Suffering From Success

From the onset Khaled raises the bar for compilation albums by including the biggest star in the free world. Including Obama on an album already flush with stars tells the whole tale from track one "I'm suffering from success." With the presidential announcement out of the way the CD leads itself to constant claims of bravado and odes to spending on materialistic ventures. Though these claims have always been present in hip hop, they take a different turn here because Khaled, being the coach that he is, assembled an all star team worthy of those nineties NBA all star games, and their whole premise is ode to the Joe Budden's song: Never Broke Again.

Lyrically, for a compilation album, this seems to have some strong hip-hop quotables for this year, at least until the Rap God drops his new album. Songs by J Cole, Vado, and Lil Wayne respectively flip metaphors and dish simile's as if to say we know you guys miss the word play so lets serve up some idioms for your enjoyment. Elsewhere on the album the lyrics are not the brightest but do lead to some hilarious quotes that will have you reaching for the rewind button such as the 2 Chains boast: "We the best Khaled tried to told 'em, you the second best Kelly Roland." Now the best lyrical exercise comes from Vado on "Black Ghost", he rides the beat, back flips and summersaults through sentences to give you the thought that New York has not lost its touch on hip hop, while T.I gives a tutorial on following the script by using the names of various Tupac and Biggie songs to create a verse that is both comprehensive and tributary to the fallen greats. Not what we expected, but in today's market of throw away rhymes this is a welcome turn giving us all facets of the lyrical spectrum.

The mixture of thumping drums, hot lyrics, eerie instrumentation, and super guests makes this a good buy but will also lead to ear numbness. One would assume that there could be more, or less in some cases to make this album more cohesive and allow a person to enjoy from beginning to end time and time again. This is not the case, as soon you will tire of hearing Future yelling on tracks especially when you could have replaced him with a young decent upstart such as Kirko Bangs or an established vet such as Z-Ro.

Starting to Play the Drums

There are arguably dozens of methods to learn how to play the drums. If you asked 5 different drummers you could well end up with 5 different answers. However, that does not mean that either it is all nonsense or that all the methods are equally effective. It is simply a question of matching your personal square peg to a square hole. You may think that this is a hassle, but testing a few methods and finding the one that is right for you will save you tens of hours in the future.

Forget about spending all your money on a drum kit. Especially as a beginner you should focus on building basic rhythm and solid foundational skills first and foremost. Luckily, you can do this without the need for expensive equipment. What you will need is dedication, hard work and discipline. These will come in handy too:

• Drumsticks
• A practice pad
• A metronome
• Learning materials

Getting the Best Seats Possible at Music Concerts

Getting the best seats you can get is on your mind when you find concerts that you are interested in attending. You want yourself and your group to have an amazing night out. To enjoy the music, you want to be sitting where you can see all of the entertainers and take in all of the excitement of the show.

Find out when the tickets will go on sale and write down the date and the time. You do not want to forget this because you want to be on the telephone ordering your tickets the minute they go on sale or you want to be ready to camp out at the location to purchase your tickets.

When it comes to concerts, being prepared may mean standing in a line waiting all night. If you want premium tickets for the event, you need to be as disciplined as possible. Pack yourself a survival kit to take with you the night before the tickets go on sale. If you are going to wait with friends for the box office to open up in the morning, bring lawn chairs or sleeping bags, as well as food, blankets, and something to entertain yourselves. Make sure you wear a warm jacket because it can get cold when you are sitting outdoors all night.