’s Square Records (BayBayyy!), and life couldn’t be better. You start from scratch, team up with the right partner(s), and you build something truly unique and special.

Then the money comes.  And it’s great because you’re doing what you LOVE to do, with the people you love, and you’re doing it for a living. Life is good. But somewhere down the line, it seems like… inevitably, the money moves in and the love is forced to move out. Sometimes the money hasn’t even fully stacked up the way you envisioned it to, yet.

Money is the root of all evil, right? It’s hard to see clearly when Dollar signs blur your vision. It’s not just the money either. It’s the fortune AND the fame. Especially as far as the music business goes. Fame is a drug, and it’s HELLA addictive. In the immortal words of Jay-Z “…fame is / the worst drug known to man / it’s stronger than / heroin / when you can look in the mirror like ‘there I am / and still not see just what you’ve become”. You step on stage and thousands of people absolutely go insane. They’re screaming your name… screaming the lyrics to every one of your songs. They’re crying and passing out at your shows like you’re the best thing that has ever happened, ever. Sliced Bread ain’t got sh*t on you. Forget sex. That feeling is pure, unadulterated Climax.

All of a sudden you’re surrounded by your army of yes-men; and not just people that work for you. It’s your friends. Some new, some old… people worship the ground you walk on. The word “no” no longer exists. You get what you want, when you want, how you want it: From Girls, Business Contacts, Establishments… everyone and everything.

In these moments, it’s hard to remember and it’s hard to realize. It’s hard to remember where you started from, and how your partners helped you get to where you are. It’s hard to realize how you complement each other, and how you each contribute to the other’s success. It’s hard to realize how fickle and fleeting success can be.

So the first thing that happens is the communication goes out the window. Simply put, you just don’t talk as much as you used to. Sure you speak when necessary about business issues, but that’s about it, really. And then somewhere along the way, that genuine love also evaporates. And issues that would have been squashed with a simple phone call or chat, suddenly seem larger than life. And minor personality flaws that would once have been ignored, brushed aside, or dealt with, suddenly become do or die matters.

And so you split up, because afterall, you can do just fine by yourself, and you don’t need him/her/them holding you back. But what you may not see, at least not right away, is that in most cases (except for MAYBE Jay’s), the sum of both parts is almost always greater than the individuals. OutKast?? Untouchable. That Fugees “The Score” Album? Unquestionable classic. Don Jazzy and D’banj?? Formidable.

I stumbled upon this article in the Village Voice: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2012/11/big_boi_outkast_vicious.php?page=2. When asked why Andre3000 was not on his upcoming album, Big Boi said: “ He could’ve been on any song he wanted to. I gave the motherfucker about five songs, but I guess he was just too busy. He said he had to do some Gillette shit [room erupts in laughter]. No for real. He said he had some contractual obligations.” Hold on one second while I contemplate burning my entire stack of Gillette razors. Just Kidding.

However.. as a fan of all the afore-mentioned partnerships, it broke my heart when I heard about the splits. And in my opinion, no one really wins when these things happen. When shit hits the fan, everyone in the room gets sprayed. But it’s the sad reality of the urban music landscape that we’re a part of. Mostly due to egos/fame/fortune etc, the harsh, sad reality is that these things rarely last forever. As fans, all we can do is continue to support both parties and wish them the best of success in their future ventures.

The good news is: for every “50 Cent & Game/YoungBuck/etc”, there’s an “Eminem & Dr. Dre”. There’s a “Jay-Z & Kanye West”. A “Boys II Men” – who were able to start together and retire together. A “TLC” – till death did them part, literally.

For the rest that are out there trying to build something special. Pause what you’re doing for a moment, and take a look at where you’re at right now; take a look around while you’re at the bottom, hustling, and take a good look at the people you’re hustling with. Appreciate this moment. Freeze it in your minds eye, and thank God for it. Because as history has shown us… things get cloudy at the top.

~ B.W.

PS: I know this write up may cause some of you to think that the rumors you’ve heard that EME and Wiz have split are true. They’re not. Wiz is still very much a part of the team, we’re still working together and I’m still very proud of him.

#NowThat…

- #NowThat Frank Ocean has come out of the closet, and made it okay to state that you’re gay and still be considered cool in the urban/black community… will the rest of the undercover brothers please just come out so people can finally stop suspecting those of us that aren’t.

- #NowThat the Super Eagles of Nigeria have established a bit of a solid winning streak, is it too soon to start having high expectations for the team? The last major tournament we won was in 1996. It’s been far too long.

- #NowThat Rihanna and Chris Brown are apparently back together again… isn’t it just a matter of time before they get married, or drive themselves off of a cliff in a fit of jealous rage, or all of the above?

- #NowThat it’s awards season in Africa again… is it fair to say that most of our Award shows are not entirely credible, because of the “voting” requirement in almost every category of EVERY show? Last I checked, you don’t see the Grammy’s leaving the decision on who wins “Song of the Year” or “Album of the Year” up to whoever was able to get enough sms votes. Shouldn’t there be one or two “Viewer’s Choice” categories, and the rest left to a credible panel to select? Then again, sponsorship dollars in the region have waned in recent times, so I guess the money to cover the expenses to put on such shows has to be generated somehow.

- #NowThat  England was Zlaughtered by Sweden… actually, I have no follow up. I just wanted to use “Zlaughtered” in a sentence again. I nominate “Zlaughtered” for inclusion in the English Dictionary.

Zlaughtered – (def): to absolutely decimate, destroy and humiliate..  with no regard, respect or pity for your victim’s feelings or reputation.

~ B.W.

PS: Feel free to use #NowThat in the comments section and/or twitter

I know, I know, I knowww… It’s been a long time coming. Here are the brand new singles from my forthcoming #R&BW album. “Yes/No” and “Good Good Loving”… I’m excited that I get to share these brand new songs with y’all, and I really, truly hope you love listening to them as much as we loved making them. I have to give a huge shoutout to the Producers, Cobhams Asuquo and Spellz, for helping me create them..

We tried to go a bit of a different route from what you’re currently hearing on mainstream African/Naija radio. I believe very strongly in making the kind of music that you want to make, and being exactly who you are, instead of trying to emulate what you think is hot, or what’s dominant on radio at the time. So here you have it… it’s Afro-R&B, it’s Banky W… it’s #R&BW, and I hope you love it.

Yes/No (Download)

Yes/No

Good Good Loving (Download)

Good Good Loving

Thank you to the greatest fans in the world for supporting myself and the entire EME squad… for believing in us, and giving us a chance to share our dreams with you. We wouldn’t be here without y’all. I am nothing without the grace of God and the love y’all have shown me over the years. Thank you, Thank you, Thank youuuuu.

Please download, listen, and redirect your friends back here to download as well! Videos coming reeeeal soon.

~ B.W.

This past week in Videos:

We recently debuted the brand new video for “Sun Mo Mi”… the 5th single off the “Empire Mates State of Mind” Album. It introduces one of our latest signees, the VERY incredible “ShayDee”, and costars the Legendary EME Soldier Skales, as well as myself. It’s a fun video, and is a continuation of our quest to dominate dance floors across the African continent and beyond. The song was coproduced by MasterKraft and myself, and I really hope you love it. It was directed by Nigeria’s very own, the Legendary Clarence Peters. More videos from the #EMEAlbum will be coming soon, but in the mean time, please check out “Sun Mo Mi”. Watch it, watch it again, tweet it, Facebook it, infact… everyting-it!

Click here to view the embedded video.

ANOTHER video, also directed by Mr Clarence Peters, is by Mogul Music’s “TaiKoon” and it features the Choc Boy IcePrince Zamani, Chandon St. Lucas, and myself. The song is called “Respect My Hustle”, and I reeeeeally like what Mr Peters did with the Video. It’s really, really good. Don’t just believe what I’m telling you, check it out for yourself:

Click here to view the embedded video.

This next one is a video from the always epic PSquare, for their song called “Alingo”. I haven’t attempted the dance yet… mostly cuz it looks like it just takes wayyyy too much energy, but I’m a quick learner so I will give it a shot soon enough The video is really kool, and different… PSquare is the best on the continent at what they do, and you have to respect the effort they put into always raising the bar. Check out the visuals for “Alingo”, also directed by Clarence Peters (I know, he’s a beast) and Jude Okoye:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I had to try and put at least ONE video NOT directed by Clarence Peters (hehehe).. so last but not least, here’s a video by EME’s Skales, for the song “Komole”. It was shot in the DMV Area in the USA, while we had a small break from this past summer’s EME Tour. Bigups to all the fans in the USA that showed us love while we were out there, we appreciate y’all! The video was directed by 1st Impressions, and the song was produced by Trybe Records’ always-incredible Sarz.

Click here to view the embedded video.