Ask 411 Music 07.13.09: Emmy Rossum, More Michael Jackson, and Tech N9ne

Posted by Joshua George on 07.13.2009

Joshua's take on the recent plague of plagiarism, his opinion on Dr. Conrad Murray's involvement in the death of Michael Jackson, and who he thinks is the best rapper in the industry -- this and more in this week's edition of Ask 411 Music!

Come on kids, even the dishes are edible. If you want to have your questions answered or your reader mail published in the column, all you have to do is SEND THEM IN NOW!

Here come the...

Ask 411 Music Reader Questions

From Lexibug,

What do you think about Michael Jackson's doctor not cooperating with authorities on their investigation? Do you think he's responsible for MJ's death?

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Hey lexi,

I definitely think there's something pretty suspect about a doctor that refuses to cooperate with authorities in any investigation. As it turns out, this doctor has been reprimanded before for writing fraudulent prescriptions to Janet Jackson, and he has remained unusually quiet about whether or not he injected the powerful anesthetic found in Michael Jackson's system.

Now we live in America, where everyone is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. God knows we all mention that when we talk about MJ's child molestation trial, and people are quick to judge but something just seems a bit fishy here. I think one of the big things here, also, is that no one wants to blame Michael... everyone's looking for someone to point out for the blame. If we can't find someone else to blame, then we are forced to consider the fact that maybe Michael really was a drug addict and killed himself in the process of one of his "habits". Don't read into this that I think MJ was some kind of crazy drug addict, I'm just saying that it's not that far off to consider the possibility. Look at a lot of the other musicians that die of ODing on drugs, and we rarely stop to try to blame someone else. We usually hear that the person OD'd on certain drugs and that it was normal for them and we move on. For some reason when it was Michael, we all started looking for someone else to blame instead of accepting the facts.

Here's the real crazy part: if Michael's doctor DID inject him with Propofol, then he's most likely facing manslaughter charges. If Dr. Conrad Murray ends up going to court on manslaughter charges for the death of Michael Jackson, he WILL be convicted. The world has already begun to point their fingers at the man, and we all know that when we are ready to blame someone, we won't stop until that person is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I'll be surprised to see this guy not get the death penalty if he goes up against these charges. The Jackson family, and the rest of the world is screaming for "justice". We'll see what happens, I guess.

As far as my personal opinion goes, I do think we have to DEFINITELY ask some questions of this guy. Where did Michael get the Propofol in the first place? What were you doing there at the time of Michael's cardiac arrest (this is likely to be easily explained)? And the biggest question of all... why did you wait 30 minutes before calling for medical help after MJ went into cardiac arrest? That's going to be a very important question to be asked and I'm interested in seeing the answers. Off the top of my head, I'm going to guess that the doctor was indeed responsible for the injection and perhaps even the prescription of the Propofol, but I think he was getting paid enough from Michael that he just did what he was told. I'm aware that that's not an excuse and doctors take an oath and all that good stuff, but my point here is that I truly believe the doctor was doing what he was told, so yes he was responsible, but I think Michael had a part in all of this. I don't think he just randomly injected Michael with the drug, and I don't think he would've injected him without first explaining to him the risks, and how ridiculous of an idea it was. So there's my answer!

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From Jocabo,

If you had to pick one rapper to listen to, who would it be and why?

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Hey Jocabo,

What a great question. It's also funny that you would ask that question because as of right now I have one CD in my car that has been sitting in there for quite some time and I just can't take it out. The CD in question is Sickology 101 by Tech N9ne. I would say that if I had to pick one rapper right now to listen to, it would be this guy. Tech N9ne is putting out some of the sickest shit ever on an album and the rest of his boys over at Strange Music aren't far behind him. Krizz Kaliko, Kutt Calhoun, Big Scoob, Brotha Lynch Hung, Prozak, Cognito, Killa C, and Liquid Assassin are all on the edge of something great. Sometimes people ask why Tech isn't signed with any major record label and I think the answer to that is simple; Tech N9ne makes PLENTY of money in his 50/50 relationship with Strange Music's President, Travis O'Guin. I think there's another major factor here and that's simply that I honestly believe that Tech is still doing this for the love of the music. He's made it clear in songs like "Blown Away" that he has no love for the industry itself, including the platinum artists within it. In this particular track, he goes after Keisha Cole and Rakim for being on a "high horse" and acting like children just because they're supposed to take the stage before him at a show.

Lyrically, I'm not sure if anyone out there can spit like Tech N9ne and honestly, I don't really care right now because Tech N9ne is giving me everything I could ask for in a rap album, and has been since 1999ish. Trust me, if you're looking for a good rap artist out there, check out Tech N9ne. You can check him out and listen to some of his music on his last.fm page. Thanks for writing!

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From Taylor1999,

What's going on out there with all of the plagiarism cases? I've been noticing that there's more and more claims of plagiarism being thrown around out there, so what's the deal?

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Hey Taylor1999,

Firstly, welcome to the column. It's always good to see new people here at Ask 411 Music. You bring a good point to light and I hate to beat a dead horse, but I think the answer to this might look a little familiar.

One of the biggest things we're starting to see right now is an EXTENSIVE use of sampling in music. Everyone is trying to write the next big song that's on the radio and making millions in sales, so why not go back and rehash some of the good old shit? The problem lies in the fact that people need to understand that there's a difference between "sampling" and using someone else's entire track, or stealing someone's melody. Coldplay, Nickelback, Lil' Wayne and The Black Eyed Peas are just a few of many that are all under scrutiny for possible plagiarism, which in Nickelback's case, the claim is "self-plagiarism".

That makes me laugh, but the fact is that there are only so many melodies out there. Theoretically there's a never-ending combination of pitches, but I feel that with only 12 pitches in the western-chromatic scale, there's only so much we can create out of that. Also, since we are western, we can't handle music like the eastern part of the globe where there's no clear melody, or the sounds don't all sound good when they're meshed together. 20th Century music is big over in Europe and Asia, but unfortunately as Americans, we're not very capable of handling atonal music. This being said, eventually we're going to have to start recycling melodies and music, or we'll have to make it evolve somehow. I'm sure we'll figure something out, but I think the many claims of plagiarism as of late are somewhat unfounded. Now, if you listen to the songs in question, you'll definitely see why someone would suggest, but if Vanilla Ice can get away with "Ice Ice Baby" which was EXACTLY the same as "Under Pressure" but with an extra hi-hat beat, and MC Hammer can get away with "U Can't Touch This" which is pretty much the same as "Superfreak", then we can't say shit about these guys. Seriously. (Thanks for the corrections in the comments... I wasn't feeling good yesterday, so I had a MAJOR brain fart.)

Anyway, I think to answer your question, it really comes around to people hearing shit they like and inspiring to create something similar. It also comes around sometimes to hearing something an underground artist does and re-producing it as your own because you're mainstream and hoping that people never know. What you never count on is the fact that no matter how small you are, or how big you are, someone will hear it and someone's going to be pissed and call you out. So I think all the "plagiarism" cases are mostly due to the extensive sampling, remixing, and other ways of reusing the same music. It's being generally accepted, so don't expect much to come out of these cases.

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I'm getting more and more reader questions, so don't be left out! Let's get some more questions from you, the readers. I like to have reader mail and things to post, so all you have to do is SEND YOUR QUESTIONS IN NOW!

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It's time for...


Joshua's Top 5

This, my friends, is the Ask 411 Music Top 5 tracks from Tech N9ne's album Sickology 101:

5. "Areola Ft. 816 Boys" - this track is a bonus track and CERTAINLY catchy. Like it or not, you'll find yourself singing this all day. Hopefully it'll kick "Birthday Sex" out of your head.



4. "Party and Bullshit Ft. Big Ben and Shadow" - when you listen to this song, you'll definitely get behind the beat. With a great beat, you also can't refuse a rap song where the artist claims to have "been inside more women than Planned Parenthood."



3. "Red Nose" - with this song, you'll hear how Tech N9ne really feels about the industry and what they treat him like. Nice slow beat, slow hook, and some great lyrics.



2. "Midwest Choppers 2 Ft. Krayzie Bone and K-Dean" - on this track (which I've included before in this column) you hear some quick shit. The ability to not only have good lyrics, but to spit them so fast is just unbelievable. Make sure you hear this puppy, and know that this white boy can rap right along with Tech on his (the final) verse.



1. "Blown Away" - This song (as mentioned above) talks about how this "underground artist" blows away the platinum artists on their high horses in the industry today. Listen especially for the lyrical line, "Why call me underground when I rock the stars, and even they can't see me with a pair of binocuLARS."



Would you pick different tracks from the album? Let me know what your top 5 is in the comments section. Also, if you want me to listen to something feel free to hit us up with a YouTube link either at my e-mail address, or in the comments section!

Would you like me to reply to your e-mail in the column? Do you have a rant on a certain music related topic that you'd like to share? All you have to do is Send your shit to me NOW!

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Who wants to hear something new???


Things You Should Hear

Let's get in some good shit that everyone needs to hear!

1. Let's start up with some Evanescence - "Lithium". I'm a big fan of Amy Lee and I think you should be too:



2. Speed it up and we can have some Darkest Hour - "Sound the Surrender". I haven't heard much from these guys, but they're pretty good:



3. Another metal band we'll include this week is Winds of Plague - "The Impaler". This shit is crazy man, and I think I might have problems sleeping tonight:



4. I don't know who's heard of Psychopathic Rydas but it's basically ICP and a few other dudes rapping over other rappers beats. I hadn't heard of them until I went to get my tattoo retouched and the artist was listening to them. It's pretty fun to listen to, so check out "Ryden Dirtay" which samples the beat from the hit single "It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy feat. RikRok:



5. Keeping on a comedy front, here's comedian Rob Paravonian and his "Pachelbel Rant":



6. Finally, here's Emmy Rossum most notably known from her role in Phantom of the Opera singing "Slow Me Down":



If you'd like me to post your band or a band that you particularly love, all you have to do is Send me the YouTube link NOW! I'd like to start including some of your personal bands clips, or other bands that you think people should be hearing.

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So who wants to get pimped? If you have a website that your band hosts, or something that you think the general public would enjoy checking out, please send me a link and a SHORT description and I may include it in the pimping section of next week's column!

The StumbleUpon Link of the Week is DMV Denies Vegan's License Plate Request and it is hilarious as well as SFW.

Make sure you check out my reviews. You can see my profile with my blog and all of my reviews/columns here.

Also I'm a co-host and co-founder of a professional wrestling podcast. My friend and I have been running this show and our website for a little over three years now, and we'd love to have more listeners and since I get my own column now, I feel good about pimping it out. If you want to listen to the most recent show, you can usually find it (along with the most recent news which we get from a variety of other sites MOST NOTABLY the amazing 411Mania Wrestling News Section) at www.pinfallrecall.com. If you'd like to spend your days on our forums talking about how this Extreme Rules PPV is basically a repackaged One Night Stand, like all of us, you can do that on The Pinfall Recall Forums.

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Peace!