Will Smith

How to Spot Hollywood’s Nonthreatening Black Man (NTBM)

Top 10 Soul-Destroying No. 1 Hits

I don't like these songs. I feel it's ridiculous that hundreds of thousands of people actually paid out money and drove them to the top of the Billboard charts. While they might not necessarily be the absolute worst examples of the lowest common denominator's purchasing power, they quickly came to m ... More >>

Pack It In Rappers: Jaden Smith Is Here!

Mark it down folks, August 7, 2012 is the day that the rap game was sealed up by Jaden Smith, the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, and the brother of Willow Smith. You won't do much better than "Pumped Up Kicks (Like Me)," his just-released single which of course samples Foster the People's ... More >>

Men in Black Goes Back in Time

Songs of Luxury & Materialism: Porsche's Place In Popular Music

Behind every manufactured product there's a human being who designed it. Working alone or as part of group, they create and revise until that product is out in the world available for purchase. In the case of the Porsche 911 that man was Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, who passed away recently at the a ... More >>

He's Alive! Top 9 Musician Death Hoaxes of 2011

It seems like 2011 was the year of the celebrity death hoax which involved many musicians. We use that term loosely for the sake of this blog. Death is never a joking matter but you can't help but chuckle at the thousands of folk who got punked over fake death reports. Let's run through the most m ... More >>

Ask A Rapper: Discussing the Six Worse Rap Collaborations Ever

The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place -- lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good -- so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. &# ... More >>

How to: Pick and Peel a Pineapple

Anamaris Cousins PricePick your pineapple​Sing it: Summer, summer, summertime Time to sit back and relax I'm sorry, I caught myself summoning Will Smith there. Moving on. With the advent of summer and record high temps in the Houston area, all I can think of is fresh fruit and light cocktail ... More >>

Rappers Choose Their Favorite Fresh Prince Episode

​Today's Panel: Delo, Chane, Mr. Wired Up (Oh Boy), Mac, Brad Gilmore, #Thurogod, A.D.D., Renzo, Kiotti, Chingo Bling Not Invited: Uncle Phil Today's Prompt: Earlier today, "Fresh Prince" was trending on Twitter. Naturally, we reached over to a bunch of Houston rappers to see which episode o ... More >>

The 2011 BET Awards, Or The Vindication Of Chris Brown

​6:58: High-five to the Houston Press for flying us out to Los Angeles to cover the BET Awards. Cool move. Thus far, it's been extra fun. We ran into Kobe and, um, saw some people filming a movie, and... uh... there were some angels or something, and... there... there was... eh, shit. We're n ... More >>

Five Reasons Facebook's Facial Recognition Feature is a Bad Idea

And you thought this was just some lame Tom Cruise joint.​Last week, Facebook finally launched its much-anticipated facial recognition software designed, at least they claim, to aid in tagging photos of you. Immediately, concerns over privacy were raised and justifiably so. In a world where vi ... More >>

Idol Beat: Movies Is Magic

​It's time for American Idol, the show that dares ask the question, "What the f*ck is will.i.am still doing here?" Seriously, when do they make him a judge? In case you hadn't heard, Jennifer Lopez was selected World's Most Beautiful Woman by...Cat Fancy or something. This provided a brief re ... More >>

We Get The Celebrity Offspring We Deserve

​You always want to be careful when writing about children. Not only because they're the future, as Whitney Houston and Bill Hicks once told us, but because it isn't exactly sporting to use your big person vocabulary and rhetorical arsenal to tee off on someone who hasn't yet been beaten into ... More >>

Happy Hour Scene: Oishii

​The Place: Oishii Japanese Sushi Bar 3764 Richmond 713-621-8628 http://www.oishiihouston.com/ The Hours: 3 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 3 to 6 p.m. Saturdays The Deals: $1.25 domestics, $1.75 Japanese imports, $3 large hot sake, $4 house wine, 2 for $4 appetizers The Scene:Will Smith ... More >>

Atoning for the [Cinematic] Sins of the Father

A poor *black* kid? They'll never buy it.​That rumbling you heard yesterday was the muted "harrumph"-ing of thousands of American film journalists after news of the Will Smith/Jay-Z Annie reboot was confirmed: Overbrook Entertainment has formally announced a partnership with Jay-Z for future ... More >>

Ten Rock-Star Crushes We Still Haven't Outgrown

​Artists like Elvis Presley, Madonna, and Mick Jagger undoubtedly helped define the consumate rock star crush. But there have been a handful of worthy others along the way - armed with that certain je ne se quoi - who haven't left our radar. Years later, turns out we're still smitten with thi ... More >>

Does Being An Actor Compromise Your Rap Career?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn't a national holiday, Rocks Off will have some of them discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: Paul Wall, Damien Randle, Sam Sneed Not Invited: Freekey Zeekey, for getting Dipset back together ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Believe It Or Not, There Are Worse Ideas Than Kim Kardashian As Lara Croft

I can't wait to hear her English accent.​It's been a rough week: we found out the BP oil spill may spread across the Atlantic Ocean and threaten England's blessed shores (which, let's admit it, would be pretty hilarious) and dealt with the campaign in Afghanistan supplanting Vietnam as America ... More >>

Omotai Is Ready To Go All "Band Member Assassin" On Houston's Indie Scene

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to sheaserrano@gmail.com. ​Fact: If Will Smith makes a m ... More >>

Five Spot: Congratulations to Trae and His Family on the Birth of His New Son

Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we'll examine a recent bit of music news and, sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. It's five videos and occasional cussing. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com.​In June 2007, we became papa to twin boys. It was wild. And they were so, s ... More >>

Pop Rocks: New Blood For Hollywood. Please

​I used to review movies (over here, if you care), an endeavor I had to quit for a variety of reasons: my hectic neurosurgery rotation, for one, as well as the increasing physical demands of the new Mrs. Vonder Haar, Carla Gugino. But among the non-imaginary factors influencing my decision was the ... More >>

Inside the Rappers Studio

Are you an aging hip-hop performer? Then the Rap Institute of Acting is for you!

Five Songs For That Glorious Last Day Of School

As Alice Cooper once sang, "School's out for summer." And we've heard that song played again and again and again on the radio on the last day of school ad infinitum every year since. And I'm sure we'll here it today, somehow, someway, somewhere...And just as you can't really avoid putting "Rock Yo ... More >>

Five Songs For That Glorious Last Day Of School

As Alice Cooper once sang, "School's out for summer." And we've heard that song played again and again and again on the radio on the last day of school ad infinitum every year since. And I'm sure we'll here it today, somehow, someway, somewhere. And just as you can't really avoid putting "Rock You ... More >>

Turning the Screw: Bun B, Trae & Lil Keke, Rihanna, Snoop, Eminem vs. Nick Cannon, Jay-Z, T.I., E-40, South Park Mexican and More

Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: "Grey Cassette," Trae feat Bun B and Lil Keke Wire To Wire Ummm, we're not going to link to them, but s ... More >>

Tommy Davidson

Web exclusive!

The Houston Suburb Known As The Hill Country

The LBJ Ranch, just minutes outside the 610 loopThings we learned today: The Hill Country is a suburb of Houston. At least to Canadians.The National Post, a Canadian newspaper, took note that Barack Obama was the first "urban" president in a long while.They had to stretch things a bit, saying that J ... More >>

Turning the Screw: Soulbrotha, Slim Thug, Will Smith, Lil Wayne/Michael Phelps, Jodeci, DMX, MC Hammer, Yungstar and More

Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: "Viva La Revolucion," Soulbrotha Wire To Wire Slim Thug says March will be highlighted by the relea ... More >>

Five Spot: Prince Drives Us to Distraction

Welcome back to The Five Spot, another new Rocks Off recurrent. Every Friday (but sometimes Monday), we'll examine a recent bit of music news and list five reasons why it's either brilliant or dumb-assed. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. So we were all pumped about the songs that the enig ... More >>

It's a Miserable Life in Seven Pounds

Will Smith encores his Pursuit of Happyness

Ralph Macchio: The One and Only Karate Kid

No, my God, NO! There is only one Daniel LaRusso and his name is Ralph “Stone Fox” Macchio! Such was my reaction when I heard word this week that Will Smith’s nauseatingly adorable son Jaden is scheduled to remake the classic 80s film The Karate Kid. Now I have nothing against Will Smi ... More >>

The Karate Kid

Web exclusive!

Hancock Is A Superzero

The movie squanders potential greatness with lame humor and a half-baked hero

Last Comic Standing Auditions and Showcase

NBC’s comedy reality show hunts Houston for humor

I Am Legend

That old "last man on earth" setup? It really works

Rich Man, Poor Man

Rags-to-riches flick declares: Money does indeed buy happi(y)ness

Jada's Wicked

The Hipster's Guide to Rock and Roll Vendettas

And you thought rappers were the only ones who had beefs

Just One Hitch

Will Smith helps others find love, though probably not with this movie

Floundering

Cruel, vapid and unfunny, this Shark bites

Bet on Black

If there's a sure crowd-pleaser this summer, it's the fast-paced spectacle that is MIIB

A Snooze Runs Through It

Redford's Bagger Vance substitutes pretty for powerful

Fresh Princess

Tatyana Ali's back, all right, along with more face stars than you can shake a booty at

Movie Starr?

Enemy of the State parallels special prosecutor plots

Galactic Mediocrity

Men in Black thinks small and tries too hard

Good-bye to Summer

What this year's movies portend for next year

Alienating

Independence Day has a concept. What it needs is a plot.

Beat the Heat!

1996 Summer Guide

Action by the Book

Short People

The lowdown on 2-Low and kid rap