John Madden: The Legend is Retiring

As I drove home late last night, I happened to catch on the George Norry show the astonishing fact that John Madden is retiring from commentating. My mouth dropped in awe! Madden has been there for the hip-hop culture, specifically those who love football. Not only has his commentating skills and knowledge of football influenced our generation. Indeed, Madden arguably made the first, comprehensive, and enjoyable football game ever.

One thing about Madden I love is his passion for the tasks he sets out to accomplish. Everything, so far as we could see, about Madden was full of passion and love. Take the game Madden for example. Madden made it clear that the game started off with him and a comrade talking to the programmers about their vision of the game. Madden, unlike other stars, didn't want a mediocre game with his name on it. He was concerned about the game emulating a real football experience. As technology grew, this became more evident.

Madden is a superhero in the coaching realm also. His resilience can be felt once you research his history. He lost 5 A.F.C title games in seven years (he became head coach at 32 years old). Then finally in 1977, he won the Super Bowl against Minnesota. When he retired, he was the youngest coach to compile 100 career regular season victories. Then, imagine doing that in ten seasons. In fact, he never had a losing season.

And now his legacy is fixed via EA Sports. I own Madden and condone any gamers to hop on board. Yes, for the longest I fought it (I loved the 2K series), but I realize now that Madden is the closest thing you can get to a real N.F.L experience in the virtual world of gaming.

So there you have it, a legacy done in commentating but indefinitely alive in the gaming world. A champion, class act, and one of the best to do it.

Sorry Eminem: Can't Let You Slide With That Comment.

But not all hope is lost for Eminem, it seems, as a few names have kept him hopeful about the Hip Hop game. "But with this new T.I. album, with this new Lil Wayne album of recent, it seems like things are looking a lot better now. You can appreciate Lil Wayne using different words to rhyme and actually rhyming words that you know. Or T.I., where you hear shit and you’re like Whoa, ah, I wish I would have thought of that!" -Eminem

Just when I got comfortable reading this article that revealed some of Eminem's most recent views on his life and the state of hip-hop, he spoke the aforesaid comments. Here's the link if you want check it out: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.8970/title.eminem-talks-state-of-hip-hop-drugs-and-proof

I'm not going to waste to much time on this. Firstly, I've always thought that Eminem was over- rated. This is not to say he is not a melting pot of talent. It's more a testimony of my foreseeability. I knew he would not have the longevity or maintain the respect he accumulated off his first two albums. He was "The Great White Hope of Hip-Hop." He served his time, made his millions, and retreated from the biz to enjoy his newly renovated life of luxury (and to get off drugs which I commend him for).

But this reference to Lil Wayne's music being a symbol of the rebirth of hip-hop is emphatically ridiculous. I don't need to prove my case. I already blogged about the folly of Lil-Wayne. Quiet frankly put, he is NOT hip-hop. If Eminem is inspired off Wayne's last album (yes it had it's highlights, but no, it did not help redeem the state of hip-hop), I'm curious to see what he will release next. I'm from Detroit and I'm a tough critic as you already know. I'll be waiting Em.

Planet Zoron Rocking Live Tonight!

There's nothing like rocking the Hootnaney set. What is it? It's a recurring monday that features local bands in Tallahassee, Florida. Essentially, it's a two hour set that runs from 10 pm to midnight. I like the pressure of it all. I mean hey, it's live on the radio. There isn't much room for error at all.

In addition, you can't help but feel the remnants of Motown. We're in the big sessions room, but everyone is fed audio through the head phones. It's one of those things were you just have to hit the zone and stay there. If this compels you to want to here us put our space funk down, click here: http://www.wvfs.fsu.edu/ . You can stream the audio live. I promise it will be entertaining.

Hip-Hop and Roller Derby Girls? Let Me Explain. Part one

Yesterday, my hip-hop band, Planet Zoron, rocked the Tallahassee Roller Derby Girls game. What a time it was! There were well over 500 hundred in attendance. The game was exciting and featured women of all different shapes and colors skating, checking, and strategizing to be deemed the winner.

But indeed it, is interesting that Planet Zoron was selected to perform during the intermissions. What does this say for hip-hop? I think it's a testimony to hip-hop being a viable music genre, and thus, it testifies to hip-hop not fading out as many thought it would (including my dad). Yes, Oronde says Hip-Hop will not be like disco.

Our audience was mostly Europeans with sprinkles of "minorities." Roughly estimating, I would say that perhaps 30% were over 40. But our band proves that hip-hop does break all kinds of barriers. Even at the game, I spotted a senior citizen cutting the rug to our tunes. Moreover, the D.J (shouts out to K-Dog) played mostly hip-hop the whole bout.

The moral to the story is hip-hop has grown tremendously in the last ten years and hip-hop has always been the voice of urban culture. Initially, it did not appeal to older people. However, through it's growth, hip-hop has broken a host of barriers that existed before. It has undoubtebly alleviated tension between all young cultures in America. If nothing else we can relate to what is in our Ipods-lol. In contrast, it allows older people to understand the voice of the young culture. This bridges the gaps between generation(s). So I wanna give a big ups to Capital Punishment's (Ranked 66 in the world) victory last night and formally thank them for allowing us a chance to rock! Go Hip-Hop go! Zoron! Enjoy this footage of our squad. This isn't last night's game but hopefully I will have footage up soon!

Less Ego=Getting Stronger

Did you see how Southpark ridiculed Kanye West? It was quite hysterical. But all in all, Southpark, perhaps, showed Kanye how ignorant he looks at times. In short, the clip in Southpark shows how Kanye's ego prevents him from recognizing a blatant joke. Because he loves to put fish sticks in his mouth, he's a "gayfish." Click here to see how this spun out of control: http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/04/south-park-fish.html

But the ego is tricky, and no matter how much of a piehole Kanye can be, did we ever stop to think that maybe, in his mind, he was being rational? In Buddhism, for instance, the ego is the single opponent that man must overcome. And yes, you that are reading this now, surely have ego discrepancies.

How do we conquer our own ego? My studies reveal that sitting under a teacher that is competent in the study of self is the most efficient way to accomplish such a task. The ego condones obscurities, and present a multitude of mental barriers that prohibits us from seeing things as they really are. When we don't see things as they are, we live in a warped world where everything is narrowly curtailed to our own likings. How could we ever reach are pinnacle in this mode?

So my advise to Kanye, just as he has mentors like Jay-Z, and No I.D., is to find a teacher that can teach you how to suppress your ego. Something to think about Mr. West.

My apologies-Hip Hop Still Needs Me (I'm Back)

Just wanted to apologize to all my fans. I've been trying to abide by a new work policy which prohibits me from accessing the internet. I've always blogged from the job, and this explains why there hasn't been much blogging going on lately.

But have no fear, I'm back. I'll get it cranked up again this month. My goal is to post one blog once during the week, as well as blogging on Saturday and Sunday. Anything in between will be short, succint blogs, which may not necessarily stick to the theme of what I am trying to offer you-hence you may not see those that much.

Anyway, carry on with your day. Talk to you soon.