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City manager: Ypsilanti pursuing hybrid police, fire departments detailed in new report
- Previous story: SEMCOG report: $2M in additional cuts, revenue enhancements needed to keep Ypsilanti solvent
Ypsilanti City Manager Ralph Lange says the city will pursue a hybrid model for its police and fire departments to reduce expenses and maintain services, as outlined in a new report from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.
The SEMCOG Local Government Effectiveness and Collaboration team examined the two departments to see how the city could improve its services, while being cost effective.
In its report, SEMCOG said if no changes are made, the city will continue to see a decrease in the level of emergency services provided from both departments.
"Personnel will become burned out, the potential of injury increases and morale will continue to fall," SEMCOG wrote. "The overtime that both departments are consuming in order to provide service will cripple the city and take its toll on the employees. This is not a viable option."
The report was sent to Lange, who requested the services and is leading the charge for the re-organization.
"We're looking at Chief (Amy) Walker as a likely candidate to be director of public safety and police chief," he said. "Clearly she knows a lot about public safety."
Tom Perkins | AnnArbor.com file photo
What would the hybrid model look like?
Monroe has a full-time fire department, supplemented by trained police officers. Monroe has 12 full-time firefighters under the direction of one chief, along with 32 cross-trained officers. The police department has 56 officers in total.
The hybrid model in Ypsilanti would have separate police and fire departments with an "adequate" number of firefighters to respond to daily service demands.
Under the direction of a new public safety director, there will be a deputy police chief and a deputy fire chief.
This would be coupled with a larger police department that would have a certain number of cross-trained officers that have been trained and equipped to respond to major fire incidents whenever the fire department is busy or on another run.
"It's indicated in the report that there are some creative approaches for police and fire being developed," said SEMCOG Fiscal & Operational Consulting Services representative Dave Boerger. "I think the existing fire and police departments were aware of it (the hybrid model) and were studying it. I think it's getting some traction."
The hybrid model would differ from a full public safety model, such as the one implemented in Kalamazoo, which cross-trains both the police and fire departments.
SEMCOG stated the fire department would be able to retain its skill set and knowledge base of the fire service, retain its own administration and inspection division. However, in terms of response, it would be smaller in size for the number of daily runs firefighters respond to.
This would call for a smaller number of fire personnel as a minimum, which would reduce overtime expenses, but would not necessarily reduce the total number of firefighters below current levels, according to SEMCOG.
Minimum staffing for daily runs and the number for the total force would still need to be determined, though.
With this model, the police department would need to hire additional personnel, and in consort with the fire department, determine the number of cross-trained officers needed.
By reducing minimum staffing in the fire department and increasing officers on the road, it may result in reduced overtime in the police department as well.
Lange said at a recent council meeting that the two departments have incurred between $600,000 and $700,000 worth of overtime in recent years.
Lange reiterated the model will not move forward without union negotiations being completed. The city is currently negotiating both police and fire contracts.
"We're moving in that direction, but it can't be finalized until those contracts are settled," Lange said. "If they're not, then you (may) have a whole different operation. ... You just have to wait and see. In this case, the particulars won't be known until contracts are settled."
Are there alternatives to the hybrid model?
Increasing the level of personnel for both departments to deliver service and reduce overtime would solve a few of the issues, but would prove to be fairly expensive.
"With the economic crisis that has affected Michigan municipalities resulting in devastating loss of tax revenue, hiring personnel in the numbers needed is for many communities, including the city of Ypsilanti, essentially impossible," SEMCOG wrote.
The only way to make this happen, according to SEMCOG, would be a millage directed toward police and fire service, but the city would have to decide if it is a viable option to go before the voters to ask for a tax increase.
Another possible option would be to move forward with a full-fledged public safety department.
A chart obtained by AnnArbor.com in October showed that possible discussions have taken place regarding the implementation of a full public safety department within the city. The plan that was being considered potentially called for a fire deputy chief, police deputy chief and a director of public safety whose responsibilities would encompass the entire department. All together there would be about 42 employees. Of that number, nearly 20 would be cross-trained public safety officers.
If implemented, Ypsilanti would have been the first city within the county to cross-train police and firefighters.
SEMCOG analyzed the projected costs of this model.
To train an existing police officer to perform fire department functions, the officer would complete the fire academy, become a basic emergency medical technician and obtain a certification in Pre-hospital Trauma Life Support.
To train an existing firefighter to become a police officer, the firefighter would need to complete the police academy at either Washtenaw Community College, or Schoolcraft College. The training costs would be a one-time expense for current employees.
See the chart below for expected costs:
SEMCOG report
Boerger said SEMCOG is not in favor of this model.
"Converting from standalone departments to a full-fledged safety department has been problematic wherever it's tried," Boerger said. "It's fallen through."
Boerger said SEMCOG is recommending the hybrid model not only because training would cost less since only police would be cross-trained, but he believes the transition would be easier for the city.
"There would be less resistance," Boerger said. "It's much more easy to implement this. With the full model, that means your existing police and firemen have to be retrained to do the opposite skills which has really been the challenge. This approach is easier because you're not dismantling the fire department."
Lange said it was never the city's intention to dismantle the fire department or create a full-fledged public safety department.
"That is not what we're talking about," Lange said. "There would still be a police department and fire department. It's a complete and total hybrid."
Why is change needed within the departments?
The Ypsilanti Police Department is currently staffed by 25 sworn officers and four civilians. This represents a decrease from two years ago when the force was made up of 40 sworn officers and nine civilian employees.
SEMCOG said its research showed the reduction in staffing was necessary due to a declining tax revenue, but the reduction has had a major impact on service delivery, department morale and overtime expenses.
The police department accounts for about $5 million of the general fund.
The latest SEMCOG data from 2011 show that with a population of 19,435 people, Ypsilanti has 12.8 officers per 10,000 residents, which is well below the benchmark of 16.
Two years ago, the department had 20.5 officers per 10,000 residents.
The benchmark number of dispatched calls per officer also has been affected. The department handles about 20,000 calls per year, with 800 being handled by each officer. SEMCOG said this is far above the average of 570. When the workforce was at 40 sworn officers, each officer handled about 500 calls.
Currently, of the 25 sworn officers, 18 are dedicated to road patrol. One lieutenant supervises that division, with the remaining sworn personnel being Chief Walker and five employees within the detective bureau.
Road patrol officers work 12-hour shifts, with three on each shift. Walker established a policy of three officers on duty as a minimum to safely handle calls. However, SEMCOG noted that with only three on duty, any time an officer takes a day off, overtime is required.
AnnArbor.com file photo
SEMCOG believes the police department needs more officers on the force and a hybrid model could potentially alleviate the stress on current staff.
"Even if the minimum staffing was supported by the needed buffer, three officers on duty each shift is not sufficient to provide adequate police service without sacrificing basic police service, such as undesignated patrol," SEMCOG wrote in a report. "The chief believes the city should be covered by four officers on the day shift and five officers at night, and based on the call volume, this seems like a reasonable staffing scenario."
Just like the police department, the fire department has been faced with setbacks and budget cuts. The department accounts for $2.5 million of the general fund and has seen a reduction in staff as well. At peak in the 1980s, the department had 35 firefighters. It now has 14 fire personnel as of Jan. 1.
In 2011, the department responded to 600 fire and 1,566 medical emergencies. The average response time was 3 minutes and 47 seconds.
Until October 2012, the department was staffed with five firefighters per shift, but that number has decreased to four per shift. Recently retired fire Chief Jon Ichesco openly expressed concern about the staffing change.
"We're going to have a lot of property loss," he said. "...I've seen it in other departments. Your fires proliferate and what starts small is going to be a large fire."
Boerger said he is confident the city will consider the hybrid model. SEMCOG said in its report that it is clear "something must be done" to stabilize core services for the police and fire departments.
"It can be a great plus for the community," Lange said. "I know it can work. SEMCOG supported that."
Katrease Stafford covers Ypsilanti for AnnArbor.com.Reach her at firstname.lastname@example.com or 734-623-2548 and follow her on twitter.
Mark Richards
Mon, Jan 14, 2013 : 3:53 p.m.
While appearing, at first glance, an exercise of good stewardship and efficiency, decisions such as these have potentially immense social consequences. Blurring the lines of purpose, responsibility, and authority between these two traditionally separate services means that when the fire department responds to your call for help, you must consider the consequences should, for example, you or another person happen to be "illegal". Driving people further underground might well be considered furtherance of a racial policy. And this is just the beginning. How much of the big brother do we need? Years ago one could go to a hospital emergency room, perhaps suffering the consequence of a mistake from illegal drug use, and not worry that they will be turned in. A sobering conversation with your trusted doctor may well be sufficient encouragement to change your life direction. Not so today. Most physicians now serve as enforcement arms for state authority. Hence, one may have to consider whether suffering without help is preferable to suffering as a consequence of getting help. If a proposal be offered it must force police authority to remove the hat and badge when providing other services. Engaging the public with trust, rather than suspicion, must be paramount.
not a billy
Sat, Jan 12, 2013 : 12:13 a.m.
Start the cross training now. The overtime expenses will roll into their pensions, creating something for future politicians to slam those damn public employees who will be draining the cities dry with their undeserving pensions. Mo' money, mo' money, mo' money!!
not a billy
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 11:42 p.m.
Seems like the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority (YCUA) model should be considered. It seems to have functioned fairly effectively for over twenty years, albeit not without some bumps and bruises. Create a Public Safety AUTHORITY to manage seperate police and fire divisions. Let the Township fire personel assume management of fire services, the City [police personnel assume management of police services. It worked for water and sewer, and there is enough BS being tossed around right now to fertilize the new Authority. Or the city can try to implement this new SEMCOG model, or just flounder and let the swirling around the drain continue until it is too late. The end might be closer than most think.
not a billy
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 11:31 p.m.
Chief Walker "clearly knows a lot about Public Safety"? Coming from a man (Lange) who "clearly" knows nothing about Ypsilanti, public safety, or the background of his staff. Putting my money on about 2 years for his tenure in Ypsilanti. Here today, gone tomorrow. And the residents will be burdened with his actions for many years to come.
Ypsi Eastsider
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 11:04 p.m.
B-n-R, there are over 4,000 certified police and firefighters in Michigan that are currently unemployed. At least 10 of them would be more than happy to take on a dual role if they could get paid and have a pension.
Ypsi Eastsider
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 10:56 p.m.
Does the name plate in the photo say Stan Eldridge? Too funny.
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 10:34 p.m.
It's funny that these 'experts' never acknowledge that fire and police are two different mind sets. People become firefighters and not cops for a reason. Vice versa. I know people talk about what's 'cost effective'. Ok, you're having a heart attack. Is that the time you want the lowest-bidder mentality coming to your house? Your house is on fire. You really want a cop that was forced into this and has no desire to enter a burning building coming to watch your house burn? What's cost effective isn't always the best option. Hey, get rid of both, offer free gun training and fire extinguisher training to residents. That would be cost effective too.
anonymous hippopotamus
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 9:49 p.m.
Why not open up the fire dept to volunteers? They could keep a skeleton crew of real firefighters that cross train and supervise the volunteers. I understand it's not an easy task finding people and making sure they're proficient, but i don't think it's impossible. I would join if the opportunity arises.
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 7:14 p.m.
Sounds like a better idea than the full public safety department. It is still a lot to ask of one person to be skilled in fire, EMT, and policing.
Dog Guy
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 6:35 p.m.
Has Ypsilanti City Manager Ralph Lange considered the cost of additional uniforms for each employee? Consider multiple uniforms for the jobs: fireman, policeman, cowboy, Indian, biker, construction worker and the cost of voice and dance instruction!
Joe Hood
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 5:29 p.m.
A lot of California cities do this with their units. Sunnyvale, in the Bay area, does this and it is very effective. Imagine having professional firefighters, with gear in their trunk, already driving around your neighborhood. Ann Arbor ought to look at this, since they only have three guys on a truck and need four to enter a burning building.
Joe Hood
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 5:32 p.m.
OK, I was wrong, not a lot of cities in CA, only two.
Joe Hood
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 5:31 p.m.
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 4:58 p.m.
with $ 600 000 /$ 700 000 in Overttime you/we can afford to hired more personal....no one can service TWO MASTERS................. So /Or is this the exsample in a DUI the police offers can take may blood and then give me a shot to sleep/refresh my body! THE question is WHO is in charge.The constituion or Semcog.? .THE CITZEN !
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 3:48 p.m.
Look at Monroe Fire Department, they have gone down from 3 stations to 2, from 15 firefighters on each day down to 4 with a minimum of 3. They now depend on mutual aid to fight their fires. Their PSO rarely help out. They only run their engines with only one or two firefighters depending if all the firefighters are on duty. Their police command staff are not required to get into their fire turnout gear. This will leave only 2 or 3 police officers to gear up IF they are available. The fire department has basically done away with fire prevention, no more confine space or high angle rescue, no more hazmat team, no more ALS transport. The department may lose 2 more firefighters this year. The city has told them that they will no longer hire just "Firefighters", but will hire only PSO. So they will more than likely loose their ALS engines later this year or next year. They will be lucky if they stay medical first responders at all. The City mgr has stated publicly that they have not saved any money doing this. Ypsilanti, for your own safety and those of the firefighters, you really need to look at this very very closely. Just what services are you willing to give up?
Dog Guy
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 3:06 p.m.
Using fire trucks for high-speed pursuit could be expensive.
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 5:19 p.m.
But it would be cool....
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 2:48 p.m.
At some point, doesn't it make more sense to combine the city police with neighboring policing agencies, and the fire department with neighboring fire departments to make a police district staffed by professional law enforcement personnel and a fire district staffed by professional firefighters? Turning police officers into firefighters and firefighters into police officers doesn't make a lot of sense. Rethink this. Fast.
Sat, Jan 12, 2013 : 3:54 p.m.
Combining fire departments should be discussed in a General Public Session Meeting - where Township taxpayers can add thoughts and opinions. Usually, for a idea of this nature to move forward, discussion and debate is usually required at meeting in compliance with Michigan's Open Meeting Act notification statue. Not sure if a working session falls under OMA or not. Also, doesn't Ypsilanti Township usually have at two readings of any pending resolutions prior to adopting proposals, such as this normally? Either way, look forward to upcoming articles focused on combining City of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township's Fire Departments.
Katrease Stafford
Sat, Jan 12, 2013 : 4:29 a.m.
Thanks for the information, YpsiGirl4Ever. I'm not referring to the police department though, only the two fire departments. The Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees discussed combining its fire department with the City of Ypsilanti's during an Oct. 22 work session. The Chief Copeland reached out to Ypsilanti's city manager to discuss the matter. We have a story publishing in the next few days on this and the subsequent outcome. I'll be sure to link to it here in the comments section when it publishes. Until then, here's a link the to the township's meeting minutes. Scroll down to the end of the second page of the Oct. 22 work session minutes. That's where the discussion takes place and read through page four: http://ytown.org/government/boards-and-commissions/township-board-of-trustees/township-board-packets/2012/11-26-12-board-packet
Sat, Jan 12, 2013 : 2:34 a.m.
Correction - Should denote WCSO, not WSCO.
Sat, Jan 12, 2013 : 2:24 a.m.
Ypsilanti Township Government Public Meeting Minutes reflect the following information Katrease from December 20, 2011: "A motion was made by Clerk Lovejoy Roe, supported by Treasurer Doe to approve the 2012-2015 Police Services Contract and authorize signing (see attached). The motion carried unanimously. Supervisor Stumbo reported this contract would add four deputies to the department and include a six-month option to decrease the number, if it became necessary. " http://ytown.org/government/boards-and-commissions/township-board-of-trustees/township-board-meeting-minutes/2011/12-20-11 The Police Service Contract with the WSCO has not been discussed in the Township General Meetings in 2012. More likely than not, this is due to action taken at the Public Meeting on 12/20/2011 by the Township Board to renew WCSO contracted services until at least 2015.
Katrease Stafford
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 5:42 p.m.
YpsiGirl4Ever, Ypsilanti Township was still interested in combining its fire department with the city's until very recent developments. We actually have a story coming soon about this with more details.
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 5:21 p.m.
Katrease, That would be on the Township's end also. The Township was able to achieve cost savings with the WSCO last year. After this point, the Township tabled discussion pursuing talks of combining services with the City of Ypsianti. If Ann Arbor.com regularity sent a reporter to the Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees meetings (as they should....for the public's right to know) this fact would be known.
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 5:20 p.m.
Lots of cities do this without a problem, so I am confused why the people of Ypsi are so hesitant to move to this model. Various towns that I have lived in across the country have had combined services and they ran smoothly and efficiently. And if the current fire and police officers quit in response to this, then hire new ones who come into the job knowing about the cross training. The people of Ypsi need to figure out that this is the new reality until they can somehow get out from under the Water St. debt or accept a tax increase on top of their already high taxes. And with this reality, no township will want to unite any major services with the city...
Katrease Stafford
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 3:02 p.m.
YpsiLivin, In the hybrid model the firefighters wouldn't be cross-trained, just the police officers. Now in the full public safety department, both would be cross-trained. Lange said the city is moving forward with the hybrid model. I've written stories in the past about a possible Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township fire collaboration being considered, but it looks like that's no longer the case-- at least on the city's end.
Craig Lounsbury
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 12:53 p.m.
"We're going to have a lot of property loss," he said. "...I've seen it in other departments. Your fires proliferate and what starts small is going to be a large fire." I wouldn't doubt that. The question is what is more cost effective for citizens? Paying the increased insurance premiums that would presumably result or paying the cost of a larger fire department?
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 12:41 p.m.
What if you are a career police who does not exactly wish to go into burning buildings? Or, what if a career firefighter doesn't wish to break up drug fights as a police officer? Why not put snow plows on the mayor's and city council's cars and have them cross-trained as a hybrid plowing team?
Ypsi Eastsider
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 10:57 p.m.
One of the Ypsi Fire trucks does have a snow plow.
Craig Lounsbury
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 : 12:54 p.m.
you make some valid points......especially the snow plow one ;)


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A local veterinarian was ticketed Wednesday, accused of treating a man who came to him complaining of pain in his toes.
A medical professional at North Colorado Medical Center informed police in June that a man who was having toes amputated at the hospital had possibly been treated by a veterinarian. The man's wife told police a person had referred them to Greeley veterinarian Fran Freemyer, and Freemyer ultimately said he thought he could treat the ailment, applying a topical cream to the man's toes, according to a police report. The man, whose name has not been released, said the cream had no effect on his ailment and his condition continued to worsen, resulting in him having several toes amputated, the report states.
Freemyer, 78, was cited for unauthorized practices – practicing medicine without a license, a misdemeanor. Freemyer initially denied treating humans but eventually told police he applied an experimental cream – purported to detect and treat cancer – to the man's foot, according to the report.
Freemyer told police he received the cream from the manufacturing company for free, as it is in experimental stages, the report states. A representative of that company said Freemyer had been receiving the cream to test on animals, according to the document.
The man's wife said they paid Freemyer $100 for the treatment.
Freemyer did not return phone messages left Thursday afternoon, but he told the Associated Press that he never directly treated the man. Freemyer told the news agency he gave the cream to a person to use on a dog with skin cancer, and the dog's owner gave it to a neighbor, unbeknownst to him.
Greeley police Sgt. Susan West said that so far, no others have said Freemyer treated them, but police believe there may be other victims. They are asking that anyone who may have received treatment or who may have information regarding this investigation contact Mike Heck with the Greeley Police Department at (970) 350-9617.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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The Emirates Air jet banks slowly over the Persian Gulf and the city comes into view, glistening glass towers twinkling in the dazzling sun. Row after row of immense structures emerge from the drifting desert sands, the setting for some sort of science fiction film.
I have seen the future, I think, and it looks a lot like Dubai.
Towering in their midst, its head lost in the clouds, stands the Burj Khalifa, at 828 metres (2,716 feet) and 160 storeys the tallest building in the world. Twenty years ago nothing stood here but sand and scrub. Today, in between all the immense towers, construction crews are busy building many more skyscrapers, the super-city of tomorrow. The next time you fill up your Cadillac Escalade and watch the dials at the pump, you'll know where all your money has gone.
From the observation deck on the Khalifa's 124th floor, 40-story skyscrapers way below look like pin pricks. Towers stretch for several kilometres, hotels and commerce and residential spaces interspersed with freeways, no structure seemingly more than a few years old. Everything is built on a scale difficult to comprehend, a fantastic Disneyland-on-steroids only one-tenth built and reaching for tomorrow.
Dubai is essentially the creation of Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Prime Minister, Vice President of the United Arab Emirates of which Dubai is a part, and Dubai's constitutional monarch. He is one of the richest men in the world, with a personal wealth of $4 billion. Unlike many other Gulf leaders busy building welfare states for their extended families, the Sheik has wisely poured Dubai's vast oil wealth into planning well ahead for the future. Essentially he is constructing a global tourist mecca, one quickly evolving into a global centre of commerce.
Aside from magnificent hotels, dazzling white sandy beaches, swank restaurants and the usual tourist fare, Dubai sports so many other activities (most of them family friendly) it's hard to know where to start exploring. TripAdvisor lists 186 attractions from swimming with dolphins to hot air ballooning to museums, bungee jumping, water parks, golf, yachting, horse racing, go karting, diving, zoos, cricket, soccer, cinemas, horseback riding, monorails, gold and spice souks, and the list goes on. Out in the desert you'll find camel races, dune bashing, safaris, falconry and resort oases.
I start my explorations at none of these. Instead, I attend a tour at the Sheik Mohammad Centre for Cultural Understanding, an educational experience that brings to life Arabic culture and history. Dubai, I learn over a tasty lunch, is only a hundred years old and until recently was a small fishing village.
There is not much left of the "old Dubai," which was never a large city. In the old days (pre-oil) the economy was centred around pearl diving and the port, a natural saltwater creek that served as a safe haven for dhows (ships). I take a walking tour of the Bastakiya Heritage District, the Dubai Museum, and then an abra (water taxi) over the creek to the ancient gold and spice souks, the real heart of the city. The weather is very hot.
The souk's shop windows are jammed with gold jewellry. Crime, I am told, is virtually non-existent in Dubai. In the searing mid-afternoon heat, apparently so are any tourists. The only place to be in this heat is relaxing in the chill of an air conditioned shopping mall. While browsing, why not try indoor skiing? Yes, Dubai boasts the world's largest indoor ski hill, along with a hockey rink that wouldn't be out of place in Edmonton. I ski and attempt indoor sky diving too. The Mall of the Emirates may be the biggest mall in the world.
While you could spend months exploring tourist activities, what you likely won't find are many Emiratis. Locals make up only 15 percent of the population, and as the city population rapidly increases that number is dwindling. The vast majority of residents hail from other countries. My guide is from Venezuela and married to a German. The hotel manager is a Persian woman married to a Norwegian. There are huge Chinese and East Indian communities. I'm told there are lots of Canadians too, and even a hockey league packed with ex-pats that play on Friday nights. Vancouver and Toronto may be multicultural, I know, but nothing like Dubai.
According to TripAdvisor, the top tourist attraction in Dubai is the water fountain show, the dancing waters springing forth from the artificial lake outside the Burj Khalifa. The best place to watch the show, I find, is from the ground floor restaurant at the Palace Hotel, featuring an enormous buffet with the main culinary themes being Oriental, Asian, Spanish and Western. There may be something called Emirati food, but if there is I didn't find it. Everything in Dubai is global.
The government's decision to diversify from an oil-based economy and to make the city the number one tourist destination in the world has turned Dubai into the fastest growing metropolitan region in the world. Currently 30,000 construction cranes dot the landscape, meaning that over 25 percent of all cranes worldwide are currently operating in Dubai. Dozens of new multi-billion dollar construction projects are rapidly taking shape including the largest man-made marina in the world with 200 residential and hotel high rises. Just one new residential development, Jumeirah Lake Towers, comprises 79 skyscrapers. Dubai Business Bay will boast 240 new towers. Jebel Ali Village will house 500,000 new residents. The new airport will be the fourth largest in the world.
Dubailand will be world's largest retail and entertainment centre, twice the size of Walt Disney World Resort, with 45 mega-projects and 200 sub-projects. In 2007, a $132 million extension of Dubai creek was finished and the new Arabian Canal will be the largest canal in the world. Upon completion Dubai Exhibition City will house the worlds longest single column-free exhibition hall.
The above list does not include Palm Jumeirah, the world's largest man-made island full of villas and resorts, or The World, a planned artifical archipelago of hundreds of small islands to be constructed in the shape of a world map. Roughly 232 km of new shoreline is being created with development costs estimated at $14 billion Cdn.
There may be more 5-star hotels in Dubai than there are construction cranes. Dubai is home to the Burj Al-Arab, the world's first "7-star" hotel, with a butler for every suite. As a guest of the government, I am whisked from one hotel to another to do site inspections, each hotel I visit vying for the title of best or most beautiful. Every hotel, I am also told, is full. Western celeberities are a dime a dozen in Dubai because privacy and personal safety are guaranteed. Terrorism is only the stuff of far away newspaper headlines. Here, everyone is either rich or too busy working to get rich to worry about Syria or Egypt.
The One and Only hotels, both The Mirage on the beach and The Palm Jumeirah, prove to be something out of the Arabian Nights, oases of luxury and serenity far away from the madness of downtown Dubai. At Atlantis on The Palm I am shown the 9-room Royal Suite that fetches 140,000 dirhams ($40,000 Cdn) per night. I must admit it has a very nice view, but I won't be booking it soon.
Pinballing around Dubai's expressways, I feel like a character in the middle of a futuristic video game. The population has soared from a few hundred thousand to two million people in a decade, and may hit 10 million before the current contsruction craze ends. Yet a simple 30-minute drive out to the desert brings the visitor back a thousand years, where camels still roam the blazing sands and Bedouin encampments provide nightly feasts replete with belly dancers and whirling dervishes.
Here, I am somehow convinced to experience an Emirati sport I don't recommend for the faint-hearted. Dune bashing is where (air conditioned) Land Rovers are raced over enormous sand dunes in order to frighten terrified passengers out of their wits. What fun! Our ever-polite Emirati driver requests that passengers kindly open the doors and step outside if they need to recycle their lunch.
But as the giant orange fireball that is the Emirati sun sinks heavenly into a cobalt blue sky above an endless ocean of rust red sands rolling away to the Empty Quarter, and a huge feast of barbequed lamb is served on what must be the world's largest outdoor carpet, the ultra-modern glass and steel air conditioned bubble that is Dubai is only a dream, a figment of some fantastically rich Arab sheik's vision of the future. However, if you check your gas mileage at the pump on your next fill up, you may notice it's a future that has already arrived.
If you go
Emirates Air flies daily out of Seattle and Toronto. The coolest temperatures in Dubai are from December to March. Highs at that time can reach up to 30C degrees and overnight lows of 15C, with an average daytime temperature of 24C.
Where to stay
The One and Only www.oneandonlyresorts.com
The Palace www.theaddress.com
Atlantis www.atlantisthepalm.com
What to do
Sheil Mohammad Centre for Culural Undertstanding www.cultures.ae
Ski Dubai www.skidubai.com
I Fly www.playmania.com
Burj Khalifa www.burjkhalifa.ae
Desert Safaris – www.dubaidesertadventures.com


text:
Your foreclosed house could be the new Friday night hot spot -- for the executives who bankrupted you.
Wells Fargo announced Monday it fired a bank executive who partied with family inside a foreclosed $12 million oceanfront Malibu home, just months after the house's owners turned it over to the corporation.
The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that after the homeowners lost money in the massive Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, neighbors saw one of the bank's employees spending weekends there with her family, hanging out on the cheap in the empty mansion.
The bank did not identify the fired employee by name, but neighbors told The Times that the banker who used the home was 39-year-old Cheronda Guyton, a Wells Fargo senior vice president responsible for foreclosed commercial properties.
The bank issued a statement saying its internal investigation "concluded a single team member was responsible for violating our company policies."
"As a result, employment of this individual has been terminated," the statement said.
Wells Fargo took possession of the property, located in the tony Malibu Colony neighborhood, in May as part of an agreement with the prior homeowners. The agreement called for the home to be held off the market for a period of time.
Bank officials said the company's ethics code prohibits employees from making personal use of property that had been surrendered to satisfy debts.
In a statement last week, the bank apologized for "the disruption to the neighboring property owners since these allegations were made."


text:
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text:
Up, Up, and Away
Larry from Lancing sums up the emotions of many a Brighton and Hove Albion fan as another new dawn beckons...
Sporting life sometimes, just sometimes, transcends reality. "You couldn't make it up..." screams the castrato commentator. In 1986, and having served a 63 day ban for smoking marijuana, Ian Terrence Botham returned to the England fold against New Zealand. Derided as a drug addled shadow of his former glorious self, his first delivery back saw Bruce Edgar dab a lifting delivery to Gooch at second slip and I.T Botham equalled D. K. Lillee's record of 355 Test wickets. The ever pragmatic Gooch enquired "Who writes your scripts Beefy?" Some sportsmen (and of course women) and some sporting institutions have that certain something that you just couldn't make up, who indeed writes their scripts. There are many more examples and you know what, I think we may be just about to experience another one...
As those twin evils of gluttony and greed brought down the curtain on the crumbling Goldstone the reality of what lay ahead was only all too clear. Or, so we thought. What followed has been a schizophrenic journey between football grounds in different counties, up and down leagues, play off drama, managerial comings and goings, joy and despondency, campaigns and confusion, politics and pop. The chapter is drawing to a close with a dream new home on the horizon, a charismatic and inspirational manager, a Chairman with the blood of the club in his veins and a team playing a style of successful football as good as anyone can remember. Brighton & Hove Albion, who writes your scripts?
Let's not forget that some went to prison for this story to come true, people with families and responsibilities put their freedom on the line, people put their lives on hold to fight for a future and many, many more did what they do best – stick by their heritage. Sounds dramatic, it was. A script writer needs heroes and a supporting cast, Brighton has these in abundance. This one as they say is for you.
We can now say that 26 April 1997 was not the end. Yes, we've had a base in Brighton, we haven't though had a home and a club and its fans need a home.
The Brighton v York City "riot"
Football belongs to the FANS
Most fans enter their new era in a new stadium reluctantly, moving to identikit stadia in the middle of nowhere, leaving behind an atmospheric ramshackle ground full of history and ghosts. We have had more than enough time to mourn what was unceremoniously taken away, more than enough time on the A23, M25, M26, M2, more than enough time getting soaked in a wobbling mass of green plastic and steel. Like any good story, the twists and turns and dramatic developments have added to the anticipation. Those who have sweated to make the stadium a reality have left no stone unturned in their quest for perfection, striking a balance between a state of the art modern stadium and the commercialism that accompanies this, with the history and heritage of a club and its fans.
As the goal posts fell in 1996 and as the turf was lifted in 1997, who would have scripted what was to follow? In that time we've seen some of the worst professional football ever played on these shores, Donny Rovers of course take their share of the blame for that game, and we've seen some of the best. We've had the worst of times and it feels like we are now approaching the best of times.
The last ever game at the Goldstone Ground
Like this? Larry has also written on the Brighton v Crystal Palace rivalry.
- Feel free to comment below -


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Radical Dreamers
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Radical Dreamers (ラジカル・ドリーマーズ -盗めない宝石-?, literally Radical Dreamers -The Unstealable Jewel-)[1] is a Japanese video game produced by Squaresoft (now Square Enix) in 1996 for the Satellaview add-on for the Nintendo Super Famicom.[2] It is a text-based Visual Novel in which the player takes the role of Serge, a young adventurer accompanied by Kid, a teen-aged thief, and Gil, a mysterious masked magician.
|This game article is a stub. You can help Wikiquote by expanding it.
- "...But we will succeed. We pride ourselves in making the impossible possible." -Serge
- "We can't lose... We've come too far to lose." - Serge
- "...Do you still remember...? How we first met, and all of our adventures since... It all seems like such a dream nowadays... You were a piece of a star that fell from the sky. Whenever I want to return to those days long gone, I close my eyes and whisper your name into the evening sky... Kid... Kid..." - Opening Dialogue
- "Heat cup... provolone... soccer mom...!!" "It's like he's wasted or something..." - Serge, while Gil recites an incantation
- "Kid, this is actually a 'Martian Forest League Concealed Lesser Armament Bunny', and it is far more than a toy." - Gil, as Mick Van Jovi


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Cheer Up – I dont even kno if this joint is really a bonus track forreal yo…n I aint heard it…but thats a funny ass song title comin from this nigga b.
Cheer Up – I dont even kno if this joint is really a bonus track forreal yo…n I aint heard it…but thats a funny ass song title comin from this nigga b.
People gonna be gettin pissy at this review. I fucks with Cole, but can't deny what you're sayin. Dudes been gettin softer and softer. Good thing I'm white, we're use to that soft shit lol.
Cole stans are white/black nerds who arent accepted in society so they relate to this struggle rap. Shit was weak 6.5/10. Shout out to NYC/Brooklyn tho.
terrible review & the only funny part was about Drake
^^cole stan
lmao at "In The Morning (ft. The Kitten Whisperer)" I didn't even catch that until you said it was Aubster
I don't like j.cole but come on was u calling 2pac soft for making struggle rap?
U basically saying pac was a bitch because he made songs like dear mama and keep ya head up
Everbody can't rap about selling drugs and shooting niggas
rap about selling drugs and shooting niggas>struggle rap
that's all the devil wants you to listen to, don't focus on the real issues, just support the status quo, keep making those record comapany execs millions for putting out poison.
Ktt cole stans maaaad. Its just as funny when he's reviewing drake. Get your dick out of coles mouth.
This is garbage and Tha Carter IV shits on it
Tha Gawd Drizzy Drake gonna kill every album of the past 30+years dough
Drake sucks, and Tha Carter IV was probably one of the worst albums ever. Lil Wayne fell off hard.
J cole the new and improved lightskin memphis bleek.
@Dennis Cole…how you gone get at yo own family like that? lol….."5 Bleek durags"…priceless!!!
omg, this isn't even funny
Cole World: TSS is a classic
the new-age Illmatic
Nigga please…
hahaha P-Tone was pretty much spot on with the lame bars. My only gripe was the lights please one. That bar's not bad son. It's solid. That outfarted one though? Cmon Son…What are you thinking?
He wasn't saying Pac was soft, he was saying some dudes can do it and it sounds all right (Pac, Ghostface, etc.) and some can't (Drake, J.Cole).
not really.. he didn't say that at all.
"the rap world always been divided between niggas who dont sound wack singin all over they joints (Pac, 50, DMX, Slick Rick, GHOSTFACE etc) n niggas who sound like straight bitches when they do namsayin (Aubrey)…..Cole be fallin into that second category yo."
he literally said that.
I'm a huge Cole fan but I can't help but agree with the review. His best material came on his mixtapes and now it's all played out. The album definitely didn't live up to the hype in my opinion. It's not a bad album. It's just not a classic. And he does spit some lame ass bars. Especially that peanut butter jelly bullshit
hahaha ima huge cole fan nahmean but i aint even mad at this son , keep em coming b . ny ridin with u tone
I mean i just don't give a fuck about J Cole son. Son is a hip hop triscuit. He aint got no flavor. There ain't nothin interesting bout this boring ass nicca. I don't know why Tone feels the need to go in on im tho, he's harmless.
He really needs to get off this varsity athlete shit cause that shit's hilarious. You in fn high school still nicca?
As an educated person the fact that I find myself reading this trash, probably says more about me than it does about the fuck heads who don't know any better. J.Cole is doing what the fuck J.Cole wants to do. He wants to produce every track LET HIM. He wants to give us reoccurring bars of his struggle LET HIM. Cause at the end of the day we're all still listening; so go learn how to choke on your own dick and leave the dude alone. Or at the very least, if you think his album is shit, don't listen. NAHMEAN!
To the J-cole nigga two comments up. WE SEE YOU NIGGA. Respect the hilarity or step the fuck off before you get thrown the fuck off a roof….CASH RULES..
Peace to BIG GHOST another great review
outdid yourself on this one…instant vintage
eeyeorematic killed me..
oh shit my nigga good looking out an shit. i knew you was done gonna go hard on a nigga. these new white niggas done be way too soft for a nigga like me tho.
I mean personally I thought the album was a vlassic.
These opinions arebpretty subjective. As in wht is soft to you, may not necessarily be soft to other dudes.
The kitten whisperer bit was funny though.
it was aite
but shits lulzy as fuck
while the review was funny, i'll have to disagree with it. TSS is a great album. what yall talkin about.
The album was solid I feel as you said ghost he's gettin his feet wet in the game now it ain't no classic but it's far from whack but I can tell alot of niggaz on here just agreeing for the fact it's ghost and too scared to say how they really feel about the album.but anyways good shit ghost
^ xv, kendrick, and KRIT are obviously dope? Shut the fuck up doe
yo that shit about Aubrey rapping about fucking horses fuckin KILLED me cuz i was thinking the same shit when i was listening to his verse like "did this nigga just rap a whole verse about horses n shit"
i was weak as fuck reading this shit
I love this blog
but this review really doesn't do the album justice..its a good album, really. J Cole is far from the cat you're making him out to be..he's probably the ONLY mainstream cat with raw bars..
Cole World> WTT > Carter 4
Well yeah this nigga'z barz R weak, he a fuccin' nobody who ain't never seen shit, just rappin' 'bout the muthafuccin' struggles of middle class living 'N shit, fucc dis fool.
Lmao. Love the review. There are alot of valid points. I honestly like the production for the most part, mostly because it contrasts with the normal synth and heavy bass shit that the likes of Bangledesh and other niggas be churnin out in like 2 seconds. Like forreal if I can recreate a beat with a midi player and a basic ass drum machine, your beat is ass.
The thing about J Cole is that he tries to appeal to too many different groups. Like nigga, its ok if you didn't witness the raw being cut up or niggas gettin shot or whatever. Rap about what you know. Kanye embraced his role in hip-hop, this nigga is now hip-hops Tim Gunn. Cole's music will not appeal to everyone, the sooner he realizes that, the better quality his shit will be. This album is basically what I expected, except with more female geared tracks. It is by no stretch of the imagination a classic, if you even contemplate that shit you have a pussy. Album is a little lazy. I mean when Ricky Ross is spittin colder bars and you supposed to be the savior of rap, theres a problem.
Least this nigga didn't complain about being famous and having 3somes like that faggot the Kitten Whisperer.
I understand the fact that Ghost is just clowning the whole way through this review, but I don't think Ghost considers where Cole is coming from.
J. Cole is an educated guy and comes from a much different type of hood than that of which Ghost comes from. It's evident that Ghost just shits on anyone that shows any kind of softness ("The Kitten Whisperer" & "crooning").
The Kitten Whisperer!!! LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO
Crazy how yall really take a parody nigga like this BGF nigga serious smh
cole shit been wack but u continue to slip my nigga…get back to the essence b4 u become a target yoself nigga…3rd time da charm…step dat shit up on da next 1 or end ya run while u still got a fanbase…nuttin wrong wit a og…its da niggas dat hang on too long we got words fo
Shut the fucc up little bitch, keep shakin' yo little raggedy azz head till U fuccin' breakx Yo muhfuccin' necc fag
Cole is the type of rapper that spits from a perspective that most rappers dont really touch on that much. If u sad and feeling a bit down (we all get those days) we might to relate to this album but honestly I wont be bumping this all day everyday.
He needs to grow and be more versatile to come close to the likes of Jay Z.
"First off young Eeyore lookin like some nigga jus snatched his balloon animals from him on this cover yo" and "Jermaine lookin like he jus got violated in the showers n he tryin to figure out a way to explain it to his girl" got me rollin ahahaha, then the animal pictures with the sad faces…. genius!
It's funny hearing some of you talking about stans when in the same sentence niggas are jumping on tone dick and riding it like a rodeo show. I mean what separates some of yall from the average drake fan, when you really think about it? Also If any of you take this dude seriously enough to get mad at anything he writes, just throwing this out there but you might want to kill yourself and save us all from you're offspring.
Now on to the review, I thought it was funny and I can't disagree with some of his comments. I liked though and we'll have to agree to disagree. It was funny though, funnier then you're softest nigga's in the game. Everytime you do that little article it gets less funny. Might want to retire that b.
Cole might've had some lame lines, but nothing is lamer than a 40-something year old dude who still claims he fucks up people for stepping on his sneakers.
i'mma have to disagree with Mr. Black Kid on the Top 10 Softest. i was actually expecting a letdown after the previous versions, but to me it just keeps getting better, IMHO. unlike tha carter series.. juss my $0.02 on that.
Lotta dope albums got dope intros…Word…..this aint like those. LMAO!!!
& that shit about 5 sugars in your coffee cup.. LMA-double-O!!!
Can't knock Ghost opinion, but I have to disagree I thought it was a solid 4 out of 5, and may possibly go down later as a Classic. lyrically he was on point. The production was solid, different but solid, The average cat can relate to this, you don't have to rap about hood ish all the time to be respected, because fa real fa real very few of us live that Hood lifestyle. Most artists who rap about it don't either I call it #fantasyrap. The album gets better with time…which are some of the same thoughts I had about Reasonable Doubt and illmatic when I first heard them. Ghosts reviews are always entertaining sometimes I think its spot on other times I disagree. Its all good though let's not get all up tight because someone else thinks differently
I'm sayin remember when there was like 5 visitors and we fucked w BIGGHOSTBLOG for what it was? now I'm feelin all claustrophobic seeing 8million comments that's still drippin from riding YM's jock. gimme a feature that hides comments and that fuckin "pageviews last month" shit. take me back to the pristine. get ya threadcount up
see me, i'm on some i-can't-listen-to-nothing-new ish.. i have no interest in WTT, Jcoles, lil wayne, whatever. so that really DQs me from dissin them fools (oops). but i gotsta say i look forward to these albums dropping just so i can read your reviews.
ps- yo that was crazy weak tryna call out a "40-something year old" ..son…IT AINT HIM!! get it through your fuccen head you dumb dick!! plus that line was fuckin undeniably hilarious. i mean come ON now.. flyin' fucn suzuki SUVs? LAUGH AT IT. NOW.
Everybody is talking about struggle rap, yet you forget that joint on Ghost' first album, all that I got is you. Any struggle song on J cole shit goes way harder than that, and the whole album is way harder than Ironman could ever dream of being. I love this album and think it is probably the best rap I have ever heard. For the record, I am an overweight half white half korean girl from Salem oregon who struggles with body image and not making the cheerleading squad.
Word? LOL
N*gga look like fuckin' Hornswoggle..
homie clearly has google image goons on deck.. maybe Alvin handles that racket.
the pictures fit nice with the story, as always yo. had me dyin' son.
hahaha shit is funny, take it for what it is, comedy. Everyone is laughing their ass of when rappers they don't like get reviewed but when their fav rapper get reviewed they cry about it. That being said, I liked the album, maybe its cuz im not robbing and shootin niggas in the face, so i can actually relate. bigghost must be some tough ass thug sitting in jail right now reviewing shit on an ipad some dude managed to sneak in. Haha either way its funny as shit.
Dude is funny but did a bad review. Had some points but not all rap is supposed to be "hard" and about shooting people. Cole doesn't sell drugs or shoot so he doesn't rap about it. 90% of rappers who talk about it are soft, they just act tough in front of cameras. Cole keeps it real at least
shouts to jcole for keeping it real for all the soft baby heads out there who aint got fully developed skull pieces n shit. see they be having craniums n shit with bones that aint totally fused together nahmean so they can't really handle that street shit just yet. one day when they got solid domes n can piss on they own n chew food they gon realize what real rap is about nahmean. fisher price my first timberlands. ni99a ya shirt look like a curtain. get some chukkas fucka
So since J cole doesn't rap about drugs..its gives him a pass to be a hip hop softie on borderline nerd rap? Ah now it all makes sense.
This nigga is a genius.
Yall niggas is funny
70% of you cornballs aint even pay to hear the album, then got to nerve to act like your fukkin opinion matters
Cole's debut was dope, and compared to the rest of these weedplates that dropped this year (Wiz, Wayne, Kanye & Jay), this dude deserves nothin but props
SMH at you fuckboys
when you compare shit to shit, shit always wins yo.
good point.
Yo i just want to start by saying whoever this is blogging this nonsense is a fucking capital L.A.M.E. and all u dickriderz commenting agreeing with this cocksucker are as well. Now first off u have wayyy too much time on your hands sitting here picking apart the whole album who the fuck are you Roger Ebert..wait..who are u again??? OH OK. Now it's one thing to have an opinion which I'm sure J.Cole couldnt care less about coming from some idiot sitting behind a computer screen but I completely 100% disagree with this bs review u did. So you rather your kids listen to some lying ass tough for the camera rapper talk about how much dope they done sold how many bitches they done fucked and how many bodies they caught as oppose to an educated black man which I see is becoming more and more scarce keep it real and talk about where they come from they struggles and the road to getting signed..I know what my kids would be listening to..And furthermore I didnt know that rap and hiphop were about getting shot, going to jail, and fucking hoes but I guess nowadays thats all people know even though most of them lying I guess being a conscious rapper makes you soft..now dont get me wrong I love pac and biggie and all our other fallen soldiers but you see where all that shoot em up bang bang talk got them..may God rest their soul…and Pac did similar tracks talking about his struggles hence keep ya head up and brenda's got a baby now correct me if im wrong but I believe pac was speaking from the perspective of a "bitch" brenda and real life issues that are affecting the community which u knocked cole for doing on lost ones i mean be 4 real. Now while i can understand some disappointment in the album i think u went way to hard on his first effort which he did 90% of by himself without a star studded cast give him a break.. if u dont like..dont listen simple as that.
Ima J. Cole fan but Big Ghost is a funny ass person and this review had me in tears…But in all seriousness this album was tight, his beats are getting better and he is becoming an all-around artist. It ain't a classic, that happens only if im still bumpin this 2 to 3 years from now, but I'd rather listen to someone who can actually spit like J. Cole rather than most of the garbage rappers out 2day. Salute to Big Ghost tho, keep it up with the album reviews…I can't wait to see how he gonna shit on Drake's thing lmao!
the shit was funny though..def. worthy of some ha ha and he he…but personally i like the album
But I laughed at this review. Some of yall need to chill…it's COMEDY b.
The album went hard. Your review makes you sound like a fuckin hating ass homophobe. You know you better then other rappers when people can't point out your one one fire line, they have to point out your one lame line cause everything else fire. For every one of his lame lines, he spit 15 sick bars, so just fall back. I've read negative reviews and criticisms of Cole, but you sound like a straight up hatin ass muhfucka.
This nigga "Ghost" deff hating. Most of the bars he claimed was whack, aren't even whack forreal.
He just rappin out the ass to make ya happy. he aint beig real, nigga hatin.
Look at all you fuckin crybabies catching feelings cuz your golden boy got a little criticism. How does that affect your ability to enjoy the album? You gotta be one insecure mother fucker to catch feelings over an album review, especially if the review isn't even about you! Big Ghostface wasn't feeling it, if you are then do you and slap it. It's really that simple lol.
Big Ghost you strait delivered this time son, strait out tha gate with that sad face cover shit. word bond. Keep doing you son. Respect.
Yeah I don't understand how people get offended and whimper about a rapper their obviously a stan of getting a semi-bad review. It's not like he's making fun of your parents, family, etc. People take it personal because I guess it feels that somebody is insulting their taste in music. It's not. It's comedy albeit at the expense of J Cole. The thing is I agree with most of Big G's opinion. Cole ain't that dope. He's aight but it's his first album.
I aint even listened to most of the album yet so I can't say shit bout that but this review had me reeling haha, gotta give Ghost props for making some pure comedy material. "This shit sounds like the nigga hopped in his time machine n copped a beat that Twista aint wanna pay Kanye for in 2003 yo."
Shits hilarious lmao
On some real shit, People Under the Stairs are dropping their newest album this Friday, and I GUARANTEE that that shits gonna wipe it's ass with Cole World. No doubts in my head lol, Cole can't fuck with Thes One and Double K. Not yet anyway, maybe in a year or two.
Lol how can people compare jcole to tupac?jcole writes the same shit in like every song and its always something depressing, I went to a wale and jcole concert and when he performed,that shit was dead as fuck and everyone was waiting for wale to get shit hyped,LOL at how ghost called him young eyroe
the album was dope, he produced it him self it was HIS first album, how many people can actually say that. and as far as ghost, you need to make an album since you over here clamming you know whats hot. what happen to you dog? you need to make some "REAL" shit. cmon man get out there and do your thing, instead of hiding behind a computer talking all this shit. lets be real man, unless you got some music to back up your shit talking, quit this shit now bro. u look like a fucking hater son! what you mad you couldnt be a jay z or kanye. fall back son you doing nothing but looking like a fucking loser.
To you mafuckas sayin this dude should drop some music just cuz he critiquing other people's albums, have you even seen this nigga's impersonation bars that he wrote on this blog? They might just make you eat your words cuz this dude clearly got skill. Go peep his fake Jay-Z/Wayne collab. Jay don't even spit that tuff no more. I think the writer of this blog could body that nigga J-Cole bar for bar based off what I'm readin here.
You stans are hilarious doh
^Cosign. His FAKE bars are better than the real 16s that cats be spitting on their songs or freestyles
Thta "shitty" Wayne verse is better than anything on C4 and that JayZ verse is also fire
Alot of cats gonna cry they self to sleep after reading this, a couple will commit suicide, and some will never fuck with you again. Remember, it's only cool to them when you get at rappers they're not fond of.
seriously..those Jadakiss bars? the Jay-Z ish, Wayne. Big Ghost fam you could definitely ghost write for these dudes in they own style and tighten they little albums up forreal forreal. …& then rip those same albums in these here reviews. picture that.
i seen it. like a Zenith.
big props to big ghost for another amazing review and props to the commenters for adding more hilarity
that shit about sugars in the coffee was amazing
oh and the animal pictures were phenomenal
google images is your bitch
Ghost, I love ya, but I hate it when you sing, too.
The pictures are just hilarious
get in that ass Ghost!
..pull they asshole open, step into they asshole. close the door behind you. take a spraypaint can, right? "GHOST WAS HERE"
step out his ass. & leave that muthafucka wide open, so they know you been there.
Why are people dissing the real GFK? This blog is a well formulated joke, and it's funny. If you get mad at a joke blog on the internet, YOU are fucking retarded, no matter what the topic.
yo big ups my homie p-tone for puttin this bitch-ass on blast. GET EM! GET EM! young-ghaddafi.blogspot.com cosign some trappin hard shit tone.
He had me dying at "cordless phones"….i mean, if he just looked back at that line the LEAST he could have done was say "no strings attached….Pinocchio" smh….."but i'm not a rapper"
"yo i aint even gotta shovel NO kinda coal in my car engine!"
"y'alls be burnin' that fuckin' whale oil blubber n shit in ya lamps while i got fly electricity light bulbs kid!!"
(big shouts to all my steam engine telegraph niccas)
Salute to the God for another hilarious review. Jcole latest project is not as dope as his mixtape the "warm up". Be that as it may, this album is smashing on any artist that has dropped an album in a long time. You are a talented dude but sometimes you sound like an OLD BITTER ASS NIGGA. I fuck with the early/late 90s hiphop when the shit was raw. But times have changed bruh. Its a new ,day for artist. That hood shit,slapping niggas,selling dope, isn't really to be glorified. You would think that an old timer like yourself would know that. Like I said you're gifted and usually on point but sometimes that old nigga hater creeps out of your ass. Lastly, I've been reading your shit for along time but this Drake shit is getting old as fuck! You starting to sound like the mad angry dark nigga who hates on the light skinned nigga with all the bitches in highschool. Stop that shit bruh your Drake obsession is a little suspect. Anyway, keep doing your shit,but disguise that old nigger in you.
Htown- 3rd Ward to be exact.
im soooo mad you said kitten whisperer and Eeyorematic.
quits Ghost for LIFE!!!
I don't fuck with J. Cole anymore. Dude has annoyingly repetitive themes and the Nas comparisons did him no favor. Pressure of that sort is a career-breaker. I'm not even gonna listen to his album and will just simply wish him well in his pursuit of a Memphis Bleek-type career.
Make music or shut the fuck up… I won't, and never have listened to your trash… ever… you are garbage… Method Man is amazing but YOU are garbage.. What important record label would want to invest in your untalented ignorant ass?! Only dumb/wack niggaz relates to your trash, your food for thoughts could make me mentally vomit! I'm sure of it! Seriously loser, go work at Wendy's… Your rap carrer has been done since late 90's.. Its over for you, so move over for the younger rapper that spits it realler than you industry faggot hating ass niggaz! Cole World and I support that! Ignorant faggot
Mr GhostFace, You have gone 'ghost' from the TV screens for a hot minute now… Now, is your carrer dead or is your rap name one Big Pun?! Whatever it is you're going through, I just one you to know something, and this is from the bottom of my heart… You are really LAME! Go stick your your damn head in the oven, maybe that'll make you hot again… You disgust me 😐
Hey stupid, this is a satirical blog. This is not the real Ghostface Killah. Don't hate the God's Doppelganger for his opinion about J Cole. If your pussy hurts than go buy some Vagisil.
Smh at these comments. Cole stans are clearly the stupidest people on the planet. I don't even know where to begin…somebody please fill these 12 yr old idiots in.
The last comment says it all. I really feel bad for Cole stans. They must either be girls or depressed guys. He gave it 2.5 Zeus slaps. I believe that's better than what he gave C4.
hey man i cole is cool but whats up with al this singing on hooks shit, every song is about some chick no homo
damn some thin skin little peachfuzz ass pillow biters done found this page.. they folks musta left the parental controls off they family computer or somethin. it's all love tho. fragile mufukahs can't handle a lil smack talk i guess.
little boy blue aka j-minor apparently got a legion of preteen stans on deck ready to take a bullet for his weak ass.
y'alls peoples is mad feminine i swear, talmbout hater this / hater that. it ain't even like that – it's a fuccin joke, b! these breadstick bone kids got they panties all tangled n shit. Stapleton niggas got copper pipe veins n piss battery acid. …y'all aint know nothin bout that tho
Niggers in the state that still like ghostface and ignorant ass rappers should all be shot! you guys deserve any criticism or mistreatments y'all getting! Ignorant dumb fucks…. If you like this blog, you are just as lame as the creator of this blog! WAKE UP U STUPID IGNORANT FUCKS!
ayo you sound kinda angry, b.
damn it look like Rayesha done released his rape goon troll hounds on the cybersexual assault tip. yo get ya feet off my mom's table, shit's made of glass, b.
..big ass shits.
I'm glad Cole is having a big first week, cuz money does matter. But real talk, just as a man, I would rather have the appreciation of 10 real mafuckers than 250,000 complete and total fuckin idiots. Money is still money either way, but Cole seriously has to be embarrassed about the kind of faggots he has standin up for him on the internet lol
"i'd rather have a hundred thousand true heads by me, than one million of your fake fanatics behind me.."
lol Cole is that dude but this shit was hilarious!
Im gonna listen to this album tonight and let ya know what its bout…So far if the Thor Molecules is right I will like 3 tracks…Other then that when he said my man "got 5 Memphis bleek durag under the fitteds out of 5" i couldnt stop laughing till my boss told me he gonna send me home if i dont stop…that was awesome keep it up THE HANDS OF ZEUS HAVE SPOKEN!!!
ima a cole fan and i love the album.. this shyt was a fuggin good laugh tho lmao.. nothin will ever e funnier then the carter 4 review haha now thats a classic one lol
How is this nigga so funny? jesus, every review is funny as shit
This shit weak as hell son. How many times we need to hear a nigga talkin about his rise to the top. Nigga gonna be swimming in 100 dolla bills talkin bout how po he is.
wackass review from someone who's obviously too "niggerish" to appreciate more intelligent rap…you're really gonna diss Lost Ones? Cole's telling a real life story on that track son…not everybody's a gun-toting gangsta who raps about how bad the projects are and how he wants to get out but for some reason can't… real wack sir
Why do ya'll always gotta immediately assume just cuz dude is clowning J Cole or Drake, or any of these other "soft niggas" that it's because they don't rap about drugs, guns and bitches? Is that the only other alternative? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that the Mighty Hands of Zeus LOL aka P-Tone has never had any negative shit to say about Black Thought, Common, Mos Def, Kweli, Blu and countless other dudes who don't rhyme about that shit AND sing hooks, tackle "soft" topics, so on and so forth. Maybe it doesn't just come down to content, but how it's presented. And right now, as far as I'm concerned, rappers like Drake and Cole present that content in a very soft, boring, and gay way. I think that Big Ghost hits the nail on the head perfectly./
to the anonymous above me:
get the fuck outta here with that under-aged suburban white girl shit. lost ones is emo-rap bullshit. whatever respect lil jermaine used to have is now washed away with his tears. he just lost one.
I betcha I can out fart J Cole
…Ipod started floating around the room…black coffee, 5 sugars…..LMAO amazing writing BIG GHOST you are the man keep it real brethren! Cole has become very soft after hearing like 35 or so of his tracks earlier on when he was comin out (before he got signed) I realized he just cries or talks about women (in a boring non-entertaining way). Its pretty redundant.
Alright, I haven't read all the comments but all the comments I read were about how they either hate on J. Cole or on OP. Well, as an educated person (in case you don't know I'm mocking another poster here) the OP is being completely sarcastic, all his posts are. So yeah, you getting angry is pretty pointless, but then again, so is this post.
People who keep talking about what's "hot" and how people who critique the album are "haters" need to go jump off a cliff. Go read the "What is hate?" post so it can be clear what this brother is doing.
Oh yeah, if you think this is the real GFK writing this, you need get out more.
bullshit review. not the real ghost either
The fuck is up with this niggas unibrow?
cole stans so mad
bgf stans mad too but uniformly not as mad
bgf stans win
Big Ghost, I swear to God you have me laughin out loud like hardly nothin else dude. I remember when you was just commenting on 2DB, then you got a blog, then you got a blog with 100 comments, etc. Like I told you before dude write some plays or someshit, this stuff is hilarious!! Just wanted to comment and give some dap cuz this shit brings joy into my life through laughter and that shit is priceless. Keep it goin as long as you can!!
ALSO: LMFAO at people who think this is the Real Ghostface Killah. Ya'll real real real dumb. Dude takes Ghosts style and amplifies it to an absurd level and shit is hilarious. Also dude is obviously a fan of hiphop and is up to date with shit thats poppin in the blogs. You know youre doin something right when people take your comedy seriously. Like I said, keep it up as long as you can!!!!
"Look at all you fuckin crybabies catching feelings cuz your golden boy got a little criticism. How does that affect your ability to enjoy the album? You gotta be one insecure mother fucker to catch feelings over an album review, especially if the review isn't even about you! Big Ghostface wasn't feeling it, if you are then do you and slap it. It's really that simple lol."
fucking. truth.
hahaha u all make me laugh. he made it tho. hes on top while you all criticizing on the bottom. hahaha keep doing ur shit cole
funny how you all keep saying how fans get mad about the review but when you read the review its almost like this mothafucka has hate torwards cole. damn son i think someones a little jealous hahahaha. if u dnt like what cole n Drake doing wit the game then go n change it urself. bet ur ass u cant hahahahaha
his album better than any shit rick ross puttin' out, weezy, flocka, them niggas is wack. cole on some true shit
"damn son i think someones a little jealous hahahaha"
why you laughin' at your own shit? ..that aint even a tiny bit funny.
these little kids need bandaids n shit, i swear
i don't give two miniature fucks about j cole
J Cole is trash no matter what he talks about point blank period..
All u jcole stans come talk in 18 years. J Cole lacks substance. You need to have it from the get or you don't last even 10 years. That Drake clone will be forgotten. The real and parody Ghost will not.
I heard the Album before i read Ghostface reviews. And its funny how everything Ghost said i personally agree with 99.9 percent. I dont think the Album is wack at all its just not my type of music(and GFK actually said the samething) but i expect more from someone who is supposed to be the next Nas(my favorite rapper). I think the Album is good but its straight booty. To many Girl songs and topics i was expecting some real nigga shit. And selling drugs and Poppin guns has nothing to do with real nigga shit.
I personally like the Album but its one of those albums that you listen to now and one month later the CD will be in the CD collection catching dirt.
Some one said something about Ghostface songs (all i got is you) i believe she said she was a fat Korea White girl.(of course she is)"All i got is you" is one of the realest rap songs ever made and that soft shit on J Coles album comes no where near close to Ghostface song.
Also comparing J Cole to Ghostface is disrespectful. GFK is a legend and has been in the game almost 20 years.
As a life long Ghostface fan the only reason I read this blog is because I'm a fan and I love to hear Ghost opinion. I agree with most of them but not this bullshit. This nigga is bringing back real shit. If Cole wins hip hop wins and Ghost I've heard every song you ever released nigga and it's not like I haven't ever heard fairy dust coming out my speakers when listening to your shit. Ghost you got every right to despise these other niggas but you all the way wrong on J. Cole, this the type of nigga you should be promoting, this the type of nigga I've had hopes you would make a song with someday or something. My heart is broken over this shit. My favorite rapper of all time hating on the nigga who's my new favorite rapper. Fuck you for this shit ghost.
the album was dope as hell your trippin. and why take this guy serious look at how this guys talks
Cole World is dope. One of the best Hip-Hop albums of this year. And this is just an example of when an old ass, washed up rapper has nothing else to do with his time. If you aint feeling his music, fuck it, go in the booth and make something better! Truth is, you cant. It's sad, that's why i dont blame none of these new rappers for dissing ome of these old niggas. That hating shit is so wack. FOH, aint nobody checking for no new Ghostface music nor album. And by niggas like Drake not responding to shit like this just furthur proves my point on how IRRELEVANT he is to music at this point. No one cares what you think!
I feel like half of these cats who think BGF is GFK are trolls… Have to be.
the only ones hating here are the airheads talmbout "old, washed-up," etc. first of all you missin the whole point, SECOND: being relevant means exactly what in terms of music?? ..are you referring to the RAPPER GFK?? ..and whether or not he gets airplay on today's bullshit radio stations? ..or on VH1? you middle school comment-during-recess kids are some real dummies. get a clue
..and regardless of who's checking for a new GFK album and who isn't. that means exactly shit. he already dropped enough albums that shit on the entire careers of drake, jcole, whoeverthefuck you jockin' this week
"blahzyblahblah And by niggas like Drake not responding to shit like this blahblahblah"
-i'm guessing Drake saw how stupid Whine Khalifa looked when he tried to fire back at GFK/BGF, not knowing the difference, and took a lesson from the supreme stupidness that is WK aka Garbageburger Eater Wifer.. but that's juss me speckalatin nahmsayn
"the album was dope as hell your trippin. and why take this guy serious look at how this guys talks"
you should probably make sure you got your own spelling/grammar game tightened up before calling out somebody else's, b. ..just sayin
yalls don't seem to know what nonstandard vocabulary is. words is always changing, b. shit ain't science. people made up languages and arbitrarily changed them along the way. real talk
Okay, now that your done giving Ghostface enough head to get him by for the day, I'll say it once again, yeah he put out enough albums, so what! Don't even come at me about real "Hip-Hop"! I grew up listening to Nas,AZ and Jay-Z. Fuck his "PAST" work. Let's talk about the shit he's spitting now. Mediocore! Last few albums… Certified WEEDPLATES. So FOH with all that, you don't know real Hip-Hop music. Truth is, he's a miserable ass, old rapper, that has nothing to do but sit in front of a computer and diss the new generation of rappers. Like I said if you feel their "wack" and messing up "the game" do something about it. Make some more music, instead of appearing bitter and dissing them.
^^my man, you confused dog. come on.
plus who ever put out like 10+ albums n had them all be certified classics. some gon be better than others. and and and plus also the only ones bitter are dudes like you who all "he old, washed up, whatever whatever" this is comedy, man. we here to laugh. have a good time. here have a drink n relax, b
Hay stupid Anonymoous guy two spots up and the rest of the dick heads like him. This is not the real Ghostface. I think about 30 people said that on this blog alone. Stop talking about Ghostface's album or what Ghostface can or can't do. This is not Ghostface.
Yo Cole Album is hot but its straight ass. Hearing his mixtapes compared to this Album its booty. Its hot but its mad sweet. I like his shit(im listen to it now)but its sugar coded.
i dont ever wonna hear anyone compare this dude to Nas. Ever. Lyrically not even close. Personally i think Drake is better then him with the Lryics. But Drake on that Singing like a bitch shit and i dont be feeling that shit.
I fucks with Cole tho he shit kinda hot.
On that "Lost Ones" joiht, he's speaking from the female's perspective on that chorus. That's the girl perspective speaking when he says:
"I ain't too proud to tell you that I cry sometimes
I cry sometimes about it
And boy this shit hurtin
And ain't nobody perfect
Still we can make it work but you doubt it"
I'm feeling like four joints off the album. He ain't gotta be the 2nd coming of NaS, Jay, or Em. He can be the first coming of Cole and that's aight wit me. The album ain't classic and it ain't game changing. It's aight. He do be having some corny ass lines here and there, that shit is mad annoying. But he's aight enough to give his records a few spins. Just a warning though Cole. You keep it up with the corny punch lines and niggas like me will just stop paying attention altogether.
@ YUNG BLACC SOCKRATEEZ your gay you cant jus say no homo and your comment was clearly homo smh… but forreal i fuck wit his ablum but he does have some careless ass bars in each song i agree wit that
Review was funny as ever, but the album is good.
learn english you fuckhead, cole will shit on you
cole shitting all over himself with some of them weak ass lines. the boy need diapers.
..ever heard of a 'dialect,' anonymous fuckhead?
Yo to be honest I'ma mad Cole fan but I'm far from a stan. Some of these dudes or -clears throat- (females) on here be taking this shit waaay too serious. Wtf you expect, Cole wasn't ever gonna get critisim? C'mon son (Ed Lover) that whole sticking up for him is lame AF. He's a grown ass man who can handle his own. He knows he's dope & Hov does too, that's why he signed him. Just laugh it off cause honestly, most of the shit was funny as helllll.. lmfao. I'm still dying from the "Kitten Whisperer" & "Cordless phone in 1987" lines. Haha, it's all love at the end of the day & Ghost aint hating. Just a nigga with an opinion you know? One.
Who the fuck needs NyQuil when you have COLE WORLD?
Anybody getting "passionate" enough to get mad and defend somebody else's music from someone's OPINION is fucking stupid. Whether music is good, soft or whatever is subjective.
I kinda like J Cole… but this shit was still hilarious.
J cole is the best rapper right now by far…album of the last 10 years
look up … for the first ni99a wit the caps lock on the whole time…….
everything he says is on some sucker faggit shit… "gerbils" "cute"…. gay as fuck
Its not so easy to find quality hip hop these days that has made it to mainstream success, but by some miracle, J. Cole has been able to breach that barrier and make the transition from mixtape rapper to mainstream artist. The Dollar and a Dream kid has been on his grind, and it looks like its about to pay off with Cole World: The Sideline Story.
To all the people who make comparisons to Illmatic, you obviously didnt listen to Illmatic when it came out. You are probably a kid, who namedrops Illmatic to sound cool. This guy is straight trash. Well, if you like pop music and generic rap/rnb, then, I guess this is your shit!
Yo, the problem with people trying to digest a review like this is the fact of obvious bias. People obviously mad because they are J. Cole fanboys, ain't nothing wrong with that. But to think this album will be deemed as a classic is just a slap in the face to the pioneers of this genre. Some people have higher standards than others when reading Ghost's review. Others have the same standards of 14 year-old white girls from suburbia. In the realm of what I know of hip-hop, I have no bias…but my standards grow immensely when I dive deeper into the underground and find emcees and producers that just dumpsters anything that the people covet in this mainstream "hip-hop" game. People need to open up there eyes and ears more and shut off that damn radio.
If you can't respect this review to be humorous or entertaining in the least bit, then you are obviously a butt-hurt bias fan. Ghost most likely has a bigger hip-hop encyclopedia of brain than most of us and would probably talk circles around us on the subject of emceeing. So in that aspect, I wouldn't even dare to step. And yo, Ghost just be trollin and having fun, but people fail to see it. For those that do, big ups.
Cole just went gold & received a Grammy nomination. I guess the soft shit ur talking about is working out for Cole (see what I did there? Work(ing) out!!!)
My nigga taking shots at cole i rather play this album hundred times than listen 2 rolling papers & take care
Yo Ghost, let me put you on to the kid J cole.. he aint spittin no gutter tales about clapping gunns or robbing people because "he aint no street kat" im 32 years old & been in this town for a long time. no one knows who this kid is b! hes a young ass lil' dude. my town wasnt even poping off the way it was back in the day by the time this kid was old enough to come on the scene. he didnt see no parts of any of that shit! i read one of his first interviews in the source & the kid said he grew up hanging out in the rollerskating rink, on some ATL shit (the movie). us older kats was running around the streets, playing ball, smoking weed, chasing bitches… once again, nobody knows this kid! if he was anybody people would at least be like YO thats so & so's nephew, or thats so & so's grandson.. some shit like that right ? AND IM NOT HATING ON THE DUDE !! IM JUST TELLING IT HOW IT IS !!
first time i saw this i was pissed now i laugh even tho i love the album this nigga is fuckin comedy i hope he does blue slid park next
At the comment above me: I'm sorry, you're how old again?
old enough
I love J Cole but this was just too funny!
man you talk sooooooo much shit. you can never do what these artist that you bash do nowadays. or even speak proper english. thats why you bash them in this shitty blog and use humor to direct your insults so your audience takes amusement to read. How bout this, actually get signed, make a record, sell it and get noteriety, before you talk shit about any person out there doing. Nigga your so fucking disrespectful and where Im from you would get punched in the face for talking like a bitch. So STFU and make a proper review.
you dont know what the hell you talking about "B".
Funny thing to me about all this hate and whatnot… is all the rappers you really seem to love don't sell records anymore… nobody wants gangsta rap. Only like what 15% of all black people were born in the hood? And less than 5% were ever involved in gang violence? Everyone isn't a thug. Most people aren't thugs, hell A LOT of people aren't even thugs. Considering something like 70% of all black kids were raised in middle class suburban homes, I don't know where the fuck this whole perception that you have to be some gang banging idiot that fucks women doesn't raise his kids and never graduated high school to be real comes from.
Those "hard" rappers you love so much will never really blow up in today's climate. White people buy the vast majority of rap albums and the European dollar is far more valuable than the american. So if it's a choice between "real" niggas that'll never be important or these dudes that show honest emotion and thought but reach a broader crowd and get paid more, stay on the loosing side. It only makes your hate 10x more hilarious ^_^
Show me a rich "real" nigga that's influential and relevant in 2012. Matter of fact, show me 10. I don't mean that bullshit "they get love in the hood" considering no rapper appealing to pure black crowds will ever go anywhere, but a true "hard" rapper that has crossover appeal.
Dumb ass Mutha fukka, J Cole does it up. just mad cuz you aint him. if you had a chance to trade places wit em , youl be qik move. foolish ass hater try giveing a review with less of a bias pussy
LMAO @ the picture of the panda and the puppy. I'm weak over here.
Im just hopin that the reason this dude made his album soft as baby shit was to get some attention. Cuz its that soft cotton candy music thats sellin and gettin the spotlight. Drake, Wiz, Mac Miller, Flo Rida, and the rest of that bullshit. Cuz i listened to the cole's mixtape and it sound like he has it in him but maybe he dont wanna be categorized as one of those gutter type rappers. Forreal I dont think i ever heard kendrick, Jay Electronica, Big Krit, or any of those dudes on the radio cuz they aint put the pop in their music. I think J.cole is focused more on gettin a fanbase than the music right now. So the dude just tryin to make everybody happy. I he gets ignorant and gutter he loses the pop fans and if he gets too soft he loses the rap fans. So hes tryin to balance the two and the shit just came out awkward as fuck hence the lame bars.
I think J. COLE is ONE of THE FEW NEWER RAPPERS who RAP about REAL SHIT & NOT that BRAGGADOCIOUS .. MATERIALISTIC .. SWAG .. ARROGANT BULLSHIT (lol) J. COLE – JON CONNOR – BIG K.R.I.T – DON TRIP – VADO … BIG GHOSTAFACE is HILARIOUS with THE REVIEWS & ON POINT with who is GARBAGE or SOFT .. MOST of THE TIME .. but I think he need to SWITCH OUT J.COL for KENDRICK LAMAR .. GOOD KID IN M.A.A.D CITY was MAD LAME (lol) I will ADMIT I thought the BEATS were kinda WEAK on COLE WORLD .. ESPECIALLY knwoing J. COLE is NICE with THE (*PRODUCTION*) BEATS But I LIKE THE SUBJECT MATTER wether SOFT or NOT on MOST of THE SONGS … THE JAY-Z SONG .. THE BEAT & THE CONCEPT was DEFINITELY THE WRONG CHOICE though … I think PITY & ROLL CALL of of TE ANY GIVEN SUNDAY SERIES were CLASSIC & I dont know why he didnt put them on COLE WORLD
ho ever don't like this album can fuck off you all must listen to them dumb as neuron killing bubble gum rappers like chief keef or Trinidad James or 2 chains. Cole speaks the real dumb uneducated people.
Wow you're an idiot…
Seriously, you talk like you're fucking retarded. Why don't you learn how to speak English? It might help you make more money in life… No, I take that back. It WILL help you make more money in life.
I hope to God you're 16 years old and not a matured human being, because that would just be tragic to know that people are dumb enough to speak THIS bad after being alive 25+ years…
Amazing album, every track had a good sound. Classic
RT @hexhatesuall How rappers see me & @BigGhostLtd. pic.twitter.com/v3jjNF0R2k
About 3 days ago from ALL PRAISE IS DUE's Twitter via Twitter for iPhone
@Nasir_Matthers I think he can rap
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@Nasir_Matthers Sorry Nasir.. I stopped reading after "Jay-Z isn't a great lyricist".. Not sure if you went on to have any actual valid opinions after that part
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They need to stop letting everybody have a Twitter twitter.com/nasir_matthers…
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RT @YouCanCallMe_J The last 24h my mailbox has been on fire 🔥 ✊ pic.twitter.com/tQmM6Q8PIm
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RT @visecs IF BOBBY SHMURDA GETS RELEASED TOMORROW A NAVY BLUE YANKEE FITTED IS GONNA DESCEND FROM THE HEAVENS AFTER 6 YEARS OF FLOATING, CLEARING THE SKIES OF ALL CLOUDS AND GRACEFULLY LAND ON HIS HEAD! LET US REJOICE AND HIT THE SHMONEY ONCE BOBBERT SHURDINGTON IS FREED!!!!
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RT @brooklynvegan Stream @KAANLIFEMUSIC & @BigGhostLtd's new album 'All Praise Is Due' brooklynvegan.com/15-new-song… pic.twitter.com/A4u2p1Z9NM
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RT @PremiumCutsPHP Steak & Potatoes Vol. 1 executive produced by @nikpnthaplc2b @Rim_Davillins Video by @sunbronx Artwork by @Nanlib Mixed Mastered by @joeyfrenchmusic Except for 2 done by @PFCUTTIN @BigGhostLtd Gold Aura Prod. by @PFCUTTIN Ft. @EsteeNack @DaclothM @KINGBUBROCK Coming soon pic.twitter.com/vZN5vvH9gZ
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@Jared_Wade Flawless masterpiece
About 6 days ago from ALL PRAISE IS DUE's Twitter via Twitter for iPhone
25 years ago but still timeless
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The world cant touch Ghost purple tape pic.twitter.com/tQN6QVp2JR
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"Yo Hov pen me a hot two for this song" - Snoop I guess
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Mfs really re-unearth this factoid every other year. This look like a "verse" tho? twitter.com/rapcentury_/st… pic.twitter.com/KBiVIUemFq
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RT @LongLiveK_ That mf look like it's stupid as hell 😭 twitter.com/underwatervids…
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@angelinaonair ...than Curtis
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@angelinaonair Also wasnt on THE MASSACRE
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@angelinaonair Kinda make up for it. But yea Piggy Bank was trididididash. Also imagine being 50 n you let Game have the Higher beat n you get the Outta Control beat for your album instead lol. Pretty sure thats why Dre owed him a remix
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@angelinaonair If it wasnt for this run of skips maybe pic.twitter.com/a0CcnzMWPA
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Absolutely. After GRODT twitter.com/dantegoldz1/st…
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Available on all streaming platforms/iTunes M.A.V. & Rob Gates #TheDarkSideOfNature @MAVnothingmore @Chalkgates Prod. by #BigGhostLtd pic.twitter.com/QhlIRGZRup
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RT @demjointz @KAANLIFEMUSIC's #AllPraiseIsDue Out Now!!! Produced By @BigGhostLtd #UMadeUsWhatWeAre #UMUWWA pic.twitter.com/xfj7LltNYT
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Available now on Spotify, TIDAL, Google Play, Apple Music, iTunes, Napster, YouTube n all that shit... @KAANLIFEMUSIC ALL PRAISE IS DUE pic.twitter.com/rYaSne3ihw
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@LetItBKnwn @fadeawaybarber2 @KAANLIFEMUSIC Thats a MJ Space Jam reach if I ever seen one
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RT @fadeawaybarber2 1 of the highlights from this brand new album from @KAANLIFEMUSIC scored by Might Cocaine Biceps himself @BigGhostLtd 💪🏽🔥 SONG-"The Feeling" ALBUM-"All Praises Due" AVAILABLE- All platforms/tidal.com/album/142370106 This shit hits different so make sure y'all go support that💯💯 pic.twitter.com/IhFnLMB36O
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RT @BigGhostLtd Available now on all streaming platforms... Narrated by @KAANLIFEMUSIC Produced by @BigGhostLtd Designed by @JelleSmid #AllPraiseIsDue Vinyl via #deRapWinkel dropping soon pic.twitter.com/H1AGdybf8G
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RT @RapFavorites K.A.A.N. and Big Ghost LTD join forces for their new album 'All Praise Is Due.' LISTEN: rapfav.co/39C5ydu pic.twitter.com/X0ZGK7R90v
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RT @insommagsince96 K.A.A.N. x Big Ghost Ltd. Drop "All Praise Is Due" (Album) insomniacmagazine.com/k-a-a-n… via @insommagsince96 @KAANLIFEMUSIC @BigGhostLtd #AllPraiseIsDue #Album #HipHop
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RT @UFOFev The Ghost of Albizu. Prod by Big Ghost LTD. Vocals by UFO. Can't wait to get this out.
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text:
Monica Cruz was at an "Estudio Tampax" photo call in Madrid earlier today. If I were the folks at Tampax, I'd sign her to a long-term deal and have her peddle tampons all over the world if it means we see more of her. I asked Lainey what she's been in and apparently not much, but it really doesn't and shouldn't matter when you're this hot and your sister is winning Oscars for the family anyway. Tampax and Monica. Unstoppable.
While Monica was selling tampons in Madrid, Penelope was busy crushing my dreams of a Freebie 5 hook-up by smooching with Javier in Barcelona**. This is hot in general I think, but can someone please explain to me what her undies are doing at what is essentially chest level in the 3rd shot? Are those her undies? I don't even know. I mean I like seeing the tops of undies (usually smaller undies – thongs, really) cutting above jean lines but this is a bit much. Can you imagine for one second what this would look like if she wasn't wearing pants?
So this brings me to the core of this post. We need to have a Cruz-off to determine which sister is hotter.
Before we do, though, I need to set a couple of very important ground rules.
First, you CANNOT let Penelope's Oscars and Javiers influence your decision. We know she's more successful. We're talking pure looks.
Second and on the flip side, you can't let the high-undie shot ruin her for you either. So I have attached a few pics of Pene from Cannes as well as her photo shoot scene from Vicky Christina Barcelona to balance things out.
Check the poll.
**Pictures removed as requested by INF. Unavailable for web.