CEDTalks

Finding Forrester  is a 2000 American  drama film  written by  Mike Rich  and directed by  Gus Van Sant . A black American teenager, Jamal Wallace ( Rob Brown ), is invited to attend a prestigious private high school. By chance, Jamal befriends a reclusive writer, William Forrester ( Sean Connery ), through whom he refines his natural talent for writing and comes to terms with his identity.

As a youth my uncle, the late Marvin Hawkins, would foster my love of reading and basketball by giving me his collection of a little known magazine named Basketball Digest. The book contained great articles, stats, and previews of NBA teams and players. My favorite segment of the magazine however was titled "One on One". The segment compared NBA players past or present against each other. It took the talks from barbershops, cookouts, and old men playing chess and provided a grading system to validate naming one player over the other. Today, we take this great concept and transfer it to the world of music. In this new segment "Choose Your Artist", artists from various eras are pitted against their peers, their new age renditions, and even themselves to determine who music stars are the best of the best!  Throughout the 70s and 80s, The Isley Brothers and Gap Band lavished us with incredible music. Songs like "That Lady (Part 1)", "Summer Breeze...

"Déjà Vu" is a song by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé Knowles, featuring vocals by rapper Jay-Z. It was produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and Knowles for her second solo album "B'Day" (2006). "Déjà Vu" is an R&B song, which incorporates elements of the 1970s funk and soul music. Its music is largely based on live instrumentation, including bass guitar, hi-hat, horns, except Roland TR-808 drum machine, which is a non-live instrument. The song's title and lyrics refer to a woman being constantly reminded of a past lover. Watch "Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z - Deja Vu ft. Jay-Z" on YouTube

"I Left My Wallet in El Segundo" was the debut single from A Tribe Called Quest's debut album People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. It contains a sample of "Funky" by The Chambers Brothers.

"Paranoid" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kanye West, released March 24, 2009 as the fourth and final single from his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak (2008). The song was co-produced with Jeff Bhasker and Plain Pat, while co-written by the three along with Consequence and Kid Cudi. The original version of the song, which appears on the album, features Mr Hudson, an English R&B/alternative rock singer who had recently been signed to West's GOOD Music label.

"Hov on that new sh*t n*ggas like how come N*ggas want my old sh*t, buy my old album N*ggas stuck on stupid, I gotta keep it moving N*ggas make the same sh*t, me I make the blueprint" Jay-Z, "On to the Next One" This past Saturday, comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live  featured a guest appearance from Kanye West, who debuted two songs from his upcoming album, Yeezus . West perfomed "Black Skinhead"  and "New Slaves" (posted below), two songs that drive us through the introspective, darker mind of  Kanye. The star rapper and producer continues to travel to different worlds with his music; while his production remains stellar, his sound is a far cry from his 2004 release of  The College Dropout. With Dropout,  Kanye West established himself as one of the premier artists and producers of the industry. His sound was an incredible fusion of joy, family values, rebellion, spirit, and drive; West's lyrics and beats were a stylish struggle sp...

My girlfriend is a health n...enthusiast. While many women inundate their guys inbox with requests of jewelry and clothing, my lady asks for whey protein and workout outfits. Though in no shape or form did I resemble Insanity fitness trainer Shaun T (though we all laugh at the Hip Hop Abs commercial ), her dedication to improving and maintaining her body has motivated me to regain my form. Getting back in shape has not been a seamless transition, however; immediately I recognized I have work to do. Being healthy as an adult is more demanding than the early years; over time we create mental and physical obstacles that slow our pace to reach our goals. Work, children, time, and finances are just a few of the challenges that bring our physical renovation to a dead halt. The biggest hurdle of them all is the monster known as stubbornness; being pig-headed has worn me out worse than media did Derrick Rose. As I continually fight to improve my eating and workout habits, I've begun to le...