Zune Tuesday*

Ok so to make this blog better and my posts more frequent I think itll be good to designate days for certain postings. The only problem with this idea is that I probably wont stick to it, but hopefully I will.

So from now on Tuesdays will be devoted to emptying the contents of my Zune, yes I said Zune onto these pages. Why should you care what I’m listening to. Because I’m the shit thats why, and my musical tastes are above reproach. Got that? Good. Now without further ado, lets get it in.

•Nas and Damien Marley off the oft delayed and hopefully dropping soon collab album Distant Relatives – Strong Will Continue

This really is my shit right now. Fist in the air.

•New Luda off that Battle of the Sexes album – How Low

Early nominee for video of the year? I think so!

•WACKa Flocka Flame – Oh Lets Do It (Ohledoihh)

Why do these garbage ass rappers always get the best beats? Just download the instrumental and rip that shit yourself. Even if you have never written a bar in your life, it couldnt be worse than WACKa Flocka.

Bonus Throwback Joint

•R. Kelly – Half On A Baby

The Arruh in R&B killed this joint. I remember when this came out when I was like 11 or 12 and I knew it was the shit then. 10 plus years later – pretty much the same.

*One day I will figure out how to post audio on this bitch

The Matrix Already Has You: Jay-Z and the Illuminati

In the interest of full disclosure, for those of you who do not know, I am a huge Jay-Z fan. He is my favorite rapper, the Blueprint (the first one) is my favorite rap album and generally everything he does musically is on point. I even liked Kingdom Come (probably his most underrated album – stop snickering).

Anyway, when my man Felix was telling me that Jay was part of the Illuminati, I reacted like any Jay-Z fan would. I laughed at him. I thought it was pretty funny because I felt that the evidence damning him was so flimsy (still do in many ways). That is until I saw the ‘On to the Next One’ video. Man that is a crazy ass video.

Needless to say that it got me to research more to find out about the symbolism in the video and what it all meant. While I wont get into everything I found out there are a couple places where religious crackpots, I’m sorry, objective writers, try to take a crack at “exposing” the “hidden” (in plain daylight I guess) meanings. Link.

That guy’s site is probably the most comprehensive one that I have come across. And while he does make some very good points, I do not agree with all the assertions he makes or the conclusions he comes to (like this doozy : “Disturbing fact: Both Heath Ledger and Brandon Lee died mysteriously during the filming of deeply occult movies. Ritual sacrifice? That is also a whole other topic.” The fact that the Dark Knight wasn’t a movie about the occult or the fact that there is not any evidence, not even circumstantial, to support such a wild accusation doesn’t seem to slow him down).

But I digress. What do I believe? I believe that Jay-Z is probably a Mason. I also believe that there is a group of elites who run our political and financial infrastructures. The Illuminati? Whatever you want to call them, they are out there, but they do not have sinister intentions to bring about the reign of the devil or the apocalypse . Also, Free Masonry and the Illuminati are not interchangeable, so that needs to stop.

My problem with the people who are claiming Jay-Z is the devil is that they dont follow their own train of thought to its logical conclusion (more on this in a second). You see it all the time on the internets. These are actual quotes:

•”Watch as I break down how Jay-Z is an anti-christ” (smh so much wrong with that one)

•”I’ve been wondering about those water drop scenes for a minute and 1:44 to me it looks like the devil’s head image with the horns and all” (look up Rorschach test)

•”black angel wing and fire is evil demonic symbolism anyone who is good and not simple wud understand (akynos) .. it seems as if u are decived and retarded” (never mind that this person misspelled deceived)

•”Seriously…Jay also talks about Obama, Oprah and MJ. They all have a mission to mislead us..YES even MJ and Oprah!” (I love how in his ‘YES even’ part this one ignored the most important person in that group he listed – Jay-Z duhhhh)

So say, as the last person I quoted, that Obama, Jay-Z and YES even Oprah and MJ are all part of the same group trying to usher in a new world order; and they have their symbol on the back of your money ( the all seeing eye on the back of the dollar); and they control our government, then guess what, the logical conclusion would be that everything you do involving money and the use of our infrastructure is tied to them.

When you go to work, when you pay your taxes, when you drive on the interstate, and ,YES, when you PAY YOUR TITHES at church the Illuminati is in all in that. So again I ask, what are you going to do about it? Bang on the system? I doubt it. That would require the masses to actually do something. People would rather sit behind a computer and bitch about a rapper trying to do whatever it is they are accusing him of doing – I actually dont really understand what the point of telling everyone he is in the Illuminati or what it accomplishes – than to follow what they actually believe and do something about it

So just sit back and continue to watch Jersey Shore and Flavor of Love, pay 400 dollars for your i-phone, click to comment on the google-owned youtube and most importantly enjoy the next Jay-Z/Rihanna/Lady Gaga/Beyonce  video because the matrix already has you and if your not really going to do anything about it, you might as well enjoy it.

Lane Kiffin: Class Act

We are all just as surprised as you are

Just kidding, what an ass.  Did anyone see that performance? Amazing. Kiffin and USC held a press conference tonight announcing Kiffin as the new head coach of the Trojans.

The real story starts three years ago when the Raiders hired Kiffin as their head coach, making him the youngest head coach, 31,  in the modern era of the league.

Fast forward past the 4-12 record to the end of the 2007 season when rumors were surfacing that Kiffin wanted to leave the Raiders for a college head coaching gig. Several months and many hilarious Al Davis youtube moments news conferences later he was out of the NFL (in true crazy Al Davis style, he was fired in the middle of the 08 season).

Fast forward to his introductory news conference at Tennessee, where he proclaimed that he wasnt going to promise how many wins he would get with the Volunteers (turns out that number was 7) but he would be the hardest working coach in the country.

Fast forward again to two days ago when we find out what he was really working hard for; that cushy USC job that Pete Carroll just vacated.

By the way, if you would remember Carroll was rumored to be looking at the Falcons job in early 2008, around the same time Kiffin was accused of looking to leave the Raiders for an unspecified college job. Turns out Al Davis isn’t just a paranoid old man.

So about 24 hours after Carroll conspicuously (read: has everything to do with the impending hammer that the NCAA is about to drop on the program) leaves the program, reports surface that Lane Kiffin will be his successor. You have to love college football.

While Kiffin has not been particularly successful at either of his head coaching jobs (5-15 with Raiders, 7-6 with Tennessee) he is a recruiting genius and at the college level, thats all you really need to be a great head coach. The class that he recruited at Tennessee this year was one of the top rated in the nation (two four star d-lineman have already changed their minds) and with USC’s history and talent pool he will likely continue to be successful in that part of the college game.

However, I hope Kiffin sincerely plans on staying at USC forever. Because with all the bridges he has burned on his way (back) to southern California, if he were to fail at USC he would count himself lucky to be able to find work coaching on any level in any other part of the country.

Michael Steele wins the STFU of the Week Award

Beautiful isn’t it. Michael Steele just provided an outstanding example of feigned outrage that has become the norm in our political dialogue as seen through the lense of 24 hour cable news networks. Everything is a story nowadays.

As it shows in the video, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was caught saying some ridiculous statement (ridiculous only because he actually said it. I mean I don’t really disagree with what he was saying, but thats another discussion for another day), he apologizes, Obama accepts (again, another discussion for another time, sigh) and here we are.

The Fox News – read Republican shill – is outraged. Even comparing the statement to Trent Lott’s, the former Mississippi senator, statement concerning his affinity for Strom Thurmond, a senator known for his opposition to the Civil Rights movement of the 60’s.

Theres only one problem, Trent Lott never apologized for his statement, Harry Reid did. No Michael Steele, the problem isn’t that Democrats are let off the hook when it comes to racial issues, its that Republicans never apologize for their racial gaffes because they don’t believe that they are wrong. Black people are just too sensitive.

So please cut the bullshit. You don’t care what he said really, both you,Steele, and the idiot anchor just want to score (imaginary) political points by sticking it to Reid on a subject that you KNOW your party is weak on. No one is fooled, but your peons are gobbling this up I’m sure.

To me both political parties suck. Republicans just suck that much more because not only are they politicians, but they are often politicians from places where time hasn’t moved in the last 40 years. Which in turn makes them just a little more evil in my eyes.

Monday News Roundup

What a weekend of NFL Wildcard football. I saw all of the games except for the only one that was any good. Here is Peter King’s take on the weekends action.

Peter King Monday Morning QB

Harry Reid’s ‘Negro Dialect’ comment is making its rounds through the media punditry machines. Here is the Roots take on the subject.

Was Harry Reid Right?

Poor Conan O’Brien. I used to be a fan of his show at 12:35 but over the last year it got stale. I dont watch too much TV so I dont really care either way, but NBC is really dicking him on this one.

NBC to cancel Jay Leno’s prime-time show; aims to reshuffle Leno, Conan O’Brien

Some motherfucker in Hong Kong keeps throwing acid from rooftops onto busy markets. That gets two SMH’s and one WTF

Hong Kong Acid Attacker Remains at Large

You gotta love Rod Blagojevich. ‘Nuff said.

Blago Blacker than Obama

I’m going to try to post again tonight so check back with me. In the meantime enjoy some musical selections below.

Agent Double O Zero

SMH

Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas may be facing a year long suspension, according to a league source who spoke to Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski.

Last night Wojnarowski tweeted, “‘Stern feels like he’s been taunted by (Arenas),’” NBA source says. “‘He’s done for the year….at the very least.’”

If this is indeed the case then one could logically assume that the Wizards might be looking into voiding Arenas’ contract.

It seems like this sudden change in direction from the league—NBA Commissioner David Stern at first deferred to the investigation by the Metro Police Department—was sparked by two things stemming from Tuesday’s game in Philadelphia.

First was the photo that was taken during the team’s warmups before the game. Arenas can be seen in the photo encircled by his teammates, pointing his fingers like a gun while his teammates laugh at the gesture.

The second incident that may have led to this tipping point was Arenas’ glib post-game interview. Arenas described David Stern as “mean” after a reporter asked him whom he feared more, David Stern or the authorities investigating the incident.

If Arenas is in fact on the way to a season-ending suspension, this would be the third year in a row that the former all-star has failed to play in at least half of the team’s games. Arenas played in a total of 15 games the previous two seasons.

It has been a precipitous fall for Arenas since he signed a six-year, $111 million contract extension with the Wizards in the summer of 2008.  Arenas suffered two injuries to his left knee during this period.  Couple that with off the court domestic issues with his fiancee that went public and 2009 was a year that Arenas, and Wizards fans, would love to forget.

While it is extremely difficult to void a player’s contract in this league—look back at Latrell Sprewell after he choked P.J. Carlisimo and the Warriors were unsuccessful at voiding that contract—if Arenas is suspended for the remainder of the season, then the Wizards owe it to their fans to finally blow this thing up.

His absence would almost guarantee a third straight season without a playoff appearance. Meanwhile, the Wizards are over the luxury tax limit and have one of the highest payrolls in the league.

The situation is unfortunate for Arenas and his fans but this may turn out to be a boon for the Wizards as a franchise if they can turn the page on what has been to this point a failed experiment with Agent Zero.

Bruce Allen: We Are 4-12, We Have to Accept That

New 'Skins GM Bruce Allen

Well Bruce Allen’s press conference is over and now the question is asked what have we learned. Not really a whole lot in terms of who the next head coach is going to be. We knew about the Jim Zorn firing early this morning and I guess this was just an announcement of that fact. Nothing in the press conference pointed to Mike Shanahan being the ‘Skins new coach as has been widely reported.

However we do now know that none of the other coaches have been let go. Yet. Allen said that he would leave those decisions to the next coach. We also know that Dan Snyder will be less involved with the day-to-day operations of the team. At least thats what can be gleaned from the “changing of the culture” phrase that Allen said a couple of times during the press conference.

This is an important deviation from the way the Redskins organization has been run since Dan Snyder bought the team in 1999. For the last decade he has been an owner more in the mold of a Jerry Jones; hands on with the football side of the organization. And much like recent Jones teams he hasn’t had a lot of success with that approach

Obviously it has not worked. The Redskins end this season with a 4-12 record, dropping their record for the decade down to 70-90. This record was a direct result of the decisions that came from Dan Snyder and his long time friend/confidant/Vice-President of Football Operations – Vinny Ceratto. Just look at their coaching turnover over the last ten years.

-Terry Robiski* (Interim) (1-2)

-Marty Schottenheimer (8-8)  1 season

-Steve Spurrier (12-20) 2 seasons

-Joe Gibbs (30-34) 4 seasons

-Jim Zorn (12-20) 2 seasons

The only good hire out the whole group was Schottenheimer and he had the shortest tenure. The Joe Gibbs hiring smacked of desperation at the time and probably set the team back in the long run because there was no one on Gibbs staff who the Redskins felt they could hand the reins over to. Leaving the franchise to scramble to find a coach and ending up, unfortunately for both parties, with Jim Zorn, a person who had not even been an OC in the league.

So if there is a change in culture coming then that change has to involve different people making decisions from on high. Dan Snyder has the potential to be a great owner. He loves his team and is willing to break the bank on anyone he feels will help him get a Lombardi. He just needs to let smart football people make the football decisions. Cerrato was a yes-man and a sycophant. Thats not what Snyder or this franchise needed. Hopefully Allen and whoever they bring in to captain this ship are allowed the leeway they need to return this team to glory.

“I Can Show You How to Make A Mil Right Now”

I’ve been following this Michael Crabtree fiasco pretty closely since he was drafted. I first learned about him in that epic Texas Tech/Texas game in which I saw him single handedly bring his team from behind to win that game. I will repeat, he single handedly did that.

I know football is THEE team sport and it takes 22 blah blah blah. But if you witnessed the game you know what I’m talking about*.

And with that, I was an immediate fan. Fast forward about 6 months and I had to ask myself, is this guy being an asshole? For those of you who dont know, Crabtree was selected 10th overall in this year’s draft despite being named by many as the draft’s best player. He wasn’t even the first WR selected, Terrapin Darius Heyward-Bey was at pick 7.

Crabtree, according to the media, thinks he deserves first recievers money. Now this post isn’t going to turn into ‘the NFL needs a rookie cap system’ post, but man if your picked 10th, you get 10th money. I remember a couple years ago when Reggie Bush tried that crap after Mario Williams was selected ahead of him even though the whole world thought Bush was the second coming of Marshall Faulk **.

He isnt. But that’s besides the point, you take the money slotted to where you were drafted not where you could have been drafted. Now there are reports that Crabtree’s agent is saying his client is the one holding up negotiations. This would be a perfect time for him to adress the media and 49ers fans. We are hearing from everyone except the person in the middle of this controversy. Speak up Michael, tell the people whats going on. Maybe they wont hate you so much***.

*Single Handedly

**He’s been a pretty big bust based on his pre-draft hype

*** Yea not likely

“You Aint Gangsta Unless You Fight”

So me and my man E* were having a convo on the train about the hardest rap verses ever. Just the most gangster ish that made you get the stank face and say “damn, my man was angry when he recorded this shit”. While his blog post about this can be found here, he has a selection that while hard, has nothing on my choice. Beanie Sigel – Get Low feat Rock City.

The song was off his first post-prison album, the Solution. Beans has been known for some hard verses previously but this joint takes the cake. The song starts off with this mission statement:

“Yea, Its the Broad Street Bully back ready to lock in/ My hand on my twins underneath where my cock ends/ Niggas got cute once they heard I was locked in/ But heres where all the bullshit bout the Roc ends”

Now with the 808 thundering the boom-pap you know your in for some gangsta shit.

Fresh over the barbwire its the livewire/Disrespectful ignorant niggas/ you can suck my dick/ Drink my piss/ Could eat my shit/ Strictly raw dog when I enter you niggas/ No pause no homo/ No vaseline when I enter niggas slow mo with that broom stick nigga

Ouch**. This nigga is crazy. He talking bout raping some dude with a broomstick NYPD style***.

You niggas dont want it with fat boy/ You’d rather get your hair permed and pulled/ Hit with a strap on/ Im a grown ass man I dont play no games/ Death could be your destiny child/ Just say my name.

And with that the hardest verse of all time is ended with a great play on words and a shout to Destiny’s Child lol. Long live the Broad Street Bully.

Btw Beans new song is absolutely AMAZING. The Broad Street Bully drops Sept 1, please go cop that.

*His blog is hillarious

**Ha

***Smh

“If You A Gangsta This is How You Prove It to Me”

I was watching the Phillies-Cubs game tonight in which Pedro Martinez made his return to baseball for the visiting Phillies. The game was a 12-2 blow out for the visitors heading into the bottom of the 5th inning when IT happened. With the bases loaded and Pedro Martinez on the ropes the Cubs hitter belts a pop fly to center field, Victorino ranges back and….. Splash. Some drunken idiot throws his beer all over Victorino.

The fans in the midwest seem to have a problem with keeping their drinks in their hands. This unfortunate incident gave me an opportunity to revisit one of the greatest moments of television I’ve ever seen.

I remember watching this game five years ago. It was a Friday night game on ESPN that had pretty big playoff implications as the Pacers and Pistons were battling for position in the Central Division. I was just about to go turn the game off when Ben Wallace shoved Artest. Like any air-breathing male I wanted to see a fight, and man did Artest oblige.

I never blamed Artest for going in the stands. Theres a line you dont cross and the idiot (turned out to be the guy holding Artest back and punching him in the head not the dweeb with the glasses) who threw the beer should have been beat down for being such an ass.

Now Stephen Jackson on the other hand, smh. He went crazy, punching anything that moved. My favorite parts of the video are A) Bill Walton “This is a disgrace”

B) Mike Breen “Ron Artest has a look in his eye that is very scary”

C) The cop threatening to pepper spray Ron Artest after he is already under control, smh.*

D) The chair being thrown.**

And the absolute best part of the fight was Jermaine O’Neal’s slide punch taking out that fat guy on the court. Fans have a right to heckle but when you throw things on the court you have crossed the line and you deserve a crazy dude like Artest in your face. You wouldn’t throw a beer on him on the street, what makes you think its ok to do it in this setting? Hopefully the fan who threw the beer on Victorino tonight got what was coming to him.

*I guess his training just took over. When in doubt, mace the angry black man

**Seriously who throws a chair into a crowd of people. Thats gets two lol’s and one smh..