End of An Era

"I been thinking, it’s good to be in on something from the ground floor. I came too late for that, I know. But lately I’m getting the feeling I came in at the end; the best is over." - Tony Soprano, The Sopranos, Pilot Episode

I only interned at Vibe for one semester but it was by far the most rewarding and fulfilling job I ever had. Some touching tributes have already been written and a great obituary (of sorts) appeared in the Times, but I do have a few memories of my own to tell.

Here's just a handful of the great memories and the amazing people I met while working at Vibe: Shirea gave me the job. Danyel gave me inspiration. Rob gave me books. Sean let me do an interview. Ben gave me props. Linda gave me advice. Diona took my picture. Crystal shared her M&Ms. Tracy made me laugh. Andrea let me edit. Jozen let me report. And Jon got my name in the mag.

I thank everyone for everything they taught me while I was there. I still haven't gotten my head wrapped around this whole thing, but I'll will say this: When I was at Vibe, I the life I always dreamed of seemed well within my reach even though I knew there was a giant piano dangling above the whole industry.

That's why I quoted the Sopranos. It's not just that the suddenness of Vibe's end reminded me of the Sopranos iconic final scene, but because the feeling that the best days of journalism are so far behind us, that the future is so uncertain, no one is promised tomorrow. I can't shake the feeling that this is just an end, not a new beginning, but just a plain old end. No organization seems to be in place to ever pick up where Vibe left off, and continue its mission.

"I think about my father, he never reached the heights like me. But in a lot of ways he had it better. He had his people, they had their standards, they had pride. Today, what do we got?" - Tony Soprano, The Sopranos, Pilot Episode

When I think of Vibe, I always think of the brilliant Death Row cover. I'd provide an image, but I don't have to: You know exactly the one I'm talking about it. It was the best magazine cover I've ever seen simply because it captured the sentiment of that era: Hip hop at that time really felt like a gangsta movie. But nowadays, what do we have? Sure, the internet helps us reach way more people than ever before at a much faster rate. But concert footage from a shitty handheld camera and blog posts by pseudo journalists (like me!) simply don't compare to photo editors and real writers who have perfect their crafts.

I send emails to some of the people on staff telling them to keep their head up and that they'll be alright, and I meant that. Those people have skills that go beyond just the magazine world, they might not have another dream job but they will prevail. But the things that Vibe represented, the work they put out, that truly seems like a thing of the past. And that breaks my heart.

50 Cent - War Angel LP Review

Possibly taking a cue from his boss's comic book inspired XXL cover, 50 Cent recorded The War Angel LP: A mixtape inspired by Brian Pulido's comic of the same name that was made available for download via ThisIs50.Com. 50 promised it would be more of a street album than a mixtape and even went as far as to tell MTV that The War Angel LP was; “the best body of work I put out in the mixtape circuit, period.”

In truth, The War Angel LP doesn't hold a candle to 50's mixtape classics like 50 Cent Is The Future and No Mercy, No Fear (although those mixtapes benefited from jacking already popular beats). Instead its 50's second attempt at re-conquering the mixtape scene--the first was Return of The Body Snatchers--that's long since been wowed by the likes of Lil' Wayne and is currently infatuated with Drake and Gucci Mane. Still, it's a strong effort and another step in the right direction.

More importantly, The War Angel LP is a blatant attempt to reconnect with his core audience with music that's more street oriented after a series of poorly received singles failed to garner any excitement whatsoever for his upcoming album, Before I Self Destruct.

Early on, the music is not just hardcore, it's actively aggressive: At times, 50 noticeably changes his delivery from a mumble to a roar and sounds intent on avoiding any melodic hooks, less he look like his autotune crooning counterparts. The only time the production matches 50's vigor is on "OK, Alright," where Dr. Dre provides a rattle for headphones and stereos everywhere. Meanwhile, 50 forgoes the charisma that made us love him and leaves only the roughness that made him compelling.

But the harshness fades gradually and midway into the album, he's right back to singing tenderly on "I'll Do Anything" and "London Girl." Making his two most radio friendly tracks the centerpiece of an otherwise gritty affair. The last half of the album lacks the energy of the opening tirade, and while it's still gangsta, it's certainly more mellow.

While "I Line Niggas" and "Murder" are still quality tracks, 50 can only be exciting in shorter and shorter bursts. The entire album runs only 32 minutes and every song has two verses, not three.

50 is at his best when referencing Web 2.0 and mashing it with his own grimey take on life: "It's nothing to it, cock it, bang it, and get rid of that, hit his fitted cap, he won't get a chance to Twitter that," he spits on "Talking In Codes." He picks another bone on "I Gotta Win" by spiting: "You aint a shooter, aint a robber, you talk like a mobster, you's a fuckin blogger."

"I Gotta Win" finds the right combination of intensity and charm, making it a standout track. It's enough to remind us that despite his current losing streak, 50 is a proven winner. He just might have another victory in him, but this LP probably isn't it.

Why Bloggers Hate 2pac

2pac wonders: "Is there blogging up in heaven?"

Had Tupac Amaru Shakur not been killed in a violent shooting on the Las Vegas Strip that faithful evening of September 7th, 1996, he would have turned 38-years-old today.[1] As much as I'd like to write a post that serves as a celebration of his life, I feel compelled to defend his music. You see, in the past few years bloggers who critize 2pac have done more damage to his legacy than old C. Delores Tucker could ever hope to do. Sure, a lot of what they say is true (He was never really a thug, he never sold drugs, he got caught up playing Bishop in real life) but that doens't mean we should throw 2pac under the bus. Which is why I'm here to offer a few reasons why bloggers hate 2pac so much.


1) Bloggers are haters, and people love 2pac. Since people are infatuated with 2pac and seem to worship him like a prophet, he's a prime target for bloggers everywhere. Probably because bloggers are infatuated with their own sense of self-righteousness and supreme knowledge of whatever topic they write about (myself included) that they inherently feel the urge to go againt popular consensus just to prove just how high and mightly they truly are. Which in turn makes most bloggers haters by nature.[2] Funny thing is, I'd bet if 2pac came out today like he did in '93 he'd be shunned by the very fans who worship him now and embraced by the bloggers who hate on him on the internet.

2) 2Pac's albums are worse than you think. Sure, Pac has the trifecta of classics (which in hip hop more or less guarantees your name be brought up in GOAT conversations) but his albums are all filled with filter. And not because of Pac himself, but because of the company he kept. If 2pac was a basketball player he'd be Lebron James, but the Outlaws would be the rest of that bum ass Cavaliers squad. And I aint talking that '09 Cavs squad either. I'm talking more like that '03 Cavs squad. Crews that surround big time acts can often come up with one decent sidekick or worthy counterpart (Lil Kim, Proof, Game, Beans), but not with the Outlaws you can't. And if your throwing your arms up in disagreement, name one hot verse the Outlaws ever spit on that song that isn't "Hit'Em Up." I'll wait....

3) 2pac's music hasn't aged well. Maybe this is just a personal thing, but I find myself listening to 2pac's music less and less these days. A few years ago when I was high school, I would listen to Makaveli on the regular. But nowadays the only 2pac album I listen heavily is Me Against The World (Which I would still argue is his best album). Meanwhile, he's slowly slipped out of my personal GOAT and has been surpassed by the seemingly invincible Jay-Z.[3] One of the things bloggers like to bring up about Pac is that his lyricism isn't up to par with wordsmiths like Nas, or Eminem, or Black Thought. There's really no debate from me there, Pac isn't know for clever concepts or witty punchlines (Although his honesty does make him a great songwriter). But Pac isn't about his lyrics, he's about his emotion and his delivery. Next to Biggie, 2pac has one of the greatest voices in the history of rap music. A voice that barked with aggression but could curl with sensitivity. But hey, bloggers aren't interested in things like that.

As a gift, I present the most underrated 2pac song ever:


[1] I know that's old news, but stop for a minute and think about it; A rapper was shot and killed. Forget the shady nature of the slaying and the aftermath and all the conspricy theories behind it. Just think about it, a rapper was MURDERED on the streets.
[2] I promised myself I would dedicate this blog to showing love and support for the things I love. When things are great, I have no problem saying so. I've tried not to nitpick and accept things for the way they are. So far, I feel that I've come as close as possible.
[3] I base my GOAT on discography. Each passing posthumous 2pac release is another turd in his catalog, while Jay just keeps making good music.

Capture The Moment

I count three Roc signs...and three cameras.

Downloading may have ruined record sales, but cameras are starting to ruin live shows.

Look up live performance footage on Youtube: Most of the videos are shot by amateurs off their flip cams, their cell phones, or their digital cameras. But when you watch the videos, you'll notice that half the people in the audience are shooting a video of the exact same performance on their flip cams, their cell phones, or their digital cameras.

It seems like just about everyone in the audience is in the trenches trying to get their Speilberg on. Fans don't look at the stage, they keep their eyes on their camera. They don't sing the words, the camera would pick up their voice. And God forbid that they jump around (And you know, have some fun) because the camera would shake. They end up capturing moments, but they don't create memories.

I'm guilty of this myself. At the Nas show I was busy recording footage. Yes, I did it for the same reasons as everyone else but I also knew my work was going to be posted on sites like RapRadar (Although I didn't expect it to end up here). The point being, I'm willing to give myself a bit of pass since I was technically "working" as a camera man that night.

But most people aren't like me. They're there to enjoy the show. And I'm here urging them to go ahead and enjoy it. When I was recording Nas, I realized I could never fully apprecaite seeing one of the greatest rappers of all time performing classics like "Get Down" if I was too busy keeping my hands up and camera pointed.

So the next time I go to a concert, I won't get caught up trying to record every memory so I can remember it forever. If the concert is any good, I'll remember it forever anyhow. I'll definitely take a few pictures, but I won't get caught up.

Do I wish I had a photo of Method Man standing on the hands of fans in the center of the Webster Hall throwing up the Wu sign? Of course I do, but I'll always remember that moment. And memory always alters images, that's how nostalgia gets created. The last thing I'd ever want is for my nostalgia to be ruined by reality.

The next time I go to a concert, the only time I'll put my hands up in the air is when I wave them like I just don't care.

Nighthawks & All Night Dinners

"Sometimes I get this Whitmanesque vision of America. But instead of wheat fields and mighty cities and deep lakes stretching from sea to sea, I imagine a vast number of coffee shops. And in these coffee shops, urgent conversations are taking place. Here's Mickey Rourke in Baltimore, talking Kevin Bacon in "Diner.'' And Quentin Tarantino, on Santa Monica Boulevard, writing down ideas for "Pulp Fiction.'' And Andy Garcia, in Denver, rehearsing for "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead.'' And Pacino and De Niro, out near the LA airport, acting in their first scene together in "Heat.''

The new American frontier is the all-night diner, with Formica tops and ketchup and sugar on every table, and a waitress who writes down your order on a green and white Guest Check. And in these coffee shops, which reach out like an endless progression of stops on the highway to fame, there are countless young men..." - Roger Ebert, adapted from his 1996 review of Swingers.

Top 51 Films of The Decade (10-1)

All week here at A Shot of Incilin we've been looking my top films of the decade. We finally made it to the top 10, the best of the best. This list was a lot of fun, so be on the lookout for the top 10 documentaries which I'll try to get up soon. Thanks to everyone who commented!

Rules: 1) Only films, no documentaries (Another list on that soon). 2) If I haven't seen it, it doesn't list. I'm sure you all have suggests, put them in the comments and I'll get back to you. 3) I know I must have forgot at least 5 titles, again see me in the comments. 4) This is a loose list, meaning every film on this list can be placed 5 to 10 spots higher or lower than the spot I gave it.

10) Mystic River - What brilliant performances by Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and to a lesser extent, Kevin Bacon. A few of my friends have commented to me saying that the film was a bit confused, but I think a lot of people were under the assumption that the film was a who-dun-it? when it's actually a drama that revolves around the way the past shapes us, haunts us, and ultimately defines us. The murder plot is there to just move the plot along to get to the more emotionally charged scenes which reveal the pain deep inside three boys from Boston.

9) Momento - I admit, in some ways, this film is a gimmick. It's basically "that cool film that goes backwards." But, it works as a drama which is all that matters. And it's still a novel film. No, it's not nearly as complex as you think, and unlike our top film, you can figure out exact what happened as long as your paying attention.

8) Juno - Juno is one of the few films I would recommend to everyone, and everyone I've recommended it to has enjoyed it. It comes from the heart but has flair and style, topped off with the adorable Ellen Page. The characters amuse us, surprised us, and always interest us. Best of all, the film comes with a feel good ending that isn't cheesy or unrealistic. My father is terrible at describing films, but when he called Juno, "a genuine film," I couldn't have agreed more.

7) Crash - I snickered when I first the posters for this film, thinking to myself, "Sandra Bullock? Brendan Fraser? Ludacris? Yeah, real Oscar worthy cast there." Boy was I wrong. I don't think enough is made about the cast of this film. Look at them! With the exception of Don Cheadle, they're all shitty actors who make B-List films! (Terrance Howard is also an exception, but he was fairly unknown back then). What's the most amazing part about it is that Ludacris has all the best scenes in that film, and those were some of the best scenes of that year!

6) Requiem For A Dream - An absolutely brutal film. The first hour and a half are excellent, but the virtuoso ending sequence by director Darren Aronofsky is a marvel. As good as the editing and camera work is in the ending, it's made exponentially better by Clint Mansell's absolutely beautiful composition, Lux Aeterna. Just like the "food store intro" in The Wrestler, Aronofsky displays his exceptional gift for using sound in his films.

5) Adaptation - I recommend this film to anyone who's interested in writing. This is the exact process goes through my mind when I'm trying to write something. There's a lot of films that have parallel story lines or flashback sequences, but this film unique in the way it ties the two stories together. And this is the third film written by Charlie Kaufman that finds a spot on this list. Why yes, it's been quite a decade for him.

4) The Departed - My friend Angel referred to this film as the best of the decade (which is what compelled me to write this post) and asked me to name a better film. I blanked out at the moment and could hardly think of anything better but still didn't want to call it the best film of the decade. Why? Because The Departed is a brilliant film for 2 and a half hours; The scenes are intense, the performances from Mark Walberg and Leonardo De Caprio are top notch, and we're drawn to every single character. It's definitely one of the Scorsese's best films. But the very last shot of the film, a rat appears with the church in the background. The scene was only missing one thing; a giant neon sign that read, "SYMBOLISM."

3) City of God - A Brazilian Goodfellas. Probably the best editing I've ever seen in a film. This film packs so much story into just two hours, by the end we get a history lesson about several generations of the people in the City of God. So much story is told, when IDVR'd the unedited version of the film and it was listed as two hours I was convinced that my recording was incomplete.

2) The Dark Knight - Fantastic on nearly every level. Heath Ledger gives the performance of a lifetime (Literally) and gets every single detail right. There's so much to say about this film, but I'll try and focus on one part; the parallels to war on terror. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Batman is George Bush (as some people have) but the War on Terror certainly inspired some of the sequences of this film. Take for example, the electronic surveillance that Batman uses; doesn't it remind you of the Patriot Act which gave the NSA the right to monitor any phone call for any reason they saw fit? Better yet, take the interrogation scene (One of my all time favorite scenes) after Batman loses his cool and starts beating on the fiendish Joker, Joker responds saying; "You have nothing! Nothing to threaten me with! Nothing to do with all your big, bad strength!" Isn't this the same situation that the guards at Gitmo faced?

1) Mulholland Drive - I've lost sleep over this film. Sometimes at night, I hear weird noises coming from outside my door, and I start thinking about this film. It haunts me to this day. If you haven't seen it, then watch it and then talk to me. I hung on to every last frame of this film. Even when it was over, I wasn't sure if it really was over or not. I know everyone whose seen it is going to ask what I thought it all meant, and let's just say I believe the popular theory of the film but in truth the real meaning of the film exisits somewhere in David Lynch's subconscience, which hid it in his ID, which came out as a film, but came to him in a livid dream, which he later forgot.

I'm not really a David Lynch fan, I find his films fascinating but always severely flawed. But Roger Ebert (a prominent critic of Lynch) put it best when he said; "Finally, an experiment that doesn't shatter the test tubes."

Top 51 Films of The Decade (20-11)

All week here at A Shot of Incilin we've been looking my top films of the decade. Stay tuned all week as we make our way to the best film of the decade, which we'll reveal on Friday. Anyhow, without further ado, I present numbers 20 through 11.

Rules: 1) Only films, no documentaries (Another list on that soon). 2) If I haven't seen it, it doesn't list. I'm sure you all have suggests, put them in the comments and I'll get back to you. 3) I know I must have forgot at least 5 titles, again see me in the comments. 4) This is a loose list, meaning every film on this list can be placed 5 to 10 spots higher or lower than the spot I gave it.

The Contenders - The real cream of the crop, the close but no cigar films.

Bryan Woodman (Matt Damon), Prince Nasir Al-Subaai (Alexander Siddig), and The Canadian (George Clooney)

20) Syriana - Does anyone truly understand what happens in this film? Probably not. But is there anyone who can explain all the complexities of the oil trade? Probably not. A lot of people are bothered by the complicated plot, but it's what I admire about the film so much: It's ambitious and intriguing but it doesn't pretend to know all the answers. It's out to raise questions, not answer them. By the end, we don't totally understand the film but we understand why oil is such a commodity and how why regulating it is so difficult.


19) Amores Perros - Another film that falls into hyperlink cinema, but this film uses the linking to focus on social classes. I actually saw this film because I had to watch films 15 hours of films in Spanish for my Spanish class. This was the first, second, and third film I watched before moving on to other excellent films like Y Tu Mama Tambien and The Motorcycle Dairies.


18) Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind - Three Charlie Kaufman screenplays appear in the Top 20 films of this list. As you may have guessed, I like Charlie Kaufman a lot.


17) Rachel Getting Married - What a great performance from Anne Hathaway, who had a breakout year last year. This is a touching film that doesn't try to do too much, it simply tries to show all the drama and bullshit that follows every wedding. What we get is a great portrait of American life and family function. The film hits all the right notes, slowly building to the explosive scene between Rachel and her mother and then smoothing everything out with the touching bathtub scene.

16) Traffic - The structure to this film emulated in Syriana, but Traffic is the better film because it's just as layered but rather than raise different questions it creates different conclusions. It shows the far reaching effects of the drug trade and it made me realize how badly we're lost the war on drugs before we started losing the war on terror. This film also probably shot up 10 spots on this list as soon as life started imitating art.

Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi swing swords like Shinobi in Ang Leg's masterpiece.

15) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - I never thought of fighting as an art until I saw this film. Most movies have fight scenes that are ferocious and forceful. The fight scenes in Crouching Tiger show the eloquence and beauty of a fight. Can you believe that the guy who directed this film went on to make Brokeback Mountain, Lust/Caution, and Hulk?

14) Old Boy - A powerful film. When I first got this film on NetFlix, the blurb on the CD jacket promised that the film had "a resolution that will leave you speechless." And it did just that.


13) Synecdoche, New York - After I saw this film, I stumbled out of the Sunshine Cinema and was amazed by everyone I met and everything I saw. This could easily be number one, but I'm still unpacking this film. There's something that happens when I watch this film, I realize something about life, but it always fades away and escapes me around the time the screen turns white, and the film ends.

How gangsta is this?

12) Eastern Promises - I walked into this film knowing nothing about it, and about twenty minutes into it I jumped out my seat and said, "Hey! That's the guy from Lord of The Rings!"[1] Mortensen is lost in this role, and the performances from Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl are all top notch. But what makes this film so memorable is the incredible knife fight, which is by far the best knife fight scene in any movie. Bar none. And to top it all off, the film has a great twist, which you won't see coming, but makes perfect sense.


11) House of Sand and Fog - During the ending sequence, when watching Ben Kingley's character running through the hospital covered in blood, praying to God to save his son, a tear came to my eye. It's a touching sequence in a film where all the characters refuse to give up and by the end they have nothing.


[1] No, Lord of the Rings is not on this list. I saw part two and three but never really understood them. Mostly because I never saw part one.