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.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
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!
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!
Friday, October 10, 2008
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.
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.
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