There's A Glitch In The Matrix! © Trinity

Triple fuckin' overtime? Another close loss? More holding the basketball instead of running? Will this be the end for our heroes or will they manage to live to fight (and play) for another day? Find out in the thrilling conclusion Saturday May 2nd @ TD Banknorth Garden AKA The Jungle in Boston. Oh...and to all the heads on TSS that wonder why I've been so quiet I've been busy as hell writing lately. Once I'm done with this particular project you'll get sick of me again, I promise.

Follow me on Twitter and take the opportunity to kick me while I'm down if the Celtics lose (God forbid) or just enjoy reading me impart nuggets of wisdom or shit on rappers and entertainers all day. Make sure to message or DM me so I know you're a reader/human so I don't block you thinking you're a bot/hella boring. It's like micro blogging x instant messenger, be wary...there is a wrong way to do it, though.

One.

Dart Adams presents Dart, Are You Awake?

Another issue with being a semi anonymous blogger is your credibility level. Things that I like or love I write with passion about and things I dread and absolutely abhor tend to get the same treatment. The thinking is that I can thoroughly shit on certain things and people without fear of reprisal or retaliation because no one knows who I am. One of the problems with Hip Hop journalism is that people are afraid to say what they really want in this new climate for fear of being branded a "hater" or being approached by an artist. This isn't why I haven't revealed who I am yet as I'd say/write the exact same shit if my identity was publicly known.

I used to have people tell me that they loved or hated what I did as an emcee and I eventually discovered that everything isn't for everybody. I don't feel that certain artists aesthetics work for me and since I have my own blog I can be open with that and my biases towards others as well. Everything is out in the open here. Whereas if I worked for a magazine and I hated Lil' Boosie's face yet I was still given the album to review it would be seen as that magazine saying they'd "rather knifefight Jack Bauer underwater with a punctured lung and a cracked clavicle than listen to another minute of this drek". On Poisonous Paragraphs you know that the person that wrote that was me, myself and I alone.


Don't get it twisted and think I talk all this shit because I'm safe behind this persona. I write like I talk for the most part so anything I type on this keyboard you should imagine that I'd say it to you if you were standing directly in front of me. It's like Hex Murda said to me on Twitter a while back, based on what I wrote he thought I sounded and looked like my avatar so if he saw me I better not look like Fievel. Nah, there's a reason why I picked that particular picture of Luke Cage as my avatar and why I put it at the top of many of my posts. You instantly think that what you're reading is coming from that guy based on how I write. It's all a conscious decision I made long ago.


One day, I'm going to have to be seen and interviewed so it's important that I'm myself as much as humanly possible when I write. The whole purpose is for any reader of mine to feel like they have somewhat of a grip on what I'd say about something or be curious to hear my take on something. Then there's the whole question as to why I don't have any contributors to Poisonous Paragraphs or why I won't post up content for other sources here...well that's pretty goddamn simple. How can I truly call this MY blog if I have everyone else's shit on here? I've written in excess of 560 blogs in 28 months for an average of 20 a month and I haven't even scratched the surface of subjects I can write about yet. That's why I'm still up at 3 AM writing this very same sentence right now.

One.

Dart Adams presents Who You Think I Am?

Way back in the days when the Wu Tang Clan first hit the scene they featured an emcee named Ghostface Killah. Ghost kept his visage covered with either a stocking or a ski mask during the crew's earliest videos and press pictures because he had a case pending and because he thought it added to his mystique as an emcee. I thought it was a dope idea because you had nothing to judge him on other than his lyrics or the consistency of his bars/verses throughout his career rather than other perimeter shit. I also thought about the whole superhero/supervillain dynamic when you never get to see their faces and you have to take them who they claim to be and judge them solely on their actions.

In 1996, before Nas released his second album "It Was Written" he did an interview with The Source and he discussed how he wished he could just rhyme without all the other bullshit involved in the industry. He remarked about how ill he thought Ghostface Killah was because all he had to do was just lay down his verses and that was it. Photo shoots and videos wouldn't be overpowered by his image because all that mattered was how he came off on that track he was on. Of course, once Tony Starks face was revealed to the world his career changed immediately. Now it was about expanding on his image, the wallabees, the bathrobes over the clothes and the golden eagle bracelet. Before no one knew what he looked like none of that ever came into play.


Nas' comments were overblown by the Hip Hop media and fans alike but I completely understood what he meant. What if Biggie was allowed to remain the grimy Brooklyn ex-drug dealer with the army jacket over the jeans and Timberlands rather than becoming the suited playa/Big Poppa/Frank White that Diddy turned him into? What if Kimberly Jones never adopted Nelda (The Original Queen Bee)'s whole image and stayed herself? Would she have still gotten so much plastic surgery if she felt she was enough already? Think about Inga Marchand and how different her career would have been if we only focused on her bars and NOT her bras. Remember how girls responded to Method Man when they first saw him? Why do you think Def Jam made it such a point to sign him?

Think about the people you add to MySpace/Facebook/Twitter every day. Appearance and image matters. I personally focus on content rather than flashy shit in my every day life so I figured if I was going to commit to that philosophy in my writing and commentary then I couldn't be a hypocrite. All you have to judge me on is my previous body of work and/or my current material if you want to add me on MySpace/Facebook/Twitter, etc. Once I finally end this whole anonymous charade watch how the entire game will change or how.

One.

Dart Adams presents The Mystery Of Dart

As most of you regular readers know, I prefer to write about things rather than myself...although from time to time I'll throw you all a bone and reveal some of my extensive and varied background. It's been almost three years and I think I've written my government name once one this blog and never even posted a picture of myself. I've previously written about a few of my jobs, my time at Morgan State University in Baltimore, even dropped some clues about my previous life as an emcee but I've never really gone into detail about it save for the revisited version of "Please Listen To My Demo © EPMD". I guess I still haven't decided to face it yet.

I realized that a great amount of my readers still have a number of questions regarding me, this blog and the features on it and my past. This really hit me hard when I started on Twitter and I discovered exactly how many questions I'd left in the air considering all the shit I know. I guess the fact that even people in Boston aren't aware who I am although they've communicated with me since 2005 has left even more questions in the air. The purpose of me doing this so that I can write about whoever and whatever I want without anyone feeling that I'm just cosigning my friends or affiliates. In order to do so I completely removed myself from the scene.


The thing is that same approach I took on BostonRap.com back in 2005 soon spread to AllHipHop.com & XXL.com in 2006. When I decided to start this blog during my time at AllHipHop.com I figured "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" so I've remained the faceless but highly opinionated blogger who rarely does interviews and doesn't get photographed. A few people have seen me out in public and asked if I was Dart Adams (which surprised the hell out of me) so it's hilarious that I've managed to keep this up this long. One day soon, the "mask" will come off and like Ghostface Killah once said "Once the face got revealed, the game got real".

One.

What's New In Dart's iPod #75 AKA Where Amazing Happens

So far these NBA playoffs have been extremely exciting as the Bulls and 76'ers managed to come away with upsets. Several players had out of body experiences and a couple of 'em went Super Saiyan in front of a worldwide audience (Derrick Rose, Ben Gordon, LeBron James, Dywane Wade, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, etc.). Amazing has happened so far but the real test lies in the future playoff rounds. The Bruins also swept the hated Montreal Canadiens 4-0 and the Red Sox start their first series vs. their mortal enemies the New York Yankees tonight. I also did a new collaborative blog with my boy Travis Glave @ Wake Your Daughter Up so be on the lookout for that one!

This week I'll be reviewing four new projects that recently hit the 'net/bloggerverse and/or will be landing on store shelves soon in the following order: Curren$y "This Ain't No Mixtape", The Grouch & Eligh "Say G&E", Men Without Pants "Naturally" and yU "Before Taxes". 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.

Only ask me questions about the guys that're playing! © Doc Rivers


Best Joints: The Briefing, Get It Ya Self, Blown Away, Scared Of Monstas, Elevator Musik, On My Plane, 16 Switches Spitter, The Jets Son, LOL, Sail On, Got It, Power Button, Up Here, Cook Up, Food For Thought, Galaxy, Look Up To The Jets, Something Like & Top Of The Money

Hot Garbage: N/A (About 5 or 6 of these tracks could've used different beats though)

Dart's Take: Curren$y Da Hot Spitta is yet another one of the young emcees that have become blog favorites through to his nonstop grinding, lyrical consistency and a gang of mixtapes he's put out. This is his official debut street album available from Boston based Hip Hop label Amalgam Digital. This album is pretty impressive in the sense that Curren$y varies up his flows and song topics while keeping his lyricism as the main focus. You can tell when he has outside production because the beats just stand out so much more. The underwhelming sonic aspect of this album prevented Spitta from earning a mos def. I give "This Ain't A Mixtape" a highly recommended maybe.





Best Joints: Intro, Say G&E!, Push On (Push Up), Old Souls, Boom, Denial, I Know You Wanna Feel, Teach Me The Way, All In, Do It Again, Rivers Run Dry, No Flowers, Comin' Up and Sign Of The Times

Hot Garbage: Worried About The World was just meh to me.

Dart's Take: I've been a fan of the Living Legends since the late 90's when the Backpack Era was at it's peak (1997-2002). I even have a super rare issue of Subculture Magazine with a detailed Living Legends interview in it featuring all of it's members. I was listening to old tapes from The Grouch back in 1997/8 so to review an album from Grouch & Eligh in 2009 is kinda surreal. The crazy thing is that these guys having lost anything in their lyricsm or flows after 12 years plus since I first heard them.

The Grouch has the same hunger on the mic that he had on "Nothing Changes", "Success Is Destiny" &"Fuck The Dumb", that alone is commendable. Eligh spits with the same command and intensity he had on "As They Pass", "A Story Of 2 Worlds", & "Sidewaydaze". When you take these two legendary West Coast rhyme veterans you can expect nothing less than great material. If you're not a Legendary head this might skew a bit boring to you (possibly) or you might love it. Either way I give "Say G&E!" a highly recommended maybe.






Best Joints: Superfine, My Balloon, Let's Meet In Real Life, If You're Thinkin' Of Me, I Do and Goodbye

Hot Garbage: And The Girls Go (Where's Mark Ronson when you really need him?), Double Life, Never Gonna Do That Again. Rock Show, Keep On Movin', All You Need Is Luck and The Beginning.

Dart's Take: One of my favorite all time producers is Dan "The Automator" Nakamura. He and Jon Spencer of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion collaborated to make an album I was very interested in hearing last summer when it was announced by their label that the project was coming soon. After 8 months of delays and a Japanese release but no American LP I ultimately stopped caring. The album has recently surfaced on the 'net so I decided to review it....Uhh, what the fuck is this supposed to be exactly?

Half of this album I was praying that the song hurried up and ended and the other half I hoped that they didn't fuck it up with the noise and annoying vocals. I couldn't get into this project at all. It was a disjointed clusterfuck of noise kinda reminiscent of that N.A.S.A. LP some people actually think is good. I could've gone without ever even hearing this collaborative album and I would've been just fine. "Naturally" has earned every bit of an oh no from me.




Best Joints: Before Taxes Intro, Beats & Rhymes from March25 (Kick Styles), Almost Time, Thought About It, BreakDown, Corners, The UP&UP, Close, Fine, Lunchin', Native, Memory, The Rock, In The Reign, MmHmm and Brainwash

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: Last week we got beat in the head with DMV supergroup Diamond District's "In The Ruff" LP. This week 1/3rd of Diamond District decided to expand on his "Before Taxes EP" and make it an LP. You add yU's verses to production from The 1978ers (Slimkat78 & yU), Oddisee, Kev Brown & Bilal Salaam and guest appearances from the DMV crews Low Budget and The Remainz plus Grap Luva and Finale and the end result is another ridiculous free album.

I played this jawn to death this past week. I feel asleep playing it and woke up just to play it again from the beginning in the morning! I give "Before Taxes" a mos def. Good lookin' out to my boy Kenny Fresh @ Fresh Selects for putting us all on!





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, Son Of Chico Dusty
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
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
Statik Selektah-The Hangover


The NBA...where amazing happens © NBA Entertainment

One.

Dart Adams presents The State Of The Celtics Address: The NBA Playoffs Edition

The Boston Celtics managed to finish the NBA season with a 62-20 despite the fact that they were without starters and defensive anchors Kevin Garnett (25 games) and Kendrick Perkins (6 games) for significant times during which the Celtics had two winning streaks of 18 and 12 games. They were also without key reserves Tony Allen (36 games), Brian Scalabrine (30 games), Leon Powe (12 games) and Glen Davis (6 games) for significant stretches. The Celtics played much of both winning streaks shorthanded as they didn't even add Mikki Moore and Stephon Marbury until the end of February. Brian Scalabrine and Glen Davis both had to fill in as starters...the Celtics still won regardless.

The sad fact is that Doc Rivers came in 9th in Coach Of The Year voting...that's absolute bullshit. You can't tell me that a team that was without it's biggest reserve from last season (James Posey) and missed significant time from starters and key reserves would end up with only 4 fewer wins than the previous season. Keep in mind that this same team managed two month long wins streaks with key players missing! They did have a rough patch after the All Star Game but they finished the season with a 17-8 record in their last 25 games. The Celtics also had horrible showing during national games with all eyes on them so only Bostonians/New Englanders really knew what they were capable of.

They Celtics have said all season long that the only thing that matters is the playoffs and defending the championship. They maintain that they'll show up to play when it's all on the line but often during the season they'll refrain from attacking and playing aggressively, instead settling for playing halfcourt basketball instead of moving the ball. This is when they get in trouble. It's bad enough that every opponent they play gets up for the game since they're the defending NBA champions and a win against them can make your entire season. When you have the bullseye on your chest, you can't afford to not show up. Game 1 of the NBA playoffs the Celtics did just that. The end result? They suffered an embarassing overtime loss on their home court.

The Celtics were officially dead according to every NBA expert or analyst. Sure Rajon Rondo had a great game but he couldn't stop Derrick Rose (36 points, 10 assists in Game 1) from penetrating. Kendrick "The Hulk" Perkins stepped his game up significantly but he allowed Joakim Noah to grab 17 rebounds on him. Sure Glen "Big Baby" Davis filled in admirably for Kevin Garnett but way too many defensive lapses happened and the Bulls got to the hole way too easily. Paul Pierce had a sub par game and Ray Allen was the Invisible Man. The Celtics learned that if they wanted to win this series it wouldn't be had to them...they had to play well on both sides of the ball and dictate the tempo rather than the other way around.

Kevin Garnett isn't playing. Throw it out of your minds. The Celtics have won without Kevin Garnett before. They have a pretty good record with out him over the past 2 seasons. The question is whether or not they can win an NBA championship without a healthy Kevin Garnett. As we all know, the answer is no. The Celtics have to just go ahead and play their asses off every time they step on the court to have a legitimate shot at winning basketball games. They need to push the ball up the court, they need to play defense, they need to rebound and then move the ball on offense. When the Boston Celtics do these things they become Super Saiyans. When they don't, they become Super Sonics (non existant).

The Boston Celtics showed up to play for many more stretches than they did in Game 1 in the following contest. Rajon Rondo came out firing like he did in the previous game and Kendrick "The Hulk" Perkins and Glen "Big Baby" Davis dominated the paint early. Boston jumped out to a 15 -2 rebounding edge before Hulk sat with his second foul. The game went back and forth and Chicago went up 61-58 at the half. Ray Allen transformed to Jesus Shuttlesworth in the second half and scored 28 points on 6 3 pointers. Ben Gordon was unstoppable that same night, scoring 42 points of his own and tying the game. Ray Allen's final three of the night was the game winner as the Celtics won 118-115 and tied the series, 1-1.

Game 3 happened in Chicago's United Center and it was truly a tale of two cities. The Boston Celtics jumped out to a lead behind Paul Pierce's 13 first quarter points. Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen and Glen Davis helped to double the lead from 11 at the end of one to 22 at the half. The game was never in doubt as the Celtics dominated at both ends of the court and won going away 107-86, took a 2-1 series lead and regained home court advantage. Paul Pierce dropped in 24, Rajon Rondo scored 20 and Ray Allen had 18 points. Stephon Marbury contributed 13 points and 5 assists off the bench and Eddie House scored 8. Things were clicking on all cyclinders and the rumors of the Boston Celtics' demise were greatly exaggerated.

Kendrick "The Hulk" Perkins has certainly stepped up his game in the playoffs. He's looking for his shots, sealing off his man, grabbing offensive rebounds, blocking shots and scoring in the paint. He's averaging 12 ppg 9 rpg and 2 bpg while shooting 64% from the field. Fellow big man Glen "Big Baby" Davis has exploded for 19 ppg 7 rpg 2 bpg and 2 spg while shooting 48% from the field. Rajon Rondo has absolutely dominated the series by averaging a triple double (23 ppg 11 rpg 10 apg and 4 spg) and shooting 50% from the field. While these players are the catalysts for the Celtics' success, the vets are ones that knock down the clutch shots and free throws at the end of the games (except for Game 1).

Paul Pierce (22 ppg 5 rpg) is shooting 45% from the field and 45% on 3 pointers. Had he hit that free throw at the end of Game 1, we might be watching the possible close out game in Chicago on Sunday afternoon. Ray Allen had an atrocious Game 1 but scored 30 and 18 in the following games to raise his playoff averages (17 ppg 1.7 spg), he's also shooting 45% from behind the arc and 11-11 from the charity stripe. After Derrick Rose scored 36 he's only managed to average 10 ppg in the next two games and after Ben Gordon dropped 42 in Game 2 he could only manage 15 the following contest. Game 4 is huge and it'll be a hard fought match. Either way: Never underestimate the heart of a champion! © Rudy Tomjanovich

One.

Dart Adams presents 25 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 and it ends up gaining favor with people that rent them through Netflix or Redbox. I recently listed another 50 back in February No matter how you cut it, I've featured hundreds of films throughout the 27 month run of Poisonous Paragraphs. Why not add 25 more then? I don't see why not. Let's get it in:



Dead Man's Shoes (2004)


Baadasssss! (2004)


Lords Of Dogtown (2005)


Nomad (2005)


Favela Rising (2005)


Home Of The Brave (2006)


The Rebel (2006)


Baby (2007)

The Take (2007)


Charlie Bartlett (2007)


Protege (2007)


Battle In Seattle (2007)


Killshot (2007)


Nobel Son (2008)


Waltz With Bashir (2008)


The Brothers Bloom (2008)


Medicine For Melancholy (2008)


Appaloosa (2008)


Chocolate (2008)


Blindness (2008)


Choke (2008)


The Hurt Locker (2008)


Sleep Dealer (2008)


Ong Bak 2 (2008)


B13: Ultimatum (2009)


One.

April Films Bring July DVD's AKA Dartflix Edition #55

April has not been a good month for films so far. "12 Rounds", "Adventureland", "Sugar", "Gigantic", "Observe And Report", "Dragonball Evolution" and "Crank 2: High Voltage" have all been released and have managed to fare rather badly at the box office so far this month for various reasons while really crappy flicks have dominated at the box office for the most part. This means that a lot of films will be out of theaters and on their way to your local mailbox via Netflix, Redbox or local Blockbuster (who are in trouble BTW) circa this July.

Since the quality independent films are already slated to come out on DVD this summer that means a shorter wait to see "Lymelife", "Sleep Dealer" and "American Violet". Since "State Of Play" has actually managed to find an audience it might not be released until August or so. Either way, these are the films that I'm actually looking forward to seeing . Add to that list "Tyson", "The Soloist" and I'm kinda intrigued about "The Informers" which could potentially go either way as well.


Right now, flicks like "Hanna Montana: The Movie" and the Zac Efron vehicle "17 Again" rule the box office and on Friday "Fighting" and "Obsessed" both open. I don't really expect either film to do well out of the gate and they both might just flop in their opening weekends. That'll just mean more titles available come July or August for me. Enough of my complaining about the quality of films currently in theaters and let's get to my recommendations already!


Films I recommend in theaters (4.15.09-4.30.09) or to add to your queue early or for rental from either Netflix or Redbox:

State Of Play
Sleep Dealer
American Violet
The Soloist
Tyson
Lymelife
The Informers
Caprica
The Wrestler
Frost/Nixon
Notorious (Three Disc Edition)
My Own Worst Enemy: The Complete Series
Genghis Khan: To The Ends Of The Earth & Sea (Special Edition)
UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008
Ghost Train
Martyrs (Unrated)
The Hit
Johnny Got His Gun
What Doesn't Kill You
The Price Of Sugar
Empire Of Passion
While She Was Out
H-2 Worker
Wolverine And The X-Men: Heroes Return Trilogy (animated)
Tiny Toon Adventures: Season 1, Vol. 2 (animated)
Freakazoid!: Season 2 (animated)
X-Men, Vol. 1 & 2 (Marvel DVD Comic Book Collection) (animated)
Spectacular Spider-Man, Vol. 4 (animated)
American Dad!, Vol. 4 (animated)
The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (animated)
InuYasha: The Seventh Season (anime)
Moonlight Mile-The Complete First Season (anime)
Sin City [Blu-Ray]
Wages Of Fear [Blu-Ray]
Pulling: The Complete First Season (series)
As The Technics Spin (music documentary)
Ron White: Behavioral Problems (comedy special)
Fast & Furious
Observe And Report
Adventureland
The Escapist
Gigantic
Duplicity
I Love You, Man
Quantum Of Solace
Slumdog Millionaire
Seven Pounds
Watchmen: Tales Of The Black Freighter & Under The Hood
The IT Crowd: The Complete Season One (series)
Elegy
Special
Timecrimes
Watchmen
Tokyo!
The Horsemen
Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic
Battle In Seattle
Cadillac Records
Rachel Getting Married
Milk
Sunshine Cleaning
50 Dead Men Walking
Transporter 3
B13: Ultimatum
Role Models
Synecdoche, New York
Let The Right One In
Quarantine
Changeling
Religulous
Choke
Body Of Lies
Flash Of Genius
Midnight Meat Train
What Just Happened?
Sex Drive
Protege
Push
The International
Friday The 13th
Gomorrah
Zach And Miri Make A Porno
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
Afro Samurai: Resurrection-Director's Cut
W.
Blindness
Chocolate
A Good Day To Be Black & Sexy
Killshot
Taken
The Class
RocknRolla
Henry Poole Is Here
Defiance
The Wackness
Appaloosa
The Wrestler
The Brothers Bloom
Seven Pounds
Valkyrie
Revolutionary Road
Waltz With Bashir
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Burn After Reading
Towel Head
Baby
Nobel Son
Frost/Nixon
Hancock (Unrated Edition)
Gonzo: The Life & Work Of Hunter S. Thompson
Planet B-Boy
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):

State Of Play
Sleep Dealer
American Violet
The Soloist
Tyson
The Informers
Lymelife
Caprica
The Wrestler
Frost/Nixon
Wolverine And The X-Men: Heroes Return Trilogy (animated)
Tiny Toon Adventures: Season 1, Vol. 2 (animated)
Freakazoid!: Season 2 (animated)
X-Men, Vol. 1 & 2 (Marvel DVD Comic Book Collection) (animated)
Spectacular Spider-Man, Vol. 4 (animated)
American Dad!, Vol. 4 (animated)
InuYasha: The Seventh Season (anime)
Sin City [Blu-Ray]
The Price Of Sugar
H-2 Worker

Rent/Watch these movies at your own risk:

X-Men Trilogy [Blu-Ray]: Watch the X-Men films get progressively worse while they butcher the source material...this time in Blu-Ray!
Squidbillies, Vol. 2: Minya, this Squidbillies shit is retarded! © Cam'ron (sorta)
Bride Wars: You almost had me...Kate Hudson AND Anne Hathaway in the same flick? Nice try, though.
Hotel For Dogs: Minya, this Hotel For Dogs shit is retarded! © Cam'ron (kinda)
The Da Vinci Code [Blu-Ray]: The book was better. The book in Blu-Ray would be incredible! This movie, however sucks balls (no Annie Cruz)
The Uninvited: Pro: Elizabeth Banks was absolutely hilarious in this Con: This was a horror film and NOT a comedy.
17 Again: Minya, this Zac Efron shit is retarded! © Cam'ron (kinda sorta)
Obsessed: "90210" has taught us all that a Black man's penis can drive a White girl crazy. In this film, he didn't even get to stick it in yet! (allegedly).
Fighting: Minya, this Channing Tatum shit is retarded! © Cam'ron (beating a dead horse with another 1/2 dead horse until THAT horse is dead too)


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


One.

Dart Adams presents 6 Slept On Cartoons (The Oldhead Edition)

I'm doing another goddamn list today. Why? Because I fuckin' feel like it. See, that's the inherent beauty of a blog/blogging. I can wake up in the morning and write about whatever I feel like. Then I go to other people's blogs and read what they in turn felt like writing about. Let's keep it this way and not regurgitate what news or post the new hot YouTube/Vimeo/Vimby/Dailymotion/OnSmash/World Star Hip Hop video of the day. That being said, here are six (of many) slept on cartoons I just felt about writing about. Enjoy:


Spartakus And The Sun Beneath The Sea (1985-1987 on Nickelodeon)


"Spartakus And The Sun Beneath The Sea" was a French cartoon that starred a former gladiator who protected the siblings Matt and Rebecca who travel with an artificial girl named Arkana. They're on a mission to save Arkana, a city that's deep underground and powered by an artificial sun that's dying. This show ran for 52 episodes and was one of Nickelodeon's first animated shows. Nowadays, no one remembers it except for oldheads like myself. I can't remember exactly how they ended up saving Arkana anymore. The entire series is on DVD and I could catch up easily as this show is huge in Europe and overseas.



Jayce And The Wheeled Warriors (1985-86 in syndication)

"Jayce And The Wheeled Warriors" was a show about a group called The Lightning League that fought a gang of evil mutated vegetable-like plants called The Monster Minds. The show ran for 65 episodes and was weird because unlike other programs, they didn't resolve the series at the end. The producers were banking on the show and the toys taking off but neither could make a dent in the market as Transformers, G.I. Joe, MASK, He-Man & The Masters Of The Universe, ThunderCats, Voltron & Robotech dominated the ratings and toy sales in North America. Few people ever remembered that Jayce never found his father Audric or defeated his enemy Saw Boss.

The entire 65 episode run has recently been released on DVD so adults that remember the series (or don't) can see it and/or play it for their kids. The show featured some Mad Max type vehicles, a decent amount of violence, low corniness ratio and it had excellent animation. Too bad it got lost in the mix at the height of the 80's cartoon and toys boom. Some episodes can be seen here



Galtar And The Golden Lance (1985-86 in syndication)

This Hanna/Barbera cartoon was pretty much a re-imagining of the popular series "Thundarr The Barbarian". It starred Galtar, the possesor of the Golden Lance and his traveling partners Princess Goletta and her younger brother Zorn. She had magical powers and her little brother was a telekenetic with a boomerang that could break into smaller sections and reform. They fought to overthrow the tyrant Tormack who recently usurped the throne and took over the kingdom of Bandisar. It had a short run on "The Funtastic World Of Hanna-Barbera" of only 21 episodes that aren't yet on DVD but you can see some episodes here to jog your memories.




Ulysses 31 (1986-87 in syndication)

The French and the Japanese got together back in 1981 and produced a 26 episode animated series based on Homer's Odyssey. Ulysses and his crew killed a Cyclops go the space Gods forced his crew into a deep sleep and erased his families memories so he doesn't remember the way back to Earth. He's forced to rely on his son Telemachus and his friends Numinor and Yumi, telepaths saved from the Cyclops by Ulysses.

He also uses Nono, his son's robot to aid him in missions as they travel space in their ship called The Odyssey. They eventually find home after going through trials that were based on many of Oddyseus' same adventures. This show was on a little seen syndicated weekend cartoon show called "Kideo TV" and it never aired again on American TV afterwards so I haven't seen this show in more than 20 years. That is until now



The Mysterious Cities Of Gold (1986-90 on Nickelodeon)

This 39 episode show was off the hook storywise, it starred a Spanish kid named Esteban who had the power to make the Sun come out any time he wanted, an Incan girl named Zia and an orphan named Tao from the sunken kingdom of Hiva (Mu). They had a golden bird that was solar powered that they traveled the world in seeking the lost cities of gold and hoping to find Esteban and Zia's parents. If you watched this show as a kid thinking you'd learn about world history you'd be sorely mistaken. This show went through it's full run quite a few times during it's long residence on Nickelodeon. There's a live action film in the works so the entire series was just released on DVD recently. A couple can be seen here


The Pirates Of Dark Water (1991-93 in syndication)

This series started out on network television then got cancelled. Then it was picked up for syndication and went through serious production delays on several occasions. At the end of it's run it was on television for 3 season that only spanned 21 episodes (5 episodes the 1st season, 8 the 2nd season and 8 the 3rd). Hanna Barbera and Turner Entertainment could never get their shit together to finish what became a cult favorite cartoon series but they sure did a hell of a job in marketing it! It had a Marvel Comic, merchandise, a role playing game based on it and a video game...but it was never finished!

Ren was the Prince Of Octopon, one of the grandest Kingdoms on the planet Mer. It's now being covered by Dark Water but he's given tools that can rid the world of Dark Water provided he finds the 13 lost treasures of Rule. He's joined on his mission by Ioz (think Han Solo) and Tula (think Princess Leia) but they're pirates instead. They fight off Bloth as he tries to acquire the 13 Treasures Of Rule for himself to keep the Dark Water around as it aids him in his quest to take over Mer. The show still hasn't been released on DVD but some episodes can be seen here



Cadillacs And Dinosaurs (1993-94 on CBS)

This cartoon had a short but memorable run of only 13 episodes on network television but it was based on the cult favorite comic book series "Xenozioc Tales" by Mark Schultz. His main characters Jack Tenrec and Hannah Dundee lived in a post apocalyptic world where natural disasters and wars plunged the Earth back into a resurgent dinosaur age. He restored old Cadillac's in a garage he runs and fuels them on dinosaur guano. He and Hannah find ways to survive in the new world along with a few pals.

"Cadillacs and Dinosaurs" became a videogame as well as a roleplaying game and the comic book series ran for almost 12 years. The cartoon has been all but forgotten about and hasn't been re-aired in the 15 years since it stopped being showed. Thank God for YouTube!


Jim Lee's Wild C.A.T.S (Covert Action Teams) (1994-95 on CBS)

Jim Lee and Brandon Choi created one of the iconic comic book titles of the 90's at Image Comics when they premiered "Wild C.A.T.S". In a short time, the issues were flying off the shelves and companies wanted to capitalize on the whole comic book boom of the 90's. They decided to license a gang of merchandise (toys, video games, T shirts, etc.) to get paid including a cartoon series to air on network television. Problem is that the storylines were watered down significantly and the dialogue was laughable. The cartoon clearly was aimed at young children and tweens..."Wild C.A.T.S" fans didn't watch past the first few episodes and viewership was low so it's time slot moved around a few times in different markets.

Another issue was that people unfamiliar with the original source material thought it was a rip-off of "X-Men" (which was thriving in syndication) and didn't take it seriously. Another issue was that some episodes just looked like xrap and the animations quality seemed to slack off sometimes. That's not common in animated series' that are so short. The 13 episode run ended and it did land a few places in syndication but it never caught on. After 15 years, Image Comics decided to release the entire run on DVD for fans that remember the cartoon and others that never saw it before. You might start laughing during the theme, though...check it out here

One.

What's New In Dart's iPod #74 AKA Deeper Than Rapping About College

This week was pretty damn exciting on the musical front. First, Asher Roth's album leaked and shortly afterwards so did Rick Ross'. The other huge news was the Diamond District LP was available online and Print's "Comic Books: Unlimited" mixtape finally dropped. I remember back last year when my boy Yellow Rebel first put me on to Print. The NBA Playoffs start tomorrow afternoon and the Celtics are minus Kevin Garnett so a gang of fairweather fans are selling their tickets...you assholes are the worst!

They're playing the goddamn Chicago Bulls, people...Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman will NOT be in the starting lineup on Saturday! I hope you all contract colon cancer or the Ebola virus. Congrats to the Bruins...too bad I don't even know when you play until I hear people celebrating when they leave the train station!

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: Asher Roth "Asleep In The Bread Aisle", Bloody Monk Consortium "Forged In Blood EP", Diamond District "In The Ruff", El Michels Affair "Enter The 37th Chamber", Print "Comic Books: Unlimited" and Rick Ross "Deeper Than Rap". 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.

I played the new Asher Roth CD in my car and my friend asks me "Is this the new Eminem"? © Cannot find original quote on Twitter. Hit me up for credit


Best Joints: Lark On My Go-Kart, Blunt Cruisin', La Di Da, As I Em, Lion's Roar, His Dream and Fallin' (borderline)

Hot Garbage: I Love College (I hate this song *Hey!*), Be My Myself (meh), She Don't Wanna Man (meh), Sour Patch Kids (meh) and Bad Day (formulaic as fuck!),

Dart's Take: This album does not suck...far from it. The tracks that work are well made and the production for the most part is on point. The problem lies in when the album obviously tries to appeal to a certain market and get "cute" or non threatening. Those tracks failed worse than Young Berg when he gets on Twitter...or leaves the house...or wakes up in the morning (I'm sure you all get the picture).

Your head will be nodding on one track and and on the next one you'll be making a stinkface...the BAD one. The "what the fuck is this?" version. Then you'll be back to the head noddin' until you get to another skippable track. This is NOT a classic LP while it might be to some on 4.20 (being high impairs your judgement, after all). I give this album a maybe. It's good enough to earn a spot in my iTunes, but I'll be playing Diz Gibran instead.





Best Joints: Choose Your Destiny, Enter the Shogun Executioner, Forged In Blood and Say Goodnight

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: If you went back to 1997 took the Wu Killa Bees, Jedi Mind Tricks, RA the Rugged Man and put them all in a time machine and brought them to 2009 with CA producer Lex Luger production to spit over this'll give you an idea of what to expect from this project. Raw beats, rough rhymes and tracks that all float around 3:00 of straight up verbal murder. I give the Bloody Monk Consortium "Forged In Blood" EP a recommended maybe. I'm looking forward to hearing more in the near future. Check out their MySpace page here




Best Joints: Intro, Streets Wont Let Me Chill, Who I Be, Back To Basics, I Mean Business, Get In Line, In The Ruff, The Shining, The District, Make It Clear, Off The Late Night, Let Me Explain and First Time

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: Diamond District consists of some of the rawest emcees from the DMV (D.C./Maryland/Virginia), namely Oddissee, X.O. & YU. The production was handled by Oddissee and each track is perfectly crafted and the trio murder each track. This jawn bangs hard [II] and there isn't a weak moment to be found on this entire project. I played it 4x in a row after I first downloaded it. It's looking like a potential early contender for Album Of The Year...I give "In The Ruff" a mos def. Download it now




Best Joints: Duel of the Iron Mics, C.R.E.A.M., Mystery of Chessboxin', Can it All Be So Simple, Uzi (Pinky Ring), Glaciers of Ice, Cherchez La Ghost, Criminology, Heaven and Hell, Bring Da Ruckus, Protect Ya Neck, Incarcerated Scarfaces and Shimmy Shimmy Ya

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: El Michel Affair is a well known and highly regarded Hip Hop band/ensemble that creates gorgeous and lush instrumental arrangements that emcees spit on and vocalists have blessed since 2001/2. If you've never heard any of their excellent previous work you need to at the very least find their classic 2006 release "Sounding Out The City". As far as this project goes, it's not a straight note for note replay of RZA's classic works as that would be cornball. They instead use the beats as a skeleton and reinterpret them through instrumentation. The result is one hell of a walking around album for your iPod/Zune or MP3 player of choice.

The El Michels reworking of classic jawns like "C.R.E.A.M", "Glaciers Of Ice", "Criminology", "Protect Ya Neck", etc. made me wanna skydive from a plane in transit directly into shark filled waters armed with nothing but my wits and a fork. If THESE tracks are on repeat, I guarantee you I'd make it out alive and unscathed. I give "Enter The 37th Chamber" another mos def.




Best Joints: Unlimited, Jor-Els Song, Live On Arrival, Who Am I, First Edition, Lana Lang, Superman Is Alive, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Ridin' High, Save the Cheerleader, Save the World, Metropolis Gotham, Harlem River Drive, Super Friends, Lois Lane, Phantom Zone, Heroes Tale, Red Kryptonite, Lite Speed, Bizarro World and New Kryptonite

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: I first heard the early version of this mixtape entitled "Comic Books: Book I" through my fellow blogger Yellow Rebel who shot it to me a while back. I thought it was crazy already but Yellow Rebel told me that Print was gonna go back into the lab and rework it then he was gonna tweak it and re-release it in Spring 2009. I was like how much better can you make it? Well, it did go from crazy to ridiculous so well done, Print.

Sometimes his flow is reminiscent of mixtape era Lupe Fiasco and the way he takes the themes and storylines of comic books (in particular Superman) and relate them to real life, humanize them and make concise songs out of them is admirable. "Super Friends" is a 10+ minute posse track featuring some of the best underground emcees in the game today taking on superhero identities that they rhymed as...bananas! (no Miss Rissa). I give "Comic Books: Unlimited" a highly recommended maybe. Download it here





Best Joints: Mafia Music, Maybach Music 2, Magnificent, Yacht Club, Usual Suspects, Rich Off Cocaine (what an ig'nant ass song title...Fuck you Rawse!), Murda Mami, Gunplay, Valley Of Death and In Cold Blood

Hot Garbage: All I Really Want, Lay Back (WTF is this bullshit?), Bossy Lady (WTF is THIS bullshit?), Face (This is bullshit!)

Dart's Take: Rawse stepped up his bars on this album and his production was pretty impressive but him rapping about being rich as fuck off of selling cocaine just irks the fuck outta me. It's a recession and people are broke and losing their homes and jobs everywhere you look...think it's a good idea to rap about material wealth, Maybachs and yacht clubs, Rawse? Really? Then again, why do I care? The beats were ridiculous and that's all that matters!

The formulaic songs were all fails like Cassie trying to read a teleprompter. What really irked me about this album? If Rawse is capable of tracks like "Valley Of Death" and "In Cold Blood" then why make watered down bullshit like "All I Really Want", "Lay Back" and "Bossy Lady"? All in all this album is a perfect major label release and it's primed to move units. Too bad I took the red pill and that bullshit doesn't work on me, though. I give "Deeper Than Rap" a maybe because it's obviously not wack...it'll prolly last another month or so in my iTunes before I erase it.




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, Son Of Chico Dusty
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
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
Eminem-The Relapse & Relapse 2
Statik Selektah-The Hangover
Cage-Depart From Me

Fuck! © Taylor Negron

One.

Dart Adams presents 8 More Hip Hop Related Films/Documentaries

Earlier on this year I did a couple of blogs were I highlighted a gang of my favorite Hip Hop documentaries and concert films. While I featured a great number of great DVD's in those lists, I neglected these 8 Hip Hop related films and documentaries. I'm gonna follow this up with another list showcasing 25 of my favorite cult films sometime next week. Look for it! Without any further ado..In order to make up for my previous oversight I present to you all, 8 more Hip Hop related films/documentaries:


5 Sides Of A Coin (2003)



Piece By Piece (2004)



Infamy (2005)




Bomb It (2007)


Planet B-Boy (2007)




Decon presents Fresh Rhymes & Videotape (2008)




DJ Dusk's Root Down Soundclash (2008)



As The Technics Spin (2009)


One.

Dart Adams presents Please Listen To My Demo © EPMD (Revisited)

I've mentioned it quite a few times but back in the days I used to be an emcee. I was actually kinda nice with it and I used to regularly win impromptu freestyle battles at several train stations all over the Boston Metro area (Orange, Green and Red Lines) and Downtown Crossing between the years of 1989-1996. I was like a Hip Hop monk, constantly studying and listening to different styles to try to perfect one of my very own. During my formative years, I often began to sound a bit too much like my influences leading me to try to come up with an unfuckwittable style that would make me go down in emcee history. I filled up notebook after notebook with rhymes.

My younger brother, Buctayla was in a group that was really huge in Boston between 1993-1995 called Relentless. They had several songs on the radio, did shows all over and they even opened for the Wu Tang Clan when they did that infamous Strand Theater show in Boston back when they first came out and brought a busload of thugs with them from Staten Island. Labels didn't want to sign them because they wrote their own rhymes (and knew what publishing was), produced their own beats (and knew what the going rates for production/budgets were) and they wouldn't go for having the A&R's tell them to go for a different look or sound. They weren't receptive to having a choreographer, ghostwriters or sign a recording deal where they got jerked.

Relentless was a rareity, they were young teenagers that grew up around the industry and read every trade magazine, knew liner notes by heart and knew who to talk to, how to network and they knew their way around a studio. They had 5 or 6 self produced singles that they did the pre production and finishing in professional studios themselves. They got themselves on the radio and managers went looking for THEM, not the other way around. These cats were doing shows all around New England based on their own music and drive. I've never seen a unsigned group with NO physical product have a signing at record stores before but they did it. They designed their own gear for God's sake! They got with management and were pitched to many labels, they went to New York a lot and had a lot of meetings. No deals were forthcoming.

After several labels courted them and then passed for different reasons over the years, Relentless eventually broke up and some members went solo. In 1996, Buctayla and Nasarok formed a new group called the Realm Organization (Relentless Everlasting Analyzing Life's Meaning) and I came back from college at Morgan State and decided to stop bullshitting and try to "get signed". We pooled all of our collective resources and formed an indie label called Xtensive Nterprises Recordings (so as not to be sued by Hasbro or Sunbow Productions) and recorded our own tracks. Buctayla and Cardi both did production and we cranked out hella 4 track and professional studio recordings between the years of 1996-1999 (Perry from CyberSounds Studios remembers us!)

After I got my "severance" pay from Tower Records, we upgraded our studio setup again and Buctayla had bought a DAT machine, a Tascam 8 track recorder and a brand new sequencer. We had that sweet setup for a while and were planning to release some indie 12"s under our own XNR Inc. label before the vote against rent control and gentrification ran us out of our home of 24 years in 1999. Another big blow came when I was going to submit my solo demo to DJ Bruno of Biscuithead Records and ask his advance about trying to lobby for a Fat Beats store in Boston when he broke down the financial situation with Biscuithead Records and why Fat Beats had to close one of their recent expanded locations. No deal and a dead dream of having my own store.

After we evicted from our home @ 487 Mass. Ave where our original studio was, we bounced around for a while before finally settling in to the home we have know. Our crew splintered and several of them moved to other spots and our boy DYS got locked up. I was busy working 100 hours every two weeks at Tower Records. I also missed it by working my ass off at Hip Zepi USA, a dilapidated theater, Newbury Comics, CD Spins and overnights cleaning oven hoods and other wild shit for under the table money.

By 2002, it was just myself, Buctayla and Cardi left in Boston. I retired from trying to be an emcee back in 2006. I missed my chances back when I actually could've got on and when the indie/Backpack Era was kicking. I remembered all of those cats that my peoples did shows with that complained about being screwed by their labels...all the ones we were hoping to get deals with or showed us any interest. When all of the Rawkus artists sued for non payment of royalties in 2000, I was like "Fuck!". I had to keep my day/night jobs. I NEED to stay paid!

After 9/11 happened I knew that my career would never really jump off the way I'd hoped. Our boy KT was in Vibe and Stress as well as the Blaze Battle and he was getting money as a ghost writer. I did the ghostwriter thing for a while in Boston but I got bored with writing ignorant shit for dudes that didn't know there was only one "z" in the word "Uzi". Whenever I spit some shit that I thought was ill, it went over people's heads. Whenever I spit some shit that sounded like the mixtape bullshit that pervaded the market that's when people loved it. I was completely confused as an emcee between the years of 2002-2006. I had NO idea what the fuck was going on. I was so fed up with the game and hoping people "got" me or "caught" the obscure references in my rhymes. I was on some real "John L." shit (see Purple Rain if you don't get it) for a while.

I sent out my tracks to several DJ's and compilations and I kept getting responses like "Damn, this is dope!" You can spit!" "Unfortunately, it doesn't fit the format of our compilation". I got sick of being told "You got some rhymes, son!" which is "niggaspeak" for "You can rap your ass off but unfortunately you make that backpacker shit that I don't listen to!." I played myself and recorded some tracks that I normally wouldn't in hopes of getting placement on mixtapes or spins on podcasts and underground radio. I still wince @ some of those tracks cuz I really knew that wasn't me (though I did kill 'em).

I got so sick of being that dude that was posting up his tracks on different Hip Hop message boards (and reupping them constantly when no one commented) that I realized that I was part of the problem with Hip Hop myself. I quit posting up my songs everywhere and immediately retired from emceeing. The second I stopped trying to critique everyone because I was "better" than them things began to get better for me. I started writing on different message boards and bridging gaps between people rather than trying to convince them to listen to my new freestyle.

Here are a couple of Divshare uploads I made up from some of my old ass original 1999 Biscuithead demo tape that I was gonna submit to DJ Bruno before I got the bad news from him about the store and label ("Forever Real"& "Doom Generation '99"*) and some of my favorite tracks produced by my brother from 2002 ("Terror Rise", "Spit Fire" & "Spit Fire Rmx") before I was working overnight and as a manager at a local CVS wondering why I wasn't doing what I was supposed to be doing with my life (namely writing). One day my brother and I will go through the old 4 tracks and DAT's and release all the back catalog of demos from 1993-2006. Maybe this summer, I'll digitize all the old VHS footage as well. If they don't show up, then use Safari or go to my MySpace page where I've uploaded 'em, too.

*The reason 2007 is mentioned in the song is because we were doing an EP called "2007: The Rapture" as in in 2007 it would be the 10th anniversary of Xtensive Nterprises Recordings Inc. and we'd do our 10 year re-up/best of album on some Wu shit. The EP was never finished and it was scrapped in favor of the unreleased Realm Organization "Life Analysis" LP. One day...(what up, Nasarok?)

One.

Dart's Rant Of The Day: Rappers Just Ain't What They Used To Be

Recently a video has surfaced online featuring Mos Def challenging Lil' Wayne and Jay-Z to a Pay Per View rap battle just because he feels he's that nice. A short time later via Twitter, AZ (@quietAZmoney) (who's new LP "Legendary" is forthcoming") left a message stating: lets be honest ! im better than 99% percent of these nigaazz!! ima start saying names shortly!!. Of course the internet was buzzing about the Mos Def video thinking that it was ridiculous for Mos Def to stay on video that he would battle any of the most famous emcees in the game. Of course, those of us that remember the old days know that every emcee worth their salt thought they was the best and would battle at the drop of a dime.

Mos Def came up in the game when the protocols, guidelines and the rules were mad different. You could be an ill emcee and your boy could be nice as well and you could say something to the effect of "I'm the nicest cat out here, bring me ANYONE and I'll roast their ass! Name anyone!". If called said his boy's name he'd respond "Him too!". His boy wouldn't think twice because if you're willing to put yourself out there to battle all comers you'll NEED to think that you're the greatest emcee in the world to be effective. Nowadays, a rapper wouldn't normally think of saying that! It's because we currently exist in an age where cats pride not being emcees and saying they're not rappers. That being the case, put the fuckin' mic down and go sell some crack in the trap.

Nas thought he was the illest. AZ thought he was the nicest. Every single member of the Wu Tang Clan thought they were the king of the mountain. Biggie thought he was the King Of New York. Jay-Z thought the city was his. D.O.C. once thought that he was the king of kings. Ice Cube thought he was Amerikka's most wanted. Big Punisher thought he was the first Latin rapper to ever baffle your skull. Black Thought thought that he was the ultimate Illadelph emcee. If you asked ANY of these cats if they thought anyone could fuck with them on the mic they'd say "Hell no!".


Imagine asking Ras Kass that question? Remember the scene in "The Show" when Kurupt was talking about how if anyone tried to say he wasn't ill what he'd do? "I'll serve 'em". The essence of the art of emceeing is competition just like any other discipline or sport. In order to survive in the face of top competition you have believe you're the nicest cat to ever step into a vocal booth or you won't be able convince anyone else of it. Keep that in mind next time someone says that no one can fuck with them on the mic. Do you think Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant or Paul Pierce don't think that same thing whenever they step on the court? So why wouldn't an emcee think the same way? In order to be great you must first envision or project greatness. Without belief in yourself the battle is lost before it ever even began.


One.

Death and Hip Hop aka R.I.P. Proof (Re-Up From 2006)

I woke up this morning and did my daily routine until my brother, Buctayla (I'm Poisonous Dart, I write the blogs) went online and told me that Proof of Detroit's D12 aka Dirty Dozen was shot and killed this morning. He was shot in the head and was pronounced Dead On Arrival at the hospital. I knew of Proof as a battle MC from the Hip Hop Shop era of Detroit. He was signed to Maurice Malone's local label back when I was managing the basement at the Hip Zepi at Downtown Crossing (1999). At the time Detroit was only known for Kid Rock, who experiencing a comeback at the time, Esham, who created a form of rap called "Acid Rap" that we better know as Horrorcore and he moved 100,000 units independently, and lastly the damn Insane Clown Posse. I was cheering for Proof to blow one day.

He competed in battles here and there, but he lead a new revolution in hip hop in Detroit because his city was gritty, rough and a place were hard work and manual labor were the order of the day...not much was thought of some cats that tried to be extra creative in that dreary environment. Out of that need for an outlet came the Hip Hop Shop and the movement that included Proof, Bugz, Slum Village, Eminem, Bizarre, Royce, Obie Trice, E- Dub, Trick Trick, Kon Artist. Swifty, Kuniva, Elzhi, Fat Kat, Que D, 5 Ela, Athletic Mic League, Binary Star and a host of other dope emcees who have come to influence hip hoppers the world over.

To this day when I hear a Swann, Elzhi, or Quest McCody murder a verse I think back to hearing old freestyle tapes in the back room at work when I managed the Tower Records on Newbury St. (1998). They spit with such hunger, like they were trying to make something out of nothing. Being from Boston, a city 220 miles from New York that doesn't even get recognized for having a thriving hip hop scene (forget that people STILL think that no minorities of any kind even live here!) I could relate to what they were doing. Around that same time this kid Eminem (who had appeared in The Source's Unsigned Hype section around that time) was making serious noise. Proof would talk about this guy any chance he got.

Heads figured he had to be ill...he ain't neva lied! Between Proof, Eminem, Bizarre (Bizarre Kid at the time), and Slum Village Detroit had a buzz going around the industry (1998/9). After Eminem's flurry of 12"s and his signing by Aftermath and the Bad Meets Evil single on Game featuring Royce the 5'9" it was on. After the Slum Village album dropped there was no going back.

The reason I made this blog is because as an emcee, it saddens me to know that there is yet another emcee that I/we admired and followed and rooted for to blow that we will never have a chance to meet and/or work with. I can never tell this cat that when he was grinding to put his city on the Hip Hop Map and his crew on the radar of The Industry, that we were listening to the tapes and reading the underground magazine interviews, etc. If Detroit blew, Boston had a chance to one day. Detroit was already known as Hitsville, U.S.A. but this was completely different, THIS WAS FOR HIP HOP.

Another reason I wrote this blog was because my grandfather had a saying "If you keep screaming for the Devil, he'll appear. If you keep asking for Death, he'll show up". In the event of 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G., they spoke about dying and being murdered repeatedly in their music. Next thing you know, they're both gone from the Earth. I remember the video for "Toy Soldiers" and how we were like "How come Proof is the one on the operating table that got shot in the video?" "I wouldn't even have gone there".

Now he's actually passed away and I hope NO ONE plays that damned video of "Toy Soldiers" as a tribute to his passing or for any other reason. There are so many emcees/DJ's and producers that passed that I get more and more depressed as I type their names: Jam Master Jay, Mausberg, Slang Ton, Big L, Freaky Tah, Q-Don, Big Pun, Pinkhouse, Poetic, J Dilla...it just seems I'm always saying "Rest In Peace" in reference to another hip hopper/emcee. It seems I have to do it again now. Damn.

Rest In Eternal Peace, Big Proof.

*This blog was originally written on April 11th, 2006 and posted on MySpace, BostonRap.com, BostonHipHopOnline.com, UndergroundHipHop.com, HipHopSite.com & HipHopDX*

One.

What's New In Dart's iPod #73 AKA What The Hell's Got Into Interscope?

By now I'm sure you've all heard the news that Aftermath/Interscope has dropped Bishop Lamont from the label. That being the case...who the hell is still left on Shady/Aftermath/Interscope? Obie Trice? Hot Rod? Ca$his? Spider Loc? Mazardi Fox? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Jimmy Iovine thinks that all he needs to do is sit on the Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, 50 Cent and then...Dr. Dre's "Detox" and he'll be back on top. He's so wrong. Eminem doesn't need to do the same ol' formulaic bullshit single like he did in the past. That being the case why'd he make that shitty lead single then? I Love College>>>>We Made You...and I abhor Asher Roth (but I love college *Hey!* I love women *Hey!*). Someone tell Jimmy and Dr. Dre to stop bullshittin and make better music...or better yet just release some!

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: Day 26 "Forever In A Day", Diz Gibran "Soon You'll Understand", Jon Hope "Somekind Of Wonderful", Newham Generals "Generally Speaking", Ras G 'The Brotha From Anotha Planet" and Rhymefest & Scram Jones "The Manual". 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.

No more bitchassness! © Diddy


Best Joints: Just Getting Started, Imma Put It On Her, Shawty Wats Up, Think Of Me, Stadium Music, Bipolar, Perfectly Blind, So Good, Girlfriend, Babymaker, Then There's You, Need That (Shaddup JD!), Reminds Me Of You, Your Heels and Truth Is A Lie.

Hot Garbage: Too many songs that anyone else could've made (J. Holiday, Bobby Valentino, T. Pain, Ray J, etc.). Too much AutoTune and extra vocal effects. Are people supposed to fuck to this on the Space Shuttle or something? What's with all the futuristic effects? *Looks around*

Dart's Take: This album is far from wack...it's just too damn overproduced to me. There's too many damn vocal effects and this album sounds too much like Timbaland/Danjahandz/The Clutch/The-Dream/T-Pain influenced the sound of it. My favorite tracks are the ones where it sounds like humans are singing ("Think Of Me", "Perfectly Blind", "Girlfriend" and "Reminds Me Of You"). Either way, there are plenty of songs for the radio and the club and this album could easily reach #1. It's not fuckin' with the better recent R&B albums that dropped in my opinion though (The-Dream annoys the fuck outta me BTW). I give it a maybe.





Best Joints: Welcome, Once Again, The Hardest Word, Exactly, Just Me, On It, The Greatness, Stereo, Impossible, Capital D, Run Around, City Lights, Morning Light, Calypso Flow, Truly Yours, New Religion and The Reunion

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: Goddamn! I say "Goddamn!" © Mia Wallace. This Diz Gibran mixtape is ridiculous from beginning to end production wise (shout out to Moonshine) and lyrically. There were a couple of tracks that earned early Song Of The Year consideration ("The Greatness" & "Impossible") and this album fell into the "I can't believe they gave this away for free" category along with the U-N-I & Ro Blvd LP from last week. If you haven't downloaded this mixtape yet and put it into your iPod or Zune *snicker!* then stop bullshittin' now and do so. This is one of the best made and most cohesive projects of this young year, I give Diz Gibran & Moonshine's "Soon You'll Understand" (please don't make Blu comparisons) a mos def (Shout out to Crooks & Castles!). Download it now





Best Joints: The Commencement, Better (AutoTune?), Utopia, Starbucks, Can't Turn My Back, What U Lookin' At and The Most Important Song Of My Life

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: Providence's own Jon Hope has been on my radar for minute given that he's from New England. He was first brought to my attention by D. Scribez and Statik Selektah years ago and I liked what I heard. Jon has since relocated to NY (hasn't everybody?) and released this free EP that sounds he's close to recording a full length album. He spits a lot of introspective lyrics about life, his experiences, the overall state of Hip Hop and his struggles in the industry coming out of Providence. He's nice with the wordplay and the flow and the production was on point with a lot of instrumentation and vocals (that means there's a fair amount of singing). I loved the whole jawn and I'm hoping his debut LP is dropping soon if this is a taste of what it will sound like. I give "Somekind Of Wonderful" a highly recommended maybe. Download this EP now.





Best Joints: Just Movin', Head Get Mangled, Dat's Normal, Supadupe (Ooah Ooah), Violence, Things I Do, Heard You Been Smokin', Mind Is A Gun, Douchebag and Haters

Hot Garbage: Bell Dem Slags and Pepper are both annoying as hell. Hatred was meh to me.

Dart's Take: For those of you that are completely unfamiliar with the long history of the Newham Generals (legendary Grime emcees D Double E and Footsie) that goes back to 2003. They've been on Dizzee Rascal's Dirtee Stank label since 2006 and it's been a three year plus wait for a proper album release (although they've dropped a gang of mixtapes and 12"s...even lost a member that became a Born Again Christian in Munk since). The time has finally come and the 13 track 45 minute opus is here. The sound is far more Grime than Dizzee Rascal's last disappointing release and the best tracks are the DnB circa '97ish sounding "Head Get Mangled" and "Mind Is A Gun". The more traditional Grime sound is prevalent on "Just Movin'", "Dat's Normal", "Supadupe (Ooah Ooah)", "Violence" and "Haters".

If you're unfamiliar with Grime than you should give this a listen or hit up any of the many Grime speciality sites online and check out the old pirate radio shows or live performances at clashes or raves to get an idea of why this album was so anticipated amongst Grime heads. I give this album a maybe but definitely check it out on iTunes or however way you find possible.





Best Joints: Dishwater, Earthly Matters, Penny's Confession, Shinelight, Eunice In White, Sun Behind the Clouds, Astrohood, Nothing But Change, In Coming, Come Down (2 Earth), Desert Fairy, Return From the Great Unknown and Alkebulan

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: Yeah, you know how I said that modern R&B to me often sounds like "space music"? Well Ras G's production ACTUALLY does sound like space music. Some people call it "spacebass", I try not to give it a name...I just like it. If you're not a fan of cats from the Brainfeeder/Soundclash/Beat Culture circuit than chances are this instrumental project will sound like noise to you and you'll be waiting for the "beat" to start half the time. I have his previous releases "Ghetto Sci Fi" and "Beats Of Mind" already so if you're a fan you should definitely pick up "Brotha From Anotha Planet" as well. If you're curious as to what Ras G's music sounds like, check him out online and especially YouTube. If you're not completely confused by what you've seen or heard check out one of his releases. I give this LP a recommended maybe.




Best Joints: Coolness, Native Tongue Medley Pts 1, 2 & 3, Deal's A Deal, Rhymefest vs Big Daddy Kane, Think About It!, Tender Thug (LMFAO!), SuperSonic, Pulls Me Back, Party 4 Free, Overpaid Lover, Exodus 5.1, Goin In' (Who wrote La's verse?), Memory Lane, Rhyme Slow, Rhyme Quick, Prove Myself and RNQ

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: This is a ridiculous mixtape from Hip Hop veteran Rhymefest with a mix of new music and rhymes over classic beats (shout out to Scram Jones). I recommend that you download this mixtape from wherever you can find find it immediately. You'll smile, you'll laugh, you'll nod your head and you'll be waiting for "El Che" to finally drop (hopefully in June). I give "The Manual" a mos def. Download it now





Late Passes (For Doz Dat Slept...myself included):




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, Son Of Chico Dusty
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
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
Eminem-The Relapse & Relapse 2
Statik Selektah-The Hangover
Cage-Depart From Me

See! Everybodies in the comic book/graphic novel game now! How long before the Ray J comic book comes out called "Beware Of Danger"? Joe Quesada @ Marvel said earlier this week (via Twitter) that they've been completely inundated with writer submissions and the best way to get noticed by them or DC/Vertido, Top Cow, Dark Horse, etc. is to pretty much self publish your own comics or graphic novels and use them rather than submit pieces to them. Thank God for Twitter, huh? (When it's working, at least)

One.

Dart Adams presents WTR's Top 25 Beats Of All Time Vol. V (Poisonous Paragraphs Edition)

*This blog was originally posted by Eric @ When They Reminisce on August 18th, 2007*

Man O Man, as I was tellin' Trav (Wake Your Daughter Up) earlier today "Shit, I've had it maaad easy this week with all the contributions for the "Top 25 Beats" and whatnot.....all I've really had to do is "copy and paste". As our "Top 25 Beats" series is slowly coming to an end, it wouldn't be right if today's guest Dart Adams of Poisonous Paragraphs didn't pay "W.T.R." a visit and bless us with his collection of "True School" masterpieces. I was a late bloomer to some of Dart's work, not coming across his ill site until shortly after I starting "blogging". Dart's "Poisonous Paragraphs" is in my opinion, one of the dopest sites out there that isn't necessarily about Hip Hop all day everyday.

With a penchant for surprise, Dart has been known to break away from the norm...just a glance at his picks for his "Top 25" errr..."Top 40" only solidifies that. Evidence of this can also be found in Dart's "The Originators" series which detailed a list of some of Hip Hop's most important emcees. On that list was a vast array of microphone masters ranging from Greg Nice to Mellow Man Ace which in fact made me really dig Dart's work....simply because of his individuality and comprehension of every aspect in Hip Hop. Plus, dude puts in some serious work which pays off....he's an extremely talented writer who's interest span from Movies, to Comics, to Hip Hop!!! Once again folks, another installment in our "Top 25 Beats" series....Enjoy!


The 25 Greatest Hip Hop Beats According To Dart Adams (Poisonous Paragraphs):

"I was doing the rounds and visiting my favorite blogs to see/read what they’re doing when I see that Eric on "When They Reminisce" is featuring Top 25 Greatest Beats lists from some of the most respected bloggers in the bloggerverse. I thought to myself, “I guess I better get my list together, then.”I read the other lists and realized that there have been thousands of great cutting edge and creative beats made throughout the entire history of Hip Hop music and that all of the previously selected beats deserved praise.

In an effort to not post almost identical lists to my predecessors I decided to throw out my encyclopedic knowledge of what beat machine was used on what beat, who produced it using what technique, who engineered it, how’d they get the record and retell random legends about how 50 segments of a 2 inch reel were spliced together to make a beat 30 minutes before it had to be shipped to Frankford/Wayne for mastering. I decided to throw it all out and just pick 25 beats throughout Hip Hop history that truly define what a “ rap beat” is.Of course, I had to put some limits on my list. Why? Because if I didn’t it would consist of mostly DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor, 45 King, Marley Marl, RZA , Jay Dee and Dr. Dre beats (not one RZA beat made this list). I decided to in part cut off productions made past 1991 as the sampling technology and equipment that existed would’ve made this task damn near impossible for me to choose just 25 beats.

Think about all of the classic albums made between 1986 and now. Now think of all of the 12’ vinyl singles and obscure songs with ridiculous beats that have dropped between 1986 and now. Now, think of all of the great producers that have sprang up between 1991 and now. Given the amount of Hip Hop knowledge I have, how in the hell would I ever be able to narrow it down to just 25 joints? I’m gonna have to lay down some ground rules so I can actually do this.What was my criteria for choosing beats? Simple. I just closed my eyes and thought of the 25 beats that made B Boys, B Girls, emcees, DJ’s, party people and wall flowers alike all lose their muthafuckin’ minds when it first came on. I also wanted beats that made cats black out and rock a party all night long, too. Simple enough?

This list really wasn’t easy for me to compile. This is more like a Top 40 list due to the sheer amount of ties and songs I couldn’t leave off the list. I also didn’t write who produced each track because it would’ve raised some type of personal bias in me or I’d say “I already have enough beats from producer X, I need to add some beats from producer Y to balance the list out”. Fuck all that. Just the beat and just for the reasons I listed above. Besides, most of the people that are going to care enough to read this list are like me and already know who produced all of these tracks anyways (If not you can take this opportunity to discover the wonder that is the Google bar) Y’all kids tucked in? Yeah! Heeeeeere we go!"


1. "The Message"- Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
"What else would I have picked besides this beat as the one that defined what a great Hip Hop beat is?"

2. "Sucker M.C.’s/Rock Box (tie)"-Run DMC
"I couldn’t pick one over the other and I couldn’t put either of them at one because the greatest Hip Hop beat per my criteria deserves the top spot by itself. Either way, I couldn’t go wrong."

3. "Planet Rock"-Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force
"Planet Rock, it’s the sure shot! This beat, inspired by Kraftwerk’s “Trans Europe Express” brought Hip Hop music to people all across the world. I also loved “Lookin For The Perfect Beat” but it fell out of the list around #30."

4. "P.S.K. (What Does It Mean?)"-Schooly D
"When I think of mind blowing beats, this joint jumps into my head damn near immediately. The only other beats that jump in my head first occupying the top 3 spots of this list (Why do I assume that people are reading this backwards because I’m writing it backwards? They’re gonna read it from 1 to 25, in which case everything I just wrote in parenthesis makes me look like a moron...fuck it, I’ll leave it in)."

5. "You Gots Ta Chill"-EPMD
"If you seriously thought that this beat wasn’t going to be on the list then you clearly didn’t own a radio in 1987 or 1988. Relax your mind and let your conscience be free."

6. "Rebel Without A Pause"-Public Enemy/"The Bridge Is Over"-BDP (tie)
"I spent about an hour trying to reorganize this list from 1 to 5. After a lot of deliberation I determined that these two joints would be tied at number 6. I’m apparently the wrong person to make a Top 25 list because this always ends up happening when I make ‘em."

7. "Beat Bop"-Rammellzee Vs. K-Rob/"I Ain’t No Joke"-Eric B. & Rakim (tie)
"I couldn’t kick either of these off the list based on my criteria as both of these beats are among the Top 10 defining Hip Hop beats of all time. Yes Yes Y’all."

"8. Needle To The Groove"-Mantronix/"Play That Beat"-Pumpkin f/The Profile All Stars (tie)
"I could’ve also gone with “Fresh Is The Word”, as for “Play That Beat” this joint was bananas back in the early days. Not too many cats remember it now. This tie knocked off “The Manipulator” by Rockmaster Scott & The Tuntable Orchestra, another monster beat from the old days that heads forgot about."

9. "Girls/Girls Pt.2"- The B Boys/"South Bronx"-BDP (tie)
"The beat to “Girls” is one of those joints that just stands the test of time. I could play that instrument right now and it can stand alone. As for “South Bronx” I don’t know how you can hear that joint and not lose it like I did when I first heard it on the radio as a 6th grader. Memories."

10. "Bring The Noise"-Public Enemy/"Top Billin’"-Audio Two (tie)
"Now we come to the payoff. These two beats are legendary, one for being a sonic masterpiece and the other for being a rather simple drumbeat that hit like a meteor when it was amplified through speakers. What more can I say? “Top Billin'!"

11. "Rockin’ It"-Fearless 4/"It’s Yours"-T La Rock (tie)
"I was really gravitating toward beats that I heard over my lifetime that seemed to just scream out “RAP BEAT!” These two monster jams ended up tied at #11. That’s how deep this list is!

12. "Paul Revere"-Beastie Boys
"I pretty much flipped a coin between this, “Brass Monkey” and “Slow And Low”. Either way, I just couldn’t go wrong."

13. "Ego Trippin’"-Ultramagnetic MC’s/"I Know You Got Soul"-Eric B. & Rakim (tie)
"Classic material wall to wall!."

14. "Wrath Of My Madness"- Queen Latifah/"My Posse’s On Broadway"-Sir Mix A Lot
"This was the beat that ushered in the reign of Queen Latifah. On the other side “My Posse’s On Broadway” is one of the most ridiculous bass heavy tracks I ever heard. DJ’s used to play this track to showcase the bass levels on their systems...the cops usually showed up not too long afterwards."

15. "The Symphony"- Marley Marl f/The Juice Crew
"A posse jam has to have an ill beat to work...especially if that posse contains some of the greatest lyricists and emcees in the history of Hip Hop. ‘Nuff said."

16. "Roxanne, Roxanne"-UTFO
"This beat HAD to make the list somehow, someway. When I think of great rap beats, this is one of the first ones that springs to mind."

17. "Raw"- Big Daddy Kane
"If I need to explain to you why this beat is on this list then you really shouldn’t be reading it in the first place."

18. "Down By Law"-Fab 5 Freddy/"Subway Theme"-Wild Style OST (tie)
"These two beats helped to define what a dope beat was. Whether it was the club scene at the Dixie where the Cold Crush Brothers and the Fantastic Five battled each other over “Down By Law” or when Nas just played the “Subway Theme” to open his first album. Nod your head to this"

19. "Words I Manifest"-GangStarr/"It Takes Two"-Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock (tie)
"This GangStarr track alerted the Rap world that they were here to stay. “It Takes Two” used to get played every time the party seemed to die down back in the days...as soon as the needle dropped and people heard that intro folks lost their damn minds. Still do to this day."

20. "Straight Outta' Compton"- N.W.A.
"This beat was such a monster that it was impossible to front on. I used to stare at the speaker while it was playing sometimes because it was so damn powerful and aggressive."

21. "6 N’ Tha Mornin’"-Ice T
"This was an undeniable beat. As soon as it dropped you knew that it was going to change the way people viewed West Coast Rap."

22. "Funky Beat"-Whodini. This joint was the bomb plain and simple. Oooh Weee! Oooh Wee!

23. "Plug Tunin’"-De La Soul/"Teacher, Teacher"-Slick Rick (tie)
“Plug Tunin’” and “Potholes In My Lawn” pumped out of many a speaker back in the days. This Slick Rick joint along with “Lick The Balls” was the jam to blast from your car in the summer during the late 80’s. Ill beat."

24. "So What Cha Sayin’"-EPMD/"The Rhythm"-Kwame (tie)
"Another landmark EPMD beat. Why people continue to sleep on the sheer genius of this Kwame track is beyond me."

25. "Sally"-Stetsasonic/"Gittin’ Funky"-Kid N’ Play
“Sally” was one of the many songs off the “In Full Gear” album that people used to straight up spazz out to when it came on. Kid N’ Play had heads open with “Last Night”, but when folks heard “Do This My Way” they thought “Ok, that’s two joints”. With “Gittin’ Funky” there wasn’t a dry shirt left in the party."

That's it...you got it? I'm gone. One

Dart Adams presents WYDU's Interview With A Blogger V: The Dart Board

*This interview was conducted by Travis Glave of the world famous blog Wake Your Daughter Up and posted on his site on May 26th, 2008*

You thought it was over. You thought it was all done. Well you were wrong! After a half year hiatis, we here at WYDU track down your favorite bloggers and ask them seemingly ridiculous questions and pester them until they tell us to either go listen to Gerardo for the rest of our lives or they answer our silly questions just to shut us up.

Next in line is the man behind Poisonous Paragraphs and possibly the hardest working blogger in the game, Dart Adams. My first exposure to Dart was mainly him leaving comments on WYDU as long ago as early '06. I would then see him on Okayplayer threads with him dropping albums for the OKP's and linking my blog along with them, which I'm sure helped spread the notoriety of WYDU. But I didn't learn until later that was only half of Dart Adams, the legend. Dart has been a presence on the internet for quite awhile, posting his writings on myspace blogs, Allhiphop.com, Okayplayer and numerous other places. When Dart started his own blog, all the rest of us were put on notice, this cat meant business. There is not a better written blog out there, hands down. Dart is serious about this. And not only does he cover hip hop, but sports, comics, movies and whatever else maybe on his mind at the moment. Never one to hold anything back, he might ruffle some feathers, but fuck it, it's one of the reasons I have the utmost respect for the Poisonous one. He's been on my list of bloggers to interview since I started doing this almost a year ago, and it's finally here.......


WYDU: What is good? I'm with my man Dart Diggidy Adams, would you mind kickin' the ballistics and droppin' the 411 on who you are and what blog you represent for those living under a rock?

Dart Adams: I'm a dude from Boston who pretty much lives to write and my blog is called Poisonous Paragraphs.

W: Alright man, you cover soooooo many things on Poisonous Paragraphs that others often do not touch on, such as comic books, sports, movies, video games along with the "normal" hip hop fare found on other blogs. We will touch on each of those subjects, but first let's talk about the music, describe your first memories and how you got into hip-hop?

DA: I was pretty much born into it. My earliest memories go back to 1977/8 and I remember people playing records with breaks in 'em and people rappin' as far back as I have actual memories. I also remember it being a big deal when the new tapes came in from New York. The first time I heard Rap on the radio I was confused and feelings were mixed around me. Some people were happy that someone finally made a rap record, other were pissed it wasn't a better crew on the radio and others thought that records would kill Hip Hop and Rap. Sound familiar?

W: You've been involved in the culture as an MC in the past, how did that experience factor in to what you are doing in the present?

DA: Just in the "going back to the lab and come back fresher" aspect and the "don't bite" mentally. My experiences in the Hip Hop industry from being around my brother when he was dealing with shady labels in the early 90's and seeing how messed up the industry was from early Boston artists (New Edition, Picture Perfect, Tam Tam, Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs, Almighty R.S.O., Posse NFX, Not Your Average Girls/Phajja, Ruffa, etc.) that my family knew in the early 80's opened my eyes to a lot of things. I was reading liner notes and looking for names of writers, arrangers and publishers when I was six. It comes out in my writing now.

W: What made you want to spend half your free time doing a blog? How did you come up with your multi-faceted concept over covering the many different subjects that you do?

DA: The simple reason is that I've always been into a lot of different stuff growing up so it was natural. When I worked at Tower Records I was working on the Video/Books/Magazines and Music floors simultaneously and everyone who was looking for something came directly to me like I was a damn concierge. I feel I've been blogging for years without even realizing it. When I got to do a blog and finally write about whatever I wanted to without wondering if it would "fit" into anyone else's format I knew that this is what I'd do and how I'd do it. I don't need to pitch shit to anyone, I open my laptop and just write about it. Somebody somewhere's gonna feel it. If not they'll catch it later on down the line during a random Google search. Time means nothing in today's On Demand/Tivo/DVR/RSS feed world.

W: Seriously, how much time do you spend a week on your blog? I know I spend godawful amounts, and I'm pretty sure you spend more time than I do…

DA: I treat blogging like a job. I get up at 8 or 9AM and start researching for a list of blog ideas to determine if I should do them and when. Then I start writing that days blog. If I finish before 4 PM then I start researching and writing the next days blog. Every weekend, I list my five potential blogs for the next week. If my brother doesn't come home from work or no one stops me I'll just keep on going until something forces me to quit. I have hella blogs that I've written but I'm not going to post them until the summer cuz they're all mad long and the NBA Playoffs could provide me with an even better story when it's all said and done.

W: I've always found coming up with ideas for posts and series as a challenge at times, how do you come up with some of your ideas for posts? .

DA: I'm someone that always has ideas for posts because I have a crew of dudes that make beats, a gang of old magazines and tapes (audio & video) for inspiration and an internet full of bloggers that sparks friendly competition. If I took a digital picture of my future blog list and posted it up you'd really think it's a fake because it's so damn long. I also use this method I got from a character in the graphic novel "Watchmen" by Alan Moore (read it if you haven't already) called "The Veidt Method" where I actually read all 150+ active blogs on my blogroll and then I know what not to write about and what no one else has touched on or what different angle I could bring to a big story that no one else has done as of yet.

W: Who were/are your blogging influences? What blogs do you tend to have saved in your bookmark list?

DA: I have 165 blogs listed in my Technorati favorites and by the time this interview is posted it might be up to 170. If you post up new and interesting content then I read your blog regularly. If you post the same shit that everyone else does then I don't really care. I like to call them "The Blogging Avengers". That consists of: Dallas Penn, Rafi @ OhWord, Robbie @ Unkut, you and all the heads @ Wake Your Daughter Up, Eric @ When They Reminisce, Dan Love @ From Da Bricks, Jeff Weiss @ Passion Of The Weiss, Flood @ Floodwatch, Mr. Mass @ Masscorporation, Brandon Soderbergh @ No Trivia, Sweeney Kovar @ Classic Drug References, Mike Dikk & Raven Mack @ Dumpin (where'd y'all go?), Doc Zeus @ Not A Blogger, A-One @ Know Good Music, J. Burn, Hugh, & Mark @ Stuntin' On Prose, Meka and Shake @ 2 Dope Boyz, the whole crew @ Moovmnt, Tree Beats @ What It Is, M. Dot @ Model Minority, G & Ming Tzu @ Grandgood, Joey @ Straight Bangin', Max @ Hip Hop Is Read, Aaron & crew @ Metal Lungies, Animal Mother @ And It's Still All Good, Marvelous Mo @ Mo Is Dead Serious, Sickamore @ Thank God I'm Famous and gang of other heads I've forgot about (mind you this is all off the top!). My first influences blogwise were Eric's Archives, Desolate Ones, Vinyl Athletes, Broke B-Boys, To The Break Of Dawn, Can't Stop Won't Stop, B Side Wins Again, Soul Sides, Biff Hop, Crooklyn's Classics, Bootis Connex, Black Pharoahs, Bossplayer, The T Organization, Rap Dungeon, Music Thingz, Bust The Factz, Rapchwast, Lethal Spit Poetry, 12 Inchers, The Dice Game, The Phoenix Spot, Sarava Club, Orgy In Rhythm, Groove Grave, Alma Matters, Embrace The Knowledge, Rock The Dub, From A Young H Perspective, Logan Sama's Grime Sets, & Chantelle Fiddy's World Of Grime/Whatever amongst a bunch of other now dead blogs. (I told you.. I watch and read everything)

W: Discuss how us bloggers effect the industry, for the good and the bad. How have the rise of blogs and the internet changed the way music is promoted and basically released?

DA: The music industry was/is a joke and it should be destroyed. The P2P sites, advances in computer and communications technology coupled with the affordability of CD-R drives and CD-R's just sped up the inevitable collapse of the music industry in my opinion. A record label just offers you a chance to become a sharecropper or slave and go into debt even faster than you can do yourself with credit cards. You get "signed" and that means absolutely nothing. I know hella people that got signed and were broke stuck on a contract for years where their albums never came out or they instead became part of a talent pool writing and producing for other people behind the scenes. Blogs came up to introduce people to new music they didn't know existed or to bring back rare and out of print Hip Hop that folks may have missed out on for whatever reason. If there was no need for blogs then they just wouldn't exist. Now the labels send promo materials directly to us because they know we have the eyes of the music buying public. Our album reviews are trusted more than major music magazines are because we're private citizens with no corporate ties. We do it for the love.

W: You have many "classic" posts that have been seen on forums, web sites and myspace. Which ones would be your personal favorites? Which ones have created the most response from the masses?

DA: When I first started I tried to write stuff that would end up in Oh Word's This Week In Blogging posts every Friday. I ended up in there about 4 or 5 times before Rafi stopped doing it. My personal favorite blogs were the turntablism week posts from when I first started back in February 2007, The Wanderers vs. The Warriors, The Ed O. G blog I did, Why Are 70's Babies So Damn Salty?, Industry Rule # 4080, My Tricky blog, The Last Days Of The Record Store, The Basketball Diaries, my Open Letters To Red Sox Nation, all of my Revenge Of The 80's posts, Journey Into Mystery blogs and Rants Of The Day are all among my personal favorites. The other blogs I really loved turned out to be my most well received posts like Mommy, What's A Backpacker?, They Don't Dance No' Mo', Essays In BETism, The Walkman Days, 100 Favorite Cult Fims Of The Internet Age, I Still Love H.E.R., Black Like Me: A History Of Black Comic Book Heroes, Style Master Generals, Top 50 Non Hip Hop Songs That Hip Hop Fans Loved, my Top 50 G.O.A.T Emcees/Groups & Producers Lists, the 50 Producers On MySpace That You Need To Hear Right Now, Cause & Effect got me quoted in a book this year, 12 Emcees To Watch In '08, Supreme Rap Misses and of course my Top 50 Nintendo Games Of All Times blog. Those joints are all over the 'net.

W: I seen last week you had words for one of Oh Word posts. The post said, in essence, that there is no good hip hop anymore. How do you counter to that train of thought?

DA: I believe that if someone has made their mind up that nothing good is out that you can't change their mind because it's closed and their mixed on their positions no matter what you do. I just continue doing me and keep it movin'.

W: How would you compare hip hop to what we as kids grew up to? You come from the same era as I do, we both know that hip hop isn't the same as it was then, but yet, we are both still professing our love for it.

DA: I don't think you can compare it because it's two completely different animals. Back then everything was open and there were hella labels and different kinds of artists all doing different kinds of music under the umbrella of Hip Hop. Now if you don't look this way or sound like this or have these kind of beats then you aren't really "Hip Hop"...whatever the hell that means. Everything is a damn genre now. Jay Electronica, Mickey Factz, Kidz In The Hall, The Cool Kids, Pacific Division and The Knux make Hip Hop but because they don't do what everyone else does they're "hipsters"? Fuck outta here with that ol' divisive bullshit!

W: What about other genres of music, do you listen to any others? Any country albums in Dart's crates? hahaha

DA: No Country LP's or CD's but damn near everything else. I grew up listening to all of my parents albums and 8 tracks so I listened to everything from Gospel to R&B to Latin Jazz to Classic Rock (which back then was just "Rock"). I just got off of a recent kick where I listened to a lot of Mandrill and Madhouse (Prince's Jazz fusion side project). I'm also really into Grime which is a kind of amalgamation of UK Garage, Reggae & Hip Hop so expect some posts about Grime in the near future on my blog as well.

W: Alright, so talk about some of the people that email you concerning the blog. What's the oddest email you've ever gotten? I'm sure you get some of the same music sent to you as I do, anything that was particularly strange?

DA: I get e-mails from people asking me if I'm really a team of people instead of just one person which I find flattering...and somewhat scary. I get a lot of wack shit from people that clearly don't read my blog because if they did then they'd know what not to send me. I got an e-mail from someone who wanted me to promote some of wack ass Izza Kizza's shit. I get a lot of Hip Hop trivia questions and requests for Live Create A Players for the 2008 NBA Draft.

W: What are some of your all-time favorite albums? I mean besides the MC Skat Kat you and I were talking about the other day….

DA: I highlighted them all in my Top 25 Hip Hop Albums blog last year and all my other personal favorites are all visible right there on my blog here: http://poisonousparagraphs.blogspot.com/2007/04/25-greatest-hip-hop-albums-of-all-time.html .

W: I don't get any groupies at all…well, okay, maybe a couple of the email stalking kind. Any luck for you or are you like me and figured out you need to be a soul/funk/jazz or R&B blogger?

DA: I actually do. I find it pretty damn weird that I can be reading an Urb in Newbury Comics and some girl will come up to me and ask me if I've heard of a dude named Dart Adams because "I look like that drawing that he puts up on his blog all the time". I ain't complaining, though. Never that.

W: What is the best part, besides the pseudo internet celeb status, of having a blog?

DA: Getting CD's and new albums mailed/e-mailed to me weekly and getting e-mails and phone calls from people asking me to write stuff for them. I'm holding out for real money, though. Besides that, it's the feeling of knowing that I'm outperforming an entire cubicle block or office at a music magazine all by myself. That feels pretty goddamn good.

W: How do you view the blog scene? I've always considered blogs such as the Oh Words, Nah Rights, and the Bryan Crawfords as the "upper tier". Blogs such as yours, mine, Metal Lungies, From Da Bricks, WTR as kind of the middle tiers, then a lower tier of the casual bloggers, do you see it that way or do you have some other theory on the blogs?

DA: I see the blogs that have original and new content as upper tier and the blogs that just post the same videos, songs and news items as everyone else does as the middle tier. In my opinion content is everything. Same with music, books and movies. Ill Roots, 2 Dope Boyz and other blogs have exclusive content that make them stand out from the rest.

W: You made the comment about bringing some "flagship" artists to Poisonous Paragraphs, kind of like Eric with Ill Poetic, myself with The Smile Rays and Has-Lo (I'm talking to 2 In A Room about making their comeback on WYDU), who do you got lined up?

DA: My lineup of flagship artists would be Danny Swain, Vandalyzm, Invincible, Tanya Morgan, and every producer I've every featured on my blog.

W: You hail from Beantown. How would you describe the history of the Boston hip hop scene? How is it currently?

DA: Boston got Hip Hop from New York first along with New Jersey, Connecticut and Philadelphia, few people really know that. These cities and states all had the first Hip Hop radio shows, labels, DJ and B-Boy crews and emcees outside of New York. Boston was down with all the elements of Hip Hop culture since the late 70's (God bless Lecco's Lemma and Skippy White's). The Source started here as a two sided sheet of yellow paper. Several well established Hip Hop crews got there start here and we have a list of classics and artists that's hella long. We're chock full of talent but it's hard to try to go national, especially the way the music industry is now. We need more show venues and exposure but we have so much talent here it's scary.

W: The Boston hip hop scene has always been kind of known for being a little rough, has that changed at all?

DA: Back in the days there was so much violence that you couldn't even have decent shows in the city because an incident would always happen. It's gotten better now because gang violence isn't what it was back during the early 80's leading into the Crack Era and we've realized that without local buzz or a thriving scene no one will pay attention to Boston/MA or the New England area as a whole. The Boston Hip Hop scene is so world famous that people come all the way from the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia, and Japan to work with their favorite Boston/MA based artists.

W: Who would you consider the greatest group/artist to hail from Boston? I'm taking it wouldn't be Benzino.

DA: Fuck Benzino. That dude has done some shady shit to some of my own friends and family members so he's a non entity in my (black)book. The greatest artists from Boston in my biased opinion are New Edition, Jonzun Crew, Stark Reality, Donna Summer, Guru from GangStarr, Ed O.G, T.D.S. Mob, MC Spice, A Train AKA Cublunk (yes, he did really beat Biz Markie in a battle!), Scientifik (R.I.P.) and gang of other vets that are on the cusp of being regarded as great.

W: Boston has ruled the sports scene the past year or so, although those cheaters, the Patriots lost the Super Bowl…hahaha….Why is Boston such a GREAT sports town? It seems like the people really KNOW the sport they attend, unlike say, oh, LA, who just goes to be seen?

DA: It's helped by the fact that we're an insular town of people that like to be know it alls. No one wants to be the asshole that doesn't know what they're talking about in a group...ever. Plus, we identify with Boston sports teams as part of our own identity as opposed to just a sports team. It's like being born into an 100 year old (or 60 year old) gang to us. You're born a Red Sox fan. You're born a Celtics fan. You're born a Patriots fan. Starting from birth you're going to learn all about the history of those teams and every goddamn nuance and piece of minutiae about each particular sport. I wish kids did that with Hip Hop!

W: You had an interesting post on the history of the Red Sox being somewhat on the racist side when it came to running the team, do you still see them being kind of wish washy? Jacoby Ellsbury is the only African-American that jumps out to me right now on the team…oh and Coco Crisp.

DA: Jacoby Ellsbury is actually a Native American...back then the Red Sox were under some racist ass management (Yawkeys) and they didn't make inroads into remedying those problems until the Yawkeys died off and the ownership of the team changed. As far as Black Red Sox go we have Coco Crisp and Devern Hansack in Pawtucket. The problem is that there aren't too many Black players in baseball anymore, period. The Red Sox are committed to getting the best players possible in their uniforms with the current management. That simply wasn't the case back in the days...ask Pumpsie Green.

W: Who is the all-time greatest Red Sox player? Ted Williams or Babe Ruth?

DA: Between those two it's easily Ted Williams because he the man who broke down the science of hitting and he lobbied for the integration of Major League Baseball and played in exhibitions against Negro Leaguers. Babe Ruth refused to be shown up by a great Black pitcher or hitter so he never played or he'd sabotage the game somehow. I consider Babe Ruth to be a Yankee anyways...his daughter is a Red Sox fan.

W: Where do you stand on the Boston debate? Should Jim Rice be in the HOF?

DA: Jim Rice should've been in Cooperstown two seasons ago in my biased opinion. While we're at it Dennis Johnson should be in the Basketball Hall Of Fame. Stop bullshittin'!

W: Despite my EXTREME dislike for the Pat's, I can't deny they have a great front office and are the team of the decade. How do you see them in the future? It seems like just about every team has to re build at some time, do you see that in the future?

DA: Their window to win it all will be gone by 2010 and then they'll be just a 10 win team. That's great for most cities but we're spoiled now and a 10-6 season is a disgrace. The Patriots need 3 full seasons to get 6 losses nowadays. When I was a kid, a 5-11 Pats season was cause for hope. After they lost Super Bowl XX back in 1986 I thought they'd never go back to the Super Bowl again.

W: What's your take on the whole "spy-gate" thing that went down with Belidick…oops, I mean Belichick and the taping that went down? I thought my Steelers handled it better than I would have.

DA: They tried to bend the rules and got caught. Now everyone hates the New England Patriots even more than they did previously causing them to have to be even more on point then ever before. I still feel they earned all of those wins regardless but it was some dirty business no doubt.

W: You even cover comic books and do some great posts on black super heroes, why do you consider it important to have multi racial super heroes?

DA: As a kid I didn't see too many brown faces on TV or in movies that weren't gang members, thieves, pimps, thugs, drug dealers or rapists...real talk. Hardly any of them spoke anything resembling English. If you saw the film "Hollywood Shuffle" then you know what I'm talking about. I felt invisible almost. As a Black Bostonian in the late 70's and early 80's I felt even more invisible. When I read comic books and saw that Black people could be heroes or even seen as heroic in some way or form it not only helped affirm how I felt being a Black kid but to little White kids that didn't know about Black people and had to go off of the media it did the same thing. The Black Panther, The Falcon, Luke Cage and Cyborg were all characters that I identified with as a kid.

W: Who would win in a foot race, The Flash or Superman?

DA: Technically, the Flash because he's made specifically for running at high speeds while Superman can just fly but time and time again DC Comics have shown Superman running just as fast as Flash when they have raced each other. This is because they've painted themselves into a corner and made Superman too goddamn powerful a character. The Flash always ends up winning on a technicality, though.

W: Who is the hottest female super hero? I could never get with Wonder Woman…wow, that just sounded incredibly….nerdish.

DA: Depending on who the inker is it's a tossup between Dagger from Cloak & Dagger, Storm or Psylocke from X-Men or Starfire or Wonder Girl/Troia from Teen Titans. That's way nerdier, Travis.

W: What is the magic behind movies in general? You seem to be a big fan of movies, was that something that has always been?

DA: I didn't discover this until I was 30, but the main reason I fell in love with emceeing, comic books, and movies was for the same reason...they're all based on a script or the written word just applied to a different medium. I used to rhyme so people would listen to what I wrote. All a comic book is a script with some drawings attached to it. A film is nothing more than the visual representation of a script. When you finally go to shoot a script you know what make you do? Draw up story boards. In other words "make a comic book out of your script so we know how to shoot it and make it into a movie". Everything is everything.

W: What are your favorite hip hop influenced movies?

DA: I covered it all in my Hip Hop influenced movie blog a while back. You can read it here: http://poisonousparagraphs.blogspot.com/2007/01/25-most-influential-films-to-hip-hop.html

W: If you have any free time, what does Dart Adams do for fun?

DA: My free time usually involves playing old ass video games on my G5 Mac or my Wii since I suck at all the new ones that use more than four buttons (I'm old!), roaming the city of Boston to kill time between Red Sox and Celtics games (I don't get my regular Red Sox tickets until June), watching DVD's with the subtitles on at all times, marveling at how clear HD pictures are on my living room TV, making behind-closed-doors deals that get me closer to my dream of complete global domination...that and playing with my adorable niece and nephew who wonder how come I work so hard for free.

W: Any final words for all those lovely people in internet land?

DA: All of the magazines I started this blog with the hopes of writing for have since folded. Most of the people that have approached me to write for them either never paid me or their publication folded shortly afterwards. I do all this because I sincerely love it but my main goal is to write books, scripts, screenplays, graphic novels, comic books, produce/write an underground Hip Hop show for Fuse or G4TV, etc. I take this writing shit seriously, this is no hobby to me and I appreciate everyone who has ever read my long winded rants or posted my shit on another site or has sent me an e-mail message or a MySpace request. If anyone from any publication is looking for someone who can write their ass off to contribute material get at me at poisonousparagraphs@gmail.com. Keep in mind, if it ain't about money then I ain't concerned.

W: Thanks for the time dude, it's been a pleasure.

DA: No doubt, Travis. You're the man. One

*I'll be doing a FAQ blog regarding Poisonous Paragraphs in the near future. Believe it!

One.

Fast And Furious AKA Dartflix Edition #54

April has gotten off to an odd start so far for films. The "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" unfinished workprint leaked and fanboys/fangirls alike were disappointed in what the screenwriters did to the original story (my review still isn't finished, mind you). April 3rd, "Fast & Furious", the 4th (?) film in the franchise blew away all competition to open first in the North American box office with a $70.9 million take. After today it should break $80 million domestically (and potentially more than $120 million worldwide by the end of the week). Is it any good? Since when did THAT ever matter to Hollywood? Does it still even matter to fans? Sometimes I begin to really wonder.


Next Friday, Jody Hill will make another attempt to become as synonymous with comedies as his famous pals since "The Foot Fist Way" bombed last year with his new Seth Rogen/Anna Faris vehicle "Observe And Report". He hopes this film will catapult his into the same type of stratosphere that Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Adam Sandler and co. all currently occupy. They definitely want to take the top spot away from "Fast And Furious" on the 10th but there are a few other films that want to have a huge opening next week as well.

The "new" "Dragonball Evolution" film officially opens in North America on April 10th. Problem is that it opened in Asia on March 13th so it's been online for almost a full month already and a fair amount of people now know that it thoroughly sucks balls. This may or may not stop people from going to see this sack of shit flick in theaters, though. I mean "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" was the #1 film in North America at one point in time so anything's possible (no Kevin Garnett @ The NBA Finals). Either way just keep in mind that this movie sucks and if you were actually a Dragonball/Dragonball Z/GT fan prepare to lower your expectations to the floor. Enough of this, lets' get to the recommendations already!


Films I recommend in theaters (4.1.09-4.15.09) or to add to your queue early or for rental from either Netflix or Redbox:

Fast & Furious
Observe And Report
Adventureland
The Escapist
Gigantic
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Doubt
Yes Man
Splinter
The Reader
House Of Saddam
Fight Night
Crude Impact
The Loyal 47 Ronin
1612
2010: The Year We Made Contact [Blu-Ray]
Tango & Cash [Blu-Ray]
American History X [Blu-Ray]
No Country For Old Men (2 Disc Collector's Edition) [Blu-Ray]
Above The Law [Blu-Ray]
8 Mile [Blu-Ray]
John Q [Blu-Ray]
Mean Girls [Blu-Ray]
The Wedding Singer [Blu-Ray]
Alias : The Complete 1st-5th Season DVD sets (series)
Skins Vol. 2 (series)
The Brave Archer
Red Cliff Part 2 (Region less DVD)
Zu: Warriors From Magic Mountain
Vinyan
Tokyo Zombie
Katt Williams: The Pimp Legacy (comedy)
Mike Epps: Funny Bidness (comedy)
Down & Dirty With Jim Norton (comedy)
Max Fleischer's Superman: 1941-1942 (animated)
Mysterious Cities Of Gold (Deluxe Edition) (animated)
Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage (anime)
Naruto Uncut Box Set 13 (anime)
Death Note: Box Set Vol. 2 (anime)
Duplicity
I Love You, Man
Quantum Of Solace
Slumdog Millionaire
Seven Pounds
Watchmen: Tales Of The Black Freighter & Under The Hood
The Venture Bros.: Season Three (animated series)
The IT Crowd: The Complete Season One (series)
Elegy
Special
Timecrimes
The Duel Of The Century (Shaw Brothers)
Nothing To Lose
Lost Souls
Watchmen
Tokyo!
The Horsemen
The Last House On The Left
Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic
Battle In Seattle
Cadillac Records
Rachel Getting Married
Milk
Transporter 3
Role Models
Synecdoche, New York
Let The Right One In
Weapons
Australia
Quarantine
Changeling
Religulous
Choke
Body Of Lies
Flash Of Genius
Midnight Meat Train
What Just Happened?
Sex Drive
Protege
Push
The International
Friday The 13th
Gomorrah
Zach And Miri Make A Porno
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
Afro Samurai: Resurrection-Director's Cut
W.
Blindness
Chocolate
A Good Day To Be Black & Sexy
Killshot
Taken
The Class
RocknRolla
Henry Poole Is Here
Defiance
The Wackness
Appaloosa
The Wrestler
The Brothers Bloom
Seven Pounds
Valkyrie
Revolutionary Road
Waltz With Bashir
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Burn After Reading
Hamlet 2
Towel Head
Baby
Nobel Son
Frost/Nixon
Hancock (Unrated Edition)
Gonzo: The Life & Work Of Hunter S. Thompson
Planet B-Boy
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):

Fast & Furious
Observe And Report
Adventureland
The Escapist
Gigantic
Doubt
Splinter
House Of Saddam
Fight Night
The Loyal 47 Ronin
2010: The Year We Made Contact [Blu-Ray]
Tango & Cash [Blu-Ray]
American History X [Blu-Ray]
No Country For Old Men (2 Disc Collector's Edition) [Blu-Ray]
Above The Law [Blu-Ray]
8 Mile [Blu-Ray]
Mean Girls [Blu-Ray]
Alias : The Complete 1st-5th Season DVD sets (series)
Skins Vol. 2 (series)
The Brave Archer
Red Cliff Part 2 (Region less DVD)
Zu: Warriors From Magic Mountain
Max Fleischer's Superman: 1941-1942 (animated)
Mysterious Cities Of Gold (Deluxe Edition) (animated)
Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage (anime)


Rent/Watch these movies at your own risk:

Bedtime Stories: *Hits snooze button*
The Tales Of Despereaux: Yeah......no thanks.
Collateral Damage [Blu-Ray]: This movie was worse than "Battlefield Earth" x "Isthtar"
Not Easily Broken: Bullshit! *Throws it up against a wall and watches it shatter into multiple pieces* See?
Donkey Punch (Unrated): This movie was in theaters for about 6 hours and then they made the beta DVD. Don't waste your time on it.
The Spirit: This movie sucked something fierce (no Sasha Grey). No amount of SFX/CGI/big name stars could save it
Hanna Montana: The Movie: No...for the love of God, no. *Makes a cross with my fingers, hangs garlic around my neck and makes wooden stakes*


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


One.

Dart Adams presents Embrace Change AKA Adapt Or Die

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 trememndously. 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. 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 and King go under in recent weeks and heard even more rumors surrounding other publications like Complex (still running), Vibe (still going) 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)


Already in 2009 more than 50 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. 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 scripts and screenplay 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. When the environment around you changes, you adapt to ensure your own survival. Adapt or die.


One.

What's New In Dart's iPod #72 AKA The 2nd Quarter '09 Review Edition

This has been quite an eventful week, the poster boy of Hip Hop 2.0 ethered himself. An unfinished workprint sans finished special effects/CGI of the highly anticipated Fox Searchlight/Marvel Studios film "X-Men: Origins: Wolverine" leaked online (full review forthcoming soon in the Thursday post this weekend). Kevin Garnett will be held out until April 12th to rest his sore knee and prepare for the impending NBA playoffs and a gang of Hip Hop albums hit the internet over the past week that I'll get to right now. This has been another good three months for under the radar Hip Hop releases and April is shaping up to be good as well.

This week I'll be reviewing ten new projects that recently hit the 'net/bloggerverse and/or will be landing on store shelves soon in the following order: A-Trak "Infinity +1", Big Tone "The Art Of Ink", Cunninglynguists "Strange Journey Vol. 1", Illogic & Ill Poetic "Diabolical Fun", Jadakiss 'The Last Kiss", K-Os "Yes!", Kan Kick "Beautiful: Opus Of Love Deeper Than Flesh Vol. 1 & 2", Kero One "Early Believers", Mobb Deep "The Safe Is Cracked" and U-N-I & Ro Blvd "A Love Supreme". 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.

There's rules to the Hip Hop shit! © DJ Premier


Best Joints: Uhh...yeah. About that. I dunno.

Hot Garbage: Is this a trick question?

Dart's Take: I'll be honest, I don't know what the fuck this was. It's a mix CD but I can't tell if I actually listening to different songs or when it's been mixed or swithched because all of it sounds the damn same. Is Kid Sister rhymin' over instrumentals he's mixing or are these previous songs of her's that she did with Flosstradamus and all those other guys I don't listen to? I remarked on Twitter that this mix CD should be called "Only Built 4 Dudes With Tight Pants" after my first listening. This wasn't made for my ears but I'm still gonna give it an oh no because I had night terrors afterwards. That night, I dreamed I was trapped in a rave where everyone was dressed like characters from Tron.



Best Joints: Skin Deep, Business, Pedigree, Scapegoat, Paid, Laid & Played, A Song Called Triumph, Chocolate, The Look, Squo, Broken Logos, Folktale and Peace, Progress, God Bless

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: I've had this album for about 2 months and I played it continously and it never left the regular rotation no matter what new LP's I ran across recently. Detroit's own Big Tone has previously appeared on his ABB debut "The Drought" back in 2005 followed by J Dilla's "Welcome 2 Detroit", Ta'raach & The Lovelution's "The Fevers" and last year's Top 50 of 2008 LP Shawn Jackson's "First Of All...". Big Tone handles the work behind the boards and spits flames next to Guilty Simpson, Blu, Ta' raach and Breeze Brewin. Bangers include "Business", "Pedigree", "A Song Called Triumph", "Squo" and "Broken Logos" but don't get it twisted there isn't a weak moment on this album. The jawn "Folktale" where Tone uses the names of several of Michigan's finest in his rhymes was crazy. April 14th go cop "The Art Of Ink", it gets a mos def.




Best Joints: Departure (Intro), Nothing But Strangeness, Lynguistics (Live), Move, Spark My Soul, Never Come Down (The Brownie Song), Hypnotized, Dance For Me, Die For You, Georgia (Remix), KKKY (Remix), Don't Leave, The Distance and Broken Van (Thinking of You) plus instrumentals for all of the songs.

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: The last time Cunninlynguists dropped an LP it was a serious contender for album of the year (2007's "Dirty Acres"), this time around they're gonna drop two volumes of unreleased material and remixes like they did with the two volumes of "Sloppy Seconds". The first volume of "Strange Journey" is an excellent collection of tracks from a crew that keeps the classic Dungeon Family sound alive and well in 2009. Tracks like "Move", "Spark My Soul", "Hypnotized", or the "Georgia (Remix)" let you know that Kno is never gonna let you down behind the boards. The version I have even has the instrumentals included so it's even more of a no brainer. This album gets a mos def.




Best Joints: What's My Name, Diabolical Fun, Violent Verbage, What Happened?, I Know You, Let's Go, Crash, Get Up Or Get Down, Time, Right Here, Feel The Beat and Walk Into The Sunset

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: Illogic has been nice since 1996, back when he was winning battles at age 16 all over Ohio and the Midwest. He recorded his first LP back in 1999 and 10 years later he's still going strong spittin' as raw if not rawer than he did when he first started out. He's usually had Blueprint behind the boards on his projects but on this LP and his excellent "One Bar Left" EP he's had Poisonous Paragraphs favorite Ill Poetic handling the beats and lending the occassional assist on the mic.

What we get in "Diabolical Fun" is a nonstop barrage of ridicolous bars over banger after banger from Ill Poetic. When they both get on the mic ("Crash" and "Walk Into The Sunset"? Sheeeiiit! © Clay Davis. If you think that classic Hip Hop doesn't get made anymore just spend your $7.99 on this project on thank me later when you realize that you were wrong. This album gets a mos def easily.




Best Joints: Pain & Torture, Can't Stop Me, Something Else, One More Step, Stress Ya, What If, Things I've Been Through, I Tried, Rocking With The Best, Cartel Gathering, Come And Get Me, Letter To B.I.G., and Death Wish (Lil' Wayne? C'mon w/ the faxing in your guest appearances!)

Hot Garbage: Who's Real (OJ Da Juiceman AND Swizz Beats?), Grind Hard (Mary?), What If's beat, Smoking Gun, By My Side (not feeling this one) and Something Else Remix were all meh

Dart's Take: Jadakiss hasn't made a new LP in a minute due to leaving his previous label to sign with Roc A Fella/Def Jam. Then Jay-Z left his position as President Of Def Jam and Jadakiss had to fight a couple of cases he had pending. After he had his album pushed back 3 or 4 times, it's finally about to drop April 7th. He's trying to get everyone with this jawn, the ladies, hard rocks, and people in between in order get the the most sales possible. My favorite tracks are "Pain & Torture", "Can't Stop Me", "One More Step", "I Tried", "Rocking With The Best" and "Cartel Gathering" (Woooooooo! © Ric Flair). All of throwaway and meh tracks result in a recommended maybe, best I can do under the circumstances.





Best Joints: Zambony, Astronaut, Burning Bridges, Uptown Girl, I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman, 4 3 2 1, Eye Know Something, The Aviator, FUN!, Mr. Telephone Man, The Avenue/Bonus Track

Hot Garbage: Whip C.R.E.A.M. was meh to me

Dart's Take: This album is not for everybody. If you weren't a fan of K-Os' previous work or the way he mixes genres of music on his projects then you won't like but a few songs on "YES!". K-Os rhymes, sings, has some straight up rap beats that turn into lush arrangements and then he'll put some weird effect on his voice for the full track. If you could rock with K'Naan's "Troubadour" from last month and you appreciate musicianship then you should check this project out. Standout tracks include "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman", "Eye Know Something", "FUN!", "Mr. Telephone Man", "The Avenue" and the bonus track whose name I don't know. I give "YES!" a highly recommended maybe for fans of his previous work or albums like it...everyone else? Move on, there's nothing to see here! Clear the area! © Special Ed




Best Joints: The Bomb Butterfly, Thursdays at the Good Life, Herb Honey, Black Women Candle Wax, This Is a World Export, Continued Togetherness, Pop Tunes, Morning Paper, Don't Lock My Heart Away, Shrooming Birds Morning Song, NightTime Beauty, Serenade the Outdoor Visitors, C'Mon Love, Let's Dance, Take My Hand, Warped Dayz, O.X. Coming At Ya, I'm Going to Take U Out to Dinner, Can't Escape Space (Love Quakes), Enter The Inside (Yeah), The Revelations of Sadness, Westwinds Of Truism (For Otis) and The Tribes Chant

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: Kan Kick is yet another nice ass producer/beatmaker from The Ox (Oxnard, CA, home of Madlib, Oh No, Roc C, etc.). He's produced numerous tracks over the years and contributed to quite a few classic projects. If you're a fan of instrumentals and/or a beathead then you must find this immediately and cop it. Some of it just just straight up chilled out head nod music but every other track will make you wanna freestyle (whether you rhyme or not!) over it. I give this a mos def, now find it and acquire it.




Best Joints: Welcome To The Bay, When The Sunshine Comes, Keep Pushin', Let's Just Be Friends, Bossa Soundcheck, Love And Happiness, Stay On The Grind, A Song For Sabrina, This Life Aint Mine, I Never Thought That We and Goodbye Forever

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: Kero One's album is full of instrumention, laid back beats, smooth rhymes and a fair amount of singing over the tracks. If you're looking for some chilled out West Coast riding music with an organic sound that you can just lay back and vibe to then this is that album. I prefer more lyricism and punchlines/battle rhymes to rapping about relationships and kickin' it for an entire album but that's just me. My favorite selections off of "Early Believers" were "Welcome To The Bay", "Keep Pushin'"and "Let's Be Friends". I give it a recommended maybe.




Best Joints: Heat, Watch Ya Self, M.O.B., Can't Win 4 Losin', Yea, Yea, Yea, Infamous, What Goes On, Get Out Our Way and You Wanna See Me Fall,

Hot Garbage: That Crack, Position and Don't Play

Dart's Take: I'm a Mobb Deep fan and I always love to hear some previously unreleased Mobb material but a lot of these tracks are standard Mobb Deep album tracks circa 2003-2005 (post the joint venture with Jive). There are a few jawns that should've been released before like "Heat", "M.O.B.", "Infamous", "What Goes On" and "You Wanna See Me Fall" but everything else is typical Infamous fare. If you're a diehard Mobb Deep fan then by all means. cop it. If not, just wait for P to get released from the bing. I give it a maybe.




Best Joints: My Life, Windows, Supreme, Hollywood Hiatus, Lately, Pulp Fiction Part 1, The Grudge, Voltron, Stylin', Hammertime, Calendar Girls, Lauren London, Black Sky, Halftime and A Love Supreme

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: U-N-I is one of my favorite newer groups in Hip Hop alongside Pac Div. Their previous mixtapes "Fried Chicken & Watermelon" and "Before There Was Love" raised anticipation for this collaborative LP with producer Ro Blvd through the roof. I have to tell you that these cats have not disappointed in any way, shape or form with this finished project. This album bangs from beginning to end, I think I played each song on "A Love Supreme" again after the first time I heard it during my initial sit down with it. This was a great week for Hip Hop heads on the internet!

My favorite jams from "A Love Supreme" are "My Life", "Supreme", "Hollywood Hiatus", "Lately", "Pulp Fiction Part 1", "The Grudge", "Calendar Girls", "Lauren London" (they flipped a Morris Day beat!), "Halftime" and a "Love Supreme". Find this album and cop it yesterday. It dropped this past Tuesday so you should have no problems finding it anywhere fine music is sold. Support real artists that do it the way it's supposed to be done. I give U-N-I & Ro Blvd's "A Love Supreme" another mos def. What a great week, huh?




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, Son Of Chico Dusty
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
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
Eminem-The Relapse & Relapse 2
Statik Selektah-The Hangover
Cage-Depart From Me

This is the face of Hip Hop 2.0's poster boy. Fuck all that noise...it's just "Hip Hop" and this dude AIN'T it. Hip Hop is about being true to yourself, being true to the art, respecting the culture and being original. That being said, Charles Hamilton doesn't represent any of the things that I dearly love about Hip Hop. He's a liar and a thief...and his album will be in stores sometimes in the near future. SMH.

One.

Dart Adams presents The Dartflix Film Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine AKA Please Don't Fuck This Up! *Spoiler Alert!*

Okay people, let's cut through the bullshit. There have been three previous X-Men related films and they have gotten exponentially worse. Each film gets cheesier and gets further away from the original source material that X-Men fans know and love. The screenwriter seems to find new ways to completely butcher the X-Men's storylines, histories and characters with each new release. It's almost as if they're trying to purposely rip the soul out of each X-Men character a fan would know and love. None of the X-Men are recognizable on the silver screen...the one they managed to come closest to was Wolverine (but they still got him wrong in many respects). The average movie fan doesn't care...they never read an X-Men comic. They probably caught the cartoon as kids so they wouldn't understand why I'd even write this blog. Well let me explain it to you.

I've been reading since 1978, I read everything I could get my 3 year old hands on including my brother and his friends' comic books. I read " The Spectacular Spider-Man", "Daredevil", "Iron Man", "Fantastic Four", "The Avengers" and a gang of other titles but the one that stood out to me was "The Uncanny X-Men". I brought them to my big brother David who was 6 years older than me and asked him what was going on in them. A lot of the concepts were so deep and adult he had to go ask my mother to explain them. I grew up reading "X-Men" and watching serious movies thanks to my weekend trips to my Dad's so I developed a diffrent idea for what standard to hold written media and films to than most other kids. Do me a favor, non-believers. Go to your local bookstore and read as much of the X-Men graphic novel "God Loves, Man Kills" as you can. That should give you an idea of what the X-Men comic book was about even back in the days. That was 1982, mind you so why are the films so damn crappy and watered down?


Either way, this film is supposed to tell the back story of the man we know as Logan AKA Wolverine. The biggest problem with retelling Wolverine's long and sordid history that involves multiple continents, hundreds of characters and a gang of dead girlfriends and pals spanning more than 150 years in one two hour film when it took more than 25 years (the 1st Wolverine 4 issue mini-series debuted in 1982, his first solo title began in 1988 and the Weapon X & Wolverine: Origins titles started in 1995 and were revisited in 2001 & 2005) and about 5 or 6 different full title runs to tell the entire tale in the first place. Certain thing HAVE to get omitted, that's common sense (i.e. Wolverine's work with the CIA in WWII alongside Captain America and several other operatives). They had him running with his brother Victor Creed AKA Sabertooth until Vietnam instead, it's THEN that Logan (or James) and Victor are first approached by Department H's Stryker to join Team X.

Let's deal with Team X for a second, shall we? We have Ryan Reynolds playing one of the greatest comic book characters of all time in Deadpool (whom the writers decided to really throw under the bus by completely gutting his fantastic backstory and smashing Team X & Weapon X together). They've replaced Mastodon with Fred Dukes AKA The Blob (who was nowhere near this story as he was a kid in Texas around this time). Silver Fox (Kayla in the film) was a member of Team X alongside Wolverine and his other teammates that included Agent Zero in his original guise as Maverick (they changed his ethnicity and butchered his backstory along with his pal Bolt's). Why fuck with so many completely unrelated character's continuities and needlessly intertwine them? It makes NO sense at all to me. Let's look past all this fuckery, shall we?

A mission occurs in Africa where Stryker wants something from somewhere and during that mission Logan decides that he wants to leave Team X and Department H actually happened in East Germany but that's neither here nor there. His brother Victor sticks around and becomes the leader of Team X as well as more feral and out of control as time passes. Logan settles into a quiet life in Canada with an Olivia Munn look alike, a Blackfoot Indian school teacher named Kayla. He tells her all about his past with Team X and Stryker. It turns out later that Kayla is a mutant with powers of persuasion...problem is that Silver Fox was a trained assassin and weapons master with a healing factor, not a mutant. This makes no sense why they'd feel the need to completely rewrite this story and add in needless elements. It was fine the way it was already, go with it!

The one aspect of the story that they did stick with was that Team X eventually disbanded and yes Creed AKA Sabretooth did kill several of his former teammates. The way they went about doing it was so weird and convoluted that anyone that's been reading X-Men/Wolverine comics would get a tension headache between 30-45 minutes into this film wondering what the hell the original screenwriter was thinking by mashing up the continuity of all these characters? After he thought Creed killed Silver Fox, Logan did volunteer for the Weapon X program and get adamantium bonded to his skeleton. He also did break out of the facility afterwards and Agent Zero was sent after him (Agent Zero wasn't merked by Logan, though!). Logan also did get taken in by the Hudson's (James & Heather) and they went on to start the Alpha Flight program with Canada's Department H and recruit him later on...but these McDonald's are old people that get merked by Agent Zero? So...no Alpha Flight? Wouldn't THAT at least make sense?

Instead, what happened was Logan went searching for his old squad members to get answers and figure out where Victor is since Stryker and the doctors gave him his adamantium skeleton to kill Sabretooth and get revenge for Kayla. He discovers from John Wraith (Kestrel) and Fred Dukes (why is he even in this movie?) that Creed and Stryker have been working together gathering mutants and taking them to a compound called the island. Kestrel and Dukes were involved in capturing them as well so Stryker's medical staff could do experiments on them. There are a bunch of young mutants of indetermined identity locked up there (including a set of female twins that aren't Aurora and Northstar (?), a young blond girl that can't possibly be Emma Frost (can she?) and a young Scott Summers)



The lone mutant that's ever escaped from The Island's name is Remy Lebeau AKA Gambit...only he wasn't. Why is Gambit even here? What the hell does he have to do with Wolverine's back story? There wasn't a better/easier way to write him in a previous film? Or even THIS one? Whatever man. They did get one thing right when Sabretooth rips John Wraith's spine out during a fight but then Wolverine scraps with Sabretooth and Gambit (who shouldn't be here). Afterwards, Wolverine "convinces" Gambit to take him to The Island. The Island, turns out to be Three Mile Island and Wolverine discovers that Kayla is alive and was working for Stryker all along to monitor him. Kayla is saved by Logan before Creed could snap her neck and asks him to save her sister with "diamond hard skin" that Stryker and Creed are holding. Their collective powers have been pooled into Wade Wilson's body (the perfect soldier if he'd just shut up) taken away his mouth named him "Deadpool" AKA Weapon XI. Bad, Bad writing.

Now we have a bunch of random mutants, two characters that are in NO WAY related in the Marvel Universe or X-Men lore inexplicably being sisters (Silver Fox may be as old as Logan herself and is a Blackfoot Indian from Canada that's not a mutant. Emma Frost is a rich White girl from Boston, MA and an empath/psychic...explain that one!) and Deadpool has been given a gang of powers he never had and had his mouth covered. Deadpool is "the merc with a mouth" for God's sake! Had they just had Wolverine and Creed fight Wade after they gave him Wolverine's healing factor that would've made so much more sense. This final fight was just Hollywood cheesy for the sake of cool SFX and CGI. Plus why the hell didn't "Emma" hear Charles Xavier when he was speaking empathically? She's a damn empath! Only Scott could hear? Who wrote this shit?

I'm not going to get into the method they used to explain why Wolverine doesn't remember anything because the simple explanation of repeated memory wipes from different agents/doctors/adversaries over the years would just make too much sense. Seeing Gambit be the one that saves him from the wreckage or try to understand who the hell the twins, that blond girl who was Kayla's sister or ANY of those kids were was beyond me. I also couldn't understand why they gave Silver Fox powers or made her a mutant. They unnecessarily butchered the source material to make this clusterfuck of a film. It will more than likely become a blockerbuster hit but X-Men fans and Wolverine fans will be asking questions for the forseeable future about why and how did they fuck up yet another X-Men movie so badly? How do you plan on making that Deadpool movie now, Marvel Studios?

Yes, that WAS supposed to be Emma Frost. Why even put an 8 year old Ororo Munroe in this film as a "cameo"? The thinking behind cameos is that it's a tool to appease the fanboys/fangirls in the audience. All this film did was what the three previous X-Men films did...piss off fans of the source material and make them wonder if Hollywood even respects the medium of comic book writing at all? If I read graphic novels that stand alone and are well written and all you need to do is omit, mashup and keep the best storylines, elements and characters from more than 25 years of them and fit it all into a 2 hour film. Why would you go out of your way to make your job HARDER when you already have such great material at your disposal? Why? If you don't stay true to the essence of what you're adapting then why make the goddamn film in the first place?

In conclusion, if you've never read an X-Men/Wolverine or X-Men title in your entire life and have NO interest in comic books or comic book film and don't care to learn more then this movie will kick ass to you. It will not make you want to hit/kick/throw things because some of the best writing of the past quarter century is being pissed on with each passing minute that the film airs. You won't be irate because characters that you've waited years to see on the big screen are finally there but they are watered down versions of themselves with no soul. You'll be completely oblivious to everything that's wrong with this film. This rant was Only Built 4 Fanboys & Fangirls. I have no allegiance to anyone. I'm not getting paid so I have no reason to lie. Just my opinion.

One.

Dart Adams presents Charles Hamilton's iPod Playlist

By now we all know that Charles Hamilton played himself by jacking a Black Spade track directly off of his MySpace page, recorded a track with the same title as the original song and placed it on one of his many mixtapes ("The Pink Lavalamp"). When he performed it @ SXSW, Black Spade approached him to tell him he liked what he did with the track but asked him how he acquired it. Charles Hamilton lied through his teeth and claimed it was his track and that his voice was on it...not Black Spade, the original producer...who was right in front of him...who had heard the track. You can't make this kinda shit up!

When approached again and again and asked about the subject, Charles continued to lie. Not only did he lie, but he constructed quite an elaborate and dramatic back story to explain the creation of said track (a track he clearly didn't create, mind you). He claimed that he had witnesses, he claimed that he could recreate the track and that he had the ProTools sessions to prove he created it from scratch. Black Spade and his team just sat back and watched Charles play himself. When he presented his "evidence" and it did nothing more but further prove his guilt he cried and stuck to his "story". Black Space and his people (B Money, Tef Poe, Vandalyzm, etc.) took Charles to court on some old school Inspectah Deck shit.

Website after website pored through Charles' mp3's, elaborate excuses, video footage or lack thereof and they all found him to be guilty of general Hip Hop thievery, excessive lying and wearing too much goddamn pink. Charles Hamilton now needs to avoid St. Louis altogether and to be frank I better never see him walking around Boston myself. Charles also claimed that there are no more rules to Hip Hop...he's right and he's wrong. There are still rules, it's just certain muthafuckas feel as though they don't need to follow them. He'll still be signed to Interscope and release a mixtape a week it seems but I will no longer feature his mixtapes in my Late Passes (For Doz Dat Slept) and I'm done with this cat. We already have talented cats like Haircut, 14KT, Black Spade, Danny Swain, etc. making better music than him so fuck this dude.

I decided to recreate one of my favorite writing exercises and drop a new edition of my iPod Playlist for lyin' ass Charles Hamilton. He can rock to this playlist while wearing his pink Beats By Dre headphones and crying into his Sonic sheets in his pajamas while his girl consoles him. From the bottom of my heart, fuck Charles Hamilton, Sonic The Hedgehog and Dr. Robotnik. Now I present to you, Charles Hamilton's iPod Playlist:

Beat Biter-MC Shan
Thief's Theme-Nas
Pink Punk-Zbigniew Namysiowski
Why I Lie-Ray J
Watch Your Back-Tucka Da Huntaman
Pinocchio Story-Kanye West
Suckas Need Bodyguards-Gangstarr
Steal My Sunshine-Len
Urfuked-MeccaGodZilla
Shame-Cesar Comanche
Go To Hell-Joe Budden
Fake-Alexander O' Neal
Do The Right Thang-Ludacris co-starring Spike Lee & Common
Rhymin' & Stealing- The Beastie Boys
Thieves In The Night-Black Star
Don't Lie-Black Eyed Peas
Gun In Yo Mouf-Danny Brown
Not For The Bullshit-Black Spade
Say What's Real-Drake
Stole-Thirstin Howl III f/Rack Lo & Richie Balance
Shark Niggas (Biters)-Raekwon f/Ghostface
Bitches 2-Ice T
The Truth-Jake One f/Freeway & Brother Ali
Sonic Destroyer-X-101
Don't Body Ya Self-Nas
Still (Steal) Shinin'-Mobb Deep
Protect Ya Neck-Wu Tang Clan
Lie Lie Lie-Bonnie Pink
Countless Excuses-PPP (Platinum Pied Pipers)
The Rules-Saigon & Statik Selektah
Sorry I Lied To You-Termanology
Frontin'-Vandalyzm f/D-Hendrix
Sonic Nitemare-Groove Lines
Steal A Little-Rufus Thomas
Apologize-Timbaland f/OneRepublic
Over And Out-Hustle Simmons f/Buff1

What Would Spade Do? Feel free to add on!

One.