Written by Chris “Preach” Smith

When you find yourself in a long distance situation with someone, you face an arduous test. It’s a test of faith, a test of your resolve and strength that you have in order to keep trying to build a life with this other person.

There’s been moments where I’ve fought and cursed myself for being into someone so far away and not being able to do anything a regular couple can do together. I’ve literally had to catch myself from dialing her number for what seemed like the 300th time. When I’m in this kind of mood, the mood that makes you want to max out a credit card and take a red-eye with coffee in hand and passion on your mind, I find myself listening to Res’ “700 Mile Situation” off her first (and only) album, How I Do. Read the rest of this entry »

…as in ya’ll slept!

While taking a little time out of my day to catch up on the world of R&B (since Hip-Hop is the first love), BET did nothing but reinforce my reasoning for ignoring their cornmeal of supposed entertainment programming. Forcing me to be an outsider, all I saw was a bunch of mofos leaning on Chris Brown and T-Pain for their worthless 15 seconds of fame.

Shit, Hip-Hop’s gonna be fine…R&B is in trouble.

It’s a genre not known for it’s die-hard fanbase (ever heard a debate on Ciara vs. Cassie?…Didn’t think so). Hot or not, Usher’s “Love In This Club” sounds like a half-baked, toaster strudel that was baked in a Apple Garageband oven.

Oh wait…it was.

And by allowing candy corn like Madonna and Mariah to blur the lines of what is actually R&B has the entire industry going soulless like Shang Tsung was the CEO.

While the countdowns and radio stations continue to swoon over everything that’s diluted, pardon me as I highjack the Stray Shots to shed some light on some worthy albums that should have gotten just a much burn as their overhyped competition.

Truth Hurts – Truthfully Speaking (Aftermath, 2002)

A triumph and tradegy all rolled up in one. After the chronic smoke had faded from 1999′s 2001, Dre adopted a new protégé in mad Black woman form. With Focus, Organized Noize, Mel-Man, Timbaland, Hi-Tek, R. Kelly, DJ Quik annnnd Dre on the boards, her sultry yet sassy vocals help combine for a nearly-flawless debut. But with her biggest hit “Addictive” featuring Rakim and an uncleared sample, Interscope figured she wasn’t worth half a billion dollars.

Glenn Lewis – World Outside My Window (Epic, 2002)

Usually comparisons to legendary artists can make a singer come off as a gimmick, but even Stevie Wonder himself acknowledged the similarities while recognizing the originality in Toronto native, Glenn Lewis. From the easygoing Read the rest of this entry »