Music Thread #1 and #2 for 9/17/08- Eminem Hints at Return; The Real Reason TRL is Folding

Photo: George De Sota/ Getty Images)

With all apologies ladies and gentleman, the usually daily music thread is back. In the midst of all the political stuff and school work that needed to be done, I didn't cover the music news (as well as the sports) as I really want to cover them. Anyway, here is the rundown:
Eminem is maybe on the verge of coming back.

"I always do side projects and produce for artists on the label," he told the DJ. "I'm concentrating on my own stuff right now — just banging out tracks. The more I keep producing, the better it seems I get. I start knowing stuff, learning the boards like the back of my hands."

From the looks of it, he's been busy. But he may have also had a case of writer's block, from what I believe.

This is definitely good news.

Recently, reports arose that Hip Hop legend Nate Dogg suffered a second stroke in less than a year.
Now, TMZ.com is reporting that the singer known for being rappers' go to hook man is in stable condition.

Get better Nate.

This however, isn't good news.

According to various reports, Chicago bred rapper Yung Berg was reportedly robbed and assaulted in Detroit this past weekend. Berg was assaulted and robbed by a group of men at Plan B nightclub on Friday night (August 25) despite having security. Popular celebrity gossip blogger NecoleBitchie.com got the inside scoop stating:

Within minutes of getting inside the club, both Yung Berg and Cap (the person he met up with) were attacked by a group of men affiliated with Trick Trick. I am hearing that Trick Trick was NOT a part of the beat down. In fact, he helped break the fight up. Yung Berg's security quickly scooped him off the ground and rushed him onto Cap's tour bus that was parked outside of the club. His transformer chain (pictured above) was snatched during the mayhem. He was then taken to his hotel but did not receive any medical attention. He only suffered minor cuts and bruises and of course he's a** was in total shock. He literally landed in Detroit and within that same hour caught a beat down. "Welcome To Detroit"!

Trick Trick may not have been apart of it, but anywhere he goes does not mean the World Peace Summit is about to take place. But Young Berg just puts himself in bad positions like this. When will some of these dudes learn?

Speaking of dudes who never learn, goodness Robert, goodness.

"It's time for me to move on," Kelly told interviewer Touré during "R. Kelly Speaks." "I can't keep answering these questions. If you was charged with something and you was found innocent, then you can't be found guilty for being found innocent."

Time for you to move on now, huh? I'm not even going to go further.

(Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage)

For all my Amalgram peoples (shoutout to Mike Boyd and Tania Celestin), what is going on here?

The Padded Room, Joe Budden's sophomore album has been postponed until February 24 due to 'complications with the physical product'. The initial release date for The Padded Room was October 28.

In the most unshocking news of the day, Lil Wayne signed a multi year album deal with Cash Money. Most are saying he needs to leave Baby, but the man can't leave his "father" like that, especially if they are seeing success like he is now. Let's be real now, even if you are being really real.

The Listen Section for the Day
1) T.I. is showing signs of why I may cop an album of his for the first time. This "Dead Ass Wrong" song with Lil Kim goes real hard (don't worry if some are not familiar with that lingo, you'll get use to it).

2) And the new, improved, but still ehhhhhhhhhhh, "Love Lockdown" from Kanye West.

With no offense to Haaron Hines at allhiphop.com, how can Cory Gunz still be "The Best Kept Secret" when he was that in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007. Seriously, someone just give him an album and drop that ridiculous moniker. It is annoying. You are doing him a disservice, as well as yourself.

Finally (because it has been a long thread indeed), in one of the most idiotic statements of the day, VH1's James Montgomery tows the Viacom party line by praising the now hapless, lame duck TRL as being "Youtube" before Youtube. I explain why it is both stupid and bias (if that already hasn't been mentioned by the Viacom word already) after the quote.

Because, whether anyone associated with the show ever realizes it, "TRL" will probably not be remembered for the stars it helped create or the shiny studio it vacated but, rather, for the legacy it leaves behind ... one that is simply stated, yet massive in scope: "TRL" was YouTube before YouTube ever existed.

Yes, Total Request Live was Youtube before it existed, so that explains that when a video truly did suck, there was no comments from any fans showing any negative sign? Or that the presence of Carlson Daly and the debacle of hosts after him seem to also be all over Youtube videos after they were uploaded? Or the fact that TRL set the stage for videos having to endure screaming fans while watching in on your PC on someone's channel?

What a dumb comparison.

Of course, Montgomery fails to mention the real reason, as mentioned before, why the TRL is about to be gone. Before MySpace and Youtube got big, the moment Daly left the show, it was a disaster for both him and MTV. No matter what you think of Daly, the show really died the day he left. He was the face of the show.

That is different from saying that "He was the show", because it would be ridiculous to say that. But he was the vital cog of it. He breathed familiarity with the young viewer(especially in the re-rise of pop in the late 90's with the boy band feud and the Britney/Christina catfight)and gave any artist, from Nas to Blink 182, extreme comfort when they came on.

I don't care how some guys may have glossed over Vanessa Minillo and Lala (and I completely forgot who were the guy hosts on the show besides Sway in the post-Carson era). I don't care how hip-hop really took over the show the minute it was completely dominating the singles' charts. And I don't care if the sidewalks in Times Square may still be almost as crowded at the moment as it use to be in the glory days of the show.

The fact of the matter is this: between terrible personnel decisions and outgrowing itself, TRL’s demise was because of itself. Unless you want to blame 106 & Park as well.

More on this article tomorrow.