multis: the final verdict (as found in mc battle blog)

in rotation: oddisee - oddisee 101

an excellent article on the use of "multis" in emcee battles as found in mc battle blog - an insightful guide to the entertaining world of emcee battles.

"When utilized properly, multi-syllable rhyme patterns can dramatically increase the impact of your lines. When employed incorrectly, you sound like a fucking dipshit. Follow along as we guide you from an Eleagle to a.. well.. not Eleagle.

Ever since this style became all the rage, there’s been a legion of incredibly terrible battlers desperately trying to incorporate this tactic into their arsenal. Almost all have failed. The most obvious reason for this occurrence? They fucking suck.

In order to excel at rapping in multi-syllable fashion, you must be moderately intelligent and possess a large vocabulary, as well as the self-awareness to realize when your lines are atrocious. Since the majority of battlers lack these basic fundamentals, their verses wind up becoming a jumbled mess of stupidity.

The key to spitting a good, clean multi is a very simple concept, yet it somehow eludes many, many battlers. Above all, the most important guideline to follow is relevance (this is a mandatory requirement in general, but even more important when using multi-syllables). Despite this being completely disregarded by the majority of the current battle scene, without it, the most your bars can hope to achieve is to sound pretty.. and even then, they’re still trash.

Examples:

You really think those played, used bars are gonna take you far?
You’ve got a better chance rolling through in a busted up, fake used car!
-Eleagle to D-Lor

Why is driving a used car such an impossibility? Why are we calling the car fake? There’s absolutely no reason Eleagle needed to say this. It’s forced, makes no sense and was only included because he needed words to rhyme.

Ayo! TheSaurus and Illmac? Your clitoris just builds fat..
-Frankie Wapps to TheSaurus & Illmaculate

How does a clitoris build fat?

TheSaurus’ grill, looks like a tortured seal, leftover pork & veal
Or some ordered meal from a Greek diner of half chewed orange peels
-Jaze Juce to TheSaurus

Saur’s face doesn’t resemble a seal, despite how much it’s been tortured. It’s also nothing close to a chewed up orange peel. Leaving out the worst comparison and inserting “pork and veal” at the end of the bar makes much more sense as that’s an item people might order at restaurants. Irrelevant multis ruin lines.

What is this? A.C. Slater? I think his fucking.. face seems gayer
And with 18 craters he’ll scare away each neighbor
-Jaze Juce to TheSaurus

How does a face seem gay? Why only 18 craters? Why not 17? It’s a bad sign when you need random numbers to make rhymes fit. Where’d these neighbors come from?

In case you don’t remember, but a while back there was a battler who garnered more hate than anyone else on the battle scene due to his abundant use of irrelevant and ludicrous comparisons. He’d often compare his opponents, human beings mind you, to inanimate objects that no human could possibly bear resemblance to.

Examples:

“You look like a giant sized onion on a fucking retarded broom stick!”

“Your face looks like someone stuck TNT inside a belly button!”

“His face looks like John Goodman’s face superimposed on a sack of potatoes!”
-Mic Assassin to Iron Solomon

Yeah, I’m just not too sure how accurate those lines really are. As you can see, Iron Solomon just looks like a normal human being.

I doubt anyone out there would label these comparisons acceptable, which boggles the mind because so many jump at the chance to defend similar lines which follow nearly the same formula. The only difference between them being, you guessed it, multis.

Battle rap listeners give a pass to terrible comparisons because they sound pretty when surrounded in multi-laden rhymes. They are fascinated with these schemes because they think they’re harder to write. They laugh like morons while overlooking the fact that, despite how cute it sounds, nobody resembles 12 inanimate objects or random people.

Examples:

He looks like Tiger Woods
Busted nuts inside of Little Red Riding Hood
Then out came Kobe Bryant’s foot
-Mosh Jelton to Unorthodox Phrases

Unorthodox looks nothing like Tiger Woods, but he is indeed a tall, black male so I guess whatever. What’s not debatable is the fact that he doesn’t resemble a small, fictional white girl or an NBA player’s foot. I don’t know how anyone can resmeble another human’s foot. Again, the multis are only in place to rhyme. It’s lazy writing.

You’re barely makin’ weary statements
And if you listen close enough to this fairy Haitian
You can hear Gary Payton’s cherry breakin‘
-Mosh Jelton to Unorthodox Phrases

I can’t tell if the first line is supposed to be a diss or a compliment? Weary means to cause fatigue, so um, whatever, at least it rhymes, right? Again, Unorthodox gets compared to another random black guy with another irrelevant multi attached. What the fuck does that shit even mean? Why is Gary Payton’s cherry being broken and why/how are we hearing it? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!??! *head explodes*

There’s really no explanation for these lines unless Mosh was battling Unorthodox while on a mescaline trip.

In closing, multi-syllabic rhyme patterns will never be a fair trade for making sense in a rap battle. In reality, they make you sound much, much worse. Create a line rooted in accuracy and relevance and stick to it. The battle scene will thank you."

r.i.p. sega mega drive

in rotation: silent knight - holla burton (the unmixed cassette)

oh what a marvelous day. yesterday my friend rich told me about gametraders, a multi-award winning australian owned retail video games franchise with over 45 stores across australia. what's amazing about this place is not only do they specialise in the buying, selling and trading of all gaming formats from the latest systems such as the wii, 360 and ps3, they also do this for retro systems such as atari, snes and mega drive. i always knew this place existed but never checked it out under the assumption that a) no new gaming store could possibly have anything novel or unique to offer me, and b) i could probably pick up any game found in there at jb hi-fi but for much cheaper. apparently i was mistaken.

today i went into gametraders at castle towers to try and find some old school mega drive games, as well as a ps copy of final fantasy 7 (ff7; quite possibly the greatest game of all time!). whilst i was unable to find ff7, fortunately for me, i managed to pick up four pre-owned mega drive titles - nba live 95, jordan vs bird, usa basketball, and barkley's shut up and jam!. each of these were eight bucks each! i couldn't believe it. who knew my childhood could be re-bought for $32? i forgot how much i love my sega mega drive. sure, i spend a lot of time on my wii and my 360 these days, but the sega mega drive is by far my favourite gaming console of all time. now i just need to track down toe jam and earl, as well as the whole streets of rage trilogy, and my life will be complete! fucking yeah!

coincidence?

in rotation: q-tip - the renaissance

is it a coincidence that while the raptors have lost several games in a row, including one to the the worst team in the nba, the rate at which i post per month has dropped significantly? sure, one could argue that there is a meaningful correlation between the two, but in all honesty im just enjoying my holidays back in sydney. i finally graduated from the university of canberra with my bachelor's degree in science (psychology) so the last few weeks have pretty much been spent chilling. my graduation ceremony was on the 17th of december, and was held at parliament house. it was quite an elaborate ceremony, and it was pretty surreal standing on stage in my gown and hood, accepting my piece of paper from the chancellor. yep, right now life is all good... at least until the wrath of the gamsat engulfs my being in its entirety.




oh yeah i feel this is worth documenting. i was fortunate enough to catch the kanye west and nas gig with my close friend cristal earlier this month. she was extremely excited about seeing kanye, whilst me being the hip-hop head that i am, was extremely excited about seeing the one and only nasir jones! seeing nasty nas perform was one of those things which i had to do in life, and i am now glad that i have done it. he definitely made up for canceling his last australian tour earlier last year. the show was held at acer arena. despite acer arena being one of my least favourite venues due to its size, nas still managed to create an intimate atmosphere for his fans. he performed damn near everything from 'illmatic' to his most recent tracks in 'hero' and 'n.i.g.g.e.r. (the slave and the master)'. he even performed his debut verse on 'live at the bbq'. dude was just tearing it up. complimented by a live band, nas just had that unbelievable stage presence. no fancy stage shit, just straight spittin'. i thoroughly enjoyed his set. nas was a real professional emcee that night.

kanye was on for what felt like an eternity. now, i was moderately excited about kanye's performance since i'd been checking for him since his production on jigga's 'blueprint' in 01. the first time i heard kanye spit was on 'through the wire' when it was dropping all over mixtapes. shit had me excited to be honest. i always appreciated kanye's use of samples, and although he was not ever the most talented rapper, he was always sincere in his rhymes - a quality i appreciate more than most things in hip-hop. when 'college dropout' was released in 04, i bumped that shit back to back to back. that album was my shit. so... about five years and four albums later, we flash-forward to kanye west at present and acknowledge his evolution.

i can appreciate innovation, growth and development in an artist but in my personal opinion, kanye's show was not good. i don't really want to go into the details but let's just say i felt like his show was on some cirque du soleil shit. it did not feel like a personal experience at all. in fact, not once do i recall kanye ever addressing the crowd directly. it did not feel like a hip-hop show at all. yeah, yeah, yeah i know kanye's trying to take music beyond it's limits, but kanye's set was too long. it dragged. his sub-par performance as an on-stage artist was camouflaged by bright lights and effects, and autotuned songs. moreover, he ended the whole concert on 'love lockdown' - this put a real damper on the whole night. it was by far the worst way to end the night.

in terms of performance/show quality, well kanye west failed to join masta ace, atmosphere, and jean grae on my list of favourite live performances. i'm actually pretty certain that given the right venue, nas would not only tear shit down, but be at the top of my list. overall the night was pretty enjoyable. i believe this to be due largely to the fact that i finally got to see nas rip the mic live, and that i shared the experience in good company. thanks cristal.




anyways, it's two days before christmas. it's not really that big a deal to me anymore, kind of like birthdays. they are no longer the same spectacular events that brightened up my day during my younger years. instead, they have become just another day in my life. nevertheless these occasions do provide me with an ample opportunity to spend time with my parents and sister as a family unit. this is nice because we rarely get the chance to do so, what with my sister and i currently living in canberra, not to mention the fact that whenever my sister and i are in sydney together, both of us usually have plans already. so on that note, i guess i'd just like to say merry christmas and a happy new year to all my friends and family out there. you guys are what's up.

always,

nix to the...

asian vs asian a.k.a. tantrum vs dumbfoundead

in rotation: anthony hamilton - the point of it all

for those that know me well, i watch emcee battles quite a lot. there's nothing better than watching a good battle. i'm not going to claim to have been there from the start because i haven't, nor have i witnessed any of these battles firsthand. i have however been watching footage long enough to acknowledge it's evolution. in a nutshell, i'm just a hip-hop fan from australia and there's not much more to it. if you were to ask me what my favourite battles of all time are, i'd probably have to really think about it.

as i have mentioned in previous posts, grind time has developed into the premier battle league with currently five divisions across america. so far, grind time has not failed to impress me. in fact, grind time, whilst still a young entity in itself, has hosted some of the dopest battles i have seen in recent times. props to the grind time staff for putting in mad work and providing the rest of the world with such high quality battles. on that note, the purpose of this post emerges - asian vs asian - tantrum vs dumbfoundead.

i was already a big fan of both dumbfoundead and tantrum's work so i'd been waiting on this battle for a minute. prior to the footage release of this showdown, certain forums were hyping this shit up, some even claiming that it's the greatest battle of all time. now it might also be due to the fact that i am asian, but a tantrum vs dumbfoundead battle! cot dayummmm! i don't think i remember the last time i was so excited.

so upon watching the video itself, i have to say that it did not disappoint. i don't know if i'll ever be able to cite my favourite battles but this battle is now easily in my top five battles of all time. there are so many quotables in this battle and a perfect contrast of styles between the two swordsman. tantrum's third round is one of the best rounds i've ever seen. i wish i could have been there to experience it. my god, you just have to watch it for yourself. see below.

big ups to grind time and both tantrum and dumbfoundead for coming so fucking correct.

grind time presents: tantrum vs dumbfoundead part 1

grind time presents: tantrum vs dumbfoundead part 2

oh yeah before i go, i feel like i should address the whole raptors situation. so sam mitchell is gone and jay triano is now at the wheel. i don't know what to say really. we just keep getting worse and worse. yesterday we hit an all time low by losing to the worst team in the league - the oklahoma city thunder. i still have faith but really, i don't think i can justify this loss. no excuses can be made for the raptor's play this season. a change must occur immediately or this season is finito. haha it's funny, i had a dream last night that what happened with v.c. actually happened with bosh too. it's not an unrealistic scenario for bosh to depart in 2010. i don't really know what to say. fuck. i guess i'll just watch that tantrum vs dumbfoundead battle again to lift my spirits haha!

peace suckers.

crooked i is that dude

in rotation: company flow - funcrusher plus

damn it's been a minute since i dropped something. i've just been enjoying holidays too much. well, to keep this blog relevant, here is an interview and q & a with crooked i on the world famous wake up show on october 25th, 2008 for the 100K battle top 20 invitational. crooked i stays dropping that knowledge.

crooked i interview and q & a on the wake up show

my first time performing on stage...

in rotation: leigh jones - music in my soul

"for those that don't know, my name is nix and i'm the resident asian of this rhyme collective"

the phoenix bar in civic hosts "the bootleg sessions" every week - an opportunity for artists to showcase their musical talents - and last monday my homie professor anarchy did his damn thing. for those who are unaware of mr. anarchy's stylistics, he raps pretty darn well. please click here to educate yourself on the ways of the anarchy. anyways, there is a first time for everything, and fortunately enough, i was given the chance to perform a track live and uncut with anarchy on monday night. this was my first time performing on stage.

anarchy's setlist comprised of approximately ten songs. all tracks were anarchy's solo shit except for three - one featuring me, one featuring my boy tobias kid, and one for freestyling at the end featuring all of us as a collective (professor anarchy, tobias kid, toddler and myself). we arrived at 8:15pm, and anarchy was set to go on stage at around 9pm. i have to say i was pretty nervous. prior to anarchy's set, i'm certain i would have gone to the bathroom about five or six times, if not to take a slash, then to drink some water. damn my throat was dry. it's funny, approximately five minutes before i was due on stage, i completely forgot my verse - how could i forget my 32? and why now? i was forced to venture my way back to the bathroom and lock myself in the cubicle so that i could recite it over to myself several times. i had butterflies in my stomach and i couldn't shake them. i felt like eminem in 8 mile haha... meanwhile anarchy was on stage ripping his set in a charismatic fashion.

so after all my bathroom breaks, it was finally my time to step to the mic. anarchy introduced me to the phoenix crowd and i made my way onto the platform. my heart was beating a million times faster than normal. god i was so fucking nervous. nevertheless, i got up and uttered the words found at the beginning of this post. i got a few cheers and the beat kicked in. anarchy and i opened with the chorus:

"go with the flow yo, roll with the flow so
be where you're at and forget what you know, oh!
ain't no need to fight for control,
we can just breathe deep, shine light from your soul!"

after the chorus i was set to go with my verse. initially i was so shakey. i'm well aware that i was looking down quite a bit, but from what tobias tells me, i really hit my stride about halfway through the verse. i felt like i picked up the pace as i progressed through my verse. i built up my confidence and tried to connect more with the crowd. it's really quite hard for me to tell because it was just such a surreal experience - almost like a fuzzy dream captured by blurry snapshots. despite my anxiety and anguish leading up to this set, performing onstage at the phoenix was one of the most exhilirating feelings i have ever experienced. it wasn't like executing a speech for a university tutorial. it was different. it was liberating.

it was really comforting and reassuring to have anarchy by my side during my first performance ever. after i knocked out my verse, we did the chorus again and then anarchy took care of business with his verse. After our track was finished, i was feeling pretty comfortable. i even proposed to the crowd that they "support good music and go buy the anarchy cd". whilst my five or so minutes of shine was over, i wasn't relieved, instead i was feeling amped for the next opportunity to do it all over again.

after my departure from the spotlight, the anarchy show went on. the professor continued to tear it up song after song. a special mention in particular should be given to my boy tobias kid for shredding through his tongue-twisting verse on 'jawbreakers'. i was there to witness him practice and rehearse that shit, and it still blows me away to this day. look out for tobias some time - motherfucker is crazy on the boards and on the mic. evil twin suckers. anyways, as the night continued, we were all finally given the chance to get on stage and freestyle at the end. everyone did their thing. extra props to anarchy, tobias and toddy for all coming correct on the mic that night. as for me, well as i mentioned previously, i was already pretty comfortable on stage. i can barely remember any of my lines but i felt like i was on it. we actually had a friend recording video footage of the whole set but we ran out of film by that point. it's all good. that's what next time is for.

following our little onstage cypher, the set was pretty much over. what a trip. after our adventure, we chilled at the phoenix for a bit. whilst the crowd at the phoenix is much more of an alternative one (what do i know? i'm a hip-hop head!), it was quite a nice suprise to have dudes givin' me daps telling me i rap good. at least it made me feel like maybe i am actually doing something right. following a few beers, we all migrated to anarchy and kay's crib to chill some more. what a fucking night. i can easily say, it was one of the best experiences of my life. i don't go out to pubs and clubs much but on this night of all nights, i had a motherfuckin' blast. i have to say thanks again to tobias kid, toddler and anarchy. without you guys, i wouldn't have even been blessed to grace a stage, let alone a track. you guys are talented as hell. thanks for puttin' me on.

so before i leave this post at a close, i feel i should drop a special mention and congratulations to my good mate thomas who's set to graduate with me at the end of this year. we did it son! thanks to you and rose for coming out and supporting me at my first ever performance. it means more than words can describe. it's the lamp people bitches!

in conclusion, i'll say this - the night was a festive success. i look forward to the next time i am given a chance to perform. i look forward to the fast heartbeat, the dry throat and the butterflies. i look forward to going through that same process i went through on monday night at the phoenix. i probably will never pursue a hip-hop career with mine but hip-hop as a culture, particularly the element of rhyming, will always be an integral part of my existence. my first time performing on stage did nothing but solidify that notion.

hip-hop is alive.

dope new videos

still in rotation: seth sentry - the waiter minute ep

here are some dope new hip-hop vids - ill bill's 'my uncle', and jake one's 'the truth' featuring freeway and brother ali. both clips are ill but the animation in the bill track is particularly impressive. the track in itself is powerful but the clip caters as the perfect compliment. oh yeah and brother ali is that dude. if you don't know, you better ask somebody.


ill bill - my uncle


jake one feat. freeway and brother ali - the truth

1987 was a good year

in rotation: seth sentry - the waiter minute ep

i came across this and couldn't believe i had not seen it before. it is a television commercial for the converse "weapon" shoe featuring the best players from the golden era of nba, rapping two bars each about how great this shoe is. the rapping order for this clip is as follows - magic johnson, isiah thomas, kevin mchale, mark aguirre, bernard king, and larry bird. the clip was shown and aired throughout the 1986-1987 season, during larry bird's final reign as the mvp.

as both a hip-hop and basketball enthusiast, i found this ad to be something else. who would have thought that mchale would have more flow than magic? haha it was simultaneously cringe-worthy yet just plain amusing. yeah when it comes to the court, they are all hardwood legends in their own right but damn, most of them have no rhythm at all.

despite their apparent lack of rapping ability, i think i have even more respect for these heroes than i did before. yes, in fact all six of these former nba players are now that much cooler than they originally were to me before i even actually saw the clip - except maybe for isiah. i'm still trying to figure out what he's doing down there in front of magic at the start of the commercial. see it for yourself.


converse "weapon" shoe commercial

nba... again... the raptors... again... the king... again...

in rotation: john robinson - who is this man

okay so i'm still on lebron's nutsack but damn he's really making his case for m.v.p. the cavs slaughtered the thunder 117 - 82. lebron had a quiet night and oklahoma still gets destroyed. check out lebron's plays below. the alley oop is pretty disgusting but that block on earl watson is just plain fucking nasty.


lebron's monster alley-oop dunk


lebron rejects watson

my raps are floating along. at 7 - 7, we have a tough few games ahead of us so we will just have to wait and see how it all pans out. j.o. is still out but jose is back. speaking of jose, he has yet to miss a free throw in the 14 games thus far, going a perfect 40 for 40 from the line. we'll see if he can keep the streak alive in the upcoming game against the hawks. the nba record for longest streak was set in 1993 by micheal williams. he hit 94 free throws in a row. anywho bargs is still impressing me on the defensive end. as for bosh, well bosh is playing like a superstar this season. before he was a star, now he is a superstar. cb4 is currently 2nd in scoring averaging 27.6 ppg, only behind lebron's 27.9. moreover bosh is also currently the only player in the league to be averaging at least 25 and 10. his last performance in the game against the cats was phenomenal (good joey came to play too!). let's hope the raps can get more wins and that bosh can keep this up.

i need sleep but before i hit the hay, watch rudy fernandez execute a beautiful spinning alley-oop cram. it's nice. i have to say, rudy has been killing it so far.


rudy's spinning alley-oop

lebron = m.v.p.

in rotation: stephanie mckay - tell it like it is

lebron is the motherfuckin' truth.


lebron vs knicks

murs is coming back to australia!

in rotation: murs - the end of the beginning

following the release of his first major label album 'murs for president', murs of living legends fame, will be touring down under in the upcoming months. personally, murs is easily one of my favourite emcees so this is gigantic news for me. when i was in berkeley a year or two ago, i happened to catch murs at an in-store signing at amoeba records. it was a pretty big deal to me not only because murs is one of my heroes, but also because in australia we just don't get the same sort or frequency of hip-hop shows that other countries do. nevertheless, it was dope. murs rocked the mic right in front of a packed out record store. it was amazing. when i got the chance to chat to him, he was mad humble and down-to-earth. he even signed a copy of 'murray's revenge' for me (see below). my point? go see murs!


oaf touring and trentslingshot presents murs with scott burns and dj ology on saturday 10th of january at spectrum. get your tickets here. murs rules the world.

for those that have yet to be introduced to the wonderful artist that is murs, here are some clips which might shed some light on what you are missing out on.


murs feat john cena - h.u.s.t.l.e. (remix)


murs - l.a.


murs - can it be (half a million dollar and eighteen months later)

lebron soars past the hawks

still in rotation: john legend - evolver

i've always been on lebrons nuts. i don't care what the haters say, the man is a beast. in a 110 - 96 victory over the hawks, lebron finished with a line of 24 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, plus two filthy crams shown below. this is why i think lebron could be the m.v.p. this season.


lebron stuffs it on evans


lebron dunking left

before i go i will leave you with two clips from last week - a nice kevin durant throwdown and a filthy al thornton two-handed block on maggette.


durant's huge righty jam


thornton block maggette

oh yeah and for the record i'm still fucking cut about the whole vince carter reverse alley oop with 2.1 seconds left o.t. loss. that game was easily one of the worst losses in raptors history... and i can think of a lot more.

the bad guy wins again

in rotation: john legend - evolver

i just got done watching the raptors lose a game they were in control of the whole way to the nets in ot on a vince carter reverse alley oop dunk. the score was 129-127. i have to say vince always wins these battles. i don't know, i'm feeling numb. vince torched the 4th and ot. i'm pretty sure he went for 12 straight at one point. that 3 he hit to send it into ot was bananas. the raps had it in the palm of their hands pretty much the whole game til vince really stepped in. vince went for 39, 9 and 6. i want to smack that look off vince's face on that last play. jose had 26 and 15, bosh had 42 and 9, and andrea had a career-high 29 and 10. j.o. went out with an injury and is currently waiting an update. i hope he is okay. i can't quite describe this feeling. both bosh's and parker's shots were amazing in overtime but damn, the last time i truly felt this horrible was in game 6 of round 1 2006 playoffs when the nets eliminated the raps. i feel violated. see below.


vince strikes again

old people rock!

in rotation: elton john - rocket man: the definitive hits

this is the funniest fucking thing i've seen in a while. this crazy old senior adult choir cover everything from eminem to andre 3000 to pussycat dolls to mc hammer. the funniest shit is when they start singing nelly's hot in herre and actually start taking their robes off. imagine your grandparents singing this shit.


seniors doing their damn thang

sheed is the man!

in rotation: little brother - the listening

how can anyone hate sheed? listen closely to this clip and you will see how awesome he is.


sheed being awesome

the monaco bar's triumphant return!

in rotation: pigeon john - and the summertime pool party

the monaco bar is back. that is right! i said it! for those that don't know, shame on you! the monaco bar is the original ice-cream sandwich. monaco bars were one of my favourite ice-creams back in the day. somewhere along the way though, they just got taken off the market.

a while back, i was craving the delicious taste of this incredible ice-cream, so i drove around from servo to servo looking for a monaco bar. unfortunately that's when i realised it was never going to happen. i was heartbroken and any true disciple of the bar that is monaco will tell you that the maxibon shit just don't cut it. after driving around for about an hour, i gave up and went home to do a bit of research. below is an extract taken from one blog which sheds appropriate light on the issue.

"the monaco bar was the adult's ice-cream bar long before anything like streets' magnum or nestlé peters' heaven were available and it had the gold wrapper and higher price to prove it. sometime before 2002, the international food and beverage company nestlé acquired peters ice cream in every state of Australia except western australia, where the trademark was owned by peters and brownes, now fonterra brands australia (p&b) pty ltd. as a result many of the products produced under the peters brand were lost in eastern states, including the much loved monaco bar. nestlé australia explains that while the monaco bar had a loyal following, declining sales had forced them to cease production. whether or not monaco's popularity in the eastern parts of australia was low, it is still produced by fonterra/p&b in western australia under the name giant sandwich."

so with all that being said, after much hardship and turmoil, the monaco bar is back! i have yet to try the 2008 version but have big plans to make tonight the night. apparently the new monaco bar is bigger and also more expensive. some forum wanderers have explicitly said that the new monaco bar is not like the old one at all, claiming the biscuit is much harder. others have claimed that the new monaco bar is just as fantastic as it was before.

although i am hoping that my first monaco bar experience in a few years is not that of a disappointing one, i am just grateful that the monaco bar has returned to the forefront.

the moral of the story? let's not take the monaco bar for granted this time.

a step forward?

in rotation: panacea - a mind on a ship through time

before i start rambling nba jibberish, i have to say that it feels pretty darn strange to have finally finished my undergraduate degree. that's right, i sat my last exam of my course yesterday afternoon. i'm so relieved that it's all over. in saying that, i have decided that for an unknown period of time, i will be dedicating my life entirely to nba, xbox 360, tv shows, movies, basketball, writing, freestyling, reading, chilling and so forth. for how ever long this period is, i will simply be...

anyways, for those that haven't seen the clip from yesterday's pistons/suns games where shaq absolutely clobbers stuckey on a drive to the basket, here it is. shaq was ejected for this foul. it looks pretty bad. i wouldn't wish a clobbering from shaq on my worst enemy.

shaq clobbers stuckey

"they were the worst rebounding team in the league and they outrebounded us by 17," heat guard dwyane wade said, "so we can blame ourselves."

so the raps advanced to a 5-4 record with a win over the heat yesterday. we started the big three of j.o., bargs and cb4, and it looked pretty good. i remember hearing talks during the preseason that they were going to try this out and i was a bit skeptical. nevertheless, they were all pretty amazing. really though, bargnani is looking so much better than last season. he's aggressive inside, playing great d, and hitting his shots with confidence. how about jermaine with the double double! j.o. had 18 rebounds and some incredible blocks! the sequence where o'neal blocked marion then kapono hit the open 3 in transition, was crazy sick. you have to love it! cb4 was just his usual self. bosh had 27 points on the night. with jose out with a hamstring injury, solomon ran the show and actually did pretty well finishing with 15 points and 11 assists. even humphries was getting his hustle on. i especially liked the general, cool, calm play in the 4th. overall, i was quite pleased with the way the raps played yesterday. check out two of bosh's dunks below, as well as jermaine's crazy sick blocks.

damn it's so good to have nba back in my life.

bosh's dunk

bosh's second dunk

jermaine's block

jermaine's second block and kapono's three

who is anthony morrow?

in rotation: quest m.c.o.d.y. - the light project

in his first nba start today, anthony morrow not only went off for an incredible game, but made history too. his statline helped the warriors conquer the clips. morrow exploded for 37 points (15-20 from the floor, 3-4 from deep, 3-3 from the line) and 11 boards. morrow not only scored the most points by a rookie this season, surpassing mayo's 33, but he scored the most points ever by an undrafted rookie.

so who is anthony morrow? he's only played four games so i did a bit of research on him. according to dimemag, as a senior in high school, the 6-5, 210 pound wing was named “mr. basketball” in north carolina. at georgia tech, he finished his career in 19th place on tech’s all-time scoring list with 1,400 points – making at least one three-pointer in 41 straight games to close out his career.

with monta ellis currently out, morrow should get a bit of playing time on the 4-6 warriors team. i wonder if he can keep it up. a friend of mine seems to think so.


anthony morrow carving it up

nix great mixtape

in rotation: various artists - nix great mixtape

i was putting together a mixtape for my friend and figured i'd post it here for any heads looking for some new hip hop shit. it's two discs with tracks taken from various albums, mixtapes and eps. see below for the tracklist. download the mixtape here.

disc 1
1. dj k.o. feat. royce da 5’9”, elzhi & supastition – best to do it
2. termanology – watch how it go down
3. vordul mega – megagraphitti
4. brooklyn academy feat. ill bill – this is brooklyn
5. mr. hyde feat. q-unique & ill bill – killer collage
6. supastition – word has it
7. jedi mind tricks – monolith
8. jake one feat. freeway & brother ali – the truth
9. d-block – it’s like that
10. slaughterhouse – onslaught
11. heltah skeltah feat. smif n wessun – w.m.d.
12. dj revolution feat. krondon, chase infinite, rasco, planet asia, kardinal offishall, choclair, shabaam sahdeeq & ill adviced – the backbone
13. termanology feat. bun b – how we rock
14. emc – winds of change
15. ill bill – society is brainwashed
16. jake one feat. royce da 5’9” & elzhi – glow
17. brooklyn academy feat. will tell – what’s the buzz
18. almighty – the saga begins
19. the mighty underdogs feat. mr. lif & akrobatik – escape

disc 2
1. statik selektah feat. m.o.p. & jadakiss - for the city
2. black milk feat. royce da 5’9” – losing out
3. elzhi feat. t3 – save ya
4. slaughterhouse feat. nino bless – slaughterhouse
5. the gigantics feat. aesop rock, onry & eligh – the explanation
6. strange fruit project feat. skyzoo, supastition & dow jones – upper echelon
7. poison pen feat. nems – poison murdafest
8. illa j feat. affion crocket – dftf
9. kam moye – welcome to my life
10. brooklyn academy feat. jean grae – black out
11. black milk feat. pharoahe monch, sean price & dj premier – the matrix
12. little brother feat. skyzoo & chaundon – speed racin’
13. ill bill – my uncle
14. termanology feat. sheek louch & freeway – drugs, crime & gorillaz
15. murs – can it be (half a million dollars & 18 months later)
16. elzhi feat. royce da 5’9” – motown 25
17. emc feat. sean price – git some
18. king syze feat. vinnie paz & apathy – and now
19. jadakiss feat. jay-z – who run this

danny granger is on the rise

in rotation: critical - medical records

i know it's still the beginning of the season but danny granger is looking to make 2009 his year. i have always liked granger since he was drafted in 2005. funny thing is, i wanted the raps to take him with the 16th pick but instead they picked joey graham. granger went to the pacers at 17. seven games into the 08-09 season and granger is currently averaging just under 25 points per game. i expect him to keep this up as he transforms himself into a household name. this block on miller is just disgusting.


granger with a massive block on miller

the glove's view of rondo

still in rotation: elzhi - the preface

gary payton hates rajon rondo and so do i.


payton hates on rondo

azubuike crowns maxiell

in rotation: elzhi - the preface

damn azubuike! what is up?


kelenna azubuike crowns jason maxiell

chris bosh versus baron davis: ultimate comedy skit challenge

in rotation: blue sky black death - slow burning lights

for those that don't know, baron davis and chris bosh are having a little comedy skit competition going on. i think i have to give it to cb4 over boomdizzle. you be the judge.


baron davis - the courtship


chris bosh - iron claw

ali g interviews some nba players

in rotation: raekwon - only built 4 cuban linx

i can't believe i had never seen this before. in this clip ali g interviews some nba players. it's a bit out of date but still it's fucking hilarious. i think it's a tnt promo but i can't be too sure. wade is still with shaq, big ben is still a piston, rj is still with the nets, kobe is still wearing number 8 and nash still has long hair. nevertheless ali g is the man. see the video below for further proof of this claim.


ali g interviews some nba players

nba is awesome...

in rotation: joe budden - halfway house

well the 08-09 nba season is well under way. my raptors currently stand at 4-4 and have the heat next game. although 4-4 isn't spectacular, my faith is still strong. i'm not going to expand on that any further. instead, here is andrea bargnani in the philly t dot game owning reggie evans with a filthy mcnasty dunk. damn reggie, you got fucked up. that's what you get for grabbing peoples ballbags.


bargnani shakes evans and finishes with a reverse dunk

on another nba note, damn can't believe the billups/iverson trade. initially i hated it but the more i think about it, the more it grows on me. nuggets havent had a decent pg in i don't know how long, and ai is the offensive threat that the pistons need. think about a backcourt of rip, ai and stuckey. one word - damn. i don't know though, it is still early so i guess we will have to see how it all pans out.

i also don't know if ai is ever going to get that ring. in all honesty, i don't see it happening until the end of his career when he becomes a role player (if he can become a role player). its just so strange to see billups not playing with the other big three. chauncey, rip, tayshaun and sheed have all played over 500 games together in the league. oh well, i guess all things have to come to an end eventually.

today's results suggest that it was a good trade with the pistons knocking off the lakers and the nuggets winning against the celtics. crazy. i'm just glad someone beat beantown. i like the big three as individual players but damn i hate the celtics as a team. especially rondo, that smug bastard. anyways i have to say that yes the hawks are looking suprisingly nice, and yes this may be the season that joe johnson jumps from star to superstar but after pierce nailed the go-ahead jumper against the hawks with just over seven ticks left, i was speechless. even though p-double is the reigning finals mvp, i still feel like he doesn't get the respect that is due. pierce is easily one of the top five players in the nba right now. don't believe me, check out his ball-breaking shot over the hawks.


pierce ends the hawks undefeated record

how about that rockets/suns incident? i admit, fighting is not a good thing for the league but damnit it is so entertaining to watch. the pistons/pacers brawl is easily in my top 10 nba moments of all time. whilst the rockets/suns scuffle was nowhere near as exciting, that was a punk move by barnes on skip. from there, it all unravels. as a result of this skirmish, alston and barnes were suspended for two games each, with nash receiving a one game suspension for what the league deemed "escalating the altercation." check it out below.


barnes cheap shot on rafer

before i do end this entry, i feel it is of utmost importance to post two clips from the lakers/mavs game. both of them involve ariza doing his thing. bulk up sasha!


trevor and sasha chest bump


ariza's monster block on stack

blazers rockets o.t. finish!

in rotation: kindred the family soul - the arrival

this is just retarded. yao's shot was amazing but damn brandon, that was just some crazy shit. check it out.


roy finishes the game in style

slaughterhouse is here!

in rotation: illa j - yancey boys

damn in the midst of exam period, i find myself procrastinating more and more. anyways, in between listening to the new illa j album, which is fucking wicked, and watching the raps take their first loss of the season to an iverson-less pistons, i thought it would be important to make note of how sick 'slaughterhouse' is going to be, unless a product never eventuates. for those that don't know slaughterhouse is what one would call a "rap supergroup". slaughterhouse comprises of four of the dopest emcees today - joell ortiz, joe budden, crooked i and royce da 5'9. that is just fucking absurd to me. from the bodega chronicles to mood muzik to hip hop weekly to the bar exam i don't even think i can put into words how excited i am to hear more tracks from them. i guess i should shed some light on who each of them are. i could probably drop a bio on each of them but it will be much easier to convey my message through youtube haha...


joell ortiz


joe budden


crooked i


royce da 5'9

judging by the first track they have released, this shit is going to be ridiculous. royce and crooked take the cake on this track by far. if you don't believe me, you're just going to have to listen to it for yourself. download the new slaughterhouse track 'onslaught' here.

"...no, it's not h to the izzo but i push buttons like jay should of done joe..." - crooked i

damn this shit is filthy. i hope these guys know what they have in their hands because it would be a real shame if this fell through like everything else. the videos popping up all over the net suggest otherwise and have been pretty interesting. the friendly competition is bound to transform into some crazy dope hip hop. check out the videos below.


chilling with dj enuff part 1


chilling with dj enuff part 2


joell ortiz and joe budden throw friendly shots

my social psychology e-portfolio / the raptors' first week of the season

in rotation: dj k.o. - picture this

oddly enough, i was required to create a blog which monitors my thoughts, feelings and opinions throughout this semester, as part of one of my units at uni. it was such a strange piece of assessment, - very different to the traditional assignments i am used to such as essays and speeches. nevertheless it had to be done so i set up a wikiversity account and put together my 'e-portfolio' for the subject of social psychology.

i have to admit, i enjoyed it. i'm the long-winded type who talks jibberish for several minutes before i actually get to the point. plus i enjoy talking as much as i enjoy writing. this assignment gave me the freedom to write like i talk. moreover this blog didn't have the anal connotations attached to marking schemes the same way that many other psychology essays unfortunately do. i was pretty much free to explore the course content and relate it back to my own experience.

social psychology is such a unique unit in that it encompasses a vast array of issues from prejudice and the social self to aggression and prosocial behaviour. these are just some of the topics i explored in completing this blog. despite the fact that i winged it a bit, i feel like i made it my own. it is more personal than some of the other students' blogs, and at least it provides you with a little bit of insight into my existence (probably only for the topics i thought were interesting). anywho if you are bored and want to partake in an activity only a tad more exhilarating than playing a game of netball, then read my social psychology blog.

before i sign off, i just want to mention that my raps are currently 3-0 with wins over philly, golden state and the bucks. bosh had a phenomenal week with averages of 26ppg, 10rpg and just under 4apg. he's deserving of player of the week honours. some might say that i am on bosh's nutsack, and they are probably right haha. i think that after winning the gold in the olympics, bosh has come back more focused than ever. he is more poised, more confident, and more determined. he is playing better at both ends and has showed tremendous growth thus far. i think the whole olympics experience has really helped him to become a better leader.

hmmm i guess this entry is going to be longer than i expected haha. anyways i have to say the addition of j.o. has been great so far. he's doing exactly what we expected him to do - amazing defense, decent rebounding, and enough of an offensive threat for defenders to double him. this is great because with both bosh and oneal on the floor, it creates more space for our shooters. i also have to say that bargs has played well in the last three games. he really must have bulked up in the off-season because he looks so much bigger now. bargs had a great offensive outing with 19 points against the warriors where he really impressed me with his aggressive play. the last three games, he hasn't just sat on the perimeter waiting to shoot a 3, nor has he looked like he doesn't belong in the post. bargs has been playing great defense as well. he has 7 blocks in the last three games! amazing!

everyone's been doing their thing. jose has been doing what he does, plus he saved our ass against the bucks last game. i was really impressed with roko during the sixers game. parker and kapono have been shooting the lights out. a.p.'s defense against the warriors was particular exceptional. i could go on all day about how promising this season is looking but it's still early days. i definitely do not want to jump the gun, and despite our current record, the raps still have a lot of work to do. the sixers and warriors outrebounded the raptors by 14 and 10, respectively. these kind of rebounding numbers are atrocious, plain and simple. rebounding is an area which the raps have needed to address for the last few seasons. hopefully we can turn that around in the upcoming games.

currently the raptors have a few days off to rest then it's motown at home next game. let's keep up the good work and get that w. raptors all day motherfuckers!

I'm off to bed.

it's 10 in the morning and I haven't slept because I've been doing this crazy social psychology blog.

peace suckers.

sincerely,

nix to the uno

the fresh coast movement

in rotation: bo-rat - project cutty

for those that don't know, the fresh coast movement is upon us. i've been following emcees like the saurus, passwurdz, franco, bo-rat, illmaculate, ex-i, okwerdz and nocando for a while now. their battle legacies cannot be denied. with the emergence of jump off's world rap championship in 2006 and 2007, and now with grind time divisions being erected across the usa, it appears the fresh coast movement has really established its place in the international battle scene. for proof of how dope these left coast emcees are, check out the fresh coast all-stars cypher footage below. okwerdz is just filthy with the rhymes in this clip. if only pass, apes, bo, plex, ex-i and illmac were there. haha i shouldn't be complaining. this scene is taken from the bonus features of the long anticipated documentary dvd titled 'fresh coast'. support these dedicated artists and buy the dvd here.


fresh coast cypher part 1 (nocando, okwerdz, the saurus, lush one, d-lor, tantrum and franco)


fresh coast cypher part 2 (nocando, okwerdz, the saurus, lush one, d-lor, tantrum and franco)

i think the fresh coast is best summarised in avocado's (i'm pretty sure he's the dude who did the editing for the dvd) post which reads:

"the fresh coast began as a loosely based coalition defined by freestyle and lyrical supremacy and a high standard for hip-hop on america’s west coast, particularly california. the name was inspired by the phrase commonly referred to in the late 80s/early 90s good life/freestyle fellowship-era of project blowed, as well as the boom bap movement of oakland, ca in the early 90s. it was an homage to the stylistically-driven and innovative rhythmic foundation originated by the trail-blazing coastal fore-fathers of this new artistic resurgence/renaissance. the laid back vibe juxtaposed with the high risk and fast paced energy that define the pacific region is ubiquitous throughout this movement. overall excellence in everything from song craftsmanship to battle dominance begins with the finest dank smoke and some of the hungriest most dedicated emcees in the world. these emcees were all brought together by a desire to prove their prowess on the emcee battle circuit, and would later attain extreme notoriety and accolades in the realm of rhyme fighting. this is the fresh coast. west up."

for those that don't know, y'all need to go and youtube all of these names. i really like what the grind time folks are doing. noteworthy gt battle performances which have stood out to me so far include: both the saurus and madness, both tantrum and reverse live, passwurdz, franco, and d-lor. i repeat, for those that don't know y'all need to youtube this shit. to save you some time, below are the videos of the grind time battles of the emcees i just mentioned. i cannot wait to see jaze juce vs okwerdz. i put my cash on okwerdz. he's just a rap machine. anyways, keep up the good work grind time!


the saurus vs madness part 1


the saurus vs madness part 2


tantrum vs reverse live


illusion-z vs passwurdz


kodyack vs franco


xt vs d-lor

the fresh coast is seriously what is up. nothin' but the dopest emcees.

the toronto raptors - the 08-09 nba season begins

in rotation: reef the lost cauze - a vicious cycle

in approximately nine hours, the toronto raptors will play their first game of the 08-09 regular nba season. my beloved raps will be playing a philadelphia 76ers team who with the new addition of elton brand, hopes to contend with both the celtics and the raptors for the atlantic division crown. it is going to be a tough match.

for those that dont know, i am a diehard raptors fan. whilst many teams have added some new pieces this upcoming season, the raptors have been no different. with the offseason acquisition of six time nba all-star jermaine o'neal, toronto is looking to get past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since vince carter donned a raps jersey. jermaine o'neal brings a rugged edge that the raptors have lacked in previous seasons. jermaine can score, is a defensive force in the paint, and is a tenacious rebounder. he brings a swagger to the raps which could potentially take them that one step further.

a new season marks a new journey, and i have a million questions which can only be answered as the regular season progresses. jermaine has been injury plagued over the last four seasons - can he remain healthy? with tj ford out of the picture, can jose handle the starting point guard position? is sam mitchell going to draw up a play this season? can cb4 and jo co-exist together as the newly formed twin towers? will kapono actually be utilised this season? apparently bargs has bulked up and worked on his midrange and post game - will he continue to regress or will the addition of jo lighten the load? will jamario drive it more this season?

these are questions which cannot be answered immediately. tomorrow at 9:00am eastern daylight time (i live in australia), the first regular season game of the raptors schedule will be played - a new opportunity to make some noise and really move forward as a unit.

this is a clean slate - tabula rasa.

my questions will be answered.

tomorrow, it begins.

attached below is the toronto raptors regular season schedule. let's go raptors!

my disappointing achievement

in rotation: pez - a mind of my own

as some of you may know, the past year of my life has been devoted to the pursuit of an australian postgraduate medicine position. most postgrad med schools base their entries on three components - gamsat exam score, gpa and an interview. entry into an aussie med school is an arduous, year-long process characterised mostly by a series of long waiting periods. you sit the gamsat then wait a couple months to receive your score. if you did well enough in the gamsat you apply for med schools then you wait a few more months. if fate is on your side, you get offered an interview then you wait some more. if you are lucky to get that far after almost a year, you finally find out whether you made it or not.

whilst my gpa is pretty decent and i did manage to pass all sections of the gamsat, my overall gamsat score was not so great. i was fortunate enough however to get an interview offer at the university of notre dame fremantle (undf). i remember i was in disbelief when i first discovered that i had even been offered an interview given my poor gamsat score. it was only until traveling cross-country for the interview itself that i could really taste it. fremantle was so beautiful that it was hard not to envision what life would be like studying med over there. i wanted it bad. for the first time in my life, i felt like i had a real goal to strive towards.

so after jumping through the numerous rings of fire and much waiting, here i stand- valiant and proud - for on thursday the 9th of october, i received my letter of rejection.

upon finding out about my not getting accepted into undf, i felt pretty numb. i dont know why my rejection was such a suprise. i was lucky to even be offered an interview. i suppose that after getting so close to achieving my first real goal, i just thought that this was another one of those things in my life which would just work out. throughout my lifetime i have been pretty lucky in wandering the academic galaxy. i was lucky to scrape into a psyc/comm course at the australian national university (anu) after scoring an unfavourable uai. i was lucky to get into a psyc course at the university of canberra (uc) after getting excluded from anu. i was lucky to get a undf med interview given my poor gamsat score. i just thought that this was another one of those instances where god would help me out.

ive been thinking about this all a lot and its odd how things have conveniently worked out for me in times of turmoil, confusion and hardship. in the past, i have pretty much cruised along without exerting much energy or committing myself to what i want to do in life (not that i had any direction) - i just assumed that things would always work out. although i believe that my exclusion from the anu was my most pivotal moment in life (it helped me realise the notion of responsibility), this whole undf experience is the first time i have truly felt in control of my life and where i want to take it.

its quite apparent that things did not work out as i had hoped. initially i was pretty cut that i did not get offered a position at undf. i probably still am cut about it. to not get accepted after getting so close - it's just so ball-breaking. moreover i did and still do feel like studying medicine in fremantle would have been an ideal platform and an ample opportunity for me to stand on my own two feet and just grow the fuck up. i guess just thinking about going through the whole grueling year-long process again, let alone sitting the gamsat is enough to make me want to bang my head against the wall.

although getting turned down from undf is disappointing as hell, in my eyes this year marks a chapter of growth and personal achievement. maybe its due to the fact that the process to get into med is so darn long but i feel like i have still achieved something i can be proud of - something which ive never really been able to say before. sure i dont think i applied myself to the best of my abilities but i put more effort into this than anything else in my past. i feel like i earned this rejection letter. in this light, my disappointment is somewhat justified, but also simultaneously nullified by my sense of accomplishment.

so what now? well i am trying to extract both the positive and negative points from the current situation. sure it sucks that i didnt get in but my not getting accepted has left me hungrier for the prize. i want it even more now. i need to accept the challenge and take it all as a learning experience. life goes on and i have to keep on truckin. i suppose it would have been a bit of a cop-out to get into med school without feeling truly deserving of such an accomplishment. this time around i really just have to focus. i have to make larger sacrifices if i hope to attain my goal. i have to put my head down and study that much harder for the gamsat. i have to stay persistent and believe in myself.

i now have direction.

so i guess in exploring the aftermath of my rejection from all possible angles, all i have left to say is that i look forward to stepping up to the plate and working that much harder so that this time next year, instead of feeling proud to have earned a rejection letter, i will be feeling proud to have earned an acceptance letter.

see you on the other side.

peace.


good luck to everyone who is still waiting on acceptance letters and also to anyone who has the desire to pursue the endearing realm that is medicine. i would like to thank my family and friends for their support and concern throughout the year. you are all amazing.

blogs y'all need to check out

still in rotation: ill bill - the hour of reprisal

if you got nothing to do, go visit the blogs listed below. they all belong to my friends and contain everything from short stories and poems to music and skating.

on a completely unrelated note - damn, adriana lima is fine. i never liked you marko.

the jazz diaries

ramblings of a mad man - by robert spencer

brave and foolish

13itches blog

she will find you

huon's tales of angels, knights and gnomes

nix1 draft magazine spread (courtesy of rich)

in rotation: ill bill - the hour of reprisal

my best mate rich fucks with that graphic design shit and he has been putting in work for a minute now. his most recent project involves putting together a magazine spread profiling artists of different domains. he had a chat to me a while back and decided he wanted to use me as his template artist. below is the draft for the magazine spread. if you want to read the interview itself, click the images to enlarge them. all in all this spread looks pretty dope if i must say so myself. good lookin' out rich. keep up the good shit and i'll see you on the other side hombre. oh yeah and check the crazy ill canvas piece rich did to compliment the spread at the end of the interview!