In My Opinion

My Favorities of 2008

2008-12-23T08:24:00.000-05:00

Before we get started let me get a few things out of the way first. This is no way a BEST of 2008 list. As I've been doing for the past 5 years, these are my favorite tracks of 2008. The year started out a bit slow but picked up immensely. It was becoming difficult to list just 100 so I decided for the first time ever I'd create a list of 200 tracks. 2008 was a lot better than some of you realize.

As far as the criteria went, I do realize a lot of these tracks may have leaked a bit premature to the new year. I tried to stay away from unofficial remixes, mixtape tracks, freestyles or anything I felt wasn't a "real" joint. Though I'm sure some may have slipped through. I did include the AmpLive "Radiohead" remixes that I really enjoyed.

You'll see a lot of artists duplicate. I suppose that explains why those artists were also responsible for this years best LPs; like Scarface, The Roots, Atmosphere, Prodigy, Reks or Killer Mike.

Some rappers stayed busy this year like Lil Wayne, Elzhi, Z-Ro or most recently Freeway with his Month of Madness. So it should come as no surprise why they also made the list a lot.

You'll also notice I have something of a man crush on Blu. He is by far my favorite new rapper and my pick for rapper of the year. Despite having one of the best albums of 2007 with "Below The Heavens" I felt 2008 was really the year Blu came into his own.

Ok, ok, ok (yes Joe Pesci) before we get to the list just remember these are my favorites. I don't claim to have the best taste or the most knowledge. I'm not all about the blogs, Myspace or whatever a lot of you peep the latest joints and I don't listen to the radio at all. These tracks are what I like and hopefully it'll open some of you up to some of the dopest joints of '08.

Philaflava's 200 Favorite Tracks of 2008

2Face (L-Swift & A-Butta) - Howard Sturn
50 Cent - The Mechanic feat. Tony Yayo
8thW1 - A Fool's Lullaby (Could It Be)
8thW1 - Peace feat. Fresh Daily & Silent Knight
A.B.N. - I Miss My Dawgs
A.B.N. - Rain
A.B.N. - Umm Hmm
AmpLive - Nudez feat. Too $hort & MC Zumbi
AmpLive - Video Tapez feat. Del the Funky Homosapien
Atmopshere - The Waitress
Atmopshere - Yesterday
Atmosphere - Carry Me Home
Atmosphere - Painting
Atmosphere - Your Glass House
AZ - Dead End
B.O.B. - I'm That Nigga feat. T.I.
Big Boi - Royal Flush feat. Andre & Raekwon
Billy Danze - I'ma Kill Ya
Billy Danze - Savages
Bishop Lamont - Grow Up
Bishop Lamont - Right
Black Element - Human
Black Milk - The Matrix feat. Pharoahe Monch, Sean Price & DJ Premier
Blu - Glory Us
Braille - The IV feat. Rob Swift
Buckshot & 9th Wonder - Ready (Brand New Day)
Buff 1 - Classic Rap
Bun B - Damn I'm Cold feat. Lil Wayne
Bun B - You're Everything feat. Rick Ross, David Banner, 8Ball & MJG
C.R.A.C. (Blu & Ta'Raach) - Respect
Camp Lo - Lumdi
Co$$ - Angelic feat. Blu
Connie Price and The Keystones - Across The Board feat. Big Daddy Kane
Cormega - Fresh feat. DJ Red Alert, PMD, Grand Puba, Big Daddy Kane & KRS-ONE
Cormega - Who Am I feat. AZ & Nature
CurT@!n$ - Rebel
Dagha - Scat
David Banner - Suicide Doors feat. Pimp C & Young Dro
Dela - Vibrate feat. Blu
DJ Babu - Dearly Departed feat. M.O.P.
DJ Babu - The Unexpected feat. MF Doom & Sean Price
DJ Benzi - 2nd Time feat. Wale & Brother Ali
DJ Cadik - Keep It Real feat. Phat Kat & Elzhi
DJ Muggs & Planet Asia - Pain Language
DJ Rerok - The Corner feat. DV Alias Khryst, Ras Kass, Doo Wop & Termanology
DJ Revolution - The DJ feat. KRS-ONE
DJ Wich - Classic feat. M.O.P.
Dr. Dooom - Do Not Disturb
Elzhi - Guessing Game
Elzhi - Motown 25 feat. Royce 5'9
Elzhi - Talkin' In My Sleep
Elzhi - That's The One
eMC - Git Some feat. Sean Price
EPMD - Blow
EPMD - What You Talkin' feat. Havoc
Erykah Badu - The Healer (Remix) feat. Pharoahe Monch
Fat Joe - My Conscience feat. KRS-ONE
Fat Joe - That White
Fat Ray & Black Milk - Get Focus feat. Phat Kat & Elzhi
Freeway - Everlast
Freeway - Street Music
Freeway - Tell U Something
Guilty Simpson - Run feat. Sean Price & Black Milk
G-Unit - You So Tough
GZA - Columbian Ties feat. True Master
Heliocentrics - Distant Star feat. MF Doom & Percee P
Heltah Skeltah - Hell'z Kitchen
Heltah Skeltah - The Art Of Disrespekinazation
Heltah Skeltah - W.M.D. feat. Smif N Wessun
Hired Gun - Arrest the President
Homebwoi - It's Just Me
Homebwoi - Magnificent
Ice Cube - Gangsta Rap (Remix) feat. Scarface & Nas
Ill Bill - Society Is Brainwashed
Illa J - All Good
Jadakiss - Death Wish feat. Lil Wayne
Jadakiss - From Then To Now
Jake One - The Truth feat. Freeway & Brother Ali
Jake One - Trap Door feat. MF Doom
Jay Electronica - Exhibit A (Transformations)
Jay-Z - Jockin' Jay-Z
Jeff Johnson - Sarah Palin Got Good Pussy
J-Live - The Understanding
J-Live - The Upgrade feat. Oddisee & Posdnous
Joe Budden - Slaughterhouse feat. Joell Ortiz, Nino Bless, Crooked I & Royce Da 5'9
Joe Budden - Who
John Brown - Sarah Palin (I Wanna Lay Pipe)
Johnson & Jonson - Hold On John
Johnson & Jonson - The Only Way
Kam Moye (Supastition) - Welcome To My Life
Keelay and Zaire - The Times feat. Blu, Fortilive and Nino Moschella
Keith Murray - Def Squad feat. Erick Sermon & Redman
Kidz In The Hall - Drivin' Down The Block (El-P Remix) feat. El-P, Pusha T & The Cool Kids
Killah Priest & Chief Kamachi - Illest feat. Planet Asia & DJ Rhettmatic
Killer Mike - 10 G's
Killer Mike - God In The Building
Killer Mike - Good-Bye (City of Dope)
Killer Mike - Pressure feat. Ice Cube
Killer Mike - Super Clean/Super Hard feat. 8Ball & MJG
Kool Keith - Supa Supa Supreme (Larry Hutch Remix)
Kurious Jorge - From Up Under feat. Max B
Large Professor - The Entrance
Lil Wayne - Dr. Carter
Lil Wayne - Let The Beat Build
Lil Wayne - Lollipop (Remix) feat. Kanye West
Lil Wayne - Mr. Carter feat. Jay-Z
Lil Wayne - Nothin’ On Me feat. Juelz Santana & Fabolous
Little Brother - Best Kept Secret feat. Legacy
Lone Cataylsts - Hit The Studio (Dead The Afterparty)
Ludacris - Last Of A Dying Breed feat. Lil Wayne
Ludacris - MVP
Maxillia Blue - easyflowgoodflowbadflowinthewater
Maylay Sparks - Absynth feat. Reef The Lost Cauze
Maylay Sparks - Million Words
MJG - Small Town Girl
Mr. Live - Fallen Rain
Murs - And I Love It
Murs - Can It Be (Half A Million Dollars and 18 Months Later)
Murs - The Science
Nas - Esco Let's Go
Nas - Hero
Nas - Queens Get The Money
New Jack Hustle - Inglewood
NYGz - Ya Dayz R #'D (Remix) feat. Lady Of Rage, Freddie Foxxx & Royce 5'9"
O.C. & A.G. - Time Travel
Panacea - Voyagers
Peedi Crakk - Brand New Start
People Under The Stairs - Step Bacc
Phonte - Let It Be Known feat. Sean Price
Plies - Family Straight
Praverb - The King
Presto - Conquer Mentally (Large Pro remix) feat. Sadat X, O.C. & Large Professor
Presto - Pour Another Glass feat. Blu
Prodigy - Catch Body Music
Prodigy - P Keep Spittin
Prodigy - The Dough
Prodigy - Veterans Memorial Part 2
Promise - Change feat. Kam Moye, Probz & Royce Da 5'9
Q-Tip - Getting' Up (Remix) feat. Camp Lo
Q-Tip - Move
Raekwon - Jihad feat. Ghostface Killah
Rahsaan - Sneaker Store Terrorist
Rashid Hadee - Explode
Reef The Lost Cauze - Afghan Green
Reks - All In One (5 Mics) feat. Lil Fame
Reks - Cloud 9
Reks - Say Goodnight
Reks - Stages
Royce Da 5'9 - Shake This
RZA - You Can't Stop Me Now feat. Inspectah Deck
S.L. Jones - So Sincerious
Saigon - Believe It
San Quinn - Devotion feat. Too Short, Mistah F.A.B.& Chops
Scarface - Emeritus
Scarface - Forgot About Me feat. Bun B & Lil Wayne
Scarface - High Note
Scarface - Soldier Story feat. The Product & Z-Ro
Scarface - Who Are They feat. Slim Thug & K-Rino
Shawn Anthony - Beautiful Life
Shawn Jackson - Feelin' Jack
Shaya - Industry Life
Sheek Louch - Good Love
Skillz - Hold Tight feat. Black Thought
Slaughterhouse - Onslaught
Slim Thug - Bitch I'm Back feat. Devin The Dude
Slim Thug - My Life feat. Chamillionaire & Trae
Smoothe Da Hustler - Rap Game feat. Trigger Tha Gambler
Soul Cannon - Hands High
Souls of Mischief - Tour Stories
Styles P - Blow Your Mind (Remix) feat. Jadakiss & Sheek Louch
Supastition - Bad Blood
T.I. - I'm Illy
T.I. - Swagger Like Us feat. Kanye West, Jay-Z & Lil' Wayne
Talib Kweli - Hostile Gospel (Remix) feat. Nina Sky, Joell Ortiz & Blu
Tame One - Catch Me feat. Del The Funky Homosapien
Tame One - Haha Da Rah Rah feat. Sean Price
Tech N9ne - Blackboy feat. Brother J, Ice Cube & Krizz Kaliko
Termanology - How We Rock feat. Bun B
The Alchemist - Lose Your Life feat. Jadakiss, Snoop Dogg & Pusha T
The Alchemist - Therapy feat. Evidence, Blu, & Kid Cudi
The Game - Game's Pain (Remix) feat. Jadakiss, Bun B, Fat Joe, Young Buck & Keyshia Cole
The Game - My Life feat. Lil Wayne
The LOX - It's Like That
The P Brothers - Cold World feat. Boss Money
The P. Brothers - Blam Blam For Nottingham feat. Boss Money
The P. Brothers - Caviar feat. Roc Marciano
The Roots - Criminal feat. Truck North & Saigon
The Roots - Get Busy feat. Peedi Crakk, Dice Raw & DJ Jazzy Jeff
The Roots - Rising Down feat. Mos Def & Styles P
The Roots - Rising Up feat. Wale & Chrisette Michele
The Terriorists - Build It From Scratch feat. Skydro And Justice
Theo - Sweetest Language
TiRon - Quitter feat. Tunji of Inverse & Ayomari
Truck North - Flyer Than The Rest feat. Wale
Truck North - What It Has 2 Be feat. Roscoe P. Coldchain
Young Blood - There Will Be Be Blood
Young Jeezy - My President feat. Nas
Young Jeezy - Put On (Remix) feat. Jay-Z
Young Jeezy - Word Play
Z-Ro - Made

Philaflava's 15 Favorite Tracks of 2008.

1. Reks - Say Goodnight
2. The Roots - Get Busy feat. Dice Raw, Peedi Crakk & DJ Jazzy Jeff
3. Johnson & Jonson - Hold On John
4. Big Boi - Royal Flush feat. Andre & Raekwon
5. Atmosphere - The Waitress
6. The Roots - Rising Down feat. Mos Def & Styles P
7. Elzhi - That's The One
8. Lil Wayne - Mr. Carter feat. Jay-Z
9. Reks - Stages
10. Shawn Jackson - Feelin' Jack
11. Prodigy - Catch Body Music
12. Fat Joe - That White
13. Atmosphere - Yesterday
14. Scarface - Soldier Story feat. The Product & Z-Ro
15. Elzhi - Talkin' In My Sleep

Philaflava's 10 Favorite Rappers of 2008.

1. Blu
2. Elzhi
3. Lil Wayne
4. Joe Budden
5. Reks
6. Black Thought
7. Killer Mike
8. Prodigy
9. Slug
10. Royce Da 5'9

Philaflava's 10 Favorite LP's 2008

1. The Roots - Rising Down
2. Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold
3. Scarface - Emeritus
4. Lil Wayne - The Carter III
5. Killer Mike - I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind II
6. P Brothers - The Gas
7. Young Jeezy - The Recession
8. Reks - Grey Hairs
9. Heltah Skeltah - D.I.R.T.
10. A.B.N. - It Is What It Is

10 Types of Drivers I Hate

2008-10-08T09:52:00.001-04:00

10. The old driver

I'm more sympathetic than most because I guess my grandparents were once old drivers too. But as I get older and time becomes an issue I am starting to find myself wanting to pull a Joe Pesci and put a bat to their heads. I blame the DMV because there is no way most of these old prunes should still be on the road. Last month I saw a cop pulled one over for driving TOO SLOW. Please stay retired and sit in your clubhouse playing bingo. Stay off the road!

09. The won't let you cut-in driver

These people hate life so much. They are in no rush to go anywhere but they refuse to allow you to get over because for that few seconds its the only time they feel powerful. Sometimes I wish cars had an option for defense bumpers (like bumper cars) where we could just knock these guys off the road. I'm not talking about being that arrogant driver who's constantly swerving in and out of lanes to advance, I'm taking about when you need to crossover to get on to the highway or when you meant to merge to make that turn and didn't realize it so you only have 10 seconds to get over and this cockblocker won't let you. Fuck that cockblocker.

08. The mid-life crisis driver

Great you just bought a Carrera and now you think you're big shit. Your wife probably divorced you, took half your money and now you're living in a 1 bedroom and the only way you could justify living is to finally lease that Porsche you've always wanted to. Your wife still has the money, house, the kids and is probably fucking more guys since the divorce than she did her entire life. Congrats you winner!

07. The Herbalife driver

I don't knock people trying to hustle but it seems like the Herbalife sellers use every inch of their window as a driving billboard for some shitty pyramid program that never made anyone but the owner of Herbalife rich. 9/10 times it's a middle aged woman who is driving this car. And like the mid-life crisis driver, this woman was probably left by her husband for a younger broad. This driver has let herself go significantly while packing on a good 30lbs since the divorce. She wears an overwhelming amount of MAC make-up and immediately logs into some online dating service once she gets home after driving to other divorcees homes throughout the day to sell this scam.

06. The bumper sticker driver

It's an eye-sore to see a car with so many bumper stickers and most of them are either extremely unfunny, played or weathered to where you can't even make them out. The other day I saw a car that had the following groups as bumper stickers; Limp Bizkit, Stain, NOFX and Marilyn Manson. Your car looks like a mobile Hot Topics. Go someplace and die you faggot.

05. Got Jesus drivers

Listen you simpleminded fuck, keep your religion to yourself. Your car is not owned by Clear Channel so kill the billboard bullshit for the man upstairs. It's bad enough we've had a fundamentalist run and ruin our country for the past 8 years, I don't need to be reminded of it every time I'm driving to work.

04. My child is on the honor roll driver

That's right be proud of your limp-wrist child who is achieving 2nd grade reading at age 7 while the rest of the world has already completed 4th grade reading at that age. Your child will either grow up to be a fruit or grow up to hate you, take your pick. Let's see how proud you'll be then bitches.

03. The played out radio tune driver

First off can we all agree there should be a music statues of limitations on popular tunes? When I see a kid with all 4 windows and sunroof down while blasting Dre's "Next Episode" or "Party Up" by DMX I cringe. Those are tracks that should only be played in the privacy of your own home or in your headphones. It's also perfectly acceptable to enjoy that track in the company of your drunken friends but when you're solo crusin' for some looks that is not the track you need to be playing. Not in 2008 holmes.

02. The Po-po driver

Too easy right? I hate cops on the road cuz they slow down the traffic and they know it. There is no in between for them, either they cruise at the speed limit which makes everyone bitch up and drive like fairies or they go 15-12 MPH over the speed limit because they can. I hate when they throw on their lights just to bypass a red light. I hate everything about a cop on the road. They serve no purpose and are wasting tax payers money. People will always drive fast. People will always get into accidents. Cops need to be doing something better than making me late for dinner just because they got another 12 hours to kill on the clock. You probably see it different but I think cops abuse their powers the most when they're on the road.

01. The W. sticker driver

So you mean to tell me for the past 4-5 years you haven't found the time to remove that George W. sticker you put on your car for the world to see just how much of a fucking moron you are? When I see these drivers I get road rage for no other reason than this clown must actually be happy with their decision. I don't know whether to throw coins at the car or hock a loogie, I just know those are usually the first things that come to mind. And it's usually one of the three; borderline upper/middle class corporate America executive hack, redneck truckers or extreme Jesus freaks from a 3rd world country who hates 99.9% of the time hates African Americans and Jew but them some Hayzos.

Phila's Fifteen Things That Need To Disappear In Hip-Hop

2008-09-26T10:58:00.004-04:00

Phila's Fifteen Things That Need To Disappear In Hip-Hop

15. Overpriced vinyl records

I appreciate the music One Leg Records puts out, but these extortionists charge $80 and upwards for one piece of vinyl which to me is absurd. Most of the releases are obscure or unreleased material from the 90's from artists who are more than likely collecting unemployment today, yet these have the audacity to demand more than a fair price to release their material. I've heard stories where certain artists demand $20,000 for just a few tracks. These artists are c-level guys that never really made much noise when they were in the game, but now become desperate and demand more than their value. If this label sells 500 pieces of vinyl for $80 apiece that $40,000 and after expensive that's $39,200 profit.

I'm all for vinyl collecting because I continue to do it despite the increases due to production, demand and of course oil prices, but there is a point where smarts must intervene. If you drop $80+ on a brand new record (usually EP), you either are filthy rich are extremely stupid.

14. Asher Roth

No thank you buddy. I've seen my fair share of geeky Jewish rappers in the game and I rather not see many more. Asher needs to be brutally ganged rapped by Verne Schillinger and company. I'll take John Brown all day over this Abercrombie & Bitch.

13. 99.9% of Blogs

Let's cut the shit, there are only a handful of worthy blogs out there. Most of them are just carbon copies and are becoming a waste of time because they all post the same shit they get from the feeds. If one blog gets an exclusive within 15 minutes the other billion blogs link it as well. Blogging is cool, but if you aren't bringing something new to the table just stay on the sidelines. Just because you have a computer and it takes two minutes to set up a Blogger.com account doesn't mean you should. Stay in your lane guys.

12. Political rap

I love me some Paris. I think The Coup is great, but can we just stop with the political shit for awhile? It died down for a minute and now that it's an election year it seems to be popping up again. Lif, Immortal Tech, Dead Prez are talented but no more NWO talks. No more Bush Admin and please save me the William Cooper raps. I don't care anymore. We're in a recession and we had 8 years of George W. Can we just realize things have been fucked and talk about something that isn't shoved in our face every time we read a newspaper, listen to NPR or turn on the news? Rap about, I don't know rapping? Rap about food--ziti is making a big comeback. Rap about Megan Good. Rap about wack rappers again. Just leave the political shit alone for awhile.

11. Copywrite

I don't hate the man, I just wish after all those beatings he took he'd know enough to just stay away. How can anyone take this guy seriously? He's still doing that battle rap shit like it's the 90's again. I hate to say it we're about to be in 2010 and NONE wanna hear Copywrite talk about how rough, rugged and raw he is. Off-topic, LMAO @ the Roc-A-Fella rumor from years back.

10. Chino XL, Ras Kass, fill in the _______ type rappers.

We believed in you. We really did, but you failed us numerous times and it ain't 1996 anymore. Leave rap alone the game doesn't need you.

09. DJ Khaled

Unless he becomes talented in the next year, can somebody tell me why this fat towel head is so popular? Call me a hater, call me whatever but DJ Khaled easily takes the crown as the most annoying Rap personality of the new Millennium. He doesn't even produce his own records. I used to think Clue was annoying with all that yelling on his mixtapes but I have grown to appreciate, respect and MISS DJ Clue since Khaled jumped on the scene. Nobody likes him in Florida, which means he's the our version of Termanology.

08. Collabos with pop artists

I'll look the other way if somebody wants to do a collabo with Mr. Timberlake because "My Love" was fucking great, but when I see Jadakiss doing shit with Paris Hilton or Brook Hogan I wanna throw up. I know it's just a check. It's no different from Royce Da 5'9 doing shit with Willa Ford but can we please get some morals? Most of you rappers have tons of opportunity to make money if you're popular like Jadakiss or Fat Joe. I'm still recovering from the M.O.P and LFO collabo. Just stop it guys!

07. Common

Do I even need to list a reasons?

06. Paying for digital downloads

I get why iTunes is a success (White America), but the hip-hop world is trying to reproduce that shit knowing their demographic is the one that downloads more than any other. I still go out and buy music on Tuesdays but I refuse to pay for something that isn't a produced product. I want artwork. A CD case and a real CD. I enjoy the feeling of ripping the plastic wrap off and throwing the CD in my player. I like the way my CD shelves look and look forward to adding to my collection with each purchase. But why am I gonna buy a MP3 for $0.99 when or a full album for $9.99 when I can just buy the actual CD and burn it myself and create all the MP3s I want from it? Why would I pay for MP3s when they're available in seconds with the help of Share Miner or Google? Is it right? Nah, probably not but neither is selling something that doesn't exist. Support the artists but support the consumer and actually sell them something they can feel (pun).

05. MySpace bulletins

Nobody cares. Stop it you fool. Go outside or go call a friend.

04. Vocoder

Two years is enough of this shit. It was fun while it lasted but no more please. T-Pain, I'm sorry but you'll have to find some other work. May I suggest gay porn since you seem to like boys? The shit needs to come to an end. Kanye is getting WAY out of hand with it and I hate to say it but you all sound like fucking Cher on "I Believe." Be a man. Whatever happened to real rap music where we talked about the NOI and hated on the devil? I want that shit back not this Auto Tune crap.

03. Street Peddlers

I was on 42nd Street in New York this past Sunday while this guy immediately yells for my attention while I'm walking out of the store. He begins to hand me his CD-R and pulls out a Sharpie marker and says let me give you a signed copy. I said, I don't know who you are and I really don't have any interest. He responds "but show me some love?"

What the fuck is up with these high school drop outs trying to hustle their bullshit music on the street to every cracker walking by? My answer is I only have a credit card most of the time and they don't even bother responding. Whether its outside your local music store or just as you're about to hop on the train these creatures are everywhere. Attention all street rappers peddling your CD-R, NOBODY wants it. If you were good you'd be signed or making moves where you wouldn't have to sell your shit to every Tom, Dick and Harry.

02. The Hipster fashions

I blame Kanye, Pharell, Lupe and some sub-underground Urban Outfitters groups like The Cool Kids on these hideous trends but can we stop rocking the SUPER-TIGHT jeans with the Nike dunks and those sun-glasses that you can order from the back of a Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal box? That style is gay and there is no way around it. Just rap and dress like a heterosexual please.

01. Termanology

Let's admit it, it's fun to hate on this dweeb, right? This half French half Puertro Rican Bostionian, who by the way is despised in his own town could really pass for Pedro Zamora (MTV's Real World - San Fran) on most days. The only difference between the two is Pedro died of AIDS and Term still fighting the fight. Pedro had a black boyfriend. Term loves dropping the N-bomb. Puck hated Pedro on the Real World. Most of the Real World hates Term.

Philaflava.com's Exclusive Interview w/Prodigy

2008-07-16T14:21:00.002-04:00

Prodigy (of Mobb Deep) who is currently serving a 3 1/2 year bid recorded this interview (conducted by his wife) for exclusively for Philaflava.com. The questions asked came from you, the members of Philaflava. Prodigy has the ability to write blogs for Vibe but he does not have the ability to talk to many people over the phone. We've all been a fan of his blogs for a minute now, but we finally get blessed with hearing what Prodigy really has to say (in audio). Philaflava is for us, by us (no LL).

Both Prodigy and his wife were kind enough to make this happen, so without further ado here it is.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/1542974094d45b30/

Special thanks goes out to the Johnson family and Jackie O.

Why I Hate Nas

2008-07-03T09:17:00.002-04:00

I hate Nas because he hasn't made an album that lived up to his potential in exactly 12 years (IWW released July 2, 1996).

I hate Nas because he is so far removed from hip-hop that he refuses to believe the beats he chooses aren't unflattering to say the least.

I hate Nas because he has no concept of adapting to a beat. Jay-Z does this well; think Flip Flop Rock or Hell Yeah. He knows how to adjust where as Nas always sounds extremely uncomfortable. He just doesn't have that ability. Biggie did it the best and Jay studied that. Nas doesn't study. Doesn't try and when he dos we get Who Killed It.

I hate Nas because he still has some good ideas in terms of writing but again his beat selection just ruins it. Unauthorized Biography of Rakim was a great idea on paper, but Nas produced the track and I don't think any of us have cared to listen to it since hearing it for the first time in 2004. On "Untitled" Sly Fox is also a great idea on paper but that beat is extremely awkward for Nas and doesn't work with the concept. Nas is so conflicted he has idiotic reasons that play a role in his album associations. Sly Fox has all the mineral and vitamins but lacks the irons and the niacin. The track falls short; yet I could only imagine if it had a beat like "Ya Dayz R #'d" it would probably be everyone's favorite track of 2008.

I hate Nas because he once gave me a feeling after listening to Illmatic like no other rapper has since. He was my era's Rakim. See to me Rakim is Jordan and there will never be another. He has everything from the verbals to the voice to the story telling and most importantly the catalog. I didn't get to appreciate Ra until the 90's because I was still young so when Nas dropped I was prepped for his greatness.

I hate Nas because despite what many of you will say, he is the most talented lyricist in hip-hop. He has the ability to be the best ever. Yet, I find myself yearly making a statement expressing my disgust for him and his ridiculous career moves. If Rakim is Jordan, Nas would be Kobe, the closest we have yet not even close in reality.

I hate Nas because instead of listening to his albums for an entire summer, I can barely listen to them for entire hour. Untitled, like most of his albums this decade (save maybe Stillmatic) have been an utter waste of time and talent. If you can find one track off of Untitled that would even make it on a list of the 30 best Nas songs I'd would be very surprised. At the end of the day there just isn't anything there. You may force yourself to like what would be considered a mediocre Nas track in the 90's decent today but overall you can't force yourself into really accepting this from a rapper like Nas.

I hate Nas because we beat all the dead horses possible talking about him, still I feel a need to with each failed attempt he delivers.

I hate Nas because he always comes up with a bullshit excuse about not reaching out to Primo or Large P. The only reason Stillmatic was good was because he had Extra P, Primo, L.E.S and the original core team on there. If I, a virtual nobody in this game can communicate with ease with producers such as Buckwild, Large Professor or Easy Moe then Nas certainly can. If not him, his lackey who manages his MySpace. There is NO reason in the world anyone of those producers are unreachable when it comes to Nas. Primo would probably even go to great lengths to help Nas out and all of them would do it out of love. Still, Nas continues to take hand-outs from unpolished producers or producers that do not bring out the best in Nas. Would you rather have an album of Blunt Ashes or an album of You're Da Man?

I hate Nas because Jay-Z won the battle. Even if Jay is bored and hasn't seemed the least bit interested in making a good album in a few, he still won and it pains me because I was always on Team Nas. Nas is better. Much better but until he produces better albums how could anyone argue Jay isn't better?

I hate Nas because after all this bullshit he drops he fucks with our heads and gives us something like "Surviving The Times" which is nowhere to be found on his albums. We know he is capable. We know he still has a few years left. We know he can put together great tracks like Surviving The Times, Can't Forget About You, Thief's Theme or Made U Look. But for some reason somebody told Nas it was a good idea to create embarrassing music that taints whatever legacy he has left with garbage like Sekou Story.

I hate Nas because after I see him again this years at Rock The Bells I'll fall in love again after he does all his older material (he rarely does new shit at shows) and believe he still has it.

Philaflava T-Shirts

2008-06-13T17:18:00.001-04:00

http://www.philaflava.com/paypal

The Greatest Producer of All-Time

2008-06-10T10:59:00.000-04:00

DJ Premier - Instrumental Collection (4cds)

DISC ONE:
1 - Intro - What is Hip-Hop? (Words By DJ Premier)
2 - DJ Premier - True Hip-Hop beat [rare]
3 - Group Home -Unreleased Beat
4 - Group Home - Up Against Da Wall
5 - Gangstarr, Inspectah Deck - Above The Clouds
6 - Gangstarr - Zonin'
7 - Gangstarr - Riot Akt
8 - Gangstarr - The Squeeze
9 - Gangstarr - Who Got Gunz
10 - M.O.P - Click Clap
11 - Afu Ra - Voodoo Child
12 - Bumpy Knuckles - Part Of My Life
13 - Crooklyn Dodgers - The Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers
14 - Gangstarr - All 4 Da Cash
15 - Group Home - Baby Pa
16 - DJ Premier - True Hip-Hop beat [rare]
17 - DJ Premier - True Hip-Hop beat [rare]
18 - Immobilarie - 718
19 - Heather B - Guilty
20 - DJ Premier - True Hip-Hop beat [rare]
21 - DJ Premier - True Hip-Hop beat [rare]
22 - DJ Premier - True Hip-Hop beat [rare]
23 - DJ Premier - True Hip-Hop beat [rare]
24 - DJ Premier - True Hip-Hop beat [rare]
25 - DJ Premier - True Hip-Hop beat [rare]
26 - DJ Premier - True Hip-Hop beat [rare]
27 - DJ Premier - True Hip-Hop beat [rare]
28 - Fat Joe - The **** Is Real (remix)
29 - Bonus Beat! - (By Diamond D) - Stay Tuned For Underground Instrumentals 6!
30 - Bonus Beat! - (By Diamond D) - Stay Tuned For Underground Instrumentals 6!
DISC TWO:
31 - Kool G. Rap - The First *****
32 - Screwball - Seen It All
33 - Afu Ra - Equality
34 - Royce Da 5'9 - Boom
35 - Afu Ra - Defeat
36 - D&D Allstars - 1&2 Pass It
37 - DITC - Thick
38 - Gangstarr - Just 2 Get A Rep
39 - Group Home - Supa Star
40 - Group Home - The Realness
41 - Group Home - Suspended In Time
42 - Group Home - Livin Proof
43 - Showbiz & AG - The Next Level (remix)
44 - Jeru The Damaja - Me Not The Paper (unreleased remix)
45 - Jeru The Damaja - Me Or The Paper
46 - Jeru The Damaja - Come Clean
47 - Gangstarr - So Wassup
48 - Gangstarr - Speak Ya Clout 1
49 - Gangstarr - Speak Ya Clout 2
50 - Gangstarr - Speak Ya Clout 3
51 - Gangstarr - Code of Da Streetz
52 - Gangstarr - Capture
53 - Gangstarr - Deadly Habitz
54 - Gangstarr - Nice Girl~ Wrong Place
55 - Gangstarr - Skillz
56 - Gangstarr - Peace of Mine
57 - Gangstarr - In This Life
58 - Gangstarr - Rite Where You Stand
59 - Gangstarr - Playtawin
60 - Pushim - Set Me Free
61 - Rakim - When I Be On The MicScrewball - F.A.Y.B.A.N.
62 - Double CD Set One Outro
DISC THREE:
63 - Underground Instrumentals - Intro - My Catalog
64 - KRS One - MC's Act Like They Don't Know
65 - Gangstarr - Mass Appeal
66 - Nas - Memory Lane
67 - Bahamadia - 3 Da Hard Way
68 - Jeru Da Damaja - Can't Stop Da Prophet
39 - Jeru Da Damaja - D Original
70 - Gangstarr- Question Remains
71 - Big Shug - Crush
72 - Blaq Poet - Poet's Comin
73.- M.O.P. - Unreleased Beat
74 - DITC - The Enemy
75 - DJ Premier - True Hip-Hop beat [rare]
76 - Heather B - Steady Rockin'
77 - O.C. - M.U.G. (Money Underground)
78 - D'Angelo - Devil's Pie
79 - Gangstarr - You Know My Steez
80 - Gangstarr - Full Clip
81 - Gangstarr, Total - Discipline
82 - Pitch Black - It's All Real
83 - Nas - Nas Is Like
84 - Nas - Second Childhood
85 - Big Jaz - Love is Gone
86 - Big L - Platinum Plus
87 - All City - The Actual
88 - Mos Def - Mathematics
89 - Mos Def, Craig David, Nate Dog - 7 Days remix
90 - Common - 6th Sense
91 - Das Efx - Real Hip Hop
92 - Jeru Da Damaja - Playin Ya'self
93 - BONUS: Stay Tuned For Underground Instrumentals 6!
DISC FOUR:
94 - Ras Kass - Golden Child
95 - Gangstarr - Royalty
96 - Gangstarr, M.O.P. - 1-2 & 1-2
97 - M.O.P. - Rugged Neva Smooth
98 - Gangstarr - Militia
99 - Lox - Recognize
100 - Notorious BIG - Ten Crack Commandments
101 - Notorious BIG - Unbelievable
102 - Jay Z - A Million & One Questions
103 - Jay Z - A Million & One Questions (Beat 2)
104 - Jay Z, Sauce Money, Jaz - Bring It On
105 - Jay Z - Friend or Foe
106 - Jay Z - So Ghetto
107 - Tony Touch - The PieceMaker
108 - CNN - Invincible
109 - O.C. - My World
110 - Snoop - One & Only
111 - Gangstarr - Natural
112 - M.O.P. - Handle Ur Bizness (remix)
113 - Royce Da 5'9 - Friend
114 - DJ DJ Premier - True Hip-Hop beat [rare]
115 - Fat Joe - Gangsta ****
116 - Fat Joe - Success
117 - Rakim - Been A Long
118 - Afu-Ra, Gza - Big Acts Little Acts
119 - DJ Premier - True Hip-Hop beat [rare]
120 - M.O.P. - Stick To Ya Gunz
121 - Gangstarr - Take It Personal
122 - Group Home - Up Against Da Wall (remix)
123 - Gangstarr - Sabotage
124 - DJ Premier - True Hip-Hop beat [rare]
125 - Paula Perry - Extra Extra
126 - Brand Nubian - The Return
127 - Gangstarr - Ex Girl Next To The Next Girl

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2WK0SJDD

When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold

2008-04-17T09:12:00.002-04:00

This morning I popped in the CD on my way to work. For me, listening to music in the car is the best. I'm focused. I got true surround sound and everything at my finger tips. I didn't just listen to this on some computer speakers and was quick to pop-off.

I may not be the best judge being that I just got hip to Atmosphere just a few years back, so I am not familiar with everything they've ever done, though I feel I've listened to a great deal. I definitely have heard enough to hear the progression and point out a few things, so here we go.

When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold is a good album, maybe great, but the dust must settle before I make that claim. The star of this show isn't the cool booklet with Sluggo's children stories found in the 40 page hard back or DVD that both come with the deluxe edition and it ain't the more mature raps provided by Sean, it's the production of Ant.

From what I know Ant is one of the most complacent producers out there. He loves making music and just glad he ain't sweeping the floors. He may look like Steven Seagal or seem like the ideal guy to score a Tarantino flick, but what he does on this album puts him in a new class. Ant has always come correct with beats but he never really worked outside his Rhymesayers camp so he isn't a household name. He could be, but he isn't. Jake One, Madlib, RJD2, 9th Wonder, all those names, Ant deserves to be mentioned with them.

He just has a really gifted ear and a knack at pulling the right samples and on When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold he puts in one of his best efforts I've heard.

Sluggo ain't the young fun-loving guy you once knew. Slug is closer to 40 than he is 20 and it shows in his raps. Now that ain't a bad thing, there is only so much groupie talk or bathroom throwing-up you can take and I think Slug is at the point in his career where he can make more mature music. The average Atmosphere fan may not appreciate the album on first listen, but the older ones (like myself) will actually enjoy the growth. His singing is an abomination, but it's suppose to be so it works in some cases. Sean still has fun widdit, but he's rhymes are what is needed with these Ant backdrops.

In the early 00's Everlast came with an album called "Eat at Whitey's" and you all are familiar with Jay's "Kingdome Come," well image that maturity found on both. That confidence in the flow and that relaxed rhyme pattern. From the bluesy melodies to the soft-spoken raps, Sean seems to have adjusted his comfort zone. Now that's not a knock because I just happened to really enjoy Everlasts solo work and by no means am I comparing Slug to Jay-Z, but I'd imagine 8 minutes into the album and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Now without making this a slob fest, let me say there are definitely some songs I could do without. "Dreamer" ain't for me and while "You"comes off so annoying I just know after a few listens I'll probably end up liking it.
It always happens that way.

The album starts off good, but finishes great. This is worthy of one of your few 2008 purchases. I'm not labeling it classic or the best album of 2008, I am saying this a really good album that can only get better with each listen. The structure of the beats to the ripe raps Sean has given us, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold will not disappoint.

That is unless you're a 17 year old girl.

Listen to: Your Glass House, Yesterday, Me, The Waitress

Tipping

2008-03-10T10:46:00.001-04:00

To me, I think many of us tip because we feel like we have to rather than wanting to. The days of tipping have become so pressured filled and in your face, where as years ago you gave a tip because you appreciated the effort now you give a tip because its not only expected regardless of service, but because you'll be looked at or treated differently if you don't. Between tipping and those donation jars everywhere, you can't walk into a store without spending more than you anticipated.

Now hear me out, I tip no less than 20% and above no matter where I go. I don't minus the tax like some people and I never hesitate in giving a little more if the service was good, but over the course of the years I've experienced such shitty service that I never had the nerve to not tip or give a shitty one. For years I've felt like a sucker and was too caught up in having somebody view me differently. I never wanted to make an issue over something, especially if it's at a restaurant I frequent.

I'm also one of those lunatics who's afraid to always order water in fear the waiter or waitress will quickly stereotype me as being cheap and automatically kick in that shitty neglectful service, so instead I order an ice-tea . I realize these are issues that I need to overcome, but last night I think I was one step closer from doing that.

For the first time in my dining experience I walked away from the table not leaving a dime. I contemplated leaving a few dollars but then realized why should I reward this person when my experience was horrible? When this person failed to do one thing right, when this person completely ignored us all night. I wanted to prove a point and more importantly when I walked away from the table I feelingt liberated.

It probably didn't help that this all took place in a chain restaurant. But should that excuse the waitress from providing good service? I'm sure people have bad days, just like I do at work but when I have a bad day and don't make any deals nobody rewards me. I also understand tips are depended on for their livelihood but it doesn't excuse them from doing the work it requires. I'm not one of those people who needs a fake smile and small talk, just get my meal, check up to see if I need anything and if I happen to a need a refill or I made a request please fulfill it.

Below is a detailed report of what happened and I am not exaggerating any of this for the greater good of the story. The reason I have this timed so well is because I wanted to make sure we were home in time for the finale of The Wire.

So last night I wanted to eat out, but I wanted to stay local. For some reason I was in the mood for a steak but nothing too fancy, just a sirloin and a baked potato. We went to Outback, which was probably mistake number 1. Okay so we get seated immediately because we did call-ahead. I maybe off by a minute or two but you get the picture.

7:40 - we're seated.
7:45 - waitress comes over and says she'll be right over to take our drinks after she takes another order from a nearby table.
7:50 - waitress comes over to take our drinks but i inform her that we're ready to order and she takes it.
*it would help that you know i lorded an onion soup instead of a salad as my appetizer.

8:05 - I call the waitress over to see if she can bring us some bread and to make sure my soup comes out before my meal as I requested. she said she'll get bread right out to us and double check on the soup. i figured 15 minutes was more than enough time to get both items.

8:12 - after we're both looking over booth to see if she's coming because we're starved and have been there she finally brings us bread but no soup.
8:14 - my soup finally arrives after 24 minutes, but cold. i eat it because i'm just too hungry to have to wait again plus the waitress disappeared for long periods of time. at one point i thought she quit.
8:17 - our food arrives (brought to the table by a runner). i knew it, this is what i did not want. i didn't want to have to eat my soup while my food got cold but alright shit happens.

now normally within a few minutes they're suppose to come to your table to make sure everything is ok, well that didn't happen.
after waiting no lie 10 minutes because i really wanted some steak sauce i decided to just get it myself. i didn't want my wife to be done her meal before i even started mine but i really thought by now she would have came by to see if we needed anything. i was dying of thirst cuz i was out in the sun all day and my drink remained unfilled for about 5-10 minutes but that wasn't that big of a deal. the fact i had to actually get up and go in the back kitchen to get my own sauce was unheard of. i was pissed at that point. we're an easy table to manage. a friendly younger couple that wasn't demanding and definitely understanding but was just unacceptable and really ruined the experience because instead of trying to enjoy my food all i could do was look over to see if i could track down this waitress.

8:27 - about 10 minutes later i'm eating my food but still no refill so i'm drinking some of my wife's drink. the manager comes by to see if everything is ok and normally i just say 'yeah everything is fine,' but this time i decided to speak up. i said actually no, i told the manager everything that happened and he said by the looks of this table i can tell that even a few more things were wrong. the salad and soup bowls were still on the table after sitting for awhile. my drink was unfilled. the bread board and butter was still on the table after being finished minutes after its arrival 20+ minutes ago. by the way that bread is so good we wanted more but there was no chance of that.

so the managers takes the check and comps us. i tell him thanks but its not about the money, its the fact somebody needs to take accountability because a customer should never experience this. they're in the business of serving people. that's what they do. either you do it or you don't there is no in between.

the waitress comes out after the manager speaks to her in the back and a refill comes to the table (that I was afraid spit was in) and she says "sweetie please let me know if you need anything." a little late for that don't you think? i say no we're good just the check please. the check comes and some how its $1.44 (tax or something) but i saw all the food was taken off.

at first i said ok i'll give her a few dollars but definitely not 20%. then the more i thought about it i said fuck it. this bitch needs to learn and i gotta stop being a pushover. she did nothing. she was the worst waitress i've never had as a matter of fact and why the fuck should i give her money after all this. i leave $2.00 on the table and i bounce. fuck that bitch. fuck that common folk steak house. fuck being a sucker and tipping just to tip.

my motto now is 'bitch do a dance and work for this money."

For other "tip" related blogs check out a funny from '06 by Reggie.

http://www.philaflava.com/blog/2006/07/heres-tip-get-new-job.html

The evolution of the forum

2008-02-22T09:43:00.002-05:00

Since the birth of the net, thanks to Mr. Gore we all flocked to our favorite chat rooms. Whether it was hosted by Prodigy, AOL or IRC, the chat room was the means for any immediate dialog, file-sharing or self-gratification.

I remember my early years back in the mid-90’s where I’d get up on #dalnet or #undernet to discuss why the westcoast was now dominating hip-hop or when I’d slip into a Prodigy chat room and pretend I was J-Live or some “then” underground phenom just to fuck with peoples heads. But it was one day when the homie Jon?Doe, a part-time rapper, part-time promoter from Cali told me about a site called Hip Hop Infinity. Jon and I would talk weekly because I was doing college radio and he was working records for Goodvibe back then.

At the time I was trying to put together my first project that ultimately failed due to personal reasons. The project was called Roll Call and Jon, like many others were amped about the idea and the fact it would showcase a bunch of starving artist. I was hesitate at first because I wasn’t comfortable with the whole “forum” concept and having spent a little time at smaller spots such as Phillyhiphop.com I was never taken back by the appeal. That all changed with HHI. It was huge in every aspect. It had all the components you needed to discuss hip-hop. Looking back I realize it was lacking a lot of elements needed today, but at the time it was informative, entertaining and most importantly a great way to network.

Within a few weeks I started to get comfortable with the notion that HHI would be my new home. Jon put me on to a great site that would allow me to recruit talent for my Roll Call project and though I was never a crowd favorite at HHI, it allowed me to self-promote and expose my radio show to a whole new demographic that we hadn’t had before. The project buzz started to spread like wildfire, Cunninglynguists, AthenA, Sankofa, PackFM, iCON, Digs Darklighter, Uncle T, Penny and a bunch of others submitted work. Before I knew it I had cats like Skam?, Loer Velocity, Baby Blak, King Just, LA Symphony, Celph Titled Mannish, Dave Ghetto, Ace Lover, Oktober, Fredwreck submitting work too and they weren’t even apart of the site.

I owed a lot to Jon. He was a good kid who believed in me, the project and went the extra mile to help bring this to fruition. Needless to say, I lost three people that were close to me the year this album was supposed to drop and well, it never came out. I wasn’t there mentally. The motivation had gone completely out the window and Roll Call stayed locked in the vault.

Of course a few years ago I finally put it together so those involved could finally hear it. I picked the 37 best tracks out of 80+ and put together a project that I had envisioned would bring a lot of folks together from that scene. In retrospect the album does sound extremely dated and gives you that feel of what gritty production was like before Pro-Tools became readily available for most of us. There are definitely some highlights and while I still feel it’s an accomplishment to an extent, I promised myself if I were to do another project that I’d see it through and push it until it couldn’t be pushed anymore. See both A League of Our Own Vol. 1 & 2.

Jumping a few years ahead, HHI ultimately saw its demise when the owner, an extremely dislikable, selfish and delusional net emcee broke his wrist playing basketball. Now, I won’t say Jay didn’t run a good site because he did. He somehow managed to parlay HHI into a profitable business selling other net emcee albums and later on expanding into the ultimate white rapper experience. HHI was great for dissing (the days of Thun & MikeNJJ). It was great for self-promotion and it was great for keeping up to date, but at that time sites like Sandboxautomatic and Hiphopsite.com were the two online distributors that meant something. Not to mention, Hiphopsite was the one-stop spot. We all checked that News On The DL regularly. It’s a shame both sites have practically become more irrelevant that Jay Seagraves political run.

Getting back to the demise and the HHI and the birth of Philaflava; many people people think the site started after HHI or the colors we have today were later changed to accommodate those refugees. False! The site had actually started years before but because it was only used to promote the radio show, it did not have a lot of content or a lot of traffic. Fun fact, thekeenone was actually the first webmaster Philaflava had and before we had this official forum pop, there was a cheesy e-z board that had all of 9 posters on it. Props to TheBZA, Ardamus, Jizzy, HoeJoe and a few others. But don’t sleep Philaflava was always the baby blue because it went with our 80’s retro Philadelphia Phillies theme. Truth is, we had these colors for about a year before HHI changed theirs. But that’s not important, what is would be how Philaflava slowly became a hobby that morphed into a highly recognizable name throughout the internet and rap world.

There will always be comparisons between those who started out at HHI and though I like to think we live in a current world, we can’t erase the memories. Times have changed. Music has changed and things have become more and more accessible. It isn’t easy maintaining a forum and making sure every sub-forum, its topics, the members, registration, inquires and assuring that certain rules and standards are in place. But I’m not complaining, just stating there is a big discrepancy from a store owner and its customers.

Anyways throughout the years we’ve had our fun. Unfortunately “The Greatest Hits” only captures a little bit of it, but those who were in before the paparazzi started snapping pictures remember the times. The 9-29 day will always be an internet phenomenon. Hopefully, we’ll continue to grow. Every day we get more and more members and every day somebody signs up to contribute in a majory way (see T.R.O.Y.).

The message board game is real. It’s the only way to capture the world by just logging in. It’s the only way to get instant gratification with your contribution. Forget writing blogs, articles or reviews, with a thread you get all that and more. We all want a dialog to happen, that is why you’ll find a comment section on blogs and on most new articles you’ll read, but with a forum you get life from all over and differences of opinion (god or indifference) almost immediately and it’ll probably take you just minutes to create that as oppose to the time and effort that goes into writing elsewhere.

Every “in-thing” has its own forum. Whether it’s about American Idol, Rachel Ray, Obama, The New York Yankees, Playstation or dating there is a place you can go and communication with a bunch of people in different zip codes and time zones about anything you want.

What makes a forum successful isn’t it’s management (well a little), but the people the forum attracts. The forum can only be as good as its posters and it just so happens Philaflava has the best posters out there. From rappers, producers, fans, haters, lurkers, we got it. From hip-hop, sports, politics, video games, porn, movies, we got it. Everything is right there waiting for you, you just have to want it.

Breakfast with Vanderslice

2008-02-13T10:03:00.002-05:00

You know you’re running out of ideas when you interview a fellow Steady Blogger. This week’s ep takes us in the mind of the most hated or most anticipated (however you view him) Eric Vanderslice.

We started off with a list of PF members then moved on to rappers and of course food. Hate it, love it, forget about it, didn’t read it or whatever…

PhilaFlava: Conscious
VandersliceLives: goof with a camera and way too much free time

PhilaFlava: Sneed
VandersliceLives: sneed may be a nobody in the states, the braves are huge in australia
VandersliceLives: I cant bash sneed, it's in bad taste.. cause he HATES two of my closest friends.. and I can't bash em just to please the wrist and okwerdz haha

PhilaFlava: Icesickle
VandersliceLives: I have nothing to say about icesickle.. everyone hates em for one reason or another

PhilaFlava: Thun
VandersliceLives: hack rapper, the guy will never see success

PhilaFlava: Arlene
VandersliceLives: ugh I hope one of her roller skate wheels catches and she falls and breaks her hip
VandersliceLives: and then she OD's on morphine in the hospital

PhilaFlava: HustleCrowe
VandersliceLives: it's mad street in rhode island son.. madddd street

PhilaFlava: Blessingindisguise
VandersliceLives: no clue.. I dont pay attention to blessing in disguise.. I guess his name is appropriate

PhilaFlava: Sean
VandersliceLives: I don't even know what to say about ol' sluggo.. the guys self made I don't care what industry you work in, if you're self made people can't really say shit about you
VandersliceLives: I mean i could say something goofy.. like oh hey slug you're NOTHIN without kevin beacham or somethin? I dunno

PhilaFlava: SYMantiks
VandersliceLives: symantiks is the man.. so many people hate that guy it's good entertainment haha

PhilaFlava: admiral
VandersliceLives: I dont pay attention to admiral either.. whats he doin that makes em so fancy to get mentioned in my IM.. admiral.. i don't respect the stupid navy..

PhilaFlava: blastmaster
VandersliceLives: blastmaster just wants acceptance.. he wants so badly to be respected by anyone anywhere, he wears really bad sandals and has the worst taste in music ever
VandersliceLives: the guy is a fraud

PhilaFlava: Dids
VandersliceLives: dids is a winner at life.. he must have lost like 9 or 10 pounds
VandersliceLives: he seems unstable though.. not jaz levels
VandersliceLives: but unstable

PhilaFlava: Jaz
VandersliceLives: the guys from new zealand, he's like the funk flex of new zealand.. elitest hack "dude I have the most fascinating 8 track Tuff Crew demo tapes mannnnn" his blog is dope though

PhilaFlava: Mindbender
VandersliceLives: like as wack of a rapper he is.. he seems to make moves and shit off of it? like I dont know
VandersliceLives: Mindbender fights through all the hate he gets on philaflava.. and the YOTMB seems to mirror sid's 5 year plan from big daddy

PhilaFlava: Employee
VandersliceLives: employees a herb thats why his wife left em

PhilaFlava: Most talented rapper on PF?
VandersliceLives: ardamus is nice
VandersliceLives: people sleep on ardamus cause he's so accessible.. like people dont look at em from an artist standpoint he's just ardamus
VandersliceLives: the most talented rapper on pf is Verbal Tec. he posts seldom.. but he's liver than anyone else on there

PhilaFlava: Most talented producer on PF?
VandersliceLives: although i'd never say this outside of this arena.. Martin is dope, so is red scare
VandersliceLives: i'd say martin or red scare for the beats..

VandersliceLives: my favorite poster is galvatron, his rants about thick and fat chicks, his music. the guy is a professional poster

PhilaFlava: what do you think about the following rappers or producers?
PhilaFlava: immortal technique
VandersliceLives: Technique is dope for what he does, but taking 3 - 4 years off in between releases may be detrimental.

PhilaFlava: J-Live
VandersliceLives: J Live went from a future top 10 artist to a total bore. His album had Prince Paul, Dj Premier, Pete Rock, Dj Spinna, and instead of growing on that he went and started making some of the absolute worst beats i've EVER heard
VandersliceLives: and he's soooo sensitive about his beats he SWEARS he's nice
VandersliceLives: the guy is awful at producing and a legend in the making on the mic, its a god damn shame

PhilaFlava: Jus Allah
VandersliceLives: Jus Allah picked 2 Vanderslice beats for his new solo record.. we shall see

PhilaFlava: Vinnie Paz
VandersliceLives: I think Vinnie Paz has sensed a rebirth with Jus Allah coming back into Jedi Mind Tricks. He's just as sharp now as he was on Violent by Design.

PhilaFlava: Lil Wayne
VandersliceLives: Lil wayne is the worst rapper ever

PhilaFlava: iCON the Mic King
VandersliceLives: the Mic King is my lawyer.. we're shakin all the haters who try to sue me over sample clearances..

PhilaFlava: Scarface
VandersliceLives: Scarface is the real king of the south. he'd bitch slap TI

PhilaFlava: 5 rappers that need to retire
VandersliceLives: I told ya man i'm trying to be more objective in the 08.. but I will give ya somethin

VandersliceLives: 5.) Common
VandersliceLives: he should retire simply because his music went from being part revolutionary and dope, part conscious and afrocentric to doing ads for Gap. I understand we all gotta eat, but Common is just running the gamot with nothing left to say. hang it up

VandersliceLives: 4.) Nas
VandersliceLives: Nas is reduced to gimmicks naming his album Nigger to try and get people to listen. Is Premier on Nigger? Alchemist? or is it his lil cousin from QB who just started makin beats yesterday. Nas is done.

VandersliceLives: 3.) KRS One
VandersliceLives: KRS should follow Big Daddy Kane and just perform the hits. Stop trying to make new music, the gospel shit didnt work, the indie route didn't work, The project with Marley was 15 years too late. Just stop it!

VandersliceLives: 2 and 1.) Outkast
VandersliceLives: I have always hated Outkast, southernplayalistic was OK, get up get out was dope, the singles were dope, and it's been down hill ever since. Fuck outkast.

On to food...

PhilaFlava: Cheesesteaks
VandersliceLives: I prefer chicken cheese steaks.. from the armenians at the philadelphia airport.

PhilaFlava: Best Pizza?
VandersliceLives: digiorno's 3 meat pizza
PhilaFlava: That frozen shit?
VandersliceLives: indeed
VandersliceLives: its better than any pizza

PhilaFlava: Best beer
VandersliceLives: I dont drink alcohol
VandersliceLives: i'm a total square
VandersliceLives: cheese is my drug

PhilaFlava: Whats your typical dinner?

VandersliceLives: typical dinner.. i dunno I have 24 free hours a day.. so typical is anything but in my household
VandersliceLives: I make everything from scratch
VandersliceLives: down to peeling the potatoes, even the meading the dough for pasta.. I make from scratch

PhilaFlava: well what is your favorite meal to make
VandersliceLives: spaghetti & sausage
VandersliceLives: with my pops home made sauce
VandersliceLives: and we aint even italian haha my pops mastered the spice cause when he was in rehab in the early 90's his roomate was a mexican chef named Luis.. He taught my pops the mastery of the spice

PhilaFlava: just incase the readers aren't sound asleep by now, let's kick it up a notch. top 5 slores in the game today?
VandersliceLives: I know man this is awful
PhilaFlava: downright awful
VandersliceLives: yeah its bad
PhilaFlava: i'm about to give myself the :didntread: and arrow when i post this
VandersliceLives: yeah I mean this is just bad. i dont really have much to say haha
PhilaFlava: well we've gone too far
PhilaFlava: i am not deleting it

VandersliceLives: the top 5 slores have changed too.. arielle kebbel is no longer numero uno
VandersliceLives: the top 5 slores have changed too.. arielle kebbel is no longer numero uno
VandersliceLives: she's #2
VandersliceLives: #1 is Abbey Brooks.. she's on the cusp of being too thick for porn, and too skinny for me..
VandersliceLives: #2 is Arielle Kebbel
VandersliceLives: #3 is Cody Lane.. she just did a choke & gag video.. she must be doing coke or somethin she needs money
VandersliceLives: #4 Kimberly Russel
VandersliceLives: she played the spanish porno bitch in Hangin with the Homeboys
VandersliceLives: and she was in the made for Tv movie about OJ.. which was fire
VandersliceLives: #5 Loryn Locklin who played a millionares daughter in takin care of business. and nothing much since..
VandersliceLives: Loryn Locklin was fuckin fire

PhilaFlava: Any last words?
VandersliceLives: this "interview" was terrible.. Gloss I love you no less, Keen > everyone in life.. I just did 2 beats on the new shabazz the disciple & hell razah cd, uhh G.O.D. pt. 3 recorded his verse for my song with Twin Gambino last night.. www.myspace.com/nodaysoffmusic alias is a hack NO ONE cares about Maine... york beach is a joke.. and if you spent any time reading this interview you should be stuffed in the middle of 4 or 5 tires and set on fire.. drop dead

Philaflava's Year End Winners

2008-01-11T10:02:00.001-05:00

Rapper of The Year - Ghostface Killah
Producer of The Year - Timbaland
Album of The Year - El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
Indie Album of The Year - Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
Album of The Year (Non Hip-Hop) - Radiohead - In Rainbows
Biggest Album Flop of The Year - 50 Cent - Curtis
Song of The Year - International Players - U.G.K. feat. OutKast
Comeback Rapper of The Year - Andre 3000
Phila's Own Best Rapper - The Iron Sheik
Compilation of The Year - Buckwild - Diggin' In The Crates (1993-1997)
Best T.R.O.Y. Reissue 2007 - Kool G. Rap - Wanted Dead or Alive
Who's Gonna Make The Most Noise in '08 - Lil Wayne

TV Show of The Year - Curb Your Enthusiasm
Movie of The Year - Superbad
Video Game of The Year - Halo 3 (360)
Athlete of The Year - (TIE) Tom Brady/Brett Farve

The 6th Man Award - (TIE) Reggie/Russian
The Most Unappreciated Poster - The Rappin Coffin
Break-Thru Poster of The Year - Admiral
The Future Star Award - Shup Diddy
You Fell The Fuck Off Award - Smooth Lou
The Slick Rick Award - Galvatron78
Heel of The Year Award - Employee
Best Diss'r - I Drive A Lexus
The Keyser Soze Award - Seiko Flossberg
The Get A Room Award Winner - J-Murda & I Drive A Lexus
PLZ STFU & Retire Already Award - Most White Rappers
Showin' Too Much Mug Award - Ackbar
Best Beefs of the Year - Jaz vs. P&B
Phila Female of The Year - Kim Kardassian
Your favorite Board to frequent in 2007 - Party and Bullshit

Poster of The Year - (TIE) - Employee/Galvatron78
Worst Poster of The Year - cherrynut
Rookie of The Year - (TIE) Jimmy HiffHoffa/schenectadyfan
Post of The Year - J-Murda's Symphony 2007
Thread of The Year - Pedo bear thread
Mod of The Year - Gregg Popabitch
PF Female Poster of The Year - Scarlene
Check The Rhime Poster of the Year - Magneto
T.R.O.Y. Poster of The Year - Jaz
Sports Bar Poster of the Year - Money Gripp
Master Debater of The Year - Seiko Flossberg
Victim of The Year - Jaz
Steady Blogger of The Year - Reggie

Steady Bloggers Year End Roundtable

2008-01-08T08:41:00.000-05:00

Jay-Z, American Gangster

ALASKA: More like Boring McBoringson

KALEL: My favorite album of his since Blueprint. But then again I'm a sucker for strings and guitars.

VANDERSLICE: Old Dog with Old Tricks.. wack beats, wack raps, Jigga man should've called upon Just Blaze.

REGGIE: I think it’s great that Hova was inspired by a movie to return to his glory years of rapping about drug dealing.

PIFF: I watched the story tellers. it was aiight, but i didnt check out the album cos the 9 hour movie took up all my time and interest.

PHILAFLAVA: Album came and went. Much better than Kingdom Come but after the leaks hit this album had very little replay. “Fallin,” Say Hello” and “Ignorant Shit” are all some of my favorite songs of ’07..

Radiohead's "Free or Outrageously Expensive" album release

KALEL: Great idea, but I don't like the ideas it spawned.

ALASKA: Freelicious

PIFF: It would be free for me either way. Donations is just another way to say "free."

VANDERSLICE: I've never listened to Radiohead, but I like the idea. I wonder how much money they made.

PHILAFLAVA: One of the best albums of the year. And a revolutionary change for music.

REGGIE: I understand that one must purchase this album to become an Omega-Level Scientologist.

Kanye West vs. 50 Cent

ALASKA: About as exciting as Rocky Balboa.

REGGIE: Kanye should have Just Blaze pass 50 Cent a note in homeroom. It’s obvious that they “like” like each other.

KALEL: My favorite artist of 2007. "Stronger" still knocks the shit out of "I Get Money"

VANDERSLICE: I wish it would have had a 2Pac & Biggie effect where they both died.

PHILAFLAVA: Who cares? Both their albums were extremely underwhelming, but I suppose Kanye won the battle, although I’m sure he could care less after losing the biggest asset in his life.

DJ Khaled: Really the beeeeessssst?

KALEL: Reminds me of the kid at the lunch table that wasn't really cool, he just lived next door to the cool kids so he was "cool by geographical association".

ALASKA: Isnt he an Arab? How has Homeland Security allowed this to happen.

VANDERSLICE: Not even second best, or third best.. or good period.

PHILAFLAVA: I can’t wait for his stomach to explode like Stay Puft and all of South Beach will be covered in marshmallows.

REGGIE: DJ Khaled is like an inexperienced chef that puts too many ingredients in his soup. Or, more literally, orders a soup from a restaurant that has too many ingredients in it. Then he adds motor oil.

PIFF: I don't know how many dicks this dude had to suck to get to where he is at, but he must have done a great job to be able to yell over ginormous posse cuts that sound like all the rappers do is watch old episodes of Miami Vice. I mean really good, cock and balls into the mouth at once.

Lil Wayne: Greatest Rapper Alive(?)

PIFF: No.

ALASKA: Had his moment, then of course that moment ended and the hilarity began.

KALEL: He stinks. If this was 1994 he'd be boo'ed out the game for biting someone elses style.

VANDERSLICE: I'd rather be deaf than listen to Lil Wayne.

REGGIE: I started to get into his music once I realized that he is severely mentally retarded.

PHILAFLAVA: He’s top 5 current, but he isn’t even close to be labeled the greatest anything. In fact, when he retires I’d be surprised if anyone had this dude on their top 25 list. He’s schtick is entertaining, kinda like Noreaga back in in the late 90’s, but just because you keep up with pop culture and constantly make reference to 80’s throwbacks despite being born in 1982, doesn’t make you the greatest anything except hype.

The UGK album everyone hyped up pre-release and subsequently stopped talking about the minute it dropped

VANDERSLICE: UGK.. one down.. one to go..

ALASKA: I met Bun B in Houston, he was hella cool.

REGGIE: RIP Pimp C.

KALEL: I'm a big fan of UGK, and I don't even think Houston was excited about the album until Pimp C died. Sad state.

PIFF: RIP Pimp C, I ain't heard it yet. I'm still listenin to "Ridin Dirty".

PHILAFLAVA: I blame this on the leaked material. It was a double album and more than half was leaked months (even a year for some) before it dropped. It is still one of the best LP’s of ’07, if not the best,.

Transformers: The Movie

ALASKA: I hate cars and robots.

PIFF: I knew which Transformer was the black one as soon as I saw him.

KALEL: Check on the rep, yep, second to none. Dope movie.

PHILAFLAVA: Didn’t see. But I adore Fox so I plan on it

VANDERSLICE: No soundwave, no Vanderslice. Fuck that new wave shit

REGGIE: I’m glad they distinguished the theatrical release as The Movie, as opposed to Transformers: The Overhyped Marketing Campaign or Transformers: The Toy Brand Desperately Clung To By Hapless Thirty-somethings.

The Simpsons Movie

ALASKA: I fell asleep three different times.

KALEL: Eighty minutes of pink frosted covered goodness. Could've been more, but good enough for me.

VANDERSLICE: Skipped it. The Simpsons haven't been dope in 10 years.

REGGIE: The first third was pretty funny, then it fell off. A microcosm for the entire series.

PIFF: I bought the DVD but still havent watched it. If the movie cant top the "Treehouse of Horrors" with the vomiting frog, I will be disappointed.

PHILAFLAVA: This was equivalent to Kanye’s Graduation album.

Live Free or Die Hard

PIFF: Die Hard is right, it took forever for people to die in this clusterfuck of a movie. Live Gay or Die Gay should be this movie's name.

ALASKA: Has that dude in it.

VANDERSLICE: Skipped it, Die Hard with a Vengeance was the absolute rooftop for the series.

REGGIE: Well of course Bruce Willis can live free, he gets Social Security and Medicare. I would live free too if I had a nurse to feed me prunes and wipe my bottom.

PHILAFLAVA: Didn’t see because I hate that Apple commercial dude.

300

PHILAFLAVA: Good, but overhyped by net nerds and virgins.

ALASKA: Only thing gayer than Will and Grace.

KALEL: Biggest dissapointment for me. Really looked forward to it, Heard great things about it. Then I saw it.... It was like watching a really cool music video, but that's about it.

PIFF: All historical/social gripes aside, this is a man's movie. I was almost moved to tears at the end. No homo.

VANDERSLICE: Stupid romans.. I never seen this, nor will I ever.

REGGIE: I thought the title was a description of the movie’s length in minutes, so I passed on it.

TMNT

ALASKA: Is that anything like YOTMB??

KALEL: Loved it!

VANDERSLICE: I didn't see this either.. Casey Jones was that dude.. was he in it?

REGGIE: I’m glad that someone finally went and did a more realistic movie about mutant turtles that do kung-fu under the guidance of a wizened rat.

Are We Done Yet?

PIFF: Ice Cube is still trying to release gangsta albums afer making these movies. Historical status aside in rap, nigga, are you done making garbage ass movies yet?

ALASKA: Sadly, Ice Cube fell off and now he is dragging Katt Williams and Tracy Morgan down with him.

VANDERSLICE: Ice Cube went from the wrong nigga to fuck wit' to the house nigga to hang out wit'. I don't know how he looks in the mirror, even with those huge bags of cash it's abominable.

REGGIE: I can’t wait to sit my child down and explain that the same person guest-starring on Sesame Street ain’t the one to get played like a pooh-butt.

PHILAFLAVA: I don’t have kids and I don’t care to see Ice Cube act, so no.

Spider-Man 3

PHILAFLAVA: Didn’t see this either. The teeth on Dunst bother me so much that I have avoided most of the Spider man movies.

VANDERSLICE: I didn't like this movie at all. The Sandman? In a real live action movie... Stupid idea, even sand packed and wet isn't doin’ shit.. just get a vacuum.. real stupid movie.

ALASKA: Watched it in Boise on IMAX. It sucked about as much as anything has ever sucked, it actually might have sucked more than everything that has ever sucked combined. Oh and Kirsten Dunst on a forty-foot HD screen is terrifying.

KALEL: I thought the dancing scene was hilarious personally, but it wasn't my favorite of the 3. Some of you nerds need to get a hold of yourselves and stop letting little shit ruin movies for you.

REGGIE: It was clever to pit the superhero against a spider’s natural enemy: sand.

PIFF: Movie was garbage. I could kick this Spider-Man's ass. He used to be my favorite super hero, and now he is a flaming homo doing the tango in a bar. Also, im glad to see Topher Grace playing venom the same way he played Eric Foreman. Judging from that, I could kick Venom's ass too.

Knocked Up

REGGIE: I thought this was a boxing movie.

ALASKA: Saw it mad times.

VANDERSLICE: I never saw it for one reason or another, I just remember hearing the lead role bitch in a movie called Knocked Up doesn't get naked.. so I passed for lack of realism.

PHILAFLAVA: I thought it was great when it first came out, then I went back to it and realize it wasn’t as great, but still really good.

Superbad

PHILAFLAVA: Great movie. This is like the American Pie of the new generation. I can see people going back to this a lot. A lot of memorable stuff.

ALASKA: Michael Cera is gold.

KALEL: Sooooooo glad the "McLovin" fad has died down. Wonderful movie though.

VANDERSLICE: The best movie to come out in 2007 EASILY.

REGGIE: Honestly, I wasn’t so impressed by this movie. I thought the McLovin stuff with the cops was great, but otherwise the story seemed awkward and unformed. The jokes were so transparent that you got them before the set-up was done, and then they drove them into the ground. It is a good movie, just not as funny as it was hyped to be.

PIFF: Great flick, not as funny as Knocked Up to me, but still solid as shit. I want to stick my face in Katherin Keigl's buttcheeks and fall asleep.

Iraq

ALASKA: We are about a quarter of the way through this war.

KALEL: Even with the war and protests against it, we still aren't seeing demonstrations akin to those seen in the 60's and 70's. Iraq has exposed more about the American people than the American government.

VANDERSLICE: The Iraqi people have been at war forever, democracy isn't going to stop it.

REGGIE: The first thing we need to do is stop them from using the letter Q inappropriately. Everything else will fall into place.

PIFF: Call of Duty 4

PHILAFLAVA: "It’s the bomb baby, the bomb baby…”

Looming war in Iran

ALASKA: Not as good as the original.

KALEL: Not looking forward to it. Can't all of these disputes be settled in the Olympics like the good ol' days?

VANDERSLICE: Rocky 7 fights in the Sudan.. cause If I can change.. WE can change.. EVERYBODY CAN CHANGEEEE

REGGIE: Come back Ayatolla Khomeni! All is forgiven!

PIFF: Call of Duty 5

Lisa Marie Nowak, the astronaut that drove to Florida wearing Pampers in an attempt to kidnap her lover

ALASKA: I mean who hasnt done this

PHILAFLAVA: I think Galvatron should turn this bitch out.

KALEL: Houston represent!

VANDERSLICE: Asians in Times Square did the same thing just to see the ball drop. I admire the dedication.

REGGIE: I like how the general reaction was like, “Oh, this lady drove across three states to kidnap her former lover and use sexual torture devices on him in her makeshift dungeon…but she wore DIAPERS? That bitch is CRAZY!”

PIFF: White people.

Nancy Pelosi (Democrat) becomes Speaker of the House

PHILAFLAVA: I have such a hard-on for this broad. She is truly a piece of ass.

ALASKA: I think her last name means 'ball' in Spanish

KALEL: Who?

VANDERSLICE: I wonder if she bakes cookies for congressional meetings.

REGGIE: I think she’s a great person to represent the ineffectualness of the Democratic party.

PIFF: Democrats and Republicans are the same. This is not news.

Bob Barker leaves The Price Is Right

KALEL: The most electrifying man in game show history. And he fucks mad bitches.

ALASKA: The Grey Trapezoid’s biggest victory to date.

PHILAFLAVA: Last time I saw Bob Barker on TV was when Adam Sandler beat him with a golf club.

PIFF: I mean, the nigga fought in the Civil War with Dick Clark, they both should get to retire and take a break.

VANDERSLICE: Drew Carey is addicted to hookers and gambling, what better place to be than The Price is Right?

Tony Blair resigns

ALASKA: Now he can dedicate more time to his witch project.

KALEL: ...and cleans his nose from GW's manhole.

REGGIE: I could never trust a man whose surname is a woman’s first name.

VANDERSLICE: Who gives a crap.. stupid British accent.. go suck on a fag and drop dead.

PHILAFLAVA: Sell-out.

PIFF: No more gay sex for Bush when he goes overseas.

The final Harry Potter novel

VANDERSLICE: Books are for queers.

PIFF: Call me when Harmoine turns eighteen.

KALEL: Everyone I've talked to loved it. I never got into them, but I hope they make a movie out of them one day.

REGGIE: I wanted to read this, then I remember that wizards and sorcery are for nerds and gay men.

ALASKA: Was great

PHILAFLAVA: I am not a homosexual, therefore I don’t read these homoerotic novels.

Barry Bonds

ALASKA: I think Congress should put all the issues of the day on the back burner and deal with this, because its important, like really important. Thank god for 24 hour sports news.

KALEL: He doesn't have a neck.

PIFF: I hate baseball and Barry Bonds is an asshole. I don't care what they do to him.

VANDERSLICE: I think they should let players use steroids and the people who don't use steroids should be allowed to use aluminum bats. Stupid Bonds is gonna end up like Lyle Alzado wearin bad headwraps and speaking in a soft HIV-like monotone voice.

PHILAFLAVA: Barry Bonds is practically O.J. without having killed anyone.

REGGIE: I think MLB should set up a separate facility for the Chemically-Enhanced Hall of Fame. Then Keith Hernandez could get in as the best player to use cocaine and Rogaine in a season.

Phila's Favorite 100 of 2007

2007-12-12T10:13:00.001-05:00

Disclaimer: Please note this is not a best of list. This is a list of my favorites throughout the year. Don't bother telling me what I missed, I know what I liked.

This was a very good year for hip-hop because I don't ever recall this yearly list being as difficult as this one. As you can tell the "honorable mention" list looks more like Schindler's list. Instead of cutting it I thought it was important to list all those songs that I really enjoyed but just couldn't find room for them. 100 is too little a number, at least in 2007 it is.

I stayed away from leaked tracks of '06 that became popular in '07. No re-releases were counted (Sorry Traffic). Not much mixtapes or unofficial remixes and no instrumental cuts..

Looking at this list a lot of the heavy hitters dominated the high ranks; such as Jay, Ghost, U.G.K. and the . It's also a sad year because we'll never see the dominance U.G.K. had ever again. This look took me several hours to make. I was constantly going back and forth and listening to tracks in my iPOD to make sure I was comfortable with these rankings.

Like any list I'm sure this one could change tomorrow and with a healthy three weeks left in the year, I'm sure the could have been some additions.

But without further ado, I bring to you my list.

Phila's Favorites 100 of '07

1. U.G.K. - Int'l Players feat. OutKast
2. Ghostface Killah - Yolanda's House feat. Method Man & Raekwon
3. Kanye West - Can't Tell Me Nothing
4. Nas - Surviving The Times
5. Wu-Tang Clan - Take It Back
6. Jay-Z - Fallin'
7. Devin The Dude - What A Job feat. Snoop Dogg & Andre 3000
8. Ghostface Killah - Barrell Brothers feat. Beanie Sigel & Styles P
9. Wu-Tang Clan - My Heart Gently Weeps feat. Erykah Badu
10. W.C. - 80's Babies feat. Ice Cube
11. Saigon - Come On Baby (Remix) feat. Jay-Z
12. Prodigy - Nickle And A Nail
13. Wu-Tang Clan - Wolves feat. George Clinton
14. Jay-Z - Blue Magic
15. Marco Polo - Nostalgia feat. Masta Ace
16. Athosphere - Sunshine
17. U.G.K. - Swishas And Dosha
18. Young Buck - 4 Kings feat. T.I., Young Jeezy & Pimp C
19. Skyzoo - Get It Down feat. Torae
20. NYG'z - Ya Dayz R #'d
21. Sean Price - P-Body feat. Rock
22. Blu & Exile - Soul Amazin' (Steel Blazin')
23. Freeway - It's Over
24. Wu-Tang Clan - Watch Ya Mouth
25. Rich Boy - Throw Somes D's (Remix) feat. Andre 300, Lil Flip, Jim Jones, Murphy Lee & The Game
26. DJ Jazzy Jeff - Brand New Funk 2K7 feat. Peedi Crakk
27. Joell Ortiz - Hip-Hop (Remix) feat. Jadakiss & Saigon
28. Scarface - Burn feat. Z-Ro
29. Jay-Z - Say Hello
30. Philaflava All-Stars - Philaflava Posse Cut (Red Scare Remix)
31. U.G.K. - The Game Belong To Me
32. Kool G. Rap - Rising Up (Original)
33. Jay-Z - Success feat. Nas
34. Wu-Tang Clan - Rushing Elephants
35. Percee P - 2 Brothas From The Gutter feat. Diamond D
36. Trae - Nuthin' 2 A Boss feat. Slim Thug
37. Statik Selektah - Stop, Look And Listen feat. Styles P, Termanology & Q-Tip
38. Jay-Z - Ignorant Shit feat. Beanie Sigel
39. Fabolous - Make Me Better (Remix) feat. Raekwon & Ne-Yo
40. Noreaga - Cocaine Cowboys
41. AZ - The Hardest feat. Styles P
42. Wu-Tang Clan - Weak Spot
43. Ghostface Killah - Supa GFK
44. Kanye West - Everything I Am
45. Brother Ali - Walking Away
46. Styles P - Use Mad Clips feat. Cormega
47. Phat Kat - Cold Steel feat. Elzhi
48. U.G.K. - Quit Hatin' The South feat. Charlie Wilson & Willie D
49. Prodigy - The Rotten Apple
50. Tragedy Khadafi - The Truest
51. Termanology - Watch How It Goes Down (Remix) feat. Lil Fame & Papoose
52. Trae - Smile feat. Jadakiss & Styles P
53. Killa Sha - One Hand Washes The Other feat. Tragedy Khadafi & Trife Da God
54. Nas - Where Are They Now (90's Mix) feat. Redhead Kingpin, Spinderella, Rob Base, Father MC, Monie Love, Mike G, EST, Positive K, Das EFX, Lords of the Underground, Chip Fu & Dres
55. U.G.K. - Cocaine feat. Rick Ross
56. Hell Rell - You Know What It Is feat. Young Dro
57. DJ Drama - The Art of Storytellin' Part 4 feat. OutKast
58. Common - The Game
59. Scarface - Girl You Know
60. B.O.B. - Haterz (Remix) feat. Rick Ross & Juvenile
61. Devin The Dude - Lil Girl Gone feat. Lil Wayne & Bun-B
62. Kanye West, Nas, Rakim & KRS-ONE - Classic (Premier Mix)
63. Killah Priest - Gun For Gun feat. Nas
64. Beanie Sigel - Dear Self feat. James Blunt
65. Skyzoo - Click feat. Torae
66. Ghostface Killah - Rec-Room Theory feat. Raekwon & U-God
67. Redman - Walk In Gutta feat. Erick Sermon, Keith Murray & Biz Markie
68. Hell Rell - Where You From feat. Juelz Santana
69. El-P - The Overly Dramatic Truth
70. Kanye West - Big Brother
71. Peedi Crakk - My Hood Is Greezy feat. Q-Tip & Cassidy
72. Skillz - Don't Act Like You Don't Know feat. Freeway
73. Devin The Dude - Broccoli & Cheese
74. 50 Cent - Curtis 187
75. Messy Marv & Mitchy Slick - Rollie On My Arm feat. Styles P & Turf Talk
76. Cassidy - All By Myself
77. Beanie Sigel - Gutted feat. Jay-Z
78. Hi-Tek - My Piano feat. Raekwon, Ghostface Killah & Dion
79. 50 Cent - I Get Money
80. Fabolous - Brooklyn feat. Jay-Z & Uncle Murda
81. Freeway - Walk With Me feat. Busta Rhymes & Jadakiss
82. Rob Sonic - Mother of All Bombs
83. MF Grimm - Head In The Clouds (Remix)
84. Young Buck - Say It To My Face feat. Bun-B, Eightball & MJG
85. Turf Talk - Doe Boy feat. E-40 & B-Legit
86. Marco Polo - Rollin' feat. Sadat X, JuJu & A.G.
87. Wu-Tang Clan - Windmill
88. Hangar 18 - Watchyoself
89. Common - The People
90. Sean Price - Da God feat. Sadat X & Buckshot
91. The Army of The Pharoahs - Bloody Tears
92 Dan Johns - I Don't Write For feat. Supastition
93. Witchdoctor - Spell On Them Hoes
94. KRS-ONE & Marley Marl - Hip Hop Lives
95. Lex Starwind - Garbage
96. Superstar Quamallah - Love Has Made Us
97. Ill Bill - The 3 Wise Men feat. O.C. & Jeru The Damaja
98. Ardamus - Say To The Heart
99. DJ Jazzy Jeff - Let Me Hear U Clap feat. Posdnous
100. J-Live - Practice (Magnificent Remix)

Honorable Mention:

Young Dro - Shoulder Lean feat. T.I.
X-Clan - Speak The Truth feat. KRS-ONE
Wu-Tang Clan - Life Changes
Verbal Threat - Reality Check
Ultramagnetic MC's - Mechanism Nice (Born Twice)
U.G.K. - Still Riding Dirty feat. Scarface
Turf Talk - Super Star
Trife Da God - The Game Don't Change
Trae - Gangsta Gangsta
Too $hort - This My One feat. E-40
Tom C3 & Prince Po - Apocalyptic Medicine feat. Motion Man & Kool Keith
Tame One - No Hook
Talib Kweli - Soon The New Day feat. Norah Jones
Talib Kweli - Say Something feat. Jean Grae
Talib Kweli - Holy Moly
T.I. - Help On The Way
Styles P - Star of The State feat. Ghostface
Styles P - Gangster Gangster feat. Jadakiss & Sheek Louch
Statik Selektah - No Holding Back feat. AZ & Cormega
Special Teamz - Boston To Bucktown feat. Buckshot & Sean Price
Smif -N- Wessun - Stomp feat. Rock & Joell Ortiz
Showbiz & A.G. - The World Is Listening
Shape of Broad Minds - It Lives On feat. Count Bass-D
Sean Price - Violent
Sean Price - King Kong
Sean Price - Connect 4 feat. Shabaam Sahdeeq, U.G. & Casual
Scarface - Never
Saigon - Pain In My Life (Remix) feat. The Game & B.G.
Sage Francis - High Step
Rick Ross - Shot To The Heart
Reef The Lost Cauze - Charles Bronson feat. Verbal Tec & Lex Starwind
Reef The Lost Cauze - Big Deal.
Redman - Gimmie One
Q-Tip - Work It Out
Project Pat - Talkin' Smart feat. Pimp C
Prodigy - Stop Fronting
Prodigy - Bang On 'Em
Prince Ali - The Majors feat. Planet Asia, Casual & Keith Murray
Playaz Circle - Duffle Bag Boy feat. Lil Wayne
Pharoahe Monch - Desire
Pete Rock - Till I Retire
Pete Rock - 914 feat. Styles P & Sheek Louch
Percee P - Watch Your Step feat. Vinnie Paz & Guilty Simpson
P.S.D., Keak Da Sneak & Messy Marv - Gumbo Pot feat. E-40
Obie Trice - Wanna Know (Remix) feat. Saigon
Nas - Where Are They Now (Westcoast Mix) feat. Breeze, Kam, King Tee, Candman, Threat, Ice T, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Conscious Daughters
Nas - Where Are They Now (80's Mix) feat. MC Shan, Raheem, Doctor Ice, Kangol, Kool Moe Dee, Sha Rock, Tito, Grandmaster Caz, Lique, Dana Dane, Pebblee Poo & Just Ice
Murda Mook - Beef feat. Talib Kweli
Mr. Live - The What
MF Grimm - Earth
Messy Marv & Mitchy Slick - On The One feat. Yukmouth
Maylay Sparks - Nuthin' You Say feat. Erick Sermon
Marco Polo - Marquee feat. O.C.
Mac Lethal - Make-Out Bandit
Little Brother - Breakin My Heart feat. Lil Wayne
KRS-ONE & Marley Marl - The Victory feat. Blaq Poet
K-Rino - Raised In The Dead End
Keith Murray - What It Is feat. Method Man & 50 Grand
Jeru The Damaja - The Crack
Jay-Z - Roc Boys
J Dilla - Make 'Em NV
Intuition - Forget Today
Infamous Mobb - Streetz of NY feat. Erick Sermon
Illa J - Me And My Brother
Ill Bill - White Nigger
iCON The Mic King - Povery feat. Blue Raspberry
Ice Water - Hip-Hop Tribute feat. Raekwon
Ice Cube - Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It
Husalah - How I'm Livin
Hood Surgeon - Son of A Doctor
Hell Rell - Do It For The Hustlers
Havoc - NY 4 Life
Guru - State of Clarity feat. Bob James & Common
Grayskul - The Office feat. Slug & Aesop Rock
Ghostface Killah - Walk Around
Ghostface Killah - Paisley Darts feat. Raekwon, Sun God, Trife, Method Man & Cappdonna
Ghostface Killah - Killa Lipstick feat. Method Man & Masta Killah
Evidence - Mr. Slow Flow (Remix) feat. PMD
Evidence - A Moment In Time feat. Planet Asia
El-P - Smithereens
Eightball & MJG - Relax And Take Notes feat. Project Pat & B.I.G.
Domingo - Fuck You Mean feat. PackFM, Brother Ali & Slug
Dogg Pound - Anybody Killa feat. The Game
Dizzee Rascal - Where's Da G's feat. U.G.K
Digs Darklighter - Double Malted feat. Maylay Sparks
Daz - Is This What U Want? feat. Redman
CunninLynguists - Yellow Lines feat. Phonte & Witchdoctor
Cormega - 718 feat. Lil Fame
Chamillionaire - Hip Hop Police feat. Slick Rick
Caveman Theory - Funk Box
Caveman Theory - Don't Violate
Brother Ali - Truth Is
Brother Ali - Here
Brother Ali - Freedom Ain't Free
Boot Camp Click - I Need More
Blu & Exile - No Greater Love
Blu & Exile - My World Is...
Black Milk - Sound The Alarm (Remix) feat. Guilty Simpson & Royce Da 5'9
Black Milk - Say Something feat. Nametag & Slim S.D.H.
Big Shug - Play It (Remix) feat. Royce Da 5'9, Termanlogy & Singapore Kane
Big Shug - Leg Breakers feat. Big Twins & Sean Price
Big City - Chedda feat. Raze
Beanie Sigel - Rain (The Bridge) feat. Scarface
Atmosphere - Lyndale Avenue User's Manual
50 Cent - Straight To The Bank
50 Cent - I Get Money (Remix) feat. Jay-Z & P. Diddy
2010 - 3mG

A look back at '06
http://www.philaflava.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=66954&highlight=phila+100

A look back at '05:
http://www.philaflava.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45475&highlight=philas+favorite

Bu-Tang Clan

2007-11-27T15:13:00.000-05:00

That’s what we should be callin’ them after this album. We waited how many years? Six years for a real Wu album and technically we’ve been waiting even longer because not even the Wu themselves consider “Iron Flag” an album to be proud of.

There will be more people who actually dig this album than dislike it. Fact is each year more and more people become rap fans and each year those dinosaurs contemplating leaving rap for various reasons still hang on by a thread. Every year we fool ourselves with these notions that it’s coming back. Whether it’s the 5th or 6th year and counting waiting on Dr. Dre’s Detox or the return of Rakim. Whether it’s the A Tribe Called Quest, EPMD, Organanized Konfusion or the Pete Rock & CL Smooth reunion album, we still hang on.

We get amped off the idea “next year” has to be better. Jay drops an album. Nas drops an album, but looking back did they hold their weight? Are they gonna get brought out yearly like their previous efforts or 5-mic classics?

Do the standards continue to dip and are we at a point where we just have to accept it otherwise we’re called haters? Look, I have my moments where I can’t fake the funk, the music sucks. But I’m not naïve, I can rattle off a ton of dope-to-classic albums that dropped this year.

Ready? Blu & Exile’s “Below The Heavens,” Brother Ali’s “The Undisputed Truth,” Prodigy’s “Return of The Mac,” U.G.K.’s “Underground Kingz,” and Freeway’s “Free At Last” to name a few.

But for the love of god, can we stop giving everything a pass? Hip-hop gives out more passes than Kurt Warner. I’m sick of being afraid to hate because I’m looked at as close-minded, bitter or just out of touch. The people I’m judging didn’t get any younger. They all came from the same game. The rules didn’t change, so why should I look the other way? It wasn’t 3 years ago I ordered “Enter The 36 Chambers” from BMG Music Club and suddenly overcompensated my Wu love.

Fuck this shit. Fuck those who swallow it. Fuck those who look the other way. Fuck those who deep down know the truth but refuse to accept it. Good music, is good music and it doesn’t have to be dated. It doesn’t have to have a Primo loop or sixteen bars from Nas in order to be dope. Every year great music is made; a lot of it gets overlooked and a lot gets brushed under the rug.

Longevity is not an option because everything is too accessible. The releases come in droves these days, but the quality is few and far between. Every album is becoming disposable because of this, especially albums that did not affect your pockets.

On to the new Wu-Tang Clan album “8 Diagrams...”

Sure I didn’t pay for this album, doubt I will now. It’s unfair for me to critique it but you know what, fuck it. I downloaded it like most Wu fanatics who couldn’t wait for the retail. I burned it and listened to it on studio speakers, not laptop speakers. I played it in the whip. I played it loud and I played it over and over again. Still, I cannot accept this album anymore than I accepted “Iron Flag.”

My goal isn’t to persuade people from not liking this or not buying the album. Let’s be real here, the album is good, but good is such an underwhelming word these days.

This album lacks chemistry. As if RZA had some studio time, send out a few text messages and said “yo, we’re recording so come thru if you can” and that is how this album was put together. A verse here, a verse there and bong bong!

Where is the cohesiveness? Where is the energy? Where are those attitude they had during the Rock The Bells tours where they wanted to prove something to the fans. Those chips that resided on their shoulders from being labeled as has-beens?

Okay we all know a few cats had schedule conflicts. Ghostface, the most beloved emcee on Philaflava and possibly the most consistent emcee out of Wu-Tang these days is non-existent on this album. He has just 3 verses out of the 15 tracks released. So let’s get this straight, he toured with them throughout the Rock The Bells tour; a tour where supposedly recorded a lot of “8 Diagrams” on. But it doesn’t make sense; look at this breakdown for the artists appearance for the 15 tracks (not including the ODB freestyle) that made album.

Method Man (7 verses, 1 hook)
Inspectah Deck (6)
GZA (5)
Raekwon (8)
Ghostface Killah (3)
Masta Killa (5)
Cappadonna (2)
RZA (6)
U-God (5)

A real album, at least their one where they ride off in the sunset shouldn't have have those numbers at all. This was their redemption album. Did we need another solo joint by RZA? He didn’t get his fix in on the Gravediggaz album or his numerous solo LP’s that aren’t titled “The Cure?” Didn’t he do “Sunflowers” already, so I mean if your ego forces to you do another solo that is featured on the Wu album, at least do it as a b-side or bonus track, not smacked in the middle. The beats aren't the problems. The hooks, despite them being out of place and a bit un-Wu friendly can be overlooked. It's the chemistry, the energy and the creativeness on this album that is the true problem.

Why did they rush this after wasting away 6-7 years to record this? What's another 6 months if this would have guaranteed us a more complete album. Fact is cats vibe off one another. Ghost motivates Rae and Cappa. GZA motivates RZA and Masta Killa. Chemistry is essential to a Wu Tang album. It’s what made “36 Chambers” and “WT Forever” the albums they are.
“8 Diagrams” was put together poorly when you think about it and that ODB freestyle they throw you at the end is proof. How about those extended beats or the Japanese shit on the end of “Life Changes?” And how can “Life Changes” not have all the members dropping a verse? Could “Proteck Ya Neck” work without say Method or GZA? Could “Truimph” work without Deck?I could careless for all the guest spots save Badu. And once you listen to the album and hear cats like George Clinton, Dexter Wiggles and the R&B cats you'll understand why. And let’s stop giving Clinton a pass because he made some dope shit in the 70’s that became cool when Dre sampled it. I skip “Bop Gun” for a reason, ya know? Same reason I skip that “Issac Hayes” track on the “W.”

For the final work this is not what I wanted. This is not what I was sold by RZA in all those interviews or by the Wu when I saw them rip shit at Rock The Bells. I have a feeling Ghost is somewhere saying damn “how you gonna have a Wu album without me.” You know Rae is like “I told you so..” It’ll only be a matter of time but I do not believe they’re all satisfied with the results.

There isn’t one blackout verse on the entire album. Nothing I’m going back to rewind like I did numerous GZA verses or the 1-2 punch of Rae & Ghost. Method and U-God are the only ones who seemed to care about this project besides the RZA. Maybe it’s just the impossible. The egos have gotten out of hand and since they’re all fairly wealthy they aren’t that motivated to take orders from Robert anymore.

“8 Diagrams” is not a bad album, it's just not great. And if you think it’s great, well that’s great too but when did you buy “36 Chambers?”

Top 100 MC's

2007-11-01T10:56:00.000-04:00

Contributors: B. Ware tha Siniq, Blastmaster, Glavet, multsanta, Jason Gloss

100. Uncle Murda - While some have already cast Murder away as a gimmick shock rapper, if they took the time to listen to his most inspired material, 2 Hard For Hip Hop, they would see that he isnt some ICP/Necro groupie with NYC street cred. He has Redman's voice, Jay-Z's conversational style and the attitude and demeanor of a less patient BIG. His commercial appeal may be questionable in the short term, as he went over the deep end with the cop killing shit right before he got his deal, but in 2007 there are far less endearing subjects to get stuck on. Tracks like "Mind Full of Demons", "Tell Em What They Want T Hear", "Shootin and Missin" and "I Shot the Sheriff" show a ton of promise and should give even the staunchest of change resistant fans of raw NYC street rap at least a glimmer of hope for the future.

99. Gift of Gab

98. One Be Low

97. B.O.B. - Everything you like about Andre 3000 and none of the bullshit you hate. The guy is a goldmine. Not only a tremendously talented emcee, but BOB produces huge sounding potential hits for a crop of young artists that will prove to be the future of Southern rap.

96. Supastition

95. Turf Talk - Turf spits sandpaper cadences against Rick Rock & Droop-E's space ship landing soundscapes. Like his big cousin 40, he's certainly an acquired taste, but one worth acquiring.

94. Inspectah Deck

93. O.C.

92. Casual

91. Tame One - A lot of people wrote off Tame shortly after The Artifacts split and while his ’06 release “Spazmatic” was completely forgettable, it was his ’07 mixtape “The Grudge” that allowed Tame to show-off his talent on “No Hook” and “Yes Yes Ya’ll.” He maybe an A&R nightmare, but he’s a producers dream. Now he just needs to find that producer…

90. Kool Keith - If you think Keith fell off, think again. It’s a number game; for every 10 albums he drops, 1 of them is bound to be dope and that one was “Project Polaroid.” Vintage Keith returned on “Diamond District,” “The Overviewer” and made every Ultra fan smile again with “Mechanism Nice” on the underwhelming Ultra release “The Best Kept Secret.”

89. El-P

88. KRS-ONE - What can you say about KRS that hasn't been said before. Often considered one of the top three MC's off all-time, KRS may not be what he used to be in term of relevance, but KRS proves he can still bring it on the recent release with Marley Marl.

87. Noreaga

86. Lupe Fiasco

85. Phonte

84. Reef The Lost Cauze - Reppin' Philly, Reef is an MC's MC. Armed with a dope voice and an ill flow, Reef comes hard on every track, ripping every line to shred with his hard, in your face style.

83. Hell Rell

82. Fat Joe

81. MURS - He may not be “M.aking U.ndergorund R.aw S.hit” anymore, but MURS has definitely made enough noise to get signed to Warner Bros. MURS traded in his Power Peralta skateboard for a candy painted ’64 when he chills with the big homie Snoop Dogg or E-40, but he didn’t forget how to rhyme. Look for “MURS for President” as proof of that in 2008.

80. Aesop Rock

79. J.R. Writer - A mixtape rapper's mixtape rapper. A one-trick pony for the most part, but he is really really good at that trick. 16 for 16, he is as good as any punchline rapper on the planet.

78. Apathy - Apathy's metamorphosis from a backpacking punchline rapper into a gun-toting thugged out punchline rapper may lack authenticity, but its hard to argue with the resulting material. Eastern Philosophy is an excellent exploration of the typical gangsta-minded subject material, but it stands out because Apathy is intelligent, witty and not afraid to poke fun at himself. Songs like "All About Crime", "Chemicals" "The Buck Stops Here" and "One of Those Days" are focused and well-executed efforts full of slick rhymes and varied flows that stand out against the typical battle rap whiteness that you would expect from Ap.

77. Juvenile - Juve improved drastically on the severely underrated “Reality Check.” Not only did his writing and flow tighten up, he had an opportunity to say some important shit and he took full advantage of it.

76. Slug - Despite what some may think of Slug, it’s hard to argue that he isn't one of the more vivid rhymers the game has seen. Case in point, his recent "Sunshine" single which makes the listener feel the harshness of the hangover, the warmth of the sun on your skin or the breeze blowing through your hair while riding a 10 Speed. Sean also demonstrates the ability to cover more than just relationship problems with political views and deeper issues on his most recent studio LP.

75. Sadat X - By no fault of his Dot X was always in Puba’s shadows while in Brand Nubian. But this distinct nasally voice emcee arguably has the better career with a string of memorable guest spots and solo albums “Wild Cowboys,” “The State of New York vs. Derek Murphy,” “Experience & Education” and “Black October” under his belt.

74. R.A. The Rugged Man - A criminally slept-on emcee that’s been spitting since the early 90’s when he first signed to Jive as a teen. R.A.’s redefined his flow throughout the years and on tracks like “Chains” featuring Killah Priest and Masta Killa off his ’04 debut “Die Rugged Man Die” he showed the growth. Most recently he embarrassed Hell Razah, Tragedy Khadafi and Timbo King on “Renaissance” and took home “Rhyme of The Month” for his haunting lyrics about his father’s Nam stories.

73. Ras Kass - Rassy has fallen on hard times, but still commands the respect of the hip hop nation for what his potential could be. Long seen as one of the best left side lyricist, Ras Kass looks to rebound after a long battle with Capitol. He still spits ill rhymes on his recent string of mixtapes that show why he shouldn't be dismissed.

72. Blaq Poet - Poet has been around for a long minute, first appearing back in the Queens Bridge/ Bronx wars. Recently, Poet has dropped his own solo project that demonstrates why he should still be considered on prominent MC that keeps the essence of New York alive with his gruff voice and hard ass delivery.

71. Talib Kweli

70. Mitchy Slick

69. Juelz Santana

68. Percee P - A boom-bap dinosaur that values stylistic perfection over innovation, diversity or pop appeal? Absolutely. But in a year when most of the number one singles will be remembered (or forgotten) for their dance steps and unintelligible lyrics, Percee and Madlib’s nineteen track smoked out throwback opus managed to walk the line between refreshingly old school and sonically innovative.

67. Kurupt - The Philly born lyricist was on fire during the Death Row days, but since its demise his career has been unstable and unimpressive to say the least. Like Ras Kass, Kurupt has all the talent to be one of the best. He’s an eastcoast lyricist with a westcoast mentality and that’s a fierce combination. Labeled as one of the greatest freestylers ever to appear on the Wake Up Show, Ricardo Brown has yet to fully capitalize on his talent. Until then he’ll always be that guy who was on “The Chronic.”

66. Rockness Monsta - The greatest voice in the history of rap music? Maybe. But Rock is a much more than just an excellent vocalist though. When he puts his mind to it he's also one of the dopest lyricists in the game and the ultimate yang to partner-in-rhyme Sean P's yin. With a Heltah Skeltah album being promised for 2008, there's still hope for this Brooklyn resident who's only stayed somewhat relevant through the years thanks to a couple mixtapes, an occasional guest verse, and a bunch of hooks.

65. Trife Da God

64. Boots Riley

63. Joell Ortiz - There weren't a lot of solid front-to-back NYC hip hop releases in 2007, but “The Brick: Bodega Chronicles” was one of them. Whether Joell will be able to g-check Dre into letting him actually drop an album on Aftermath in the next five years is a big question though. Nevertheless, 2007 was a great year for Ortiz, enjoy your moment in the sun while it last Joell.

62. Project Pat - It is hard for any rapper to outshine Super Producer beats, but to do it consistently for over a decade is an incredible feat. With his signature flow and agressive lyrics, Pat has quietly been one of the best rappers in the South for a long time. After serving a 4 year bid, Pat, Paul and J droped one of last year's most fun and creative albums and he started to get the attention he has deserved for a very long time. Even while Paul and J slip toward watered down, uninspired, comfortable mediocrity, a Project Pat verse is still something to behold.

61. W.C. - There are very few West Coast artists who release dope, cohesive, and well produced albums with the consistency of Dub C. From the days with Maad Circle, WC has been a stylistic innovator and an idiosyncratic gang-bangin’ rhyme master. With Guilty By Affiliation WC shows the hip hop audience that A) Ice Cube is still good for something (he executive produces one of the best produced albums of the year, and shows up for a great guest appearance on “80’s Babies”) and B) there is at least one West Coast rapper who sounds as hungry in 2007 as he did in ’97, or the early nineties for that matter.

60. Killah Priest - A year ago if I’d seen KP on somebody’s end of the year list I would’ve lost respect for their opinions on all matters hip hop, but in case you missed it, Priest dropped arguably the most lyrically impressive album of the year with The Offering. And despite the fact that most of the producer’s names look like the results from a random Myspace search, The Offering shows that Killah Priest still knows what good production sounds like.

59. MJG - MJG has always been an underrated emcee. Sure, everyone loves his work with 8-Ball, but No More Glory doesnt receive nearly the praise it deserves and for a long time his rotund rhyme parter garnered the majority of the accolades. While he crushed countless verses on Living Legends, it was his stand-out turn on Stay Fly that forced people to start paying attention again. While the duo's work had been fairly even in the past, MJG seems more confident than ever and steals the show on Ball and G's Ridin High. Relax and Take Notes.

58. Papoose - Putting out 30 mixtapes in 2 years is not exactly indicative of quality control, but in between the forced metaphors and wooden flows, Pap has delivered some excellent music. The Law Library and Game themed series are both excellent and with the right production, Pap has a great album in him. Hopefully this time off is an effort to avoid a Canibus-like fate.

57. Kanye West

56. Cassidy

55. Elzhi - 1/3rd of Slum Village; this ’01 addition to the group has been making noise for a minute in the D. Best know for his structured rhymes, El has destroyed SV tracks like “Time Travel” and “Reunion” and kicked things up a notch on Little Bro’s jawn “Hiding Places.”

54. Posdnous

53. Redman - Despite the moaning of disappointed Reggie Noble addicts suffering from severe withdrawal from his long absence from this rap game, Red Gone Wild still stands at the end of the year as one of the top 20 or so albums dropped in 2007. Not a great record, but it shows definitively that Redman is still a premiere emcee if given the proper production. Unfortunately the album is riddled with boring guest appearances and Erick Sermon’s lazy production of late. Hopefully ’08 sees the release of Muddy Waters 2 or the rumored second Meth & Red album.

52. Fabolous

51. The Game - Say what you will about The Game, but not many people can deny the fact this man hasn’t put out two great albums. “The Documentary” and “Doctor’s Advocate” may have been products of great production, but The Game is responsible for a lot of that success himself. Whether he’s beefin’ with Budden, Yuk, Ras Kass or the entire G-Unit, The Game doesn’t hesitant to end careers. Come to think of it, he may have ended it for Ras Kass.

50. GZA

49. Lil Fame

48. Masta Ace - Ace may not be the best lyricist with the dopest flow, but he is by far one of the most consistent MC's the game has possibly ever seen. Ace paints vivid imagery on his albums and with the release of his "super group" on the horizon, Ace promises to reiterate why he deserves to be a top 20 MC.

47. Young Buck

46. Trae - Restless was the one of the best albums of 2006 and Trae's most complete work to date, but people are fucking up if they dont check his back-catalog. He was great as Z-Ro's right hand man in Guerilla Maab and albums like the stellar Losing Composure were clear signs of the genius to come. Trae has been markedly adept at communicating the traditionally murky SUC sound to a new generation of listeners, and it looks as though Life Goes On will keep Trae batting at a high average.

45. Method Man - With some great, although too brief, appearances on the leaked “8 Diagrams” material and the still underappreciated 4:21 album last year, there's reason to believe Mr. Mef still has a real hunger for making dope hip hop. And with his TV and Film career seemingly waning perhaps he's finally realizing some more royalty checks might not be half-bad.

44. E-40

43. Young Jeezy

42. Killer Mike - Killer Mike has a perfect combination of aggression and humor. "I Pledge Allegiance" to "The Grind" are fantastic and if he can get his politics right he may be able to put out a classic. "The Juggernot", "Dueces Wild" and "That's Life" are great indicators of his potential.

41. 50 Cent

40. Pharoahe Monch

39. Crooked I

38. Brother Ali - A lot of people may spend time wondering what race he is, but you won’t spend much realizing how dope he is. Brother Ali is a breath of fresh air in Hip-hop. From his heartfelt lyrics to soulful swagger found on the ’07 release “The Undisputed Truth,” B.A. continues to impress which passing album.

37. Young Dro - Dro has a formula. It works. His incredibly original flow and cadences keep your attention as Young Dro educates the youth on a variety of subjects, via well-paced couplets, ranging from exotic seafood and European organized crime to car/fruit similies and Morgan Freeman-driven inspirational dramas.

36. Common

35. K-Rino - There are very few emcees who debuted in the 80's that are still putting out quality music. There are even fewer who have the ability put out their best album in 2007. Worst Rapper Alive and Time Traveler were both dope, but Book Number 7 is an incredibly well-balanced display of lyrical dexterity and song making ability. K-Rino may be the best in the business at executing interesting and entertaining concept songs, and Book Number 7 finds a great equilibrium between that type of ambitious material, solution-oriented socio-economic political music and straight battle raps.

34. Prodigy

33. Ludacris

32. Tragedy Khadafi - While it’s brevity left a lot of fans feeling like it was just a teaser, The Death of Tragedy, was still one of the best releases to come out of New York’s scene this year. Trag has gone through many stages of development in his twenty-plus year, but his contribution has been largely unheralded despite the fact that he remains one of the defining architects of the Queensbridge sound.

31. Chamillionaire - Cham is still quite nice with it, but would benefit from a rhyme parter or a capable crew to trade 16s with. His flow can be a bit tedious without other emcees taking the edge off. A Color Changin Click reunion would be ideal.

30. Royce Da 5'9 - Often considered a throw back to be a throw back MC to the late 80's when MC's just went to the mic and ripped it to shreds. His voice and delivery are equal to no one, commanding respect on the mic. Royce demonstrates what exactly an MC means.

29. M.F. Doom - More in the headlines for alleged lip-synching or faux-heart attacks than his rhymes this year, MF remains one of the most compelling personalities on the independent scene. However, if DOOM is unable to capitalize on his previous brilliance and release some work on par with Madvillainy, MM…Food, or Vaudeville Villain, he will continue to drop in the ranks. Hoping for something as brilliant as Operation Doomsday seems out of the question at this point, but who knows, he’s been written-off before, a few times.

28. Kool G. Rap - Most rappers fall off, but perhaps because he’s never even gone gold, Kool G Rap’s hunger to spit jaw-dropping ill lyrics and cadences seems to never go away. It’s hard to think of even an individual track where he vocally disappointed, which means that the greatness of his work is largely contingent on the beats he has to spit over. Here’s to hoping there’s some serious heat on Half a Klip.

27. Z-Ro - It's a little known fact that the Z in Z-Ro represents his lapsed Zoloft prescription. His constant string of records, usually patchwork performances recorded in between prison terms, play like hustlers suicide notes. While many rappers profess to explore the other side of the game, only H-Towns most depressed truly internalizes that struggle. And his technicality bears a rapid fire flow that most could only dream of.

26. Joe Budden

25. Sean Price - Sean Peeeeee! The hardest working man in Boot Camp is often lauded for his complex and humorous rhymes that make him one of the current favorite guests spot rhymers on the scene. P Body isn't the most technical vocalist on the list, but always supplies the lines that make the listener pay attention.

24. Peedi Crakk - He’s possibly the illest Latino (well, half) rapper out right now. Whether he’s rippin’ shit with his fellow Philadelphians Beans, Freeway, Thought or remaking “Brand New Funk” with DJ Jazzy Jeff, you can't front on Peedi’s show-stealing ability. Don’t be surprised to see this kid crack the top 10 in a few years—pun.

23. Saigon - Despite his stellar mixtape track record Saigon is still a little more hype than real thing at this point. While “Illmatic” comparisons and classic claims may be overly optimistic publicity stunts, there is a good chance that “The Greatest Story Never Told” will have a spot on everybody's end of the year lists, if it actually drops.

22. Cormega - If anybody needs to write a paper about the poetry of rap music they should visit Cormega's solo catalog. One of the most vivid lyricists in the game, his long-time independent status has kept him out of the public eye for the most part (hence also out of the top emcee lists of most publications). 2008 will prove to be a make or break year for Cormega though, who hasn't dropped a solo in years, and continues to tease fans with compilations, instrumental albums and dvds.

21. Cam'Ron

20. T.I. - His recent troubles with the law and sub-par fifth solo release leave a salty taste in the mouth’s of TI fans all over America (and it’s not just cuz they need to brush their grillz). Just last year TI seemed the heir apparent to the legacy of Jay-Z, able to craft insightful lyricism, street bangers, love songs, and hood/suburb anthems all on the same record. But short of Johnnie Cochran rising from the grave there’s no way TI’s stock as an artist is going to go up in the coming years. Keep your head up, and give Mystical Toomp’s number on his way out Tip.

19. Raekwon - Armed with a mixtape every three months, Rae fights to keep his name in peoples mouths and on their minds. Often mention in the top tier of Wu lyricists, Rae spits the illest mafioso rhymes that provide vivid imagery of the crime game.

18. Freeway - There are very few emcees who manipulate cadence as well as Freeway. While he has been quiet for a while, tracks like "Paper Gangsters, "Criminal Opera" "Its Over" and "Step Back" provide assurance that he is still just as unorthodox and aggressive as he was in 2003.

17. Andre 3000 - Though it look like he'd succumbed to full term Baduizm, quitting rap in favor of fruity bullshit, a string of scene stealing guest appearances proved that he's still one of the best rappers alive, when he actually wants to rap.

16. Scarface - The past two decades have seen Face slowly evolve from the brash lunatic fast rap gangsta of his early records to a slower, more reserved elder statesmen of Southern hip-hop. Simply put, no emcee has aged with as much grace.

15. Malice - What Malice may lack in aritstry in comparison to Pusha T, he more than makes up for with his stone cold flow.

14. Big Boi - One of the most consistent rappers ever, which truly is a feat when you take into account the guy he raps with. With his incredibly dynamic flow and witty wordplay, Big Boi will always be the dependable part of an Outkast album.

13. Bun-B - With Pimp C handling the production (whether he's making or choosing the beats), the hooks, the concepts, and his own verses, Bun B just has to be the illest 16-24 bar spitter he can be. Fortunately for both members of UGK, Bun is one of the nicest topical verse murderers on the planet. While his solo album had its highs and lows, and “Underground Kingz” may have been Pimp's shining moment, Bun still has one of the most consistent careers and promising futures in the industry.

12. Black Thought - Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock or The Roots crew, you’ve missed one of the best lyrical performances in 2006 on "Game Theory." This lyrically lyrical lyricist completely wrecks the album from start to finish. When Thought is on, not many are better. See “Web” and “Boom,” where he does an ill rendition of G. Rap & Kane on the ’04 release “The Tipping Point” or “In The Music,” “Here I Come” and the self-titled track ‘Game Theory” off the ’06 release “Game Theory.”

11. Devin The Dude - The undisputed crown prince of self deprecation rap. He smokes weed, he drinks brew. That's all he raps about because it's all he do.

10. Pimp C - Pimp C not only produced one of the year's best LPs, but he provided some of his best mic work ever in 2007. He has always had a dismissive attitude towards pussies, but as of late Chad has taken not giving a fuck to new heights. Couple his brashness with what seems like an endless supply of different flows, and you get one of the best rappers doing it.

9. Jadakiss - Jadakiss is really the last hungry descendent from the BIG legacy that still has a chance to create a classic album. Based on pure rap skill there's definitely an argument to be made that Kiss deserves to be in the top five, but until he realizes that his "I've got a song for everybody" type of albums lack cohesion and focus he will be relegated to incredible mixtape rapper status. Hopefully maturity and a little in between record label limbo will light a fire under his ass in '08.

8. Styles P - One of the most influential “street lyricists” of the 20th and 21st centuries, chances are Styles P is your personal GOAT’s favorite current rapper. It has taken him a very long time to come out of the “the cat that’s not Jada, but is still good in the Lox” syndrome, especially after an album like Time Is Money. But this year Styles proved that given the right production he could still make a beast of an album (see: Ghost Sessions). Between that release, his par for the course (well, for him) demolition of the mixtape circuit (see: Independence and The Phantom Menace for all the proof you need) Styles appears to still be the one member of the Lox crew who’s capable of making a great album.

7. Pusha-T - The only thing holding Pusha back from being the best rapper alive at this point is probably Malice. Not because his older brother is better than him, or so weak that he drags Terrance down, but because they are such an ill dynamic duo that they will probably never go solo (or at least not for a few years). T's arrogance is unparalleled, his wit is caustic and his rhymes are just brutal. Eghhhk.

6. AZ - Arguably the best lyricist on the entire list, AZ’s popularity will always been hindered by the shadow of Nas and the fiasco of The Firm album. From a pure artistic standpoint however, not becoming famous may have been the best thing to happen to AZ. He has no reason to create crossover attempts, or try to fit into any of hip hop’s current trends and fads, and is able to focus on making music that is sonically engaging and lyrically and stylistically superior.

5. Jay-Z - Once considered the best lyricist, Jay has slipped down the list after only a mediocre showing on his "Kingdom Come" release last year, but hopes to show back up with his new release dropping this December. Does Jay Hova still have it? We all shall soon see, but regardless, he still has to be considered one of the top ten best in this day of age and arguably top 10 of all-time.

4. Nas - So much can be said about an artist with such a controversial roller coaster-esque recording career. He’s capable of making classic material, he’s capable of making horrible pop crossover attempts (fortunately this seems to be largely behind him), and he’s capable of sounding completely uninspired over his equally uninspired production choices. Like it or not though, Nas is still one of the best rappers in the game and if “Less Than An Hour,” and “Surviving the Times” are any indication he still has another dope album in him somewhere.

3. Lil Wayne - If productivity is a signifier of genius then Wayne is rap's Ray Charles. Though it's been two years since his last proper solo LP, he's spent that time churning out a seemingly endless string of verses, each delivered with a unique fractured style that is probably more indicative of a pillhead slur than any real ambition. But if that's what it takes to get a rapper to try and do something different then so be it. And it makes his coherent moments seem all the more valuable.

2. Beanie Sigel - Few hip-hop artists embody the notion of career growth as well as Beanie Sigel. Most great rappers drop their classic album the first time out and spend the rest of their careers trying to live up to the hype of that first hungry record. Beanie on the other hand has arguably gotten better with each release. And considering B. Coming seemed to have been forced together rather quickly after a jail stint, my money is on “The Solution,” being a top contender for album of the year, whether it drops in 07 or 08.

1. Ghostface Killah - It’s fitting the most beloved rapper on Philaflava ranks numero uno on our list. GFK saved the Wu and hip-hop for many of us. “Fishscale” may have fell short of the mark, but that didn’t stop him from crankin’ out “More Fish” months later. Whether he’s working on solo material, Theodore Unit projects, the Doom collabo and now “8 Diagrams” Ghostface Killah stays grindin’. The king of the underground may not ever make another “Supreme Clientele” but chances are whatever darts Ghost throws at us will be closer to the bull’s eye than others.

Your thoughts? http://www.philaflava.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=84230

You can get with or you can get with that...

2007-10-18T15:55:00.000-04:00

I think you should get with this, cuz this is where its at!

Colorado Rockies > New York Yankees

Vanessa Hudgens > Lindsey Lohan

Playstation 3 < XBOX 360

Britney Spears' music career < Britney Spears’ meltdown

Jimmy Kimmel on MNF > Joe Theismann on MNF

iPhone < free cell phone with a 1 year contract

Jerking off > Asking for sex

Philly hip-hop > New York hip-hop

Ester Baxter < Lola

Brunette from “Tell Me You Love Me” > Brunette from “Friday Night Lights”

Gym Class Heroes < Hangar 18

Curb Your Enthusiasm > Any comedy on TV

Living in Canada < Visiting Canada

Boot Camp Click < Just about anybody who cares about releasing quality albums

Dipset < State Property

Anticon < Nerds

A preggo Elizabeth Hasselbeck > Not pregnant Elizabeth Hasselbeck

Rosie on The View > Whoopi on The View

People who forget about J-Dilla > People who continue to bastardize his catalog

Adrian Peterson > Reggie Bush

Kobe Bryant in a Lakers uniform < Kobe Bryant not in a Lakers uniform

Kobe Bryants wife in clothes < Kobe Bryants wife not in clothes

Angela on The Office this season > Pam on The Office this season

Samuel Smith's Oatmeal stout > Guinness stout

Sam Adam’s Boston Lager < Sam Adam’s Octoberfest

National Geographic Channel in HD > Any other cable channel

The Wire on HBO On Demand > The Sopranos on HBO On Demand

The Sopranos (the entire series) > The Wire (the entire series)

MILFs > Underage hotties

Paying a lot of money for an obscure 12” single < Downloading an obscure 12” single from a blog for free

MILF's

2007-10-09T09:30:00.000-04:00

Once you get past your early twenties; the college years, your taste in woman start to rapidly change. Very few actually act on their feelings and experience what every living heterosexual male craves—an older hot mother!

Movies such as American Pie have glorified this phenomenon and now there are over thousands of MILF sites out there to quench your thirst. Whether it’s the stereotypical soccer moms or health conscience broads you’ll catch at the supermarket, MILF’s comes in overwhelming numbers and they’re all waiting to be had.

With my list, you will not only be able to spot a MILF in action, but with a little luck you may be able to snag one.

10. Post Office
Okay the ratio isn’t nearly as good, but have you ever gone to the Post Office during your lunch break? This is when the MILF’s come out. For whatever reasons, this is apart of their daily chores and if you hit up the P.O. right before their pilates session, SCORE!

9. Local Library
You’d be surprised but the library is a hidden gem. I actually did some community service at a local library my junior year of high school. Despite the place being hit or miss, let me just say when it’s hit, it’s like Ichiro on a great night. For starters, most MILF’s don’t work, so they read a lot. You know woman in their 30-40’s are desperately trying to redefine themselves. Some are still looking for that purpose and some are trying to find out how to be the next Meg Whitman. Let’s not forget many MILF’s take their children to the library to have group reading sessions and that means one thing, alone time with the mommas.

8. High school
Whether it’s dropping them off or picking them up, you’re always guaranteed to see a MILF at this spot. The reason it ranks higher than the library is because of the quantity.

7. Bank
There is nothing hotter than a MILF with money. The opportunies are endless. They got rich husbands who work 70 hours a week, travel to South America for some fun and leave these lonely wives alone. That means one thing, trouble. These broads spend and spend and spend and in order to spend you gotta hit up the bank, right? Take yourself to your local bank for an afternoon deposit and you may just end up making two!

6. Barnes & Noble/Borders
Us guys don’t really go in these stores to buy books. We go to either kill time or to read that magazine you have no intention of paying $5 for. Well in these stores the women come in flocks. Again, MILF’s love to read and many of them stop off here during their day to pick up the latest Architectural Digest or the latest Oprah mag. Don’t hesitate to hit up these places several times a week. I promise they rarely disappoint.

5. Their kid’s soccer game
This is where it all started from. I like to call this Mecca. The only problem is its usually once a week and it happens to be early Saturday morning. The likelihood of any of us being a soccer game, much less at 8AM on a Saturday isn’t great. For that it chills at #5, but do know a soccer game is something every man should experience at least once in his life.

4. Bloomingdales
This is the greatest place for people like Willie B. These women that shop at Bloomies dream about being sexed up by a naughty little boys and many fantasize about a naughty little black boys. Brothas, this is the time to bag your whitey and get you all fixed up too. Just think of the endless shopping sprees? If you give it to them good, you’re set for at least the next 90 days. May I suggest the handbag section of the store or maybe the make-up counter? It’s best to go up in there with some fresh khaki’s with a button down. Don’t put on tims, you don’t want to scare them away. I suggest some loafers or if you have them maybe a nice pair of sandals. It may be ghey rock, but it’s not threatening and makes them feel they like they are with somebody like Ben Harper or Lenny Kravitz. Play the role and you’ll be in heaven.

3. Shoe stores
Shoe places, whether its discount or retail chains are the greatest spot to catch you a MILF. Beware for the Lesbos that usually work in these places. They always cock-block but if you kill ‘em with kindness you’re in there.

2. Whole Foods Market
Everybody seems to be buying into this shit, but MILFs make up the largest percentage. I can’t stress to you how important it is to go to your local supermarket. Whether it’s in the late afternoon (right they prepare dinner) or on the weekends you will find yourself in MILF paradise. Whole Foods Market is like Urban Outfitters but for MILFs and for insecure health nuts. MILFS are just that! Go there, get a panani sandwich and you’ll end up with a punnany sandwich instead. The quality and quantity is just unreal. If you don’t have a Whole Foods look for any organic supermarket in your area. Let me just say there is nothing better than a 40 year old latina who is tired of her honkey husband.

1. Gym
The most obvious place, right? It’s harder to score, but at least you get to see what’s under the hood. The women are usually with their trainers but if you catch them before or after a good session you may luck-out. The best time is when they're walking to their cars and most of the time the action happens IN THE CAR!

20 Random Thoughts

2007-09-21T09:39:00.001-04:00

Pitch Black’s newest album “Revenge” is livin’ proof that production means more these days than lyrics. They still ain’t seeing Group Home. See what I just did right thurr?

Army of The Pharoahs needs to just make it a “Philly” only clique. They just sound better and more cohesive when they’re all spitting about the Illadel. Besides Eso just doesn’t sound right with these cats and even though Celph is funny at times, he too doesn’t mesh well.

Now that Saigon’s popularity has reached a high after beating up Lil’ P, has this changed anyone’s anticipation for his long-awaited debut? I thought so…

Duck Down needs to be more selective in rushing out albums. So far this year they’ve done a poor job of promoting them and a very poor job in selling them. The latest BCC and Special Teamz albums are currently in your local record store’s dollar bin.

If Superstar Quamallah was on Stones Throw you’d all jock him like you did Dilla.

Madlib maybe the most innovative producer alive! Dude fucking jacked Contra for “2 Brothers From The Gutta” and completely laced Percee with some of his finest work. Madlib RARELY disappoints, he just needs to work with some bigger and better cats.

Bee Why’s Lost Tapes > Blu & Exile’s Below The Heavens

Despite not really liking Kanye’s new album, I do like a handful of tracks which is about a handful more than I like on “Curtis.”

Only people from Chi-Town still listen/care about that new Common album. It came, it went…

Hell Rell has a great ear for beats. Don’t you wish people like Nas were more like this?

Hell Rell’s “For The Hell of It” is the best Dipset album in the past 3-4 years.

Koch could actually be a very dope label if they put out real studio albums with a respectable budget for the following artists in 2008--Styles P, Lil Fame, AZ, Cam’Ron, Kool G. Rap, Goodie Mob and Prodigy.

MF Doom needs to either die or put out new music. Enough of this waiting around bullshit. Get healthy and drop some new material or just drop dead. (jokes).

Anyone care about Havoc’s new album “The Kush?” Thought so…

Why isn’t Peedi Crakk signed to Def Jam or is he? Can we get a fucking album already?

Whether you like it or not Beanie Sigel, Styles P, Lil Wayne, Pusha-T, Trae & Young Dro are all going to be heavyweights and should be on many of your TOP 5 lists today.

The “I Get Money Remix” really isn’t that good when you think about it. It’s a cool thought, but 50 comes wack and Jay was a bit sloppy. Go figure Diddy’s verse was more memorable than Jay’s and 50 combined.

What are labels/websites thinking when they expect people to pay for downloads? That is not the wave of the future. Nobody is paying to buy mp3s. If you are, you need your head examined and you aren’t spending your money wisely.

Since Philaflava is slowly becoming a household name what are the chances of us getting a reality TV show soon? Arlene, Galvatron78, keenone, Willie B, B.O.B., SYMantiks, Jaz & Icesickle all under one roof.

Q-Tip’s new album will suck beyond belief.

My New York trip in less than 5 minutes

2007-09-18T09:51:00.000-04:00

Try and read this blog as if it was the guy from the Micro Machine commercials.

Thurs: Arrived @ 4PM. Take cab to 49th & Lexington. Check in and then bounce to Jackson Heights to visit my wife’s grandmother. We do some shopping for her in the halel-infested neighborhood prior to going to her house. We take a Mexican cab to Corona to eat at Parkside, which was very dope. I got some calamari to start, a few glasses of pinot noir and finished with a seafood medley with crab, scrimp, mussels and claims. We then leave Queens to go back to the city. Walk around and then call it a night.

Friday: Wake up to the news about PF making the new Vibe magazine. Grab a bagel. Go to Rockafeller Center and go to Top of The Rock. Bounce to the Village. Hit up Joe’s Pizza and do some walking. Bounce to Times Square to get some tickets for a Broadway show, but no luck. Hit up Virgin Mega buy some shit and bounce back to the Village to do some shopping. Go to a few trendy spots and then hit up Fat Beats. Everytime I go to NY I swear that I’ll never go back to Fat Beats due to its wackness but somehow find myself going back. I buy some records, talk to Eclipse about his remixes that just leaked and walk downstairs to be approached by a few rappers trying to slang their albums. Met Creature who gave me his CD for some PF Jukebox play then bumped into Marvelous who tried to sell me his shit but didn’t know that I was PF because he had already sent me his album last year. Head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner at Patsy’s.

Dinner was amazing. Bounce back to the hotel to change clothes and grab a drink at the bar. Attempt to walk around and find another bar later on but no luck. Retreat back to the hotel room around 1AM and go to bed.

Saturday: Ate B-fast at the Comfort Diner. Literally walked 25+ miles. Statue of Liberty. Wall Street. Times Square. Chinatown. Ground Zero. Village (again). Went to Joe's Pizza again and saw Brian Grazer there. Walked some more. Went to some bakery and split a neopoleon and a canolli with the wife. Chilled in Battery Park for a minute cuz the weather was nice. Went back to the hotel around 6PM to get ready for dinner at John’s of 12th Street (per Reggie’s recommendation). Ate some Spandino, spaghetti and meatballs because saw the dude in the Sopranos eating it and thought it looked great. Dinner was really good and really cheap compared to Patsys. Would go back to both places in a heart-beat.

After dinner go to Garage in the village, realize we don’t wanna chill at the bar so we hit the Mexican rest. Across the street for some drinks. A few hours later we bounce and end up in TS where we walk back to the hotel. 4AM go to bed.

Sunday: Ate b-fast at Silver Spurs. Walked around the village. Walked to a closed Sound Library. Stopped at a pickle fair. Went back to the city and did some shopping. The wife took 2 hours at H&M. Hit up some dope Japanesse pastry shop near Rockafella and ate a geppei (moon cake). Walk around some more and head back to the hotel to meet the limo to take us back to the Airport. The end.

New Jack Swing/R&B

2007-08-28T09:55:00.000-04:00

You might be asking why this brand of R&B, why not the 70’s or 80’s when funk soul brothers named Marvin, Barry, Curtis and Issac were runnin’ game? Well simply put, I wasn’t bustin’ nuts then.

The late 80’s, early 90’s sound was so prevalent, sure a lot of it contained an element of corniness but it also contained an element of awesomeness. There were no hack groups like kids have growing up today. None of that Immature, Jagged Edge or B2K shit. The groups today don’t even come close. R&B music was at its best in the 90’s and it’s a shame that sound cannot be duplicated today without coming off uninspired or contrived.

Harlem’s finest Teddy Riley took the hip-hop influence and married it with R&B which created a dominance in music. New Jack Swing came into full effect right in the beginning of the decade, right around the time Bell Biv Devoe dropped the G. Rap sampled “Poison.” Then the west took it and came with Tony! Toni! Tone!. The Midwest borrowed the sound and gave us R.Kelly and scattered throughout the states with groups like Houston’s H-Town (Knockin’ The Boots) or Silk. Let’s not forget the New Edition off-spring Boyz II Men, which topped the charts for consecutive years when Cooleyhighharmony dropped. Even the white boi’z (from Oklahoma) were comin’ with it when Color Me Badd dropped. Were they the Backstreet Boys with soul? Don’t front on “I Wanna Sex You Up” or “All 4 Love” either. I even liked their Ice Cube produced video “Time & Chance.” By the way, remember when Cube dissed them years before?

Despite what Chris Rock said, Minnesota has more than just 2 black guys (Prince and Kirby Puckett), they had The Time muthafuckas and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis took the idea blending pop and R&B and gave us Ms. Nasty. The R&B sound was very distinct in the 90’s and one of the groups that completely owned it was Jodeci. But if there was one person that defined this era, this genre it was none other than the self-proclaimed “King of Hip-Hop & R&B,” Bobby Brown.

My Prerogative, Don’t Be Cruel, Every Little Step, Humpin Around and the ultimate jam, On Our Own all ruled our lives. The other N.E. boys dropped heat like Gill’s Rub You The Right Way” or the extra soft Ralph Tresvant (the earlier version of Tevin Campbell) with his “Sensitivity.”

So whether it was BBD, CMB or even a collabo like Friends by Jody Watley and Rakim, the New Jack Swing era ran shit and will never be forgotten. It didn’t matter if it was music you were playing poolside, in your car or the soundtrack to your sexual experiences like cracking open your jimmy hat, R&B was the shit (at one point).

What are your favorite R&B tracks from this era? Here are some of my favorites…

Poison - BBD
Every Little Step – Bobby Brown
It Feels Good – Tony? Toni? Tone!
Motownphilly – Boyz II Men
Don’t Be Cruel – Bobby Brown
On Our Own – Bobby Brown
I Wanna Sex You Up – Color Me Badd
Iesha - Another Bad Creation
Here We Go Again – Portrait

Phila Phantasy Phootball Picks – Running Back Edition

2007-07-31T16:35:00.000-04:00

We all know guys like LT, Steven J., Larry Jo and Franky Gore should go rather quickly. They’re no brainers. We’re all fantasy veterans and we know the rules of drafting. Always take a RB first and then slowly work yourself to QB unless Peyton is just staring at you in 2nd. It’s not uncommon to see him drafted in the first round depending on the amount of players you have in your league. Point is, we know who’s the franchise but lets take a look at some players who are worthy of the praise, guys that may surprise you and of course my sleepers to have big years.

Rudi Johnson is my favorite RB that wasn’t named above. Cincinnati is fierce with run and this guy always puts in his share of work. I don’t have any doubts that this year his workload will be any different or that he can’t handle it. To me, Rudi is a top 5 fantasy RB based on statistics, reliability and opportunity.

Some other RB’s I really like…

Joseph Addai – He is worth all the hype. He’s the future of Indy.
Brian Westbrook – Despite his health risks he has all the heart you could ask for in a RB. I may be bias, but not many backs offer up the weapons like Westbrook. He managed to play 95% of the entire 2006 season and put up outstanding numbers that failed to get him to Hawaii.
Travis Henry – This guy is either going to be the next Terrell Davis or Tommy Davis. Denver loves backs and it looks like he maybe their feature one throughout the entire year. If Shanny is impressed with him this summer expect to see Travis rush for 1200 yards with 9-11 TD’s to go with it.
Willis McGahee – B-More. Nuff said!
Cedric Benson – This guy is about to break-out and pull a LJ on you. Just watch! I’m expecting 11-14 TD’s.
Laurence Maroney – If healthy, he’ll have the same numbers from last year + 4-5 more TD’s and 450-600 more rushing yards.

Can’t go wrong with these guys either...

Reggie Bush – The guy is talented and could be a top 5 in the future, but as long as Duece I’m concerned he doesn’t truly shine. BUT, look out for nice year with at least 6-7 REC TD’s.
Edgerrin James – I personally would not draft him. I have little faith in Leinart and even with both Fitz and Boldin you know they are going to continue to work James until he just can’t run anymore. Hopefully that’ll be week 15 and you’ll get enough value for this late 2nd rounder.
Duece McAllister – Not a guy you should draft until the late 3rd but he could be Bettis like with the goal line TD’s this year. I say 7 TDs.

Sleepers…

Adrian Peterson – This rookie is gonna go Rodney Hampton on ya’ll in his first year. He is no Blair Thomas—trust me. A future top 7 back by ’09.
Jamal Lewis – Don’t give up on Jamal just yet. He’s rested and is playing for a team with some nice o-line. He’ll be a nice 2nd back on any squad.
Ronnie Brown – Each year I believe is his break out, but with Cameron in charge and Ricky officially out, I could see Green/Brown having nice chemistry and Ronnie B scoring 12 TD’s.
Marshawn Lynch – Another rookie breakout? Possibly? Probably? Most definitely! Marshawn will be used like Bush was last year. Expect 6-8 TD’s from him.
Jerious Norwood – Dunn will not last. Jerious is freaky fast and will be their #1 back before the season is over.
Thomas Jones – He will have a breakout season with the Jersey O. Look for him to rush 1000 with 10 TD’s

Don’t believe the hype…

Shaun Alexander – I don’t care what he’s done or what team he plays for. If you draft him over Rudi or Gore you’re probably a Jesus freak too. This guy is not worth his value. A top 8 RB, but not a top 4.
Clinton Portis – I want him to bounce back, truly. I think the guy is a beast, but for some reason I think Washington feels Betts can get the job done as well. Not that I wouldn’t draft Portis but just know in Washington’s minds, he is replaceable if he goes down. Plus his knees are a concern.
Brandon Jacobs – LMAO. Good luck having this Jerome Bettis hack as your starting RB. Listen, I think Jacobs will score the TD’s no question, but he cannot handle the workload of 25-30 rushes per game. He just doesn’t hold up. He’s worth a spot on your roster just not in the early rounds.
Carnell Williams – His last year was depressing. I see him becoming more like Brian Westbrook but I just don’t really like TB to draft him early on.
Warrick Dunn – Watching him play this year will be like listening to a new Mobb Deep album, dunny!
Ahman Green – LOL. Could be a great steal if he is still available in the 4-5 rounds. But why would you take him when you could get a stud like Marion Barber or Fred Taylor (who’s old, but still puts up decent #s).
DeAngelo Williams – Love the guy, but I tend to stay away from any RB on Carolina. They just have that Madden curse.
Julius Jones – Not the Jones you want.
Chester Taylor – He can’t hold Peterson’s jockstrap.
Kevin Jones – See Julius Jones.

Houston Part Deux

2007-07-27T10:48:00.001-04:00

Tuesday:

I woke up around 10 which is usually real late for me. I suppose all the alcohol took a toll on me. Usually my morning routine is to take that long Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own piss and then check the emails, Phila and scores. I even watched an episode of Freaks & Geeks thanks to the Red Scare for his monster flood of this amazingly unappreciated TV series.

Finally after wasting a few hours in the hotel room I decided to check out The Galleria Mall. Now we all met up at the Fox Sport’s Bar inside that mall last night, but I never got a chance to actually check out what the mall had to offer. I’m told is one of the largest malls in the U.S. and it probably is. It was a combination of the King of Prussia Mall in Philly with a touch of Saw Grass Mills Mall or Franklin Mills but only with high-end stores. Really the only thing that separated this mall from the others I frequent is the ice skating rink and the fact it had a hotel and business offices located right in the heart of the mall.

My first stop was this French chain jawn called La Madelines for some onion soup and this time I got a caramel tart to hold me over. Really I knocked out the entire mall, all three levels in less than 90 minutes. It’s not like this mall has any stores that I haven’t already been too. I killed some time browsing in hipster heaven or as most of you call it, Urban Outfitters.

To my surprise I saw a few hip-hop tee’s like Grandmaster Caz, Beasties, ATCQ but they didn’t have the De La I would have copped. Still $28 or whatever they charge for a t-shirt is kinda pricey. I don’t mind shelling out money on a good shirt, but for another $20 I could be rocking a new Polo knit.

None of the sneaker spots had anything decent. Both Macy’s and Nordstroms did not have any deals or any MILFS. Come to think of it, there wasn’t really any eye candy really. Maybe I’m just spoiled living in South Florida. So after awhile I bounce and go to the bookstore. Bookstores are really one of my favorite spots, especially a good size Borders or Barnes & Nobles where they have a really overpriced Music and DVD section. I check out some new rags, look in the foreign film section and decide I had enough of this place.

Back to the bus with the retards, body odor and crackheads…

I knew later that evening I had to go out with my wife and her co-workers to this French restaurant. The spot was cool. It was one of those homes that were converted into a restaurant. The food was ehh. I didn’t really dig French food was I was in Paris so this really was no different. We drink a few bottles and somehow finish dinner around 11 PM, which means we somehow spent a good 2 ½ hours in this place.

We head back to the hotel and throw on some TV. Maybe we had sex (I don’t recall) but do remember passin’ out after watching Artie Lange on Conan later that night. Tuesday was nothing special, but I’d do it everyday of my life if it meant I didn’t have to actually work, ya know?

Wednesday:

My last day in Houston, well last day to do anything. My wife and I head out to the Museum district. Since she didn’t get a chance to go to the Holocaust museum with me I told her I’d go with her again today. We should have taken a cab because she gave me the third degree once we got off the 65 minutes bus ride. Who told her to wear her coach sneakers with coach bag and her sparkling diamond ring that set me back a few months? I kinda knew going into it she’d hate the bus ride, but if I had to do it all week she had to experience this just ONCE!

So we knock out a few hours and take a cab back, but before we stop home she HAD to go to the Galleria and see for herself what she’s missing. While she’s shopping I’m on the horn with Jamrage and Kalel figuring out plans for tonight. We decided to meet up for drinks at my hotel since I had some beer left before heading out for a bite to eat.

The guys were nice enough to let me suggest a place to eat, so we go to this Pappacito’s which to me was Houston’s own version of Chilli’s. It was good food and we had a few drinks but the night lacked one thing, Blessingindisguise.

We all knew that it was impossible to repeat Monday, but this was just one of those chill nights where the band gets back together for one more outing. I didn’t have high expectations but that’s not to say I didn’t have fun either. Jamrage gets a text from Blessing and we decide to met at Jakki’s fashion show at some yuppy wannabe bar downtown. I knew immediately the place was type-gay but we went to show support to Jakki and to meet up with Blessing.

The bad part about this was that everything in Houston closes early so after the extremely wack fashion show filled with people that should have been in Tower 2 on 9/11 we bounce to a local wing place for some beer and laughs.

Before we knew it Jakki joined us after her show and so did her very angry (think Khujo from Goodie Mob meets Da Brat) lesbo friend. Her name was Stitch and he took her craft very serious. She immediately challenged us to practically call her wack after she spit 16 off the dome. Blessing slipped and said something like “not bad for a…” then caught himself. Most female emcees gotta encounter a lot bullshit and always have esteem issues because of it and this one was no different. She wasn’t wack by any means, but she tried “too hard” and she didn’t come off natural.

Shortly after Blessing spit a 16 and though I don’t remember any lines I know I kept saying to myself, “damn I didn’t even know he rhymed.” Kalel had no talent to offer and both Jamrage and myself attempted to a Jerry Seinfeld impression. Don’t ask me why either. Both of us failed but then Jamrage comes out with his Sean Connery that killed. After a few more beers Jakki and Kalel do their thing and exchange numbers or something because for the remainder of the night the big ordeal was if Kalel hangs out with Jakki. Finally we all decide to call it a night since I had an early fight. I say my goodbyes to the guys and wish Blessing goodluck with his new album and Jam, Kalel and myself get in the card since we all drove together and head towards my hotel. There wasn’t really anything LMAO worthy of the night, just a nice time with some good guys. I’m glad I got a chance to build with them because chances are it’ll never happen again. Not that I wouldn’t want it to, but realistically I will never step foot in Houston again and I don’t know when those guys are coming to Boca. Maybe if they came to South Beach we could link up, but the point is Philaflava is a global community, not just a message board. The posters are real people. Some nothing like their online persona, some identical.

I know there are PF cliques in LA or NY, but I strongly encourage anyone who is about to travel into a city they aren’t familiar with to find out if anyone posts from that area. You maybe surprised and have some great times like I had.

Houston, Texas

2007-07-24T10:34:00.001-04:00

Houston, Texas.

Sunday:

It was labeled the armpit of America by a forum member and I can't say the public transportation experience I had didn't help solidify the comment.

Houston is a commercial area with tons of great restaurants along the strip, but like Vegas once you leave that strip you're basically in a really shitty town. There isn't much to do there and even though it's an older city it doesn't give you a historic feeling of importance. There is the museum district and the infamous Houston Zoo but even that is just a blocks and then you're back to reality.

I arrived Sunday and I had to figure out what I was going to do for the majority of the week while my wife attending her food conference at the nearby Marriott. My first stop once I settled in to the hotel was to a the French chain called La Madeline. It reminded me a lot like the cafes I ate at in Paris. I must say their onion soup was really good! I grabbed a cup along with quiche laraine and sat pondering my thoughts.

While walking back to the hotel which was all just a 5 minute trip I sent a text to Kalel to let him know I was in town and down to hang out the following night. We briefly spoke and decided that on Monday we'd go to a place we could grab a few drinks and get something to eat. Kalel doesn't drink by the way. No drugs at all, he's just high on life. But more about that later on...

So I head back to my hotel room and set up my laptop so I can browse the forums, check my banking and set my fantasy baseball rosters. I threw on the ESPY's and watched a little bit before dosing off. My wife woke me up around 10 (really 11 my time) and asked if we could go to the local Supermarket (Krogers) to pick up some stuff. Now in Florida we have big supermarkets such as Publix and Albertsons and I'm very familiar with the east coast chains like Pathmark or ACME but NEVER in my life have I seen a supermarket that had an entire upstairs floor dedicated to bingo and other various card games. It was like Cocoon up in that bitch. Such a weird experience to see old people up that late on a Sunday playing card games in a freakin' supermarket of all places. Anyways, I went to the self check-out with my 6-pack of Bud Light and bottled water and walk back to the hotel with my wife and her co-worker.

By this time it was 11 and we started to get hungry but I wasn't about to pay $17 for an English muffin lookin' ass pizza from my hotel so we ordered Papa Johns. Let me say ordering a pizza over the internet is not only convenient but it was a fucking brilliant idea by Papa. The pizza wasn't bad either, but I mean we're in Houston and it's 11 PM on a Sunday its not like I had many options.

Monday:

My wife had already left for the day and I knew she wasn't going to return until later that afternoon so I had to keep myself busy. Truly I didn't mind experiencing this city myself. I enjoy activities alone. I find it very relaxing and I tend to appreciate little things that normally I wouldn't pick up. I hopped on the bus and head to the museum district. Let me just say I never ride public transportation, its really uncommon in Florida. In NY I'm a subway master. I know all the stops and realize its a way of life, but in Houston the buses seem like one loooooooooooong ride to hell. Rarely does the air condition work. The bus I happened to be on was full of hoods, scam-artists, a few born-agains preaching out loud and this one retard who memorized the stops like Hoffman in Rainman.

Taking a bus in Houston made me feel like Brad Pitt when he visits Africa. It was a humbling experience for me to say the least.

After an hour on the bus and a 10 minute train ride I finally arrive in the district and my first stop was the Houston Holocaust Museum. I won't get into it because you can already imagine what it was like. I will say it was a moving experience and one of the few worthy sites to visit while in Houston. I took my time to read and watch everything they provided because I really wanted to soak up the experience, plus it wasn't like I was pressed for time. After a few hours I walk though the park and head to the Zoo.

I've always wanted to go back to the Zoo because the last time I recall visiting one was with my 6th grade class trip. The weather wasn't great and it was starting to rain so my Zoo visit didn't last all that long. I did take a few pics of the albino gator, the baby elephant and this one orangutan who I formed a bond with. How can anyone say they don't believe in evolutions? Jesus freaks!

It was approaching the evening and I knew Kalel was gonna give me a holla after his dentist appointment.
Who the hell gets their teeth cleaned at 5 o'clock ? Kalel did. That pretty little metro--more on him later.

Aiiiight I got the call and we confirmed that Fox Sports bar in the Galleria was the spot for the night. Kalel picks me up around 7ish and we head over there. Kalel used to work for the manager of restaurant so we got the Sinatra table and treatment. Kalel is a unique guy and despite all the abuse he receives on the forums, partly because of what he posts (pictures) he still has a good sense of humor about himself and is a very easy going dude.

He does have shaved eyebrows which he says he does every few days. He wore a "condom pocket" as he called it shirt and had more than "5" accessories pieces on but all that aside he had the waitresses on his jock. One looked like Paris from American Idol. A little young'n who practically stalked Kalel the entire time. The other was a cute plus-size Latina. Think Eva Longoria meets Ugly Betty. By the way I stepped off the plane thinking there would be an abundance of hot Mexican woman in Texas. I was wrong.

Back to the sports bar. We order some food and the homie Jamrage joins us. Now I had picked Jamrage (James) to be this Icesickle lookin' sarcastic Abercrombie & Fitch wearing kinda guy and I was completely wrong. James is a Houston native, born and raised, yet has absolutely no trace of a southern twang or roots by his demeanor. A very chill cat who has a lot of passion for baseball and music. Very knowledgeable too and like Kalel he was extremely easy going.

Maybe it was because I was the guest and they were just being great hosts but there was never an ounce of tension or disagreeing by anyone the two times we hung out. The Fox Sports bar is much like the ESPN-zone but quieter and all adults. We all were waiting for Blessingindisguise to show up. I couldn't wait to see this kid because for so long I had him pegged as either

a) scrawny lookin' black nerd
b) white
c) both a & b

He was neither. Blessings made it clear to me in a few PM's prior to my trip that absolutely no cameras were allowed. I almost felt like I was going to a concert and was given a list of rules. I told Blessing that I wasn't apart of the paparazzi and assured him nobody would have any desire to snap images and throw them on Philaflava.

Blessing was quiet when joined our table. He was probably trying to assess the situation and get comfortable. I go to him and say "you're quieter than I expected" and he replies "but I can become a trill ass nigga in a second."

GOD THANK YOU FOR GIFT!

That's what it was because Blessing was dead on with his online persona. The one-liners were non-stop and before you know it we all had a lot of beer (minus Kalel). Did I mention Jamrage got British blood so he drinks like a fish. If I had 12 beers that night he had 20. After hours of drinking, gossipin', sharing strong feelings towards sports, people, woman or whatever we had to leave Fox's because it was closing time. The night was far from over, but this was Monday night in Houston and again our options were limited.

We all get in Kalel's car and head to a NY deli open 24/7 called Katz. Easily the coolest restaurant in Houston. For anyone familiar with The Rascal House in South Beach, it's exactly like that. A few trannies, some Icesickles and tons of Sebass fill the place along with out-of-towners, celebs and of course us.

It felt like a scene in Swingers where we all ditch the party and head to grab a bite. We continue our drinking but Jamrage suggests I try the fried pickles. Sounds disgusting' but they were really good and before I know it Blessing ordered a mammoth strawberry and waffles plate while drinking his Guinness Stout. He was relentless with the syrup too. It just saturated all the whipped cream on the plate and while we sat there amazed ate how he just devoured the food we were also envious because they looked hella good.

It was around 2:30 AM and I was still on east coast time so we head back to the Galleria to drop off Blessing and Jamrage and then Kalel takes me back to the Hilton.

Next Update: Tues-Wed and the Model Show with Jakki, more drinking and Jamrage's spot-on Sean Connery impression.

Seacreast ain't got shit on me...

2007-07-13T19:34:00.000-04:00

It’s been a minute since I blessed ya’ll with my thoughts. Some of you may know but I’m a super fan of all gossip mags. Everything from People, Us, National Enquirer to OK Weekly I read religiously. I don’t buy these fag rags. No way could I wake up to the newsstand and attempt to buy one of these, I'm a pussy like that. I could never even talk myself into buying a Playboy, well okay once while I was in the Dallas Ft-Worth Airport on a layover and was all alone. I believe it was the Robin Givens cover too.

Anyways, I usually pick of these magazines from Ma’s house once she’s done reading them. Truly they are my apart of my daily routine while unloading the goods and I feel extremely incomplete without reading them.

I do check out blog sites such as IdontLikeYouInThatWay.com and PerezHilton.com, though he’s too much of a queen for me, but I’m a pictures kinda guy so I gotta get my fix.

Today I’m gonna take you through the latest OK! Weekly magazine (Eva Longoria/Tony Parker Wedding cover) and tell you want I think…

Charlize Theron – A lot of people jock and she is pretty, but her body to me seems hit or miss. Clearly its her facial features that put her over. Ehh, B-.

Kate Hudson – Becoming too much like her mother Goldie. Not a bad thing, but I prefer the Katie from Almost Famous. She jumped the shark since she married Chris and anyone fucking that Gonzo nose Owen Wilson looses a few points in my book. B+

Dita Von Teese – I know nothing about this broad other than the fact she married Marilyn Manson. She’s too pale for me. Good bod though. C+

Claire Danes – She’s one of those broads like a Kirsten Dunst who I think are hard on the eyes. I don’t dig these kinda chicks. They’re the kinda of slores you find at a TGI Fridays on Thursday evening with one of those Mojitas in their hand. D

Lisa Rinna – I used to rub it to her back in the 90’s but her lips are now clown like. Dr. Rey must have cut a pair of vagina lips and put them on her face. MILF material but hella annoying since she attempted to have a career again after Dancing With The Stars. I’m glad Turtle fucked her though. C+

Joss Stone – I know Dallas Austin apologized for all the things he said about her. He also said he made up all those rumors, but you know what? I believe them. She looks like she loves some soulful brothas. Mudshark in the making for sure! C

Debra Messing – Not a big fan of the Jew broad, this one helps me remember why. D-

Kristin Cavallari – Who the fuck is this broad and why does she have a career? She’s a Jessica Simpson looking hack. Hot though. B.

Britney Spears – She reminds me of Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone) from Casino. A classless slore who used to be dope. She’ll be died in a few years. Wasted beaut. Currently she gets a D.

Mandy Moore – Used to be hot, now that she’s all growns up she belongs in the WNBA. This bitch is BIG. She got Shaq-like feet. I fear she’ll become a Camryn Manheim in the next few years. Plus she’s taking too many dicks in her since Roddick dropped her. B –

Katie Holmes – Ahh the good ol days of Dawson’s Creek when Pacey Witter would take Joey Potter behind the rock for some finger fucking. I loved me some teenage Katie but now she lost her looks, body and freedom since marrying that homo Tom Cruise. She had the potential but so did Len Bias. She gets a C-

Mariah Carey – She lost everything good about her since she divorced Tommy. Most importantly her career. She got big fake cans and I dig, but she seems like the dumbest broad you’d ever meet. But she is looking good lately. B

Lindsay Lohan – LiLo is an internet goddess. I say dye the fire croach and ignore the freckles and you got yourself a dime. I love her sassy ways, but her undying love toward Samantha Ronson is a bit concerning. I don’t want Lo turning into Michelle Rodriguez. A

Fergie – Fergie is the epitome of a butterface and every since that image leaked online where she peed herself I can’t look at her the same. She is a harsh lookin’ broad. But her body wins her points, C +.

Sarah Michelle Gellar – See Debra Messing

Sarah Jessica Parker – Now this is one Jap I don’t mind. She got a buttaface but I’m really diggin her real-life Carie personality. She got style, spunk and a schnozola. C+

Hilary Duff – First I wanna say her sister’s nose is bigger than a fully erect penis. That said Hilary seems like the type of broad that no man could take for more than an evening. She’s immature, boring and always extremely pasty looking. Bitch needs a tan and some drama in her life. C –

Scarlett Johansson – Ahh Scarlett. Remember freeze-framing the opening scene in Lost In Translation? Scar-Jo gets a A simply because of her boobs and the unbelievable potential she has at just age 22. A

Jessica Simpson – I just feel bad for her ya know? Nobody wants this chick. She needs to make up her mind about which hair color she’s gonna go with. I prefer the blonde hair all scrunched up. But that fake orange tan shits gotta go. B +

Katherine Heigl – If I only saw her in Knocked Up she’d get an A, but everytime I see her in magazines she looks busted. Like she just got down having sex with 40 different men. B –

Vanessa Minnillo – She is currently in my top 5. Slowly slipping though and I can’t call it. Damn that Derek Jeter is one lucky guy. Nick Lachey on the other hand is an Andrew Golota lookin’ ak who’s also lucky, but talentless so Jeter wins by default, plus he had Minnillo before she blew-up. Those pictures of her and Lohan are CONSTANTLY on my mind too! A+

Drew Barrymore – She looks like she needs to take a good shit. C –

Michelle Pheiffer – MILF goddess. Love me some Michelle. A

Jenny McCarthy – The most annoying chick ever. She’s the kinda girl that’ll flick her boogers on you or fart in your face. She hasn’t been hot since 1996. C

Heidi Klum – Racist or not, don’t front like you think its okay she married Seal. Something is just terribly wrong with that whole picture. Shouldn’t David Copperfield be marring models? B-

Christina Aguilera – She’s really developed into a stunna. But she is married to a kid who resembles Splinter from TMNT. Still, she’s so diiiiiiiiiirty! A –

Cameron Diaz – One word, proactive. C+

Eva Longoria – Small chest. Small frame. Large sex appetite. A –

Jessica Alba – I can never find anything wrong with her. A perfect mix and a perfect woman. A+

Deborah Gibson – Remember this broad? She used to go by Debby. Well she got a real gummy smile and I say she doesn’t have much to be all giddy about so STFU you has been. D –

Amanda Bynes – Kinda cute, but kinda questionable at times too. Something about her is manly and her face is the size of a globe. Not a bad Jap in the making, but still has some time. B –

Kerry Washington – Has a lisp as bad as Kool G. Rap but looks nothing like him. Great body, great face and reminds me a bit of Aiesha Tyler. Maybe that’s because they both dates crackas. So I guess they’re reverse Mudsharks, but hot nonetheless. A+

Victoria Beckham – STOP the plastic surgeries. You look like a fucking ass clown you talentless fucking gold digger. Was a 10 in the 90’s, especially in that Spice Girls movie that I saw on opening day. D