Metal Lungies

If you were looking for the perfect holiday gift for that special Hip-Hopper in your life. Look no furthur. Graffiti World is a book by Nicholas Ganz that shows off street art from hundreds of artists around the world. Graffiti is an important part of hip-hop culture that has roots stemming from those magical years (1977-1979) and this book does a magnificent job of displaying some of the best street art ever done. The book is filled with color photos (over 2000) printed on high quality glossed paper. Each artist’s work is accompanied by a short bio about the writer themself.

This book has introduced me to a whole new side of urban art (who knew Brazil did it like that?) and is an incredibly interesting read. Not to mention the fact that this book will make you the hippest kid amongst all your older yuppie friends. When they see it on your coffee table they’ll be crazy with yuppie envy (truly the worst kind of envy). And if you don’t hang out with yuppies its still a fantastic read.

I copped it for like $35 at Borders. Amazon has it 4 cheep.

BTW. Cop that new Clipse. Golden…

More and more I have been interested in the work of Tenessee rapper, Project Pat. As many of you know, Pat is signed to Hypnotize Minds and was released from prison in July 2005 after serving time for assault charges. Now why would I choose to profile Project Pat, you ask?

Well, I was listening to some old mixtapes earlier today and I came across my copy of God’s Plan. While I was listening to it I could not help to notice one of the standout tracks on the record, 187 Ya Yo. This Tony Yayo freestyle reminded me of a talented gangster rapper who has long since dissappeared and been replaced by this travesty. But throughout it all I could not see any reason why this perfectly good MC turned into the crap he is today.

My only explanation: Tony Yayo had his rap ability raped out of him in prison. Now, many will try to say that the downward trend has effected the entire Guerilla Unit and Tony’s prison stint has nothing to do with the lack of quality in his recent music. I deny this simply based on the fact that 50, Lloyd, and Buck can still ryhme as hard as they used to, but they have changed their style for a more commercial, less threatening, demeanor. Tony, on the other hand, has changed his style, but has lost a notable amount of rap abilty.

Examine the evidence:

187 Ya Yo (Tony Yayo Pre-Prison)

Curious ft. Joe (Tony Yayo Post-Prison)

This brings me back to my original topic, Project Pat. After his prison term it seems that Pat’s rap ability has actually improved. This is especially evident in his already impressive punchlines. Now, Pat has never been a lyrical behemoth but he has always been a rapper who can motivate a riot when necessary. His new material is no exception and makes me wanna tear it up even harder.

Long Story Short. Cop that new LP, Crook By The Book, when it comes out.

I didn’t really need to go into the whole Tony Yayo thing……thats just been buggin me for a minute.

No need to worry, ML isn’t going all political on you but here is something I’d like to mention. I finally got around to reading Time’s excerpt from Barack Obama’s new book. I’ve been reading about him off and on since around the same time when fellow Chi-Town native, Common name dropped him on the ‘Why?’ remix. Now I don’t stay loyal to either party but Obama seems to bring the newest/freshest approach and he also has got great values. I would consider him one of the most progressive democrats that doesn’t just follow the democrat guidebook, as seen when he isn’t afraid to give credit to the political movements that some evangelicals are currently doing. Most democrats stray far away from even bringing up evangelicals. Oh yeah he’s got that swagger too:

Already disadvantaged by a late start and a lack of funds, Mr. Keyes had, during the course of a mere three months, managed to offend just about everybody. In that sense, he was an ideal opponent; all I had to do was keep my mouth shut and start planning my swearing-in ceremony. And yet, as the campaign progressed, I found him getting under my skin. For he claimed to speak for my religion–and although I might not like what came out of his mouth, I had to admit that some of his views had many adherents within the Christian church.

If you care to get some insight to one of the potential (and ML’s favorite) candidates for 2008 read the whole article excerpt over at TIME Magazine.

P.S. I probably will get the book after I finish reading the Jerry Heller book  (I might review it) which is a very fascinating read so far, FYI.

out. 

Oddly enough, the first thing I want this christmas is a 20 pack of long black t-shirts and enough iron-on transfers to cover them. Why? You ask. Cause every time I see a new Clipse or Pharrell video I notice another slogan that I wished I had put on a shirt.

I’m always saying to myself I wish I had that t-shirt. But on the other hand I don’t want to be a biter and steal one of their slogans. So I thought about it, and I realized that I say classic shit all the time. So what I really need this christmas is a means to put that gulliness hilarity into shirt form.

Shit, If I make enough different shirts maybe some will catch on….. It’ll be like the snowman……. except not about coke. Or, maybe about coke. Who knows?

First stop on this years ML Christmas Shopping Spree: AC Moore.

Cause they got shirts 4 Cheep.

A photo from the cinematic masterpiece ‘Soul Plane’.

That question is simple..Can you please explain your obsession with the Airline industry/Airports/Airplanes?

We all should have seen the warning signs when he starred in Soul Plane he probably didn’t even care about how good or bad the movie was going to be (I haven’t seen it, but, I don’t think there was one positive review of it) all he wanted was to be near an airport and airplane during the filming. Then earlier this year he was caught in London’s Heathrow Airport running through with his entourage and starting a near riot after they wouldn’t let all 30 of them enter the VIP lounge (they didn’t have first-class tickets). The fun continued in the past few weeks in which he tried to bring a collapsible baton (I would’ve just picked up a broom from a janitor cleaning the bathrooms, serves the same purpose, although not as compact) through the X-Ray machines at John Wayne Airport. A felony warrant was issued, which he complied with (mugshot & post-bail autograph session here). But it turns that just before the incident at John Wayne Airport, over at Bob Hope Airport (another quick sidenote: god help us if there is ever a Nicole Ritchie or Paris Hilton Airport) he was arrested for having a gun and weed in his car.

That’s not all folks, on his new album the ‘Blue Carpet Treatment’ he has a song, drum roll please…., called ‘L.A.X.’ with Ice Cube. 

He should just step up to that John Trovolta airplane game and get himself a nice big Boeing or start Snoop Air (slogan: “Flying through a haze all across the world”).

I wonder if Katt Williams was inspired by Snoop?

Oh yeah, please give me a late pass but..check Snoop (Along with Jim Jones, Nas, T.I., Fat Joe, Lil’ Wayne, Nore, Jadakiss, Styles P, Fabolous, Juelz Santana, Rick Ross, Twista, Kurupt, Daz, WC, E-40, Bun B, Chamillionaire, Slim Thug, Young Dro, Clipse and Ja Rule) on The Game’s One Blood Remix (As always courtesy of the good folks at Spine Magazine).

Dmx with a dog?? WHAT???

DMX just doesn’t seem able to stop in providing us with entertaining shit. When he is not acting completely cracked out for the camera, he is either going bat crazy during a concert, proudly earning some traffic violations, or claiming he was raped.

The first part of this story I came across over at nahright where X attacked the soundman because.. well he wasn’t happy with the sound. It was one of those radio sponsored smorgasbord lineups with like 232432 artists. I’m sure its easy being a soundman for those nights, have those types of shows EVER sounded good? MTV had some more on this incident, including one of X’s weed carriers injuring a concertgoer, with a chair throw..

“A member of the audience picked up a steel folding chair and threw it onstage,” Daub explained. “It was thrown back off by a member of DMX’s entourage and it struck the victim in the head.”

Yet Jim Jones, Foxy Brown, and Funkmaster Flex who were scheduled to appear, were not allowed in by security.

About a week later X was pulled over for driving an uninspected 2001 Chevy Suburban. Of course once they ran his name they saw he didn’t have a license in NY and had a suspended registration. But I might have to side with X on this one, do you really believe he was randomly pulled over? I highly doubt they had a high alert on the 5-0 radio to be on the lookout for a Chevy Suburban with an out of date inspection.. fucking racist cops. But still, a 2001 Suburban? Shit, that’s something you can’t see on cribs.

To wrap up this X news brief comes defiantly my favorite DMX story right now (maybe ever?). It comes from my personally favorite magazine, Sister 2 Sister. In it X’s wife talks about how he had a child with another woman, but she isn’t mad cause the woman raped him. Read from WWTDD via AOL Music:

Tashera Simmons — wife to rapper DMX — stands by her man as he talks openly about recently fathering a child with a Washington, D.C., woman. “She raped me,” (DMX says). “I mean, you know, that might sound like some bullshit. No man has ever been… you know what I mean, like never? Is that the only thing nahin the world that’s not possible?” Mrs. Simmons recalled an earlier encounter with the woman. “Before the stuff hit the fan, she came up to us while we were in court and said ‘I work for kids that are sickly,’ said Tashera. “So he said ‘Give her my number.’ That’s how it goes all the time. At first, I said OK. But, then I thought she looked deranged and obsessed with him.” While his wife “blocks out” the experience to cope, DMX gained a more valuable lesson: “Turn on the light before I go to sleep,” he said

In the article, the wife claims the rape was able to occur because X passed out drunk with his “package” out after filming a video, that sounds like a typical end of work day routine to me. Well they should totally make a public service announcement to prevent from a male getting rapped by a woman is to simply turn on a light before going to bed. Some people might be curious, would this work in jail? Anyway right after this issue came out, the woman rapist didn’t like that title so now she is suing for $6 mil, god I hope this shit lands on CourtTV.

Oh the woman in question is reppin’ MD just like yours truly. Sweet.

Please don’t change DMX, please.

———————-

As you know on here were are REAL big on The Clipse *nh*. They seemed to back-peddle on their anger with their label here, but then I read this over at AAH Rumors:

CLIPSE GO HARD AT JIVE!
The Clipse have been getting rave reviews for the longest time and we haven’t even heard their album Hell Hath No Fury. Not even so much as a leak! Now, it looks like the VA boys have taken their issues with Jive Records to a new level. If you recall, Malice and Pusha said on record that they wanted to lynch the entire staff at their label. WOW. Now, they have pressed up t-shirts that say ‘F**k Jive’ on the front. The back of the shirt hurt me to my heart. “Sorry to the fans, but those crackers weren’t playing fair at Jive”. Great day in the morning! They might not know Hell Hath No Fury greater than a angry White man. (LOL) Does this mean that the album will never come out? Does this mean; they aren’t dropping ever? Say it ain’t so.

uggghhhhh.

out.

Over the past two weeks I have spent an increasing amount of time in the magical land of Baltimore. The first of my recent outings occurred when I went to some loud hookah bar with a couple of old friends. Besides the waitress being mentally disabled this was a fairly uneventful night. The real shit popped off at Virgin Fest.

I would have to say one of the stand-out performances of the entire festival was RJD2. We arrived early to see him and it was more than worth it. Watching this dude mix 20+ minute dance songs using constantly changing records, and without headphones, was like watching a miracle. I highly recommend anyone who ever has the chance to see him should run to get tickets.

Before the Festival I never had previously seen a major rock band live. But by the time the Raconteurs came on I had already had at least one person fall on me as a result of crowd surfing. While I am not a huge fan of modern rock I would have to say that the Raconteurs put on a great show. My favorite part was when they did their rendition of Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang” with Jack White using a specially tuned mic that was placed so while he sang his back was to the crowd.

When Gnarls Barkley came on the crowd seemed subdued for just about every song besides Crazy. But Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse definitely put down an incredible show dressed as Romans for this venue. They put a lot of time into Jokes and story telling too. I wonder if I was the only one yelling for Khujo and Gipp in the crowd?

I have nothing to say about the Who. They were everything I expected and more. They laid shit down. Classic to Classic. Laid Down. Cop that DVD. Life changing.

When the Chilli Peppers came on I had already been hit by a total of 9 people crowd surfing. During their show I was hit by about 10 more. Fucking bananas. I have never seen a performer get so energetic. They ran shit. They played through all the classics and then when they left people were stomping and chanting so loud that they came out and did damn near a whole other show as an encore.

But that wasn’t the end of B-more fun. Last night I went to a another better hookah bar with a friend and after watching Belly Dancing, eating some good food, and smokin’ some great tabaccy we let to see that my car had been towed. Now don’t get it twisted, I fly high, but I just didn’t have that amount needed to free my vehicle (89 Maxima BALLIN!!) in cash on me at the time. So we took a cab back to UMBC and I got that money and left to get my car the next day. Suprisingly, I was so happy with the the whole experience that I wasn’t at all angry about my car getting towed.

But my god do I need sleep.

Maybe a shower first……..

The 45-year old man in me came out this morning, I woke up and started to read the Washington Post. There was an article regarding George Mason University cracking down on underage drinking, it was a pretty interesting article about the topic. But, nearing the last part of the article something jumped out at me;

“There was a trash can with beer bottles stuck in the middle of the trash, a laundry bag with beer hidden under the clothes, and a beer bong table folded up and placed in the closet to look like a dart board,” Barnes says.

Now either GMU Students have come up with some sort of new contraption, or the Post has the complete scoop on the next phenomenon to hit basement parties across the US. I think its the latter.

BREAKING NEWS! From the playbook pages of Diddy’s Vote or Die Campaign, former MLB Pitcher/ star of the cinematic masterpiece ‘The Greenskeeper’, John Rocker, comes with ‘SPEAK ENGLISH’. Accompanied on this “campaign” is Ms. Bikini Universe 2004, Alicia Marie, who for the most part is a vital piece in the movement, utilizing the Belly Shirt version of the SPEAK ENGLISH apparel/propaganda line. John Rocker would like to know from his life-changing MSNBC interview from Rita Crosby that:

“It’s not a business, it’s a campaign”

Near the end he mentions that it’s hard to get a white collar job with out speaking english. It really is so thoughtful that John Rocker is concerned about people getting white collar jobs, because clearly he has one.

Also, John, can we at least get a PLEASE on the shirt? AMERCIAN MANNERS DAMMIT!

Lastly, check out the banner from his official site, (where you can conveniently stock up on your ‘SPEAK ENGLISH’ merchandise, no word on where the proceeds go? I wonder??)

The 2nd to last picture looks like its CNN’s lead reporter interviewing John, oh, and I hope John’s cat can SPEAK ENGLISH.

On the site he has posted the longest piece of writing he has probably ever written.

In his letter he mentions;

I went to numerous local holiday celebrations such as parties that centered on the Puerto Rican holiday “Three Kings Day”, as well as numerous other festivals and gatherings. 

So using this idea, if I were to go to a “Three Kings Day” and muster out a few lines like maybe, “Mami Es Muy Caliente”, I could be seen as someone who is conforming to the Puerto Rican culture. Honestly after I got one good quote out of this one and a half page turd, I stopped reading, I’m sure it sings of beauty and intelligence afterwards but sadly I’m no where near John Rocker’s comprehension level to compute any more of this totally awesome campaign. In conclusion it must be said…

JOHN ROCKER FOR THE PRESIDENITAL CABINET !! VIVA (SORRY JOHN!) SALUTE ‘SPEAK ENGLISH’!!

out.

This is probably the funniest video of the day for me, I guess even puppets on Sesame Street get hasseled by those boys in blue.

[wmv width=”320″ height=”240″]http://gorillamask.net/Media/muppets-nwa.wmv[/wmv]

Credit: Gorilla Mask