M.E. Exposed

So I promised a follow-up to “What Do You Call Your Vagina?” and here it is.  As a male this one is a little bit more personal to me, since I happen to have a …  I realize I’m a lil shy this time, ha.  Plus you didn’t really think I was gonna share the real name of my … on the internet did you?  Well I’ll tell you this, it has a name…case closed on that one.

Anyways, at the end of this blog I probably will have to make a decision as to which body part has better names.  I will tell you it was easier for me to think of vagina names than penis names, but any phallic object has the potential of being a penis name, which essentially give them the edge where numbers are concerned, but I already think vagina names are cooler.

Of course this would be no fun if I didn’t put my cultural spin on it, so here are the Jamaican penis names, followed by the rest I could brainstorm.  At the end I’ve given you a treat link, which will give you all the names you could ever dream of.

The Jamaican Penis:

Buddy (NB ‘Buddy Head’ needs to be mentioned, but as it implies, it’s only the tip of the penis and not the whole thing. Aka the Glans penis, which is the correct anatomical name).

Hood (90s dancehall music would have permanently imprinted this word in my mind, as it was frequently used in the genre).

Bamboo 

Big Bamboo (Does any Jamaican remember that ad for the ‘Big Bamboo’ drink?  Grossly inappropriate but extremely hilarious…”Have YOU had YOUR Big Bamboo?”.  Just saying it makes me a lickle nauseous).

Pee Pee (Well if this isn’t the most generic and internationally used word, but I feel it must have originated in Jamaica, because we are known for the double up…Chun chun, cho cho, pee pee, Yes yes, reverse back.  There is probably a gene for this on an X chromosome, cause everyone does it).

Others:

Rod

Dick

Cock

Wood

Baby Maker

Hose

Willy

Pepe

Snake

Magic Stick (This one always gets me.  I’d like to think my stick is magical, but hmmm, it’s kinda a corny way to think of it too).

Teapot 

Big Jim (I think this is appropriate only if your actual name is Jim.  Otherwise it’s uncivilized, lol).

Thing (Negative - Some people name cars, and musicial instruments.  I think my penis is more deserving of a name than ‘thing’.  It’s like that mongrel dog you call “Dog” or better yet “Dawg”. SMH).

Conclusion: The names of the vagina are more interesting than that of the penis, even though the list of names for the penis are way more extensive.  So again ladies be proud of your ‘lady bits’ because I think they are cooler than our ‘boy parts’!  

And lastly, Tumblr, can I have audio clips, so I can pronounce the Jamaica words? Ha.

For an even more extensive list of Penis names, check out:

http://forum.ebaumsworld.com/showthread.php?t=296388

A school closely linked to names such as John Mayer, Quincy Jones and Diana Krall, the Berklee College of Music is one of the best, if not the best Contemporary Music College in the world.  Still thought of as a Jazz school, Berklee has a new generation coming up that is destined for great things…and they do a lot more than just play jazz.  

(Mentioning jazz, the Best New Artist 2011, Esperanza Spalding is a Berklee alum and was also faculty for a while at the college).

With numerous changes in the music industry, from the advent of the internet, to the shrinking of record labels, the rise of reality television, and many a free Do-It-Yourself (DIY) music model out there, the world is now at the fingertips of some of the most talented musicians out there.  

The names mentioned in this blog are only a sprinkling of success stories that I am aware of, and is in no way a true representation of all of what is happening or about to happen in this new industry, but they are definitely worth mentioning.

The Berklee YouTube Sensations

The most recent YouTube sensations are the amazing duo, Karmin, who are best known for their uniquely musical, but quirky covers of many of the hot songs on the Top 40 charts.  Their most recent video had over 3.5 million hits in 1 week, as Singer/Rapper Amy Heidemann, blew through the fast-paced raps in Chris Brown’s “Look at me Now” featuring Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne.  With fiance, Nick Noonan on the keys and vocals in this video, this Berklee duo got their way from YouTube to the Ellen Dengeneres show within the course of a week.  With thousands of YouTube subscribers already, this exposure just catapulted them into another dimension, and now the world just wants more Karmin.

Karmin definitely was not the first, as singer/songwriter, AJ Rafael, was amongst the first of the YouTubers to become extremely popular making videos of cover and original songs.  He became a YouTube partner long before many, and with now almost 300,000 subscribers, AJ is not only popular for his talent, but his infectious personality, cultural pride and his selflessness, as he repeatedly gives to charities.

Pittsburgh born, Loren Allred, was discovered and signed by Ne-Yo’s compound entertainment (http://www.compoundent.com/artists/loren-allred), after they saw and heard her amazing YouTube videos, many of which were recorded in Berklee practice rooms, with fellow Berklee singer/songwriter, Kris Collins, who himself has a sizeable YouTube following.

Other honourable Berklee Youtube mentions include:

Orlando Dixon: http://www.youtube.com/museman18 - This talented Singer/Songwriter is on the rise, so def check him out!

Katrina Bello: http://www.youtube.com/katrinabello - This Singer/Songwriter is also one to watch!

American Idols

Hitting TV screens in 2002, the world didn’t know what was coming when it saw ‘American Idol’.  Now in it’s 10th season, many Berklee students and alumni have auditioned, but in these past few years only a few have made it to the final stages of TV, and they include the unrelated Ashley Rodriguez in 2010 (Top 12 girls) and Karen Rodriguez (Top 13 contestants) in 2011.  Leah Labelle who was one of the top 12 contestants in Season 3, would attend Berklee for a short while, after her Idol success, and now she can be seen singing backgrounds for the likes of Eric Benet and Jordan Sparks, while she pursues her solo career in LA.

Artist Songwriters

Then there are the few who were stars at Berklee and continue on to be stars in the real world.  Though not known to the world, these are musicians known in the industry and definitely parts of the world, and will no doubt be pillars in the industry.  Here I refer to the DC bred, now ATL based, Kevin Ross, one of the most talented singer/songwriters I have met, who is featured on “The Life” with Ja Rule, and who has been penning songs for some of the hottest artists out now.  

Similar to Kevin is the Nigerian beauty, Tiwa Savage, who was a star at Berklee, and not only struck a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Publishing, but is now ripping up Nigeria and the rest of the world with her hit song “Kele Kele Love”.

Honourary mentions go out to Devin Johnson, who is not only an amazing artist, but also cowrote “BiPolar” for Diddy’s group, Day 26.

Songwriters

Then there are the Berklee students and alumni who are following in the steps of famous Berklee songwriters, such as Makeba Riddick and Claude Kelly.  These include Ryan Tedder (not of ‘One Republic’), who cowrote “Me and U” for Kandi’s (of Real Housewives of Atlanta and formerly Xscape) latest album. (In the video below, Ryan is on keys).

Background Singers

Let us not forget the Berklee singers that not only double as awesome solo artists but have supported many of the greats, such as Denise Hudson, aka Denise Janae, who has sang backgrounds for John Legend, the 2010 American Idol tour and Miguel.

Tiffany Stevenson, now sings backgrounds for the amazing new British Pop sensation, Jesse J, and Robert Rivera is currently on tour with gospel sensation, Tye Tribbett.

Independent Projects

But even those who do it all themselves are still winners in this DIY day and age.  Twin sisters Paris (Berklee alum) and Amber Strother, along with Anita Bias (another Berklee alum) are KING - A soulful, but funky female trio that caught the attention of ?uest Love and Erykah Badu, and recently scored NPR’s Song of the day on April 22, 2011, all after independently releasing their EP.  The catchy but refreshing sound of their music started to spread like wildfire, and now everyone is trying to get a piece of them.  They can be found at http://weareking.com.

Conclusion

In concluding, I would simply say that the world needs to keep an eye on Berklee College of Music, and the talented musicians that are coming out of this institution.  And again this is only a small fraction of the talent within the school.  This wave is happening across all genres, and hopefully yours truly has got next on the ‘Reggae Soul’ genre.  

I think a great lesson from this is that no one should sleep on the talent that is out there.  Whether from Berklee or not, there is a piece of the pie out there for everyone with something to share, and the internet and technology as it is, just made it a little easier for the cream to rise to the top.  To all these talented artists and all the others I didn’t mention, I wish you the best of luck and much success.

Check out other fun facts about Berklee alum doing great things:

“Berklee Alum Wins 11 Grammy Awards” (2010): http://www.berklee.edu/news/1496/berklee-alumni-win-11-grammy-awards