Throwback Thursday: Coming to America

Where do I even start? This movie is such a classic. I've been wearing out Coming to America in my VCR (remember those?) since I was 2 and I have yet to get tired of it. I know every hilarious line from, "The royal penis is clean your highness," to "I've tied my shoes once. It is an overrated experience," to "Sexual Chocolate!"


Eddie Murphy just can't do it like this any more. He's too busy making children's movies and denying his babies and sad things like that. But even though he's lost his funny and replaced it with fat suits, I'll always have a little respect for him playing Prince Akeem.



If you haven't seen Coming to America yet, I'd like you to slap yourself. Then turn off your computer, get in your car, and drive to the nearest Blockbuster. You won't regret it.

-M

Throwback Thursdays: Craig David

Craig David was my favorite biracial cutie from across the pond. His hair was on point with those wispy curls, and he had a voice of a R&B/Pop angel and his songs were damn catchy. His career didn't last long in America but was successful in Europe. Eight years later he's back with songs Hot Stuff and Hypnotic. I fell in love with him again when he did an acoustic performance of his songs on Live From Abby Road. Let's take a journey through time.

2001



2008 When in doubt, ruin cover Bowie


I can't hate, he's still got it. But I'll never forget this

-A

Society is getting really lazy

Aren't you just oh so tired of that "archaic" toilet paper?


While you pick up your jaw, watch this.


See what you did Snuggie?!

-M

R.I.P. David Carradine

There is speculation that the actor took his own life. Thai newspaper The Nation quotes a police source as saying he was found hanged in his hotel room.
Damn.

Throwback Thursday: Daria

Being currently unemployed and car-less has it's perks. One of them is being able to watch old episodes of Daria on YouTube all day long, which is exactly what I've been doing.

Reliving the Daria series reminds me how lucky I am to be out of high school, how I wish Sick Sad World was a real show, and how much the quality of MTV has really gone downhill since the '90s. Like tremendously.

It also reminded me that Trent was the hottest cartoon character in the history of animation. All of my friend's older brothers were nerds. Lucky Daria.



By the way, who took the time out to create this hot mess? Oh, humanity.

-M

The Exact Opposite of "Spectacular"

Disturbing pic courtesy of Concrete Loop
I'm about a day late on this but damn. Just damn. This needs to be shared far and wide. If you haven't heard already, Spectacular from Pretty Ricky tried to make himself relevant by sending out a "challenge" to all the other R&B dudes by making a sad ass straight out of a ghetto gay bar video of him grinding to their new single Tipsy. And in a bright ass red Speedo no less.



Dear Lord, take me now. This is the most homoerotic R&B moment since Chris Brown's Take You Down video. They say all publicity is good publicity but I really think Spectacular single handedly whittled down Pretty Ricky's fanbase to a select few. I would feel bad if I wasn't too busy laughing.

Good luck with the new single, guys. You're gonna need it.

-M

ETA: I almost forgot. In the words of Riley-

Throwback Thursday: Clueless

Despite what you heard, I am not dead. And I promise not to neglect this blog like Madonna neglects her children to go out clubbing.

Sweetie, you're 50...go home.


Anyway my throwback is Clueless which is one of my favorite movies from the 90s. It had everything you could ask for. Paul Rudd, funny one liners, awesome outfits and Stacy Dash, that girl who refuses to age. It's one of those movies that you have to stop what you're doing and enjoy every minute of it, and then use it's crap 90s lingo for the next three days.



I'm telling you guys, I'm totally buggin'.



-A

Throwback Thursday: Clone High

Clone High was one of those awesome shows that came and went unnoticed by the general public. The premise was that the government created clones of dead public figures - such as Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Joan of Arc, Cleopatra and Mahatma Ghandi - who are now teenagers and all round up in a high school aptly named Clone High. How the show got greenlit I'll never know, but somehow it worked.

Needless to say it was hilarious. I was 12 when the show came out, but still find myself laughing hysterically at jokes like this:

Yeah, that's in poor taste.
The best thing is the series available on DVD, but all 13 episodes are available on YouTube.

Not impressed yet? Will Ghandi locked up in jail change your mind?


If you didn't at least chuckle, you are a robot.

-M

Trailer: Precious

Maybe it's because I'm a little hormonal, but just watching the trailer for November's Precious (based on the novel Push by Sapphire) alone made me cry. Lord knows how I'm going to act in the theater.

The film premiered at Sundance this January, won 3 awards (including the Special Jury Prize for Mo'Nique), and received rave reviews. There's even Oscar buzz surrounding Mo'Nique. Guess she won't have to be doing anymore Soul Plane movies. Thank God.

The film also stars Paula Patton, Lenny Kravitz, a make up free Mariah Carey, and introduces newcomer Gabourey Sidibe.

Precious is due out November 6th. And be sure to bring a box of tissues.

-M

Throwback Thursdays: Foxy Brown

Remember Foxy Brown before the deafness and nail salon fights? Back when she wore long dresses and rapped with Jay-Z and was all about the Ill Na Na? Yeah, I miss her too. At least she left behind jams like Get Me Home, Candy, and I'll Be.

I'll Be (feat. Jay-Z) - Foxy Brown


There's just not enough choreographed dancing in rap videos anymore.

Bonus throwback!: Here's the original Foxy Brown, played by my idol, Pam Grier a.k.a. the HBIC.


I can't wait for the day someone pisses me off to the point where I get to say "Death is too easy for you, bitch."

-M

Rap + Children = Comedy

I watched this entire video with my mouth open. There are no words.



Ole girl in the back should just sit this one out. Little Red's got it.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!


I'm just glad his parents found the censored version for him.
I want a little dancing ginger kid, too.

-M

Throwback Thursdays: Rugrats

I'm taking a break from flashy bling bling music videos to talk about one of the greatest cartoons from the 90s. I'm talking about the Rugrats. Now I don't know how to describe the amount of awesome this show was but the intro alone gives me chills and flashbacks. I'll even admit that I watched the All Grown Up episodes -- not as cool.



Now only if I could get all the seasons on DVD on my Amazon wish list...

-A

Throwback Thursdays: Busta Rhymes

If I had to choose my favorite rapper as a child, there would be a good chance that Busta Rhymes would make the pick. He was funny, unique, and original. This song, along with the video's shoutout to my favorite childhood movie, Coming to America, stole my 7 year old heart.

Now he's making Arab Money. Oh, where is the Busta Rhymes I love? I still maintain that he lost his mind ever since he cut his dreads.

Here's one for the road--

Like A Boss

Once again The Lonely Island has blown us away with their new video Like A Boss featuring Seth Rogen who is looking good these days. He still has the laugh of an 80 year old, I love it. I won't be satisfied until they make a video for their song Boombox featuring Julian Casablancas. That's pure gold right there.

-A

All I do is party!

I am so excited for Friday that I am playing MSTRKRFT's new CD Fist Of God to death. It is going to be absolute insanity and it's the perfect way to kick off my weekend. If you're in New York City you must come to MSTRKRFT/The Bloody Beetroots show. It will be one of the best shows you'll see all year and you can meet this fellow BH. We can chat, smoke cigarettes, talk about music and our existence on earth, you know any typical Friday night conversation. Here's a preview for what I'm about to experience. I hope you can join me on this trip.



-A

(photo courtesy of Nicky Digital)

Slacking

Yeah we've been slacking this week. Can you blame us? We're college students.

So to make up for the lack of updates, here's all the posts we would've had this week in one.

- Shia LaBeouf coming home to a nice little birthday "surprise."


- The new trailer for Spike Jonze's adaptation of everyone's favorite childhood book Where the Wild Things Are (you know you wanna see this).


- A hungry Pharrell Williams attempting to entertain soulless McDonald's workers in France.


- And here's a clip from Martin for nostalgia's sake. Best part's at 1:45.



In other news, big things are coming up on UBH, so stay tuned.

-M

Things That Need to Die: Bring It On Sequels

About ten years ago, I went to Target and bought Bring It On on VHS. My friends and I would recite the cheers in the middle of sixth grade English class. It was cute and funny and I still watch it from time to time.

Now, ten years later, they're still churning out straight to DVD sequels and each one seems to get progressively worse than the last. It's already bad enough E! fills up their empty time slots with Bring It On: All or Nothing, which has got to be one of the most apologetically racist movies that I've ever had the displeasure of seeing. And I've been avoiding the fourth sequel, Bring It On: In It to Win It, like the plague ever since I read about the movie's allusions to West Side Story. (Jets vs. Sharks? Seriously?)

And now there's a fifth -- Bring It On: Fight to the Finish.


"I don't speak Taco Bell menu." Still relying on racial jokes I see. You stay classy, Hollywood.

-M

Throwback Thursdays: The Parent Trap

As I'm sure you're very well aware of, actress Natasha Richardson died yesterday after a skiing accident in Canada. In honor of her, I've decided to dedicate this week's Throwback Thursday to the first time I and many others my age met Natasha: almost 11 years ago in The Parent Trap.

I remember being in awe of her style, beauty and presence. Even as a 10 year old, you could just see how undeniably classy she was. Her death came so sudden and there are no words to describe what a sad tragedy it is.



R.I.P. Natasha Richardson.

-M

3OH!3

Lieutenant Dangle has his own band?

Now ever since i've seen 3Oh!3's video on Fuse I can't get them out of my head. It's probably because they're area code is dangerously close to my own (305 what up!) but 303 is the area code of their hometown of Boulder, Colorado. Yes...Colorado, Oh Toto I don't think we're in Miami anymore.

They are the lovechild of Ludo and Say Anything(ugh). Don't Trust Me is a fun music video with a hint a douche bag and semi witty lyrics. There is no plot to the video besides lets try on all the outfits in the costume department and smash some shit.
Some of my favorite lyrics include:
Tell your boyfriend if he said he’s got beef
that I’m a vegetarian, and I ain't fucking scared of him.
and
Shush girl
Shut your lips
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips.

Now even I find that in poor taste.



They just finished touring Europe with Katy Perry. How..fitting.

Harsh Amanda

-A

Throwback Thursdays: Smilez & Southstar

Where do you even start? Everything from their names to the song itself is just so...indescribable. All you can do is shake your head. Mostly because you know you liked it back in '02. Don't lie.

And tell me they didn't remind you of the "Hip Hop Dalmatians" from Brown Sugar.
Just replace the fur coats with track suits.

Bonus throwback!: They sampled the song from Marvin Gaye & Diana Ross' "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)," which is the jam.

Aaaand let's not forget disgraced rapper Ja Rule also sampled the same song that exact same year. So bad, it should be it's own post.

-M