JNez@thirtydaes.2010

This was the scene this past weekend during a final four game for the ncaa championship. DaSean Butler, a popular player for West Virgina, lay writhing on the court floor in agony after a serious knee injury. His coach, Bob Huggins, took to his knees to comfort the player, first cradling him in his arms & then caressing his face and offering soothing words as Butler cried out in pain. The two were so close that their noses touched at one point.  this was a spontaneous display of fatherly affection that both touched and discomforted the huge audience that witnessed it.

twitter was first to react; bob huggins became a trending topic within minutes: most of the tweets were expressing shock & disbelief at having witnessed such an intimate moment. many agreed that the fatherly cradle & caress & physical closeness between coach and player was homoerotic and that’s what caused the discomfort. we are not accustomed to seeing men offering that type of consolation to other men. add to that bob huggins’ reputation as a win-first coach prone to outbursts & tirades against his players and then the image of this burly white man hovering on his knees astride a bawling young black man, using his body and his words to soothe as a father would a young child.

i was touched by the scene, so much so, that it got me wondering what it would have felt like to have that intimate comfort with another man without any sexual or erotic feelings. i’m not the only one, i’m sure. many young men who have never had intimacy with a father in that way still develop a healthy sexuality…why have others of us not?

what do you think about coach huggins public display of affection?

gospel artist marvin sapp is at the top of the billboard charts as his just released cd ‘here i am’ becomes the highest charting gospel cd ever.

sapp is no stranger to the charts, he’s been releasing hit albums since 1995. the new single, “the best in me” is already a #1 hit preparing to challenge his breakthrough single ‘never would have made it’. this guy has an amazing voice and pours his heart out in his songs. marvin sapp has a trifecta of great cd’s: diary of a psalmist, thirsty & this one, here i am.

i’m a fan of great voices so even as an agnostic i am touched by the passion in sapp’s voice & music. in fact, marvin sapp is speaking to me through his song “miracle” right about now. omg. where has this been hiding? marvin sapp is the man.

happy birthday mariah is 40 years old

had a vision of love & triumph 20 years ago

so many records sold that your record’s old

let’s remind them and rewind it

mariah your discography is giant

3 of your cd’s went diamond

beauty & talent you’re still shining

mariah been carrying on since 1990

a modern legend turns 40 today, march 27. mariah carey’s career now spans 20 years and today is her 40th birthday! happy happy happy birthday sweetie. i’ve been in love with your music since vision of love lit up the charts in 1990. you are my top artist of the 90s and the 00s.  you are queen…your 18 Billboard #1 hits is a record for a female artist. i believe you can dominate yet another decade.

1990: mariah carey 10x platinum: vision of love, love takes time, someday, i don’t wanna cry

1991: emotions: 4x platinum: emotions, can’t let go

1992: mtv unplugged: 3x platinum: i’ll be there

1993: music box: 10x platinum: dream lover, hero, without you

1994: music box/merry xmas: 6x platinum: all i want for christmas

1995: daydream: 10x platinum: fantasy feat. odb, one sweet day

1996: daydream: always be my baby, open arms, underneath the stars

1997: butterfly: 5x platinum: honey, breakdown, my all, butterfly, outside

1998: number ones: 5x platinum i still believe, when you believe

1999: rainbow: 3x platinum: heartbreaker, crybaby, against all odds

the 00s:

2000: rainbow/greatest hits: thank god i found you

2001: glitter: platinum: loverboy, never too far

2002: charmbracelet: through the rain

2003: charmbracelet/the remixes: boy (i need you), bringing on the heartbreak, i know what you want

2005: the emancipation of mimi: 6x platinum: we belong together, it’s like that, shake it off, fly like a bird, stay the night, say something

2006: the emancipation of mimi: don’t forget about us

2008: e=mc2: 6th billboard #1 album: touch my body, i stay in love, bye-bye, i’ll be loving u long time

2009: memoirs of an imperfect angel: obsessed, i want to know what love is, h.a.t.e. u, angels advocate

2010: angels advocate: angels cry

that’s quite a discography. i <3 mariah. happy birthday ma

i am pleasantly surprised at what a great cd this is from usher. i had all but written him off after that catastrophic performance at the 2010 nba all star game. but raymond v. raymond finally arrives as a solid, mature, well produced album.

jimmy jam and terry lewis show that they still have a hit-making formula, producing 4 of raymond v. raymond‘s best tracks, including the propulsive opening cut, ‘monstar.’ still, one of the more interesting songs on the new cd samples soft rock classic ‘into the night.’ ‘making love (into the night)’ is a mid-tempo hybrid love song/club song. very catchy.

i’ve been so critical of usher lately that ne-yo beat him out for top male r&b artist of the decade. the new pecking order starts behind trey songz. what a year he’s had. with this exceptional new cd, usher has overtaken ne-yo for runner-up. still ne-yo has a film project & album due this summer that’s sure to be a hit. unfortunately, chris brown’s escalating woes have seen him tumble into 5th place, after the-dream, with robin thicke quickly gaining.

yep. so i’ve spent the weekend welcoming usher back to the head of the class. lol how productive…what a dark, windy & wet weekend it’s been here in nyc.

usher’s cd raymond v. raymond becomes widely available 3.30.10.

wow. i’m very late to the drake welcoming party but damn…dude is outstanding! back in february, drake released so far gone, a full length cd of songs independently as a mixtape. the buzz since has been so intense on drake that talk of a grammy album of the year nomination for the so far gone mixtape has already commenced.

drake, who is biracial, is just shy of 23 and has already seen stardom as a character on an extremely popular canadian american teen tv series, degrassi. but he’s about to experience an entirely new level of stardom internationally this fall when his first major label release, thank me later drops. surely you’ve heard about the bidding war among several prominent music labels for distribution rights to drake’s music. wisely, lil wayne’s young money entertainment snapped drake up for a hefty $2 million advance.

musically, think common + kanye west + the-dream & r.kelly. drake alternates between rapping & crooning his vivid lyricism on so far gone‘s 15 or so tracks. unquestionably: lyrically, i don’t recall the last time i’ve heard such incredibly vivid stream of consciousness cadence in a new artist. hmm…i suppose 10 years ago with dmx. and oh yeah, mase before that back in 96 hehe. still, drake is on an entirely different trajectory professionally. he and grammy winning hip hop artist lil wayne simply murder any track that they flow and/or write together on. in 2009, drake and lil wayne, along with eminem, are the new lyrical titans. all aspiring lyricists get your pens & notebooks or their digital equivalents ready. we’re in the presence of greatness…

best songs: drake’s current #1 hit: best i ever had, houstatlantavegas, say what’s real (love kanye’s opening 808′s & heartbreak bed drake borrows), ignant ish feat weezy, successful, and of course the cd’s extra smooth r&b closer, brand new. it’s been a while since we heard the new artist “it” factor that drake has. fall 2009 had better prepare for drake….he will be huge. it’s not out of the question for drake to scan a million first week soundscan. he will be huge…

miss janet jacksons pumps were over we say

she served pure opulence at mj’s memorial today

so regally & elegant

miss janet’s feet were perched in

severely stiletto black pumps still appropriately conservative

pearls, beret & princessness

miss jackson is always expected to give

10′s across the board today janet we live

embracing your weeping niece brought an appropriate end

to what’s public & now the official mourning period begins