Tim Duncan

...

No words.

Milk Carton: Mooky Mook & DJ Motiv8

Are these two the Hip Hop equivalent of Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe?

Some rapper (can't remember who) tweeted during the Super Bowl halftime show (yeah this post is late) that the Black Eyed Peas wouldn't have had so many sound troubles if they had a proper DJ in their crew. Now I don't know if they do or not, but it reminded me of their Ruthless material with Motiv8 and Mooky.

I can't imagine what it's like for these two to turn on the TV or computer and see Will and Ap banking on their special brand of music. I wonder if Will looked out for them and paid their student loans and mortgages?

Anyway, shout out to Mooky, wherever he is. He was my favorite MC in the group. His calm delivery was a good balance to Will and Ap's...annoyance. It's funny reading comments about Atban Klann (and early BEP material) where people talk about much doper they were before "selling out". Uhm...not really. Production was better, but as emcees they were average at best. They were better served going pop. The university circuit wasn't doing much for them anyway.

Atban Klann - Yougohdah


Atban Klann - Styles Are Critical


Atban Klann - Mountain Top

Never Let Me Go (Mark Romanek, 2010)

This picture (sorta) encapsulates everything you need to know about the movie.

1. There's a lot of nice Fall/Winter gear.
2. Carey Mulligan is one of the finest young actors out there.

This movie didn't entirely work for me. It's a beautifully shot science fiction drama, and I'm certain the source material is an excellent read, but the adaptation by Alex Garland (not my favorite screenwriter) doesn't quite succeed.

I had a little trouble buying into this love triangle for the ages. With a running time of 103 minutes, there isn't much time to properly explore these relationships. The audience is pretty much asked to buy into it with the sharing of a gift, and a kiss on park bench. I also found myself not caring much for the characters when portrayed by child actors. 30 minutes later when the lead actors appear, I felt the need to start over and reestablish connections with the characters.

If you're at all interested in this story and the world presented within it, I would probably recommend reading the book. I think I'll do so myself in the near future.

Never Let Me Go: Trailer

Afrika Baby Bam

It's likely we'll never hear the full story, but it is disappointing to hear that Baby Bam has not only become the black sheep (no pun intended) of the Native Tongue family, but also a laughing-stock to some members of the Hip Hop community.

I recall a video on the internet a few years ago in which Pharrell shared a story with DJ Premier about a chance encounter between Busta Rhymes and Afrika. At this time he (Afrika) was doing his Pagan movement thing and there were a lot of "I don't knoooooooow's" and raised eyebrows, with the implication that perhaps he was gay.

Try to start a conversation about the Jungle Brothers today, and you may find the conversation heading in that direction. I hope this doesn't become the lasting legacy of the Jungle Brothers. I mean, they did put out two good albums, and helped start one of the more creative movements in Hip Hop.

Afrika appears on the latest episode of Percee P's Preserving The Culture podcast. To be honest, it's not the most exciting or focused conversation, but he does touch on the origins of the group, his problems with Q-Tip, and the Pagan thing that had everyone riled up. Check it out if you're interested.

Preserving The Culture: Link

Jungle Brothers - Promo No.2 (Mind Review '89)


Jungle Brothers - Ultrablack

A (Very) Brief Conversation: H2O

Van Full of Pakistans from ATL based group Y'all So Stupid always ranked high on my list of One and Done albums released in the 90s.

The album title always seemed strange to me. Even stranger, the title track was released as a second single. I never heard it announced on the radio, but I'm sure DJs had fun reading the title "Van Full of Pakistans by Y'all So Stupid".

The chorus and lyrics speak to various problems the emcees may have been going through, so I sort of figured the title was a metaphor of sorts. Today (through the magic of Twitter), I got an answer from group member, H2O:

"yes, a complete metaphor. A Van Full Of Pakistans = A Song Full Of Problems: the van = the song & the Pakistans = the problems."

There you have it. I would have asked him to expound, but then it wouldn't be a (very) brief conversation.

Y'all So Stupid - Van Full of Pakistans


Y'all So Stupid - Van Full of Pakistans (Spearhead X Remix)


Album version is a nice little track, but the remix wins for me.

Get at H2O on Twitter: Link

Cracker Jax

One of my favorite I wonder why they never dropped an album groups from the 90s.

Cool Whip and Brittle could be found kicking off posse cuts by Leaders of the New School, which also included fellow Long Islanders, Rumpletilskinz, Kollie Weed and the Now or Laters.

While the Rumpletilskinz were able to secure a deal with RCA, the Cracker Jax (almost entirely) disappeared from the Hip Hop Scene.

Kevin Beacham from Fifth Element Online interviews the duo, where they speak on the Long Island Hip Hop scene, meeting Leaders of the New School, there issues with Prime Minister Pete Nice, and the failed deals that kept them from releasing material proper.

Fifth Element Online: Link

Leaders of the New School - Mt. Airy Groove


Leaders of the New School - Sound of the Zeekers @#^**?!


Leaders of the New School - Spontaneous (13 MC's Deep)

Bernard Wright - Who Do You Love

Hard rocks, fall back for a minute.

This is like the sweetest video ever.



More to love:

- The color red.
- Old school kung fu look.
- Gettin' busy on the upright bass.
- Coltrane on the wall.
- Girl is cute (and is wearing chuck taylors)
- Mustard shirt, black jacket and tie, white pants.
- The "behind every great man" shot, right before the bridge.
- The bridge, which is a little "Once" hokey, but it's alright...he's in love.
- The head over heels, rolling around motif. Look at Bernard's face. Dude is all smiling and shit. Even though homegirl looks terrified, he's fully committed. This sort of sincerity is missing

from these thug muffins singing R&B today.