Category Archives: Music

Ghost Riding With Firemen and White Boys

I’ve always maintained that this first clip was the best Ghost Ride clip of all time. What inspired them to ghost ride the Volvo you ask? Moving the A’s from Oakland to Freemont!! I guess I dubbed it as the best ghost ride of all time partly because of the set up, and I agreed with it fully at the time. Plus, does anyone NOT feel like Ghost Ridin when they hear Mistah FAB? Today Dyslecix threw in a new challenger to the ring. These firemen didn’t have a set up, but they really didn’t need one. It was cool they could use 10 guys in the strut. I saw a couple solid C-walks, and some “dougie” moves thrown in there. I don’t think it was quite enough to beat out the A’s fans, but let us know which one you found more entertaining in the poll below.

VS.

If you have any other submissions, please let us know! doinworkstaff@gmail.com


Al Green at Outside Lands, San Francisco

I spent Sunday afternoon in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco taking in a wide variety of music performances, mostly unfamiliar stuff. The lineup wasn’t exactly my tastes, but once I saw Al Green on the roster I was sold. After I had decided late in the game to skip out on Lionel Richie back in July, I decided I couldn’t miss this opportunity. Others performances I saw were Nas & Damian Marley, Kings of Leon, a surprisinly awesome Phoenix, Slightly Stoopid was mostly a bathroom/beer break for me, but I managed to make it back in time for a guest appearance by Bay Area native Del the Funky Homosapien. Oh, and some band called Temper Trap. Anyway, back the Reverand. I was a little worried he was gonna be old and washed up, but the man’s still got it. There were a few parts where he got a little winded, including about halfway into the song below, but he also brought his A-game, so he deserved to get tired. He ran through his entire roster of hits, laid down a nice cover of Pretty Woman, and did a tribute to legends gone like the Four Tops, Temptations, and Sam Cooke. Right about then I turned to my friend and said 20 bucks say he does Dock of the Bay next. Sure enough, he jumps into Otis Redding’s legendary song about SF. Not only that, but then he follows it up with another Redding CLASSIC, I’ve Been Loving You Too Long. Here’s a clip of Ol’ Al gettin after it with Here I Am…………..


That’s The Bizness

Time for a little Saturday night tune. Not sure what happened to Big Rich, but he was my favorite rapper for a month or two back in 2007. Not only was he my neighbor, but he’s also half-Asian. I used to see him cruisin through the hood in his custom-wrapped van all the time – now THAT’s the bizness haha!


I Can’t Even Defend This One….

I’m the first guy to defend whatever ridiculous hip hop song comes out, usually on account of there being an audience for it. It’s my go to justification. Today I finally saw a video that I got nothin for. I can’t defend it in any way. The closest I came is when I thought many times I’ve wished there were more songs about feelin yourself when you’re getting ready to go to the club…. But I wouldn’t even wanna bump this! I’m real liable to Turn My Swag On, but trust it won’t be my pretty boy swag.

I’m sorry to subject you to this, but my first exposure to Justin Bieber was over on Joy Victory’s blog, and I’ll never forget her for that. So, you may hate me now, but eventually there’ll be a night when you’re wasted at the club, this song comes on, and you start goin stupid. You’ll always remember Doin Work for that one!


Like Sunday Morning

It’s still Saturday night in my world, but anybody checkin out the blog right now is on Sunday morning mode in some fashion. What better excuse to throw up a little Lionel? I’d call myself a huge closet Lionel Richie fan, but it’s no secret. Let’s just hope I don’t regret passing up his concert on Thursday. I wanna be high…….sooooo high…….

damn check out that suit!


Sunday Slow Jams

Things are a little slow over here at Doin Work this weekend. But when all five of us call California home, it’s a little difficult to sit at home on the computer when it’s 81 degrees and sunny outside. Although that’s just me… Chappy’s down in LA where it’s 69 and Tony, Dre, and By are in a brisk 59 degree San Francisco day. Nonetheless, sometimes there’s just too much going on to blog about the playoff games we all saw. Lebron showed he expects to have little trouble with an aging Celtics team. The Hawks nonchalantly dismissed the Bucks from the postseason. And, the Lakers gained the upper hand in their series against the Utah Jazz. But no matter how busy you are, everyone’s got time for a little music, and no matter where you live, chances are you have that one radio station that plays nothing but old school jams on Sunday nights. Consider Doin Work that radio station for this time and place….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qSION3MWDM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_m8xmL6Vck


Just Wright

Common is one of my favorite rappers of all-time, let me rephrase that.  Common is one of my favorite “emcees” of all-time.  There is a difference.  ‘Til this day Resurrection still manages to transcend time for me, in fact, Common in general transcends time, as he is still more than relevant to this day.  The shelf life for most Hip-Hop artist is like four years.  He’s been at it for decades.  He might be one of the trendiest artist alive as well.  Ask your girlfriend if she likes the way Common dresses, go on … do it.  Yeah buddy, I knew she would.

As do many Hip-Hop artists, Common has tried his hand at acting, and has been quite successful at it too.  Perhaps he hasn’t done anything in which he’s “stolen” the show so-to-speak, but he’s done enough to raise a few eye-brows.  In fact, he’s done enough so to land his first (male) leading role in Just Wright, a movie in which he plays an NBA All-Star who suffers a severe knee injury and must go through a rigorous rehabilitation regiment with the guidance of potential love interest Queen Latifah in attempts to return to the league.  O.K. so going from his day job of being a Hip-Hop legend to acting as an NBA baller might not be such a stretch for him being that the two are synonymous with each-other, but still.  Give credit where credit’s due, it’s a leading role.

Why we should watch this movie?  Well, because we should all support Common, he’s a rapper (emcee) with a positive message and vibe.  Those kinds don’t come along too often.  Another reason?  We’re sports junkies!  C’mon, unless it’s a movie like Fighting, or Never Back Down, us guys are usually interested in sports flicks.  Especially if it stars, or has cameos of real professional athletes.  This one does!  I was 11 or 12 years old when Blue Chips was a feature film, and it quickly became one my favorite movies behind Jurassic Park, simply because Penny Hardaway was in it.  If those reasons aren’t valid enough, it stars Paula Patton too.  ‘Nuff said.  —————————–>

One last thing to note, Common plays for the N.J. Nets in this movie.  Perhaps this will be the most positive thing for Nets fans to view regarding their team until the next NBA Draft comes along.  I’m just saying.  Plus he (Common) kind of reminds me of Stephon Marbury when he puts on that jersey … I always like being reminded of Stephon Marbury.


Guru Gone Too Soon

Keith Elam died of cancer related causes Monday after a long battle with the disease. Keith was more known by his rapper alias, Guru, and for being part of the group Gangstarr. If you liked hip-hop in the late 90’s, or early part of the 00 decade you have of heard of him and most likely some of his music. It’s always sad to see someone pass away at such a young age (47) from a disease. You may remember back in March when it was reported that he suffered a stroke, but that wasn’t his only health problem as there was a little more behind the story than what was originally reported. Who knows, I might want to hide that I have cancer. Anyways, I always liked Guru’s music, and hope that his death at least ended the suffering he was going through to battle the disease. I think Guru knew that we’d be writing a tribute to him when he passed. I mean, why else would he have written a perfect theme song for our blog about doin work!?!


Today’s Headlines… Ricky Martin is Gay; Trees Are Flammable

(Reuters) – Latin pop star Ricky Martin on Monday announced he was gay in a blog posting, ending years of speculation.

“I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man,” Martin wrote in a blog posting at http://www.rickymartinmusic.com.

“This is just what I need especially now that I am the father of two beautiful boys that are so full of light and who with their outlook teach me new things every day. To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids were born with,” Martin wrote.

Martin, 38, became a father to twin sons via a surrogate in 2008 and at the time no details were given about the birth or the mother.

The Puerto Rican singer of hits such as “Livin’ la Vida Loca,” has long been the subject of speculation about his sexuality. In 2000, TV journalist Barbara Walters grilled him about whether he was gay, but he refused to disclose it.


Anybody surprised? Didn’t think so. I’m glad we can all put this to rest, because not only were we all so unsure of Ricky Martin’s sexuality, but it was that important as well. Here’s a timeline of Ricky Martin’s significance in my life…. 1999: Martin bursts onto the scene with “Livin La Vida Loca”;  2004: William Hung gains notoriety for his cover of Martin’s “She Bangs”;  2010: Martin confirms he is gay.

As you can see, it’s been long storied history. It feels really good to finally close the case on this one. At least he’s a “fortunate homosexual man,” as opposed to an unfortunate one. Maybe I’m over-analyzing here, but I take that to mean that a fortunate homosexual man is one who can get women, but chooses to be gay; while an unfortunate homosexual man is one who couldn’t get women so they had to resort to men. Am I mistaken here?


Back to the 90s….

We all know I love 90s hip hop. I don’t know why, but this song has fallen completely off the map. However, I still think back to it any time I hear a car horn or any reference to tic tacs. I’m pretty sure it’s the only music video to ever feature a white guy in a Texas A&M cap. He does drop the jewel, “I got the black broad and you got the white one.” Words to live by…..


John Tesh’s Greatest Contribution To Mankind

Here’s a little known fact…. John Tesh composed the original NBA on NBC theme song. Everyone knows the song… it’s one of the greatest – if not THE greatest sports theme song ever. I’m partial to the ESPN National Hockey Night Theme, but Tesh’s masterpiece is up there. You won’t see me shedding any tears if and when he passes away, but I’ll be damned if I’m not BLASTING this song all day when the news breaks. It came on my iPod while I was driving home from work through rainy Sacramento today, and I’m telling you, it picked me right up. I may have only been going 15 mph, but I felt like I was racing through life. So, on this day, I present to you, John Tesh, LIVE, performing the NBA on NBC theme song….


Here We Go, Here We Go, As The Tune Starts To Bloom….

Call it the RFR (Random Forgotten Rapper) of the Day… Domino. He was kinda like the hip hop equivalent of LaBradford Smith, in terms of relevance at least. I don’t think LaBradford ever had a bigger impact on the court than Domino did with Ghetto Jam. Though, Smith did have 37 points in a game once in 1993. Coincidentally, that was the same year Domino dropped this phat, phat, phat chor-e-us…..


Diggin In The Crates: Chappy’s Star Search Audition Tape

Someone sent me a link to this video, claiming it was a long lost relative of mine. Oddly enough it’s Chappy doin work on the ukelele!

So, it’s not really Chappy. C’mon, that song wasn’t around 25 years ago! There is a striking resemblance however.


Karaoke Performance Gone Wrong

Holy s**t what is going on here? I was horrified watching this god awful performance, but yet couldn’t take my eyes off it. This was one of the most perplexing four minutes of my life…hell I had to even go back and watch this again in attempt to really comprehend the subtitles that were flashing across the screen at me.

I need a stiff drink.


The Return of Benny Lava

Okay, so I guess he never went anywhere, but a friend recently pulled this one out of nowhere.  I hadn’t seen it in probably 6 or 7 years, but it’s timeless!  Needless to say, I’ve watched it no less than 10 times already today.  I even researched the history of “Benny Lava”. Seriously…. who put a goat in there?!?!