Fabolous released this video for the track "A Toast To The Good Life" from his upcoming concept album, Loso's Way. Dropping July 28th, its his take on Carlito's Way, much like how Jay-Z did it for American Gangster.


Click HERE for the YT video.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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50 Cent dropped his 2nd mixtape prior to his major-label release, Before I Self Destruct in September, 2009. Titled Forever King, it features 12 all-new tracks from Fiddy, and is available via thisis50 x AllHipHop. Check it!



Click HERE for the mixtape.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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Twista's newest video for his single "Birthday" may be part of the reason why the recession blows - blue screened video with crappy effects, but girls are girls... I guess.


Click HERE for the YT video of hot gir...I mean, "Birthday".
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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As many of you (should) know, Entourage, everyone's favorite TV show, is coming back on the air for their 6th season on July 12th, 2009 on HBO and HBO Canada. Featuring some star-studded guest apperances such as Tom Brady, Lil' Wayne, LeBron James, Andrew Bynum, Steve Nash, and Gal Gadot, amongst many, many others this season showcases the comeback of Vincent Chase and his gang from New York. With Sloan, Jamie-Lynn, and of course Lloyd back to round out the supporting cast, it looks to be like another hot summer for the Entourage show. Check out the teasers, trailers, and sneak peeks below!


Click HERE for the YT video of Season 6 "Rooftop" Promo.


Click HERE for the YT video of Season 6 "Booth" Promo.


Click HERE for the YT video of Season 6 Behind the Scenes Look.


Click HERE for the YT video of Season 6 Official Trailer.


Click HERE for the YT video of S06E01 Sneak Peek.


Click HERE for the YT video of S06E02 Sneak Peek.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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LOL this was just too funny to pass on:

As reported by CBS:

Kobe said that after the Lakers lost game six of the ‘08 NBA Finals in Boston by 39 points, he was alone in the shower, just fuming. He heard somebody walk in and assumed it was one of his teammates, or maybe a staff member. Instead, he looked up, and it was Ron Artest (to this day, Kobe has no idea how Artest got into the locker room).

“I want to come help you,” Artest said. “If I can, I’m going to find a way to come to LA and give you the help you need to win a title.”

Get out of ma faceee.

EH

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I can't believe its finally Friday - having that one day off in the middle of the week can throw your groove off so badly - I haven't had decent sleep since I slept in on Wednesday... *sigh


With yesterday's trade between LA and Houston (essentially a one for one deal with both sides paying the same amount (give or take)), between LA Lakers and Ron Artest, and Houston Rockets and Trevor Ariza, I can't help but have a bittersweet taste in my mouth - I don't like Ron Ron, and Ariza is amazing....but I will admit, Artest has really good defensive skills and can bring some fire into an already smooth team. As well, if Kobe can make Artest work and get his shot going like he did with Ariza (something like 3 made three-point shots the previous year prior to this one, and then 80-something afterwards?), not only will you have a legitmate scoring/rebounding/passing threat, but also a guaranteed championship-caliber team - which nicely counters the moves the Orlando Magic made and what the Cleveland Cavaliers did last week.


What bothers me the most was that Ariza could have signed with so many other contending teams...but I guess if you want playing time and want to establish a name for yourself, you gotta start from the bottom (oh wait, you can't - you just won a championship with Kobe Bryant). All I can say is, good luck Ariza (and good work alienating your LA fans)...and welcome (*shudder*) Artest.

With that being said, I think I'll do a weekly wrap up, plus maybe a few media posts on Sundays from now on - I don't have (as much) time to spend on the Blog on the weekend, so Saturday will also be more of a condensed effort.

I can't wait for the work day to be over - going to go eat all you can eat sushi ($13 for lunch!), and sushi again for dinner...and then probably get some R&R as I forgot to buy ankle insurance (and got owned playing soccer).

Check out the new Eminem music video, some updates on Ron Ron & Ariza, Public Enemies Trailers + Info, and a new Ne-Yo track - all @ streakinglights.blogspot.com (shameless plug, I know).

EH

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Ne-Yo has another new track out titled "Hello My Name Is Revenge". It features piano, drums, and a shaker (?) and is about all the drama of being caught. Shout outs to GreenHitz for the track.



Click HERE for the track.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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Arguably one of the better (if not the best) Eminem track off of his latest album Relapse, "Beautiful" gets the visual treatment that matches the haunting, yet vivid track. The visual matches the audio quite well, and of course, in glorious HD - check it (Two videos/links just in case one of them goes down) !


Click HERE for the YT video of "Beautiful".


Click HERE for the OS video of "Beautiful".
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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It's been reported that Ron Artest is now signing on with the Lakers... If that's true, I guess Trevor Ariza's less than loyal move about not being paid enough stung with the Lakers' front office - more news as the story develops.

UPDATE x2*
Looks like it was the LAKERS who did Ariza dirty - read this on ESPN - Apparently Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak told Lee (Ariza's agent) to shop around and come back to the Lakers, and then they will *perhaps* match their offer (like a Restricted Free Agent). Apparently Ariza was mad and then with Artest being signed...well, sorry to say - he should have gone to Cleveland.

UPDATE*

Looks like its official - a 3-year, $18 million dollar deal for Ron Artest to come to the Lake Show. As ESPN puts it: 'In a text message to ESPN.com on Thursday night, Artest wrote: "I am happy to say I am goin' to L.A."'

When asked about the money (which is why he didn't sign with Houston again) he said:

"I've made money over my time in the NBA, I lost money when David Stern suspended me [in 2006 for his role in the infamous Pacers-Pistons brawl]," Artest told ESPN. "I'm not playing for the money anymore."

He apparently switched over to the Purple and Gold because he wanted to win a ring. However, what nags me (and I'm surprised there isn't even MORE fans with the same reaction), is that, DON'T WE HATE ARTEST IN LAKER TOWN??? Yes he's a great defensive player, and with maybe working with Kobe he could improve his shooting to a more consistent level, but I'm just wondering how much we lost out on the potential growth of Trevor Ariza - and how badly Ariza must be feeling now that he lost out on being with the Lakers again as a contender. As well, what could have been a bigger basketball rivalery coming next year (Artest Vs. Kobe, Bynum Vs. Howard, LeBron & Shaq vs. Lakers, etc...) has a huge change-up - and I can't help but wonder how much chemistry is going to be affected with Artest on the Lakers now.

I'm pretty sure that most of the Lakers team saw it as betrayal that Ariza didn't agree to sign up with the Lakers again - he could have said 'yes, I'm only sticking with Lakers but I want more money - or at least more increasing every year' - but instead he said "he was looking around." UMMM, HELLO??? The Lakers just won a championship, and 5.6$ million is nothing to sneeze at - Ariza could have done a two year, 3rd year option and with the economy probably picking up, and would have made it a good time to ask for a huge bonus, with the Lakers happily obliging (especially if they win a few more).

When Ariza was asked about how much he wanted to be a Laker, his agent (David Lee, that dumbass) said, '"If you cut him, he bleeds purple and gold," Lee said. "The issue is whether the Lakers want to pay him."'

I think getting an extra $2.6 million (from about 3.1$ million to 5.7 (give or take)) is nothing to sneeze at, especially since you only had one break-through year... And as Lee puts it, 'Ariza already has firm offers from several other teams, according to Lee, and will begin speaking with opposing coaches today. Asked if he could envision Ariza accepting a deal from another team without speaking to the Lakers again, Lee said, "Yes, we have no choice. That's the position they've put us in."'

All I can say is... wow. As reported by ESPN, Ariza agreed to a 5 year, $33 million dollar deal - just about 6.5$ million a year, about $450,000 more per year to play with Houston. Did he really make a smart move? I'm pretty sure Ariza's kicking himself in the foot right now when he screwed up his chance to win another ring...or be a starter. If I were him, I'd fire Lee and get myself a new damn agent.

Either way, have fun in Houston Ariza, with two injured all-stars and a lazy-ass town now with Artest gone. It was a good run, but once you turn your back, the city ain't got no love for you Ariza - just look at how Shaq turned out.

EH

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Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Marion Cotillard came out on July 1, 2009 in North America and the UK. An American Noir Gangster film, it continues the love affair that Americans have for their notorious historical gangsters - this one, being about John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd and their infamous escapes, excapades, and the drama surrounding them in the attempt to capture them, led by Melvin Purvis. Filmed in the time period known as the "Public Enemy" era, the movie currently holds a 61% "fresh" rating @ RT. The movie runs in at 144 minutes, and is rated R for gangster violence and language.

Shoooot 'em up! Yesterday we fired up the BBQ and had burgers, hotdogs (gourmet-$2-per-weiner, gourmet dogs - 'cause that's how we roll) and a bunch of fixings including butter melted sauteed onions and cheesy chili - plus being paid for doing no work also is a big bonus. I hope everyone else had as great a Canada Day (or Wednesday) as I did.

However, I'm now injured - no thanks to a impromptu bare-footed soccer game we decided to do and tweakin' my ankle... I'm unable to put much weight on it, which means no volleyball, basketball, or softball for the next little while... :(

Either way, only one more day before the weekend - and what better way to start off your Thursday then to see these three hot videos by Drake, 50 Cent, and Dub D & JYG.

PS - TMZ posted up this video of a nude Bar Rafeli (Isreli Model) - check it below! :D



EH

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@ STRKNG LIGHTS BLOG

Drake teamed up with Kanye West to bring you his music video for his hit single, "Best I Ever Had" - with...surprising results. Not exactly what you would imagine would go for the song... but that's 'Ye for you. If you haven't read the news, click here about where Drake ended up signing.

50 Cent released his video for his lead single "Ok You're Right" off of his upcoming album, Before I Self Destruct (Sept. 8, 2009). Just a heads up, if you don't like clowns or anything to do with them, don't watch the video - you've been warned!



Click HERE for the YT video of "Ok You're Right".
Click HERE for the track.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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Dub D & JYG, Joe Budden's former manager & his band, did a dope cover of Jay-Z's "D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)" with some fresh verses - check it out and grab the audio track after the jump.



Click HERE for the YT video of D.O.A. cover.
Click HERE for the cover.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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For those who didn't read the previous post, I'm trying this new daily personal post thing... we'll see how it goes.

Thanks everyone for making June my most successful month - I had the most visitors, page loads, and responses this month. Some basic stats: 3, 526 page loads and 2,495 unique visitors for the month of June (or 117.5 page loads and 83.2 visitors per day), which makes it 12,076 total page loads, and 8,113 total visitors since my Blog went live last year (since my re-launch in April 2009, 6,199 page loads and 4,217 visitors). This is great, considering I just started this (relatively recently) on a daily basis - and I want to thank everyone again who came to visit despite my constant posting on Facebook and Twitter and harassment otherwise - keep coming for more, as if it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't be doing this still.

That being said, tell your friends and keep getting people to check it out - if you have any songs, videos, images, art, media, etc... that you want to share, don't hesitate to email me @ crookswrook@gmail.com.

Check out today's posts of the following: MJ Tribute Video/Song, Mario, Consequence, and Ace Hood.

Have a good Canada Day for my fellow Canadians (I'm firing up the BBQ now in celebration, :D ), and a good Wednesday to the rest of you.



Peace!

EH

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The Game teams up with Chris Brown, Diddy, Usher, Boyz II Men, Polow Da Don, & Mario Winans to drop "Better On The Other Side", a tribute to the late Michael Jackson. Watch the clip, and get the track below.




Click here for the YT video.
Click here for the track.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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Consequence teams up with Kanye West and John Legend to drop his collaborative effort "Whatever U Want" from his upcoming album, Cons TV. Shout outs to GWHH for the track.


Click HERE for the track.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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Ace Hood teams up with Jazmine Sullivan on the hook and Rick Ross with a guest verse on his latest video effort, "Champion". Coming off his album Ruthless, features an amazing hook and heavy beat - check it!


Click HERE for the video.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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@ STRKNG LIGHTS BLOG

I'm going to try to do something new starting today - add a bit more of a personal touch (although I'd like to think my commentary and reviews are good enough, but alas, they are not :( ...) by doing a post a day about...well whatever I think is necessary and/or interesting for the world to know...



First, if you haven't noticed, today's posts have been attached with a (#tag), to better utilize Twitter and the automatic tweets that follow this blog. I think any blogger's ultimate goal is to keep increasing (and maintaining) their readerbase, and this is an easy and effective way to do so. I'd also like to thank those who have come to this site for the past 2 and a half months it came back online - I will have full stats tomorrow morning on how the months of May and June did.


The next thing is, I have yet to see Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. Why have I not joined the masses who helped Michael Bay & co. rake in ~$200 million these past 6 days? Well, although the movie looks awesome, fans, reviewers, and regular movie-goers weren't as... pleased about the movie as the hype made it to be... I'll wait till it comes out on DVD (or a great quality online copy comes out), but that shouldn't stop you from watching it.


Finally, an interesting read - and why the 2010 NBA free agent market will be scary for any non-Knicks/LeBron/Bosh/Wade (okay, well I lied - I like Bosh and Wade) fan will be worried about the money NY has...

As well, things to do/read before the 9:01 PM free agency:

9 Things to remember about the 2009 NBA Finals (TRUEHOOP)
A Crazy Phil Jackson/Kobe Bryant Question (TRUEHOOP)
Top NBA Free-Agent Destinations (SI)
Kobe Bryant Free Agency Primer (RealGM)
The $135 Million Elephant in the Room (Lakers Blog (LATIMES))
Sidekick to the Greatest Grocery Guy who Ever Lived (Lakernoise)

Other than that, have a good Tuesday wherever you are at, and check out Phyllisia Ross & Ne-Yo, Drake & Ma$e, Trey Songz, and The Roots & Erykah Badu below!


EH

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First off, I never heard of Phyllisia Ross before this track surfaced - and after hearing the track I will say that I am impressed. To add extra icing on top she is a cutie (may be an understatement... and she's also my age - *hint hint*). She joins up with fellow R&B crooner Ne-Yo for the track "Sunshine", over a summer-spiced beat of snares, hats, bass lines and piano synths. Check it, & shout outs to GreenHitz for the track.



Click HERE for some "Sunshine".
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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Here's Drake's mix with Ma$e from the BET awards of his hit single, "Best I Ever Had (Remix)". The song is good as usual, and if you liked it the first time around you're going to like it this time around. Check out the jump below for the track.


On other news (about Drake), Drake has reportedly signed with Young Money imprint (Lil Wayne's label that's under Cash Money Records). Now, it was predicted he would actually end up at Universal, and he did secure a distribution through Universal - but this is a bit of a twist of plots... Cash Money is notorious for the way it (mis) handles its artists, and I'm almost certain its just because of Lil' Wayne being there was the factor... good luck Drake! Click here for the full MTV article.


Click HERE for the track.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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Trey Songz released his latest effort in mixtape format, titled Anticipation - in "anticipation" of his new album coming out Aug. 4.


From his blog:



Click here to see what the Anticipation is about.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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The Roots team up with Erykah Badu to bring their version of hit song by Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean", as a tribute to the King of Pop. Their take is a much slower, having a borderline minamalist/lounge sound to it. Props to GWHH for the track.


Click here for some moonwalkin' action.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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Jay-Z as promised delivers his much-anticipated music video for his track, "D.O.A. (Death Of Autotune)" which dropped last month and is coming off his upcoming album Blueprint³ in September, 2009. CHECK THE VIDEO BELOW for the eulogy!



Click HERE for the YT video of "D.O.A."
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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@ STRKNG LIGHTS BLOG

Canadian rapper/singer Drake has been hitting the airwaves and the news non-stop for the past couple months now, and it seems he's still yet to have signed with a label yet - but is still working on his upcoming debut album, Thank Me Later set to release sometime later this year. Either way, he dropped this latest track titled "Think Good Thoughts" with Phonte (Little Brother) and Elzhi - some food for thought and sick rhymes coming your way! Shoutouts to H-I-F for the track.


Click HERE for some Good Thoughts.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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Kanye West premiered his newest video, "Street Lights" from his album 808s & Heartbreak. Personally one of the few songs that I like from the album (this and "Paranoid"), its style is similar to "Heartless" - check it out below!


Click HERE for the YT video of "Street Lights".

***

I forgot that this popped up right before the weekend - labelmate Lupe Fiasco dropped his L.A.S.E.R.S. manifesto in conjunction with his upcoming album Lasers in December 2009 - check it out!


Click HERE for the YT video of "The L.A.S.E.R.S. Manifesto".
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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50 Cent dropped another track titled "I'm Paranoid", coming off his upcoming mixtape Forever King. Over strings and solid beat dropback, 50 does some schemin' and rhymin' more akin to his past past efforts (GRODT!!!). Check the track exclusive by H-I-F, one!



Click HERE for the jump to H-I-F.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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DJ Premier, one of the O.G.'s of the hip-hop world, released this Michael Jackson tribute mix on his show - click HERE to get a copy of it. If you haven't had a chance to take a look at MJ's legacy and his tribute, click HERE for that - RIP to the King of Pop!

***


Anthony Hamilton collaborates with David Banner to drop "I'm Cool" - slow easy beat all about keepin' one's cooool. Check it (shoutouts to GreenHitz for the track) !


Click HERE for some Cool.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

Find the latest in stars * media * hype+ * sports * fashion
@ STRKNG LIGHTS BLOG