A D.C. pic, bullets of Wizards links, and words with those links…
A man with a plan, and a pizza. [Meridian Hill Park, 16th St. NW - Washington, D.C. - photo: K. Weidie]
> John Wall, at his young age, understands how important it is to be an ambassador for the game of basketball and for professional athletes. He also seems to know that it’s part of his job, but in a sense where when he does good deeds, they don’t have to involve a big production or show. He just does them. He takes extra time to sign autographs, all the time… excessively. I’ve seen this. And now, I’m imagining that over time you’ll hear more and more great stories like this one relayed by Dan Steinberg.
[DC Sports Bog]
> Washington Post music writer David Malitz makes a good observation … should the ’04-’08 “Glory Years” Wizards be celebrated as the first team to reap benefit from the Internet age (partially thanks to the rise of blogs, prominently via Dan Steinberg and Gilbert Arenas)? I think so.
[Click Track]
Since last summer, McGee has been building and posting instrumentals to Reverb Nation (a platform for independent musicians, producers, and venues to collaborate and communicate). Big Daddy Wookie, known as JMAC on Reverb Nation, has produced over 25 Hip Hop and R&B tracks and attracted over 86,000 fans online. He has favorited “Dumb It Down,” a JMac Produktion by the Co-Op. (I believe he was featured in the song, but I have not been able to confirm.)
When I first learned about Gilbert Arenas and guns on Christmas Eve, way back when it was as “innocent” as him getting the firearms out of his humble, grotto-encased abode because he didn’t want them around his new kid when he already had another kid for a couple years, I tweet-dedicated a Christmas song to him … Onyx, Throw Ya Guns.
This one’s for you Gilbert and Javaris. I don’t know much about astrological signs, but it seems like Capricorns don’t get along … especially when it involves gamblin’.
Oh yea, Happy Birthday Javaris. You turned 22 on New Year’s Eve. Hope you woke up feeling well today. Arenas will turn 28 on Wednesday.
We already know JaVale McGee is handy with the video editing software … but producing music? Seems like he’s got a hold on that too.
Via his Twitter account, McGee aka Big Daddy Wookie, has been posting new songs on Reverb Nation, a web platform for musicians/producers to upload tracks and possibly collaborate with others.
One can only assume that the artist to whom JaVale is linking, “JMac” from Flint, MI, is young Epic Vale himself (oh, and the fact that the picture above is also posted there … and he’s also confirmed it’s him via Twitter).
But don’t take my word for it, go listen for yourself … (there is a music player of his tracks below, but you might not see it if you are using a reader/aggregator.)
Good riddance NBA draft lottery. We don’t care about you. Yea, it’s been a bad week … and we’re going to wallow in our sorrows for a bit. But I’m here to say you are dead to me. The Wizards are going to make the post-season despite you. You’re in heaven with grandma now … So in your honor, these songs will be played at your local barbershop.
Graduation takes a back seat to Late Registration and College Dropout. Yea, yea…producer rapper, we all know his lyrical repertoire will never live up to the greats, but Yay seems to be digressing. But I’d still rather hear Kanye’s egotistical, yet sometimes thought-provoking lyrics than that of what wanna-bes like Juelz Santana and Young Joc. There’s a hint of popcorn rap. Is this album more mainstream? Well, Kanye’s always been relatively “mainstream” as a rapper. Could be that this more simplistic approach contributes to increased sales and Kanye’s fly Malcolm X status…by any jeans necessary. The overall presentation is there. I mean, this is a nice album. The beats are well produced. Kanye has a nice voice and a rhythmic flow to his pitch. Is Graduation better that a lot of crap out there? Definitely. Do I personally feel that Common’s Finding Forever is better? Yes. Is Kanye’s third album a disappointment? I would say so, then again, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Good Morning Not a bad way to start off Graduation….wake up everyone and hear Mr. West. A relaxed beat you can still tap your foot too which eases you into the album. The tightest part is when a Jay-Z verse comes in towards the end….from ‘The Ruler’s Back’ on The Blueprint. This is actually the full line, but Kanye only uses the parts in quotes: Yo, gather round “hustlers that’s if you still livin”. And “get on down”, to that ol’ Jig rhythm. Song Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Champion Smooth conversion to a nice change of beat….funny that Kanye uses a Steely Dan sample on this track. However, this song doesn’t jump out at me as being anything past “generic Kanye” — he’s not impressing anyone with his lyrics, but the catchy-ness makes the song a decent total package. Song Rating 7 out of 10
Stronger Club/Workout song that doesn’t really get annoying, assuming that it is not played out on MTV. Kanye definitely flaunts his arrogance here — are people who view his arrogance as unfortunate considered haters? Song also has that cross-over appeal with the 2001 Daft Punk sample. Song Rating 8 out of 10
[Down 14th St. from Red Derby - NW Washington, D.C. - photo: K. Weidie]
