June 21, 2001
About the lack of updates, check out the new editorial, however brief. It explains all. Finally, an editorial that has NOTHING TO DO with Lil' Kim (or her nose job, lol). I also have big news about this site. I haven't confirmed it yet, but technically it's something very official. I need a few days, maybe a week or more, to verify that it's legit, but it's big stuff, so stay tuned. I PROMISE I will keep you posted to the best of my ability. I'll give you a hint. National Press Coverage. That's all I'm gonna say for now.... and now, your local news.
Oh Yeah Video Premieres June 25!
I didn't catch the BET awards, but I heard there's a commercial out there that shows part of the video. I described the video itself in detail last month based on our inside source's info on the board, but needless to say it looks hot. As for the commercial, it's supposedly pretty cool, deals with Foxy in all the tabloids and news reports and suddenly bursts into song. I haven't seen it myslef but sounds hype. July 17th is the date, baby!
BET Awards
You know BET gets a lot of flack for their programming, and by the type of stuff I've seen on that station sometimes I'm not at all surprised. But the one thing I really wanted to catch was the awards and I missed it. Anyway, Cedric the Entertainer & Steve Harvey cracked a good one the other day about how it would have been an "assed-out experience" if Foxy and Kim were the hosts instead (or something to that effect). Kings of comedy yo.
Foxy Will Be On 106 and Park
Not the street corner, the show on BET. Weeknights at 6 and repeat in the mornings at 11:30. She might also be on The Basement with Tigger on June 26. TV Appearances! Rev up them VCRs!! I personally and sincerely hope she does Rap City because I don't remember the last non-prewritten freestyle by Foxy that I've heard if I've heard any single one at all. This better be legit.
Media Watch
Remember my comment about the XXL cover story? Check the May News Archives. Told ya it wouldn't work. Basically they screwed around with her and she didn't get and/or want to talk about what she wanted to. I knew they'd play her and am not at all surprised. The July issue will be out soon. Look for it. Foxy also did a new interview for Honey Magazine and told Red (our iinsider) that it was a good one. Oh Yeah, and FHM (For Him Mag) gave Foxy four out of five stars for Broken Silence. That's good news. She's also on page 61 of the current Rolling Stone magazine, it has something about the CNN shooting, Russell Simmons, her Lawyer and the alleged DMX affair. It's very brief, but worth checking out. Foxy ALSO got a Hip Hop quotable! Rhyme of the month! They choose a few bars from 7:30 in the Source. Awesome. Foxy making records again, I think she's the first femcee to get that.... and a 2-page ad to boot. Wicked! All of y'all fussing about promotion before got your money's worth. Oh yeah, and Maxim gave her 4 out of 5 stars too. Here's the Maxim Review, thanks to ROQ on the board:
Hard to beleive, but nasty girls weren't all that nasty before Foxy (and archrival Lil' Kim) made the scene. On her stellar third album, Foxy gets downright filthy, rapping about her troubles with pills, cars, her na-na (you figure it out), and her general inability to keep her clothes on. Her, um, flow, is versatile, encompassing a wide range of genres, from silky soul ("A Letter") to techno ("Run Yo Shit") to Arabian chants ("Hood Scriptures");but you'll have to take our word for it, since we're too bashful to reprint any of her lyrics.
THE ALBUM COVER
I hate to be a spoil sport, but this is what it looks like. Looks hot, but kind of boring for its title. Showing a little cleavage. Sex sells.
Source Review
Here's a treat, the Source's 4-mic review of Broken Silence, it was typed by the one and only Keith, of the board. You the man. Don't know how this guy comes with unbiased facts and info every time since '99. Big ups. That reminds me, the articles section is long overdue for an update.
Some believe it was her cadence- the astute ability to sound more Freddie Foxxx than foxy female- that caused Inga Marchand to knock the rap world on its male-dominated ass. The sexy bass that charged out of her shapely 5'3", 16-year-old frame had undeniable testosterone. She was a thug nigga's dream on wax--abrasive, nonconforming and politically fucked up. Recall her guilt-free gold digging advice and prophylacticless sex escapades off her breakthrough bars on LL Cool J's "I Shot Ya" remix: "Bitches grab ya ta-tas/Get them niggas for their cheddar.../I'm sexin', raw dog without protection."
Others would argue that her associations were the mojo that powered her celebrity. Along with her Firm affiliation, Inga had one of the game's slickest journalists, a young Shawn Carter, overseeing, and in some cases penning her drug and power-of-the-pussy narratives. Make no mistake that the fluid scene-to-scene structure of her hit single "Get Me Home" was all due to the mechanics of the game's most visible ghostwriter.
On her second solo, the critically bashed Chyna Doll, her cadence was made over. Not on some improved-flow shit either. Sugarcoating aside, she was on some following shit. The clubby-happy Poke and Tone production that fueled Ill Na Na was also abandoned for a mroe concrete sound, which, in its defense, was a sign of the times. The combination of a new delivery over new backdrops had a new result, however: failure.
Failure at her craft would eventually trickle down into her personal life, or vice versa. But as unfortunate as those problems were for Inga, they prove to be Foxy's Brown saving grace on Broken Silence, her first album in three years. Her quips of being rap's "King Bitch" are validated when she candidly speaks ont he many issues that had her contemplating an early hip-hop retirement. "A Letter", an apologetic cut addressed to her mother and brothers, Gavin and Anton, is her most introspective work to date. Most importantly, it softens the "bitch" stigma that has constantly plagued her throughout her career. Her admittance to wildin' out, poppin' pills and all-around showcase vulnerability is humbling. Secondly, the comprehensive writing on this song, which features subtle crooning from Ronald Isley, shows that Fox is lyrically confident in her post-Shawn Carter era.
"Yeah I write my shit, it's not a fuckin' game/ So what he wrote some songs, I blew him up the same," she flames on the Lofey produced "7:30"--a song which reinforces the notion that Foxy need not pursue a career in politics. Why? Because she has no patience for running around issues. The Brooklyn MC would much rather address situations head-on, whether it be her discrepancies with Kimberly Jones ("There's only one other broad that really got skills/ She's alright, but she's not real," Foxy jabs on "Fallin'") or her lover's infidelity on the reggae-influenced "Saddest Day".
Foxy's make-believe Mafia adventures, like the assasination set-up song, "The Promise" off Ill Na Na, are thankfully left behind. Exaggeration and hip-hop go hand-in-hand, but those cuts were too fictional. The affirmation that her Na Na is the illest also lost its shock value a long time ago. Although she pioneered the straight-up fornication tune from a female perspective, newer Jill's, such as Trina and Gangsta Boo, have beaten it to death. This is why the Neptunes-produced "Candy," a cut-and-paste single that features all the necessary slickness for radio play, should've been left off this otherwise street LP. Along with the stale taste-my-genitalia theme, the hook, provided by Kelis, is atrocious.
Besides, Foxy has a new niche that she can call her own. There's no disputing that KRS-One is the harbinger of the hip-hop/reggae hybrid, but FB's authentic twang could, dare we say it, give the Blastmaster a run for his blood-clot money. Chorused by Jamaican chanter Baby Cham, "Every Little Thing" has the potential to dominate both dancehall and hip-hop markets concurrently. Highly regarded reggae producer Tony Kelly doesn't compromise himself either, creating a backdrop that full-time yardie artists like Beanie Man and Spragga Benz would accept just the same. Her mix of the two genres also comes off on "Na Na Be Like" and So Hot"--tracks that were previously released on the Blue Streak soundtrack and DJ Clue's The Professional, Part 2, respectively.
On "Oh Yeah", Fox says of her competition, "Y'all only nice around mics like Pippen." You can envision her sporting a Kool-Aid smile after spitting that line, because once upon a time, those very words applied to her. With Broken Silence, an album that boasts very few features, she has proven that she can be a credible master of ceremonies on her own.
I also updated the science with a few new verses. I know everything is really rushed but anything to keep the respect and peace. Plus I don't want y'all hounding me or wondering if I'm alive.