All That Carmen San Diego Paid Off

So when I was younger I used to always play Carmen Sandiego...and not to brag but I was pretty good...the problem solving part of my brain always worked better than the creative side but that was probably the last time I had to do some detective work. Picking up on non-verbal cues has never been my forte (see all past relationships) but when a problem lies in plain sight I can usually get it figured out...

So first off let me back track a tad... when I'm out in Germany (6 hours ahead of NY) and I wake up to Crooked I's (LA rapper 3 hours behind NY) late night tweets like "glad we had such a good turnout at the impromptu show tonight" I started to learn that people will really give no word to where they're going to be except on Twitter...I never paid it any mind until the European Slaughterhouse Dates online conflicted to what these dudes had on their Twitter accounts...so after that, I started to base my knowledge of where they perform on their Twitter accounts.

So now all week they were being "Shady" Royce Da 59 was out in LA with Crooked I at the Lakers Game...Joell Ortiz was getting shows in Boston canceled...and Joe Buddens was just being Joe Buddens. But I started to hear the innanets buzzing about a show in NYC...so now I'm locked in to every tweet they make because the first time I saw them perform at Rock The Bells they killed it...but it was a small stage out back (because Wu-Tang was there...some of you may remember that). Anyway all I see is Slaughterhouse x Eminem NYC June 21st...so now I'm on Eminems Twitter, NYC shows' Twitter blah blah blah and no one is giving me a solid answer.

So I go online and find out about this Road to 8 Mile rap battle...but it's at the Bowery Ballroom (200 people maximum)...he can't be doing a show there...and then I see it...Eminem writes online that the first 50 people that email emonletterman@gmail.com get to see his performance live in NYC...album dropping the same day...the whole works...so I'm like that has to be it...but I can't get tickets for Letterman...I emailed anyway though. Ended up getting on the standby list for Letterman but also copped two tickets for this RedBull Road To 8 Mile show...just incase...

So now my best friend and I drive down to New York City and catch up...it's been awhile since we kicked it and he's working full time...finally got some time off and I told him about this Lupe styled Fiasco that was going on. He has not ventured off into the Twitter world and seemed lost when I tried explaining to him that I bought tickets because of rumors...but he's the kind of guy who respects real Hip-Hop and would've been fine with just seeing the Freestyle Battles.

So (yes I'm going to start every paragraph with "so") now we're down there at this quaint quiet little ballroom that can barely hold 300 people. Any more than that is a guaranteed fire hazard, but we're there early and we're standing right down by the stage and the DJ is on stage playing a ton of NY rappers keeping the crowd entertained (unlike the Drake concert a week back) and we're having a few drinks waiting for everything to get started. Then I see The Alchemist who is a judge later that night and I'm telling my boy that him and I used to go to the same barber back when I was in college so as he's walking by, I go "yo do you still get your haircut by Steve?" and he looked at me and said "I was just there" and from his crooked line up I figured he wasn't lying. But he was just on WorldStarHipHop with Eminem and Royce Da 59 drinking RedBulls wasn't he? We'll come back to that later..

So now the MC battle is about to begin...there are four white guys and four black guys and it just so happened, randomly of course, that in each of the first round battles a white guy was battling a black guy...now we all know black people can rap better (Vanilla Ice and Eminem cancel each other out) but of the four rappers that advanced...3 were black...and I'm just saying that to say that the judges were wrong...the one white guy that advanced shouldn't have and the two that didn't should have (the other guy got cooked pretty bad). Now I'm internalizing this like Eminem in 8 Mile...because rumors have it that he's showing up tonight...Bunny Rabbit...gotta beat the 3 black guys to advance...it's working out perfect...that was until round two where he choked and got booed off the stage.

So now we're waiting for the Final round and Bun-B rolls thru, Royce Da 59 is kicking it with the judges and I see Joell Ortiz walk in. I immediately shout YAOWA (ya'll actually one world away) which is his individual little ad-lib catchphrase and he immediately looked up and dapped me up...so now Royce and Joell are in the building...Joe BuddenEminem but I would have been FINE with just them...Finals are over...DNA wins over the crowd with a shoutout to the judges (something about my homies just blaze...) and then finished with a shoutout to the XM radio station (like Shade 45 I'm Dead Sirius...then something about being over for this Maxi Pad...Period) and with that...DNA took the title

So we're waiting for the DJ to make an announcement after the finals because now all four members of Slaughterhouse are present and accounted for. They finally come out one by one and kill their song Sound Off...they then pay a tribute to Hip Hop with their song Woodstock Hood Hop...have us all hold our one's up in the air and The One and finally finish with my favorite Slaughterhouse song... Microphone

 So...I'm all set...my favorite Hip Hop group did 2 of my favorite songs and I got to see a very good rap battle all for $20 (4 Jim Beam & Cokes cost more than two tickets)...then Slaughterhouse exits stage left and no one moves...the "Shady" chant starts and the DJ walks off the stage...hmmmm??? Come to find out the Alchemist is going to be on the 1's and 2's for this "special performance." If it wasn't obvious before it just became clear to everyone there that Eminem was going to be performing. But we were nervous all night because we were hearing that he was on a rooftop performing Renegade with Jay-Z and I know he was supposed to be on Letterman tonight...but who the hell else could upstage Slaughterhouse at this concert???

So I'm getting the vibe all night...especially looking at the crowd that most people weren't there to see the rap battle...you could just get that sense...they were there because of the fact that Eminem was rumored to show...so all of a sudden the Over beat by Drake comes on and people are looking around like...wtf??? Is Drake here? No way, he was just in LA pulling Kobe on stage wasn't he? Well his concert did get shut down? Wait a minute...then this big ass black dude runs out on stage and I'm like no way is that Ving Rhames? Turned out it was Mr. Porter (from D12) and Eminem came out spitting his Despicable Freestyle

He then goes into On Fire and Won't Back Down...I didn't expect him to give us a 10-song set for $20 so I was cool with the 3 he decided to do...he then got a little emotional thanking the fans from Day One...telling us that he wouldn't be where he was today if he didn't start out battling...gave a tribute to his boy Proof and then walked off stage...people started cheering Encore and part of me thought that that he was going to bring Slaughterhouse out and perform Session One aka My New Favorite Song with a mystery verse from Joe Budden...but that would have just been asking too much. Night was over and I went home...but definitely the highlight of my summer to date

You probably won't hear from me again until AFTER Vegas...things are bound to get a little craaaaazy but whatever I can remember/am allowed to blog about I will...

"Do What You Do" --blackhercules21

My New Favorite Song

Eminem Said

now homie who's your favorite pain in the ass? who claims to be spitting the same flames as me?
Im Kanye when he crashed, in other words, I got the hood on smash, like I stepped on the gas
destroyed the front and deployed the damn air bags on the dash, went thru em and laughed
came back an hour after the accident and bit a goddamn jawbreaker in half

Royce Said

I got a Posse of Insane Clowns blow your brains on your opposite ear then ask you how ya brains sound?
Bad? Evil? We go..Alfred E...Newman Mad Cerebral you on your last burrito. What that mean Nickel?
It's a wrap if you eating...get a beat then terrorize that bitch like I'm Middle Eastern.
Slaughterhouse on fire nobody touching that good day and good night Ortiz yo where the f*ck you at?...

Joell Said

and this joint...no exception, so just point...a direction, and record the pigs oink when I rip his intestines
this isnt' just an infection, this won't go away with penicillin injections, millions of questions arose after they did an inspection, what I exhibit seems to be non-contagious yet anybody can get it...awww shit I done did it again, when I li(f)t up this pen I emitted this phlegm and this time it's alongside Eminem so tell a friend to tell a friend...

Crooked I Said

I'll take ya life to the ninth inning, a knife in a gun fight I love it me and my knife winning
I laugh when you fall the shit'll be funny, I'll buy my bitch a new ass and watch her sit on my money man
all the bitches holla they wanna (drop my bridges)? then jaw my d*ck to swallow, leave drawers in this impala I ball like Iguodala...

"Do What You Do" --blackhercules21

Chuckin' Up Them Deuces

With the new look of the blog you are well aware that I've "chucked the deuces" to the old format...I've also chucked em to blogging everyday...but there are other things in my life that also need the deuces chucked in their direction...

Because I have no vehicle and am not set to move into NYC until July I've had some time up here in the suburbs to think about a lot of stuff (as well as greatly expand my music collection but that's a blog for another day) and I just realized that I'm a person that has trouble moving on...I never thought I was but I really am. Whether it's personal relationships, professional relationships or sitting at the computer playing Spider Solitare...I can't remove myself from a situation unless I'm satisfied in the way it concluded...

Saying all of that to say that if I can show that kind of resilience in a lot of the stuff I do then I shouldn't have a problem chucking deuces to these three things this summer...first off...fast food and restaurant chains...I had a craving for the Outback Bloomin' Onion and some Buffalo Wild Wings but there are so many good (healthier) restaurants in NYC that for me to pay more money to eat bad food would just be pointless...so at no point this summer will you see me back in one of those fast-food/chain restaurants...

Second off...I'm chuckin the deuces to these NYC public transportation (minus emergencies) because every year...right around April or May I'm wishing that I could be enjoying nice weather walking around New York City...then I get here for two weeks and I'm underground on the Subway all the time or in a cab...this city has so many places to see for me to be flying past...let's also not act like I don't have a ton of new music and a new iPod to help keep me company on my NYC walks

And last but certainly not least...DRAMA...I'm home not even a week and I get the unfortunate reminder that life is short and anything can happen at any time and it's just not worth it to be stressed out over anything...so I"m gonna try to get through the whole summer with the same smile that Ron Artest had on his face when he was thanking his phychiatrist because that's the joy I want to feel everyday I get up at 10am...workout...and have the luxury to do whatever the hell else I want to do for the rest of the day...in short...I got the life...

"Do What You Do" --blackhercules21

New Style For The Summer

It's been a while since I touched up my blog and like most things in my life...I get bored of it after some time...so check the new template and let me know if you like it...the picture is of one of my heroes...Malcolm X and the quote is from Royce Da 5'9's The Bar Exam 3...

"Do What You Do" --blackhercules21

Just Wright Review

So I finally saw the film Just Wright...and I wanted to let you all know what I thought about it. Finding out most of the plot on set I was never surprised at anything that happened in the movie but I have to say that Common's acting and basketball skills are on about the same level...in person he was as cool as can be...genuinely a nice guy and seemed to be extremely coachable...but that didn't come across on the screen did it? I didn't particularly think he acted well in this movie...but that didn't stop Paula Patton from looking absolutely phenomenal throughout the film. I mean from start to finish everytime she popped on screen I wished I could sing like Robin Thicke. Common's mother aka Mrs. Cosby aka Phylicia Rashad was my favorite actress in the movie and Common's agent aka Michael Landes aka that cop from Final Destination 2 was my favorite actor...my favorite scene...by far...was my dunk late in the game and the little "I Got Swag" (cuz I just scored the go ahead bucket in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals) trot back down court...just to be "faced up" moments later for the game...but anyway if you haven't seen the film yet it's probably time to queue it up in your NetFlix because it's out of the theaters...

But speaking of Cameos....has anyone seen this one?

It's me DC the Brain Supreme and my man Steve Roll'n...now I never knew what they were saying but the DC line made me think they were from Washington DC not Atlanta Georgia...and had they been from Chicago I'd believe this cameo a little more...but tell me that guy at 1:00 doesn't look like President Obama...here check the freeze frame

White House officials have come out and said it's not him...but...what do you guys think? I'm hoping to never be in a position where I'd have to hide cameos I've made in the past but don't you think if that's not him, whoever the hell it is would have said something by now? Anyway, look out for Jason Boone cameos throughout NYC for the next 8 weeks...I'll be all over the place

Do What You Do     ...blackhercules21...     Hallelujah Hollaback

I Thought Death Came In 3's?

Go ahead and say it...Whatchutalmbout Willis? Actually, this blog begins with the death of Gary Coleman but between the Golden Girl and John Wooden it's getting crazy. Last year when I got home it was Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Steve McNair...back to back to back...and so this year I thought I was done with death after Arnold Jackson aka Gary Coleman, Blanche Devereaux aka Sex and the City's Samantha before Samantha aka Rue McClanahan and The Wizard of Westwood aka John Wooden had all passed away...but then I got some pretty devastating news.

Not devastating in terms of someone close to me died...actually I'd never met him but I knew his wife. Her name is Grace and she's one of the sweetest people I've ever met. She worked at the gym I've been going to since I was in highschool and she's one of the people that my father, who has a bit of problem bragging about his sons, keeps updated on how things are going. So when I get to the gym today and I ask her co-worker "where's Grace?" and she tells me "her husband died" it was tough to hear. Especially when I found out how tragically it happened.

Greg, her husband, who worked for the NJ Transit, a train line that I'm very used to taking into New York City, was struck and killed by a train. It happened in a maintenance yard outside of Kearny. To my knowledge it's still under investigation and I don't want assume anything until I get all the facts but I do know that the officials said that the "brakes weren't engaged at the time of the accident." I hope  the authorities investigating the case can figure out whatever they need to figure out as fast as possible for Grace's sake.

"Kastner, whose job was to help shuttle engines in the Meadows Maintenance Facility yard, had just completed fueling his engine, and was walking back to another locomotive, when he was struck, officials said.
NJ Transit police and emergency personnel attempted to revive him after immediately responding to the scene around 3:30 a.m., officials said."

My condolences go out to Grace and the entire Kastner family...I feel for your loss...

On a more humorous note, I walked into the pool area today at the gym in just a towel and it took me almost 20 seconds to realize that I was not at the Badeparadies Eiswiese in Germany...where walking around naked is totally acceptable...luckily for all the small children out there the towel stayed on... #truestory

Do What You Do      ...blackhercules21...     Hallelujah Hollaback

NBA Finals 2010

On the day where I had to watch Frankfurt punch their ticket to the Beko BBL Finals, I got a chance to reflect on one positive of being home at the moment...the NBA Finals. No more staying up until 2-3am trying to watch a bad stream of American TV...nope...I'll be comfortable on my couch (and by couch I mean the local bar) having some drinks with my best friends watching a part of history. Now I must admit...when these two teams squared off back in 2008 I was not as excited. The rivalry seemed outdated and played out. The league seemed like they cheated to get these two teams in...and I was getting ready to go on a cruise...but this year it was obvious that the league would have been happy with a Kobe/LeBron Final...with a rematch of Lakers/Magic or the ever-so-popular Boston/L.A. matchup.

But having a chance to sit and talk with my father, who knows everything there is to know about this rivalry, gave me a strong sense of NBA history. I didn't get the chance to watch such legends as Larry Bird and Magic Johnson play on a nightly basis, but as a student of the game I'm fascinated with the way they both excelled at it. I often think my superior athleticism would have resulted in the dominance of the game back then...but when you really sit and watch how skilled they guys were, it will blow your mind. My most prevalent memories of these guys come from the NBA Superstars Volume 2 VHS which I used to watch religiously as a child...and often still do. The last two music videos were for Larry Bird and Magic Johnson...

Magic says it best...we "play this game to win, to have fun, and to make people happy"

So if this series doesn't get you excited about basketball then you need to either check your history or check your pulse...for as long as the NBA exists there will not be a matchup more revered, renowned, illustrious, distinguished, adored, (okay I'm out of synonyms) or however else you want to describe it...so sit back and enjoy NBA history in the making...Let The Festivities Begin!!!

oh yeah...Lakers In 6...heard it here first

Do  What  You  Do      ...blackhercules21...     Hallelujah Hollaback

Home (Sweet Home)

As I type the title of this blog, I question whether or not I really mean that. Follow me on this for a second. I love being around my family, I love spending time with my friends from America, and there's nothing I love more than my mother's cooking...but is this my home? I'll be moving into my beloved New York City in a few weeks (after a short west coast stint) but is NYC my home? In recent years, I always had a internal countdown until I got back to America. Partly the break from basketball, partly the taste of Angela  Boone's Fried Chicken, partly the chance to ride around in my younger brother's Toyota Scion and hear stories about his adventures in college...but this year it wasn't the same. I used a "rehabbing excuse" to stay an extra week and a half but the truth of the matter is I didn't want to "go home" because I was "at home." And having a chance to see how good "Winning It All" felt...I did not want to leave Gottingen.

For those of you that don't know how the season ended...I'll try my best to be descriptive but understand every word I type is a little more painful than the last...

So we do enough to secure home court advantage in the opening Best-Of-Five game series. We are a lock at the number 3 spot and are awaiting an opponent. Up until this point in the season we'd only lost two games at home (one in the Eurochallenge and one in the regular season) making us feel extremely confident that we could beat whoever we played. Turns out, due to a conflict of schedule, our home gym, the Lokhalle, was being used during the first day of the Leagues playoffs so we had to travel to a neutral site. Our nervousness was calmed by the fact that we'd bring our home court floor/baskets and 2000 fans. Game 1 was a blowout in our favor. Game 2 rolls around and we're sure that if we can get this W the series is just about over...to come back and beat us 3 in a row (with two of them at home) is a task that no team in the league could have possibly done but unfortunately we didn't come out ready to play and this time the blowout was in their favor. So game 3 rolls around, all knoted at one game apiece, it's back home, we're thinking about what happened last season (where we won the first game and then got beat 3x in a row) but we fought our way through a tough battle and ended up taking the 2-1 lead in the series. Closeout game...on the road, don't want to have to play a game 5 so we come out in game 4 ready to finish it up. Had a solid lead but they hit some big shots down the stretch (and also shot 50 fts as a team) so we're forced to come back home and play a fifth game. Although we blew a lead in game four, we were supremely confident going into game 5...I mean it was at home, the place was sold out, and we were watching the number 1 seed lose to the number 8 seed, the number 2 seed lose to the number 7 seed and the number 4 seed lose to the number 5 seed...meaning if we won game 5 we'd be the highest seed left and secure home court advantage throughout...but we weren't able to make that happen...and the worst part is that we were winning by 12 with 3 minutes to go...shortly after that I fouled out and was forced to watch our opponent come back more and more...it was a pretty helpless feeling and as I watched that last shot go up and fall in at the buzzer I was in complete shock that we had just been eliminated.

So being home is bittersweet because I'd give almost anything to still be in the hunt for a title...and I hadn't realized until I got back that nothing here is enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, the season wasn't all bad, we had a ton of success and even won the EuroChallenge championship but there's no feeling worse than feeling like you've left something undone...

Do What You Do      ...blackhercules21...     Hallelujah Hollaback

Home Sweet Home

As I type the title of this blog, I question whether or not I really mean that. Follow me on this for a second. I love being around my family, I love spending time with my friends from America, and there's nothing I love more than my mother's cooking...but is this my home? I'll be moving into my beloved New York City in a few weeks (after a short west coast stint) but is NYC my home? In recent years, I always had a internal countdown until I got back to America. Partly the break from basketball, partly the taste of Angela  Boone's Fried Chicken, partly the chance to ride around in my younger brother's Toyota Scion and hear stories about his adventures in college...but this year it wasn't the same. I used a "rehabbing excuse" to stay an extra week and a half but the truth of the matter is I didn't want to "go home" because I was "at home." And having a chance to see how good "Winning It All" felt...I did not want to leave Gottingen.

For those of you that don't know how the season ended...I'll try my best to be descriptive but understand every word I type is a little more painful than the last...

So we do enough to secure home court advantage in the opening Best-Of-Five game series. We are a lock at the number 3 spot and are awaiting an opponent. Up until this point in the season we'd only lost two games at home (one in the Eurochallenge and one in the regular season) making us feel extremely confident that we could beat whoever we played. Turns out, due to a conflict of schedule, our home gym, the Lokhalle, was being used during the first day of the Leagues playoffs so we had to travel to a neutral site. Our nervousness was calmed by the fact that we'd bring our home court floor/baskets and 2000 fans. Game 1 was a blowout in our favor. Game 2 rolls around and we're sure that if we can get this W the series is just about over...to come back and beat us 3 in a row (with two of them at home) is a task that no team in the league could have possibly done but unfortunately we didn't come out ready to play and this time the blowout was in their favor. So game 3 rolls around, all knotted at one game apiece, it's back home, we're thinking about what happened last season (where we won the first game and then got beat 3x in a row) but we fought our way through a tough battle and ended up taking the 2-1 lead in the series. Closeout game...on the road, don't want to have to play a game 5 so we come out in game 4 ready to finish it up. Had a solid lead but they hit some big shots down the stretch (and also shot 50 fts as a team) so we're forced to come back home and play a fifth game. Although we blew a lead in game four, we were supremely confident going into game 5...I mean it was at home, the place was sold out, and we were watching the number 1 seed lose to the number 8 seed, the number 2 seed lose to the number 7 seed and the number 4 seed lose to the number 5 seed...meaning if we won game 5 we'd be the highest seed left and secure home court advantage throughout...but we weren't able to make that happen...and the worst part is that we were winning by 12 with 3 minutes to go...shortly after that I fouled out and was forced to watch our opponent come back more and more...it was a pretty helpless feeling and as I watched that last shot go up and fall in at the buzzer I was in complete shock that we had just been eliminated.

So being home is bittersweet because I'd give almost anything to still be in the hunt for a title...and I hadn't realized until I got back that nothing here is enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, the season wasn't all bad, we had a ton of success and even won the EuroChallenge championship but there's no feeling worse than feeling like you've left something undone...