The Most Overrated Rapper

MTV does a top 10 MC's list every year and one thing is for sure, Gucci Mane should never be on it. There are many rappers in the hip hop game and most of them are pretty good. Oh, you can find some diamonds in the rough but usually the industry pumps out rhymers and spitters that remind you of someone else that just played out 3 years ago. But, since radio controls the industry still (the Internet is catching up) the mass public just knows what gets spins. Currently in my location of Southern California that would be Eminem, Drake, and Eminem. No, that's not a typo. And I'm not afraid...to take a stand.

I'm not here to argue who is the greatest rapper of all time or who is the greatest rapper alive. I'm simply here to point out who is overvalued and overrated. Now, on this list, you won't find Lil' Boosie because lets be honest, to be overrated, you must first be rated and A LOT of rappers don't rate. In fact, one may argue that just the fact that someone is overrated means he/she is a heavyweight in the game already. This person can't be an up and comer, they are already up and the public or media is keeping them there. So without any further ado, let's round up the overusual suspects.

Snoop Dogg
Now, don't have a bow wow wow. People usually say that Snoop is an OG. Which is sort of true. I mean, he's not the original gangster rapper, nor is he the original west coast rapper. He's a guy that strapped one of hip hops most legendary record labels on his back via 2 person book bag and took everyone to school. However Snoop is seriously flawed. Just look at everything after 1996. The dee oh double gee's work on the Chronic as well as his debut album Doggystyle are classics. But so is the movie Basic Instinct and Sharon Stone wouldn't be working at all if it weren't for a spot opening up on Law & Order SVU. As hip hop fans, we tend to listen to songs and albums over and over again. People may not realize that G Thang is 17 years old. Remember Snoop's stint on No Limit? Me neither. In fact, until he reunited with The Muhfuckin' D-R-E to respell his name in the new millennium, the Dog Father was headed nowhere fast. Then Snoop hopped into the pop game and has stayed there for about 8 years now. I won't hate on Top 40 charts but there's ways to do it and ways not to. Snoop doesn't actually rap about anything now. He doesn't tell stories, he doesn't exude swagger. He just makes funny rhymes. "Cement shoes, now I'm on the move / You're family's crying, now you on the news / They can't find you, and now they miss you / Must I remind you I'm only here to twist you / Pistol whip you, dip you then flip you / Then dance to this motherfucking music we crip to / Subscribe nigga, get yo issue / Baby come close, let me see how you get loose!" I know rap isn't taken literal but from a guy who used to rap about giving his soul to the devil only to have his life fall apart to a Murder 1 charge, now he's blocking someones feet in cement, running away while the family searches for their lost love one. But then he's beating you with his gun and dancing. But there's slutty women around too, so get close. Sorry Snoooooooooooooooooooop. You just doesn't make the cut anymore. Bravo on the success on becoming a business, man. I just wish he would handle his business, damn.

Tupac Shakur
GASP! I'm not going to make concessions as I did for Snoop, instead, I'll just get right to it. Tupac's mom was a Black Panther and ran a rough life. Tupac, during his short time, attempted to create as much controversy around his life as he could. Tupac is also the most self contradicted rapper of all time. I get it. Pac was a genius. Whatever. He was a backup dancer for Digital Ground and once he got his break, he created a whole new persona of a gangsta, gangsta despite his previous time acting on stage in school plays. But everyone was gangster rapping in the 90s and Tupac was boney and didn't have a crew and his videos looked like crap crapped out by crap. But he did get shot. Isn't that just karma for a guy that pulled out a gun and then fumbled it. Then someone picked up the gun and it accidentally shot a kid in the head. Pac then ran away. I wonder if he went to write a poem about it? Perhaps he should have gone to a shooting range so he could learn to not drop firearms. Pac's biggest (pun intended) claim to fame is the so called east cost / west coast feud. I find this interesting considering Pac spent most of his life living in New York and Baltimore. However, as a person that moves a lot, I guess I can understand the appeal of finding a trustworthy barber and dry cleaner. It does make you want to pledge your allegiance. I think my favorite self contradiction about Pac is when he was convicted of gang raping a girl, and then he wrote Keep Ya Head Up where he said "And since we all came from a woman / Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman / I wonder why we take from our women / Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?" That's one of those rhetorical questions. Clearly he knows the answer is Hennessy. If Pac hadn't died, he may have gotten his head together and done something more definitive with his music but then we probably would not have had DMX and Ja Rule and I'd much rather have gotten that experience. After all, they aren't overrated. They are rated just fine.

But the most overrated rapper is...50 CENT

Go Go Go Shawty! These words still ring today. Here's the deal. Dr. Dre is the Pope of gangster rap. Dre put Eminem on. Eminem was a breath of fresh air with rhymes and flows we've never heard and is one of the best enunciator to ever touch a mic. When Jay-Z said, "Only dudes moving units Em, Pimp Juice, and us," on Excuse Me Miss, he was referring to the fact that in in the early 2000's, the only ones putting out consistent work that was selling were Eminem, Nelly, and Jay-Z. Eminem began capitalizing on his popularity and put out a D12 album that sold. Then he added bad boy 50 Cent. A guy that made a song talking about stealing from other rappers. And (wait for it)....HE GOT SHOT 9 TIMES! And he lost weight and got in shape. It's like Shaq when he joined the Miami Heat. 50 Cent was doing nothing until Eminem and Dr. Dre cosigned and produced his album. But give credit where credit is due, 50 ran with the ball. And then he brought his G-Unit crew on board and even Lloyd Banks got to put out an album (with 50 on every single track) However that was only year 1. In year 2, 50's next album sold like half of what the first sold. And the third album lost to Kanye West. And the 4th and 5th only exist in the context of the "Have a Baby By Me" and Rick Ross disses. The sales keep dropping. They don't go #1 despite the fact that Eminem and Jay-Z still are (as are Lil' Wayne, TI, and even Drake). 50 Cent's star has dropped so quick, no one in his crew can even get a label. I think it's funny when artists who have sold millions of records suddenly think major labels are bullshit. Curtis spends his time these days making not so funny cartoons and skits. Most of Fiddy's existence is on New York Station Hot 97 talking about everyone else's business. 50 does movies now and he gets Vitamin Water checks, which is fine, it just doesn't make hot, good, or even relevant. In today's world though, every media outlet needs a sound byte and 50 will give it.

Why Americans Don't Like Soccer and Don't Care About the World Cup

So the World Cup is just blazing across the country in a Bill Paxton sized tornado of popularity. Oh, it's not? By the way ESPN is airing coverage, you'd think Lebron left the Cavaliers to play for South Africa. What appears to be happening is that the sports media is force feeding soccer to the United States. Remember when ESPN used to cover hockey? Yeah me either.

The truth is the majority of sports fans don't care about soccer, but they are fooled into liking it because they think the inclusion of 3rd world countries makes this the Olympics, it's not. Soccer is like watching a prairie dog at the zoo. Oh, that's nice but it's not really what I came to see. Seriously, is there anything more daunting than the clock ticking UP past 30:00, 38:12, 41:27...it's like sitting in a crowded subway 45 stops away with everyone blowing a kazoo in your ear. And none of them rock it like this.

Wikipedia says soccer is the most popular recreational sport in the country for boys and girls. Clearly, that entry was written by a soccer fan. Shame on you Wikipedia. My memories of recreational soccer include waking up at 6:30am for an 8am game on a Saturday morning. If that many kids played soccer, NO ONE WOULD HAVE WATCHED SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS! And let's face it, you can't say Saturday Morning Cartoons without Saturday Morning. "Hey, dude. Let's watch The Bugs and Tweety Show!" "Sorry, I've gotta kick a black and white ball around in wet grass and get clipped by other 9 year olds in Euroid rage."

Which brings me to my next point, youth soccer is terrible. Worse than WNBA, bad. Half the kids don't know which goal is theirs, the other half don't understand it's a game that requires constant running. And then there's the one kid that is really good at soccer and his parents are so geeked up about it but no one cares because it's soccer. Let's not even mention that the field kids play on isn't even half the size of a regulation soccer field. That's like playing football on a 30 yard field.

The number one defense for soccer fans is that it is the most popular sport in all of the world. What other sports does Algeria have? America has football, basketball, baseball, hockey and even auto racing. Soccer is behind that in the United States. Let us not forget the other exciting once a year sports such as tennis and cycling. At least you don't have to have to watch those on mute.

It's not that there is anything wrong with soccer but it's just not America's sport. It's also not our second choice, or third, or fourth. It's dead last. Poker is more popular than soccer and the only players that sweat playing poker are the ones that just lost their house on a busted flush.

Just as a point of reference, my cousin who claimed to love soccer (immediately amended to US Soccer) sat down to watch whatever match is currently on. He didn't last three minutes before he said "I'm going to watch Pawn Stars on DVR." Even when trying to prove a point, soccer is unwatchable. It's alright cuz, you can still come back to it in 70 minutes and the score will still be 0-0.

Day 2: Redemption

Whooooo! I am beat. Today was my journey to the south. From Blacksburg, VA to Nashville (at least) hopefully to Memphis. That's what I believe I said yesterday. Thank god I did the continental breakfast at the Comfort Inn this morning. It helped me get through a grueling day. It wasn't necessarily hot, but didn't taste unlike McDonalds.

As for music, I decided since I was headed to Music City USA, the "Country" mix on the iPod was very appropriate. CW McCall, Red Sovine, and Johnny Cash took me West on 40 for hours...past Knoxville. For those that don't know, CW McCall is the performer on the song "Convoy." I say performer because that's not his name and it's not a real person...the whole thing is a character he portrayed, started for advertising purposes, like Santa Clause. I hope I didn't ruin it for any C Dub fans out there. CW McCall helps keep you cheery while dealing with stuff like this.

Finding out what to do in Nashville wasn't that hard. As soon as I got in to town, I headed for the gift shop. The whole point of going to Nashville was to replace one of my favorite hats. I entered hopeful and found a bunch of BS hats and redneck hats but then in the back of the store I found it. And although it's black now (my previous was blue), I immediately bought it...another sign.

For those that don't know (since neither Lil' Wayne, Jay-Z, nor Bono made songs about it) Nashville was hit with a pretty bad flood a couple of months ago. The town doesn't show it, though. Everything is open. The streets are under slight construction as city workers are clearly redoing the plumbing.

I tried to go into one bar on the main drag, Broadway, because I saw the Phillies game on but the bartender ignored me long enough that I got sick of waiting. I ended up having lunch at Bailey's which I thought would be more "authentic" but seemed to just be the Nashville Fox & Hound. But they had some house specials and I enjoyed that with a couple beers. Bartender Keith welcomed me in and started talking Phillies with me, but they haven't been playing baseball to brag about lately. Keith informed me I gained an hour as I switched into Central Time Zone (good to know).

After eating and drinking just enough that I didn't want to leave, Bartender Keith talked me into driving past Memphis to Little Rock. I decided that if I was going to do that, I needed to change the music to something that would keep me pumped up and awake. I switched up to my favorite vulgar rap songs and that did the trick.

Arkansas is possibly the worst state I've ever driven in. There is nothing there. At all. Just grass and a little road next to grass.

These are completely different pictures miles apart from each other. How would you ever know where you live?

I must've driven for 6 hours and went past Memphis and Little Rock to TEXARKANA...Seriously. And the lady here at the Best Western doesn't know why it's called that. I am now 8 hours from tomorrow's trip, Austin, TX.  There are things I know I left out (like the Davey Crockett Rest Stop) but if you're smart, you're following random picture posts on Facebook, too. I will leave you with the last picture I took for the day. Bonus points if you can name the player sitting on my dash at the bottom.

iPod Song of the Ride 6/1

While riding I-81 I thought about playing a lot of different playlists I've assembled on my iPod but, when you're sporting well over 12,000 songs the shuffle option is always a fun treat. That's what I did today. While I was blessed with late 90s jams "Bill, Bill, Bills" and "Kryptonite" right off the bat, I also took in the sights while enjoying "Key To The Highway."

iPod Song of the Ride
"Waterfalls" by TLC (1994)
Genre: Pop
From the album CrazySexyCool
Time of Play: 4:13pm

Video after the jump...

So I ended up in Blacksburg, VA

Well, I departed on my road trip across America about 12:30 this afternoon. There are so many things that run through a person's head before they leave somewhere for a long time like, "Where's my cell phone charger?" Immediately after loading up the car it began raining which made me think that I should bring my boots just in case it rains like that again. Before I left, I decided it'd be best to bring a companion with me. Now, for the last couple of months I've been riding with Paul Bearer, Freddie Blassie, and Mitch Williams on my dash but this morning Kevin Nash himself hopped in the Cavalier, and in case you were wondering, yes, Wolfpac is most definitely in the house.

The Journey Begins...Today

I have not left yet. It occurred to me days ago that it'd be best to get another oil change before hitting the road. That's not easy to do on a Memorial Day Weekend. So, I woke up at 8am and headed over to Car Sense and get an impromptu oil change. The fact that they could even see me on no notice is amazing, in fact, it may be a sign.

I've decided that the best way to go is to ignore all the "famous" routes and just go the way that's going to take me to my destination quickest. I can't imagine that one empty field on Route 50 looks different than the empty fields on I-81.

It looks like the first part of my drive will take me to Tennessee. My goal would be to get to Music City USA as I used to have a hat that sported such a nickname and it was a great hat. But it's dirty and in such poor shape, I've decided not to pack it with me. I'd like to get another. Is that Googlable? In my head, blue trucker hats that say "Music City USA" are sold at any gas station in Nashville. I'll have you know the last time I was in Nashville, I felt too embarrassed to look touristy and wear my hat...but I carried it with me in my bag...I also brought it to Knoxville because, well it was the same state. I did wear the hat in Knoxville. Go figure.

Speaking of Knoxville, if I can't get to Nashville (which I probably won't) I'm okay with stopping in Knoxville. There's a hot barbecue spot in Knoxville right on the river, the Tennessee River I assume.

Will I make it to Nashville? Probably not until tomorrow. Will I make it Knoxville? I like to think so. Only time will tell and this is the only place you can find out...Come back soon and if you have any tips on where to stop along the way, feel free to drop a comment.

Why is EVERYTHING in New York City?

Watching the final episode of 24 today, I thought about how lucky President Taylor was that everything is located for them in NYC. The terrorist attack, the UN meetings, CTU. Then, I thought about everything else in the Big Apple: Wall Street, Madison Ave., Broadway, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Alex Rodriguez's highlights...the list goes on and on.

ABCs across the USA in one week!

In one week's time, ABCs will go on the road. That's right, I'm taking the blog cross country. I'll be looking for great billboards, awesome named bars, and truck drivers willing to honk for my thrills. I have yet to map out my route but I'll be going west and south. End destination is Southern California. There will be a guarunteed stopping point in Austin, TX. Not be confused with Boston, MA. Stay tuned for more.

Orange Sashes Don't Mean Jack!

Children are being corrupted in elementary schools. For generations, schools teaching children, grades k-6, have implemented a system that teaches kids to instigate, meddle, tattle, and probably worse. This system is known as the Student Safety Patrol.

The Safety Program is crippling children for the future. The habits and values instilled are not for modern society.Lil' Kim went to jail because somebody snitched. 50 Cent is a snitch and nobody likes him anymore either. Children of America could end up like 50 Cent...without the millions and the semi-coherent flow.

What Is The Greatest Omar Epps Movie Of All Time?

For the last eighteen years, no actor has contributed to the big and small screen like Omar Epps. Omar Epps is without question one of the top five actors of our generation. But, this begs the question, what is The Greatest Omar Epps Movie Of All Time? Whether he's going head to head with a top selling rapper, leading a black ensemble cast through a "That's totally my life" romantic comedy, or replacing a world famous actor in a sequel role Omar Epps holds it down in any form of work he does.

Omar Epps enthusiasts all have their personal favorite but those are knee jerk reactions when the inevitable party conversation turns to Love & Basketball vs. The Program. These films in particular of course remind us all of the high school days we had or wished we did.

Now, if I were to go for my knee jerk reaction, I'd most definitely pick Juice. Juice features Tupac's first starring role as Bishop, that kid that reminded everyone of someone in their neighborhood. The friend you didn't want but couldn't get rid of. The movie is chock full of great cameos from hip hop legends such as Queen Latifah and Fab Five Freddy as well as a small role from a pre-Pulp Fiction Samuel L. Jackson. Its four teenagers doing stuff we all WISH we could do like rob, murder, cut class, and win DJ contests like Omar Epps' character, Q.

Really close to The Greatest Omar Epps Movie Of All Time is The Wood, which gets some play from time to time on TBS. This coming of age story of three friends in Englewood, California touches everybody's heart from the moment Omar's high school character pinches his crush's butt. The soundtrack is appropriately throwback and the clothes may be all too familiar as Mike, Roland, and Slim reminisce through the 80s. And hey, it's got a happy ending and who can't love that?



But, when it comes down to The Greatest Omar Epps Movie Of All Time, you have to look at all encompassing attributes: cast, writing, directing, message, relevance, impact. When you consider all of these variables, no film but Higher Learning fits the role TGOEMOAT. Omar Epps, Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube, Michael Rapaport, Tyra Banks, Jennifer Connelly, and...I'm not out of names I'm just tired of typing them. Omar Epps plays Malik "MISSSSTA WEEEELYUMS" Williams, a black freshman track star at a fictional university. The film is all about racism and frat boys that rape girls and make them insecure, two of the most important topics in recent history. It's one of John Singleton's last social commentaries in the 90s following Boyz N The Hood and Poetic Justice (although, the new Shaft is really good).
The dialogue is realistic, the characters are genuine, and the ending is dramatic, tragic, and memorable. Characters learn and evolve. Omar Epps also has another awesome fight.

Truthfully, any film with Omar Epps is already guaranteed to be a good movie no matter what happens after the opening credits. But, when you look at the classics individually Higher Learning is the only film that could truly claim to be The Greatest Omar Epps Movie Of All Time. After all, it is the only movie out there to answer five very important questions. 1. What is high? 2. What is higher? 3. What is learn? 4. What is learning? 5. What is higher learning?

Zack Morris Knows How to Handle Oil Spills

I don't know a lot about oil spills but you know who does? Zack Morris. Morris formed a partnership with CalStar to bring a "Bigger, Better, Bayside" to all of his special needs peers in Southern California. But when an oil spill breached the school's pond, killing all of the inhabitants, Zack gathered his crew and put a stop to it. He confronted Cal Star and convinced Principal Belding to send them home without a piece of the Bayside Tigers. Perhaps we should take a hint from Preppy.

  

On April 20, three companies were involved in an oil spill that contaminated the Gulf Coast. This caused a three-way Tommy Boy moment. "What'dya do?!?" But we don't know who said that to who because all three companies that specialize in drilling are saying they weren't the one that caused the biggest oil spill in two decades. The lack of responsibility from companies that hold so much power when dealing with such toxic materials is alarming.

In a cost cutting conundrum, British Petroleum leased an oil rig from Transocean and then paid Haliburton to construct some concrete on this rig. Haliburton did a bad job on the construction but says they were just doing what BP wanted them to do (even though it may have been unsafe and illegal). BP says it wasn't their bad game plan, it was Transocean's rig and safety equipment (that they paid for) that was faulty and caused the accident. Transocean says it wasn't their fault, they were just chaperoning the oil party...they only provided the chips, drinks, and Lil' Wayne mp3s.

Having already spilled hundreds of millions of gallons into the ocean, this leak is still not contained. However, BP's concern is whether or not they will be able to drill by Thursday to continue their testing. In addition, while the blame gets passed around, BP has agreed to pay for some of the mess but not all of it. President Obama will be raising taxes on oil companies to pay for the rest of the job. That's like me spilling a handle of Jack Daniels on your rug and then you throw a party at @ $15 ahead to pay to get the stain out.

Haliburton, Transocean, and BP all screwed up royally. And because of this, fishermen are out of work, TONS of animals are dead, and lots of government money we don't have will be spent to correct this problem we have yet to identify.

You know what won't be done? Increasing safety measures to guarantee this won't happen again to the best of their ability. Because that costs money. And these companies aren't into doing a "good ass job." They're into doing a quick job with the maximum pay out. That's why they are begging Canada and anyone else with a pipeline to ignore future safety restrictions. Oil companies want to know if anyone has a problem with skipping precautions that would prevent oil spills for a year or so. They just want to drill now and worry about the safety aspect next season.

This country should not pay a dime for cleanup. BP, Transocean, and Haliburton should pay for everything, the cleanup, the medical bills, the unemployment for fishers, subsidising so the rest of the country doesn't get ripped off for shrimp, commuter boats so immigrants don't have to inner tube in an oil soaked ocean.

If these companies that make billions of dollars can't take care of their mistakes properly then we need to take the Zack Morris approach. Because THIS is not worth it.