Cure for the Hangover

I woke up this morning real tired. Like, maybe call into work tired. I decided against that and dragged my ass to work. My mood immediately got better when I logged into my computer, went to youtube, and listened to one of my favorite jams:
"Memory Lane (Sittin in the Park)" by Nas and DJ Premier

Also, here's Big L with "Day One" ft. D.I.T.C. if that didn't do it for you

I hope it makes you feel as good as it made me... DIB

It's Hump Day

So get to humpin...

I was fucking around on my turntables last night and finally got the tracklist done for the Sunny Sunday in Battery Park mix I've been promising forever. I'll post the tracks soon enough; but to warn you, there's lots of James Brown, lots of mellow hip hop, and lots of funk/jazz/latin jazz on there for cruising summer streets in your whip, bike, or on foot. Either way, more ammo for your iPods curtosy of T-Flostin (if I may dust off an old chestnut). The remix I posted about earlier is almost complete, and once that's done, the mix isn't far behind. I promise, I'll have this summer mix done by August.

Weekendsrealbig

Apparently, the middle of June is monsoon season in Charleston. I can't complain tho, because rain is the only bad thing about this last weekend... unless you count watching Italy lose to Spain. I shant be mentioning that again tho.

On Friday, it was raining when I got off work. Palmer came to pick me up, and we went to the grocery store to pick up some things she needed for the party she was throwing that night. The rain really picked up while we were in the store; and by the time we got the groceries in her apartment, I looked like I had just come out of the shower. Ben got the worst of the Friday rain tho... Vanderhorst flooded. Ben came over to Palmer's to chill and eat falafel from Charlie's corner spot. Then we partied, played Rock Band, made up a drinking game with Boggle, and drank lots of vodka. The party was lots of fun. We drank with some of the Charleston Battery players (the live next door to Palmer) and met some other fun new people.

I woke up hurting on Saturday. Palmer and I went to Sullivan's Island with Bochet and Charlie while everyone else went to Schrader's to watch soccer. Monsoon rain hit again while we were at the beach, so we got in the car to go home. 3 hours later, we finally got off Sullivan's (there was a car accident on the top of the bridge that held us up). No worries tho, I had just burned Palmer a mix cd; and we chilled in the car and played dreidel on the dash. I went over to Ben's to play cards and whatnot that night. The steez may have flowed to freely, because by the time we (Ben, Mel, Will, Rob, Schrader, Leah, Tyner, Avery, and Panda) met up with Palmer at AC's, we were very steezy. We all went back to Ben's to after party, and things got out of hand. Lots of great stories there.

Sunday, we went to brunch at AC's, and we went to see The Incredible Hulk after dinner out Outback with Betras, Cam, Leah, Ben, Alex, and TJ. The movie was actually better than I expected. Tim Roth was fantastic. Then home for sleep, and now at the library.

The Wackness looks good

I've been following the buzz around The Wackness since it got great reviews at Sundance. The cast looks great. Ben Kingsley, Famke Janssen (shouts to Mel), Olivia Thirlby (of Juno fame), and Josh Peck... yes, THAT Josh Peck, the one from Nickelodeon's Drake and Josh.

The premise is that Josh Peck deals pot out of an Italian Ice cart in New York in the mid nineties. He provides his psychiatrist (Kingsley) with weed in exchange for free psychoanalytical sessions. Sounds interesting to say the least. Also, Method Man plays the Jamaican supplier (a la Samson). The soundtrack (which comes out June 24th) looks great, but it should since the movie takes place in New York in '94.

If you're interested, and you want to see the trailer, you can always go to IMDB. I would suggest watching this "red band" trailer (from iwatchstuff.com) that gives you an unedited look at what the movie is actually like.

Obligatory Blog Post

I don't really have much to report or post about; but I'm trying to keep up with this blogging thing, so here's some random steez straight from the brain grapes:

Favorite songs on Tha Carter III:
1. Dr. Carter
2. Mr. Carter
3. Let the Beat Build
4. Kush (from the bonus CD)
5. (I'm embarrassed to say this) Comfortable.

The library can be a boring place. Like, so boring I am for serious just writing random thoughts to keep my mind occupied. I've been here for almost three hours, and the only question I've answered from a patron is "can you point me in the direction of the bathroom?"

Favorite moments of the past week:
1. Marathon Boondocks Season 2 watch sesh at Alex's
2. Mickeys from Charlie's with Ben
3. Watching the trailer for Ong-Bak 2
4. Discussing Cat's Cradle with Palmer
5. Hearing Hunter and Jess are moving to Charleston in 2 weeks

I'm bout to finish reading Norman Mailer's "Deer Park"... soon to be starting Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita" on Palmer's reccomendation.

On my cigarette break today, a visiting librarian asked me why I chose to work in a library. My answer? poverty.

I watched the new Rambo yesterday... terrible.

steezery

Pleasantly Surprised

Lil Wayne is doing it EXTRA big (it is oh eight after all) with the new record Tha Carter III. I'm officially gonna stop hating on Wayne after this release. Usually, I only appreciate him for making club records I like to dance to when I'm steezed out and that's it, but I've been banging this album in the car real loud with no shame ever since Palmer got me a copy in a trade we worked out. I think people expect me to hate on Wayne for making such commercial bangers and mostly only rapping about money, but I don't let that effect me. I used to only listen to what I thought was indie or underground hip hop; but as a DJ, I've recently learned to expand my musical tastes and listen to records I would usually shun in my college radio "it's gotta be cool for me to play it" days. Anyway, you should prolly peep even if you are a Wayne hater, cause you might get pleasantly surprised.

My favorite song is Dr. Carter. Peep:


But I'm also all about Mr. Carter ft. Jay-Z. Enjoy:


I'm right cheah in my chair, with my crown and my dear...

If I Ruled The World Remix

I've been getting some questions and complaints about the Sunny Sunday In Battery Park mix not being completed yet, but I wanted to explain the hold-up. I had included a remix of Nas ft. Lauryn Hill's If I Ruled the World, but it was not to my liking and I've decided to re-mix the remix. Lately, I've been trying to step my mixtape game up, and in the case of the Sunny Sunday mix, I've decided to make my own beat for this particular remix. It is only the second beat I have ever made (the other appearing as a bonus song on the Tell a Friend mix), and it is my best so far (I guess that makes the last joint on Tell a Friend my worst). Anyway, the beat is made from the drum break of the Dap Kings' Nervous Like Me, the bonus beats from Jurassic 5's Red Hot, the drum break from James Brown's Funky Drummer, and the opening break from Atmosphere's YGM.

Previously, I had just laid the Nas a cappella over the Dap Kings break (no flips or anything) and switched to the J5 bonus beats at the "walk right up to the sun hand in hand" bridge after the 2nd chorus. This seemed lazy, as the new mix had lots of potential to be a banger. Plus, it's always great to make a song you appreciate for what it is into something you truly love because you love all the parts that make up the whole. Seriously, every piece of this new beat comes from a song I am a fan of, and I picked some of my favorite parts to use in the new composition.

Sorry it's taking me so long to complete this tape (summer might be over by the time I finally get off my ass and finish this mix), but getting this remix right is an arduous process. I'm being a total perfectionist about this remix because the original song is a classic and I don't want people to think I'm fucking with perfection and trying to shit out a half-hearted remix.

I really appreciate people being interested in the mix, so please don't lose patience/interest. I'll be done soon, and I hope the addition of the remix to the remix will make the tape that much more enjoyable.

respeck

Best of Boxing Episode 2

I'd been kind of neglecting my Best of Boxing series, but some distrubing news yesterday made me want to write a new post...

"Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather, Jr. retired yesterday. The best boxer of my generation, and most likely the most talented dude I'll ever see fight live, cancelled his rematch with "The Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya (like anybody really wanted to see those two fight again) and decided to call it quits. I'm legitimately sad. Since most people I know aren't all about watching boxing and may not be familiar with Floyd, I figured I'd write a post in tribute to one of my favorite boxers to watch.

First off, Floyd has the fastest hands I've ever seen... ever. Agility and speed (watch for the sit-up routine at 1:39 on this video) for days. Hands down, the best defensive fighter ever. Floyd uses a defensive stance sometimes called the crab or Hitman stance (named after "Hitman" Tommy Hearns, the first to use this style). Fans of the video game series Fight Night may know of this style as the "Philly Shell." For an explanation of the style, check out this discussion (especially post number 11 by Brandon MacRae, great explanation). Simply, the Hitman Stance is the best way for counter-punchers to be effective, but it is very dangerous since you're not really protecting your head. The strategy is to get out of the way of punches; and if you can't, block them by rolling your shoulder to make the blow glance off. You have to be really fast and agile to use this style, and most trainers would never teach it. Only Hearns, James "Lights Out" Toney, and Floyd have used this stance as their primary defense. That should tell you something. Basically, the combination of Floyd's speed, athleticism, agility, and use of this Hitman stance makes him untouchable in the ring... so elusive. Peep:

I remember watching Floyd beat De La Hoya last summer in Atlanta. Everyone was rooting for Oscar, and I was jumping up and yelling every time Floyd landed a punch. Needless to say, everyone that was hating at the beginning of the fight was amazed at how well Floyd can fight by the end. You can hate him all you want, but there isn't a more impressive boxer out there right now. Mel sometimes tells the story of us watching Floyd fight Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton (disgracing Hearn's legacy with that nickname) with Eddie and JT while I shouted instructions and encouragement to Floyd like I was in his corner. It's actually kind of an embarassing story considering we were in La Hacienda after they closed watching the fight.

Enough explanations and pontificating... Here's a highlight video that says everything I've been trying to say: Floyd is the best. His skill and personality will be missed from boxing. I guess now I'll have to start raving about how Manny "Pac-Man"Pacquiao is the best boxer doing it.

Friday Jams

I usually try to leave you with some steezy jams on Friday afternoons, and I usually forget. Anyway, I remembered today, so here's one I've been rocking nearly every time I get in my car lately:

Power to Love by Band of Gypsys:

And an all-time favorite of mine,

When It Pours It Rains by Diamond D:

Why not, I'll put up one more for your brain grapes:

BIG - Unbelievable

I got 357 ways, to simmer saute, Im the winner all day.
Weekendsrealbig

New Big Boi Record!

Apparently, I've been sleeping, cause there's a new Big Boi record out and I didn't know about it until yesterday. I also must be deaf because Mel told me about it a while ago according to him. Anyway, for those of you who want to peep, check out Royal Flush ft. Raekwon (Wu in the place) and Andre 3000:

I've been playing this song for everyone I know right now, so be prepared for me to get all excited to play this for you if I see you. I'll prolly follow up with this so that you can take a second to reflect on how Outkast has been doing it extra big since 93... big ups.