We are in an exponential age, which means that things can potentially degrade and deteriorate at an alarming rate as well as progress, grow and spread. Integrity is at an all time low. Hypocrisy is at an all time high. It’s extremely tough to to stand up for your beliefs if you’d like to keep your job & benefits in an economy where we’re still in a recession and possibly even approaching a fiscal cliff. In order to survive and serve the all powerful bottom line people are willing to sell their own souls and disregard the well being and health of the common man just to fill their own bank accounts. So what if people and stupider than ever and more obese than ever? Look at these fourth quarter earning projections! Our shareholders will be pleased…

Due to this, pretty much everything has gone to shit over the past 15 years. Advances in technology in a rapidly changing world could have potentially made things better for all of us. What instead happened was corporations and special interest groups made sure to exploit everything, ensure their own survival and try to put the clamps on everything they possibly could to keep power and control in the midst of a rapidly changing world climate. We now exist in an unnatural, unbalanced state.

One where we feed cows corn that they can’t digest and genetically engineer skinless chickens on steroids to feed the populace. One where we flood the inner cities of America with high fructose corn syrup and illegal drugs. One where supposed Chicken McNuggets are actually made with pink slime as opposed to chicken and Taco Bell taco filling is only 36% beef. One where we claim to want to fight cancer but forgot to mention that one of the biggest causes of abnormal cell growth is constant exposure to electromagnetic fields which are radiated by electrical or electronic objects.

Now that laptops and handheld devices such as cellphones, music players and personal tablets are so widespread good luck with that. Let’s not forget that we add more towers to get better cell service and more and more wireless electronic devices so EMF exposure is far more widespread now since the 90’s when the connection between EMF’s and abnormal cell growth were first discovered. Now we’ve also discovered that fast food also contributes to abnormal cell growth and high fructose corn syrup and sugar is linked to obesity. In short, corporations make their money by slowly killing the same people they seek to make money off of. That’s pretty backwards if you ask me.

The mass media exists to keep the populace informed, right? Wrong. It’s a business. Profit is made by selling the most ad space and not by producing the most well informed and intelligent viewers. In radio it essentially works the same way. After the Telecommunications Act Of 1996 was signed which allowed for corporations to buy up all the independent voices in radio what happened on television was Viacom needed to ensure ratings. Music sales were down and it was harder to sell ad space to video shows after the advent of the internet so Viacom networks focused on original programming and reality television. After 2005, the introduction of YouTube and Dailymotion closed that door forever.

Now Fox News, CNN & C Span add in elements of tabloid television shows TMZ, Extra, Entertainment Tonight and similar shows on E! and Bravo in order to appease a wider fanbase of potential viewership. Things are so upside down that the shows most 18-34 year olds get their fix of world news and politics from are on Comedy Central (“The Daily Show” & “The Colbert Report”). It makes sense that hypocrisy runs rampant in a world where MTV doesn’t focus on music, The Learning Channel has no educational programming, Cartoon Network airs live action shows, G4TV no longer airs any tech or gaming shows and the History Network is all about “Ancient Aliens”.

On April 20th, 1999 an event occurred that should’ve changed this nation forever. There was a massacre at a high school in Columbine, CO where 15 people were killed and 21 were injured after two troubled teenagers acquired a small arsenal of firearms rather easily. The fallout resulted in people scrambling to find fault in contributing factors such as pop culture, violent video games, television & film, music, comic books, widespread diagnosis of ADD & ADHD leading to mass prescriptions of anti-depressants to youth and bullying.

In the end, the government put enough pressure on several facets of media that lead to censorship of Hollywood films (several were delayed in excess of a year following the Columbine massacre) and even rating systems imposed on video games. Films like “Fight Club” were delayed by 6 months back in 1999 for fear it celebrated anti social behavior and displayed subversive themes. DreamWorks was nervous about releasing it’s film “American Beauty” and the Tim Blake Nelson modern adaptation of Othello  called “O” was shelved for over 2 years because of the Columbine massacre.

The least headway was made on gun control laws thanks to the widespread power and influence of the National Rifle Association (NRA). Since 1999, there have now been over 30 school and campus shootings in the United States alone. Do the math. There should be far less than that. It implies an increase rather than a decrease in the frequency of these events. The most recent event occurred in a Newtown, CT and among the 26 victims that lost their lives 20 were children between the ages of 6 and 7. This is yet another American tragedy in a growing list of ones that never should have happened.

Whereas with the Columbine High massacre in 1999, there were so many obvious factors to potentially spread the blame among such as “Doom”, Marilyn Manson, subversive teen culture and the list goes on and on. Following the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007 many tried to spread the blame between mental health issues, American gun culture and subversive films like “Oldboy”.

In this particular case, nothing makes sense. There is nothing to finger to explain or rationalize how this happened other than mental health issues. The world feels like it’s going to hell in a handbasket but let us not forget that while we express outrage that young children were killed in a small Connecticut town with a population below 2000, hundreds have been killed in Chicago and more homicides are happening right now.

Is America’s inherent violent nature to blame? Is our gun culture which has been embedded since the inception of our nation to blame? In all of the facets of corporate run popular culture & entertainment it’s based around some form of violence or another, usually gun violence. There are numerous police shows, forensics shows and detective shows on television where they typically investigate murders or killings caused by handguns. Most action games involve the usage of firearms or some form of artillery. America has 89 guns per each 100 people as of 2011 and many people began buying more guns out of fear of Barack Obama becoming re-elected (and he was) and they would lose many of their freedoms in the near future. Let’s see how that works out over the next four years…

In conclusion, I have no answers. I never professed to have any. To be honest, I have no idea if what I just wrote even makes any real sense. I just had to write something as catharsis to help myself work through things that were rattling around in my own brain. As a writer and a creator of media, I often stay abreast of any events that might result in the censorship of art. I also try to keep tabs of how out of whack things are. I can’t help it being a child of the 80’s when I feared nuclear war was going to turn the world into an irradiated wasteland almost every day between the ages of 5 to 13. When I was 9 years old, scientists at the University Of Chicago set the Doomsday Clock at 11:57 PM. You tend to never forget things of that nature.

I grew up believing that safety was an illusion. I developed a cynical view of the world and it’s workings at a fairly young age. I studied the nature of things closely and noted that most of the motivations behind those in power were to maintain their money and power at the expense of the well being and health of the masses. Given what’s happened in the world recently I feel like a complete asshole for being so concerned about Hot 97 and Rap Radar when there are so many things that are far more important going on. Don’t get me wrong, though. I’ll never stop calling out those that put the bottom line above my culture. Ever.

One.

Back on December 5th, I was on Twitter and I saw a tweet from Brian “B.Dot” Miller of Rap Radar run across my timeline via an RT that seemed extremely hypocritical to me so I decided to add my two cents to it and RT it myself. It ended up looking like this:

RT @bdotTM: mainstream rap music sounds like this: swag, molly, rich, flexin’ (repeat). [But y’all don’t really promote shit else so….]

I was very amused by B.Dot’s complaints about mainstream Rap considering that his site Rap Radar upholds the status quo and the overwhelming majority of drek posted on said site falls under that exact description and is posted by B.Dot himself. What followed were a few RT’s of my RT and a discussion amongst some fellow tweeters that also felt that B.Dot’s comment was hypocritical and found it humorous. I didn’t think anything else of it until a couple of days later when B.Dot suddenly developed a conscience and made a post about the state of NY Rap radio on Rap Radar.

I was going off on Complex’s terrible “25 Rap Albums From The Past Decade That Deserve Classic Status” that morning and I spent the afternoon rehashing the career of my late fellow Bostonian Patrice O’Neal on Twitter so while I saw a debate raging on my timeline I really didn’t go too deep into it although the gist of it was B.Dot called on Hot 97 for not playing more New York Hip-Hop. Considering that I’d been calling out Rap Radar for not supporting Hip-Hop period from day one I found the entire exercise to be ridiculous. It was like the pot calling the kettle a “nigger” in my estimation. I ultimately decided to actually follow the debate closer.

I decided to read B.Dot’s half hearted post where he took Ebro the Hot 97 Program Director to task for not playing “at least 5 local records into their daily mix”. Really? That’s all you want? That’s your main issue with NY Rap radio? I read on and B.Dot pulled yet another hypocritical move by focusing on Ebro’s characterization of NYC underground Hip-Hop as being in the “minor leagues” in his discussion with Peter Rosenberg, host of “The Cipha Sounds & Rosenberg Show With Kay Foxx” and the “Real Late Show” on Hot 97.

I read on as B.Dot went off on Hot 97 for their inability to “showcase more local talent during the course of a full business day”. The same B.Dot who regularly ignores a gang of local Hip-Hop talent and fails to showcase it daily to instead post music that falls under the same umbrella that he just criticized two days previous. He then characterized Peter Rosenberg’s “Real Late Show” (the show that actually supports much of the local Hip-Hop that B.Dot himself ignores) as having “the dreaded, Sunday 12am- 2am time slot”.

Hold on, what other NYC Hip-Hop radio show occupied that same “dreaded” time slot? Oh, I remember…the Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Show on 88.9 & Hot 97! The greatest and most influential Hip-Hop radio show of all times that aired in that same time slot on Hot 97 and spread nationwide and overseas via tapes in a pre-internet era when it was on WKCR. If B.Dot actually knew anything about Hip-hop or NY radio he would’ve known that. Actually, what Hip-hop head doesn’t already know that? Surely not one that should be criticizing NY’s Rap radio lack of local artists (that they don’t support in the first place).

In the closing paragraph of B.Dot’s supposed “Moment Of Clarity” he wrote this telling passage “This is bullshit. Hot 97 embraces artists only after they’re successful—or have money behind their songs.”. Well, I’ll be damned! Did B.Dot just criticize Hot 97 for not supporting up & coming rappers considering that he’s said on multiple occasions that Rap Radar doesn’t do it, either? When pressed about the issue he typically passes the buck and claims that there are other sites that do that and it’s not part of what Rap Radar does. In fact, he’s used analogies similar to the same one he criticized Ebro for using in the past to explain why there’s no support for underground or indie Hip-Hop on Rap Radar. Let’s go back to that for a moment, shall we?

A few days later, B.Dot posted Sean Price’s response to Peter Rosenberg after getting wind of Ebro’s comments complete with an iTunes purchase link to “Mic Tyson”. Just one issue with that, where was this same support of “Mic Tyson” back on October 30th when “Mic Tyson” first dropped? Oh, that’s right! On that day, rather than support any of the numerous indie Hip-Hop/Rap albums that dropped that day Rap Radar instead chose to promote MMG artist Meek Mill’s “Dreams And Nightmares”.

That means that Rap Radar chose to overlook Sean Price, Craig G, MHz, The Black Opera, Audible Doctor and Journalist 103 on that day. B.Dot decided to post Sean Price’s reaction to his “minor league” characterization by Hot 97’s Ebro when his own poor track record when it comes to supporting underground and indie Hip-Hop is made known with every passing Tuesday. This makes Brian “B.Dot” Miller look like an opportunist and a hypocrite simultaneously. Makes you begin to question the motives behind his sudden campaign to bring balance to Hot 97’s airwaves, doesn’t it?

In B.Dot’s initial “Moment Of Clarity” post he wrote the following passage in regards to Hot 97, ” Instead of being innovators, Hot has followed the playlists of other regions. Locals are now forced to play second string to outta town rookies like Trinidad James and Chief Keef”. Shortly after posting these words, both Chief Keef and Trinidad James make appearances on Rap Radar next to Bow Wow, Future, B.o.B & Taylor Swift and even an EDM duo YMCMB recently signed.

I didn’t find New York emcee Meyhem Lauren’s recently released “Mandatory Brunch Sessions” anywhere on Rap Radar after B.Dot’s post but I DID find multiple posts featuring Trinidad James (posted by B.Dot himself) whom he just used as an example of who radio is “forced” to play in lieu of New York Rap from local emcees. What gives? Well, that’s to be expected considering B.Dot pretty much ignored Action Bronson until he appeared on “Last Call With Carson Daly” last fall. I guess “Dr. Lecter” wasn’t enough on it’s own?

By now, the entire Rap Radar vs. Hot 97 debate was raging all over Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the blogosphere. Many were congratulating B.Dot for taking a stand for NYC Hip-Hop but there were a bunch of us that weren’t buying it at all. I judge people by their actions as opposed to what they say. If you take a position and you follow it up with actions that contradict your previous position or stance then the only logical conclusion to draw is you’re an insincere or disingenuous person. Some laymen would typically categorize a person who fits these criterion as a “fuckboy”. I know I do.

In B.Dot’s second “Moment Of Clarity” post which occurred four days after his initial post (in which span of time he did nothing significant to support local New York Hip-Hop through his own actions) he offered the following tidbit about Rap Radar (in addition to passing the blame again and not shouldering any personal responsibility per usual), “If you’re visiting this website, chances are you’re a hip-hop nerd. Myself included”. Is that right? Most people that would categorize themselves as such would actually act as if they gave a fuck about Hip-Hop. In reality, most Hip-Hop nerds regularly critique the radio and it’s practices and have been doing so in excess of a decade. Not just four days ago.

You can’t call someone else out for not doing that which you’re not willing to do yourself. That’s just common sense. In that same span of time, Peter Rosenberg brought the issue to that fuckboy Hot 97 Program Director Ebro, let his feelings be known and even had callers express their feelings to him live on the air. Here’s the thing, I remember Peter Rosenberg from back in his college days in Maryland writing about Hip-Hop and interviewing greats for Roger Gastman’s magazine “While You Were Sleeping” and as an extended member of Low Budget Crew.

I know where Rosenberg stands in regards to Hip-Hop already. He’s been consistent in his position and convictions for more than 12 years now. He does what he can to support indie and underground Hip-Hop. He not only talks the talk but he actively puts action behind it. I’ve criticized B.Dot directly for his constant complaining about constantly being under fire for not supporting a wider array of Rap/Hip-Hop on Rap Radar for years.

What has he done? Fall back on the same tired excuse that it’s not Rap Radar’s place to do so. But he wants someone else to do it? I learned early on that I should be the change I’m attempting to enact. If I wasn’t willing to embody my beliefs and statements and back them up then I probably should shut the fuck up and have a seat.

B.Dot has shit on indie & underground Hip-Hop repeatedly over the years but now that it’s convenient for him and his brand new position now he wants to mention it. Let’s assume that B.Dot has always felt this way about NY radio and Hot 97 for years but held his tongue. In which case, he’s a huge coward. Let’s instead take the position that it took B.Dot until December 5th, 2012 for his tolerance level for bullshit to finally be peaked. That being the case then how come B.Dot’s actions nor his most recent posts on Rap Radar don’t reflect that? If B.Dot hasn’t previously supported the numerous New York emcees in his backyard then he should’ve began doing so. He hasn’t.

B.Dot and Rap Radar has overlooked quality New York Rap at every turn in 2012. I can find 10 posts featuring Lola Monroe from this year alone but when I search for any mention of Torae I get only 4 (none since 2010) total posts. Torae has released “For The Record” & “Off The Record EP” since then but he hasn’t warranted any mention?  I searched Skyzoo and I found only 8 posts (all made between 2010 and now).

I searched Homeboy Sandman and I found only one mention (from 2010). Homeboy Sandman has released 4 total projects since 2010 (that all were extremely well received) but somehow this top New York emcee hasn’t popped up on Rap Radar’s radar? Ka (who might’ve made the album of the year) wasn’t even mentioned ONCE. Roc Marciano racked up 10 total mentions going back to 2010 and NONE even mentioned either of his albums “Marcberg” or the recently released “Reloaded”. Very telling indeed.

By the same token Trinidad James has racked up 10 posts on Rap Radar in the span of a week. A WEEK. It took Sean Price more than a year to be mentioned that much and he’s a legitimate legend with a career that goes back to the mid 90’s. The proof is right there in the search bar. Rap Radar treats underground NY emcees like they’re minor leaguers but B.Dot wants to call someone else out for doing the very same. But we already knew that. After all, we’re not stupid. Are we? I mean how many cats gave B.Dot props for his halfassed attempt at raging against the machine when he is actually part of it himself?

I find that if you’re going to speak out against something that you should have some semblance of credibility, otherwise everything you say holds no weight. Anyone I know that has issue with the radio made it a point to actively combat it, whether it’s through blogging, starting an online radio station or working in PR and digital marketing. They saw a problem and they acted. They didn’t just complain then do nothing about it.

In Brian “B.Dot” Miller’s case he decided to go at Hot 97 when he hadn’t actively done shit to counteract their lack of support for NY Hip-Hop and Rap since the day Rap Radar first launched back in 2009. Afterwards, still nothing. That makes him a hypocrite. When the subject of offering balance on Rap Radar was brought up he’s shrugged it off and stuck to his go to cop out that he and Elliott Wilson are merely there to “document the culture” and there are “other blogs” to break new artists and accommodate the underground. He then turns around and criticizes radio DJ’s for not doing so without acknowledging that the reasons Hip-Hop blogs rose were because of people becoming disillusioned with the fuckery involved with Rap radio in the first place.

You all know where I stand. You’ve known since 2006. I’ve been a backpacker officially since 1991. When the post Telecommunications Act split happened in Hip-Hop I noticed that the radio started falling off and losing it’s balance way back in 1997. My position has never wavered in more than 15 years in regards to what’s happened to mainstream Rap or the culture of Hip-Hop. I’ve never been a hypocrite. I’ve never displayed cowardice. I’ve never once failed to call out bullshit when I see it. I call bullshit.

The Rap industry already has far too many fakes, cowards, chumps and fuckboys in positions of power helping to maintain the status quo. It’s time to stop accepting excuses, cop outs and letting people slide when they don’t live up to what they portray themselves as being. If you’re going to crusade for Hip-Hop then do so. If you’re going to just sit back down and collect a check although you acknowledge shit is fucked up then you might as well have never written or said anything in the first place. Hip-Hop was created as rebel music. Hip-Hop cannot thrive in an environment powered by fear, hypocrisy, cowardice and complacency. In short, no fuckboys are allowed. Either lead, follow or get the fuck out of the way and sit down. That’s my word.

One.

I’ve gone 9 months without making yet another cult films of the Internet Age (1996-) list now. Seven months previous to that I resurrected a series I began way back on Poisonous Paragraphs in 2007. Over these past 5+ years I’ve listed close to 500 films of every imaginable genre and before it turns 2013 I should add another 25 jawns to the scroll. I used to watch a gang of films before in the old Netflix mail days and on the internet simultaneously back in the early days of Poisonous Paragraphs. I watched slightly less films during the Netflix streaming era after ICE took down most of the websites that made watching films that were still in the theater possible and even fewer when I began writing for other sites regularly.

Due to those aforementioned factors, it took longer than it normally would to reach 25 films that would qualify for my latest list, even with the proliferation of Redboxes (who are teaming with Verizon and entering the streaming media arena in early 2013). With all that said here’s my list of the next 25 cult films of the Internet Age (1996-). I’ll try to do a few more of these before I finally bring an end to Bastard Swordsman (no blog I start will ever last longer than 3 years). Let’s do this already:

The Wave (2008)

“The Wave (Die Welle)” is based on a true story involving a popular teacher in Germany that conducts a class about how the Third Reich was able to indoctrinate so many so quickly that eventually spiraled out of control. You really need to see this film and experience it for yourselves.

Outrage (2010)

Beat Takeshi is to Yakuza films what Kool G. Rap is to Hip-Hop. He finds brand new story angles, layers and themes within the Yakuza film genre to explore then executes them each perfectly. The game of passing the buck doesn’t just happen in the corporate world, but in the world of organized crime people end up dead.

Twelve (2010)

This is one of the movies that makes the list because it airs on cable late at night. I’ve seen it about 10 times in the past year at odd hours (I don’t sleep) and there are a gang of elements in this film that make it a quintessential cult film. From the cast to the themes “Twelve” is one of those flicks that you end up watching at 2 AM and you stay up until the wee hours of the morning because you need to know how it all ends. I need to write my “poor rich kids with problems” screenplay. It’s a rite of passage.

Viva Riva! (2010)

“Viva Riva!” is about an ain’t shit hustler and womanizer that lives in the Congo and takes down scams and get rich quick schemes but stumbles on cache of gas in Kinshasha where it’s in short supply. He runs afoul of the wrong people and faces the wrath of thugs and corrupt law enforcement along the way. What else happens? Watch and find out.

Catfish (2010)

I’m sure by now you’re familiar with the popular MTV show based on this documentary that many of us didn’t believe was a documentary at first. I thought to myself as I watched it in total astonishment that this had to be one of those staged faux documentaries, it just had to be. Isn’t it? The more & more people I introduced it to had different theories about it’s veracity but so much happened in it that if it were fake? They deserve even more credit for it.

Snow On Tha Bluff (2011)

“Snow On Tha Bluff” is an actual faux documentary as opposed to a real one. It’s so “real” that you actually begin to wonder if it’s actually fake or staged or not. I felt the exact same range of emotions that I felt while I was immersed in “Catfish” that I did while I was watching “Snow On Tha Bluff”. I haven’t wondered if the events I witnessed were real this much since I saw “Street Thief” years ago on Netflix. Don’t sleep on it.

Jiro Dreams Of Sushi (2011)

If you love what you do o aspire to greatness in that particular field, whatever it may be then you need to what this extremely inspirational film. As a lifelong Hip-Hop head and fan that grew up in the culture and all of it’s different disciplines I can say that this is one of the most topical documentary films I’ve seen since “Still Bill” and “Bill Cunningham New York”. It’s impossible to not watch this and be inspired.

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth (2011)

“The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” is easily one of the most powerful documentaries I’ve seen that tackles the subjects of institutional racism, White flight, the psychological aftereffects of second class citizenship and the failures of state and government in respect to looking out for some of it’s constituents. Watch this documentary and you’ll in awe, St. Louis’ Pruitt-Igoe failure will never leave your psyche afterwards.

Phase 7 (2011)

I learned so much about social issues that affect Buenos Aires, Argentina and it’s populace that I didn’t expect to while I was simply watching a science fiction film I expected to be a cross between “REC” and “Attack The Block”. What I saw was far more character based and entrenched in real life as a husband tries to keep his 7 month old pregnant wife and himself alive in a Buenos Aires apartment complex during an outbreak as his neighbors become increasingly problematic. Watch it.

Limelight (2011)

Canadian businessman Peter Gatien was the king of New York nightlife at the height of decadence. Once we entered Guiliani Era New York combined with the explosion of rave culture and Hip-Hop becoming the most dominant and popular music form during the late 90’s, Gatien’s Limelight and The Tunnel club venues became targeted by law enforcement. What happens next is a modern day witch hunt made in America.

Sound Of My Voice (2011)

This is a unique hybrid science fiction film and psychological thriller about a young aspiring journalist and a substitute teacher that discover a small cult and they seek to expose it’s leader as a fraud so they each go undercover and join the cult. I’m not go to reveal anything else, please see it for yourselves.

Margin Call (2011)

Do you want to see a prime example of why America is going downhill? Watch this film. The rich and the few sold out the entire country just to save themselves and their shareholders. They knew what they were doing was wrong and detrimental to the entire American economy but they did it anyways. Excellent cast and writing, based on true events.

Knuckle (2011)

This is a documentary that both saddened and intrigued me simultaneously.It’s essentially about three families of travelers that reside in Ireland and the UK (Joyces, Quinns & Nevins’) that fuel and perpetrate a feud that’s raged on for more than a generation and resulted in deaths amongst these three families. They revolve around threats recorded on video cameras and filmed bare knuckle boxing matches amongst the three hated families. Oh, have I mentioned that they’re all related and intermarry amongst each other to make it that much more sad and bizarre?

Puncture (2011)

“Puncture” is based on the real life of Michael David Weiss, a young Houston lawyer and drug addict and his law partner and friend Paul Danzinger. After a nurse infects herself with a contaminated needle, Weiss and Danzinger dig and discover that it’s a fairly common occurrence that leads to the death of several health care workers. They take on the case, partner with a manufacturer that makes safety needles that can save people and decide to introduce them to the health care community only to meet overwhelming resistance. Watch as a couple lawyers from Houston set out to reform American health care.

Anonymous (2011)

I’m a Shakespeare fanatic. I have about 20 of William Shakespeare’s plays in book form and while I attended Boston Latin School I had to read many of them at an early age. I feel in love with his writing aesthetic and mastery of verse, tempo, rising action and humor. He was easily the greatest playwright to ever pen verse. The question is, did HE ever put a pen to paper? Shakespeare historians have had the worst luck in finding any proof of his formal education or any documents written or even signed by him other than his plays. If you can stomach Elizabethan dramas and love history? Watch this.

Young Adult (2011)

“Young Adult” makes me feel so much better about where I currently am in my writing career and life in general. Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman team up once again to make a quotable film that spent a great deal of time on an iPod Classic being watched. Mavis Gary is a 37 year old “success story” that leaves the big city and goes back to her small hometown and what happens next needs to be seen to be believed.

God Bless America (2011)

“God Bless America” is NOT for the faint of heart. If you couldn’t rock with extreme parodies like “Super” or films with topical social commentary and a gang of violence like “Red State” than you should avoid “God Bless America” like the plague. If you can handle it? Watch it as soon as humanly possible. By yourself, preferably. I want you to still be respected by your family and friends. I watch this jawn during breakfast. I’m a professional, don’t try that at home.

The Ides Of March (2011)

Hi kids! Do you like hybrid political psychological dramas based on books you didn’t know existed that was loaded with an amazing cast and had top notch writing? NO? What the hell do you mean by “no”? Watch it anyways. It has George Clooney and Ryan Gosling on the film poster.

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

“Moonrise Kingdom” is a Wes Anderson film set in New England during the mid 60’s with a stellar ensemble cast and is loaded with Wes Andersonisms. If you’re a Wes Anderson head like I am, then you’ve already seen it. If you aren’t you should watch it anyways. I should warn you to not Google too many things mentioned in this film as they’re usually made up. Wes has one hell of an imagination.

Cosmopolis (2012)

What can I say? I love nihilistic Cronenberg films based on novels that open on my birthday. Juliette Binoche AND Samantha Morton in the same film? Did I cast this jawn? I loved it but you might very well hate it. I loved “Southland Tales”, after all.

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

I love films that don’t fit in the typical movie mold. “Safety Not Guaranteed” is a comedic drama (or a dramatic comedy) centered around an interesting classified ad left in a Seattle newspaper, a writer for a magazine that decides to investigate it and a young intern whom he sends to answer the ad, go undercover and get him the story. I just now realized that this and “Sound Of My Voice” both have undercover investigate reports and time travel angles in common. Watch it. I learn so much about myself when I do these lists.

Lawless (2012)

Imagine “Boardwalk Empire” set in Virginia and adapted from novel form into a screenplay by a highly influential singer songwriter that was in developmental Hell for so long I compared it to a show that it was actually in development before it began airing. Watch it.

Savages (2012)

Do I even have to explain this one? It has all the prerequisites. Insane ensemble cast. Based on a novel of the same name. A gang of violence. Hot women. Quotable dialogue. Directed by Oliver Stone. Are you watching “Secret History Of America”? Why the hell not? You get it, already.

Beasts Of The Southern Wild (2012)

This film isn’t based that much in reality (or is it?) but there’s so much symbolism in it that you’re going to have to watch it multiple times to piece everything together. It’s insane how a film that isn’t about our world at all can be set in our world but say more about it indirectly than other films do directly. Did that make sense to anyone else besides me? I just read it back five times and I’m deciding to roll with it anyways. Watch this film.

Middle Of Nowhere (2012)

What’s a cult films list without an entry from Ava DuVernay? “Middle Of Nowhere” is a film about a woman who leaves medical school to tend to her husband while he’s incarcerated. I love Ava DuVernay’s films and you know what I love even more? That you can download the screenplay from “Middle Of Nowhere” and read it for yourselves before choosing to see it. There are 36 theaters within 20 miles of me and none of them are currently showing it but I’m putting this out there for you all once it’s available to watch via On Demand portals or rental through Netflix, Redbox and Blockbuster.

One.

On July 13th, Touré wrote a piece that was published by The Washington Post titled “How America And Hip-Hop Failed Each Other”. Touré’s piece quickly made the rounds through the Hip Hop blogosphere. I personally read it from AlLindstrom.com via Twitter and I have to say that I have more than a few issues with his article. In regards to much of the data that Touré used regarding the war on drugs, the incarceration rates, unemployment rates and the books he brings into the discussion to help hammer home his conclusion none of those were the problem. Oddly enough, where Touré’s entire piece fell apart was when he discussed anything regarding Hip-Hop. Let me explain why…

Basically Touré’s entire article hinges on how Hip-Hop went from having a majority Black audience in the mid to late 80’s when it was largely Afrocentric and fairly conscious/uplifting to possessing a mostly Caucasian audience that reveled in criminal/gangsta archetypes by the mid 90’s. Touré attributes this changeover directly to America’s war on drugs began by Richard Nixon but kicked into overdrive by the Reagan administration and it’s by products and aftereffects. My issue is that while the FBI’s antidrug funding increased exponentially and crack’s growing presence in the inner cities obviously affected the culture of Hip-Hop those outside influences weren’t the key reasons Hip-Hop’s overall aesthetic and core fanbase switched between the 80’s and 90’s.

Let’s get to the meat of the issue here. The switchover Touré is referring to his article actually did occur. I saw it happen firsthand and I lived through all of it. Why did it happen? Not exactly for the reasons that Touré alludes to, they were far more organic and internal than he led many to believe. A great deal of the factors that resulted in the changeover of Rap’s audience are so obvious I wonder how Touré could’ve possibly overlooked them.

Between the years of 1986 and 1993, Hip-Hop had this change in core fanbase, overall aesthetic and direction which Touré wrote about. What happened within the world of Hip-Hop itself during those years holds the key to everything. The first part of this timeline includes the first Hip-Hop Golden Era which spanned the approximate years of 1986 to 1989. During this era advances in sampling technology, production techniques and a new focus on lyricism all emerged spearheaded by several visionaries and pioneers in Hip-Hop production and emceeing.

During this era emcees like Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap and Afrocentric/conscious/trailblazing groups like Boogie Down Productions, Public Enemy, Stetsasonic, Ultramagnetic MC’s, Gang Starr, Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul amongst others all came into prominence. What we tend to forget is that hardcore/gangsta acts like Schoolly D, Just-Ice, Ice T, N.W.A., Geto Boys and many others were already popular during this same era as well. This is where the naturally fickle nature of urban music reared it’s ugly head.

In urban music (such as Hip-Hop) generations occur in 3 to 5 year segments. If a particular style or sub genre of Hip-Hop is hot in 1991 it will fall off sometime between 1994 and 1996 in most cases. Take into account the rise and fall of once super successful acts like Fu-Schnickens and Das EFX for example. The first Golden Era of Hip-Hop came to a natural end after 4 years and settled into crucial space that gave rise to the second (and last) Golden Era of Hip-Hop which lasted between 1992 to 1996 (some include 1997 while I contend it’s part of another era entirely). During the years of 1990 and 1991 the changeover Touré attributes to outside influences other than byproducts caused by internal cultural turmoil occurred.

We’ve entered 1990, the Afrocentric/Conscious Era of Hip-Hop music is already on it’s last legs. A perfect indicator of this change is the group X-Clan and the Blackwatch Movement lead by Professor X (Lumumba Carson). In 1990, their album “To The East, Blackwards” was successful enough for individual group members to record solo albums between 1990 and 1992.

By the time X-Clan released their sophomore album in 1992, interest in the group had dropped significantly and shortly thereafter they broke up. What happened in 1990 that initiated this change? The answer actually lies back in 1989 with a string of initial crossover hits that led to an explosion of factors in 1990 and Touré somehow missed all of them completely (which is odd given you’d think he’d research these things before he wrote them).

How exactly did Hip-Hop’s fanbase gain so many White fans between 1989 and 1992 anyways? Let’s examine that issue by looking at Hip-Hop itself. In 1989, several crossover hits that ended up on Rock & Pop radio, got aired on MTV’s “Yo! MTV Raps” and gained popularity with young kids that weren’t initially Rap fans were made. Among them being Biz Markie’s “Just A Friend”, De La Soul’s “Me, Myself & I”, Young MC’s “Bust A Move”, Tone Loc’s “Wild Thing” & “Funky Cold Medina” and MC Hammer’s “Turn This Mutha Out”.

All of these songs and more people across the country getting cable and access to “Yo! MTV Raps” plus in January 1989 “The Arsenio Hall Show” began airing. Arsenio Hall brought Hip-Hop into America’s homes as frequent musical guests every weeknight and he even allowed them to sit on his couch & speak their piece. This led to a perfect storm come a wave of Rap hits in 1990 that changed Rap’s destiny forever.

In January 1990, MC Hammer released the inescapable pop Rap hit “U Can’t Touch This”. It became one of the first Rap songs to hit the #1 spot on the Billboard charts. In July 1990, Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” became the next #1 Rap song to hit on Billboard. Between the success of MC Hammer’s “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em” and Vanilla Ice’s “To The Extreme” they brought Rap to a wider audience then ever before possible thanks to spins on Rock and Pop radio plus the support of MTV. The success of these two albums forced many Rap artists and Hip-Hop labels to attempt to make crossover hits much in the same fashion.

In addition to MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice, Salt N’ Pepa crossed over with a softer sound and the Platinum hit “Expression”. “Expression” pushed their album to Platinum sales and soon other female rappers (most notably MC Lyte & Queen Latifah) switched up to lighter fare in hopes of moving more units and gaining mainstream appeal. This lead to much internal turmoil in the Rap world as rappers began to call each other out for attempting to “sell out”. As would be expected, there was a backlash against what was deemed “Pop Rap”.

In addition, more things happened to widen Hip-Hop’s appeal to segments of the population that weren’t previously Rap fans in 1990. In April 1990, the fledgling Fox network began airing a Hip-Hopcentric comedy sketch show written mostly by brothers Keenan Ivory Wayans & Damon Wayans. They introduced Hip-Hop acts to the American audience every week by featuring them as music guests to close the show. Kid N’ Play starred in the film “House Party” which became a box office hit and made them mainstream stars. They even gained a Saturday morning cartoon the next Fall (alongside MC Hammer’s “Hammerman”).

Touré even overlooked that in 1990 Will Smith’s Quincy Jones produced show “The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air” began airing on NBC. It quickly became a ratings hit and made Hip-Hop all the more palatable to mainstream audiences. Between the combined popularity of “Yo! MTV Raps”, “The Arsenio Hall Show”, “In Living Color” and “The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air” White audiences where being bombarded with Rap and flashes of urban/Hip-Hop culture. At the same time Digital Underground’s “Humpty Dance”, Candyman’s “Knockin’ Boots” and Monie Love’s “It’s A Shame (My Sister)” had also become huge crossover Billboard hits in 1990. Hip-Hop was everywhere.

So how did we get from MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice dancing onstage in sequins and endorsing every product under the sun to everyone being “hardcore”, “keepin’ it real” and representin’” by 1993? It’s pretty simple. Beginning in 1991, labels began to seek out “alternative Rap” groups or “alternative Rappers” to cater to these fans that would be turned off by harder more aggressive Rap.

What happened next? Acts like P.M. Dawn emerged and became successful. P.M. Dawn’s success led to Arrested Development getting signed. By then, a huge segment of Hip-Hop fans and artists became very irritated with Hip-Hop/Rap’s recent Pop leanings and there was a great backlash against it that had been brewing since January 1990 but finally came to a head in January 1992.

The event that is often cited as the tipping point when the Pop Rap Era ended and the second Hip-Hop Golden Age began is the January night in 1992 where P.M. Dawn did a set at Sound Factory and previously Prince Be said some less than flattering (and downright stupid) things about Public Enemy and KRS One in recent interviews with the music press. KRS One, the BDP crew and several affiliates and artists that supported him rushed the stage, tossed Prince Be off and KRS One rocked “I’m Still #1” for a frenzied audience. The backlash against Pop Rap and Alternative Rap had reached critical mass and ushered in a new Golden Age of Hip-Hop as numerous seminal and classic Hip-Hop releases would drop in succession in the following months.

The cover of issue #39 (December ’92) of The Source declared 1992 “The Year Of The Underground”. From that point on if you weren’t hard, reppin’ the streets, keepin’ it real, smoking blunts, drinking 40’s, playing ceelo, selling crack, bustin’ guns or just keeping it raw or gutter you were seen as not being down with “real Hip Hop” by 1993. This was a complete 180º from the Pop leaning Rap that pervaded the charts and airwaves between 1990 and 1991. Every action has an equal or opposite reaction, after all.

Touré completely glossed over these occurrences in the world of Hip-Hop making it seem as if these changes in Rap and it’s culture occurred almost overnight and they were directly affected by the government’s so called “War On Drugs”. Don’t we all remember White kids ironically reciting Del’s “Mistadobalina” or doing the East Coast stomp as “Scenario” played at the end of 1991? I sure do…

Inexplicably, Touré didn’t even think to mention how the Time Warner/Cop Killer Controversy or the LA Riots in April 1992 affected records labels staying away from signing conscious rappers and Rap groups in the following years (case in point, Paris’ “Bush Killa” LP being released later as “Sleeping With The Enemy” on his own Scarface label after being dropped by a major post the Time Warner boycott).

The fallout resulting from the reaction to Body Count’s single “Cop Killer” post the LA Riots ultimately had a lot more to do with the lack of social commentary in Hip-Hop or conscious Rap in later years than any of the external factors Touré listed in his article, especially after the Telecommunications Act was signed in February 1996 (Touré DID research this, right?). If you were an outsider to Hip-Hop culture and weren’t a fan through this tumultuous time you’d simply take Touré at his word, seeing as how he’s the expert. That would be dangerous and ill advised to say the least.

Let’s finish with Touré and his constant mentions of Katheryn Russell-Brown’s “criminalblackman” theory (from her 1998 book “The Color Of Crime” pictured above) and it’s application to how Hip-Hop artists (and by extension all Black men) are viewed. The thugged out image that pervaded Hip-Hop actually began as an adverse reaction to the Pop Rappers in gaudy sequined outfits that supposedly sold out the culture in the previous couple of years. Beginning in late 1991 and early 1992, Rap songs began to cross over without having to diluting it’s sound (i.e. Black Sheep’s “The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)”, ATCQ’s “Scenario”, Del’s “Mistadobalina”, EPMD’s “Crossover”, Das EFX’s “They Want EFX” & Dr. Dre & Snoop Doggy Dogg’s “Deep Cover”).

From 1992 to 1996, Hip-Hop went in the opposite direction with it’s sound, look and overall aesthetic (as I previously established it always did naturally). That’s NOT to say that corporations and labels didn’t exploit this supposed “criminalblackman” image, focus on it, leading others to adopt it and reap untold fortunes from it. In conclusion, Touré admirably found a way to simultaneously simplify and complicate the shift of Hip-Hop’s fanbase and focus during a crucial phase “at the same damn time”. For that he failed.

One.

I’m sure you’ve all seen Elliott Wilson’s video about whether or not Kendrick Lamar’s new album “good kid, m.A.A.d city” is a classic album that deserves all of the hype, praise and attention that’s currently being lavished on it. I’m sure you’ve seen the Facebook and Twitter debates about the same subject. There have been quite a few opinion pieces and articles written either about whether or not Kendrick Lamar’s new album is a classic or if we need to be years removed from an album to see it’s legacy and aftereffects before it can be deemed a true classic. Others say that a true classic is indisputable. There’s a serious hole in this way of thinking in my opinion and here’s why…

Since about 1997 (the same year the mainstream and underground/indie Hip-Hop began it’s progressive divide and eventual complete separation) it’s becoming increasingly harder to have undisputed Hip-Hop classics in the eyes of Rap fans beginning with the release of Lateef & Lyrics Born’s “Latryx: The Album” and Company Flow’s “Funcrusher Plus”. The truth is that there have been scores of classic indie Hip-Hop albums released over the past 15+ years that the overwhelming majority of Rap fans and listeners have either never heard or even heard of. This has effectively destroyed the old “a classic Hip-Hop/Rap album is indisputable” argument forever and ever amen since cats can barely recognize classic material when they hear because at the mainstream level these releases are so few and far between. Remember what Eddie Murphy said about a hungry man being fed a cracker back in the days in “Raw”?

We are currently in a separate but unequal Rap Jim Crow/Hip-Hop Apartheid Era in regards to coverage and attention given to current Hip-Hop/Rap releases that might be just as good if not possibly even better than Kendrick Lamar’s excellent “good kid, m.A.A.d. city” is. The truth of the matter is Kendrick and his TDE compatriots have built themselves up to this by being excellent between 2009 to now. I’m sick of hearing about this being Kendrick Lamar’s “debut” album. Bullshit. “O(verly) D(edicated)” wasn’t a mixtape and you could cop “Section.80” on iTunes. Calling “good kid, m.A.A.d. city” his major label debut (as if THIS is the album that validates him) is like calling Rian Johnson’s “Looper” the film that finally validated him. I saw “Brick” and “The Brother’s Bloom”. He was already nice as a writer. Now let’s get to the real issue surrounding this argument, shall we?

After years of being a Rap media and popular blog darling (all the blogs that appear in each other’s blogrolls and get high Alexa ratings), Kendrick Lamar’s career has become the perfect storm leading up to him getting the co-sign from Dr. Dre. That occurrence made it completely safe for XXL and The Source to put him on covers and now give him the rating that “Section.80” probably deserved but didn’t get because he was still just an “indie blog rapper”. Case in point, what did The Source and XXL rate Skyzoo’s “A Dream Deferred”? I consider this project to be just as good as “good kid, m.A.A.d city” (which I also loved). Have ANY recent indie Hip-Hop albums received as high praise from the Rap press lately?

Killer Mike x El-P’s “R.A.P. Music” got an XL because it was “too short”. I wonder what “Illmatic” would’ve gotten in that case? Let’s go back and review the ratings and lack of attention given to some of the best indie Hip-Hop album to drop thus far in 2012: The Alchemist “Russian Roulette”, OC & Apollo Brown “Trophies”, KA “Grief Pedigree”, Brother Ali x Jake One “Mourning In America & Dreaming In Color”, El-P “Cancer 4 Cure”, Gangrene “Vodka & Ayahuasca”, Houseshoes “Let It Go”, Homeboy Sandman “First Of A Living Breed”, Oddisee “People Hear What They See”, Oh No “Ohnomite”, Rapsody “The Idea Of Beautiful”, REKS x Statik Selektah “Straight No Chaser”, REKS x Numonics “REBELutionary”, Bambu “One Rifle Per Family”, Skyzoo “A Dream Deferred”, Sean Born “Behind The Scale”, Sene “Brooklyknight”, etc. What excuses were made for them ALL not receiving equal attention, praise or coverage?

What excuses can we expect for Sean Price’s “Mic Tyson” or Roc Marciano’s “Reloaded” after they drop as to why they more than likely won’t receive any of the love Kendrick Lamar’s album is currently getting regardless of how good they are? Unless Jay-Z and Kanye West cosigns either one of them no major Rap publication will magically grow the balls to call either one of these albums a classic potentially. Shit, they won’t even come clean with giving any of their PREVIOUS releases that same tag although they obviously deserve it. Anyone who actually heard “Monkey Bars”, “Jesus Price Supastar”, “U N Or U Out” or “Marcberg” knows better than that.

Elliott Wilson often writes and says “Support Our Culture”, the problem is that our Rap publications and blogs (Rap Radar included) don’t do that at present. When you use the word “culture” that means the full diaspora of Hip-Hop music from the majors to the indie releases. Hip-Hop is all inclusive, word to the Universal Zulu Nation. It began in the South Bronx in New York but Hip-Hop is a worldwide culture. By that same token why won’t these same cats support great music regardless of how much money is behind it? Meek Mill’s lackluster album will get ALL the attention this Tuesday and cats like me will actually be the ones supporting our culture by promoting Sean Price’s “Mic Tyson”, The Black Opera’s “Libretto: of King Legend” and Craig G’s “Ramblings Of An Angry Old Man” since those that supposedly uphold the culture refuse to do so.

When Lil’ Fame & Termanology’s “Fizzyology” or Apollo Brown & Guilty Simpson’s “The Dice Game” both drop we both know that there’s automatically a glass ceiling in place and they’ll only get up to a certain rating and they’ll only receive up to a certain amount of hoopla, press or fanfare regardless of how good the albums actually are due to the fact that they’re indie releases. The big problem? They know this as well. As do the fans. This is the main reason that modern Rap fans have NO clue what a “classic” even sounds like. For the last 15 or so years we’ve been stuck in this holding pattern so people are afraid to call an album a classic because they think they don’t exist anymore. Very wrong. LOOK DOWN. Towards the underground.

In conclusion, we are in an unfortunate era of Hip-Hop in regards to the unequal respect and coverage given to indie Rap. Why is this an issue? Because between 85-90% of the best Hip-Hop released every year ultimately comes from indie channels and via indie labels. If these albums aren’t getting the shine they deserve the entire artform and culture are being done a disservice. The fans and the Rap listening public are being underserved as well. I’ll make one final point before I bounce…

Back in December 1992 in The Source’s end of year issue they gave the Album Of The Year award to Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s “Mecca And The Soul Brother”. The album didn’t even sell Gold and by the time the issue hit stands and was being read you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic” which went on to dominate 1993. “Mecca & The Soul Brother” was regarded as classic material by heads immediately upon it’s release. Look at all the classic material that dropped in 1992 in retrospect making it easy for fans to recognize an “undisputed classic” 20 years ago. Fast forward 20 years and now cats think classic material is an endangered species when it really isn’t. Support our culture. ALL OF IT.

One.

The life cycle of the Sony PlayStation gaming system began on September 9th, 1995 but it was almost two years into it’s existence when one of the games that ultimately helped it become the best selling game system on Earth was released in North America. The English translation of the ground breaking and highly influential game “Final Fantasy VII” was released on September 7th, 1997 in North America (US & Canada).

“Final Fantasy VII” was initially released at the top of 1997 in Japan to critical acclaim and sales success. The main issues involved the high minded concepts and storylines contained in “Final Fantasy VII” and the often tricky process of translating them into english effectively. In the end, the characters, their story arcs, the game’s story and the overall feel of it drew in gamers on a level we hadn’t seen a console based RPG do before. Let’s first go back to the beginning and break down how that came to be. Afterwards, we can explore the game itself then it’s lasting legacy and influence on games of the past 15 years.

Production for Squaresoft’s “Final Fantasy VII” began back in 1994, the game was initially slated for release on the SNES system. Nintendo released the N64 system in Japan in 1996 which changed everything. The Nintendo 64 was a cartridge based system with limited parameters for how big a game could be. Square instead opted to release their ambitious project on the Sony PlayStation seeing as how they employed CD-ROM’s as opposed to cartridges. “Final Fantasy VII” used fully rendered characters, pre-rendered backgrounds, 3D graphics during playable modes and incredible cinema sequences. The Sony PlayStation was the perfect home for it.

The pre-release promotional push behind “Final Fantasy VII” was insane but it was one of the rare releases where the product itself lived up to and even surpassed the hype behind it. The game itself was a perfect storm of near perfection. From the promotional graphic design, packaging and instruction book all the way down to the art direction of the game itself.

The battle system and battle screen and the materia based skill systems were so ingenuous that players who picked up future “Final Fantasy” incarnations were disappointed that they didn’t resonate with them as well as the old materia system did. The game’s story and music also made for an environment that allowed the gamer to suspend belief and become totally immersed in it.

The game was about a former mercenary for the government who becomes a hired agent of an eco-terrorist organization that was referred by an old friend from his childhood days. The game starts out in the city of Midgar, (which anyone who lives in the inner city can relate to) and relates to the different sectors of Midgar. The main character works with a team of freedom fighter called AVALANCHE lead by a man with a gun for an arm named Barrett. AVALANCHE is trying to shut down a series of reactors located in the city owned and operated by the Shinra (or Shin-Ra) Electric Power Company. The reactors generate something called Mako energy, which is in turn hurting the very planet they live on.

The game has many different themes that all intertwine together seamlessly like a Steven Soderbergh film (albeit a Soderbergh film that takes 40 hours to watch, but still). Nothing is what it seems and it isn’t a straight forward game. You discover that your original mission and goals were just the tip of the iceberg. Your main character isn’t even who he thinks he is. Your biggest inspiration is your main enemy and sometimes your allies are your enemies (and vice versa). There are so many esoteric and high minded concepts contained in this game that it was a quantum leap in gaming simply in terms of a gaming experience, story telling and character development.

“Final Fantasy VII” was one of the first games that planted the seed in the heads of gamers that had never seen such an involved and engrossing story in an RPG before that they could possibly write a complex game premise, develop it and execute it. That’s not to say that there weren’t some confusing pieces in “Final Fantasy VII” which could easily be attributed to inaccurate translations from Japanese to English. Those occurred rather infrequently which is amazing given what an undertaking the translation of this game’s text had to be.

As I reflect on the 15th anniversary of “Final Fantasy VII”’s release it has to be mentioned that not only is this game the best selling and most iconic game of the entire “Final Fantasy” franchise, it’s also attributed with being one of the key reasons the Sony PlayStation ended up being the clear winner amongst all the other 5th generation gaming consoles.

There were gaming systems that employed the CD-ROM format way before the Sony PlayStation (first being the TurboGrafx-16 back in 1990) did, but none were able to supply the quality of games and get them promoted and into stores worldwide they way they’d managed to do. It’s like I tell people all the time, being first in business is extremely overrated. Word to Hydrox cookies.

“Final Fantasy VII” started out as a Sony PlayStation exclusive release. As of September 7th, 2012 it’s also been released as a PC game and made available on the PlayStation Network as a downloadable game. It’s also become regarded higher and higher on the greatest of all times list as time progresses. The fact remains that every “Final Fantasy” game released following “FF7” has been compared to it and each has fallen short to some degree, even with greatly improved graphics and more powerful design engines at the disposal of the developers.

I can tell you from personal experience that I stopped buying “Final Fantasy” games after the 9th game dropped in the series in 2000 and didn’t play one following “Final Fantasy X” (when they dumped the Active Time Battle system). I know a number of gamers that have played “Final Fantasy VII” over and over again at different intervals over the past decade plus.

Every time I played “Final Fantasy VII”, I named my characters after someone in Hip-Hop. I’ve named Cloud everything from ZEPHYR to SEEN. I’ve only named Barrett KASE2. Tifa has been named everything from LADY HEART to CLAW and Aerith is always LADY PINK. I’ve used names of prominent people from every discipline in Hip-Hop you can think of over the years. At one point in time I even named Yuffie everything from Kuttin’ Kandi to DJ Kaori.

As I wrote this piece I decided to stay away from going in depth about the story, character development arcs, the deeper meaning behind the game’s themes and what not. I wanted to purposefully avoid touching on the obvious aspects of the game because all of these elements can best be experienced by playing it for yourself.

There is a reason why “FF7” has become the Gold standard by which modern RPG’s are judged in terms of gameplay and overall atmosphere. From the overall game aesthetic down to the music, Summons animation sequences and long running cinema transitions it’s a hard game to top that continues to inspire long standing feelings of nostalgia in those that first played it 15 years ago.

One.

August 30th, 1987 was the day gaming as we knew it was changed forever. On that day, Capcom released the first “Street Fighter” cabinets in arcades all across this great nation of ours. “Street Fighter” was a quantum leap in the fighting game genre. It employed a one on one, single combat against several opponents format (like “Karate Champion”, “Karateka” & “Yie-Ar Kung Fu”) combined incredible sound and graphic design with brand new gaming concepts that instantly grabbed the attention of gamers worldwide.

Within a week of release, “Street Fighter” had become so popular that it almost rendered the revolutionary fighting game “Double Dragon” obsolete in arcades (keep in mind that “Double Dragon” had only been out about 6 months at the time).

The initial release of “Street Fighter” saw the release of two different cabinets, the regular edition that featured a joystick and three buttons (which were red, white & blue). The deluxe edition cabinet, which ended up in bigger arcades in large markets and major cities had a joystick next to two huge blue rubber buttons. The best gamers in each arcade were drawn to this game and the challenge it presented.

You’d attempt to do the move with the controller but how hard you punched the blue or red rubber pad determined the strength of your attack. Your attack strength fell into one of three categories, jab, strong or fierce. This added a brand new element to the gameplay which implemented more strategy than gamers had seen previously in a single combat fighting game. Especially when gamers began to challenge each other using Ken or Ryu, it created a new level of sophistication that future fighting games would also utilize in later years.

“Street Fighter” had a simple story, but it was revolutionary. A fighter travels the world challenging competitors from different countries with different styles and special moves until he becomes King Of The Mountain. Simple enough, right? Why did it resonate with gamers so much? The answer is also simple. Rather than just confining the main character to a single city, it allowed them to travel the world to face multiple opponents (5 countries and 10 opponents to be exact).

Also, adding special moves which required precise timing and manual dexterity to pull off that reduced your opponents power bar by a third was a mind bending move. The Hadouken (fireball), Shoryuken (Dragon uppercut) and Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku (Hurricane kick) all paid off with brilliant animations and the character saying the attack name as it was executed. Sure the voice acting and integration was primitive, but the game’s impressive sound more than made up for it. They added to the overall gaming experience like no previous fighting game had done up until that time.

The main characters, Ken and Ryu were essentially the same character so if you were player one or two you were on equal footing when you challenged someone that was already playing (you could only beat the game as Ken by first beating and taking over for whomever previously was Ryu). Since you each had the same special moves, it was all about strategy and manual dexterity. You had no ground to stand on to complain about what character you were using nor the controls if you lost, they all sucked the exact same for everyone who played the game.

“Street Fighter” had a high playability factor due to the fact it took multiple plays and studying others playing it to devise the best strategies for defeating the games 10 opponents in the most efficient way possible. This eventually bred a culture surrounding the game that led to the future tournament editions seeing as how only the best players stuck with the game given how frustrating and difficult it initially was .

Gamers spent many man hours and quarters figuring out how to best beat Retsu, Geki, Joe, Mike, Birdie, Eagle, Lee, Gen, Adon and Sagat. Sometimes, they’d try to employ the old “Hadouken and back up to the corner of the screen and block until time runs out” method to discover that the programmers designed Adon and Sagat to make doing that as difficult as humanly possible.

For those of you that weren’t of arcade frequenting age in 1987, I’d like to let you in on a little secret. Arcade game controls were nowhere as quick or responsive as you think they were. This game was relatively hard to play and special moves were tough to pull off even for experts that toiled at that godforsaken cabinet for hours at a time trying to perfect each attack and the timing of them.

“Street Fighter” (and to some degree “Double Dragon”) completely revolutionized the way gamers and especially game planners and programmers approached future fighting games. However, ‘Street Fighter” didn’t achieve it’s status until the release of “Street Fighter II” in 1991. After it’s sequel was released and became super popular due to improved sound, graphic design, speed, voice acting and extremely responsive controls the floodgates opened. Companies rushed to capitalize on this new audience of rabid fighting game fans.

SNK responded with “World Heroes”, a “Street Fighter” clone where you traveled throughout time as opposed to the world fighting opponents. Two of the original game planners of “Street Fighter” launched fighting games for SNK (“Fatal Fury” and “Art Of Fighting”) that became huge franchises. These titles were followed by “The King Of Fighters” and all of them were ported to the SNK Neo Geo. In 1993, SNK launched the first game of their “Samurai Shodown” series which was essentially “Street Fighter” with weapons. This game went on to inspire several more weapon based “Street Fighter” inspired titles in the following years.

Beginning in the early 90’s, several “Street Fighter II” inspired games launched including “Mortal Kombat”, “Virtua Fighter”, “Tekken”, “Battle Arena Toshinden”, “Killer Instinct”, “Eternal Champions”, “Primal Rage” and “Darkstalkers”. The corner turned in 1996 with the introduction of “Soul Edge’ (the precursor of “Soul Calibur”) and the “Dead Or Alive” series. Every subsequent fighting game made afterwards (yes, this also includes 1989’s NES beat ‘em up “River City Ransom”) was in some way inspired by 1987’s “Street Fighter”.

In conclusion, button mashing fighting games are now an established staple of the gaming experience. Several different titles that cater to every kind of gamer are readily available. It all started 25 years ago when Capcom introduced a loud, hard to control, extremely frustrating but highly strategic quarter muncher that a special breed of gamer obsessed over.

Where “Street Fighter” fell short, “Street Fighter II” expounded on it and ultimately triumphed. Try to dig up the original 1987 “Street Fighter” ROM on MAME to see exactly how tough of a game it was if you think I’m exaggerating. I’m not…

One.

Rap is currently in a strange space it has never occupied before. There are a wide assortment of relevant artists still signed to majors with careers that span more than a decade. From the introduction of the first Rap records in 1979 to the first legitimate wave of classic Rap albums in 1984 the landscape of underground and mainstream Rap has never before experienced such a phenomenon. Hip-Hop was originally a young person’s culture but it’s going to turn 40 next July. That means it’s currently going through a mid-life crisis.

In previous generations of Hip-Hop, the older emcees were essentially herded out of the game by the younger, hungrier, more lyrically and technically advanced emcees of that era. New Schoolers like Run-DMC ran off Old School crews like The Funky Four Plus One, Crash Crew and The Furious Five. Next Schoolers like Rakim, Kool G. Rap and Big Daddy Kane forced New Schoolers like Kurtis Blow and Busy Bee to tap out and ultimately even surpassed other New School legends like Whodini and The Fat Boys.

This continued on as a rash of younger emcees constantly entered the game making legends step aside and forcing many others to hang it up altogether in increasing numbers as the first and second Golden Eras of Hip-Hop progressed. When you have cats like Treach and Snoop Dogg to contend with what’s really the point of continuing anyways? Let them have it. It’s their time…

It was almost the natural order of things in Hip-Hop, an urban culture where new generations manifest themselves every three to five years (as opposed to every 20 years due to cultural shifts or advances in the technology used to make music). Suddenly something odd began to happen during the mid to late 90’s. Emcees that already had relatively lengthy careers began to hang around (such as LL Cool J) and others that are still around today began solo careers (such as Ghostface Killah).

Today we have groups like The Roots in the 20^th year of their careers still signed to a major and cats like Jay-Z (whose career on wax began in 1990), Nas (his career on wax began in 1991) and Common (his debut LP dropped in 1992) still releasing chart topping albums with songs that instantly enter the rotation on mainstream Hip-Hop radio. Nas’ new album “Life Is Good” was just the #1 selling album on the Billboard charts not too long ago.

Busta Rhymes recently signed with YMCMB to release his latest major label album and his career with Leaders Of The New School began back in 1990. Veterans like Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg and Fat Joe still record and it isn’t beyond reason for them to possibly produce radio hits in 2012. All of this in a Hip-Hop climate where late 90’s MCs like Jadakiss and Styles P to early 00’s cats like Ludacris and Fabolous are considered “old school” in comparison to newer rappers that presently have the ears of modern Rap audiences.

 Underground Hip-Hop is rife with 15 to 20+ year veterans still recording quality material and touring the world. They are among the biggest draws at yearly Hip-Hop concerts and festivals worldwide and they regularly make the best albums each calendar year as well. Let’s not forget that they still manage to put on much better live shows than their younger counterparts in most cases.

In a group of elder artists that includes members of the Wu Tang Clan, Hieroglyphics Crew and Boot Camp Click, Redman, Pharoahe Monch, M.O.P., Large Professor, Cormega, The Beatnuts, The Alkaholiks, Blaq Poet, AZ, El-P, Ill Bill, J-Live, Talib Kweli, Elzhi, Yasiin Bey, Lewis Parker, Roc Marciano, De La Soul, MURS, Chali 2na, Evidence they’ve all amassed a loyal fan base of consumers who will buy their new material, support them and go see them when they tour and come to their town religiously. We are in a previously unseen era in Hip-Hop history in that particular regard.

Adding to this anomaly where newly relevant artists occupy the same realm as 20+ year veterans is a visible generational gap in approach and presentation of the art form. Now young rappers with a completely different value system in regards to the Rap world interact with those that still cling to the old tenets of the culture. Pete Rock was incensed at Lupe Fiasco for his lackluster take on his classic song. Lord Finesse, in turn, sued relative newcomer Mac Miller for recording over his instrumental then using it to promote his now burgeoning career two years after the fact.

On one hand I’m all for Lord Finesse suing Mac Miller purely from a Hip-Hop standpoint. But from this same exact “purely Hip Hop standpoint,” suing a rapper over spitting on your instrumental for his mixtape is extremely anti-Hip-Hop. Bringing litigation into the matter is extremely corporate, especially since he didn’t sue Joey Bada$$ who also spit over a Lord Finesse instrumental on “Funky Ho” for his mixtape “1999.” This lawsuit could potentially set a dangerous precedent where the entire mixtape culture could take another major hit just like it did back when the Internet first became prominent.

I totally understand why Lord Finesse would look at the big picture from a business and personal/financial standpoint. It’s the smart thing to do, especially if Rostrum Records just decides on a settlement and pays him a large sum of money. My issue from a Hip-Hop and a litigious standpoint is this could potentially start a wave of producers suing rappers, rappers suing other rappers and ultimately recording artists from outside genres suing them both. It’ll be just like the second Hip-Hop Golden Era all over again…except not in a good way.

We are currently in previously unexplored territory in regards to Hip-Hop’s history. There are lot of questions in front of us. What is the future of this culture in the face of an overly corporate landscape? On one side we have a post Internet Era fanbase as well as rappers/emcees that don’t share the same cultural views as either the still relevant on the mainstream Rap veterans OR the underground Hip-Hop vets that are still make excellent music year in and year out.

On the other side, we have a great deal of older, still capable emcees and producers that aren’t going to go silently into that good night. They previously usurped the wave of emcees and producers that came before them and if this generation wants to rightly claim Hip-Hop for itself and become the new torchbearers of this culture they must first understand that they’re expected to do the exact same thing that their predecessors did.

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Much of the Hip Hop world was outraged over Lupe Fiasco’s single “Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free)” which was pretty much the same beat as Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth’s tribute to their fallen friend Troy “Trouble T-Roy” Dixon of Heavy D & The Boyz “T.R.O.Y. (They Reminisce Over You)”.

There are some that don’t think it’s a big deal, provided Pete Rock & C.L. got their proper credit or compensation for the beats usage. Given all of the red tape surrounding the making of “Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free)” you’d think Lupe and his producer just would’ve made another beat entirely to avoid all of this potential bullshit from jump.

Others instead feel that “T.R.O.Y.” is one of a few sacred Hip Hop songs and classics that are exempt from being remade or being sample due to it’s place in Hip Hop culture (even though people have rhymed on the instrumental before in the past). “T.R.O.Y.” began as a song that two sons of Mount Vernon made in tribute to a beloved friend that was embraced by the entirety of the culture to the point it was played at funerals and weddings alike. This is both a generational issue and a philosophical issue at the same damn time. Are there still really rules in Hip Hop or are we just kidding ourselves?

I came up in Hip Hop culture as a member of a generation that remembered Hip Hop before it had records or was played on the airwaves. It was usually performed live in a party setting and the Hip Hop or Rap I heard at the time in recorded form was on tape and it was of a live party or a battle held in a club setting. Back then it was common practice to rework popular song lyrics into a new routine. DJ’s would backspin parts of popular songs so the emcees could rap over them. The initial Rap records essentially jacked popular Funk and Disco songs to provide music for the initial Rap records.

 Take Arthur Baker & Joe Robie building on Kraftwerk’s “Trans Euro Express” and ultimately creating the classic “Planet Rock” for example. Eventually, producers began to emerge making more original songs after sampling technology and techniques evolved between the years of 1986-89. After a while Hip Hop began to amass a back catalog of sample based songs that would be considered classics. Among these classic records are tracks that are deemed so meaningful that to remake them or even to use the same sample it used is regarded as a violation of basic Hip Hop Law. Unfortunately? Not all of us remember these days…

Unless you were around to dig for records and experienced when Hip Hop had a built in mentorship program where you were expected to learn at the feet of elders in the game where you essentially learned “the rules” of Hip Hop and it’s culture then you might be completely confused as to why Pete Rock was enraged over the usage the beat for his song “T.R.O.Y.”.

I still can’t forget the day my cousin Nanzette called my brother Dave from Mount Vernon trying to hold back tears to inform us that Troy had passed in a freak accident 22 years ago. I’d idolized Heavy D. & The Boyz growing up through my Mt. Vernon family so to me that song is absolutely off limits.

When Diddy sampled Edo G. & The Bulldogs classic “I Got To Have It” for Mary J. Blige’s “Love & Life” album in 2003 and put 50 Cent on it (“Let Me Be The 1”) Boston and New York had some serious exchanges over the usage of what is seen as the Boston anthem (but just a classic outside of Massachusetts). Edo. G even addressed it on record shortly afterwards but y’all didn’t even know there was a controversy behind it, did you? Now let’s get to the crux of the problem, shall we?

 The same samples have been flipped by different producers on numerous occasions, some claim that some sample sources shouldn’t be toyed with while others feel that two producers won’t make the same beat out of the materials so why not? When you take a recognizable beat that is deemed an undisputed classic by some and a sacred song by others you aren’t allowed to use said beat then add elements that diminish it.

In many cases, you’d receive grief just for rhyming over the original instrumental on a mixtape. In the case of “T.R.O.Y.”, it’s a song that a great deal of us wouldn’t even fathom that someone would touch because it’s a given that you don’t use, rework or attempt to update it. However, if you came up in the post ’97 Internet Age of Hip Hop then these standards or rules simply don’t work with/aren’t respected in modern Rap.

Whereas Pete Rock, Grap Luva, 9th Wonder, Kev Brown and many others producers that came up in the same fashion I did in respect to the observance of the supposed rules of Hip Hop felt this was an affront to Hip Hop culture there are others from the same generation that feel that nothing is off limits but it’s up to the individual producer and emcee to still treat the original song or source material with respect if they chose to take that task on but make sure that it’s comparable to the original recording.

I can respect that opinion, I cannot (and refuse to) respect those that outwardly dismiss the notion that there are, in fact, NO guidelines, boundaries, rules or proper etiquette/protocol in Hip Hop in respect to these issues. It’s like the old saying goes “Ignorance of the law is no excuse”. It’s just troubling to think that in 2012 we need to explain things that should be long established by now…

 In closing, Lupe Fiasco and the dumbass producer of said ill fated song made the following mistakes. First, they used a beat that could possibly be deemed as Hip Hop sacrilege for using. Secondly, it was too similar to the original iconic production and the changes made to said song tainted what’s regarded as one of the greatest beats ever (which was disputed for years between Pete & Large Pro as to the discovery of the sample but that’s a separate issue in of itself). Third, that Lupe Fiasco himself didn’t know enough or have enough wherewithal to decline rapping over the “T.R.O.Y.” beat in the first place.

RIP Troy “Trouble T Roy” Dixon, Dwight “Heavy D” Myers & Keith “Guru” Elam. Three of my personal heroes growing up…

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25 years ago, the Boston Celtics picked local college star Reggie Lewis with the second to last pick in the 1st round of the 1987 NBA Draft. Reggie Lewis was a Baltimore product that was the 6th man on what was considered the greatest high school squad of the 80’s. He played 4 seasons under future coach of UConn Jim Calhoun @ Northeastern University (1983-87) and led them to 4 consecutive NCAA tournament berths. No one else has achieved that feat since.

The year before, the Boston Celtics were on top of the world. They’d just won the 16th world championship in team history (40% of the NBA’s total championships at the time) and they drafted Len Bias with the 2nd pick of the 1986 NBA Draft. With a once a generation talent like Len Bias entering the Celtics fold and landing in a once in a lifetime situation in Boston, the Celtics had ensured they’d be championship contenders for at least the next five seasons. Or so we all thought at the time…

Len Bias had already signed a lucrative endorsement deal with up and coming Boston area sneaker company Reebok and Larry Bird himself was going to pick him up from Logan Airport & bring him to Hellenic College where the Celtics trained. Before any of that could even happen, Len Bias died tragically & unexpectedly in his dorm room at the University Of Maryland. This event not only changed the future of Boston’s NBA franchise but the entire league as a whole.

Keep in mind that respected coaches like UNC’s Dean Smith and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski have both gone on record in recent years saying that Len Bias was widely considered the best all around player in the entire ACC during the 1980’s. If you look back at the caliber of players the ACC produced in that decade it’s akin to being called the greatest emcee in New York during the first Golden Era of Hip Hop. Len Bias even used to regular outshine a young Michael Jordan back when he played for North Carolina. Let that fact marinate and realize that Jordan entered the NBA early as well…

Len Bias was going to a veteran team with a Hall Of Fame caliber coach who was once a Hall Of Fame player in K.C. Jones and 5 future Hall Of Famers alone in it’s eight man rotation. He would’ve played and defended multiple positions and with his work ethic, unselfishness, shooting touch, court vision, passing ability, speed and athleticism he would have brought a new dimension to the Celtics’ offensive & defensive game plans. Can you imagine Larry Bird running a fast break with Len Bias on one of the wings?

How would Len Bias living alone have changed the entire NBA? First off, the 1985-86 Boston Celtics roster was the first Celtics roster of the decade that was majority White (previously Bird was the LONE White Celtics starter for years as Kevin McHale & Danny Ainge were both reserves) roster and Len Bias would’ve easily changed the team’s perception amongst national audiences with a long postseason run and possible repeat as NBA champions.

Imagine if Len Bias was on the Boston Celtics roster during the 1987 NBA Finals wearing Reeboks as a key factor in another championship season in Boston as a rookie during the NBA On CBS Era? Now let’s revisit the 1987 NBA Draft in this same continuing scenario…

Since the Boston Celtics would’ve won the 1987 NBA title that would give them the final pick of the 1st round. Regardless of if the Celtics picked 22nd or 23rd, Red Auerbach and the Celtics brass were enamored with Northeastern star Reggie Lewis from seeing him play at Matthews Arena for years and at basketball clinics in the Boston area. Between his talent and his character the Celtics couldn’t pass him up. Lewis and Len Bias had many things in common, they were both from Maryland, both were highly coachable, selfless, athletic, explosive and deft shooters that played and defended multiple positions. They both exemplified everything it meant to be a Celtic.

Len Bias was 6’8” and built like a power forward but played a finesse power game. Reggie Lewis was 6’7” and possessed the frame of a tweener guard/forward and played a smooth, quick finesse/slashing game. Both had sneaker deals endorsing Reebok (and would’ve become it’s first two legitimate superstar endorsers in history). Together under the tutelage of K.C. Jones, Red Auerbach, and the original Big Three of Bird, Parish and McHale the sky would’ve been the limit on their potential. Let’s fast forward a little bit.

Between 1987 and 1991, the class of the NBA’s Eastern Conference were the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons and later the Chicago Bulls. Had the aging Celtics possessed both Len Bias & Reggie Lewis in their 8 man rotation they could’ve had epic battles with the Detroit Bad Boys and the Bulls young core of Jordan, Pippen and Horace Grant during this era instead of just fading away due to advanced age and fatigue caused by a thin, unreliable bench during several extended playoff runs.

Remember that Len Bias had epic clashes with Michael Jordan back in the ACC and Reggie Lewis used to give both Jordan and Pippen fits on the regular in the late 80’s and early 90’s before his untimely passing. Reggie Lewis is the only player to ever block Jordan four times in the same game and when Jordan passed his assignment to Scottie Pippen even he had trouble guarding him. Imagine if Jordan and Pippen (or Horace Grant) drew the assignment of having to guard both Bias and Lewis?

Back in 1990, Spike Lee was the guest editor of an issue of Spin. In said issue, he put a caption reading “Sellout” under the image of a Black man in a Celtics jacket. If Len Bias & Reggie Lewis were the exciting young face of the Boston Celtics franchise then would Spike still have done so? Would Chuck D have dissed the Boston Celtics in the song “Air Hoodlum” in 1992 if both Len Bias and Reggie Lewis rocked kelly green? I highly doubt it. Shit, I even bet the Celtics would’ve been popular outside of Boston just like they’ve been the past 5 years in the 90’s!

The Los Angeles Lakers were the class of the Western Conference for close to a decade, amassing NBA rings in 1980, 1982 & 1985. Had the Boston Celtics contained the tandem of Len Bias & Reggie Lewis in addition to the original Big Three and they’d have to contend with both the powerhouse Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls regularly in that same era between these three teams the 1987 and 1988 back to back Laker championships probably wouldn’t have happened.

Not only would the perception of the Boston Celtics franchise in the 80’s and early 90’s amongst both casual and diehard NBA fans have been different but also among the Hip Hop generation. Imagine playing “NBA Jam” both in the arcade and at home on Super Nintendo or Genesis using the Celtics featuring Len Bias and Reggie Lewis? Those two could’ve potentially changed the way the franchise was viewed 20 years sooner.

Together Bias and Lewis could’ve potentially given Reebok an opportunity to takeover Converse’s waning fandom & stop Nike’s momentum due to Michael Jordan’s on court dominance. Imagine if Bias vs. Jordan would’ve become the next Bird vs. Magic or if Bias and Lewis would have faced Jordan and Pippen regularly in the Eastern Conference Finals during the NBA on NBC era? They could’ve been as popular in the hood as the Pistons, Lakers, Bulls, UNLV, Kentucky, UNC or Michigan Fab Five were at the same time.

The way basketball historians regard the Showtime Lakers, Bad Boy Pistons or Dynasty Bulls would have been different if the Celtics had Len Bias playing alongside Reggie Lewis at least until the ’92-’93 season when Lewis tragically died months after collapsing during the 1993 NBA Playoffs in Game 1 against the upstart Charlotte Hornets (whom Reggie tore apart singlehandedly). 

As we all know, the deaths of Len Bias in 1986 and Reggie Lewis in 1993 both plunged the Boston Celtics franchise into mediocrity until the 2007-08 season. What we don’t know is how much different the entire present day culture of NBA basketball could’ve been like had they both lived and played together. Rest in peace to both Len Bias #30 and Reggie Lewis #35.

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