I recently had a case of the random nostalgia; you know, when you look up random stuff that wowed you before you became a cynical bastard. My latest fix had me looking up The Pharcyde’s music video for “Drop.” Read the rest of this entry »

Not every well-received album from the early ’90s centered around backpacks and Black history facts. Five minutes of romper room fun by The Pharcyde and co-conspirator J-Swift on the boards. Read the rest of this entry »

Jenna & The Twins For Titillating Tuesday

A Reunited Pharcyde Discuss Breakups, Make-Ups And J Dilla [Pop & Hiss]

GOD? PLEASE KILL HASBRO, KTHXBAI. [Film Drunk]

First Swine Flu, Now Drug Violence – Mexico, You’re Being a Bad Neighbor [F-Listed]

Kenyon Martin’s Style Is An Apple From The Oak Tree [The Sporting Blog]

Jon Gruden Has A Rich History Of Ripping ESPN [SbS]

5 Minutes with GLC [Nice Kicks]

Coffee, Cigarettes, Alcohol: A Balanced Diet [Gawker]

Does Your Mobile Speak Volumes About Who You Are?[The Really Mobile Project]

14-Year-Old: Toledo Police Beat Me Up [WTOL]

Biden Reveals Location of Secret VP Bunker [Fox]

Al B. Sure! Returns With Hidden Beach Debut [Billboard]

Michael Jordan’s Top 40 Moments [Fandome]

Nike Air Trainer 1 Additional Colorways and PE’s [KATC]

Top 10 NBA-Celebrity Look-A-Likes [The Hoop Doctors]

Words By Jesse H.

You know what I miss?

Hip Hop that was fun to listen to. I’m not saying that there hasn’t been some great music put out recently, I’m just asking how much of it was fun? Unintentional comedy withstanding, when’s the last time you found yourself really having a great time just listening to the album? Or laughing along with the artists? No matter how great some of the songs in the past five years have been, they lack the self-deprecation that made some of Hip-Hop’s forgotten goofballs so great. Even a group that doesn’t portray themselves as intimidating, say the Cool Kids, lack the ability to create some self-depreciating humor. It’s something that makes me miss the mischievous humor of a group like the Pharcyde. Or the jovial persona pulled off so well by the Biz Markie (“Pickin’ Boogers” anyone?). Read the rest of this entry »

I guess some people chose to not perform @ Rock The Bells, while others chose to perform other people’s songs lol. Read the rest of this entry »

Words By Khalid Strickland

The deeper I get into this game, the more I doubt that I’m built for journalism. My homies think it’s a picnic. “Strick, you get to go to hot shows and parties for free,” they say. True indeed, but they don’t know the politics and bullshit I tolerate to attend some of these gigs. Being a real nigga, it’s tough to deal with folks lying to my face (“Sorry, there’s no media list”) and juiced-up bouncers barking orders (“Don’t cross the velvet rope!”) without hooking off on somebody. But I refuse to be dragged back into the gutter.

That’s why for nearly two hours, I patiently baked in the sun before entering the anticipated Rock The Bells concert at Jones Beach. Meanwhile, the Nikon Theater’s yellow-shirted minions ran a defensive scheme that Bill Belichick would envy. Many of the security guards, perhaps not used to corralling thousands of hip-hop fans, were a little overzealous. You’d think all the weed smoke hovering around would’ve mellowed security out, but no dice.

Once inside, I kicked it with my Brooklyn homie, underground icon Poison Pen; he’d just been onstage with his fellow Stronghold crew member, Immortal Technique. I was heated that I missed Technique’s show, but it’s always good to chop it up with Pen. I missed Murs show too, but I saw him in V.I.P. and as always he was down-to-Earth.

By the time I got to the main stage, De La Soul was beginning their set, which featured appearances from Q-Tip on “Buddy,” Dres of Black Sheep (the fans flipped for “This or That”) and Biz Markie, who had the capacity crowd singing along to “Just a Friend.” Next, B-Real of Cypress Hill introduced the The Pharcyde, who performed their hits “Runnin,” “Ya Mama” and the timeless “Passing Me By.” Two of my favorite artists, Raekwon and Ghostface, gave a decent performance together. As much as I dig those cats, I’ve seen them both do better. Supernatural followed with a crowd-pleasing freestyle where he incorporated items the fans tossed to him; blunts, t-shirts, and even a pair of panties (!!!) effortlessly meshed into his impromptu verses. Mos Def’s segment was respectable but didn’t really explode until Talib Kweli assisted him for some Black Star joints. Redman and Method Man brought down the house with their kinetic set; EPMD, Slick Rick and Ghostface provided entertaining cameos. Read the rest of this entry »