Christmas Is Officially Here

First gift in hand: a mini flask from my man Joe. This shall get some good use on this flight to Orlando. TSA, don't jealous me.

Crown Black & Mama Samp, see you soon.

Lupe Fiasco - American Terrorist III [MP3]

OK, excuse time. I'm pretty late with posting this is because it came out during one of my patented blogging hiatuses. Gotta love those, right? I actually figured that by now pretty mnuch everybody had already heard Lupe's American Terrorist III on somebody’s music blog. You know, with the innanets and all. But after my trip this weekend and nobody knowing what the fuck hell I was talking about, I realized I was wrong. This chilling continuation in a series of American Terrorist tracks [Part II remains to be seen, I guess] may not be as ground-breaking or anticipated as the original, but it’s still an exceptionally dope look at terrorism and its causes and effects, through three different perspectives. Say what you want about Lupe falling off [which I don’t agree with] but the guy has always been creative—especially on his non-album material. Also, it’s dope without them but here are the lyrics for added effect. Check it out.

Lupe Fiasco - American Terrorist III


Oh and the sample is from Kavinsky's Nightcall, another dope track.

Evidently, Dark Knight Rises Is About To Be Amazing

Yeesh. The build up for this movie is insane. And this trailer released yesterday will only add to the hype. It's gonna be a hot summer if Chris Nolan has anything to do with it.

So NY Was Extra Trill This Weekend...

Hell of a weekend in the city that never sleeps. Went up for my guys Jinx and Zan's birthday celebration. It was a blur of Bud Light, Patron and snooks from the moment I got there. Good times.

Next up, Orlando on Wednesday.
Hope Mama Samp has the oven on preheat.

BADBADNOTGOOD - Rotten Decay / Hard in the Paint [MP3]

I mean at this point, it's no surprise that I'm a pretty big fan of BADBADNOTGOOD. The unique mixture of jazz, hip-hop and classical music is an amazing breath of fresh air--especially coming from such a young group of musicians. The first is an original single entitled Rotten Decay that stays pretty true to the sound that's gotten them popular. The second is a cover of the timless negro classic, Hard in the Paint by sir Waka Flocka.
Enjoy both, downloads included.



Download: Rotten Decay & Hard in the Paint

Unh.

Watch The Throne [Behind the Scenes]

A behind the scenes look into one of the best concerts I've ever been to. Just a quick trip back home to Chicago. Nothing big.

I fully expect to see a full length video in the near future.
At least I hope so.

Ask Body Spray

Awl, damn.

Notorious Siri

Apparently Siri gets down with 90's Bad Boy. Kinda reminds me of this prank from awhile back.
Well done, Apple.

BADBADNOTGOOD - Brooklyn Zoo / Alex Swag / The World Is Yours [Video]

New tunes from the BADBADNOTGOOD gang. Dead ass, these kids get busy.
They also put out their rendition of She from Goblin a couple weeks back. Don't hit me but this has a very "Coltraney" sound to it. The dopeness.

Yo, I really need an album.

Black Keys European/North American Tour Dates Announced + New Album Released

The Black Keys kicked off their winter tour last night in New York and will be going strong though the third week of March. They've also released their seventh album El Camino today. Check em out when they're in your area, I know I will. Tour dates below:

• 12-05 New York, NY - Webster Hall
• 12-11 Los Angeles, CA - KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas
• 01-23 Antwerp, Belgium - Lotto
• 01-24 Lille, France - Zenith
• 01-25 Paris, France - Zenith
• 01-27 Hamburg, Germany - Sporthalle
• 01-28 Berlin, Germany - Arena
• 01-30 Milan, Italy - Alcatraz
• 01-31 Zurich, Switzerland - Maag Hall
• 02-01 Eindhoven, Holland - Klokgebouw
• 02-03 Nottingham, England - Capital FM Arena
• 02-04 Edinburgh, Scotland - Corn Exchange
• 02-06-07 Manchester, England - O2 Apollo
• 02-09-10-11 London, England - Alexandra Palace
• 03-02 Cincinnati, OH - U.S. Bank Arena *
• 03-03 Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena *
• 03-04 Columbus, OH - Jerome Schottenstein Center *
• 03-06 Portland, ME - Cumberland Co. Civic Center *
• 03-07 Boston, MA - TD Garden *
• 03-09 Washington, DC - Verizon Center *
• 03-10 Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center *
• 03-12 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden *
• 03-13 Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre *
• 03-14 Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre *
• 03-16 Indianapolis, IN - Conseco Fieldhouse *
• 03-18 Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena *
• 03-19 Chicago, IL - United Center *
• 03-20 Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena *
• 03-23 Norfolk, VA - Constant Convocation Center *

* with Arctic Monkeys


DC on March 9? I know where I'll be.

Even Herman Cain Would Laugh At This

Unless you were living under a rock this weekend, I'm sure you saw that Herman Cain decided to suspend his presidential campaign. Man, so sad...oh well. What's a more fitting way to bid farewell to everyone's favorite least favorite politician than with a hilarious voice over video? This is arguably one of the funniest things I've seen in all of 2011. Embarrassingly enough, I actually thought it was real for the first 10 seconds. I promise you can't watch this without laughing.

"Everybody needs toucan stubs."

The Rematch Is Set. Let's Go.

Well, we are who we thought we were.

Now that we've successfully dismantled UGA in the SEC Championship, LSU had earned a chance to play for the national championship on January 9th. Although it's somewhat shitty that Bama gets to play in the ship, I'm looking forward to beating them again.

January 9th. New Orleans. I'm there.
Unh.

Junius - A Reflection On Fire [MP3]

Whoa.

Every once in awhile you hear a song that's just plain old epic. A Reflection On Fire by the band Junius is an example of such a song. When this came on my phone on shuffle last night I was genuinely confused as to why I hadn't already posted it. Insane amounts of energy and dopeness going on here. Check it out in all of its awesomeness:
Junius - A Reflection On Fire

Freaking Cat.

File this under "things I can't get jiggy with."

ASAP Rocky - Out of This World [MP3]

Whenever you discover or hear about a musical new artist or group there's usually a song or video you come across that solidifies them as a legit newcomer. Over the last week, and much urging from Sterling and Modi, I finally decided to check out the LiveLoveASAP tape from ASAP Rocky--which is not so surprisingly dope. Outside the obvious choice of Purple Swag, the song on the tape that actually stuck out to me as extra dope was the very last song, Out of This World. I'm not sure if it's the multiple Jay-Z and Kanye references or the J.Cole-ish flow, but I can't stop playing this joint. Don't believe me? Go ahead and check it out. And while you're at it, you might as well go ahead and download the entire mixtape. It's definitely worth a listen.

Plus, you should probably give the Drake album a rest for a couple days.
Yea, I'm talkin to you Torrance.
ASAP Rocky - Out of This World

Swag.

25.

25. Black. College degree. No kids. Blessed beyond belief.

Fuck statistics.

Oh, and my favorite song ever. You know, because it's my birthday and all.

TODAY IS A HUGE DAY.

This guy's face pretty much explains it all:
I've been looking forward to November 5th for quite some time. And for very good reason. We finally have the LSU/Bama showdown that we've been waiting for. It goes without saying that we hate each other literally every time we play but a #1 vs. #2 match-up only fuels the fire.

In addition the Game of the Year, we also have Party of all Parties: N*ggas In Paris [A Birthday Celebration]. Fresh off the DC leg of the Watch the Throne Tour [pictures coming soon], we have a Parisian-themed birthday party for my good friend Victoria and myself. Oh man, it's gonna be a hell of a day.

Oh yea, about the game. I'm looking forward to a surprisingly dominant Tigers victory. Can't wait to see my Bama fan friends and hit em with the:

Geaux Tigers!

Chronicle [Movie Trailer]

Again, I'll attribute lateness due to my recent lack of consistent posting. This movie, Chronicle looks doper than dope. It's the story of a group of high school friends that gain superpowers after making a mysterious discovery. I'm mad excited even though the movie doesn't come out until....February 3rd. Peep the trailer and try not to get hype.

Yea, dopeness.

Tyler, the Creator x BADBADNOTGOOD - Fish [Video + MP3]

So first off, this is about two weeks late. Between work and being sick, mad stuff has happened since I last posted:

• LSU vs. Alabama has blown into the forefront,
• Coldplay released a new album, entitled Mylo Xyloto, and
• Tyler, the Creator finally got to perform with BADBADNOTGOOD

This is good, real good, Florida Evans.

This is the same BADBADNOTGOOD [aka Odd Trio that performed jazz renditions of some of our favorite Odd Future joints a few months back. From the video and tweets, this was Tyler's first time being involved in a trill ass jam session.

Check the video:

I would kill for an unplugged album of this.

And durred you to say something about it.

Kid Cudi & Cage - Maniac Video [Directed by Shia LaBeouf]

This was definitely a great Halloween present.

Even though it's been almost a solid year since Kid Cudi released Man on the Moon II, he's not done putting out videos for it. And by videos, I mean crazy ass murderous videos. This video [kinda] for Maniac, my favorite song off the album, is pretty gruesome and definitely draws some major influence from the Stress video from Justice. Check it out:

Whoa.

Um...Happy Holidays?

LSU vs. Florida...Let's GO.

Got the boys from FU UF coming through Baton Rouge today. With Texas A&M joining the SEC West next season, this might be the last time we play Florida on a yearly basis. Might as well go out with the bangiest of bangs. Not like extra hype is needed but this should add some regardless:

Oh, and watch for a big game from Tyrann Mathieu aka Honey Badger aka Tyrannosaurus Rex.

NBA 2K12.....Finally.

Welp, the day is finally here. 2K12 is in stores and even though it doesn't have rookies and we might not even have a 2012 NBA season, you still have to be excited for this release. I mean, you have to be. And the game intro is quite dope:

Man, oh man. It's about time.

Denzil Porter - Kanye West [Video & mp3]

You'd have to be a pretty new reader of this blog not to know how big a Kanye West stan fan I am. So you can imagine that I was pretty curious as to why rapper Denzil Porter named his new single Kanye West. Once I heard the hook [Why you gotta be such an assholeeee???] it was quite clear. This is a funny ass song with a pretty decent video. I wonder if Kanye's heard it yet. Check out the video and get the mp3 right after.

Denzil Porter - Kanye West



And yo, is it just me or does dude look like Austin??? haha

Fucked Up - The Other Shoe [Video]

I'm pretty new to the Toronto-based band Fucked Up but upon first listen I could tell there was something special about their song, The Other Shoe. First off, I can't even remember where I came across them in the first place, but I somehow found this song, copped the CD and it's been history ever since.

Their album is called David Comes to Life and it details the relationship between the protagonist, David and his lady friend, Veronica. The Other Shoe brings us into the point of the story where everything seems to be fine between the two and then issues bring the relationship to a crossroads. [ex: "Right on time, here's the other shoe/Clouds overhead, start to loom."]

I'll be the first to admit that their music is a little more "screamy" than I'm used to but the album really sticks to the theme and somehow this really works. And strangely enough, the lyrics aren't too difficult to decipher.

I'm positive that this is pretty different from anything I've posted in the past but let me know what you think. And let it get to the 2:40 build up before you make a decision:

Oh yea, and try not to have "Dying on the inside" stuck in your head the rest of the day.

Nike Set to (Re)Revolutionize the NFL?

Now that Nike is set to reclaim the spot as the official outfitter for the NFL next year, there's already speculation that NFL teams will undergo dramatic changes to their traditional designs. Everything I've read, however, [mainly Uni-Watch.com--dope site btw] has said that most teams will probably only see changes in material and actual tailoring next season. Either way, they've already started to generate hype via this promo featuring none other than Michael Irving:

I'm stoked that this is happening. Reebok's pretty boring overall and Nike has made great strides in jersey designs on the collegiate level. But even with that being said, there's zero chance that we'll see anything along the lines of those fake joints that surfaced last year.

97 Seconds With Kanye West [Video]

Something light from earlier this summer. Definitely classic Kanye.
DC Watch the Throne is t-minus 2 months away. Oh yea.

J. Cole feat. Trey Songz - Can't Get Enough [Video]

So yea, I'm not the biggest fan of having Trey Songz on my blog but this new J. Cole video really can't go unmentioned. After his hype has somewhat gone down--mainly due to impatience by fans [myself included]--I'm actually feeling this new effort from Cole. Trey Songz and all. Shouts to my man Justin for the heads up because I definitely almost missed the premiere last night:

Just a couple weeks until the album drops. Let's see how this goes.

Epic Meal Time: West Coast Burger Pile x Double Barrell 12 Gauge Hot Dog

The guys from Epic Meal Time are back again to show us exactly how we'd eat....if we were gods. First up, the West Coast Burger Pile. It looks like the things that dreams are made of. I'm pretty sure my man Wimpy would have a coronary.

"Jesus Christ, there's so many GD burgers."
Next up, the 12 Gauge Hot Dog. There's just something about 50 cent hot dogs, bacon and Jack Daniels that makes this irresistible.
"Ketchup...not that special. Oh wait, there's Jack? It's fuckin special now, player."

These guys really should release a cookbook. These meals always look amazing.

But maybe the half naked girl laying down bacon strips had something to do with that.


Did I mention that there's bacon????

Kid Cudi - Mr. Rager [Video]

I can never get enough new material from Kid Cudi. And even though song is almost a year old, I'm still counting this recently released video as new. And I know people [myself included] that play this joint to this day. Plus, the video is extra Kill Bill meets From Dusk Till Dawn like. Check it out:

New music.
I needs that.

University of Maryland Jackin' For Helmets??

Even though my previous entry purposefully left out details from Maryland's unique and flag-themed uniforms, a recent development has me questioning just how unique the uniforms actually are. After scouring the internet for pretty much every article related to last weekend's College Football games, I came across this article on NBC Sports that actually pinpointed the source of UMD's inspiration...Baltimore's Charm City Roller Girls’ All-Stars team.

You read that correctly.

The Charm City Roller Girl's All Stars team.
The original helmets were designed by the husband of one of the team members and have been in use for the past three years.

Go figure. The only positive thing I initially had to say about Maryland's new look was towards its creativity. I guess no idea's original after all.

But whether they jacked the design or not, the new uniforms were the talk of the country and actually gave the Terrapins [and Under Armour] some great national exposure. Any great marketer can see the value in that.

No matter how absolutely turrible the jerseys are.

[Throwback] Music of the Moment: Kanye West - Livin' a Movie

Movie buffs should enjoy this.

It's no secret that I'm a huge Kanye West fan. The thing that you need to understand is that I'm a really huge Kanye West fan. I'd go as far as saying that I have nearly [if not all] of his released music--underground tracks included. With all that being said, below is one of my favorite throwback Kanye songs from way back on The Late Mixtape. The idea behind it is simple: an entire song based off movie titles. Sounds simple...and it actually really is.


Kanye West - Livin' a Movie

Nothing like some good, throwback Kanye.

Note: Complete Movie List: Edward Scissorhands, What Lies Beneath, The Preacher's Wife, Sleepy Hollow, Apollo 13, Ghost, Hollow Man, Friday 13^th Ghost (again), Backdraft, Almost Famous, Lord of the Rings, The Shining, Do the Right Thing, Don't Say a Word, Sleepers, Jeepers Creepers, Clockers, Baller Blockers, Absolute Power, 9 1/2 Weeks, Rush Hour, The Cell, Life, Juice, Mo' Money and The Roc. And I probably missed a few.

The 5 Most Memorable Moments From Week 1 of College Football [Besides Maryland's Jerseys]

The University of Maryland pretty much stole the show from the rest of college football when they unveiled one of their new uniform combinations against Miami Monday night. I'm sticking with my statement that the flag-themed helmet are dope and the jerseys are alright from the front view but just plain hideous from either side. Regardless, this post is about everything noteworthy from this past week of college football not having to do with Maryland's tribute to um, Maryland.

5. Joe Adams Dropped Punt Return Touchdown/Evan Spencer's One Hand Catch

EGHCK. I realize that Missouri State and Akron aren't what we'd call great teams but these are still impressive. Like reeeally impressive.

4. Brian Kelly Is Quite Possibly the Angriest Human Alive
I'm not sure whether it was the impending home loss to unranked USF, the red zone interception or just a case of the Saturdays but Brian Kelly needed more than a chill pill this weekend. Thanks to Dr. Saturday for this one.

3. Robert Griffin III is a PROBLEM.
359 yards and five touchdowns against TCU? EGHCK. He should definitely end up a dark horse candidate for the Heisman.

2. Kerwynn Williams' Barber Should Be SHOT...in the face.
This haircut is an absolute debacle. He looks like a cross between Simon Phoenix from Demolition Man and a Golden Lord from Meteor Man. Seriously, how can he even do this interview with a straight face??

1. LSU Handles Business Against Oregon, Jumps to #2 in AP Poll
Amazing defense, punctuated by great plays from Tyrann Mathieu helped LSU against a loaded Oregon team. We still have a long season ahead but with this strong start, we have even higher hopes of finishing the season in New Orleans. And this kid Mathieu is a monster.

Gonna be another great season of College Football.
Geaux Tigers.

NBA 2K12: Trailer 3

This game just needs to go ahead and come out. Each trailer is more dope than the one before and with the possibility of no 2011-2012 season at all, 2K12 might be all we have. Check out the latest trailer:

10/4/11

I needs dat.

Matt & Kim feat. Soulja Boy and Andrew WK - I'm a Goner [Video + MP3]

Trust me, if someone told me last yeat that I'd have a blog post just mentioning Soulja Boy I'd say you were a fool. But then again, some people say cucumbers taste better pickled Regardless, I'm not writing this post simply about Soulja Boy. I'm writing because Converse has done it again: Put together three acts that would normally never [ever] collaborate. Last year it was Kid Cudi, Bethany Cosentino from Best Coast and Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend on the song All Summer. This year's version features the duo Matt & Kim, rapper Soulja Boy and Andrew WK. Not sure if this year's version stacks up to last year's but at least they tried something different.

...right?


Matt & Kim feat. Soulja Boy and Andrew WK - I'm a Goner



Not too turrible.

Kendrick Lamar x Va$htie x Rocksmith - ADHD [Video]

Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar has a new Va$htie-directed video for ADHD off of his Section.80 album. More heat from him as he continues to gain popularity on the East coast. Shouts to my man Modi for putting me [and most of DC] on.
Dopeness.

Oh, and Va$htie is still the snooks.

Jack Daniels.....for Breakfast?!

....well kinda.

I mean, at least we can see what vodka would look like in an orange juice carton. German Art Director Jörn Beyer has redesigned packaging for Absolut Vodka, Jägermeister and Jack Daniels and replaced the traditional glass bottles with....tetra paks. The project is entitled Ecohols. I can't even front...this would be trouble.

It's probably a god thing that these aren't real. We all know those kids can't hold their liquor.


And for the record, this is the commercial I was referencing in this post's title:

OnCue - Feel Tall [Video]

I can't front, after 10+ years of listening to Eminem, the whole Asher Roth experiment of 2009 and semi-drunken freestyles with my man Johnny C., there's not much room on my musical plate for another white rapper.

I'm kidding....but I'm only kinda kidding. Then outta nowhere comes this kid OnCue out of Connecticut. At first glance, he's nothing different: Supreme snap back, frat boy look. Basically the same thing we've seen the last few years. But after stumbling across his video for Feel Tall this weekend, I was immediately hooked. So hooked, in fact, that I even risked the inevitable short jokes from my friends due to the song title. Check out the video and the download link underneath.


OnCue - Feel Tall [Produced by CJ Luzi]


I mean, he's no savior to hip-hop but this is a pretty dope song. If we let Drake get away with singing on all his hooks, we might as well let this kid.

NBA 2K12: Greatest Trailer

This is disgusting.

There's no doubt in my mind that NBA 2K12 is going to be absolutely amazing. 34 classic teams, dozens of all-time great players, swagged out graphics and features...I literally can't wait. You can check out full specs for the game here. And here's the latest trailer:

I need this game now.

Right now.