Summer music usually means lackluster club hits, one or two EXTREMELY overplayed smashes, and heavy promotion of new artists you know you’ll never hear from again (with the exception of Flo Rida). So I’m glad that Fall is approaching because it means I can expect quality albums from my favorite artists, that I hope will hold me over until next year.

This fall’s line-up is looking really promising with releases from some of my favorite artists and really big names in the music industry. Songbirds Whitney Houston, Amerie  and Mariah Carey all have albums coming out in the next few months. Dance queen Madonna has a greatest hits album lined up.  Diddy, Wale, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne and Marques Houston are also scheduled for fall releases. But there are few releases that I am particularly excited about.

First up is the prince of R&B, Trey Songz, with his third album titled Ready on September 1.  I have been anticipating a new album from Songz for a while now, but he’s always done a good job of satisfying his fans between albums with his mixtapes.

 I’ve always preferred rap and hip-hop music over R&B, yet Trey Songs is one of my favorite artists. Male artists in his genre are expected to be soft, but I love his ability to blend love and passion with grimey street edge and straight-forwardness. Plus, he has an amazing voice. He’s the most unique artist in R&B since R. Kelly.

I believe Ready will be his biggest album yet, since he’s already got a dedicated fan base, R.Kelly and other crooning types have been inactive lately, and at the time of this post – one week before the actual release date -  Ready is already the sixth top-selling album on iTunes.

Also being released in September is the much anticipated album from Kid Cudi, a fairly new artist in the game. Earlier this year Cudi had a smash with the much played Day and Night and his second single Make Her Say featuring Common, Kanye West and Lady Gaga is already climbing the charts.

Cudi is a breath of fresh air in the hip-hop industry with his brutal honesty and his daring approach to new elements of music. I admire him for being a fearless artist willing to step outside of and way beyond the box – most artists aren’t allowed this type of artistic freedom until at least their third album.

 Kid Cudi is most often compared to Drake, who is also known for his unique approach to music as well as his emotional honesty. Drake will be re-releasing So Far Gone (originally released as a mixtape) September 15, 2009 – the same day as Cudi’s Man on the Moon: End of Day which is sure to fuel the rumors of beef between the two.

In what may be his most anticipated album since The Black Album was released in 2005, Jay Z’s The Blueprint III is set to be released on September 11. With two singles (DOA, Run This Town) already bombarding the airwaves, and the coinciding 10^th anniversary of his Roc-A-Wear clothing label, and an autobiographical book - this fall is surely going to belong to Hov.

In all honesty, Jay Z is not my favorite rapper – at least not in the sense of those who live and breathe his every word, following his every move. But, I appreciate and respect him as an artist and musician. I think he is a very smart man and I think the tremendous influence that he has over young black men and aspiring rappers is amazing. He is an inspiration and on top of all that he is very talented.

I love that you can see (hear?) Jay Z grow from album to album. You can actually hear and feel his outlook, his thought process and his way of looking at the world change – all while staying true to his self. He’s matured in his music and he has paved the way for many other rappers to follow in his foot steps and mature in their music as well (T.I., Ludacris).

Expectations for the third Blueprint installment are very high, especially since the two albums following the Black Album (Kingdom Come and American Gangster) have only been seen as moderate successes. Of course, it’s never been easy for any artists to rematch the success of their biggest selling album.

I have high hopes for 50 Cent's Before I Self Destruct, since he actually is one of my favorite rappers. I'd be lying If I said Curtis wasn't a let down. The difficulty here is that the majority of hip-hop listeners are looking for something beyond hard-core gangsta rap at this point - something that 50 doesnt want to let go of. Truthfully hard-core is what he is most noted for, but who knows maybe he will surprise us with a different approach on this album. One can hope.

Fall music is looking really promising and I must admit there are just too many upcoming releases for me to discuss in this one blog post. But, the good news is after the club hopping has died down and it gets to be too cold to let your top down, you’ll be happy to have a few good albums that you stay in and listen to on repeat or one after the other. Be sure to tell me what releases your most looking forward to in the comments.

(albums covers courtesy of Amazon.com)

Wow my mind has been everywhere but where its supposed to be. As much as i've beaten you over the head with info on rapper/singer Drake, i didnt even give you the honor of watching the first video from his So Far Gone mix tape for "Best I Ever Had."

Maybe you've been sleeping under a rock and havent heard this song? It's one of the most highly regarded singles off the mixtape and is a prime example of both Drake's lyrical and vocal capabilities. For some reason this song reminds me of Craig David (does anyone remember him?).

The video for Best I Ever Had was directed by Kanye West. I love the cinematography but the concept and storyline are wack. Perhaps Drake simply felt honored that West showed an interest in working with him so he didnt question the concept? If it were me i'd have  been a little skeptical. Kanye doesnt seem like the kind of person who does something for nothing. Im just sayin....

Enjoy the video!

the past month has been a whirlwind, and yet I dont feel like I've been doing much! My sister recently announced that she's moved her wedding date up (again) so I have been busy planning her "flirty French" themed bridal shower. May have noticed that i do a lot of french themed parties. Because of the short notice and very small budget much of it has been DYI, but I've never lacked in the creativity department so It's coming nicely.

Congratulations to my younger borther, who completed his first year of the 100 Black Men of Orange County program. His Rite of Passage ceremony was a few weeks ago and it was very nice. the venue was beautiful and got me wondering if they do any wedding ceremonies there.

My birthday came and went on the 12.... really an unmemorable event, but I got to show off my new apartment to some of my closest girl friends, and now you with the pic below.

Unfortunately, I had a death in the family. My grandfathers older sister Mattie passed away at 87, the last of 14 children! Up until early this year she lived a very full life, until she was diagnosed with cancer that spread very rapidly. Last weekend I drove down to San Diego for the funeral, and while it was a sad event I got to catch up with some family that i hadnt seen in a while.

I had a foiled attempt to see Drakeperform at a Hollywood club last week. Since his concert was sold out, LA promoters begin advertising that he would perform at club Element post-concert. My first instinct told me it was BS, and at most he would only be making a scheduled appearance, but a friend told me that they knew for sure he would performing, so I bought 3 pre-sale tickets online.

We were duped! Element was outrageously packed. Street was lined with people who had pre-sale tickets and many who did not. My friends and I managed to get in and have a smashing good time, but I know several people who bought tickets in advance who did not get in. As it turned out, I was correct about it only being a scheduled appearance, Drake did not perform and he ended up leaving as soon as he arrived because apparently the promoters tried to play him as well. Drizzy actually ended up addressing the whole situation on his blog.

Better luck next time.

I have also been reading like crazy this month. I went in to borders with no real idea of what book I wanted to purchase, ended up leaving with The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice, and it actually turned out to be one of the best books I have read in a while. Last weekend i got a 40% off coupon from Borders (score!) and bought two more books The Summer of Naked Swim Parties by Jessica Anya Blau and Lust Loathing and a Little Lip Gloss by Kyra Davis.

Lastly, as much I tried to pay attention the the NBA finals I finally got sucked in. So every night I eat dinner with Kobe and Carmelo or Lebron and Dwight. I hope the Cavaliers pull through. And I've added Delonte West to the list of Cleveland Cavaliers id like to marry. That makes 2.

pictures:

  My beautiful apartment before the birthday festivities, and my friend LuLu poppin the Champagne!

The Lines (in both directions) outside of Element of people trying to see Drake

and inside the club

and I'm so sure that this is Miguel Nunez of "Juwanna Mann" fame in there tryin to see drizzy too

Aubrey "Drake" Graham aka Drizzy just might be the biggest thing since chopped liver (or something else wildy popular). If you consider yourself to be, even slightly, a fan of rap, r&b, or underground and indie music and you havent heard of Drake by now, I suggest you crawl out from under your rock and download So Far Gone- the lyricist 's and vocalist's highly coveted mixtape. 

Once known as Jimmy, the wheelchair bound, token black kid on Degrassi: The Next Generation, Drake has swept the world of hip-hop off its feet - and that's a good thing! Despite rumors, he remains unsigned but not for lack of offers. You see him with Lil Wayne, you read about him in VIBE, the hip-hop blogs are going crazy with rumors. Twitter and Facebook are full of impostors. Everybody want to know Drizzy.

I feel this post is well deserved, since my original post on Drake as February's Crush of the Month is one of my most popular yet. The people get what the people want!

Please believe, So far gone is in heavy rotation on my Ipod and every time i listen to it, I find myself wondering "what is it about his music?" Is is it his versatility? Working with artists from Lyyki Li and Santogold to Omarion, Lil Wayne and Bun B the music never gets boring. No matter the mood I'm in, So Far Gone has a song for me. Originally, I avoided the track with Peter Bjorn & John but after just a few short weeks I found myself singing along "LETS CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF!"

Maybe it's his honesty... I noticed right away how often he spoke about his family life, feeling bad about buying new cars while his father scraped change together to purchase cigarettes and other personal details. While it is common for rappers to lie brag about the cars and clothes, Drake sings and raps about relationships and the need to feel or be successful.

Or it could just be that sexy deep voice.....hmmm.

I wonder if Drake recognizes the power that he has. I think back to my senior year of high school, when 50 Cent's Wanksta came out, followed by In the Club. The anticipation for Get Rich or Die Tryin was so heavy we sat with clenched teeth and sweaty palms waiting for the official release. When it came out that tuesday in 2003, people were ditching school to run to the record store to buy it. By that afternoon, every car was blasting 50's music non-stop. The record sales smashed the charts. In all honesty, I think that will be Drake.... only BIGGER!

I think we can admit that we have been waiting for an artist like this. May I say the "anti-Kanye?" By that I mean, the vulnerability of 808's and heartbreak is present without the overly cocky "you-are-lucky-to-be-in-my-presence" attitude, with the swagger of a champion, heart of a lion, talent.

Get to know Drizzy.

"My Name is Drizzy, And I'm not Perfect

But I work Hard, So I deserve it" - Unstoppable

Recently while riding in the car with my friend, and ex-college dorm roommate, Kaylan, we were listening to her ipod and she asked me if I remembered the days when we used to sit in the dorms and watch new episodes of "Degrassi" on Friday nights. I remembered, so she continued "remember Jimmy? The kid who became wheelchair bound after the school shooting? Well this is his music were listening to.

Get out! I was in denial at first, but it turns out it's true! Aubrey Graham, aka Jimmy, now goes by the stage name "Drake" and is an r&b singer/rapper.  After hearing his name several times in the past few days, I decided to go ahead and dedicate this post and my February "Crush of the Month" to him.

On the streets, the name Drake is receiving a lot of buzz right now. He has released three self-produced mixtapes, the latest of which dropped on the 13th of this month and is titled "So Far Gone." He's currently signed to Interscope and his first major label debut is scheduled to be released early this year and is tentatively titled "Thank Me Later.

Drake comes highly endorsed by NBA baller Lebron James (my secret lover) and frequently works with artists like Lil Wayne and Trey Songz. You may have heard one of his most popular songs "Brand New," which is by-far my favorite. I'm not a big r&b fan but I love the sound of his voice. He's also a skilled lyricist and to top it off, he's a hottie (OMG!), but that's not new because he was cute even when he was playing spoiled-little-rich-kid Jimmy on Degrassi.

Be on the lookout for Drake!