What's New In Dart's iPod #66 AKA The NBA All Star Break Edition

It's All Star Weekend and my beloved Celtics came back from behind to beat the Dallas Mavericks to win their 9th straight game on the road and regain the best record in the NBA back from the Lakers @ 44-11 (.800). The Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers are all among the top teams as everyone breaks and enjoys the All Star festivities. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen all thankfully made the trip for the second consecutive year to Phoenix and all will play for the Eastern Conference squad.

The Celtics still need to find a way to fend off the Cleveland Cavaliers for the remaining 27 games of the season, add a veteran big and point guard help to ensure another NBA Finals showdown against the Los Angeles Lakers in June. This week also saw the birthday and death anniversaries of James "J Dilla" Yancey and Christopher "Big Punisher" Rios, two of the greatest Hip Hop legends in the history of the culture. The Rookie/Sophomore Game, Slam Dunk Contest, Three Point Shootout, Skills Challenge and All Star Game should all be exciting affairs this weekend.

This week I'll be reviewing three new mixtapes that recently hit the 'net/bloggerverse in the following order: Charles Hamilton "Well Isn't This Awkward", Drake "So Far Gone" and J. Period & Q-Tip "J. Period presents The [Abstract] Best". 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 "Cop It Or Not" ratings system breaks down below:

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.


Best Joints: Cinematic Hallucinations, Scorpion, Neverland, Romantic Vents, Re-Anna, Match.com (Commercial Break), You Too, Tengo Una Pregunta, The Penthouse Elevator, In Case It Doesn't Work Out and In Case I Actually Get Her

Hot Garbage: Psycho Bitch was trying to rape my eardrums.

Dart's Take: Look Charles, this mixtape wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination but why the fuck are most of these songs near or over 5 minutes long? You dropped a mixtape just about a week ago and you made ANOTHER ONE that's damn near 70 minutes long this week about courting Rihanna in an alternate reality dream world? Really, Charles? These songs aren't wack but you could've faded the vast majority of these tracks out after 3:30 for replay value reasons alone, fam!

Some tracks are 6 minutes long, another is 9 minutes including the piano solo. You get the impression that Sonic is impressing the fuck outta himself and he's enjoying his own wit/cleverness on many of these joints. The listener however? They just want to move on with their real lives and this track would have much more impact if it were shorter. I give it a maybe. It still hasn't been erased from my hard drive yet so that's a good thing...I guess. Download it here if you dare *Plays "Romantic Vents" again*





Best Joints: Lust For Life, Houstatlantavegas, Successful, Let's Call It Off, November 18th, Ignant Shit, A Night Off, Say What's Real, Little Bit, Unstoppable, Uptown, Sooner Than Later, Bria's Interlude, The Calm and Outro

Hot Garbage: N/A (I had to listen to this AFTER hearing Charles Hamilton's entire alternate reality life story...that sucked)

Dart's Take: I loved this mixtape thoroughly. Drake's Valentine's Day themed mixtape is an amalgam of his take on the "808's and Heatbreak" aesthetic and the tracks he collabed on w/ Tery Songz and his own R&B cohorts. If you want to hear "Comeback Season Part 2" you will leave disappointed. If you come into it with an open mind you will be pretty damn impressed by Drizzy on this one, y'all.

Tracks that earned instant replays were "Lust For Life", "Houstatlantavegas", "November 18th", "Ignant Shit", "A Night Off", "Best I Ever Had", "Uptown" and "Bria's Interlude" (despite what Sickamore says! LOL). The entire mixtape just flowed together in my opinion although I still feel that "Comeback Season">"So Far Gone". I still give it a mos def, download it here now.





Best Joints: All of 'em. All 49 damn tracks.

Hot Garbage: Not a goddamn thing. I'm pissed that it ended, personally!

Dart's Take: Fuck wasting words describing it. Mos def in every sense of the phrase. Download it here right goddamn now!



Late Passes (For Doz Dat Slept):


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

Rhymefest-El Che
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
Mos Def-The Ecstatic LP
Royce Da 5'9"-Street Hop
Magnif & J Dilla-Detroit Royalty
Blu-God Is Good
Sean Price, Guilty Simpson & Black Milk-Random Axe
Method Man & Redman-Blackout 2
Redman-Muddy Waters 2
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
Skepta-Microphone Champion
Ski Beatz-Half Man, Half Amazing
Evidence-Cats & Dogs
MF Doom-Born Into This
Eminem-The Relapse
Cage-Depart From Me

Rest In Eternal Peace, J Dilla and Big Pun. You both will forever be missed.

One.