Back to Back Rhymin – There’ll be another rough rhyme after this one.
1) What's the most pleasant post-All-Star break surprise? The least?
There are a number of great stories floating around post-all-star, all of which will likely get butchered by Scoop Jackson in the next few weeks, so I’ll avoid the obvious ones (Suns and Nugs, etc).
My most pleasant post-all-star surprise? Darko - Lottery Pick. I am rather partial to an underdog. Now is there anything better than seeing Darko getting some run? I think the Sam Bowie analogies are inappropriate. Sure, Wade and Anthony would have been #2 and #3 respectively if this was a draft do over, but that’s more fantasy hoops, than reality.
As an aside, it'll be nice to finally see if Chad Ford was right. I think he'll end up being a steal for the Magic – maybe that will make up for the Wallace/Hill fleecing.
Which will only prove that basketball karma is a strange and beautiful thing. Just what the Knicks have done to deserve Starks in game 7, the Charles Smith lay-ups, Layden, LJ’s back, Houston’s knees, Reggie’s 8 in 11, and Isiah though, I do not know. Perhaps Charlie Ward molested some Jewish school children, who knows? That said, least pleasant…
Steve Francis – Bust (alternative title: How does Thomas still have a job?). This really isn't a surprise at all. In fact, even Chad Ford could have predicted it. It’s strange, if someone had told me 2 or 3 years ago that we'd have Steve, I would have been overjoyed. Oh what a difference a 'siah makes.
(Aside: 7 Mar 2006 – Darko goes for 3 and 2 - Meh)
2) Besides ranking 'Critical Beatdown' at 75, what was my biggest mistake in the Top 100 Hip-Hop Albums list? And (besides Kwame) what was the most glaring omission?
The degree of difficulty in any all-encompassing list is that there are always going to be eyebrows raised. Moreover, there is always, always, going to be something missed. That's why these lists aren't done; no one wants to be the guy that forgot to include that album. So well played for putting it out there.
Some thoughts:
As discussed previously, how good was Critical? It was actually good enough to make me think that 'Funk Your Head Up" was a great, great album. I reiterate that #75 is sacrilege, but hey, Company Flow had already taken that #66 slot, right?
Huge call with Common at #2. I like Common. He seems like a well together cat and is obviously an exceptional talent, but when I listen to him, I never feel like rocking my air mic in front of my air crowd.
To use a further (admittedly flawed) basketball analogy, Common is like the hiphop Kobe (except that Common is more agreeable and, as far as I can tell from wikipedia, is not a rapist). Sure, at times he is the best in the game, but do you ever sit there after watching him and feel inspired to put on your No.8 singlet and go shoot hoops in the rain? I don’t. And that’s the same way I feel about Com.
I cannot fault Low End at #1. There are periods when I think Midnight is better, but that’s more a personal thing. In the context of breaking new ground, opening tracks (dirty bass line), leap making (Phife), longevity and sheer head snapping quality, Low End is king.
Omissions? I’ve found a few - Inner City Griots, 93 Til, Amerikka's Most, God Loves Ugly, Sex Packets, Ain't a Damned Thing Changed, and Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop. Most of those of are bias picks though. You foreshadowed that you would omit Kane and Organised, so I can’t complain about that.
I think the most glaring oversight is probably DoggyStyle, but I can certainly see how it could be left off the list. I remember the buzz before it dropped was that it would be on par or better than The Chronic (beautiful call on the cover, by the way). What followed was a fantastic album, but one that lacked that je ne sais pas. If nothing else, it certainly is an argument against sustained marijuana use, man. That said, I never put DoggyStyle on my stereo on a lazy Sunday. I do, however, put the vast bulk of the top 10 on.
I also listen to #11 frequently, which I am confident you put at #11 intentionally.
3) Who's going first in this year's draft? With Brokeback Mountain getting robbed of a Best Picture Oscar, I don't think the world is ready for a player named Rudy Gay. The least the guy could do is add an 'e' to the end of his surname like Marvin.
I'm yet to see Crash, but that wont stop me from saying that Brokeback got hate crimed on its way to the Oscars. How movies starring Reese Witherspoon and Matt Dillon got so much props against Ang Lee is a head scratcher. Now Matt Dillon, there’s a guy who wouldn’t look out of place in a mantrain with Kobe.
Even before I make the first selection in the NBA draft, I cannot reiterate how painful it is to see the Bulls get a shot at #1 via the Knucks. The sheer possibility that we could have got someone like Morrison or Gay is like a kick straight into my special place.
I’d pick Morrison, if only because the world needs him now that Chris Anderson is on whatever island David Stern banished him to. I am confident that Gay will go #1, but that will depend on who picks #1 (it’ll be that kind of draft). Ironically, the Knucks are the most obvious team to have ‘Gay’ on the back of their jerseys.
It’s a cruel world.
4) What's your most-anticipated hip-hop release this year?
Of course it’s the Nas & Premo joint. I love the possibility of this being an album of straight no chaser hiphop like Illmatic. Two guys that have probably had their time in the sun, both considered (or at least once considered) the best in their respective crafts. All the makings of a hip hop magna opus.
Or bust.
My enthusiasm, which is shared by others no doubt, stems from the magic created when Premo and Nas get together. In contrast to what sometimes happens when Nas is on his own.
Each of Nas’ post-Illmatic albums has been tainted by what can only be called crossover tracks. I think all of Nas’ troubles stem from the success of “If I Ruled the World”. If that never blows up, I say I am and Nastradamus never happen. Honestly, I could go on and on about Nasir, and probably will once the man sees fit to give a brother a holiday.
So that’s my most anticipated. Sure the prospect of this album actually being made is about as likely as an episode of “What ever happened to...?” about Lisa Lopez. A boy can dream though.
Other releases? Word from Big Bird is that Immortal Technique is dropping a new album. I am a big fan of Tech and thought that volumes 1 and 2 were raw, but exceptional. Sure he’s a little prone to overuse of similes and the attendant word ‘like’, but it hasn’t reached the point where you want to beat him senseless like a kid with a hole in his pocket (see XL, Chino). It’s an important time for Tech, as he has reached the stage where he has to make the leap that others (Rass, Royce, Christian Laettner, Mark Hamill, Natsuko Tohno and, perhaps more literally, Christopher Reeve) have failed to do.
Your bad self?
There are a number of great stories floating around post-all-star, all of which will likely get butchered by Scoop Jackson in the next few weeks, so I’ll avoid the obvious ones (Suns and Nugs, etc).
My most pleasant post-all-star surprise? Darko - Lottery Pick. I am rather partial to an underdog. Now is there anything better than seeing Darko getting some run? I think the Sam Bowie analogies are inappropriate. Sure, Wade and Anthony would have been #2 and #3 respectively if this was a draft do over, but that’s more fantasy hoops, than reality.
As an aside, it'll be nice to finally see if Chad Ford was right. I think he'll end up being a steal for the Magic – maybe that will make up for the Wallace/Hill fleecing.Which will only prove that basketball karma is a strange and beautiful thing. Just what the Knicks have done to deserve Starks in game 7, the Charles Smith lay-ups, Layden, LJ’s back, Houston’s knees, Reggie’s 8 in 11, and Isiah though, I do not know. Perhaps Charlie Ward molested some Jewish school children, who knows? That said, least pleasant…
Steve Francis – Bust (alternative title: How does Thomas still have a job?). This really isn't a surprise at all. In fact, even Chad Ford could have predicted it. It’s strange, if someone had told me 2 or 3 years ago that we'd have Steve, I would have been overjoyed. Oh what a difference a 'siah makes.
(Aside: 7 Mar 2006 – Darko goes for 3 and 2 - Meh)
2) Besides ranking 'Critical Beatdown' at 75, what was my biggest mistake in the Top 100 Hip-Hop Albums list? And (besides Kwame) what was the most glaring omission?
The degree of difficulty in any all-encompassing list is that there are always going to be eyebrows raised. Moreover, there is always, always, going to be something missed. That's why these lists aren't done; no one wants to be the guy that forgot to include that album. So well played for putting it out there.
Some thoughts:
As discussed previously, how good was Critical? It was actually good enough to make me think that 'Funk Your Head Up" was a great, great album. I reiterate that #75 is sacrilege, but hey, Company Flow had already taken that #66 slot, right?
Huge call with Common at #2. I like Common. He seems like a well together cat and is obviously an exceptional talent, but when I listen to him, I never feel like rocking my air mic in front of my air crowd.
To use a further (admittedly flawed) basketball analogy, Common is like the hiphop Kobe (except that Common is more agreeable and, as far as I can tell from wikipedia, is not a rapist). Sure, at times he is the best in the game, but do you ever sit there after watching him and feel inspired to put on your No.8 singlet and go shoot hoops in the rain? I don’t. And that’s the same way I feel about Com.
I cannot fault Low End at #1. There are periods when I think Midnight is better, but that’s more a personal thing. In the context of breaking new ground, opening tracks (dirty bass line), leap making (Phife), longevity and sheer head snapping quality, Low End is king.
Omissions? I’ve found a few - Inner City Griots, 93 Til, Amerikka's Most, God Loves Ugly, Sex Packets, Ain't a Damned Thing Changed, and Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop. Most of those of are bias picks though. You foreshadowed that you would omit Kane and Organised, so I can’t complain about that.
I think the most glaring oversight is probably DoggyStyle, but I can certainly see how it could be left off the list. I remember the buzz before it dropped was that it would be on par or better than The Chronic (beautiful call on the cover, by the way). What followed was a fantastic album, but one that lacked that je ne sais pas. If nothing else, it certainly is an argument against sustained marijuana use, man. That said, I never put DoggyStyle on my stereo on a lazy Sunday. I do, however, put the vast bulk of the top 10 on.
I also listen to #11 frequently, which I am confident you put at #11 intentionally.
3) Who's going first in this year's draft? With Brokeback Mountain getting robbed of a Best Picture Oscar, I don't think the world is ready for a player named Rudy Gay. The least the guy could do is add an 'e' to the end of his surname like Marvin.
I'm yet to see Crash, but that wont stop me from saying that Brokeback got hate crimed on its way to the Oscars. How movies starring Reese Witherspoon and Matt Dillon got so much props against Ang Lee is a head scratcher. Now Matt Dillon, there’s a guy who wouldn’t look out of place in a mantrain with Kobe.
Even before I make the first selection in the NBA draft, I cannot reiterate how painful it is to see the Bulls get a shot at #1 via the Knucks. The sheer possibility that we could have got someone like Morrison or Gay is like a kick straight into my special place.
I’d pick Morrison, if only because the world needs him now that Chris Anderson is on whatever island David Stern banished him to. I am confident that Gay will go #1, but that will depend on who picks #1 (it’ll be that kind of draft). Ironically, the Knucks are the most obvious team to have ‘Gay’ on the back of their jerseys.
It’s a cruel world.
4) What's your most-anticipated hip-hop release this year?
Of course it’s the Nas & Premo joint. I love the possibility of this being an album of straight no chaser hiphop like Illmatic. Two guys that have probably had their time in the sun, both considered (or at least once considered) the best in their respective crafts. All the makings of a hip hop magna opus.
Or bust.
My enthusiasm, which is shared by others no doubt, stems from the magic created when Premo and Nas get together. In contrast to what sometimes happens when Nas is on his own.
Each of Nas’ post-Illmatic albums has been tainted by what can only be called crossover tracks. I think all of Nas’ troubles stem from the success of “If I Ruled the World”. If that never blows up, I say I am and Nastradamus never happen. Honestly, I could go on and on about Nasir, and probably will once the man sees fit to give a brother a holiday.
So that’s my most anticipated. Sure the prospect of this album actually being made is about as likely as an episode of “What ever happened to...?” about Lisa Lopez. A boy can dream though.
Other releases? Word from Big Bird is that Immortal Technique is dropping a new album. I am a big fan of Tech and thought that volumes 1 and 2 were raw, but exceptional. Sure he’s a little prone to overuse of similes and the attendant word ‘like’, but it hasn’t reached the point where you want to beat him senseless like a kid with a hole in his pocket (see XL, Chino). It’s an important time for Tech, as he has reached the stage where he has to make the leap that others (Rass, Royce, Christian Laettner, Mark Hamill, Natsuko Tohno and, perhaps more literally, Christopher Reeve) have failed to do.
Your bad self?
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