Commander-In-Chief Can Ball!

Finally someone in charge that I can relate to. He's not a rancher, he's a regular guy that loves pick-up games. That's so cool. And it's nice that this is being broken down by some of the games greatest (past and present).
He got game.


Keepin' on with the basketball tip, here's a little vid where Danny Granger of the Indiana Pacers discusses being selected to be an All-Star. I love stories like these. I watched an interview earlier this week where John Thompson interviewed Danny and his pops. In the interview he talks about how if you told him in high school that he would be an NBA All-Star (or even in the NBA) he would have laughed at you. He's one of the more intelligent athletes that you'll find nowadays. This dood's got a head on his shoulders unlike so many of these ballers with the big the big endorsements. He really got my attention this year when he buried the Suns with a trey in the closing seconds of regulation. He's quickly becoming one of my favorite players to watch.



Some more feel good B-Ball stuff: A 5'8" guy beats a near-7 footer!!

Don't Sleep Vol. 3

Alright, I've got 3 albums that tie for Don't Sleep Albums of the Week. So, in no particular order, they are: 1. Saafir - "Boxcar Sessions" 2. Various Blends - "Levitude" 3. Konceptual Dominance - "Savage Intelligence"

Let's start with Saafir, since on his album "Boxcar Sessions" he has a track "Light Sleeper" which somewhat deals with the idea of sleeping on something dope.

This album dropped in '94 and so did so many jaws when it was first heard. This dood has flow! You also might remember him from his part in Menace II Society (Harold who gets killed in the carjacking).

This album is SUPER nice. I like everything that he's dropped but this was my introduction to the skillz. If you don't know, he debuted on Casual's "Fear Itself" and soon after dropped tracks with Shock G and Digital Underground. He was Tupac's roommate when they were both dancers for D.U. You could take the lyrics on Boxcar Sessions and put'em up against anything coming out today. His skills are undeniable. My favorite track is probably "Just Riden'".

TWO. Various Blends - "Levitude". This one came out in '99. I didn't get it until a few years after it dropped (sleepin??). It's good, blunted, raw, underground, bay area hip hop. Look at the featured artists and you'll know it's official - Del the funkee homosapien, mystik journeymen, and saafir. From what I understand, Rasco of Cali Agents was an original member of this crew. I can't even imagine what that would've sounded like (damn.). This is a gooood album.


THREE. Konceptual Dominance - "Savage Intelligence" This is a really good, deep, solid-all-the-way-through album. I think Kirby Dominant (one half of the crew) is a really talented MC but I usually can't get down with his albums because he is soooo misogynistic with his rhymes. I'm not trying to hear that kind of disrespect toward women. But, you won't find that on this album. This is a very conscious album. The video below...not great - funny, but not reflective of the true mood of the album. The album seems much more serious and not lighthearted like the video. See what you think.

Don't sleep. Go find copies of these album. You might have to dig but it will be worth it.

Runner's up for the week:
1. Casual "Fear Itself". Classic. That's all I'm sayin. Another '94 album. This was one of my favorite TAPES. It's a jazzy album and the flows seem almost freestyled. The following was the video that whet my pallet before the album actually dropped.

2. Boogiemonsters "Riders of the Storm". Aside for the video for "Recognized Thresholds of Negative Stress", I don't remember this album getting that much attention. Of course, this was back in '94 so my memory's a bit dodgy. It's got a nice vibe to it. I still throw it on like it came out this year! Don't Sleep.

tripping b/w "TIME"

I'm looking at my son today. I'm really looking at him and I'm thinking about his age and rate of growth. As I'm watching, I connect with a look directly at his face and into his eyes at the same time. I kind of mentally take a snapshot. I find myself aware of the fact that I'm purposefully taking an imaginary picture of what I'm seeing. Why? Because I know that our cells in our body regenerate every 5-9 years (debatable, most agree with a number closer to 7). So the face that I was looking at is the face of the child that I know today but not the same face that I'll be looking at 5-9 years from now. Even though it'll be the same child. What?? I know, I'm tripping. But check it out, I look at him everyday and my eyes send the image of him into my brain and my mind says, "That's my kid. That's who I love. That's my purpose." But once those cells complete their cycle of regeneration he will, in essence, be a completely new person. So, I will never look at him again like I saw him today. Because every time I see him and take mental stills of him my mind is telling me, "THAT's my son." That mental photo gallery now becomes 'That was him when...' because the image I see today - THAT's my purpose. What a trip. So, I guess what I mean is...I need to remember to always live in the now and prepare him for the future. Because I can get lost remembering him like he was. I guess that's what cameras are for? It's all about time and time is a trip. Here's a poem about time that I wrote about 2 years before my son came to us:

TIME

Time...it's a curious thing
I mean, when I wanna watch
I can look it in the face
even though it shows no emotion.
It continues coastin'
Hands spread wide,
but never hinting at open arms-charms
that we'd like to see
Because IT IS stubborn
and at times,
even time alarms my sense of now
like how
hours mother minutes
and minutes make seconds
at alarming rates
Just Can't Wait!
So in this day and age,
we've broken them down to nano
all of a sudden our old analog friend has gone
digital,
atomic,
And our time is more minimal.
Whimsical years
continue to flow
like the physical tears
of history's most pivotal periods
"Remember the time?"
remember the time that's there,
and reminds us that we're late.
reminds us that we're early.
reminds us that we're due to
have children
9 months from the time it took to spend some time
together.
but even though time is always with us
never leaving,
coming,
or going...
my time for that hasn't come yet
and since my time hasn't expired -
I'm not done yet.
Once upon a time.
Once upon a time,
a great epoch gave way to a ceremonious century
and this century gave way to a decent decade
but father time wasn't having anything less than that
So a wise man spoke up and said
"The time is now"
He said,
"There's only one moment in time...
and that time is now"
huh.
Funny.
Time is a curious thing.

Don't Sleep Vol. 2

OK, I'm gonna help you out on this one. I'm not going to give you the opportunity to sleep. And if you still do after this...it's on you and that's the WORST kind of sleeping. So, this album just dropped this week and I really hope you won't sleep on it. Pick up SUNSPOT JONZ's "Fight. Destroy. Rock." It is DOPE! (note: it's not going to be the studio mastering that you get from a T.I. album BUT the Q-U-A-L-I-T-Y is there. it was made in the same vein as all of the UHB albums [for those that know] and is meant to sound raw, made-in-my-room and true to El-P's "Independent as F@#%!"). You can tell he put in work on this one.

Here's the info on the album (plus the studio album that he released on the same day, "Dark Side Ov Heaven") from the man himself:
Sunspot Jonz - Vlog: DARKSIDE OV HEAVEN & FIGHT DESTROY ROCK V.1


And here's a vid from G4 where he was featured. Check the freestyle skills.



Runner Up Slept-On-Album for today:

If you are a Legends fan you know that their catalog is extensive. Each member has at least 5 solo albums, there are side crews (CMA, 3MG, G&E, etc.) plus compilations (UHB). SO much heat that it's easy for an album to slide through the cracks. My personal favorite Sunspot album is "Child Ov the Storm". Don't sleep!! Guest spots include G&E, Del, Rasco, plus a posse cut banger (Will Not Be Destroyed). Show some love and do yourself a favor - go find a copy. "Every word is a taste of my ambition, every breath is a reflection of the raging turmoil within my soul, as the storm grows near, this is all I know, this is all I am..Lord, please forgive me." - Sunspot from "Child Ov the Storm" liner notes. Legends Baby! Don't sleep! Don't sleep!

Don't Sleep Vol.1

I was listening to some albums this weekend and it really got me thinking about how much DOPE music is out there that is being heavily slept on like memory foam. And not just you, me too. I've been sleepin on sooo much good stuff. Partly because there's just so much stuff out there that it's hard to keep up but more so because I can be hella-snobbish about what I grace my listening space with.
Alright. It's like this. If I ask any Heads, "Hey, have you heard Dr. Octagon?" They'd look at me screw face like "Yes!" and "Yeah, and I was over it like 10 years ago". But I'm talking about that stuff that I can stump heads on...I mean STUMP some SERIOUS heads on. Or stuff that's been out for years and I'm barely hearing it our being introduced to it. Or the worst - when you know the artist/group, you're familiar with their music and you STILL sleep! Yikes.
This weekend I just copped a Shock-G album "Fear of a Mixed Planet". This album came out in '04. Oh Four! Shock-G. Shock Jesus. Humpty Hump! What?!? I knew when this album was coming out. I should have been checkin for it. A solo album from the bringer-of-the-Funk and I'm not on missions trying to get a copy?? Anyway, years later I get a hold of a copy and I'm listening to it like, "Damn, how come everyone's not sweating this shit like they're sweatin Mickey Factz or whatever Johnny-Come-Lately shit that's coming out?" This is the dude that gave Tupac his style and cadence (if you don't believe me, REALLY listent to a D.U. album or better yet - go cop "Fear of a Mixed Planet" - you can hear Pac in there). Anyway, I'm listening and I'm thinking - "Yo, shame on me. I hope I'm the only one that's been sleeping." So, I ask other ear-to-the-under brothers. And...nope. Nobody's heard the album. Nobody's HEARD it. I'm not saying it's the greatest ever, up there with the classics of our generation. But. It's a Damn good album and what you would expect from a pioneer like Shock. Don't Sleep. Grab a copy. Listen and Learn.


I'm gonna start a Volume of Slept on Gems.
Here are some runners up for this week.
1. Collective Efforts "Medicine"
Nobody has heard this. It's gooood. Nice vibe. You'll like it. Just look out for it.

2. Anotha Level "On Anotha Level"
If I remember right, I got this one back in '94. This one's got Pharcyde and Ice Cube on it! Cube's freestyling (terrible!) and everything. These guys were bringing that Souls of Mischief quick flow with 16 bars of the same ending rhyme patterns. It was Super Nice when I first heard it (still its). Check it.