My favorite country playa (read: plair) potna is back at it again. The Country Sh*t MC Big K.R.I.T. dropped 4Eva N A Day, the follow up to 2011's Return of 4Eva. More of the same from K.R.I.T. (in a good way though): dope rhymes/metaphors, soulful beats with heavy oldies sampling, and his country slang, drawl, and flair. It's the kind of project that makes you wish you had a '74 Impala dripping with candy paint to drive down the boulevard on a warm spring/summer night. I just wish K.R.I.T. would hurry up and drop a full fledged album...I don't want him to use all of his good material up before he hits the mainstream. I really want him to have longevity...he's earned it.
Lil B is back with more based music with God's Father, a super mixtape (34 full tracks) full of pretty solid beats and slightly off-rhythm lyrics. Ok...sometimes REALLY off-rhythm lyrics. The man knows his lane and has a pretty big following. If you don't know anything about Lil B just know he's all about positivity, having a good time, and making music for ignant cats like myself to cook to (SWACK). If you're not a Lil B you might wanna pass but if you're based like me you GOTTA add this to your music collection. TYBG
Hope you all can feed your iPods with these tunes....I know I've been jamming both of these in the headphone during late night Call of Duty stomp out sessions (PSN-Dubnificent in case you didn't know). If I get quiet with the posts I'm letting you know why...I picked up the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection the other day. Playing through MGS2 right now and it feels like high school all over again. MGS has always been one of my favorite video game franchises. People say that MGS3...MGS4 is my favorite but to be honest I never gave 3 it's fair shake. Never actually had the game...or finished it 100% (don't judge me). My pecking order might change after I get done with all of the games. But this post isn't about video games it's about music...so go listen!!
Watched this video about Joseph Kony, leader of the LRA in Africa and the kidnapper and raper of many children in Uganda. Vaguely remember hearing about this on the news last year but it looks like the power of the innanets is really behind this cause. I know it's a 30 min video but take some time out to watch this. It's about an plan of action to make this guy the most famous guy on Earth. With that fame and awareness hopefully will make the world's governments pay attention and bring him to justice for his crimes.
It really makes me feel better to see YOUNG people really out and making a difference. When you're in college everyone has this immense amount of energy and hopefulness to fix the problem they're passionate about. But when you're out in the real world that interest seems to wane. My usually cynical ass was actually inspired by this...definitely will do my part to help the cause.
Allow me to geek out for a little bit. It's February so it's not only Black History Month* but it's time to start gearing up for the summer blockbuster season. This summer has some good ones coming up (Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises) but the one I'm looking for is THE AVENGERS. Two main reasons...one is that this movie is the culmination of a major nerdgasm that's been building since the first Iron Man movie came out. Marvel always does a teaser for the next movie after the credits (ALWAYS STAY AFTER THE CREDITS WHEN YOU WATCH A MARVEL MOVIE!!)...after the Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America movies they showed pieces that will all come together on May 4th. I've been reading up on The Avengers and the more I learn, the more I like. I REALLY like the cartoon series that's running on Disney XD...the new season is coming up soon and after watching the first one I'm ready. Secondly, I'm really anxious to see how these characters come together on the big screen. All of these main Avengers (Black Widow and Hawkeye are in the movie as well but they're not at the top of most people's favorite lists) are big enough to carry their own movies so to see them cooperate will be awesome..if Marvel does it right. Just because it works on the comic book page and in animation doesn't mean it works on the silver screen. I hope they don't have it go the way of Spider-Man 3 (too many villains that the story got diluted and down right confusing at the end). Trust and believe I'll be at the midnight showing...laughing at the cos-play geeks dressing up as their favorite characters. My favorite one has to be Black Panther...but since he's black he's not gonna be in the movie. Yes...I said it...America isn't gonna go see a movie with a proud black African king whooping ass. The X-Men will always be my favorite super hero team but The Avengers are pretty dope too..can't wait for the summer.
*This has to be the saddest BHM to date. We've lost 2 legends this month under dubious circumstances in Don Cornelius and Whitney Houston. I'm truly saddened at the fact that a 70+ year old man committed suicide...he must have been struggling with some major demons. And with Whitney's checkered history the rumor mill got started when she was found dead Saturday night. I'm sad for all losses (even if I didn't agree or like them...all people meant something to someone) but when celebrities die it's different because they touched so many people they didn't even know. Especially with musicians...their pain is our pain when we listen to it to cope. Not even ready to watch J Hud's performance...I'm gonna get emotional. May their souls (and the souls of all those that are gone) rest in eternal peace.
Here's a clip from a the new Comedy Central show Key and Peele. Pretty good sketch show...no Chappelle's Show but they're a good duo. This Obama is THE FUNNIEST shit I've seen in a while...especially when he brings up the Tea Party. You know that's how Obama really feels. Check your local listings for the airtimes nshit.
New hotness from everyone's favorite Asian rapper Jackie Chain (sorry Jin...only thing you had was a Freestlye Friday title and a short stint w/ Ruff Ryders when they were relevant). The Alabama rapper of 'Mack A Bitch" fame (one of the highlights of my LIFE was when he performed this at the Big K.R.I.T. show at Cat's Cradle last year LMAO) teamed up with the King of the Trill on a track produced by K.R.I.T. Country fried flows over soul samples...can you ask for much more?
So I'm at work Sunday right...working like a BAWSE. My friends sends me a link to a YouTube video of LeBron James dunking over John Lucas. I saw the title and was like "naw son, I know he can jump but he aint gonna jump over another grown man like that...that's too disrespectful." Then I opened the video and saw this...
I was like SHIT!!!!! HE JUMPED OVER A GROWN ASS MAN!!! I know he's only like 5' 11" but he didn't even bend over. At that point in time I was convinced that was one of the top disrespectful dunks ever (Vince Carter has AT LEAST two I think were worse).
But then...I saw Mr. Blake Griffin do this...
...no words man. Blake Griffin is not a human being.
Is the "Brown Sugar" neo-soul crooner on the way back? I sure as hell hope so...this man made some dope ass music. D'Angelo, more known for his nakedness in the "Untitled (How Does It Feel?)" music video, is apparently back in the lab working on some new tunes. He did some time in jail...where he apparently gained some weight (cut to droves on angry female D'Angelo fans starting a riot)...I'm not sure when he got out but I remember hearing a rumor about ?uestlove saying he was in studio recording. Well here's a HipHopDX article about D'Angelo performing a new song in Sweden. Hope he stays in the comeback trail...a new addition to every dude's "Get The Pannies" mixtape (every dude has one ladies...don't act like you aren't swooned out of the pantydraws when the right song comes on) would be welcomed.
Today Penn State had the public memorial service for the legendary football coach Joe Paterno. Don't have a whole lot to say about him...just that he was a great man that made just as much of a difference off the field as he did on it. In many instances he did more off the field...he gave a lot of his money to the school and even helped build a library on campus. Of course we all know about the child abuse scandal (I know if he would have seen the alleged attack first hand he would have done much more to help) and how that ended his record setting tenure at the helm of the program but don't let that instance overshadow all the good he did for so many men spanning almost 5 full decades. I normally don't agree with or particularly like Rick Reily's columns on ESPN.com but read this about a special bond he had with Adam Taliaferro. Even though they were bonded by a horrific injury Adam bounced back from, I'm sure many, if not all, had a story similar on how Joe Pa changed their life for the better. There was a reason all the football players circled the wagon when he was fired. RIP Joe Pa...you will be missed.
So...the other day my boy hit me up the other day and was like "what's the URL to the blog? I haven't checked it out in a while." When I gave it to him...I started to think...damn I haven't done a post in over a month. Not even gonna make anything up...got lazy as hell, started playing Call of Duty, and braving the January cold with this balla ass over coat my dad got me for Christmas. Feel bad for neglecting this blog...so ya boy is all rejuvenated. Because, see..I was juvenated, lost it last month, but then I got juvenated again....rejuvenated! I promise I won't leave for that long again....now with that being said...
MLK Didn't Die For This
So yesterday was the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr's birthday so I figured that this would be the perfect time to share some top notch fuckery I've seen on these here innanets over the past couple of weeks. This video is a series of news stories profiling this lady that has 15 kids by three different guys (just wow...smh) and has come on hard times. Apparently she's homeless with nowhere to go...instead of trying to do all she can to provide for them, she's pulling American's favorite card: blaming someone else. She believes that she is entitled to assistance to provide for her all of her kids. I...I just can't man. I know that some people come on hard times and need assistance. But as a gainfully employed tax payer I'll be DAMNED if I'm gonna subsidize this fuckshit. But on the other hand, the kids are the one who would ultimately suffer so you have to make sure they're taken care of. I couldn't be a local official...she should have had her uterus revoked after like kid #7. I know that the majority of black people aren't like this, but between the media (both news and entertainment) we're all painted in a welfare/lazy light. Makes us all look bad...just like this story my boy shared with me on Facebook about these two kids being burned up in a house when they were home alone but the aunt was more worried about her food stamps that burned up in the house. I know for damn sure Martin and Malcom ain't die for this shit. But what can you do right? I'll leave you with a quote from the great mind of Huey Freeman:
"I'm sometimes vexed at the behavior of my people. Yeah...'vexed' is a good word..."
God bless the innanets. While looking on Tumblr one day I came across this one page that made my MONTH. This guy has this wanna be gangsta cousin who has the funniest text messages in the history of all things cell phone related. If I had an inbox filled with these classics I'd share them with the world too. If you wanna read more here's a link to the Tumblr. Funniest thing I've seen in a long time...let the buggage commence.
Link to the video...the punk ass uploader disabled embedding
So last night I didn't go to bed until like 5am...usually it's behind not being able to turn off my iPod or get off YouTube. Last night was one of those nights...I had like a mini dancehall session in my bed. Sean Paul is a party reggae block legend (by reggae block I mean the same songs every DJ plays when they wanna go to the islands)...this man was the soundtrack to my high school grindage at the Sportsworld parties in Greenville (WHAT YALL KNOW ABOUT THOSE SPORTSWORLD PARTIES???!). From the track with DMX ("Top Shotta"...known by everyone as "Here Comes The Boom") to every damn single off his "Dutty Rock" album, this man's music evokes memories of music videos laden with thick, long legged Jamaican chicks with moves that would had a 15 year old Dub contemplating denouncing his American citizenship and move to Jamaica(SN: those dark skinned Jamaican women in those videos?? if I would have seen them in person when I was in high school I would have given them my whole McDonald's check...they were always my favorite). Here's to Sean Paul...one of the only artists that can turn any social gathering to a danchall party.
First off...hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and at to your heart's content. I know I had a good time fellowshipping with the family...ate and drifted in and out consciousness.
AND NOW FINALLY...we have arrived at the 2011 Christmas season. Contrary to what the retailers will have you think, Christmas doesn't start until after Thanksgiving...not after Halloween (like the malls do...smh). Everyone has their own Christmas song that reminds them of Christmas past. For me...this song marked December on Rap City (you know...when it was good). RIP Nate Dogg...classic track man from your good folks at Death Row Records.
Those crazy asses over at PETA are at it again, trying to ruin the fun of the masses. The animal rights organization is taking issue with the Tanooki suit that Mario will don in the newest Mario video game (the same one he's been wearing since 1987 or so). PETA thinks that Mario will have people hunting real life Tanooki racoons for their fur...I guess so people can try to fly like Mario does. For one...I never knew the name of the suit until this story came about. Two, even for the people who knew the name of the suit...how many people people actually knew that it was a real animal? *Katt Williams voice* Dont worry...I'll wait. Now I do agree that the fur trade is pretty bad in how they poach some animals out of existence but going after a video game character isn't the answer....but they don't hear that over the hum of their hybrid car's engine. Damn hippies
I would like to take this time to apologize to my small but loyal following for nreglecting my blog over the last week. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 came out and has completely taken over my life. I've been drinking Mountain Dew by the case to get the bottle caps for double XP points. Carzy thing is...I'm not a big soda fan at all. I swear...do not judge me in any way, shape, or form.
Another November...another edition of Call Of Duty game. This year's iteration is Modern Warfare 3, a sequel to 2009's Modern Warfare 2 and is sure to break all kinds of sales records (early estimates have 1st day sales in the US and UK at 6.5 million units). MW3 is definitely a solid game and a marked improvement from MW2 in many areas. The story is short of course (haven't played it all the way through...where they do that at?) but it's still compelling. It's very hard to just play one mission without getting temporarily sucked into the story. 99.999% of the people who bought the game for the online multiplayer. It's deep and even more rewarding this time around. They've revamped the weapon leveling and kill streaks...not gonna go too in depth with the changes (not gonna turn this into a full-fledged game review) but it's very obvious that they focused on keeping the game balanced while rewarding players for long streaks. They even expanded the Special Operations and added a Survival Mode (think Gears Of War's horde mode) for even more online co-op play. The graphics look more refined and smooth...A LOT better than Black Ops. If you're on the fence about the game I would strongly suggest you take the leap if you want to have a deep online multiplayer experience.
In other dope ass video games news, the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection finally dropped (same day as MW3...the people @ Konami must not have calanders). This 2 disc set contains remastered versions of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. The set also includes the PSP's Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and some SNES Metal Gear games. This is a must have for any Metal Gear Solid fan (such as myself....HUGE CHRISTMAS PRESENT HINT!!!!). The games have been remastered in HD so you can enjoy them on your PS3 in all of their cinematic glory. Also a plus for people who don't have a PSP and haven't played Peace Walker yet. One of my biggest beefs with the PlayStation Network (in relation to Xbox Live) is that they don't sell PS2 games for download (probably because Sony is still selling a good number of PS2s at a wallet friendly $99 price point). If you want to play old games you have to wait for the studio to re-release the game...takes a lot longer and is usually a little more expensive. But the upside is they're normally released in HD for the first time....patience is a virtue FTW. This fall/holiday season has been chock full of top notch titles just itching to get bought, such as Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield, Skyrim, Saint's Row 3, and Assassain's Creed: Revalations just to name a few.. I'm tapped out until the first of next year....I have too many Christmas presents to buy. I have to be responsible and all that...being a grown up sucks. Happy playing!
Happy Bank Transfer Day! So I know you're probably thinking "What the hell is Bank Transfer Day?" It's the day when you're supposed to ditch your bank in favor of a credit union. Kind of hard today since many credit unions aren't open on Saturdays but the concept is to leave those corrupt institutions and place your hard earned money is more likely to work for you. This year's iteration of this concept has taken a new tenor because of the Occupy Wall Street movement and the recent fees that banks are trying to force down their customer's throats, such as a $5 monthly fee to use a debt card. Now, truth me told, I work for a credit union so this may come across as a sales pitch for the one I work...which is why I won't tell you where I work (most of my close friends already know anyway lol). I'm sharing this because the credit union approach is completely different from the bank approach. Banks are there to serve their shareholders and to give them a return on their investment. To that end, they will do anything to keep their profit margins high. With the credit card/overdraft fee reform a couple of years ago, banks were scrambling to recoup those fees. That's why free checking accounts went away and some banks are even charging for teller services and paper statements. Banks used to give you something for your trouble (i.e. interest on your accounts) for having your money in their institution that they were going to lend out and make money on. What a novel concept...right? Credit unions, however, are co-ops that exist for the financial benefit for the entire membership. They're not there to make money (let me repeat that...THEY'RE NOT HERE TO MAKE MONEY) but rather for the financial thrift of their members. You want your money held in an institution where they have your best interests in mind (i.e. low loan/mortgage rates, interest-bearing accounts, etc). If you're looking to change from a bank to a credit union you can start your search here at findacreditunion.com. Happy hunting guys...gotta save your coins as best you can these days.
I try to temper my comments on today's youth because I don't have kids and, in a lot of ways, I'm still a kid myself. But with that being said, the stuff I hear coming out of today's elementary/middle/high schools is really making me believe that the next generation is going to be whiny, lazy sissies that get upset with things don't go their way. Youth/amateur sports are where many young people gain many transferable life skills, such as perseverance, team work, and how to develop a strong work ethic. This is where me and my brother (along with other family members of mine) learned these skills, so when I hear stories about diabolical helicopter parents interfering with this crucial crucible of learning I can't help but feel a certain kind of way about that.
...which brings me to this story I came across today. A high school soccer team in Maryland is having their season cancelled by the school's administrators for a celebratory dance. Yes...a damn dance. Apparently the soccer team is on the playoffs and won a close game against a rival. To celebrate they did The Bernie, from the 80's movie about the cats carrying around the dead dude all weekend. Well apparently some punk ass parents from the other team took issue with the celebration and complained to the school's principal. Because the principal found this act to be in poor taste, they thought it best to cancel their season, I guess not to piss off any more families. Um...what?? Because some parents were mad that their precious soccer player lost a game and the other team was happy about it, that's ground to complain. Look, I've been on the other side of close (and not so close) losses where the other team acted up when they won. We were mad...not because they were happy they won (you should be) but because we let them lose. Moral of the story? If you don't want them dancing, don't let them win. Those are probably the same kind of parents that give participation trophies out (newsflash-not every kid on the team should get a trophy...some kids suck. It's life...if they can't deal with not getting a trophy, try dealing with not getting a job after college) and want their kids to go to schools where they don't give failing grades (so the kids won't get discouraged *blank stare*). Maybe I'm being too harsh...I can see of it was an over the top T.O/Chad Johnson style dance. But The Bernie? Give me a break...tell that kid to brush themselves off when they get knocked down. Fall down 7 times, get up 8.
If you don't get the reference it's from Star Fox 64, a game where you were the leader of a squadron of space fighter jet pilots that were animals. The rabbit, named Peppy, had one only piece of advice when shit got hairy (no pun intended): DO A BARREL ROLL!! Never really helped you do anything but make a spiral of fire when you got blowed up. Oh geek humor...the greatest brand of giggles.
So I'm sure anyone that pays any attention to the innanets news has found out that Kim Kardashian has filed divorce from her DUMB ASS (I'll explain in a minute) husband Kris Humphries. A whole 72 days of marriage bliss...more like marriage piss. I didn't watch the show but apparently things were sour since...forever. Hell his stupid ass didn't even know she was married before...how do you NOT know that about the woman you're about to marry? You should know everything about her...her blood type...what color her eyes (SN-great thing about being a black guy that's in to black women...if our woman is mad and she closes her eyes and asks "What color are my eyes??!" we can always confidently say brown....and if her eyes are anything other than that (i.e. green, hazel) then that's not anything we'd easily forget)...what she had for lunch last Tuesday. Cynics always say something like "I saw this coming"...I started to say that but I honestly can't say I saw it happening this fast. I thought she would at least collect some over priced Christmas presents, do a Christmas special/fashion show, be on Dick Clark's New Year's Eve special, and then leave his ass around the 5th of January. Boy was I wrong...she's given a new meaning to the term "whirlwind romance"...she takes it all the way home though. She leaves everything fucked up like a tornado just ripped through. She dated him, married, and divorced in LESS than a year (she met him last December)...ain't that a bitch?
But let's take a deeper look (no Ray J sex tape pun intended) into the hustler known as Kim Kardashian. She dated this dude (was sure to make some side money off of being at the games of whatever team he play on this year), got him to buy her a $2 million engagement ring (he's a NBA player...remember there's a lockout going on right now), made like $18 million off of THEIR wedding, then was like "um...naw...I don't wanna do this anymore." The kicker? HE WAS ONE OF THE LAST PEOPLE TO FIND OUT...word is dude found out on TMZ yesterday morning. That's some cold ass shit there..,.her pockets are lined with money and he's like "WUT???" He should have never dated her attention/money loving ass to begin with. Besides..I wouldn't want to marry a chick that's famous for having a sex tape with a dude that's not me. You know that nightmare that guys have when they realize their woman has had sex with another dude...that porn that pops in their head that involve a dick that's not theirs? Well he lived the real life version of that...the trash talk he's going to hear this year is going to be epic. Not like i expected her to be a saint...but I don't see how anyone can like her after this...that's just something a low down person does. At least call the man and tell him the real before letting it be known. Your publicists shouldn't know before your husband...but I guess that's the life in Hollywood. I hope he hires some lawyers to get a lot of money...but wait...his ass signed a pre-nump...dumb ass.
I had fun with the #ThingsLongerThanKimsMarriage trending topic on Twitter...but this is a real one: the NBA lockout (124 days and counting) has really lasted longer than their marriage. The "finding real love in a fake ass world" struggle is real.
