M.I.A.’s forth release, Matangi, is all over the map. In the first verse of the title track, she literally name-drops countries around the world (from Somalia Bosnia to China Canada). Even the productions are all over the place ranging from Bollywood synthesizing to percussion clattering to bass blasting to Indian chanting to Arabic clubbing. As chaotic as the beats are, they make the album so damn hypnotic to experience.

If you can ignore the lyrics, you can just groove to every track, but that wouldn’t be an M.I.A.’s record. What makes M.I.A. brilliant is that she not only could get your feet stomping, but she could also get your ear to pay “aTENTion.” As an artist, M.I.A is not easy to pin down. In one track, she’s a bad girl who lives fast and dies young. In another, she’s a lady of rage with an afro puff who is “more Jiggy than Will.” Elsewhere she’s a Mathangi who is a “Goddess of word” and who sings “like a whore.”

Sure, Matangi is a hot mess. It’s incoherent, contradicting and frustrating, and yet it is also so compelling, fascinating and engaging at the same time. And that’s what make M.I.A. unique.

With The Marshall Mathers LP 2 Eminem revisits his 2000’s classic that was filled with controversial lyrics ranging from homophobic to misogynistic to straight antagonistic. So now, 13 years later, what has changed?

For once, his attitude toward his mama is more positive. In “Headlights” he even apologizes, “But I’m sorry mama for ‘Cleaning Out My Closet,’ at the time I was angry… That song I no longer play at shows and I cringe every time it’s on the radio.” While he’s still being criticized for his use of “faggots,” he’s not using it in a derogative way toward homosexuals. In “Rap God,” he’s placing the word in the context of a rap contest. In hip-hop battle, which Em was a master at it, your mission is to belittle your opponent.

In retrospect, Em’s narrative hasn’t changed much, particularly in the misogyny territory. In “So Much Better,” he plays off Jay Z’s: “I got 99 problems and the bitch ain’t one / She’s all 99 of ’em I need a machine gun.” In fact, in the past 13 years, he has struggled again and again with fresh contents. From 2004’s Encore to 2009’s Relapse to 2010’s Recovery, he hardly moved beyond his usual targets.

Going into The Marshall Mathers LP 2, I was not expecting Em to change his narrative, even though I hope he would. What makes him still one of the best MCs in the game, however, is his jaw-dropping delivery. He always pushes his craft to the next level. In “God Rap,” he spits rhymes like Usain Bolt for six damn minutes packing in so many syllables per second without slipping a word or missing a beat. Based on his rhyme skills, he earns the title of the “God Rap.”

Stand up comedies have been my late night enjoyment. NetFlix is perfect for stand comedies on the iPhone with the earbuds so that I don’t wake up the kids. Here are a few recent watch:

Russell Peters’s Notorious: Peters has become a one-trick pony on racism and occasional nasty sex. His latest Notorious isn’t all that new, but still funny. The best parts are the interaction with the audience.

Aziz Ansari’s Buried Alive: Another Indian comedian. Was not feeling with one of his old routines, but Buried Alive is quite impressive. His topics are a bit scattered, but on point. Didn’t realize that dick pics are so common.

Ron White’s A Little Unprofessional: Lots of filthy jokes. More like a lot unprofessional. Still entertaining.

This morning I opened the fridge and there were new delicious apples and cherry tomatoes so I asked my wife, “Mommy, you didn’t get the salad?” She immediately threw a fit. I was like, “Wow, calm down mommy. I just ask a simple question.” She fired back, “No, you’re accusing me of not buying the salad.” Five minutes early, she was screaming at Dao to get him to brush his teeth. It didn’t seem like the day started out well for her. So I just packed up the kids and got to school.

As we arrived into the parking lot, Dao was still sitting with his head down. I asked him, “What’s wrong, bud?” He replied, “I am sad.” I followed up, “Why are you sad?” He started to weep, “Because I miss my mommy.” I opened the door, hugged him and told him, “It’s ok, honey. Mommy will pick you up after school, ok?” He nodded his head and all three of us went inside.

Inspired by Butterick’s Practical Typography, I gave my resume a typographic redesign. I went with the Libre Baskerville, which is an elegant serif.

Why updating my resume? I just want to play around with type. I am not looking for a new job. Just passed my two years at Mason Law and I am still loving it. Graduate school is going quite well for me even though it is highly stressful. The work is so demanding that I have to turn down several freelance projects. So no, I am not available for freelancing at the moment unless the project is so hard to turn down.

This well-written book, a collaboration between Nancy Skolos and Tom Wedell, examines the creative process designers had taken when they approach a project. Even though each case study is unique to the designer and the individual work, one can learn something from all of them. I find Graphic Design Process quite valuable for my own process.

Lorde has all the right ingredients to make a modern pop album. She has a sultry, slightly raspy voice. She has Joel Little who knows how to build minimalist beats to complement her vocals. She has all the accurate references to materialisms (iPhone, Grey Goose, Cristal, Mayback and Cadillacs). Yet what sets Lorde apart from the pop crowd is that she is not caught up in that glamorous lifestyle: “That kind of lux just ain’t for us / We crave a different kind of buzz.”

Even though Lorde is only 16, she is well-aware of the pop scene: “I’m kind of over getting told to throw my hands up in the air/So there/I’m kind of older than I was when I reveled without a care.” Lorde knows that with smart, witty lyrics, she doesn’t need to twerk to get to the top. Pure Heroine is a proof that she can beat the pop game with its own whip.

Dao is now into watching Barbie. How did we get here? He outgrew Curious George and Thomas Train, but I could never imagine he would be into Barbie. Now I really have to pay attention to him even though I think he could differentiate between real and fantasy. For instance, my wife was making fried noodle last weekend and she set the stove on fire because the oil spilled out and started to burn. Dao ran over, looked at the fire and told his mom, “I don’t like to look at fire. I don’t like real fire. I only like pretend fire.” He went on, “Mommy, don’t do that again tomorrow.” I thought that’s pretty smart for a four-year-old.

His little brother is now in that terrible-two phrase and he wears me out everyday. He continues to pick up new words like, “love you,” “be careful” and “please.” Sometimes he combines two words into one, like “bloon” instead of “balloon” and “plice” instead of “police.” Unlike his big brother, Dan is still not into any particular TV shows. His favorite toy so far is a garbage truck. He uses the word “dơ” (dirty) more than anything. Whenever he sees something dirty he would say it. If we were driving on a rainy day, he would say “dơ” the entire time. He still can’t pronounce “truck” correctly. He would say, “dump fuck” instead of “dump truck,” which I find hilarious every time.

There are many funny moments that I haven’t have a chance to write down. I have been insanely busy these days. School has been very stressful. I have been quite cranky lately due to lack of sleep. I can’t wait for this semester to be done so I can get some rests and catch up on sleep. It’s Saturday night I am still doing my homework. Alright, I am going to sleep now before the little guy gets up and scream. Peace out!

For the second project of our graduate design seminar, we are required to conceptualize a visual narrative based on a literary piece. Once I read the assignment, Jay Z’s “Somewhere In America” came to mind. What attracted me to the song are the witty references underneath the lyrics. For example, in the last lines he rhymes, “Feds still lurking / They see I’m still putting work in / Cause somewhere in America / Miley Cyrus is still twerkin’”. He used humor to comment on racism in America. In an interview with Elliot Wilson, Jay explains:

Yes, and that’s the thing, like reviews… think about trying to get that line. You hear that Miley Cyrus, you’re going to come to the wrong conclusion that you really understand the story. People are like, “why’s he saying ‘Miley Cyrus’ in the song?” Don’t you understand? It’s hard to understand the intention behind it. Again, it uses wit and it’s catchy, but the real story is about racism. The whole song is, somewhere in America, you can’t teach racism when your child is connected to the culture. It’s very hard to…

My original plan for the project was to create a poster with a map of America and then fill in all the visual images Jay Z mentioned in the song. The intention was to show the connection between the visual elements without words. Somewhere in America Miley Cyrus is still twerkin’. Somewhere in America Bun B is still rhyming about trill. Somewhere in America Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” is still playing in the Sonos. Somewhere in America, Jay Z is driving his yellow Lamborghini 135 miles per hour on the highway.

As I sketched out my design, I had a hard time deciding where the visual elements should be placed on the map since they don’t have to be in a specific location. The second important issue is that people who aren’t a fan of Jay Z and aren’t into hip-hop culture wouldn’t get the meaning behind the piece. As a result, I switched from a print piece to an interactive piece. The interactive piece solves the first issue because I don’t have to determine where to place the images. Users will get a random arrangement each time they visit the page. They can drag the pieces around and then click on a photo that they find interesting. Once the thumbnail is clicked, they get to see the entire image with the lyrics as well as the references Jay Z made.

I am really happy with the result and quite enjoyed working on this piece. This is one of the things that I love about school. I get to do fun and creative projects. Go ahead and play with “Somewhere in America.” I hope you enjoy it as well.

Hồng Mơ’s new release, Khi Tình 30, kicks off with “Đời Cuốn Xa Dần,” which is a typical pop song. She has a decent voice (strong and slightly scratchy), but the record is just average due to mundane melody and predictable production.

Just as I thought that Khi Tình 30 is going be yet another trendy album that pops up everyday in the Vietnamese music scene, the second track surprises me. Her rendition of Phạm Duy’s “Thà Như Giọt Mưa” is a complete transformation. The tune is arranged in bossa nova backdrop and she maneuvers moderately behind the beat. The result is quite mesmerizing even though I wish her phrasings were a bit slower to give more time and attention to the lyrics. She sounds rushed trying to keep up with the timing. She should have taken clue from Ngọc Lan’s version for this record.

Then again her version of Đức Tiến’s “Mây Bay Là Bay Rồi,” is impeccable. The Latin rhythm is a bit slower; therefore, she has enough time and space to devote to the lyrics and she knows how to work her vocals around the hypnotic plucking bass. “Thoáng Thấy Anh” takes a detour to a mid-tempo club beat. Fortunately, “Yêu Nhiều Hơn” returns to the bluesy vibe. “Dối Lừa” (Holy Thắng) digs deeper into the blues and her delivery is quite confident and poignant in conveying the deceived emotion. “Anh Hết Yêu Tôi Từ Lâu,” another tune from Đức Tiến, is my personal favorite and, without a doubt, one of the highlights in the album.

Khi Tình 30 closes out with Nguyễn Văn Khánh’s “Nỗi Lòng.” Hồng Mơ knows damn well that Hồ Ngọc Hà revived this classic with a bluesy makeover; therefore, she (and her producer) made a wise decision to swing it up. The result is quite refreshing. With the exception of “Đời Cuốn Xa Dần” and “Thoáng Thấy Anh,” I am so glad to see Hồng Mơ moves beyond the pop bubbles and explores the jazz territory. As the title is hinted, this album is for 30s and up. She definitely knows her target.