What's New In Dart's iPod #86 AKA This Ain't Free Agency, It's A Goddamn Arms Race!

This week kicked off with the 4th Of July holiday and I decided that it was time to go at a few less than impressive sites and blogs on the internet. The site that drew most of my ire lately was Russell Simmons' Global Grind. I can feel my brain cells screaming in anguish if I spend more then 3 minutes there at a time. I also went to my favorite place on Earth...Fenway Park. The Red Sox got their asses handed to them by Oakland with Nomar Garciaparra and Orlando Cabrera had huge games. I don't think Julio Lugo has been on the field since that game. The Celtics are playing in the Orlando Summer League. It just makes me miss the old Shaw's Summer League in Boston all the more.

The big event that happened yesterday was the Rasheed Wallace signing and press conference in Boston. Homie received the #30 jersey that Len Bias would've rocked in 1986. The last cat that rocked #30 was lame ass Sebastian Telfair. The Celtics are also going after Grant Hill (as are the Suns & Knicks) and looking to re-sign Glen "Big Baby" Davis. The Cleveland Cavaliers brought in Shaquille O'Neal & signed Anderson Varejao.

Detroit signed Ben Gordon & Charlie Villanueva. The Lakers brough in Ron Artest. Dallas re-signed Jason Kidd & traded for Shawn Marion. The Memphis Grizzlies signed Allen Iverson. The Toronto Raptors acquired Hedo Turkoglu. With Richard Jefferson & Antonio McDyess both signing with the San Antonio Spurs this isn't free agency...it's a goddamn arms race! I've also become the newest associate of the brothers over @ Nerd With Swag so expect some of my posts to land over there for the forseeable future on the weekends.

This week I'll be reviewing five new projects that recently hit the 'net/bloggerverse and/or will be landing on store shelves soon in the following order: La Coka Nostra "A Brand You Can Trust", Major Lazer "Guns Don't Kill...Lazers Do", Maxwell "BLACKsummers'night", Moka Only "Lowdown Suite 2: The Box" and Royce Da 5'9" "The Revival EP". For those of you new to this blog, I don’t rate albums on a scale or assign them a numerical value out of 5 or 10, instead I merely answer the all important question of “Is it worth buying or not?”. Here's how my recently revised "Cop It Or Not" ratings system breaks down below:


Opinions be damned. This particular project has no redeeming qualities whatsoever and should come with a Surgeon General's warning and/or a biohazard sticker. It should only be handled by hazmat teams or bomb/demolitions squads. To quote Common & Canibus, this album is your worst nightmare squared.


Oh No! This CD is a drink coaster/table balancer/doorstop/gerbil/hamster room divider/frisbee/discus/makeshift shield/last ditch choice for a visor/alternate shuriken choice. Sell this shit to whoever is dumb enough to buy it from you.

Maeby (Maybe)! Depending on your own set of personal preferences you might like this joint. Give it a listen first to see if it's in your lane or not.


Mos Def! Cop the album when it drops...'Nuff said.

Whatever I can do to contribute to the team...The bottom line is winning © Rasheed Wallace


Best Joints: Bloody Sunday, Get You By, The Stain, I'm An American, Brujeria, Once Upon A Time, Choose Your Side, Hardcore Chemical, Gun In Your Mouth, Nuclear Medicinemen, That's Coke and Fuck Tony Montana

Hot Garbage: Cousin Of Death and Soldier's Story were both meh to me

Dart's Take: This is a damn good album that's been years in the making from a supergroup consisting of Everlast, Ill Bill, Slaine, DJ Lethal, Big Left and frequent assists from Soul Assassins, Psycho Realm & Q-Unique. I think I first heard "Fuck Tony Montana" back in 2006 and it still has the same impact as the 1st day Slaine let us all preview it on BostonRap.com back in the days. If you're looking for some hardcore Hip Hop based on beats and rhymes than I recommend checking out La Coka Nostra's "A Brand You Can Trust".






Best Joints: Hold The Line, When You Hear The Bassline, Can't Stop Now, Lazer Theme, Anything Goes, Cash Flow, Bruk Out, What U Like, Keep It Goin' Louder, Pon de Floor and Jump Up

Hot Garbage: Mary Jane and Baby

Dart's Take: Major Lazer consists of Mad Decent's in house production team of Diplo & Switch. Their tracks have made M.I.A & Santigold household names and they've crafted quite a few gems, album tracks & remixes over the years. This project is more of a dancehall project reminscient of last year's Diplo/Switch/Santigold mixtape but featuring a gang of Reggae/Dancehall superstars collabborating with Mad Decent artists & affiliates.

The end result is a damn good album (provided that you actually like listening to Diplo & Switch's production or enjoy Dancehall at all). The only tracks I didn't like were some weird minute long track ("Baby") and some jawn I couldn't vibe with for whatever reason. I give "Guns Don't Kill People...Lazers Do" a recommended maybe. As far as picking my favorite tracks that's kinda tough to do.





Best Joints: Badhabits, Cold, Prettywings, Helpsomebody, Stoptheworld, Loveyou, Fistfuloftears, Playingpossum and Phoenixrise

Hot Garbage: N/A (I wish it were longer)

Dart's Take: If you love R&B. REAL R&B minus any AutoTune effects with just music and vocals with lyrics that were written by the actual singer (and not The-Dream, NeYo or Keri Hilson) then buy this album yesterday. I'm not exagerrating when I say that this is one of the best R&B albums in recent memory that wasn't recorded by Raphael Saadiq, Anthony Hamilton, Dwele, Coultrain, Jesse Boykins III or Bilal. I wish this jawn was longer, though. I have no choice but to give it a mos def. Please don't play this album in a confined space with nothing but dudes around. It's really not made for that...






Best Joints: Do Work, Hardly Say (Remix), Syrup, Lemon, Fried Rice, Stained, Funky, Drip Drop, Boohoo, Clap Yer Feet, Trudgin (Instrolude), Mothballs, Isn't Over, It's Lowdown, Bored, Be Alright, Riverside and Rock The Yacht

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: I love this album, too. Moka Only subscribed to the same school of recording that MF Doom, Count Bass D, and old Soul singers did by keeping many of his tracks below 3 minutes. What that ends up doing is having you replaying damn near the entire album again after you hear it. That's a good thing. If your album is 45 minutes long and it takes 2 hours to listen to all the way through then you did your job.

From the opening of "Do Work" all the way to the time "Riverside" fades out you'll be nodding your head. I don't have any other option but to give "Lowdown Suite 2: The Box" another mos def. Find this and cop it if you're a Moka Only fan (or if you actually like Hip Hop).





Best Joints: Gun Harmonizing, Count For Nothing, Warriors and Street Hop 2010

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: This entire Royce Da 5'9" EP is ridiculous but the crown jewel is the Slaughterhouse jawn "Warriors". Find it, get it. Mos def all the way. I can't wait to hear the Slaughterhouse LP, "Street Hop" or "The Bar Exam 3". Neither can you.





Late Passes (For Doz Dat Slept):


Projects I'm Looking Forward To Reviewing Once They Leak...I Mean Drop in 2009:

Rhymefest-El Che
Fashawan-Boy Meets World
Jay Electronica-Act II: Patents Of Nobility
Jay Electronica-Abracadabra: Let There Be Light
Royce Da 5'9"-Street Hop
Big Boi-Sir Luscious Leftfoot, Son Of Chico Dusty
Pac Div-Grown Kid's Syndrome
Magnif & J Dilla-Detroit Royalty
Blu-God Is Good
Drake- Thank Me Later
Sean Price, Guilty Simpson & Black Milk-Random Axe
Alchemist & Oh No are Gangrene
Eternia & MoSS- At Last
B.O.B.-The Adventures Of B.O.B.
Billy Danze-Behind Gatez
AG & O.C.-Oasis: Together Brothers
Baatin-Titus
Phat Kat and Elzhi are Cold Steel
The Beatnuts-The Planet Of The Crates
Ski Beatz-Half Man, Half Amazing
Evidence-Cats & Dogs
Statik Selektah-The Hangover


There hasn't been much sun so far this Summer in Boston but I'll damned if Danny, Doc & The Big 3 (4) didn't just make it hot! C'mon, Grant Hill...roll with the winners (no Clipse). Let's get a ring in '10!

One.

Dart Adams presents 20 More Of My Favorite Cult Films (2009 Edition)

I always make these movie lists where I showcase a bunch of my favorite "cult" films. Nowadays, a cult film can merely mean a flick that may or may not have done well in the box office or slipped under the radar because it's foreign but it ends up gaining favor with people that rent them through either Netflix or Redbox. I first listed 100 of my favorite cult films of the internet age back in 2007. I've done a few more lists documenting my favorite Asian action films, Anime and music documentaries in the past as well.

I added another 50 cult films back in February then added 25 more in April. No matter how you cut it, I've already featured hundreds of films throughout the 30 month run of Poisonous Paragraphs. Why not add 20 more then? I don't see why not. Let's get it in:


Broken Flowers (2005)


Death Trance (2005)


The Duelist (2005)


Weapons (2007)


[REC] (2007)


Persepolis (2007)


Ballast (2008)


The Lucky Ones (2008)


Body Of Lies (2008)


The Escapist (2008)


Grand Torino (2008)


The Sniper (2008)


Chameleon (2008)


Crossing Over (2009)


Fifty Dead Men Walking (2009)


Tokyo! (2009)


The Girlfriend Experience (2009)


Sunshine Cleaning (2009)


Incendiary (2009)


Dead Snow (2009)


One.

Dart Adams presents The Boston Sports Report: The Summer Edition

On Thursday, July 9th Rasheed Wallace came into Boston to have his first official press conference as a member of the Boston Celtics. He signed a 2 year contract for the mid level exception (just under $6 million dollars a season) but even more than the money, Rasheed Wallace came to Boston for the all the right reasons: to win another championship. He was courted by not only his longtime friend Kevin Garnett but by Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Danny Ainge & Doc Rivers as well. Wallace had grown increasingly frustrated with the Pistons franchise following the trade of Chauncey Billups and the acquisition of Allen Iverson.


The Pistons were no longer committed to winning it all as they had entered the first phase of rebuilding the franchise. The Boston Celtics were stopped from returning to the NBA Finals for the second straight year by a thinning bench (due to their inability to acquire Antonio McDyess, Joe Smith or Stephon Marbury early enough to help them out) and injuries to several key players towards the end of the season. The Celtics are still committed to playing championship defense and doing whatever it takes to win. The fact that the team leaders, coaching staff, management and ownership all came out to speak to him and assuage any fears or concerns he may have really spoke to Wallace.

The Boston Celtics believe in the team concept of Ubuntu. They take it extremely seriously. The concept is that you do and sacrifice whatever you have to for the betterment of your team, family and/or community. That's why instead of just seeing Rasheed Wallace at the press conference you had Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen. Paul Pierce, Doc Rivers & Danny Ainge all there as well. Rasheed Wallace is committed to giving his all to the pursuit of banner number 18. The Celtics missed out on acquiring Grant Hill but they can still retain Glen "Big Baby" Davis and continue to add some more pieces before the free agency period is up.

The Boston Red Sox are sending 6 players to the MLB All Star Game this season, including 42 year old pitcher (and Mr. Red Sox himself) Tim Wakefield (11-3 4.31 ERA). Those of you that have been reading this blog since it's inception are already aware of how much of a fan of Tim Wakefield's I am. If it was up to me, his number would be retired not too long folowing his retirement. While the Los Angeles Dodgers have a better overall record I still believe that the Boston Red Sox are the best team in baseball. They have better starting pitching, a better & deeper bullpen, more experience in the playoffs, more depth at skill positions and more clutch performers.

David "Big Papi" Ortiz has turned it on in the last couple of months and he hit his 12th HR of the season on Saturday versus the Kansas City Royals. He recently hit his 300th career HR and gotten his 1,000 hit in a Red Sox uniform. If he keeps up his current pace he has a chance to reach between 25-30 home runs before the season is up. Considering how the season began for him that would be quite a feat in itself. The Boston Red Sox currently have a 53-34 record with a game pending against the Kansas City Royals before the MLB All Star break is official. That gives them the 2nd best record in baseball behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and a 2 game lead on the hated New York Yankees.

Jonathan Papelbon has once again earned a spot on the AL All Star team with a 1-1 record, 1.85 ERA and 23 saves in 25 opportunities. Papelbon has been the anchor of the best bullpen in the entire MLB. The Red Sox have the ace of their staff, Josh Beckett (11-3 3.62 ERA) took the mound this afternoon in the hopes of creating more space between themselves and the Yankees as well as inching closer to the best record in baseball as they beat the Kansas City Royals 6-0 (CG shutout) in Boston to earn his 100th career win and improve the Red Sox record to 54-34 before the break. Congratulations to the Red Sox All Star selections Tim Wakefield, Dustin Pedroia (also expecting his first child), Jason Bay, Josh Beckett, Kevin Youkilis and Jonathan Papelbon.


One.

Michael Mann>>>>Michael Bay AKA Dartflix Edition #60

The international horror film that's destined to become a cult favorite in '09 has been out in Europe since January and in also now available on demand through Comcast digital cable as well as DVD. It opened in just one theater on June 19th but it made an impressive 5k in 3 days with minimal promotion from IFC Films. After 17 days in only 2 locations the film has brought in slightly over $20k but looks to do much better on DVD in North American...especially around October when it should really gain momentum and new audiences can discover it. (or you can buy it now for only $11.99). A movie about killing undead/zombie Nazi's? When does that ever get old?

Michael Bay's latest turd pretending to be a summer blockbuster took the box office the following week by storm. It raked in a completely ridiculous $108 million in it's first 5 days of release. Forget that it was absolutely terrible plotwise, way too long, bloated in every way possible and short on content or character development of any kind, it remained a box office juggernaut. To this very day it's amassed $300 million in North America and another $300 million USD overseas to bring it up to $600 million total worldwide. Since the film's production budget landed somewhere between $200-$22o million it's considered a huge hit by the studio..but universally recognized as a failure by film fans.


One film that has been considered a triumph in filmmaking is the indie war thriller "The Hurt Locker" directed by Kathyrn Bigelow. This film was the darling of the past Sundance/Independent Spirit Awards and was warmly received when it opened in Europe back in October. Why quality films like this take forever to be released in the United States but mindless (and racist!) bullshit like "Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen" has no problem getting made is beyond me. "The Hurt Locker" opened in only 4 theaters but generated an eye eopening $145k in only 3 days of release. After 11 days of release it's managed to rake in just under $400k with a 95% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes. I'm really looking forward to the DVD release of this film.


Michael Mann's latest offering "Public Enemies" opened on July 1st in limited release and entered wide release on the 3rd. It brought in a respectable $40.1 million after 5 days in theaters. Reviews have been mixed, however. There's been much discussion of glossing over historic details (like omissions and completely making up events while passing them off as historical fact), jumpy camera work, the argument about using film vs. digital cameras and inconsistent performances from the cast.

Could it be that the high level of expectations people have for Michael Mann films left moviegoers disappointed or did he simply miss the mark much like he did with 2000's "The Insider"? Either way, there's no denying that Michael Mann is 10x the filmmaker that Michael Bay is. Check out my theater and rental recommedations for the first half of July below.

Films I recommend in theaters (7.1.09-7.15.09) or to add to your queue early or for rental from either Netflix or Redbox:

Public Enemies
Blood: The Last Vampire
Soul Power
Knowing
Push
Dead Snow
Death Trance
The Unborn
Night Train
Five Fingers
Resolved
One Missed Call Final
Night Stalker
Grey Gardens
The Edge Of Love
The Haunting In Connecticut
Horsemen
For All Mankind-Criterion Collection
12
[REC]
Explicit Ills
Mystery Science Theater 3000: XV (series)
Reno 911: The Complete Sixth Season (series)
Made Men: Season 2 (series)
The State: The Complete Series (series)
Leverage: The First Season (series)
ER: The Complete Eleventh Season (series)
Tracey Takes On...Complete Seasons 3&4 (series)
Sleepy Eyes Of Death: Collector's Set, Vol. 1 (series)
Peanuts: 1960's Collection (animated)
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero: Season 1.1 (animated)
Kaze No Stigma: Season 1 Part 1 (anime)
Now And Then, Here And There: Collection (anime)
Those Who Hunt Elves: Complete Collection (anime)
Freedom, Vol. 1 (anime)
Bleach Uncut Box Set, Vol. 3: The Rescue (anime)
Bleach, Vol. 18 (anime)
Gungrave: The Complete Box Set (anime)
Claymore Vol. 6- The Awakening (anime)
Blue Seed Complete Collection (anime)
The Deep [Blu-Ray]
Waltz With Bashir
Sword Of The Stranger
Friday The 13th : Extended Killer Cut
Tokyo!
The Hangover
The Taking Of Pelham 123
Moon
Tetro
Defiance
Revolutionary Road
Gran Torino
The International
Away We Go
Legendary Heroes
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete [Blu-Ray]
Terminator: Salvation
The Girlfriend Experience
Angels & Demons
Drag Me To Hell
True Blood: The Complete First Season (series)
Valkyrie
Lions For Lambs
Bane
Killshot
Star Trek
The Brothers Bloom
Angels & Demons
The Limits Of Control
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Incendiary
Taken
State Of Play
Sleep Dealer
American Violet
The Soloist
Tyson
Lymelife
The Informers
Caprica
Martyrs (Unrated)
As The Technics Spin
Fast & Furious
Observe And Report
Adventureland
The Escapist
Gigantic
Duplicity
Watchmen: Tales Of The Black Freighter & Under The Hood
Elegy
Special
Timecrimes
Watchmen
The Horsemen
Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic
Battle In Seattle
Cadillac Records
Rachel Getting Married
Sunshine Cleaning
50 Dead Men Walking
Transporter 3
B13: Ultimatum
Let The Right One In
Choke
Body Of Lies
Protege
Gomorrah
Afro Samurai: Resurrection-Director's Cut
W.
Blindness
Chocolate
Towel Head
Baby
Gonzo: The Life & Work Of Hunter S. Thompson
Sukiyaki Western Django
DJ Dusk's Root Down Soundclash
DJ Spooky's Rebirth Of A Nation
Decon presents Fresh Rhymes And Videotape
Fear(s) Of The Dark
Sold Out: A Threevening With Kevin Smith
Hell Ride
Elite Squad
Ballast
Boy A

Dart's Movie Recommendations (I personally cosign all of these joints):

Public Enemies
Blood: The Last Vampire
Soul Power
Knowing
Dead Snow
Death Trance
Resolved
[REC]
Explicit Ills
Reno 911: The Complete Sixth Season (series)
Made Men: Season 2 (series)
The State: The Complete Series (series)
Leverage: The First Season (series)
Tracey Takes On...Complete Seasons 3&4 (series)
Sleepy Eyes Of Death: Collector's Set, Vol. 1 (series)
Peanuts: 1960's Collection (animated)
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero: Season 1.1 (animated)
Now And Then, Here And There: Collection (anime)
Freedom, Vol. 1 (anime)
Bleach Uncut Box Set, Vol. 3: The Rescue (anime)
Gungrave: The Complete Box Set (anime)

Rent/Watch these movies at your own risk:

Bruno: I wouldn't even watch this shit if I were in it.

I Love You, Beth Cooper: I hate you movies I swear were already made 100x over 10 years ago...

Kath & Kim-Season 1: One of the prerequisites of being a comedy series is that it has to be funny.

A Day In The Life: Two years ago, I received a promo one sheet about a film with rapped dialogue directed by Sticky Fingaz & Mekhi Phifer. The next year, a 5 minute long trailer dropped for said film. Today, that very same film is available for rent & purchase...I may do neither

Flying By: Billy Ray Cyrus is a starring role? Red flag!

See Dick Run: See Dart Avoid. Avoid, Dart Avoid!

Break: Ignore

The Butcher: The Bullshit!

Coming (relatively) Soon To A Theater (or computer) Near You:


One.

Dart's Rant Of The Day: Global Grind: News & Information Epicenter To The Hip Hop Nation

This whole incident started back on June 29nd. I was on Twitter discussing the fallout from the 2009 BET Awards and the overall declining quality of damn near everything when the Global Grind Twitter feed began posting these ridiculous news items and tabloid style headlines ad nauseum. I usually either laugh them off or pay them no mind but given recent events (The BET Awards fiasco, the folding of Vibe Magazine, etc.) and the fact that sites like Vlad TV, World Star Hip Hop & and many others pervade the current online landscape people's tolerance for garbage was beginning to wear thin.

I saw a headline from them that read "Solange Flaunts Her Camel Toe at LGBT Pride Parade http://bit.ly/7cIt2 (Yeah baby)" and I felt a vein in my forehead begin to throb. That typically only happens whenever a commercial for "House Of Payne" or "Meet The Browns" comes on. Exactly a minute later the Global Grind feed ran the following headline "DRAKE PULLS AN R.KELLY AT THE BET AWARDS?! WTF... http://bit.ly/144fdS". At that exact moment I lost it. First off, R. Kelly was caught having sex with underage girls on tape. He was even tried for it. How did this headline get posted? Who wrote it? Do these people at Global Grind have editors? Do they have any standards at all? What exactly is off limits? Myself and a few others on Twitter expressed our disgust with them shortly thereafter.


The Global Grind twitter page operator made the following statement when I complained about their choice of news items and headlines "you do know, that most of the stuff on globalgrind is user submitted right? Like submitted by the actually blog owner?". Holy poor sentence construction, Batman! In any event, I said that was a cop out and I asked if the site had any editors that read these submissions and edited them or even decided what submitted items aren't newsworthy enough to count as site content? If so, who are they and do they have a set level of standards? In short, where do they draw the line? What exactly is too sensational and/or ignorant to post? The response I got floored me "underage girls are dancing on stage while they sing I wanna fck every girl in the world. and ur issue is with the headline?". This clearly was an exercise in futility.

However, the very next entry directed towards Boss Lady, was "most of our headlines are created by the people who submit their items. So that's @lexave". Fine, now I have an actual person I can direct these questions towards. At the same time my DM's & Gmail account were full of messages from people telling me that BlogXilla was also a news editor over at Global Grind (He's actually an Entertainment & Gossip editor (?)). Cool, I'll take these issues up with him as well later. I contacted Lex Ave who also blogs at StraightOuttaNYC about their standards, screening and editing process over at Global Grind as it regards to the headlines they use to draw in readers. No response.

I didn't get one until the next day which read as follows " if you don't like the headline, then don't bother reading it. it's as simple as that.". I disagreed, I'm sure Russell Simmons didn't intend his site to be one that posted garbage in the guise of "news"! I was hit with "I do screen the content. Lil' Wayne & Drake should've done better at screening their show content.". Again, I was confused. Why is she talking about ONE incident. I'm talking about the site as a whole, especially the news items they troll out in order to get hits. Don't they have any integrity or standards I asked? Her answer was disappointing to say the least "I saw something & said something. You don't have agree at all. And as far "integrity & standards", hit up with Weezy & Drake". Wow. She then hit me with "Thank you for your suggestion and I'll take it into consideration on the next posts. In the meantime, check out www.str8nyc.com". I just got "buh bye'd", son!

I was really confused now because if Global Grind's news feed contained no actual hard news items and the only people I could find that were identified as "news editors" were gossip or entertainment bloggers then how can Global Grind ever live up to the taglines that Russell Simmons attributed to it "the news & information epicenter of the Hip Hop Nation"?. If that's the case then BET is actually entertaining to Black people (and we all know that's not true!). Many of the headlines on the site contain spelling or grammatical errors. Not only that but punctuation is often wrong or misplaced. Why is this such an annoyance? Because all the editor/submitter had to do was post a headline and a damn link! That makes it infinitely more shameful and embarrassing. Even moreso than Jojo Simmons' non rappin' ass getting busted for weed possession.

I decided to start checking out Global Grind, the site that Russell Simmons and Accel Partners (Facebook) both bankrolled and own in order to dig deeper and discover what the hell happened to his original vision of creating a site that would aid in "mobilizing the Hip Hop community". How did this whole operation degenerate into at worst a digital ghetto that rivals MySpace or at best another gossip blog? Where's the serious news? Who's in charge of editorials? Why are celebrities such as Tila Tequila posting their thoughts about American policies on the site? Is Amber Rose the best qualified person to talk to about her thoughts regarding the issues in Iraq? Seriously?

I was somewhat amused that video vixen turned rapper (?) Angel Lola Luv was also given a celebrity blog of her own. I was still at a loss for finding any remaining vestiges of the site that Global Grind was supposed to be back when it launched September 2007. There are a few (very few) posts or news items of any real substance anywhere on the site. Rather than give more slots to actual journalists or writers content is instead posted by models, actresses, entertainers, Russell Simmons current significant other or his immediate family members. Nothing says integrity like nepotism! On the bright side, the one person whose opinion regarding Chris Brown's situation I really needed to hear is Maino's! *Sarcasm intended* Does Global Grind have any redeeming qualities besides offering me a gang of reasons to I can shit on it relentlessly? I ended up just throwing poor BlogXilla under the bus relentlessly on Twitter so much he directed a diss blog at me (and erased my response on his blog)

Global Grind is pretty much nothing more than another blog that relies on user submissions, content of a network of other blogs (a fair amount of which in turn get their content from other blogs) and uses that as an excuse to cover it's lack of depth or news. How is this site supposed to be a driving force of the Hip Hop community when it's impossible to take seriously? DJ Whoo Kid (the DJ that can't scratch or doesn't use real turntables that founded Shadyville DJ's & Shadyville Management) has his own blog which might as well be called "What 50 Had For Breakfast". Don't get me wrong...Global Grind does have news! Sure it's all from other sites, too much of it is questionable but it's news (in name only) alright! They even cover Hip Hop Culture! Yeah...I take that back. None of that shit even remotely reflects Hip Hop culture or the issues heads currently have in it. What purpose does this piece of ass site actually serve?

In conclusion, with the quality of journalism deteriorating, the impending death of the print media and the oversaturation of tabloid style sites on the internet it's time we start demanding more from these websites content wise and being way less tolerant of shoddy work. In one of it's earliest press releases Global Grind was described as a "community based website allowing people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web, by linking to, voting for, and commenting on each others content, in a social and democratic way.". This is a great way to pass the buck and remove yourself from blame when the news items and stories that appeal to our basest instincts land on the front page and get the most attention.

I never received an answer in regards to Global Grind's standards or the process they go through to determine what qualifies as content. I never got a straight answer as to how a site with eight different editors can manage to appear so amateur. I was branded as a "hater" rather than a concerned reader that happened to be a critical thinker. I find it odd that a site that's supposed to echo the voice and concerns of the community brushed aside someone with sincere questions about it's practices. In any event, if they want their site to live up to it's lofty taglines and expectations then they need to rethink their entire direction or risk going down the same disappointing path that BET took following it's purchase by Viacom.

One.

What's New In Dart's iPod #85 AKA The Independent Thoughts Day Edition

This was a weird week. First off, let's begin with the embarrassing ass BET Awards. Not only did they fail to have the appropriate Michael Jackson dedications they should have (or it was just disappointing as all Hell) but there were far too many gaffes, mistakes, bad decisions, underwhelmiming guests and performances (Ciara, Soulja Boy, Young Money, etc. I'm looking directly at all of you!). It was such an embarassment that 80% of the Twitter messages and e-mails following the show were reported to be negative. Fellow Bostonian Byron Hurt wrote an open letter to BET and they have since denounced the Young Money performance..how about apologizing for failing to put on a professional show (or having standards)? Again!

Let us not forget about the news that Vibe Magazine is folding. Although we knew the inevitable was coming, it sucked that it happened so soon. It's bad enough that the number of existing publications is dwindling it's downright depressing that none may be left within a few years' time. Next, was the free agent signings of Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva in Detroit, Trevor Ariza signing with Houston, Ron Artest signing with the LA Lakers, Hedo Turkoglu signing with Portland (then the deal is off (?)) and Rasheed Wallace is close to signing a 2 year deal with the Boston Celtics. Let us not forget that Charles Hamilton's album "This Perfect Life" wasn't released for the third Tuesday in a row. Rumors are he's been dropped from Interscope but none of those rumors have yet be confirmed or denied as of yet.

Two major videos premiered this week, Jay-Z's "D.O.A" & Drake's "Best I Ever Had". I still haven't seen "D.O.A" but I've seen the hell out of "Best I Ever Had", though! The reviews have been mixed for both but there has been far more outrage directed towards Drake's video (the theme, look, dialogue, the overwhelming amount of boobage). Kanye West directed and it's probably just the first version. If that jawn hits "106 & Park" as is it's guaranteed #1 for sure. I've also become the newest associate of the brothers over @ Nerd With Swag so expect some of my posts to land over there for the forseeable future on the weekends.

This week I'll be reviewing six new projects that recently hit the 'net/bloggerverse and/or will be landing on store shelves soon in the following order: Ace Hood "Ruthless", Alchemist "Chemical Warfare", Big Quarters "From The Home Of Brown Babies & White Mothers", Kurious "II", Maino "If Tomorrow Comes.. and "Toki Wright "A Different Mirror". For those of you new to this blog, I don’t rate albums on a scale or assign them a numerical value out of 5 or 10, instead I merely answer the all important question of “Is it worth buying or not?”. Here's how my recently revised "Cop It Or Not" ratings system breaks down below:


Opinions be damned. This particular project has no redeeming qualities whatsoever and should come with a Surgeon General's warning and/or a biohazard sticker. It should only be handled by hazmat teams or bomb/demolitions squads. To quote Common & Canibus, this album is your worst nightmare squared.


Oh No! This CD is a drink coaster/table balancer/doorstop/gerbil/hamster room divider/frisbee/discus/makeshift shield/last ditch choice for a visor/alternate shuriken choice. Sell this shit to whoever is dumb enough to buy it from you.

Maeby (Maybe)! Depending on your own set of personal preferences you might like this joint. Give it a listen first to see if it's in your lane or not.


Mos Def! Cop the album when it drops...'Nuff said.

I want you to take that D like the champions you are! © Drake


Best Joints: Born An O.G. (only Ludacris' verse), Champion (just the beat & Jazmine Sullivan on the hook) what else? Nothing.

Hot Garbage: Everything else. I'm not even kidding.

Dart's Take: I'm gonna stop playing myself and even listening to this dude any more. I don't find him impressive in any way, shape or form. Rick Ross is already kryptonite to my ears and he makes multiple appearances. The beats? Boring as all hell. Bars? Nothing memorable or even worth repeating. I did not feel the urge to rewind ANYTHING on this album only fast forward (except for the short time that Ludacris & Jazmine Sullivan appeared). There's a dude named Ballgreezy on this album. Really? The dude Schife sucks. One track features Akon AND T-Pain. In short, this album wasn't for me. Oh no. *Flings promo CD out the window and into the street where it gets run over by a car playing "Wu Tang Chamber Music"*




Best Joints: ALC Theme, Lose Your Life, Chemical Warfare, Grand Concourse Benches, Therapy, That'll Work, Smile, Keep The Heels On, Acts Of Violence, Lights, Cameras, Action, Some Gangster Shit, Take A Look Back and Under Siege

Hot Garbage: Lose Ya Life instrumental & On Sight were both meh to me

Dart's Take: This album was everything you've come to expect from an Alchemist album. You have a mix of veteran emcees (Kool G Rap, KRS One, Dogg Pound, Prodigy, Lil' Fame, Eminem, Twista, Fabolous, etc.), East & West Coast flava, mainstream & underground tracks featuring features from Talib Kweli, Blu & Kid Cudi amongst others. ALC even manages to make a track where Three 6 Mafia & Juvenile are tolerable. That's an amazing feat in itself as those guys have done much for me over the past couple of years. The highlight of the album to me are the two Gangrene tracks with Oh No ("Acts Of Violence" & "Under Siege") in addition to "ALC Theme", "Therapy", "Smile", "Keep The Heels On", "Lights, Cameras, Action" and "Some Gangster Shit". I'm giving "Chemical Warfare" a highly recommended maybe.





Best Joints: Newborn, Barter System, Protection, All Day Long, Ladies Know, Blessed, Prom Mrs., One On the Lip, Firebird, Wipe the Dust, Good Look, Can't Won't and Free Shipping

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: This album dropped back on May 5th but I didn't get a copy of it until the last week of June. It was well worth the wait as this Minneapolis duo made one hell of a concise album that I used to detox myself immediately after listening to Ace Hood's sophomore album (I'd rather smash Amy Winehouse sober in the morning without a condom or a blindfold, thank you very much!). There wasn't anything on this album I didn't like...although if you aren't into the Rhymesayers click or the aesthetics of their muisc then this album will make you sluggish much like Ace Hood's wack ass album did for me (notice how I keep throwing Ace Hood under the bus?). In any event I give Big Quarters new LP a recommended maybe.




Best Joints: Take What Is Given, Back With Vic, Work It (borderline), Sittin' In My Car, Drinks In The Air, Benetton, Rain On Me, Smiling, Brand New Day (borderline) and Prosperous

Hot Garbage: Animals and Horses, Wake Up, Mysterious, New Heights, Back From Up Unda and Is This The End

Dart's Take: I'm a huge CM Fam fan going back to the old days and I remember buying Kurious' "A Constipated Monkey" & Nas' "Illmatic" around this same time. I even had a 90 minute tape with each album on each side back in the days. However, while Kurious still can spit a lil' something this album is boring sonically and incredibly mediocre and uneventful. Maybe the production was too laid back. Maybe Kurious didn't go hard [II] enough on the mic. I can't exactly put my finger on it but this album did nada for me. I'd say I was disappointed but what can you really expect 15 years later. I give it a maybe but I was leanning more towards an oh no.




Best Joints: Million Bucks instrumental, Back To Life, Remember My Name

Hot Garbage: Million Bucks, Gangsta, All The Above, Here Comes Trouble, Hi Hater, Let's Make A Movie, Kill You, Runaway Slave, Soldier, Hood Love (are you fuckin' kiddin', me?), Floating and Celebrate (I'm celebrating because this piece of shit album is finally over!)

Dart's Take: No. No. No. A thousand times no! This album was just boring and wack. No memorabl beats. No memorable bars. Terrible guest appearances. This album sounds like it was just over A&R'd and they tried to create nothing but tracks for the radio or club. How about making an goddamn Hip Hop album worth listening to first? "If Tomorrow Comes" is emblematic of major label albums...it doesn't even sound like Hip Hop to me.

Why is Maino, a grimy ass New York rapper making an album that sounds like he's down with Rick Ross, Ace Hood & DJ Khaled? This album lacks any kind of creativity and I couldn't give you any of his bars after 5 whole excrutiating listens at gunpoint. I give this sonic abortion an oh no *Holds down Shift and presses down until the entire album is highlighted, deletes "If Tomorrow Comes..", empties trash then finally exhales*




Best Joints: More Fiya, Devil's Advocate, Good, A Different Mirror, Rise, Next Best Thing, The Law, State Of Emergency, Truth Or Dare, The Feeling, Little Girl and Poison Ivy (Afreecan-American)

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: Toki Wright is yet another Minneapolis representative down with Rhymesayers Entertainment. He's made quite a few noteworthy guest appearances in the past on other Rhymesayers releases and this project is yet another example of how a Hip Hop album should sound. It shouldn't sound like a gang of corporate people are directing the artist trying to appeal to a particular audience or merely making music for the purpose of spins and completely forgetting about concentrating on quality music.

If "More Fiya", "Devil's Advocate", "Good", "A Different Mirror", "Rise", "Next Best Thing", "The Law", "State Of Emergency", "Truth Or Dare" or "The Feeling" don't get your head nodding or have have bringing the track back to hear those punchlines againor have you thinking "Damn, how come Maino's album couldn't keep my attention like this album could?" "Is creativity and originality compeletely frowned upon at major labels?" "Why do all of those albums seem to follow the same formula but these indie albums all seem to be different from project to project?". This album dropped on June 9th and I didn't get a promo copy until my peoples @ Potholes In My Blog came through with the assist. I appreciate it, fellas. I give "A Different Mirror" a highly recommended maybe.




Late Passes (For Doz Dat Slept):

Projects I'm Looking Forward To Reviewing Once They Leak...I Mean Drop in 2009:

Rhymefest-El Che
Fashawan-Boy Meets World
Jay Electronica-Act II: Patents Of Nobility
Jay Electronica-Abracadabra: Let There Be Light
Royce Da 5'9"-Street Hop
Big Boi-Sir Luscious Leftfoot, Son Of Chico Dusty
Pac Div-Grown Kid's Syndrome
Magnif & J Dilla-Detroit Royalty
Blu-God Is Good
Drake- Thank Me Later
Sean Price, Guilty Simpson & Black Milk-Random Axe
Alchemist & Oh No are Gangrene
Eternia & MoSS- At Last
B.O.B.-The Adventures Of B.O.B.
Billy Danze-Behind Gatez
AG & O.C.-Oasis: Together Brothers
Baatin-Titus
Phat Kat and Elzhi are Cold Steel
The Beatnuts-The Planet Of The Crates
Ski Beatz-Half Man, Half Amazing
Evidence-Cats & Dogs
Statik Selektah-The Hangover

Shaq's in Cleveland, Ron Artest is in LA, so the only logical thing for homie to do is join Gang Green in Boston and go for championship number 18. Let's get it in, 'Sheed!


One.

Dart Adams presents Supreme Rap Misses (2009 Update)

I decided that it was time to post up an update my own personal list of Supreme Rap Misses from last Spring. I grew up in an era chock full of female emcees that demanded respect and earned it with their lyrical ability, drive, determination, conviction and talent. That's the same criteria I used for picking the ladies on this list (or scrolling through my iTunes library). They all continue the grand tradition that Lisa Lee, Debbie Dee, Sha Rock, The Sequence, Mercedes Ladies, Peblee Poo, Dimples D, Sparky Dee, Lady B, and others began.

A tradition in which the torch was passed to Roxanne Shante, The Real Roxanne, Suga, Antoinette, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Salt N' Pepa, Finesse & Synquis, Lin Que, MC Trouble (R.I.P.), Nefertiti, Heather B, Bahamadia, Nikki D, Yo Yo, Paula Perry, Precious Paris, Monie Love, Ladybug Mecca, Lauryn Hill, T Love, Madusa, Queen Herawin, Tara Chase, Pri Da Honey Dark, Queen Godis, Helixx C. Armageddon, Yarah Bravo, etc. They repped Hip Hop the right way and passed the torch to yet another generation of female emcees. Problem is that the new generation of female emcees is endangered at best.

In this current industry climate that only female "rappers" that get constant attention are Nicky Minaj, Kid Sister, Amanda Blank, Uffie or Yelle. No disrespect intended towards any of these ladies but none of them are gonna get a Hip Hop Quotable or make you rewind their verses like "Oh shit!"...ever. Here is list I made up consisting of female emcees that keep the beacon lit and are preserving the culture of Hip Hop:


Jean Grae
http://www.myspace.com/jeangrae



Tiye Phoenix
http://www.myspace.com/tiyephoenix



Apani
http://www.myspace.com/apanimusic



Invincible
http://www.myspace.com/invincilana



Psalm One
http://www.myspace.com/psalmone

Eternia
http://www.myspace.com/eternia



Georgia Anne Muldrow
http://www.myspace.com/georgiaannemuldrow



Stacey Epps
http://www.myspace.com/stacyepps

Amanda Diva
http://www.myspace.com/amandadiva



Stahhr
http://www.myspace.com/stahhr723



Hopie Spitshard
http://www.myspace.com/hopiespitshard



EyeASage
http://www.myspace.com/eyeasagemuzikpage



Shystie
http://www.myspace.com/shystie



Baby Blue
http://www.myspace.com/babyblueonline



Mz Bratt
http://www.myspace.com/brattonline



Miz Korona
http://www.myspace.com/1mizkorona



Byata
http://www.myspace.com/byata

Brix
http://www.myspace.com/brix

Letia Larok
http://www.myspace.com/letialarok



Boog Brown
http://www.myspace.com/bbrownfbgm



Mala Reignz
http://www.myspace.com/malareignz


Salute to you all. When you watch that show tonight, remember that these ladies all exist and because of them and their contributions to the culture Hip Hop will NEVER die.

One.

Dart Adams presents Demo Films & Fan Made Trailers

I often bitch and complain about when a book, TV show, comic book or graphic novel I like gets adapted into a lackluster film devoid of any soul or passion from the writing team or the director. Do you think that “Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer” was a passion project of Tim Story’s? How about any of those videos he directed for Jagged Edge? Methinks not. We all know that Michael Bay thought "Transformers" was a joke of a property when it was first presented to him. The evidence are the two steaming piles in the guise of films he made belonging to said franchise.

I am so fucking sick of reading some piece of engrossing literature or watching some great show that works on many different levels and resonated with millions of people for different reasons just to have some studio buy the rights to said property and subsequently hire a writer that sucks the very essence and soul out of it *cough!* "Wanted"! *cough!* (because he was never a fan of the source material) so it can be sold to the masses as a diluted version of what it once was. "X-Men" franchise, I'm looking at you!

When directors and writers actually are fans of the source material and are committed to doing a faithful adaptation or translation to the silver screen we end up having an excellent final product as in the case of “V Is For Vendetta”,“Sin City”, “300”, "The "Hellboy" franchise, "Iron Man", "The Dark Knight", "Watchmen", the Harry Potter series of films or J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fellowship Of The Ring trilogy.

There is another case in which the common man (with a computer and a camera) has the opportunity to show up those assholes in Hollywood...the "fan film". Whether it be an original creation (like the internet classic “Hobo With A Shotgun”) or one of Miguel Mesas’ excellent works you can see that these films are passion projects for these directors. Just like producers in the music industry, most writers and directors in Hollywood are simply work for hire (yunno..like hoes) that go from job to job in order to make a living. In some cases, Hollywood directors can get films greenlit off the strength of a fake trailer as well.


When rights to a property are bought, it’s the screenwriter and the director’s job to make an accessible and commercially viable final product so the studio can make back the money on it's investment into said project...not particularly to find out what it is in the source material that draws in it’s original/core audience and to preserve that in the forthcoming film adaptation.

Sometimes fan films can be used as demos to get the directors jobs in Hollywood. In many cases there are people already in the film industry that make these short films to show that can do other things than what role they've been pigeonholed into. Sandy Collora , the director of this now famous fan film called “Batman: Dead End” has used this film as a “demo” that got him noticed for his creative abilities and eventually got him his own project in 2005.

Cyril Raffaelli, a traceur/free runner, fight choreographer, martial artist and stuntman ("Section B 13", "Transporter", "Transporter 2", "Live Free Or Die Hard" & "B13: Ultimatum") used his own short martial arts/action film “Mukiai” as a demo that helped get him work in bigger films during his early career. This fan film is often attributed to getting his foot in the door (that and when "B13" finally hit Netflix & cable). Now he's a world renown action star thanks to a 7 minute film he put together. Don't forget the original demo films Tony Jaa & Prittchai made to get funding for "Ong Bak"!

The director of several excellent fan films Miguel Mesas of Spain is spotlighted in this post (with the exception of his brilliant version of "Batman: The Last Arkham" which Warner Brothers/DC hit him with a cease & desist letter over a while back...bitches!). Some of them are assorted other fan films that show up these Hollywood types that clearly don't care about the source material as much as these people do. The soul is apparent in each one, the care & meticulous eye for detail is obvious. I can't wait to see more of Miguel Mesas' work in the near future (including the 2010 film "Subversive Beauty" which I can't find any information about past May 2008 when it was first greenlit). Just click on the pics to see the trailers. Enjoy!

















One.

Dart's Rant Of The Day: Well, Isn't This Awkward?

Here's the story so far, Charles Hamilton has been M.I.A. following posting that his free album "This Perfect Life" would be released by Interscope Records on June 16th. He last posted on Twitter June 10th and his own blog on June 11th. If you tried to visit his blog after June 30th (the third consecutive Tuesday that his album didn't drop) it was now switched to private. A few days ago, someone claiming to be "Simone" stated that Charles Hamilton was fine and there was nothing to worry about...oh word? So Charles Hamilton hasn't made enough mistakes and dug enough holes over the past 100 days that Interscope would just drop him and his imprint/production house Demevolist Music Group altogether? Rumors are rampant and nothing exists but speculation and no confirmation or clarification on his status has come from himself or Interscope yet. Let's review, shall we?:


March 28th, 2009 (approximately 95 days ago) was when news of the whole incident involving Charles Hamilton stealing not only an entire beat, song title and vocals from his own hook from Black Spade off of his MySpace page occurred. It hit the internet and Charles Hamilton was under attack from all angles not solely because he was Charles Hamilton, Hip Hop's whipping boy/punching bag but because of his actions following the accusations of the theft. Had he just admitted to it (because Black Spade stepped to him like "I like what you did with the track"...he only wanted credit), but no. Instead, Charles insisted that the song/arrangment and vocals were all an original recording by himself years ago. That sounds EXACTLY like one the Black Spade made years ago. He was quickly and thoroughly clowned and it was obvious that he was, in fact, a thief and a liar.

The one thing that compounded the issue was that around this time Charles Hamilton had a major feature upcoming on the show "Last Call with Carson Daly". It was an interview and a showcase that would air on national television on a major network. By performing that stolen song at a venue during SXSW 2009 as Black Spade just happened to be there was astounding. All off the investigations, fact finding missions, lies and his rush to prove something that wasn't his was his (?) must've gave someone over at Interscope's legal offices (or maybe just his own handlers) a migraine headache. That show was going to be the first major promotion leading to his album dropping in digital form June 2009 but in physical form in August 2009..this incident completely put a black eye on Charles Hamilton and Interscope Records.

Charles had managed to go a month while staying relatively quiet. He still did things that raised the ire of those that were now beginning to despise him and his antics. It's a damn shame because I won't lie and say that Charles Hamilton isn't talented, the problem is that homie cripples himself at every turn. I joked on Twitter that if Charles Hamilton was actually a video game character his special move would be to shoot himself in the foot repeatedly. On May 22nd, a video of Charles Hamilton embarassing his friend/assistant handler/associate Briana Latrise and subsequently getting punched in the face for it surfaced. Those that by now hated Charles' guts laughed their asses off and rejoiced (myself included) but afterwards I thought to myself "This kid is committing career suicide!". The fallout resulted in Charles Hamilton trying to get attention in any way possible on the internet. This wasn't a promotional tool...was it? Not to Briana Latrise it wasn't.

Charles couldn't even sit still and keep quiet until his album was set to be released on June 16th (Sonic The Hedgehog's 18th birthday)! He released insert artwork for his upcoming album sometime between June 6th -7th (I heard about it sometime around then and I mentioned it on Twitter after someone else told me about it. I didn't get visual confirmation until about 2 AM the morning of June 7th). This set off a wave of ill feeling throughout the entire internet because inside Charles Hamilton's liner notes he listed himself and James "Jay Dee AKA J Dilla" Yancey as co-executive producers of "This Perfect Life". That act alone was a mistake, but the way Charles handled it turned it into a shitstorm of hatred and chaos that may have ultimately killed the project altogether when he not only antagonized most of Detroit's Hip Hop elite but outright lied about his relationship with the Yancey family.

That bring us to the present day. Charles Hamilton's "The Perfect Life" still has no release date as of the writing of this blog. His record label isn't making any comments or statements about him or the current status of his project. When the free album didn't drop on the 16th, the new release date was the 23rd. When June 23rd came and went there was no new release date mentioned anywhere. After June 30th came and went people started wondering exactly what the hell happened? Did the suits and the brass finally say "enough!" and cut their losses? Did they just decide to punish Sonic The Hamilton and put him on time out for an undisclosed amount of time? The moral of story is don't be your own worst enemy. Like Treach famously said "You can run but you can't hide, you can't go far/No matter where you go, there you are!",

One.

Dart's Rant Of The Day: Embrace Change AKA Adapt Or Die (Revisited)

Pardon me as I go on one of my Tyler Durdenesque rants here but we are living in remarkable and confounding times right now, ladies and gentlemen. The exponential growth of technological advances has forever changed the world in several ways. For one, network television is now TiVo'd, DVR'd and Hulu'd to hell so Nielsen Ratings no longer accurately tell the tale about what shows are watched the most. The problem is that television works off of commercial time sold to companies for the live viewing audience. The music industry is still stuck on reporting Soundscan numbers even though digital sales are up on average 250% each year since 2005. Why don't we get the iTunes, eMusic and Amazon digital sales numbers combined and reported along with the weekly Soundscan numbers then? Wouldn't it only make sense given that digital sales seem to be the wave of the future?

Since big business decided to not roll with the punches and embrace the new changes that advances in technology and cultural changes in general brought about, some of our traditional media formats are suffering tremendously. The print media is suffering as several magazines and newspapers have either folded or changed to strictly online publications instead. It's been reported that 525 publications folded just in 2008 alone. Quincy Jones said that he was going to get his magazine back and switch to an online publication instead because the print media was all but dead. Damn, if Q sees that then he's a pretty progressive thinker even at his age!


The question is what happens to all of the writers the used to work for these publications? What about all of the people currently in college for journalism...what the fuck are they supposed to do for a living when they get out of school? Who's hiring? I've seen Blender, Hip Hop Connection, King and Vibe go under in recent months and heard even more rumors surrounding other publications like Complex (still running), and Giant (I dunno but for now? Still going). Even Entertainment Weekly has Death's Head hovering over it for God's sake! (TMZ is fine BTW). Spin has recently let a gang of employees go and slashed it's expenses drastically in hopes of staying afloat and weathering the storm. Good luck with that one, guys! Who knew the collapse of the auto industry would affect the print media in such a way?


Already in 2009 more than 60 publications have recently folded including most of the ones that offered me jobs or an opportunity to write for them in the past year. The others have had their budget's slashed severely and cut costs to offset the plunge in ad pages being bought in their magazines. The King magazine employees first found out that they would soon be out of a job via Twitter and Facebook, not a good look. So what does that mean for me or many of my other blogging brethren/sisteren that hoped to parlay our blogging into writing careers? Where the hell do we go? Who's gonna pay us to wax poetic (or Spoken Word) about Hip Hop or in my case Hip Hop related fuckery of all kinds (or not really...it depends)? Do we all get together and start our own internet media conglomerate and build something new from the ashes of the old dead system instead? Time will tell, I guess.

I've seen the box stores/record stores progressively die when I was working in managing them up close. I've even seen the video store die a slow and agonizing death while I was working in them (and using Netflix...LOL). I've jumped ship every other time I've seen "Mene Mene Tikel Upharsin" written on the wall before. I quit being an emcee when I realized that I didn't wanna grind hard to get back in "the game" anymore at age 30 after leaving a middle managerial position @ CVS back in 2005. It took me days before I was able to bring myself to write a blog this week because I thought to myself "What's the point? It won't go any farther than this blog!". I've since come to my senses but seriously "Fuck am I gonna do now, huh? It's all fucked up now!" © Diddy

There may be no more light at the end of this tunnel anymore so it might be time for me to switch up my attack plan. I've been developing multiple scripts and screenplays with my brothers and I'm back to my treatments for potential graphic novels as well. The post office ain't hiring (budget cuts) but Marvel, DC, Vertigo, etc. are still looking for talent (provided you self publish your own graphic novels/comics and grind so they recognize you). When the environment around you changes, you adapt to ensure your own survival. When the environment changes drastically all of the biggest dinosaurs disappear from the Earth first. Adapt or die.

One.