Tuesday, August 13, 2013

The VERSE Heard Around The World

"I'm Makaveli's offspring, I'm the king of New York / King of the Coast, one hand, I juggle them both"

This might be one of those "where were you the day when..." moments for hip hop. To say that Kendrick had himself a quite a day is an understatement. What a firestorm he caused today when his VERSE on Big Sean's "Control" hit the world wide web. My first text message came in at about 8AM this morning asking me if I had heard "The VERSE" and from there it was pure chaos. By early evening, even Phil Jackson himself (just one of many famous folks he named checked in "The VERSE") had responded on Twitter.

I can't ever remember a rapper creating so much buzz so quickly. And to think it was actually because of his music, not for some off the field shenanigans. Let's hope his boomshot aimed at his fellow MC's leads to more inspired work in the coming weeks/months. For now we say kudos for Kendrick for stepping to the head of the class and setting such a high bar.

"I'm usually homeboys with the same n----s i'm rhymin with/ But this is hip-hop and them n----s should know what time it is/ And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale/ Pusha T, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, Drake/ Big Sean, Jay Electron', Tyler, Mac Miller/ I got love for you all but I'm tryna murder you n----s/ Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you n----s/ They don't wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you n---as,"





Sunday, August 11, 2013

Hoop Group Father / Son Weekend


Had a blast at the Hoop Group Father / Son Skills Camp. Reese and I won the Hot Shot shooting contest for the second time in as many trips. The kid was on his game, making 14 shots in one minute, leaving me with only 9 to make to bring home the title (22 was the number to beat).

Luckily I didn't choke, I made 9 shots with time to spare and even sank an insurance basket to get us to 24. Nobody was touching that! Can't wait until next year to go for a 3Peat.

Thursday, August 08, 2013

His Presence is Charity

I put dollars on mine, ask Columbine /
When the Twin Towers dropped, I was the first in line.
Donating proceeds off every ticket sold /
When I was out on the road, that’s how you judge Hov, no?

Jay-Z is taking quite a bashing these days over his recent dust up with civil rights legend Harry Belafonte, especially after his flippant “my presence is charity” remark in reaction to Belafonte’s request for a heart to heart with Hov to squash the beef. Well here’s my response on his behalf, going out to all of you armchair activist types taking shots at one of the greatest rappers to ever live: quite simply, I think you all need to step off your high horses...

Tuesday, August 06, 2013

99 Problems

These little treats from Ali Graham's 99 Problems Tumblr just make my day. I hope he stretches this out to be more like 999 problems.




Monday, August 05, 2013

A Tribe Called Kast mixed by Nappy DJ Needles

A mash up of A tribe called Quest and Outkast? Too good to be true you say? Nope, here is it in all its glory. With all praise due to Nappy DJ Needles. I wonder what other magical things this super human can mix together: oreos and bacon? Eva Mendes and Halle Berry? Christmas and July? I now truly believe that anything is possible.

Concord SB Dunks - Just so Fresh and Clean

My latest sneaker purchase is one of my favorites. These kicks combine everything I love about sneakers. A simple look, a classic silhouette, a venerable brand, pristine beauty.  They look so good, I want to show them off as a piece of art, more so than wear them around town. I can see why sneaker heads become so obsessed with their new wears. They certainly give me a warm fuzzy feeling all over, every time I look at them. At some point, I guess I am going to have to free them from their packaging and take them for a walk. 


Lamont's Lists: My Favorite Hip Hop Songs Of 2023

For hip hop, 2023 was a year of looking back. The genre reflected upon 50 years of existence by throwing itself a bunch of excellent parties...