Tracy Morgan is that dude. If you aren’t familiar with his role on 30 Rock, you are missing the best thing to hit television since Arrested Development. Tracy had a minor role in Totally Awesome (a VH1 movie from 2006 set in the 1980’s) which was a terrible made for t.v. movie, but his character was absolute genius. Prepare yourself for 9 minutes of teary-eyed, stomach crunching laughter…and enough quotables to get you through the summer

Do you have an uncle named Drayton who got a gut like this?

This is guest posting #3 for Travis’ Canadian friend, Josh. I have been
informed by the illustrious editor that I should be less photo-heavy and
more insightful than my previous Russia-based post. I will do my best.

To describe going from Copenhagen to Las Vegas in less than 2 days as a
shock is like saying Lebron’s blocks in game 3 on Rajon Rondo were mildly
emasculating. Shock is an understatement of the highest order. I don’t
think there are 2 places in the “Western” world that could be more
different. I had never been to Vegas before so obviously the shock was
magnified and perhaps anybody who goes to Vegas for the first time is
similarly shocked regardless of where they were before but I think coming
from Copenhagen exacerbates the shock to the n’th degree.

Culture shock is a term that gets bandied about a lot. Any time you travel
somewhere outside of your geographic realm, especially for an extended
period of time, people will ask you if you experienced culture shock. It is
a buzz word (or more accurately a buzz term, since it is more than 1 word),
like ‘globalization’, ‘blogosphere’ or ‘kebabification’ (now officially a
word). In my various travel experiences abroad, I have rarely been
’shocked’ by the new foreign culture. I would describe my reactions as
amazed, impressed, or underwhelmed, depending on the situation. I lived in
Hong Kong for 6 months and I barely was phased by all the writing in Chinese
and the smell of the various markets.

Arriving in Copenhagen is hardly a ’shock’, unless you are shocked by
cleanliness, people who sound like they are speaking with a frog in their
throat or a maritime climate in February. I adjusted rather easily and
enjoyed my time there immensely.

The differences between the 2 places are innumerable. Copenhagen is small,
clean, relatively quiet, designed for biking/walking, devoid of high-rises,
largely a homogenous population and generally based on the principles of
equality (I won’t go as far as to say socialism, but might if I was writing
this drunk). Vegas is massive, excessive, loud, bright, diverse, full of
massive buildings and entirely based on pure unadulterated capitalism and
excess.

Both cities have plenty of beautiful women, but in Copenhagen they
are tall, well-dressed, and seemingly real, while in Vegas, the majority of
‘hot’ women have fake jugs and walk around in bikinis (this is not a
complaint, but I prefer the Scandi women). In Vegas I saw the 2 most
disgraced athletes of my lifetime, ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson and Charlie Hustle,
Pete Rose (Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens may surpass them both but haven’t
yet). In Copenhagen the biggest celebrities I saw were a Danish hockey
player and the the hip hop duo, the Cool Kids and I paid to see them. Not
exactly equal levels of celebrity.

I could go on and on about the differences but Travis needs to get back to
talking about mix tapes and sneakers. I always thought that if I
experienced culture shock, it would be a negative experience (when is a
shock a positive one?). However, I had an unbelievable time in Vegas
(winning money helps) and living in Copenhagen was one of the greatest
experiences of my life (you may say victory was in my clutches, but this is
most certainly a form of copyright infringement). In conclusion, next time
somebody tells you they had culture shock just tell them how lucky they are.
Or that they are full of it. But not both.

So I am finally getting around to reviewing that Elzhi/Phat Kat concert I promised a while ago…exams, sunshine and wearing tight pants are the reasons for the delay. As for the show, Copenhagen was the first stop of the tour, so one can expect that it will only improve. The crowd was thinner than I anticipated, but the venue, Rust, is one of my favorites. Phat Kat and DJ Houseshoes opened up with a 20 minute set of Detroit-brewed goodies. On that note, I really like the Detroit hip hop sound – Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Royce, Slum Village, etc. – I just hope that after this show, the others will abstain from similarly referencing J Dilla’s catalog with no shame.

Phat Kat was more than serviceable as an opening act; what he lacked in raw energy and slenderness he made up for with heartfelt “spittin” – it’s hard to explain but spits like he has something to prove. At any rate, Elzhi and DJ Dez came to the stage with little fervor and put on a 40 minute set. It seemed a bit disjointed, especially since Elzhi doesn’t really engage the crowd (he’s certainly no Phonte Coleman) – this is probably why PK, DJ Dez and DJ Houseshoes served as hypemen (though it wasn’t overwhelming). There is no denying El’s lyrical prowess, but he’s a few steps away from delivering a great live show. His flow patterns are intricate and he just doesn’t have the pipes to keep up (unlike Aesop Rock, Black Thought or Robert Goulet for example) and his live show suffers as a result.

The good news is that Elzhi and Royce are planning to release an album together this summer, entitled Cold Steel – Black Milk will be producing most of the songs (according to the brief conversation I had with El after the show). 2dopeboyz recently posted a leaked track:

Motown 25 – Elzhi & Royce da 5′9″ (Prod. Black Milk)

Fell off my bicycle last night around 3 a.m. due to severe…exhaustion. No blood, just injured pride. I wish I had an entertaining story to accompany the event but the truth is I realized too late that the kebab shop closed at 3 and I had the “pedal to the metal” trying to get there in time.

Heaven’s Fallout from Mickey Factz has been out for a while (in mixtape terms), but it goes hard so it gets a post (and I like the cover art). Moreover, in the fourth track, Access Granted, Mickey gives a (very astute) shout out to Denmark: “The restaurants in Denmark are decent, but that all depends on the season.”

Download Heaven’s Fallout.

Inquiring Mind is everything that an inter-web magazine should be. The writing is top notch, the photography is striking and the site itself would make Christopher Columbus proud (the preeminent navigator, catch up). And on top of that, every article is coupled with relevant musical accompaniment (sometimes I’ll visit the site just to listen to the tunes). This month’s feature article is on Tinker Hatfield, one of Prefontaine’s former teammates at the University of Oregon and, most notably, the design genius behind the Air Jordan XIV, and loads of other classic products from Nike…including these

Check the article here.

Check Complex’s interview of Tinker while you’re at it: here

Muxtape.com is the future, that is, until some pesky lawyer starts slapping people with lawsuits. Welcome2detroit is the second Muxtape installment highlighting music in my heavy rotation. Check out the first installment here. The next installment(s) will likely be based on a theme…

WELCOME2DETROIT Muxtape.

“Hip hop is always looking for a change; soon as a change come, people ready to complain”

My affinity for sneakers is well-documented, especially sneakers of the unusual and edgy variety. A Step in the Right Direction is a collaboration between Ubiq and MSTERPLN the result of which is a WiFi detecting Nike Dunk. Though the shoe is certainly a novel idea, and will likely end up selling for triple the msrp on ebay – it is totally useless. Who needs a WiFi detection device (whether on a shoe or a keychain) in 2008? My phone, computer, blueberry and flashlight all have WiFi…AND they each tell me when I have a signal – seriously.

The NY Times just published a good article on The Roots and their new album, “Rising Down” (the album is a masterpiece, but you should know that already). I am still astonished by the amount of people who doubt their contribution to music, and Black Thought’s lyrical prowess, after 15 years of consistent production. ?uestlove addresses Thought’s critics in the article: “For me it’s important that we establish and contextualize Tariq’s position in the hip-hop infrastructure.”

Read the article here.

The Roots – The Web [The Tipping Point]

Is it possible to be both an actor on a children’s television show AND a serious, respected hip hop artist? Generally, I would say no (see: Nick Cannon), but Mr. Aubrey Graham, aka Drake (of Degrassi fame) has me rethinking that position. After hearing his track with Mickey Factz, Overdose on life, my interest was peaked and I scoured the inter-web for more info. Check the mixtape, it’s official (including a few Little Brother appearances)

Drake – Comeback Season Mixtape

City is Mine

Thinking Good Thoughts featuring Phonte & Elzhi (9th Wonder)

Teach You a Lesson featuring Robin Thicke