You know...for all of the talk about Drake being manufactured and fake and effectively...created to blow up, I can't imagine that many people thought that he would reach this level of success. What level of success, you ask? In 2012, Drake made over $20 million, 6th among hip-hop artists, moguls, etc. The 5 above him read as a Who's Who of contemporary hip-hop; beatmaker and product peddler Dr. Dre, shit-talker and label head Puff Daddy, label head and hip-hop king Jay-Z, beatmaker, artist, and overall madman Kanye West, and Lil Wayne, Drake's boss. Say what you will about the hip-hop produced by those individuals, but they are all very successful. For Drake to be among them, even for a year, is simply amazing for a Canadian child actor. Regardless of how you think he came to prominence, he really is a hip-hop success story. And if you've ever watched his interviews with people he chooses to open up to, he really does seem like a decent individual. I have no hate for Drake.
That being said, clearly I am out of the loop here. I've heard that everyone from random Twitter users to Bomani Jones to fucking Big Ghostfase likes this album. I'm hearing it's his best work ever...I'm hearing he isn't doing as much singing...I'm hearing the bars are harder...all of this stuff. Look. I liked So Far Gone. I loved that shit. Going back, I liked Comeback Season and I liked a lot of his pre-Thank Me Later features. However, even with all of that...Nothing Was The Same is more of the same Drake. He blurs the line between rapper and R&B artist. He cries about old relationships. He cries about current relationships with family members. He is a very good rapper when he raps, but that's ~55% of the time. Like I said before, I like Drake as an artist. He has released some very good work (somehow neither of his albums qualify as such in my opinion) and it's obvious that he's a very talented individual. I've always said that his talent at utilizing soundscapes is close to unmatched; the only artists I can think of who are at his level at creating works with a consistent sound are Rick Ross, Kendrick Lamar, and A$AP Rocky. Kendrick uses 40 as well, so that's understandable, and Ross happens to be able to utilize a lot of different sounds and still sound at home. A$AP Rocky really is the only other rapper I can think of whose sound is fairly uniform and who sounds good while utilizing it.
Now to me, Take Care is Drake's best studio album. Is there a lot of singing? Yes. Is there a lot of whining? Yes. However, the soundscape crafted by 40 and Drake is spectacular. Maybe you don't like Nicki Minaj or Rick Ross, but...both "Make Me Proud" and "Lord Knows" are at the least good. "Lord Knows" may have been the best beat of 2011, to be perfectly honest. If you can't forgive "Practice," I can understand...that was an atrocity. There are a number of pretty bad moments on Take Care. Even with all of those...I still have it as his best official studio album. Again, maybe I'm just missing something, but anyway, let's get to NTWS.
As I stated before, despite the title Nothing Was The Same, there is nothing dramatically different between Drake's product here and on prior albums. There IS an improvement in the rapping...he really is a very good rapper, and there are new flows on this album that remind you that he IS still quite young, and he is dedicated to improving himself as a rapper, despite seeing himself as more than a rapper. There are some pretty good moments on here; from a rapping standpoint, both "The Language" and "Too Much" are high points. Even when he slips into his comfort zone of pseudo-R&B (which actually, now that I'm thinking about it, is actually closer to what I'd consider R&B than the shit that I can't even listen to from Trey Songz, Chris Brown, etc.), there are moments that don't disappoint; "Wu-Tang Forever" (despite the title) and "Hold On, We're Going Home" fall under this category. However, one of the things I've always said about Drake is that he never releases "bad" music. If you rated every song he's done from Thank Me Later onward from 1-10, you come out with A LOT more in the 6-8 range than you do the 1-3 range. On this album, he puts out some poor shit...I never want to hear "305 to My City" or "Own It" again in my life. Sonically, the album is a rehash of the sound that made Take Care so easy to listen to, but done less effectively. Like Rick Ross, the sound that was fresh a couple of years ago has gotten fairly played by now, and from an artist who has spoken frequently on wanting to do things differently and constantly evolve, it's particularly disappointing.
For a 3rd album from someone who wants to be in the Kanye West conversation for best overall catalog, this is a subpar effort. Compared to Kanye, Drake was already playing from behind; College Dropout and Late Registration are classics, Thank Me Later was a disappointing debut and Take Care was a solid sophomore effort. He falls further behind on album 3, as Graduation, despite my misgivings, is a pretty good album and better than Nothing Was The Same. The sad thing is that Drake really is talented. Even though he can't sing, he does recognize how to harmonize, he's a very good rapper, and the combination of he and 40 really does work excellently in general. However, even with all of that in his corner, this is the second disappointing album that he's produced out of 3 attempts. That's not a good success rate, especially not for someone with his resources and skill set. I listened to an interview recently during which he basically said that Kendrick, despite putting out an excellent debut album, would have to make multiple great albums to be considered a great artist. In my opinion, Drake has yet to craft an album as good as good kid, m.A.A.d city, so what does that mean for his aspirations?
Rating: 3/5 Standouts: "Wu-Tang Forever," "Hold On, We're Going Home," Too Much"
Random note: Drake also said he's proud of his work with Jay-Z...I really hope Jay-Z isn't proud of his work with Drake. Two of the more talented artists today continuously put out bullshit. Nothing they've done together touches any of the high points of Jay/Kanye or even Drake/Wayne. Stop working together if you're gonna drop bullshit.
Pretend I haven't gone two months without a blog post. Pretend that I'm not a lazy ain't shit nigga who's been busy with work, gym, and thirsting on Twitter. Can't do that? Shit. Anyway, I've been watching a lot of basketball lately, yet still missing a bunch of games. I refuse to watch Wizards games as they occur due to my superstitions (shut up), so I end up watching them after the fact. This just in: John Wall's on a tear. How much of a tear? In the last 9 games, Wall is averaging 25.0ppg/9.3apg/4.9rpg/2.0spg on 56/64/83 splits. YO. He's hit as many 3s during this stretch as he did all season last year, which brings me to my first point of this post: Can you really judge someone's shooting ability based on .6 shots a game?
I didn't watch every 3-pt shot Wall tossed up last year, but with such a low frequency, I'd imagine there were some that were taken at the end of the shot clock, some taken at the end of quarters, and maybe even one that was taken in an attempt to draw a foul. His first season gives us much more useful numbers IMO, and even though they're still shit (29.6% from 3...), they're much better than the 7.1% he shot last year. Additionally, the fact that even during his rookie year he shot less than two 3-pt field goals a game shows that he knows it's a bad shot for him; this isn't Monta Ellis. I of course agree that for Wall to be a superstar, he will have to shore up his jumpshot; part of why Rondo isn't a superstar is the lack of a reliable jumper. One of the ways that Irving > Wall is his VERY reliable jumpshot, and if Wall wants to make that jump to "elite PG" status, that's just one step he'll have to take.
That being said, Wall has shown considerable improvement from last year to this year, ESPECIALLY when you consider he missed the first 33 games of the season due to a knee injury (which I never hear any Wall detractors bring up). How much improvement? Well in the lockout-shortened 2011-2012 season, here are Wall's jump shot percentages:
From 10 to < 16ft - 33.7%
From 16 to < 3pt - 30.2% (He took more shots here than anywhere else but the rim, which is ridiculous)
From 3pt - 7.1%
Overall, he was 28.5% on jumpers
Wall's jumper's spirit partner
ABSOLUTELY DREADFUL all around. Not only did he shoot terribly from 3 (despite taking few shots), he took almost as many shots from the worst location (16ft to < 3pt) as he did from every location excluding the rim combined. TERRIBLE. Now for the 2012-2013 season:
From 10 to < 16ft - 36.7%
From 16 to < 3pt - 40.1%
From 3pt - 31.0%
Overall he is 38.9% on jumpers
Still not stellar numbers, but a jump of over 10%. This brings him closer to company such as Stephen Curry (43.5% on jumpers), Kyrie Irving (43.3%), and Chris Paul (44.1%), all point guards who are acknowledged as good shooters. He's shooting better than Ty Lawson (36.5%), Deron Williams (38.3%), and Jrue Holiday (38.7%). Again, not excellent, but great improvement for someone who was LAUGHABLE as a shooter last year. He's still taking too many long 2s, but if he can continue to improve from that range, it won't be a terrible shot.
So basically: YES, John Wall had a shitty shooting year last year, but so did a lot of players during that lockout season. He also was able to play every game and was on an absolutely terrible Wizards squad. I'm cool with how he did last year, especially since this year shows he's made an effort to improve his jumpshot.
Another oft-brought up aspect of Wall's game is his susceptibility to turnovers. I will always acknowledge that Wall has a "pace" problem. He's only really got one speed, and his desire to make the flashy play often results in turnovers (he's averaged 3.7/game over his career). That being said, outside of Chris Paul, let's look the turnover rate this season for ball-dominant, high assist percentage point guards (including Wall)
Now I didn't put Kyrie Irving here because his 31.2 AST% is lower than the 38% cutoff that I had, but you can see that Wall's turnover numbers are about average for point guards that assist at such a high rate. Wall's AST% is higher than all of these point guards outside of Vasquez and Rondo, and his TO% is actually LOWER than all of these outside of Westbrook, Holiday, and Parker. He's in pretty good company as far as that goes. AGAIN, I'd be the first person to concede that he has to work on his pace and his turnovers. It isn't some ridiculously terrible thing though.
I've also heard some people discussing Wall as a potential bust...which is ridiculous to me. If not for Blake Griffin and a ridiculous 20/10 rookie year, Wall is likely the ROY. Last year he put up comparable numbers to his rookie year, despite a hectic lockout season. Right now, Wall is averaging 16.8ppg/7.6apg/1.4spg. Taking the lowest common denominator of his points, assists, and steals per 36min, the only players to average 15.6/7.9/1.4 per 36min for their first 3 seasons are Phil Ford (who completely fell off after his 3rd season partially due to injury), Tim Hardaway (a multiple All-Star), Andre Miller (another All-Star), and...John Wall. If you make the criteria 16/8/1.4 per game, the only players with multiple seasons within their first 3 years are Damon Stoudamire, Kenny Anderson, Hardaway, CP3, Magic, Pooh Richardson (another flame-out), and John Wall. Those are nice co-residents, and that's even acknowledging that he hasn't improved quite as much as some of his fans and detractors have hoped. Numbers that less than 10 players have replicated can't be bust-worthy, can they? I wouldn't say he's a top 10 point guard as of yet (partially due to an abundance of point guard talent), but he's far from trash. His affect on the Wizards has been quite palpable; without him, they were 5-28...with him (even with injuries to other players), they're 21-16. His return has improved the play of Emeka Okafor and Bradley Beal, and helped bring their defense to top-10 status. While their offense is still pretty bad, it's not as if they have a multitude of offensive weapons.
I was listening to Blake Griffin on The Champs Podcast by Neal Brennan (check that out btw) and he mentioned that he was getting killed during his second season for not having a complete game (including a jumper, true post moves, etc.). I can see how a player like Blake (or John Wall) would get irritated by the constant nitpicking. In Blake, you had a player who averaged 20/10 for his first two seasons in a league with very few 20/10 guys period. In Wall you have a player averaging 16/8, which are pretty good numbers for a young point god. Yes, Blake lacked (lacks?) a reliable jumper and is a bad free throw shooter. Yes, Wall could stand to improve his jumpshot and pace. Neither of those deficiencies make either #1 pick a freaking bust. Blake was lucky enough to get a bona fide superstar as a teammate in Chris Paul. Wall was flanked by post-PED Rashard Lewis, JaVale McGee, Swaggy P, and Andray Blatche. Let's not act like he had some great teammates. Now that he has quality locker-room guys (and indeed a bit of talent), the Wizards have shown marked improvement. In my Eastern Conference preview, I predicted that the Wizards could get the 8th spot if they weren't...the Wizards. The Wall injury at the beginning of the season pretty much confirmed that they're the Wizards, but since Wall's return, they've been an above-.500 team. The current 8 seed in the East is below .500...you can do the math.
So basically, YES, Wall has flaws...like any other NBA player. He's only 22 years old, and still has time to improve further. I'm not worried about Wall being a bust, and when you take into account his athletic abilities, it's not a stretch for him to jump into the top-10 PGs next year (for the record, my top-10 right now in no order is CP3, Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, Ty Lawson, Kyrie Irving, Mike Conley, Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Rajon Rondo, and Derrick Rose...the last two are obviously assuming they're at least 75% of their prime selves). Part 2 will be about the John Wall/Max contract extension discussion.
I was born in Washington, D.C. and spent most of the early part of my life in nearby Capitol Heights, MD. Before I moved to Greenbelt and started watching the University of Maryland, I was a big Georgetown fan...Allen Iverson and Victor Page were household names. Needless to say, I was a HUGE Allen Iverson fan throughout his Georgetown years, and well into his years as a Philadelphia 76er. If you rooted for the underdog or the street guy or the little guy, you rooted for Allen Iverson. Generously listed at 6'0" tall, he played with a fire and heart that was close to unmatched. I will forever remember this graphic being displayed in the 2001 NBA Finals
You could say whatever you wanted about him not being a team player or being a heistbox or whatever, but dude was committed to playing and sacrificing his body for his team.
No matter what you think of Allen Iverson as a person or a player, there is no denying his influence on the game. From the beginning of his career he was an impact player, winning Rookie of the Year honors while averaging 23.5/7.5/2.1 and playing 40(!)min a night. We all remember the infamous crossover on Michael Jordan...
In the 4 years after Jordan's 2nd retirement, Allen Iverson led the league in scoring average 3 times. In the 2000-2001 season he led the 76ers to the NBA Finals, earning MVP honors and leaving us with another classic
For all of the on-court heroics and spectacular moments that AI gave us though, what he's perhaps best remembered for is...
Not simply the CLASSIC "practice" rant, but everything that went along with it (I'm curious if he realized that the laughter during the interview was more at him than at what he was saying)...some fans are too young to remember the time in which Iverson played, but if you wanted to point at anything that you felt was "wrong" with the league, Iverson was the poster child. Tattoos? Check. Durag? Check. Cornrows? Check. The cocked fitted hat? Check. White tees and baggy jeans? Check. A rap album littered with "nigga" and "faggot"? Check. Iverson was everything that Michael Jordan's clean-shaven image wasn't. You could see his influence on other players in the NBA as well, and his "jack it up" mentality definitely contributed to a number of children growing up playing basketball "the wrong way." As David Stern cracked down on the league (dress codes, etc.) you could see that the NBA was no longer a place that welcomed the likes of Allen Iverson. Indeed, as he said in the below interview, he effectively ended up leaving (or being kicked out) of the NBA rather than change who he was as a person
Today I heard a story about the Dallas Mavericks making AI an offer to join their D-League team...AI predictably refused, basically saying it wasn't for him. This is right in line with his refusal to be a bench guy, commenting that an MVP doesn't come off the bench. For the most part, this is true. Since I really started watching the NBA, the MVPs were...
Michael Jordan (a starter for the vast majority of his career)
Charles Barkley (a starter even in his twilight)
Hakeem Olajuwon (a starter for most of his career)
David Robinson (a starter for all but 2 games of his career)
Karl Malone (a starter for every post-rookie season game)
Shaquille O'Neal (a starter for the vast majority of his career)
And the current guys like Nash, Dirk, LeBron, Rose, Kobe, etc. are all still starting whenever they aren't injured. When you add the fact that AI won 4 scoring titles, it's pretty understandable that 1. He wouldn't want to come off the bench, and 2. He wouldn't want to play in the D-League at all. This is the #1 overall pick of the same 1996 NBA Draft that spawned Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, and Steve Nash. His career averages are 26.7/6.2/2.2. He's got the 2nd-highest career playoff ppg at 29.7ppg. He's won 4 scoring titles. Led the league in steals 3 times. Led the league in minutes per game 7 times, and averaged 41mpg. Ray is coming off the bench, but we saw the uproar that it caused when he was asked to come off the bench during his 16th season for Avery Bradley, and I'm sure that even now he struggles with coming off the bench, even if it's for Dwyane Wade. As long as Kobe is getting 38min a night and starting in the NBA, there's no way you can really expect AI to think he should be in the D-League.
That being said, there's a reason why Kobe has scored over 30,000 points and AI capped out at a little over 24,000, despite having a higher per game average. Ironically, a major part of that is practice. Kobe practices...a lot. He spends enormous amounts of time improving and perfecting his game, as well as making sacrifices to stay in top shape. This is why he's still leading the Lakers, despite being 17 seasons in (plus 7 Finals trips). Allen Iverson, for all of his heart and determination, never developed a reliable jumpshot, couldn't stay healthy most seasons, and is undersized while being slower than he was in his prime. Without any video of Allen Iverson going up against NBA competition in 2013, it's unlikely that a team would spring even for a 10-day contract. Most of the older players in the league, whether it's Rasheed or Kurt Thomas or Jerry Stackhouse have an advantage over AI: size. Size will always be wanted, as seen by the Heat signing Juwan Howard last year and Birdman this season. If AI had a serviceable 3 ball like Stackhouse or even just had an abundance of energy and maybe 85% of his old speed, like a Nate Robinson, he might be able to convince a team to take a chance on him. As it stands now, though, he's an old, undersized, temperamental player with 3 years of NBA rust on him. The odds just aren't that high for him to be allowed to jump back in the NBA.
Which brings me to this...as an Allen Iverson fan, I think that he's got to do whatever it takes to get back in the league and have a proper send-off. When he showed up in Philly during last year's playoffs, amid speculation about his finances, that crowd showed him a TON of love...Philly is the type of city that respects someone like Allen Iverson. I think most fans of that era would love to see AI in a 76ers uniform (even though they've got plenty of guards in Holiday, Turner, Young, Wright, Richardson, etc.), but what about Allen Iverson joining the Atlanta Hawks? They just lost Lou Williams and I'm pretty sure Lou and AI are cool with each other, maybe Atlanta takes a chance on AI as a backup guard. At the end of the day though, unless AI can prove that he's not merely a shadow of himself (which for all we know, maybe he's having a Tim Duncan/Kobe Bryant revitalization) he won't be getting any starting nods in a league with an abundance of talented guards.
Sup? I've been slacking again...as is my custom. It's a combination of year-end/year-beginning/month-end work bullshit, getting back in the gym after getting bored with Insanity, and spending time with various people. Just a lot of stuff. I've been watching a lot of basketball though (and taking an almost perverse joy in watching the Lakers lose in an embarrassing manner), so I DO have some mid-season thoughts.
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2013 NBA All-Star starters
NBA All-Star 2013
My first thought is I'm pissed that I can't go down to Houston for the game due to work. My second thought is that I'm not terribly upset with the choices. That being said, I am annoyed at a couple of things.
Eastern Conference
Let's start with the good here. LeBron, Anthony, and Wade have all been very good this year; the former 2 are MVP candidates, and for all of the talk about Wade declining, he's still producing 20.8/4.7/4.5 on a TS% of 57.8 (his PER is 23.8, above Kobe's). Rumors of Wade's demise are greatly exaggerated, and in a conference where the best teams have mostly had sub-par guard play, it makes sense that he's starting. It's hard because we expect so much more from Wade, but he's probably still the best SG in the league.
Now for the bad. Kevin Garnett is great. People forget that part of the reason Kobe was only the best player in the league for a couple of years is that KG was the best player in the league for a couple of years. Even now, in his 18th season, KG is arguably the best defender on his team. If Garnett doesn't play well, the Celtics will not get far in the playoffs, period. That being said, 14.7/7.2 are not All-Star starters numbers, period. I was pissed at Roy Hibbert getting an All-Star spot last year, and Garnett doesn't get an exception for his past glory. A number of bigs were better qualified, including...
HE'S AN ANIMAL
Chris Bosh is averaging a modest 17.3/7.2/1.4, but on an excellent TS% of 60.6. Outside of LeBron, he's been the most consistent Heat player this year, and he's arguably had to make the most sacrifices/changes in this Big 3 experiment. Dude can still ball, as Denver learned in the 3rd game of the season. We underrate him, but if he was leading a team, he'd be a 20/10 guy easily. The coaches rectified this mistake by voting him in as a reserve.
Fucking lol'd.
Yup, Mr. Spray Paint-Hair is actually playing pretty well this year, averaging 16.1/10.0 while helping anchor a Bulls team still without their best player, former MVP Derrick Rose. While I predicted Chicago would get the 5th spot this year, there were others who felt they wouldn't be able to stay in the playoff hunt without Rose. They currently lead their division and are a few games out of 1st place in the East. Boozer is a huge part of this, as is...
Soul!
Joakim is one of those players whose numbers don't tell the entire story. 12.2/11.0/2.1 are pretty good numbers for a center these days, but the fact that he plays 38min a night (when he had been playing ~30min a night before this season) is testament to how hard Coach Thibodeau is riding Noah. He leads the defense, period. His effort is never in question, and the team largely follows his example. Like Bosh, Noah was voted in as a reserve by the coaches.
I'm speechless.
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is still in pretty good form this season, averaging 12.1/10.9/1.1 while sporting a sizzling TS% of 69.7 (which is DOWN from last year!). The best pick-and-roll finisher in the league today is still a huge part of what the Knicks do; he's arguably an anchor for the Knicks both offensively and defensively. For those of us who grew up watching basketball in the 90s, numbers like 12/11 aren't that impressive; we saw the Ewings, Robinsons, Shaqs, Hakeems, etc., not to mention the plethora of power forwards. However, at some point we have to get over the fact that bigs today can't hold a candle to those of the past, and from there appreciate what we do have these days. Tyson Chandler is a perfect example of what a team wants from their center today, and I'm really surprised that Knicks fans didn't vote him in; luckily the coaches had more sense than the fans.
I'm astonished as well, Brook.
The biggest snub on the East, IMO, is Brook Lopez. His presence on the Nets fits his frame; you could argue his absence was the largest factor in Avery Johnson's firing. I've heard some people say that the lack of Nets selected for the All-Star team was a show of solidarity for Avery, but...you're going to punish Brook for that? In case you were wondering, Brook's PER is 4th in the league, only behind...you know, 3 MVP candidates (LeBron, Durant, and CP3). His numbers are impressive, especially considering he only plays 29min a night (18.6/7.4/2.1), and the team is 24-11 with him, 2-5 without him. His rebounding could use work, but a PER of 25.4 is ridiculous. Melo is having an MVP-candidate season and his PER is lower than Brook's. A travesty, especially considering the effort the Nets and the NBA have made to make the Brooklyn Nets the new hotness. Embarrassing.
Then there's the selection of Rajon Rondo. Rondo is a very good example of why we need to watch the games instead of simply looking at stats. His numbers are good; 13.7/11.1/1.9 are very solid...but when you watch the games, you see he just doesn't take over games the way you want your best player to. His assist total is inflated by unnecessary passes when he has easy looks at the basket, he avoids contact so he doesn't get to the foul line, and while his mid-range game is better than it has ever been, it's still not something that teams are threatened by. Additionally, his team isn't exactly overperforming; despite picking up Jason Terry and Courtney Lee, and despite Paul Pierce's recent performance, the Celtics were hovering around the .500 mark when voting finished. If we're going to ignore a team's record when considering who is an All-Star, then I can think of a number of perimeter players equally qualified to be on the team.
Lmfaoooooo
Jrue Holiday has done his best with a team missing arguably arguably the 2nd-best center in the NBA when healthy. His numbers are great, 19.0/9.0/1.4 would be appreciated on any team. He's the lead guy on a team just trying to stay afloat until their star big returns, and his team's record really isn't that terrible when you consider they also lost two pretty big parts of last year's team. Coaches agreed with this and voted him in as a reserve.
Yup, you're down 10 again.
I was not a Kyrie believer. When he was drafted by Cleveland as the #1 pick after only playing 11 college games, I thought that Cleveland had gone crazy. That being said, I'm a fucking idiot. Yes, Cleveland is 12-32, tied for the most losses this season...but Kyrie is far from being the problem. He's been spectacular, averaging 24.0/5.6/1.8 on 47/40/85 splits. I used to think John Wall was a better player, but Irving is such an outstanding shooter (while Wall is a pretty poor one) that despite Wall's athleticism, I have to give it to Kyrie. In my opinion, if we were going to ignore records, then Kyrie should have had the starting spot at PG for the East. Again, coaches agreed that he should be on the All-Star team, and they voted him in.
The Rondo selection isn't anywhere near as egregious as the Garnett selection, IMO. He's still a top PG despite his flaws, and he's played at an above-average level. My biggest gripe with his selection is that his team has been mediocre, so there's no way that it should have had 2 starters. Rondo starting alone would have been fine, and I would have been OK with Paul Pierce being a reserve selection.
Western Conference
Again, let's start with the good. Chris Paul is the best PG in the game, and has played like it. His team is currently the 3rd seed in the West, and even that is partially due to him being injured for the past few games. They ran off a 17 game win streak and at times looked like the best team in the NBA. He deserved the starting spot. While Blake Griffin's numbers have been down, this is partially due to his minutes decreasing. If you've watched the games, then you've seen an improved mid-range game, passing ability, as well as defensive commitment. With Kevin Love injured, Dirk working himself back into prime condition, and the advancing ages of Garnett, Duncan, Z-Bo, etc., Griffin is in the argument for best all-around PF in the game. He deserves his spot. Kevin Durant...I don't have to get into why he deserves it...which brings me to my issues.
People have been bitching about Dwight's lack of efficacy this year, despite him leading the league in rebounding. Personally, I think he's been fine considering he's recovering from back surgery and has been dealing with a shoulder injury. 16.7/12.1/2.5 is a line that most centers would love to have...but Dwight has been better than this. His team is currently 7 games below .500, and his numbers outside of rebounding probably don't justify him being voted in over some of the following:
You got selected. Thumbs up indeed.
People have really wanted to throw Tony Parker over Tim Duncan in the MVP talk, and for the life of me I can't understand it. The Spurs go where Tim Duncan goes, period. 17.5/9.8/2.7 sounds good, but when you consider it's coming in 30min a night, that's excellent production. And his team? The Spurs are currently the 2nd seed in the West, effectively even with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Coaches voted this perennial All-Star into the game.
Friends! Ones you can depend on!
It's really difficult for me to separate Z-Bo and Marc Gasol. While Z-Bo cleans up on the boards, averaging 11.5 rebounds/game, Marc Gasol, despite the numbers, is probably the best center in the game right now. That's right, a man averaging 13.3/7.5/1.8 may very well be the best center in the game. Again, you've got to watch the games. His passing and defense are keys to Memphis' success, and when combined with Z-Bo, they make the best big duo in the league today. If I was voting for someone to start in place of Dwight, I'd probably select Marc, but the selection of Z-Bo by the coaches doesn't make me mad at all.
This just looks weird.
The argument against David Lee has always been that his numbers are meaningless, but now that he's on a team that's winning games, it's impossible to argue against the sole 20/10 guy for most of this year (he's currently at 19.7/10.7). His health and presence on this team (combined with a teammate who I'll mention later) have been a large part of why the Golden State Warriors are currently 5th in the Western Conference. I personally would have selected him over Dwight, considering his team's record, and the coaches indeed selected him as a reserve.
"That guy's got problems"
Yup, that's DeMarcus Cousins. Why is he there, you say? While I wouldn't select him over Dwight, 17.9/10.6/1.5(!) is pretty good for a big. His FG% is pretty poor for a big, but man. DeMarcus is the epitome of the "if he ever gets it together mentally" player. Even with all of his on-court issues, he's been very productive, albeit for a bad team, and I've got to wonder if all he needs is some veteran guidance. This is an All-Star talent, despite him not making the All-Star team.
And then there's...
He's slowly going insane.
Kobe Bryant has been very good this year. Despite his steady slide in production, he is still at near-career-best shooting efficiency numbers. That being said, his team is still 7 games under .500. If we're going to put on airs about how we won't select a Monta Ellis (for example) because his team is doing poorly, why in the world are we giving the 11th seed in the West 2 starters? At least Boston's the 8th seed in the East. While I'd sooner remove Dwight from the starting line-up than Kobe, there are some other guards I would have rather seen in the starting line-up.
This guy...
The first Russell W to recently take the sporting world by storm is still a beast. Filling in the playmaking gap left by James Harden's departure, Russell is again among the league leaders in assists per game; he's averaging 22.6/8.3/5.3/1.9 on admittedly poor shooting efficiency. His detractors will always point to the number of shots he takes while being a teammate of the best scorer in the league, but without Russell's aggressiveness, Kevin Durant would not perform at the level that he does, period. Westbrook deserved a starting spot IMO, and the coaches made sure he was in the ASG.
#BEARDGANG
It's not just because we're rocking similar beards...James Harden, despite his recent shooting slump, has been pretty damn good in his new starting role. He's currently averaging 25.9/4.5/5.5 and has led the Rockets, who most of us thought would be pretty bad this year, to a 24-22 record and the current 8 seed in the West. He leads the league in FT attempted and FT made, and is pretty much the reason the Houston offense clicks. Coaches voted him in, and he'll basically serve as the host for the All-Star weekend.
OH MY GOD IT'S HEALTHY
In a pretty odd occurrence, Stephen Curry has been mostly healthy this year, playing 40 games at 38min a night. In an equally odd occurrence, he's been shooting better from 3pt range (45%) than from 2pt range (42%). He's a really good shooter, so I'm expecting his FG% to go up, but 20.9/6.5/1.7 is pretty good. The other part of why Golden State has done so well WITHOUT Andrew Bogut, Stephen Curry deserved at least an All-Star nod, and he's pretty much the biggest snub on the Western team.
You're still a fuckboy for this shit.
I know I basically shat on Tony Parker earlier, but man. Tony Parker is good. Very good. The numbers aren't eye-popping; 19.8/7.5 are good, but Jrue Holiday's look better, for example. Then you look at the 33min/game he's playing. AND the 52/39/81 splits. AND the fact that his team leads the league in wins. Then you realize...yo, Tony Parker is playing pretty damn well. His PER of 22.9 is even with Russell Westbrook's, and his TS% of 58 is higher than Kobe's, Wade's, and Stephen Curry's. Since he's a Spur, he'll never get the fan vote, but I wouldn't have been mad at him starting at one of the guard spots either. Coaches voted him in as a reserve.
Personally, I believe the All-Star Game is an opportunity for good players on bad teams to get some recognition of their skills. As such, I don't have a problem when that happens. That being said, I feel like I often would hear that certain players shouldn't get All-Star recognition because of how their teams had performed (see: Ellis, Monta). I can also understand when someone says that an All-Star player should be able to make his team a good team (even though we have clearly seen cases where that simply isn't true). All I ask is that we keep the shit consistent. It's irritating when good players (see: Curry, Stephen) are snubbed because they aren't that well known, despite their team doing well...it's even more irritating when players get voted in due to name recognition more than for their play (see: Ming, Yao). Admittedly, in the Western Conference, both Kobe and Dwight have put up solid numbers, but I can't think of any reason for Kevin Garnett to be in the All-Star Game over Brook Lopez, even if the coaches are voicing their disapproval of what went down in Brooklyn. Let's try to do better.
For the record, I wanted a pic of Kareem receiving it
So we're almost at the halfway point of the 2012-2013 NBA season, and people have been discussing their MVP candidates in earnest for quite some time now...and why not?! It's what we do until the award is actually given out, so I figured I'd join in as well.
The MVP is an interestingly-titled award in that the term "most valuable player" in interpreted in different ways by different people. I've seen "best player on the best team," "best player on one of the best teams," "player without whom a playoff team wouldn't be a playoff team," as well as "player with the best statistics overall" all used as a definition of what the MVP should be. Me? I personally would like the award to go to the most important player, period...so basically, the guy whose departure would cost his team the most wins. This is difficult to gauge in a game where everything is so related, but advanced statistics continue to make strides in solving this. The new(ish) stats PER and Win Shares (both total and per 48min) help clear up the picture in ways that didn't exist when I was a child watching basketball. When you look at Michael Jordan's career, for example, you see that not only did he win 10 scoring titles, but he also led the league in PER 7 consecutive years, and led the league in Win Shares 9 times (8 of these times he also led the league in WS/48). Every year that he won the MVP (except for his last season with the Bulls, which might have been due to his impending retirement as well as the Bulls' 62-20 record), MJ led the league in PER, Win Shares, and Win Shares/48min. By the eye test as well as pretty much every metric available today, Michael Jordan was the MVP during the 5 years he won, and you could make the argument that he deserved the MVPs won by Charles Barkley and the 89-90 MVP won by Magic.
After Michael's retirement, the case for MVP became a little more murky. For example, for all of the dominance that we remember from Shaquille's prime years, he won a grand total of 1 MVP. That year was of course PRIME prime Shaq, with him leading the league in scoring as well as averaging the most rebounds and blocks per game since his rookie season. He led the league in PER, WS, and WS/48 as well, establishing what our eyes already told us was true. The following year, however, Allen Iverson won the MVP...while AI led the league in scoring and steals, his PER was an elite (but not MVP-level) 24; putting that into perspective, during Jordan's worst (and possibly not MVP) MVP season, his PER was 25.2, his worst full season since his rookie year. A season for the ages typically results in a PER of 30 or above, as MJ has done 4 times, with an additional 3 seasons above 29. I was into basketball during the 2000-2001 season, though, so I can understand why AI won that MVP. One, despite his team having the Defensive Player of the Year, 6th Man of the Year, and MVP, that Philadelphia 76ers team simply didn't look impressive on paper. Two, the fact that a 6' guard (closer to 5'10" in reality) weighing ~160lbs could will his team to 56 wins, while leading the league in scoring (over some formidable competition...Stackhouse's best year, Shaq, Kobe, Vince Carter, T-Mac, etc) along with the storylines surrounding the team made AI a prime candidate for MVP. And finally, if we went by "player who'd cause the most damage with his departure," it's likely that with AI's departure, Philly goes from the only team to win a game against the Lakers that postseason to a team that doesn't make the postseason. By any advanced metric, AI should not have won that MVP; that MVP belonged to Shaq. Yet, that isn't always what we go by when we decide who is the MVP.
In recent years, the MVP has gone to the best player on the team with one of the best records in the league. LeBron's Heat won the 3rd most games in the NBA, and eventually the NBA Championship. Rose's Bulls led the league in wins, and even though I feel like Chris Paul deserved the 07-08 MVP over Kobe, Kobe's Lakers won the most games in the Western Conference that season (Paul's Hornets won one less game...incredible considering that roster, IMO). I've yet to see an MVP recipient who didn't deserve it on some level...which brings me to this season.
Going by recent criteria (best player on one of the best teams), my top 5 candidates, for the record, are
LeBron James - He literally does everything on that team. It's amazing how much worse they look when he's on the bench. They're also still the #1 seed in the East...the year of the LeBron has clearly continued, despite his 54/42/73 splits slowly normalizing to his numbers from last year.
Kevin Durant - Simply incredible how much he's improved. In one year, we went from LBJ followed by a healthy Dwight Howard and Chris Paul as the most impactful players to LBJ followed by Kevin Durant. He's improved defensively, on the boards, as a playmaker, and continues to shoot at a 50/40/90 pace while leading the #2 seed in the West AND being #3 in scoring (while shooting 4(!) less shots/game than the #2 Carmelo Anthony, and 5(!!) less shots/game than the #1 Kobe Bryant)
Chris Paul - Probably my favorite player in the league right now...my roommate notes how I comment on him more than on anyone else in the league, even LeBron or John Wall. The basic stats don't tell the complete story here; while CP3 averages a very good 17.0/9.5/2.6, this is in 33min a night AND on the deepest team in the league in the LA Clippers. They have the best record in the league and he leads the league in WS/48. It's clear that he's the leader, and when you watch them play...he's like a maestro, orchestrating the Clippers, their opponent, the crowd, and yes, the referees.
Carmelo Anthony - Recent foolishness aside, Carmelo and the Knicks have had a very good season thus far. They're #2 in the East; Carmelo is #2 in scoring. He's shooting a career-high 43% from 3 as well as a career-high TS% of 59%. He's shown a different attitude toward playing, period, no doubt the result of: 1. The team as a whole playing better; 2. Getting more touches with Amar'e out; and 3. The addition of Jason Kidd, Rasheed Wallace, and the other oldheads. His numbers don't tell the entire story, but they do help; Carmelo is an MVP candidate for a reason.
Tim Duncan - I know, it's become hip to pick Tony Parker over Timmy. I also know that some people would rather give it to Westbrook or Zach Randolph, but I'm giving the slot to Timmy. His Spurs have the 3rd best record in the league, and Tim is averaging 17.4/9.5/2.6 in less than 30min a night. While Parker is also having a very good season (19.2/7.1 on 52/39/82 splits), Duncan's defense makes me give him the nod. This is still Duncan's team, and yet again they'll go as far as he can take them on defense.
Now, I can understand Westbrook being chosen (he's arguably the catalyst for that Thunders squad) or Zach Randolph/Marc Gasol (the Grizzlies have been pretty good this year and you could argue for either of them), but there have been some other interesting picks I wanted to speak on for a bit.
James Harden is proving the disbelievers wrong, one 25pt game at a time (he now holds the Houston Rockets' record for consecutive 25pt games). The efficiency isn't the same as last year (as expected), but the numbers are astounding; 26.5/5.3/4.2/1.9 on 45/36/86 splits with a TS% of 61%. His Houston Rockets are currently leading the league in PPG and are the 6th seed in the West. Due to the low rank of the Rockets, I can't consider Harden a candidate, but whenever he's not playing, you really see the impact he's had on that team. Can any non-basketball heads name his starting lineup outside of Jeremy Lin?
Despite his team being 5 games under .500, I've consistently seen mentions of Kobe Bryant for MVP. Kobe's stats are pretty damn good, despite steadily declining from his torrid start; 30.1/5.1/4.8 on 48/36/84, EXCELLENT shooting efficiency numbers for Kobe. By nearly any measure, this is his best season since his MVP year, and it's possibly better than that year. Hell, this is an MJ year when you look at it from an offensive standpoint. However, despite these individual achievements, this has not translated to team success, a modern prerequisite for an MVP recipient; the Lakers are 6-14 when Kobe scores 30 or more points (and this includes a 5 game win streak during which he scored 30+). Considering their schedule after this point, it is a real possibility that the Lakers won't make it to the playoffs, which would make a Kobe MVP particularly awkward, especially with other qualified candidates.
It's incredible how the goalposts move for this guy, but that's y'all's guy...personally, I can't give the MVP to a guy who can't even get his team to a winning record, but that's just me. Apparently a scoring title is an instant entry to the MVP conversation. I just can't, but you guys continue to rock on.
Yooooooo I am so fucking lazy. Holy fuck I'm lazy. All it took was the NBA season to get into full swing for me to stop writing about...pretty much everything. I do Insanity everyday after work, watch a game or two, fuck around on Twitter (follow me @UchihaHunter) then stay up til 2am or later watching bullshit unfold on Twitter...then I get up at 5am and wonder why I'm tired. I casually brought up the idea of spending less time on Twitter and more time writing to a new...acquaintance of mine and she simply replied "Do it!"......so, as with most things I've done, a female's influence pushed me to get off my ass before the year was over.
For the uninitiated among us, "Espada" is a term for one of the top 10 most powerful Arrancar (this is Bleach talk). So using that term, I'm going to speak a little on my 10 favorite tracks of the year. 2012 has been a pretty insane year for me...I've had 4 jobs, started this blog, finally finished part of my schooling, had a few girlfriends, and just a bunch of personal shit thrown on top of that. It seems like this year just had so much of everything...including music. Outside of perpetual disappointments Jay Electronica (who was supposed to drop his debut) and DOOM (who was supposed to drop DOOMSTARKS with Ghostface Killah), I've actually been pleased with the quality and the quantity of work released. Despite what people may say in these end-of-year posts, there has been a TON of good music released, and it was very difficult for me to choose just 10 songs that I loved from 2012...
So...I ORIGINALLY wanted to do a top 10 with some bullshit connection to the Espada so I could do some shit with it...THEN I was all like "well I'll do a top 20, since Aizen first led us to believe there were 20 Vast Lords in his army"...THEN I looked at my list and saw 66 and was all "I should cut it to 50," but when it blew up to 79 I figured "fuck it, let's just make this a nice round base 10 number...100." So yea, now I've got my top 100 tracks. Tracks 21-100 won't have any explanations, but tracks 1-20 will have a little something...
100. Game - Black Jesus
99. Wiz Khalifa - The Plan (Ft. Juicy J)
98. Childish Gambino - American Royalty (Ft. The RZA)
97. Big K.R.I.T. - Boobie Miles
96. Meek Mill - Dreams and Nightmares
95. Domo Genesis - Fuck Everybody Else
94. A$AP Rocky (Ft. A$AP Ferg and Raekwon) - Underground Killa$
93. Chief Keef - Don't Like (Remix) (Ft. Kanye West, Pusha T, Big Sean, and Jadakiss)
92. Joey Bada$$ - World Domination
91. Mellowhype - P2 (Ft. Earl Sweatshirt)
90. Killer Mike - Don't Die
89. XV - One of One
88. Fabolous - Want You Back (Ft. Joe Budden and Teyana Taylor)
87. Childish Gambino - They Don't Like Me (Ft. Chance the Rapper)
86. Lupe Fiasco - Put 'Em Up
85. Meek Mill - Maybach Curtains (Ft. Nas, John Legend, and Rick Ross)
84. Big K.R.I.T. - 4EvaNaDay Theme
83. Kendrick Lamar - Compton (Ft. Dr. Dre)
82. Sean Price - Solomon Grundy (Ft. Ill Bill)
81. Rick Ross - Pirates
80. Wu-Block - Crack Spot Stories (Ft. Raekwon and Jadakiss)
79. Freddie Gibbs - Crazy (Ft. Jadakiss and Jay Rock)
78. Wiz Khalifa - Nothin' Like The Rest (Ft. French Montana)
77. Game - Can't Get Right (Ft. K. Roosevelt)
76. Hit-Boy - East vs. West
75. Rick Ross - Fuck 'Em (Ft. Wale and 2 Chainz)
74. Joey Bada$$ - Survival Tactics (Ft. Capital STEEZ)
73. Big Sean - How it Feel
72. Smoke DZA - Marley's Garden
71. Nas - Accident Murderers (Ft. Rick Ross)
70. Kendrick Lamar - The Recipe (Ft. Dr. Dre)
69. The Other Guys - Father's Day
68. Rick Ross - Sixteen (Ft. Andre 3000)
67. Hodgy Beats - Rella (Ft. Domo Genesis and Tyler, The Creator)
66. MMG - Power Circle (Ft. Kendrick Lamar)
65. Sean Price - Straight Music
64. Lupe Fiasco - Form Follows Function
63. A$AP Rocky - Suddenly
62. Meek Mill - Tony Story, Pt. 2
61. Nas - Nasty
60. Action Bronson - Steve Wynn
59. Tyler, the Creator - Sam is Dead (Ft. Domo Genesis)
58. Schoolboy Q - Raymond 1969
57. Meek Mill - Intro to Dreamchasers 2
56. 50 Cent - You A Killer...Cool
55. Puff Daddy - Same Damn Time (Remix) (Ft. Future and Ludacris)
54. Lupe Fiasco - Lamborghini Angels
53. XV - Go On Without Me
52. Omarion - M.I.A. (Ft. Wale)
51. Dom Kennedy - We Ball (Ft. Kendrick Lamar)
50. Talib Kweli - Congregation (Ft. Black Thought and Ab-Soul)
49. Big Sean - 100 (Ft. Royce da 5'9" and Kendrick Lamar)
48. Kendrick Lamar - Westside, Right on Time (Ft. Young Jeezy)
47. A$AP Rocky - 1 Train (Ft. Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson, and Big K.R.I.T.)
46. Childish Gambino - Toxic (Ft. Danny Brown)
45. Domo Genesis - All Alone
44. DJ Khaled - They Ready (Ft. J. Cole, Big K.R.I.T., and Kendrick Lamar)
43. JJ DOOM - Guv'nor
42. Big Sean - Life Should Go On (Ft. Wale and Wiz Khalifa)
41. Domo Genesis - Elimination Chamber (Ft. Earl Sweatshirt, Vince Staples, and Action Bronson)
40. A$AP Rocky - Bath Salt (Ft. A$AP Ant and Flatbush Zombies)
39. Wiz Khalifa - Ridin' Round (Ft. Juicy J)
38. Wu-Block - All in Together (Ft. Styles P and Jadakiss)
37. Wale - Ji-Dope
36. Nas - Cherry Wine (Ft. Amy Winehouse)
35. Sean Price - Remember (Ft. Freddie Gibbs)
34. Freddie Gibbs - Tell a Friend (Ft. Curren$y)
33. Killer Mike - Jojo's Chillin'
32. J. Cole - Grew Up Fast
31. Nas - Loco-Motive
30. Kanye West - Mercy (Ft. 2 Chainz, Big Sean, and Pusha T)
29. Rick Ross - 3 Kings (Ft. Jay-Z and Dr. Dre)
28. Mellowhype - 65/Breakfast
27. Wale - Change Up
26. Hit-Boy - Jay-Z Interview
25. Wu-Block - Been Robbed
24. Fabolous - Beauty (Ft. Wale)
23. J. Cole - I'm a Fool
22. Kendrick Lamar - The Art of Peer Pressure
21. Frank Ocean - Super Rich Kids (Ft. Earl Sweatshirt)
20. Joe Budden - Words of a Chameleon
This is the only track I fucked with off of Budden's A Loose Quarter mixtape...man, this nigga can rap. I don't like the direction of the tape, but man, Budden is still dope. I wanted to include his "Stay Schemin" freestyle verse in here somewhere, but gah.
19. Game - Hallelujah (Ft. Jamie Foxx)
You should already know from this how I feel about Game's album. This was one of the many pleasant surprises from that great album. Jamie Foxx is older than Jay-Z but he's still belting out vocals without being called an oldhead huh...
18. Lupe Fiasco - Freedom Ain't Free (Around My Way)
I REALLY wanted to put this higher, but I couldn't. Very good song, despite the controversy behind it. Can't go wrong with the "T.R.O.Y."beat really, and as far as verses, we know Lupe's one of the best at rapping about social issues. Very dope track.
17. Nas - Stay
My second favorite track from this album...but you already knew that. That "but do I got love for ya?" part of the verse is some of the realest shit spat this year.
16. Schoolboy Q - Hands on the Wheel (Ft. A$AP Rocky)
This was HUGE at the beginning of the year...it hit a lot of people's favorite track list back in January. Q and Rocky have a really good chemistry, and this is yet another example of that.
15. Freddie Gibbs - The Hard (Ft. Dana Williams)
If you haven't already checked out Baby Face Killa (or my review), please do so. Gibbs isn't exactly a "new" rapper, but he's definitely one of the best of the newer guys out. This is one of my favorite tracks from that mixtape...it was difficult to not fill the list with Gibbs tracks.
14. Ab-Soul - Terrorist Threats (Ft. Danny Brown and Jhene Aiko)
I still think Ab-Soul is overrated (his stans are among the most irritating in rap right now), but this track is dope. "I ain't tryna be nobody's chattel." I'm mad I couldn't put more Danny Brown on this! If it was 2011, he'd have filled my top 20! Cheeeck!
13. Sean Price - Bully Rap (Ft. Realm Reality)
Sean Price really might be the most entertaining nigga in rap right now...who the hell would rap some shit like "I fuck around and throw yo baby organs...use yo baby's organs just to make a baby organ"?! Only P! I didn't review Mic Tyson but if you like that thuggish ruggish shit, you probably already listen to Sean Price.
12. Wale - Freedom of Speech
Wale is in my top 5 of MY favorite rappers (different from the 5 rappers I think are the best rappers)...I've been fairly disappointed in his post-MMG work, but this got me hyped for the very good Folarin mixtape. I wanted to sneak more Wale into this list, but I was trying to show some semblance of objectivity...Wale really can rap when he wants to. He acts an ass on this track.
11. Wu-Block - Drivin' Round (Ft. Masta Killa, The GZA, and Erykah Badu)
I love Erykah Badu...you love her too. The alliance of Sheek Louch and Ghostface Killah produced a number of solid tracks, as I reviewed here. I hadn't heard a new GZA verse in a minute, so it was nice to get a track with him on it.
Ladies and Gentlemen, your Espada!
These are MY personal 10 favorite tracks. They're somewhat in order, but I didn't want any artist to have more than 1 top 5 song, so I had to switch some of it a little.
10. Earl Sweatshirt - Chum
Earl Sweatshirt is probably my favorite rapper right now...when you listen to Earl and listen to him now, you can really hear the growth (both physically and lyrically). I was a little concerned that when he got back from Samoa he'd have lost a step, but he's killed features all year long as well as dropped a couple of good tracks. This sort of track is him at close to his best, speaking on his past, from his early loneliness to joining up with Tyler and Odd Future, to the time in Samoa, to his return. Disappointing if you wanted him to keep rapping about rape and shit, but for those of us who like progress, he's made excellent strides.
9. Freddie Gibbs - BFK
Like I said before, Gangsta Gibbs is probably my favorite "new" rapper out. If you want "quality street music" (to steal DJ Drama's phrase) then look no further...Gibbs is that guy. There aren't too many rappers fucking with Gibbs' flow ("send him to God, tryna rob the Godfather, and if you scared of catchin a murder, then why bother?" is fucking ridiculous the way he says it), and despite this track, he's got a breadth of lanes he fits in. This is the title and standout track from his Baby Face Killa mixtape/album.
8. Game - Blood of Christ
The audio on this is a little off since this is an actual album track, but this'll do. When I first heard this track...my expectations for the rest of the album went through the proverbial roof. Despite the length, it's only 2 verses, but damn he hits hard in those 2 verses. Sean Price is a very entertaining rapper, but Game is as well on this one ("iPhone in my hand doin the 40 wop, that nigga looked up and thought he saw 40 Pacs" is hilarious when you consider what happened to dude. The best track on Jesus Piece.
7. A$AP Rocky - Goldie
A$AP really had a dope year...the mixtape was decently received, his name was all over the place, whether for music or his questionable fashion choices, and he aligned himself with other hot acts in Drake and the Black Hippy crew. "Goldie" was a hit from the time it dropped, and rightfully so; Hit-Boy low-key went the fuck off this year, producing a bunch of hits (no pun). Rocky fits the screwed sound better than some Southern artists I've heard use it, and the visual for the track isn't too shabby either.
6. Kendrick Lamar - Black Boy Fly
Again, the sound is a little off here, but damn. Maybe it's because I'm a basketball fan. Maybe it's because I loved that he mentioned Game on this. Maybe it's because Kendrick fucked around and dropped a possible classic. Maybe it's all of these things, but I REALLY fuck with this track...he really fit a copious amount of hood shit in less than 5 minutes. This is probably my favorite track off of good kid, m.A.A.d. city when I consider how much I hate hearing Maya Angelou's voice...but again, you already knew this.
5. Killer Mike - Reagan
Sadly, I waited until the end of the year to listen to Killer Mike's excellent album, R.A.P. Music. I didn't get around to reviewing it, but PLEASE cop this album. Hell, just check this video out. Killer Mike is the rare educated rapper who fits in all sorts of areas of rap. Maybe you remember him from "The Whole World" or "Poppin' Tags"...that's not the REAL Killer Mike, IMO. This album is Killer Mike at his finest, spitting socio-political raps ("cuz free labor's the cornerstone of U.S. economics"). PLEASE COP.
4. Nas - Queens Story
I'm glad they uploaded an official video...the pitched up/down versions are blasphemies to this track. Nas also dropped an album of the year contender in Life is Good, and I'd argue this is the best track off that album...in fact I already did. Anyone who's from Queens or lived in Queens in the 80s can appreciate this track even more than I do, and I fucking love it. Excellent production, excellent raps, I was really surprised that this album was so good.
3. Kanye West - New God Flow (Ft. Ghostface Killah and Pusha T)
Man. I'm still in disbelief that two songs dropped that I like more than this. From the "Mighty Healthy" sample to actually getting Ghostface to drop a (fucking EXCELLENT) verse for it, this track is just about everything one could hope for. Ghostface's shit-talking on this is absolutely divine. I had this Jesus piece since 94...I dunno what y'all talkin about...AND my eagle!
2. Kendrick Lamar - Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst
I have a subtle weakness for 10min+ songs. In my experience, they're generally pretty damn good (this, "300 Bars and Running," "The Who," "10 Min," etc.) and generally they know when to switch the beat up. This track hooked me as soon as the nigga died when telling Kendrick what he hoped just in case he died before the album dropped...damn. If you didn't listen to Section .80 or good kid, m.A.A.d city, you might be a little thrown off by the verses and the perspectives of said verses, so I'd suggest listening to both (since...ya know...they're dope). "Sing About Me" could have been a top 5 track by itself, but then he added "I'm Dying of Thirst" which, outside of my annoyance with old women's voices (regardless of who they belong to), is dope in its own right. A very powerful song from a very strong contender for album of the year.
1. Odd Future - Oldie
For the most part, you were probably riding with me and my list, hahahahaha...this is where my personal bias comes into play. I fucked with this track before seeing the video, but seeing the video made me LOVE it. "You keep filming, fuck what they say!" Hahahaha Tyler is hilarious to me! I already commented on this in my review of The OF Tape, Vol 2, but man, they really do have like 4 above-average rappers in the group. The beat is perfect...it's not trying too hard to do anything, and really it reminds me of another Odd Future posse cut, "Window" off Tyler's Goblin. They're having fun...A LOT of fun. There's a lot of talent in that room...A LOT of talent. To make this even better, two of the more buzzed about artists in hip-hop are part of this group and this song; Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt. Frank Ocean revealed his first love was a man, then proceed to drop what many people consider one of the best albums of 2012 in Channel Orange. Personally, I'm not much of a singing guy, so I only liked about half of the album, but I acknowledge that it wasn't bad. Either way, this was a GREAT year for Frank Ocean; whether it was his work on Watch the Throne or his debut album, he continued on the momentum generated from Nostalgia-Ultra. Earl Sweatshirt, on the other hand, turned 18 and made his return to the United States of America proper. "Oldie" was the first song I heard from him after his return, and good grief...he reminded OF fans that he's the best rapper in that group...and it's not even close. "Me? I just spent a year Ferris'n, and lost a little sanity to show you what hysterics is//spit til the lips meet the bottom of a barrel, son this sterile piss flow remind these niggas what embarrassed is" "Vocals bold and rough evoke a ho to pose as drum and let me hit and beat it with the stick until the hole is numb" Just so many damn quotables, and like a young Nas, it just seems so effortless for dude. If he actually releases a proper debut album in 2013, I fully expect it to be GREAT. Not good, but GREAT. Blame the man of 2012 for that.
Dope.
It's your world, Kendrick. Whether it was dropping a possible classic debut album or being the front man of one of the hottest groups in hip-hop, Kendrick was every fucking where. As I was compiling this list, I found myself removing Kendrick songs from it just because there were already so fucking many...as if it wasn't enough that most of his album belonged on here, he also had bonus tracks and songs that weren't released on the album...not to mention his features, which appeared on OTHER good albums (Game's and A$AP Rocky's, Big Sean's mixtape, Dom Kennedy's mixtape, etc.). In a year where we got a lot of music and a lot of artists bursting onto the mainstream, Kendrick made his presence felt in a way even better than Drake did, IMO. I now have to judge other talented artists like Freddie Gibbs and Earl Sweatshirt off of their actual debuts, rather than mixtapes and independent releases...he proved that you can drop a quality album without a truly successful single, AND that you can still conceive and sell a complete work. At the end of the day, you're going to be judged primarily by your catalog, and Kendrick's major debut is a shining star. I can only hope that hip-hop's momentum continues through 2013...now I just need that Jay Electron-never fucking mind, man.
