With an authoritative baritone, conceptual rhyme patterns, and impeccable flows, Rakim is, without a doubt, one of hip-hop’s most influential lyricists of all time. So it is fitting to open his new album, The Seventh Seal, in a decade with “How to Emcee.” Aspiring rappers should take notes: “To be the true emcee, icon, or idol / The contents you put in your song are vital.”

Word wise, Rakim is still at the top of his game, but his choice of beats has kept him from making classic albums for years and The Seventh Seal is no exception. On most tracks, the production tends to overpower his voice. “Man Above” sounds like a Dr. Dre’s watered-down production. On “You & I,” you could hear the speaker-rattling bass more than his voice. The speed-up sample on “Message of the Song” gets in the way of the message. “Satisfaction Guaranteed” featured way too many bells and whistles including various drum tracks and irritating chipmunk effects. And what’s up with all the snoozing R&B hooks? Can’t believe he fell for that.

Getting through The Seventh Seal once again makes you realize how indispensable Eric B. was to Rakim’s success. Eric knew how to kept the beats to the minimal to let Rakim’s lyricism shined. After all, even the God Emcee needs the president by his side.

Because today is my sister-in-law’s birthday, her husband treated us to Izakaya Blue Ocean Japanese restaurant (its web site needs a serious redesign). The place was pretty dead for a Wednesday evening. We had some pork dumpling and fried baby octopus for started. They weren’t too bad. I ordered a seafood udon for dinner but ended up switching with Dana for Katsu Don. Dana tries to stay away from egg because Duke seems to get eczema every time she has eggs. I didn’t like Katsu Don that much because it had a sweet taste to it. I never liked my pork, rice and eggs sweet.

It sure felt like hell after shoving down a 10-ounce meat at Ray’s Hell-Burger. Two days ago, the weather was nice so I called up Dana for lunched. We decided to give the much-hyped burger joint (after the Obama visit) a try. We didn’t realized that Ray’s the Steak is now Ray’s Hell-Burger. I had the Soul Burger Number One cooked as recommended: warm red center. I mistakenly ordered B.I.G. POPPA for Dana instead of Big Punisher for Dana. The Soul Burger was big and juicy, which caused the bun to be soggy. It was good, but not extraordinary. I would prefer more greens to go with the big red meat. Dana didn’t like her POPPA too much because the blue cheese was too strong, which overpowered the meat. After lunch, I felt bloated the whole day even though I tried to ran it off.

Norah Jones has changed. She trimmed her hair, broke up with her boyfriend, dropped the keyboard and picked up the guitar. She even abandoned pop jazz for soft rock on her forth release The Fall. As for her singing, Norah remains Snorah. “It’s Gonna Be” is the only tune she sounds awake. Most of the time she rocks without getting out of bed. Even when the beats kick up a notch, she still lays back. “Light as a Feather” is best described her flow. That’s not a bad thing since she no longer sings about romance. Gone are the lyrics of “To not touch your skin is not why I sing.” On breakup tunes like “I Wouldn’t Need You,” “Waiting” and “Even Though,” her mood gets bleaker and she is unapologetic about thanking her ex’s father for raising him “so damn wrong.” Jones is slowly and consciously transforming her style.

Cung Tram is Quang Ly’s most personal record. “Xin Cam On” is an ode to his wife. “Me Oi Con Nho Me” is an eulogy to his mother. “Co Bao Gio Phoi Phai” and “Sai Gon Chieu Cuoi Nam” are his recollections of Hue’s drops of sunshine and Sai Gon’s peacefulness in the city’s hustling atmosphere. Accompanied by straightforward, mellow arrangements, provided by Hoai Sa, Viet Anh, Bao Phuc, and Vinh Tam, the eight tunes he has written lack the sweet melodies he had accustomed to, yet they are deeply intimate. Quang Ly claims that he made this album for himself. In that regard, he had succeeded.

Tim Brown, my former colleague at Vassar and the force behind Nice Web Type, has launched Web Font Specimen, “a handy (free) resource web designers and typographers can use to see how typefaces will look on the web.” Tim also contributed his first article, “Real Web Type in Real Web Context,” on A List Apart. Congrats on all the great works and thanks for the top-notch recommendation. You’re da type man!

Live and isolated, Keith Jarrett is masterful at improvising on the spot as if notes just rolled off his fingers. Testament, captured in Paris and London concerts at the end of last year, finds Jarrett once again moaning and groaning and displaying his spontaneous piano solos ranging from percussive to expressive, powerful to peaceful, and technicality to melancholy.

We converted our smallest bedroom into Duke’s playroom since we needed a space to put all the stuff animals his aunt and uncle gave him. They are his buddies. Dana got him a bead maze table. Although he’s still too young to move the beads around, he still likes to hold and spin them.

Yesterday, Dana and I were in Toys”R”Us and we found WordWorld characters on sale for $5 a pop. We went nuts and bought all the characters available in store. I had no idea what WordWorld was, but I was immediately hooked on the concept of combining typography with visual character. We posted them on one side of the wall so Cu Dao can choose which one he wants to take down to play. When I showed him the characters, he just looked and smiled. Dana has already looked into getting more characters.

Duke’s playroom is now becoming my favorite place to spend with my boy. I am sure we will accumulate more toys, but I am still missing a good stereo. We could kick back, play with the toys and listen to some jazz. Now that’s my ideal family quality time together.

Despite the rain, Dana and I toured nine daycare centers around our area and Dana’s workplace. We narrowed down to two choices: Horizon Child Development Center in Fairfax and Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia.

Both facilities are the cleanest. What sets Horizon apart is that it is the only place that has a full-time nurse on site and the cheapest fee ($270/week) out of all the centers. The staff appeared to be passionate and the kids looked happy. They waved and smiled as we entered (with our shoes off). When it was nap time, some of the kids just laid down with a bottle in their hands. They seemed to behaved well. They also get to learn sign language, music and Spanish. The only down side is that it is not too convenient for either of us. The traffic from our house to the facility is a bit crazy and the late pickup fee is $5/minute.

The Jewish Community Center, on the other hand, is a bit more convenient for us, but the tuition is also a bit higher ($1,350/month plus $70 monthly membership fee). The caregivers seemed care-giving and the kids appeared to be happy to be there. It had a good vibe. Jewish folks seemed nice and friendly, my only little worry is that Duke is the only none-Jewish baby. Is that even an issue?

We still have a bit of time to decide since grandma has extended her time until next summer. Grandpa worried that January would be too cold to take Duke to the daycare so he asked grandma to stay a bit longer. How sweet of him? We still want to get Duke to the daycare though so he’ll learn to get along with other kids. Unlike his daddy, Cu Dao seems to be a very outgoing baby. He loves to go outside and meets other people.

Another Bang Kieu? As if we need one more dude who sings like a spineless bitch. No offense to BK freaks. In fact, you should check out Hoang Nhat Minh’s Acoustic if you love BK’s countertenor. I can’t stand that shit; therefore, I couldn’t even get past the first track, Le Huu Ha’s “Hay Yeu Nhu Chua Yeu Lan Nao,” even though the acoustic recording is straightforward and intimate.

Nine new tracks from Quoc Bao off Q+B don’t gravitate you immediately, but will slowly but surely grow on you. Quoc Bao enlisted a wide range of vocalists from the least experience (Hoa T. Tran) to the veteran (Quang Ly). Often time, an album with too many singers distracts the experience and Q+B is not an exception; however, producer Dung Dalat has skillfully weaved the records together with his crisp, simple and lively arrangements.

Mai Khoi kicks off a slow, sexy, romantic, pop-rock flavor on “Tinh Ca Hong” then Ho Quynh Huong rocks up a shiny mid-tempo on “Xa.” Quang Ly is one of my favorite Vietnamese ballad singers, but he’s not completely sold me on “Tinh Khuc.” His penchant for over-pronounced diacritical marks (specifically the diphthong with centering offglide like “cũng”) sounds irritating. It’s definitely Quoc Bao’s fault. Viet Thanh who is unknown to me yet has thrilled me with his charming, powerful voice on “Anh Yeu Em.” Ho Quynh Huong returns with another hypnotizing mid-tempo on “Tinh Nhu Trai Chin Muon.”

If I have to pick one track from Q+B, it has to be “Quynh.” Tung Duong sounds soulful and mesmerizing. He has his way of adapting his style into song instead of singing a song in his style. Hoa T. Tran is the least impressive vocalist on the album, yet he impresses me the most in playing and experimenting with his voice. The best part of “Dep Thuong Dau” is the little scat he pulls off near the end.

My sun rises every morning around 5:30 with a big smile. I didn’t even realized it was raining outside this morning until I started to go to work. The showering weather makes me want to stay home with Cu Dao and Dana who gets to spend a whole Veteran day with my little sunshine. I am so jealous.

Yesterday, I scheduled six daycare tours for this Friday. We are looking to send Duke to daycare by early next year. Experienced parents, what should we look for and what questions should we ask on the tours? Any tips are welcome.

I still can’t imagine sending Duke off to daycare; however, I have seen many positive results with kids who go to day care. They often behave better and they don’t cling to their parents like kids who stay home. Most importantly, they can eat all by themselves. I saw a three-year-old boy who goes to daycare tearing up a piece chicken while another boy who stayed home with his mom being chased down to be fed.

Cu Dao started his solid food a few weeks ago. Like daddy, he loves sweet potato. For the past three nights, Duke gets his sweet potato while adults get dinner. From the way he chew to his commend for more food if I don’t feed him quick enough, watching him digesting his food is heaven-sent. I don’t even have to put the spoon into his mouth. He just leans forward and grabs the food. I hope his appetite will continue like this all the time.

Duke could also sit on his own, but not for too long. He simple doesn’t pay attention. So if he gets off balance, he just let himself drops to the ground (on the soft surface of course). Cu Dao also started to crawl. He finally figures out how to use his arms instead of his head. Whenever he raises his left arm, he lifts up his right leg as well as if both were wired together. He looks amusing with one leg and arm in the air. Whenever he sees a toy he likes, he would crawl to it, but stop about a foot away and scream to tell us to pick up the toy for him.

Cu Dao smiles more often these days, but I do miss that serious look on his face from time to time. The other day I was singing “Trong Vang” along with Phuong Thanh but with my horrendous, not-remembering-the-lyrics phrasing and he busted out laughing so Dana could capture his two bottom teeth.

Oh no, Foggy Bottom station is already here. I have to run. It’s going to be a busy day at the office.

I needed a simple business card that matches Visualgui.com to promote myself. Last Wednesday, I did a quick search on Google and Vistaprint came up first so I gave it a try. The site was easy to use and it provided me a template in Illustrator or Photoshop to create my own design. I picked Illustrator, put together my card and uploaded it. Everything looked good so I made the order.

The next day I realized that I didn’t want my address on the card so I called up customer service to change my order. The representative not only cancelled my order but she also walked me through the reordering process to make sure I get the credits for my new transaction.

I picked standards shipping, which listed for 14 days, yet my business cards arrived in my mailbox today. I ordered 250 cards for about $25 and the printing quality met my expectation. So if you’re looking for a simple business card without putting a hole in your pocket, Vistaprint is for you.

In the past few years, Phuong Thanh tries to mellow out, but nothing seemed to work. She sounded worn out and lazy. On her new release, The Best of Tinh 2010, she returns to her signature style: soaring from the pussy. Revisiting her breakthrough hits like “Trong Vang,” “Tinh Co” “Lo Lam” and “Hay Ve Voi Em,” she roars like a lion in a long and painful labor. At times, her vocal cords seem to burst from screaming too hard. In these new recordings, the producer had wisely kept the accompaniments simple—mostly with an acoustic guitar—to show off the Phuong Thanh effects: rough and raw on the surface, yet sweet and soulful underneath. This collection reminds us of how she had dominated the Vietnamese pop scene a decade ago.

With two opening lines joking about politic, my review of Asia 63 turned into a political outrage. I don’t mind discussing politics, but I chose to stay out of the Vietnam-War-related argument. As I have predicted, the comments got nasty. It’s really a damn shame that we can’t agree to disagree. Just because one doesn’t share the same beefed-up, traumatizing views Asia entertainment had repeatedly put out in almost every video, he is stupid, “eating communist shit” or a communist. That’s just ridiculous and I am done with it.

Let’s move on to a different kind of politic. Just read an enlightening post from a Vietnamese-American fellow who used to hang around here during Obama’s election and had inspired me with his sharp, thoughtful and witty opinion. Here is an example:

I heard that as President Obama passed crowds of anti-abortion demonstrators in Washington DC yesterday, they chanted “Kill the Bill”, “Kill the Pelosi Bill”. I wonder how they, mostly faithful Christians who consider abortion sinful, think Jesus would have felt if he found out that his followers reacted so angrily toward a bill that was designed to take care of the underpriviledge in society? These are probably the same people who feel elated when saying “God Bless America”. What they probably meant was “God Bless America minus the Poor”. If I was Jesus, I would say “God Bless America, minus You”!

Agree or not, I sure got a kick out of that.

When I first started my blog, I wanted to improve my writing, but I didn’t know what to write. I decided on reviewing music because I constantly listen to music. When I work, when I drive, when I eat and even when I go to sleep, music was always around me. Music always put me into a mood. I get emotional, excited or even sleepy and I wanted to just write down how I feel when I listen to a song or an entire album.

I struggled tremendously trying to find the right words to describe my thoughts on something I have heard. I began to read any music reviews I could get my hands on and wrote down passages that sounded good to me or something I would have said on my own. I have filled two notebooks of little sentences and paragraphs (mostly from jazz writing) I have collected.

So when I began to review an album, I would listen to it the first time straight through. Then I would listen again track by track and take notes. I then go back into my notebooks and search for the sentences that best described what I wanted to say. When I put my piece together, I revised the sentences and made it all my own.

Once I got the first sentence down, the rest came easy. That first sentence is always important to me because it has to be catchy. Sometimes just the first sentence alone would take me half an hour to write and I can’t write the whole piece until I get that first sentence. The entire process could take me up to two hours to write one album.

I slowly began to move away from the notebooks and just began to write on my own. I still read reviews and write down things that I liked, but I hardly refer back to them when I write. Nowadays, a review could be written in one commuting trip, which is around half an hour. I can’t live without my MP3 player.

In the past five years, I have penned 597 music reviews ranging from Vietnamese to jazz to hip-hop to live concerts. These pieces come highly from my personal opinion. I am not a music critic and I am not trying to be one. I just want to write down how I feel and sometimes they are highly favorable and many times very offensive.

I don’t have any music training background other than a jazz history course I audited at Vassar College. That class was an ear-opening and made me appreciate the art of jazz and improvisation even more. I also enrolled in Music 101, but quickly dropped after two weeks of class. The course attempted to teach students to hear, write and read notes. I started to picked up technical terms, which was good. But then I tended to focus on the technical aspects and lost the emotional connection and my personal approach when listening to a piece of music. I started to pick out B-flat major and G minor instead of focusing on the sounds of music.

I don’t want to write like a musician. I just want to write the way I hear music. When listening to jazz, John Coltrane and Miles Davis for example, I am not interested in how they had done it, but the end result of how well they executed. I am more interested in the feelings Coltrane brought rather than how high he could blow. I am more interested in the tones and the moods Miles played rather than the notes.

For singers, I am interested in the way they convey the lyrics than the way they scream at the top of their lung. Billie Holiday for example, I don’t care how she played with the timing, but I do care the way expressed the lyrics and the placement of words without losing the tempo. (Listen to her phrasing in “All the Way.”)

In retrospection, I had fun writing about music and get to share my thoughts with my readers. Although it has taken quite a chunk of my free time, the investment was worthwhile in improving my English. It takes more discipline than simply writing a journal.

Asia latest release was politic free? That was so unreal, but when the production left out two propaganda papas (Nam Loc and Viet Dzung), it did happen. With just two sexy (and pretty silly half of the time) MCs, Thuy Duong and Bao Chau, holding down the floor, Ngay Tan Hon (The Wedding Day) was entertaining.

It was about time Asia came up with a creative concept by combing wedding fashion with music, but let’s hope that we won’t see too many sequels like Mua He Ruc Ro, Da Vu Quoc Te and Bon Mua. One wedding show was enough already. And unlike most of Asia previous releases, Asia 63 was filmed in a studio and not a concert hall.

One of the standout video was Nguyen Khang’s jazzy version of Pham Dinh Chuong’s “Mong Duoi Hoa.” The black and white film gave the performance a classic vibe and Nguyen Khang carried the tune with calmness and confidence. Ho Hoang Yen delivered a sexy rendition of Hoang Nguyen’s “Bai Tango Rieng Cho Em.” She didn’t need to reveal all that cleavage, but it didn’t hurt. Y Phuong did a fine job of covering Hoang Thi Tho’s “Ta Tinh” with her soaring alto.

On the flip side, the duet between Philip Huy and Thuy Huong was kind of yucky, as if a father and a daughter telling each “love me with all of your heart.” Another horrendous pair was Trish and Mai Thanh Son. Their vocals were just awful. Doanh Doanh was doing her Chinese tune as usual and Doan Phi was dancing like he had a bee in his pants. The rest of the show were passable, but the fashion design would prevent viewers from pressing the fast-forward button.

Let’s get two things straight. Quynh Hoa has a young face, but an old, grainy voice, as if her vocal cords were sent through a dryer machine with a handful of small rocks. Although her forth release titled Tango 09, the album only featured three tango-style ballads.

All three tango tracks (Doan Chuan & Tu Linh’s “Tinh Nghe Si,” Pham Dinh Chuong’s “Xom Dem” and Duong Thieu Tuoc’s “Bong Chieu Xua”) are excellent because of her raspy vocals and effortless flow around the ballroom arrangements. Her jazzy rendition of Hoang Giac “Bong Chieu Qua” is exceptional and the intimacy of Nguyen Anh 9’s “Buon Oi! Chao Mi” (accompanied mostly by solo piano) is a reminiscent of the early Le Thu (before her ranges and tones are gone).

Tango also featured four special guests: Le Anh Dung, Duc Long, Quang Hao and Tuyet Tuyet. The weakest is the duet with Quang Hao on Hoang Giac’s “Mo Hoa.” The chachacha arrangement is robotic and Quang Hao’s voice is attractive but lacks the individuality. Overall, Tango is a solid ballroom dancing album.

Song Giang has a sexy, slightly smoky voice, but her song selection on her forth release, Uoc Mo Co Nhau, makes her sound rather sleepy. The leadoff title track is simply snoring and she has done her best but still couldn’t make Bao Chan’s overrated “Bien Em La Bien Rong” anymore exciting. Two tracks that truly showcase her talents are Duong Thu’s “Bai Hat Ru Cho Anh” and Nguyen Ngoc Thien’s “Tinh Suong Khoi.” On the first one she soars like a songbird with a wounded wing over the sensual Latin groove and the jazzy arrangement on the second fits well with her raucous timbre.

If Bang Kieu is your bitch, Phan Dinh Tung is mine. His latest album, Hat Nhan, is campy as shit and I am totally gay for it. Beside the lame-ass birthday track (”Khuc Hat Mung Sinh Nhat”), a heartfelt dedication to mom (”Nho On Me”) and a tribute to dad (”Loi Day Cua Cha”), the rest are sweet-n-sour ballads that are delicious enough to get you craved for at least three returns before getting sick of them.