It's About Time Plus "Scott Caan Gets Busy"

Finally, after like what seemed like eons upon eons, the Arizona Cardinals finally updated their look for the upcoming season (and the 2006 new stadium). I'll have to admit that I'm a Cardinals fan for the simple fact that Anquan Boldin and Darnell Dockett are on the squad and I'll give you one guess as to their collegiate stomping grounds. Right. (Side Note: If Peter Boulware gets back into the starting lineup with the B-More Ravens, then they will be my favorite team buy default simply for the Boulware/Polley/Rolle/Deion-if he comes back- connection on the Raven's D).

Darnell by the way, is a mean looking dude. The pride of Burtonsville, MD.


Man I wish Dish network had the NFL Sunday Package...bastards.
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All Across The Map - The Whooliganz
Hit The Deck - The Whooliganz
Put Your Hands Up - The Whooliganz
Put Your Hands Up (Skate Mix) - The Wooliganz

Are you familiar with the actor Scott Caan? Son of James Caan? Stars of such movies as "Varsity Blues", "Ocean's 11", and "Gone in 60 Seconds"? Okay, how about one of today's most popular producers in rap music, Alchemist? Down with Mobb Deep and Soul Assassins? Dilated Peoples? Okay, well little known to folks outside of the hip hop diggin community, these boys were once in a Cypress Hill backed group called The Whooliganz.

Yes, Scott Caan was once a rappin' b-boy from the streets of North Hollywood (pardon me, Holly-Hooood!). Sort of counteracts his current publicist induced image of "All-American" bad ass boy. But hey, I can't hate on dude simply cause he has a better job than I currently (or ever) have. Or can I?...Nah. The Alchemist has produced for a "who's who" of current underground & mainstream artists from Dilated Peoples to Mobb Deep to Nina Sky. I always thought his Dilated stuff was better before he hooked up the M.O.B.B. and Havoc showed him how to use the MPC properly, but his stuff still gets the party grimey when need be, so it's gravy.

Side Note 2: Around the same time that The Whooliganz were coming out, EPMD's Eric Sermon had a similar bright idea of two white kids in a group (is that like "Two Hype Brothers & A Dog"?) by the name of The Knuckleheadz. I remember who they were but cannot seem to recall what they sounded like. I know that one of their tracks sampled the Brand Nubian line "...she can make the bed springs sing a song of mercy...", but I don't recall the name of the song. Any ideas?

Here is a little ass bio on The Whooliganz if you want to get some more info...
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So Keith Boogs aka TiVo and I went to the Orioles Vs. Red Sox game tonight at Camden Yards. I have not been to but one professional game in my entire life and that one was about 10 years ago at Camden yards with some HS friends. It took us a rack of time to get there cause of the Beltway traffic but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Anyhow, we had some great seats about 15-20 rows up from the O's dugout. Great view. But here are the two complaints (or funny observations) that I must share with yawl this evening:

1. There were these two 13 year old boys sitting in front of us and I swear on all things Seminole that one of them took a shit in his pants, figured it out, decided to stick his hand down there, and then proceeded to use it at underarm deodorant. BY far, he was the nastiest smelling kid/person I had ever been around. Thank goodness the wind was blowing out....nasty.

2. In the 7th inning stretch they play a rendition of "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" which is part of baseball lore or something. That's cool. But right after, they put on "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" by who-the-hell-ever sings that tune. I looked at Boogs and we looked around and for real were the only people within eye distance who were not singing along. We then proceeded to attempt to combat the "neck-ness" by standing in a proper B-Boy stance. I have no idea if it worked but man...we had to do something.

Side Note 3: In the stadium, which was about 3/4 full I swear there were more Red Sox fans than were O's fans. Every time one of the Sox would get a hit, uproar. When the birds would do the same, eh, sort of a whimper. The crowd kept chanting, Let's Go Red Sox....simply embarrassing B-More. After all, as the great Ralph "I Ate The Fridge" Friedgen said, "You Must Protect This Hooooouuuussssseeee!!!!" Oh and the O's got creamed. Typical.

Aight my peoples, I'll be getting at you later on. TiVo may or may not be guest posting for Friday but be on the lookout.

Take it easy.
Brother B.

*Shout to Ruby Rube!!!!!

Freddy's The Man, An Apology... and All Thangs Lost?

Let me preface this post by saying that I have never been, nor ever will be a fan of Soccer. First, they always seem to be faking an injury like they got shot 50 style. Second, which is really sort of tied to the first reason, every player I've ever met personally have been chickens. Now if I have offended anyone, well you'll just have to get over it cause as a former college football player, we'd often yearn for one of the soccer balls from the next practice field to stray onto ours so that we could kick that shit the other way. We are just better athletes than you. Childish? Sure. Bully-ish? You bet. But who cared.

Now, I was watching the tube the other day and happened to come across the Comcast SportsNet station showing the highlights of the Washington United's last game. Normally I'd switch the station quicker than a Senator switching positions during election time but as soon as I grabbed the remote, I saw the craziest thing. Little Freddy Adu about to go toe to toe with some bushy haired moron. Freddy Adu? Cat is like what, 15? (His age is disputed however). And he was manning up with a guy twice his age and twice his height? That shows some serious intestinal fortitude in my book.

So let me be the first to say "I'm sorry" to all those soccer players who I've offended/tripped/form-tackled/beat down over my career. Yawl ain't nearly as gutless as I had once believed. Sorry Bob, Bear, LaMartin, Whelan, etc.

*As a matter of reference, I never actually ever hurt/injured any one who was a player of the great game of soccer. Nor do I hate soccer. Well not really anyhow. Just having fun with Kozak and crew.

*And this rant has nothing to do with the music today neither.
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Get On Up - Jodeci
Alright - Janet Jackson Feat. Heavy D
Hey You (Get Off My Mountain) - The Dramatics
Soul Power (re-edit) - James Brown

* Let me just say that I had a really insightful and informative post about today's selections. It was about how the randomness of "Party Shuffle" mode in iTunes tied into the past few weeks of existence here at The Funk. It was really good. But like a jackass, I didn't save the post correctly and it got lost. So, sorry for that. I'll save the long post for Thursday or Friday (depending on if TiVo makes his appearance). Just enjoy the tunes...

Be back tomorrow...
Brother B.

Man I Love Football...

I was in this discussion on Warchant.com about who had won the Florida Mr. Football Award since the start back in 1992. I've been a long time supporter of the thoery that no state has as much football talent as the Sunshine State does at the High School level. Sure other states can make thier own argument (Texas, Cali, maybe Ohio...Sorry Joey!) but pound for pound Florida is the leading producer of Division One football talent.

Anyhow, we had never seen a complete list of the winners but someone managed to piece it together. So here it is:

2004, Antone Smith, Pahokee (FSU)
2003, Xavier Lee, Daytona Beach Seabreeze (FSU)
2002, Andre Reese, Pierson-Taylor (Currently at Northwest Miss. Comm. College)
2001, Leon Washington, Jacksonville Jackson (FSU)
2000, Adrian McPherson, Bradenton Southeast (FSU)
1999, Willie Green, Kissimmee Osceola (UF)
1998, Anquan Boldin, Pahokee (FSU)
1997, Zain Gilmore, Tampa Robinson (Missouri)
1996, Travis Henry, Frostproof (Tenn.)
1995, Frankie Franklin, Jacksonville Sandalwood (Indiana?)
1994, Daunte Culpepper, Ocala Vanguard (Central Florida)
1993, Shevin Wiggins, Bradenton Manatee
1992, Jammi German, Fort Myers

The players in bold Garnet all went to or are going to FSU. Of the players in the Niffle, Culpepper/Henry/Boldin are all All-Pros and up near the top at their positions.

I'm just posting this cause I'm a football geek and my homie Larry is a big Texas fan. So take that man!

Catch yawl tomorrow

My Crew Is Doper Than Your Crew...

*SUPER MARK DUPER COLLECTION OF HITS FOR TODAY!*

’93 Til Infinity – Souls Of Mischief
Chance – Pep Love
Family & Friends – Pep Love
Mr. Dobalina – Del
Make Your Move – Hieroglyphics
Make Your Move (9^th Wonder Remix) – Hieroglyphics
That’s How It Is Pt. 2 – Casual feat. A-Plus
Same O.G. – Casual
Mind, Body, Soul – Opio
Soweto – Hieroglyphics
Don’t Forget The Bass - Del
You Never Knew - Hieroglyphics

It's a Holler-ific type Tuesday here at The Funk; the weather is nice, the plate is pretty clean for today, and most importantly, the funk is free-flowing. As an update to yesterday's post about corporate rappin' it seems that the rumours are true regarding MC Lyte being the guilty party in that Old Navy Commercial. Sigh.

Today I'd like to focus on one of the more thorough crews over the years, Hieroglyphics.

Rooted in the creative atmosphere of the Bay Area, Hieroglyphics has emerged as a powerful force within underground hip-hop culture. Comprised of Del the Funky Homosapien, Casual, Pep Love, Domino, and the group Souls of Mischief, this crew is one of the first to successfully forge careers as a collective and as individual artists. Sales for the crew have sailed well beyond 3 million units-- and that’s not even including their various tapes and underground records released in the early days.

If you felt the Hieroglyphics camp for the first time when Del emerged on the scene in ‘91 with the classic, I Wish My Brother George Was Here (Elektra) you had to know that great things were ahead. And on and on, good things came from Hiero, including: Del’s 1993 release, No Need for Alarm (Elektra), Souls’ debut in 1993, 93 til Infinity (Jive), Casual’s 1994 release Fear Itself (Jive), and Souls’ follow up in 1995, No Man’s Land (Jive).

In 1997, armed with experience and insight, Hieroglyphics formed their own independent company, Hiero Imperium, and soon released their first album as a collective unit, Third Eye Vision, followed by releases by each of the individual artists on the label. Hiero also built a strong online presence through their award-winning website – hieroglyphics.com (8 years and running!) and merchandise line prominently featuring their famous three-eyed logo.

The success of the Hieroglyphics Imperium label has enabled them to branch out beyond their own work to expand their musical legacy. In 2002 Hiero released one of Hip-Hop’s first CD/DVD hybrids, One Big Trip, which included a soundtrack on one side of the disc and a movie on the other. Artists within the collective also have collaborated with the likes of Dilated Peoples, George Clinton, Jurassic 5, Gorillaz and Dan the Automator (Deltron 3030).

2003 also brought about the formation of a brand-new wing of the Hiero Imperium, Hiero2, which showcases the next wave of innovative independent artists. Releases include projects with soul singer Goapele, and hip-hop artists Z-Man and Encore.

The expansion continues - the Hiero crew is now poised to follow up Third Eye Vision with a new release entitled Full Circle (Oct 7, 2003), as well as solo albums from Tajai (Power Movement), Casual (Smash Rockwell), Pep Love (Reconstruction) and Del (Eleventh Hour). Keep your third eye open! (Bio from www.hieroglyphics.com)

Hiero has been one of my favorite groups since waaaay back when Del first showed up with Mr. Dobalina. Building off of what we were discussing yesterday, I’m for sure an A-Teamer when it comes to their music/shows/etc. I think at one time I had every single Hiero release in one shape or form (CD/LP/Tape) but over the years they either got sold off for what I thought was a better deal (Killarmy…yeah) or were ganked from my car at school. But I have slowly begun the process of re-attaining most of those recordings, which has been a fun activity just because I can remember where I was at when I first heard “No Need For Alarm” and “Thoughts Of The Thoughtful”. Like finding your old Tony Hawk skateboard in the storage closet and trying to remember how to oile (sp?). But don’t get it twisted; I never, ever, ever gave away the first pressing copy of that blue
tape from Souls of Mischief for “That’s When Ya Lost”.

But the importance of Hieroglyphics as a crew is more of what I’d like to talk about for a few minutes. Like all multi-member groups, Heiro has had a few roster changes over the years
(Extra Prolific/JayBiz/Snupe/Mike G) but like the championships years for The (pardon me), Da Bulls the crew is now a full tour de force in the underground scene. They have been consistent in their releases from an artistic stand point in that they have never really gone the “sell out” route (minus that debacle of an album “No Man’s Land”). Of course this is just my opinion. Others have their own.

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Same Ol' Ball Coach, and the Same Ol' Jackassery

(As a side note to a post from my man Joey @SB, The Urban Myth has never seen the type of talent the SEC or his non-conf. opponents possess. Even as an assistant at ND or Colo. State. This is after all the SEC, not the Mountain West. And that game with Pitt doesn’t count either cause everybody knows how bad they were last year and that they shouldn’t have been in that game reppin’ the Big East. Point being (and yes I’m a Seminole Homer) is that he is a good coach but to anoint him the next Bear Bryant/Bobby Bowden is just a way to sell papers. This fact is the main reason that I don’t read anything that SI/ESPN/ETC put out because I know they all have an agenda to promote what they think will sell, not necessarily the truth. But that’s just me. )

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So here is what I would suggest for today. If the weather permits wherever you are, take the tracks we’ve linked up and burn them to CD or to your portable MP3 device, and spend the day outside doing whatever. That’s what I’m going to be doing cause well, why the hell not? It’s only a matter of time where it’ll be too hot/muggy to go outside for too long. Plus my car needs a wash so that’s the plan.

I’ll catch yawl on the funk-side

Brother B.

* Side Note: The Prez is back!!!!! Palmer returns to 24 next week. Damn!

9th Floor...Housewares, Ladies Delicates, Corporate Rap

*Songs are throughout the text*

Okay, so now that I have rejoined the ranks of the sane/living, I'd again like to apologize to anyone who has lost a little bit of their funkiness over the past week and a half due to an extended absence by yours truly. But hopefully this week, we'll be pushing the overload button enough that it'll get your engines started again. So with that, let us begin...

I have been spending most of my time getting projects/presentations/papers done for my second to last semester in school (because as per usual, I waited til the last minute), and while doing so, I would take some mental breaks every now and then to peep out 24 (how crazy is this season???), CSI Miamuh, and some Wizards games (playoffs???). During the breaks, I've been noticing a recent increase in TV commercials that are using old school rap songs to push their goods. Now I know using rap to push product is nothing new but what the products are have gotten increasingly less "urban-market" related and more "WTF?-ish". Let me throw down two examples:

1. Huggies Diapers:

Okay, so you have a commercial for a new and improved diaper (apparently, it prevents leaks better or something...Keith, you know this stuff?) with a bunch of half naked toddlers running around (Side Note 1: why do they always have half naked babies in these things?) and you need some background music to sort of emphasize your point. All together? Okay. Let's see what we have in the catalog. Here's some Michael Bolton, some James Taylor, some Raffi/Yanni type stuff. You'd think they'd pick from those types and all, being that it's for babies. So what do they choose?, "I Got The Power" by Snap. Whaaaaaaaaaaa????? (Jon Stewart style!). Is that what I would want to use to emphasize this product? Are they trying to say that buy using this song, that babies are now empowered to doo-doo brown wherever they please, with little or no threat of consequence? I had to call Keith on this one...it was nuts.

2. Old Navy Tunics:

Old Navy is know for its quirky, sometimes unbearable TV spots featuring model types in extra small sizes lip synching to whatever cornball song they have so it's not a surprise to see the same formula used for their latest spot for their Women's Tunics line. But stop my heart for a millisecond, what's this? Is that the opening break from Young MC's "Bust A Move"? I do believe that it is...wait...wait...is that woman rapping something? Holy be-geebus she is. But what's this? That's not the lyrics from Young MC...holy crap (and I quote) she just said "Bust a Tunic"... How do you bust a tunic? Who signed off on this? Why am I still watching this commercial?

If you have not seen these two examples of the new corporate raiding of rap music, you will. They are on all the time now. They are also by no means the only two crazy examples of how far companies are willing to go to use rap as a marketing medium. I've seen a few from McDonald's (who pays rappers to mention their stuff in their rhymes if you had not heard that yet), that commercial for a woman's anti-gas pill that uses Gangstarr's opening from "Just To Get A Rep", the Bridgestone/Firestone Tire commercial with a 7 year late version of Murder Mase rhyming from the inside of a tire (shiney silver suit and all) and the one from Dannon Yogurt featuring a rack of kids sipping on some yogurt drink (Sizzurp style!) at a mansion that looks awefully familiar to that video for Biggie's "Sky's The Limit" complete with a DJ cutting it up proper like for the kids. (Side note 2: In this commercial, why are all of the little white girls doing the RMC "white girl" dance? Has it spread like a virus already?)

It's not like I'm against using rap music to push products, I just want it to be for a worthy product.

I Got The Power - Snap
Bust A Move - Young MC
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Myself and some of the other Brothers of Funk have been discussing the latest album from Common for a few days (somebody leaked it onto the Net). If you have not heard the album yet, I suggest trying to find it and listen to it. If you like it, go out and buy it when it comes out to support good music. Anyhow, we were discussing the merits of trying to please the breakdown of the fan bases that exist in today's musical landscape. The A/B/C teamers and whatnot. The A Teamers being the core fan base of an artist (those who will buy your shit regardless), the B Teamers (those who will check for your stuff if they hear good things about it), and the C Teamers (those who have no idea who you are or what you do). We discussed the difficulties that must exist with these major label artists who are torn between the art form and the Almighty Dollar. In a nutshell we figured out that artists who are trying to please all three fan bases are prolly better off just selling out and going for the easy money.

But we got in the subject of Common and his new LP and whether or not it would be a worthy pick up. Common's last LP was a strange/often unlistenable excursion into a neo-soul experiment that never really captured many listeners (minus Kozak) so I, like most, weren't expecting much from Com this time around. Sure, Kanye West/J-Dilla were doing all of the production on the LP. Sure, Erica wasn't in the picture any longer. But the taste of "Electric Circus" was very very bitter. Well, then came the first single "Corners" and like a dog smelling a fresh piece of beef, my ears peaked up and I began to get ancy. Mind you the last time I got amped for a release was the Rakim debacle "The 18th Letter" so I was careful this time. Well I got a copy of the new LP and let me just say that it's pretty dag gum good. As a whole LP, I am very impressed with both its direction and execution. It ranks right up there with the Little Brother LP/Pep Love's "Ascension"/MF Doom's "MM Food"/De La Soul's "Grind Date" as very good complete albums. Some folks have some reservations about the lovey-dovey nature of some tracks (wink-wink) but that's cool. So do yourself and your brain some service and find the LP and check it out. But like I said earlier, as with all artists you like, buy their shit when it comes out. This is their job/source of income and the good ones need our support.

It's Your World (Pop's Reprise) - Common
Go - Common

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Zak sent me a trailer to this DVD that had come out earlier this year, so I checked it out and orded the DVD off Amazon. Here is a pretty good synopsis of the film:

Venturing into uncharted territory, Soundz of Spirit draws connections between the creative freedom and the spiritual outlet that the hip hop culture provides for the current generation.

Capturing artists in their moments of inspiration and taking an in-depth look at their creative processes, this documentary highlights the positive values of the hip hop culture, boldly expressing perspectives on community, ethnicity, racism, creativity, spirituality and activism.

While most of the artists featured in Soundz of Spirit hail from the West Coast's underground scene, all of them are fiercely independent creative forces whose contributions to the social elevation of hip hop have been frequently and prominently portrayed in mainstream media. (Taken from Hip Hop Film Festival)

I thoroughly enjoyed this look into the minds/thoughts of some of my favorite artists and if you like real talk on Hip Hop and its positive values, I'd suggest getting this DVD. It comes with a bonus CD that features songs from Cee Lo, Zion I, Del, Pep Love, etc. Here are two tracks off that album:

Beautiful Fool - Cee Lo (The file is titled something else)
Borderline - Zion I

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The NFL Draft is coming up this next weekend and I'm getting amped already for it. At least 3 of my former 'Noles could be going in the first round with almost 4-5 going the first day for sure. The top two, Alex Barron (OT) & Travis Johnson (DT) are the best at their positions according to various reporting outlets (ESPN & the like). Corners Bryant McFadden & Leroy Smith, WRs Craphonso Thorpe, Chauncey Stovall, & Domonic Robinson, OT Ray Willis, QB Chris Rix, DEs Chauncy Davis & Eric Moore, SS Jerome Carter, & Ex -FSU QB's A.D. McPherson & Fabian Walker all are expected to be drafted this year. That would be a great boost for our draft numbers.

The Noles held thier spring game this past weekend with the D coming out on top, 20-10. It was a good gauge of where the D is but the Offense is sooooo battered up front that they had to run a walk-on Center with the first teamers. But like most things that happen in the spring football season, it doesn't mean jack until September. Deion was there with some of the other former Noles now in the Niffle. This is a picture of him with 2005 signees Michael Ray Garvin (DB) and Antone Smith(RB). Garvin is a friggin beast!!!!

Man it's getting close. I can smell the season already.

So that’s about it for Monday. We’re back on the regular schedule again and hopefully will be for a while so if you’ve written us off, break out the eraser you suckaaaassssss!

Later On,
Brother B