Mixtape Review - So Far Gone

1. Lust For Life
2. Houstatlantavegas
3. Successful feat. Trey Songz & Lil' Wayne.
4. Lets Call It Off feat. Peter Bjorn & John
5. November 18th Produced by DJ Screw
6. Ignant Shit feat. Lil' Wayne Produced by Just Blaze
7. A Night Off feat. Lloyd
8. Say What's Real Produced by Kanye West
9. Little Bit feat. Lykke Li
10. Best I Ever Had Produced by Boi-1da
11. Unstoppable feat. Santogold & Lil' Wayne Produced by Diplo
12. Uptown feat Bun B & Lil' Wayne Produced by Boi-1da, Northern Profit
13. Sooner Than Later Produced by D10
14. Bria's Interlude feat. Omarion
15. The Calm
16. Outro
17. Brand New Produced by D10

Drake, if you didn't already know, has had the internet buzzing with his latest mixtape release So Far Gone. Given the hype, I had to check it out. And for what it is, it does not disappoint. Much if his style is that of a rapper/singer with immense commercial appeal. Unlike a Chamillionaire, his singing voice is actually bearable and he can make quality R&B tracks.

If you just look at the track list, you can see the frequent partnership with Lil Wayne. He's been closely linked, although not signed to, Lil Wayne's Young Money imprint and you can hear Wayne's influence in the way he raps. It's actually not a bad thing. Wayne is more than solid in each song he's featured in, including two of my favorites, Successful and Uptown. Successful is an aptly titled chill track with Trey Songz assisting quite nicely on the chorus. And the way Wayne comes in after the song fades out is kind of cold. Uptown is Drake's southern-esque track featuring Wayne and Bun-B, accompanied by an organ heavy beat.

My other favorite tracks on this mixtape include November 18th (His ode to Houston/Chopped & Screwed records), Say Whats Real (Him ripping over the Kanye Song), and Best I've Ever Had (An amazing chick song that would actually have crazy single potential). Recently the latter is the song I'm feeling the most, maybe it's the Spring time.

So Far Gone is a great mixtape to just cruise to, it have a very chill vibe to it. Drake definitely benefits from some album quality production. This is one of those CDs you can play in the car with your boys, or more appropriately, when entertaining a breezy. Drake has slowly made me a fan, and I'm almost positive he's going to blow up when his debut album drops. Especially if his mixtapes are this quality.

Grade: 4/5

Nothing Much Here

"You got to score da ball to win da game!"

-I was almost disappointed in the Super Bowl, but the 4th quarter was amazing. Very exciting, great pass by Big Ben and great catch by Santonio Holmes. I almost felt bad for Arizona, but I'll take my +.500 record in these playoffs and get over it.

-LeBron James and Kobe Bryant have officially made the New York Knicks the team that you go for 50 on, at their place. MSG may be still referred to as the "Mecca of Basketball", but they better get used to a lack of defense. It will all work itself out at some point, but remember the Suns never got over that hump because they couldn't make key stops.

-Editing music is not the most exciting thing to do in the world. Especially when an artist doesn't cuss often, but just likes saying the N-word. And it's not Narnia.

Oh, and editing out the "Diddy's" are the worst. The ad-lib profanity is always in the middle of the verse and never sounds right when it is edited out.

-Valentine's Day falls on All-Star Saturday. Hmmm. I know which one of those I will be enjoying already.

-Random Curren$y track:
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=53293997055&h=8E1Re&u=wwONr

Fire. This song actually has single potential. Well, aside from the fact that it is Curren$y.

-I started writing this with a purpose, I no longer have one.

P.S. Michael Curry still sucks.

My Super Bowl Picks

Brothers from another

Playoff Record: 5-5

I'm taking the Steelers. There are plenty of reasons why, the defense, the lack of belief in the Cardinals, Ben Roethlisberger's winning history, Omar Epps as the coach. But the most importantly, my mom likes them. And like D-Wade says, if my mama like it, I like it.

Steelers 28 Cardinals 21

Pistons
Losses to the Celtics and just recently the Cavs. Yeah, they aren't a good team anymore. Nothing else I need say on this situation. Blowing a 4th quarter lead with LeBron on the bench because you refuse to close out on Danielle Gibson (aka Damon Jones 2.0) and can't guard a pick and roll is inexcusable. Nice to see Mike Curry finish the game with a completely different line-up each time. I just want him to do something smart once.

Me in the Studio

Being a radio DJ is fun.

Peep the new template son, it looks nice.

Late Picks...

Mid-Day nap so refreshing.

Anyway on the radio I picked Philly over Arizona and Pittsburgh over Baltimore. Of course Philly is already losing right now, but that nice statistic that says teams that score for are 2-6 makes me feel better.

Then again, I'm 4-4 with my picks so far going .500 each round. That probably won't change.

In Other News...

The Pistons are terrible since Richard Hamilton came back and they went to small ball. Starting a 4th quarter letting the Thunder score 13 unanswered is kind of bad. Letting the Hornets score 9 straight in the same situation in your next game is just sad. 0-4 since the return of Rip and Small Ball. It obviously works.

I thought Curry was hired because the players respected him. Given the way RaShooting Guard and Rip don't always bring their A games, or his complete unwillingness to make the big decision (Rip or A.I. off the bench) what is that respect really worth? Maybe they have good locker room conversations or something. It's disgusting.

Well There You Have It

Charlotte 80
Detroit 78

There you have it. Do the right thing!

How Could You Be So Heartless?

Michael Curry: Richard Hamilton, Allen Iverson both to start tonight vs. Charlotte Bobcats
by A. Sherrod Blakely
Tuesday January 13, 2009, 12:43 PM

The biggest question facing Detroit Pistons coach Michael Curry has been about how he would handle Richard Hamilton's return to action.

Would Hamilton keep his pre-injury spot in the starting lineup? Or would Allen Iverson keep starting alongside Rodney Stuckey?

Well, contrary to recent speculation, it's going to be both, Curry said at practice today. At least for now.

Hamilton, who has been sidelined for eight games due to a partial groin tear, will finally be back on the floor tonight for the 7:30 p.m. tip against the Charlotte Bobcats, who are led by former Pistons coach Larry Brown.

Because of comments made by Hamilton to the Detroit media that he was unwilling to come off of the bench, many saw the shooting guard's return as a potential land mine for the Pistons and the continuity they achieved during their recently snapped seven-game winning streak.

My fears about the Pistons have been confirmed. Michael Curry is a mediocre coach who is more concerned with keeping his players happy than making the tough decision that puts the Pistons in the best situation to win. They won 7 straight games without Rip in the line-up, I don't think that is a coincidence. It's not that Richard Hamilton is the problem, but small ball just doesn't work for this team. When you think a textbook shooting guard, Rip is one of the guys that comes to mind. He has no business at SF, he will get handled defensively. And Tayshaun as a 4 just takes away the advantage of his length and allows him to become a liability to get posted up against teams with interior scoring.

Rip came out Saturday and said there was no chance that he came off the bench, and I actually agree he shouldn't. The answer should be to try to convince Iverson to come off the bench. Unlike Hamilton, A.I. can actually set players up and can carry a team offensively if they want to run a defensive line-up with guys like Aaron Afflalo in the game. It gives the Pistons a dynamic bench player unmatched by anyone the Celtics, Magic, Cavaliers, or Hawks can trot out. The problem is convincing him to come off the bench. A good coach knows how to balance a 3 guard line-up and still get each around 30 minutes a game. I fear Michael Curry isn't that coach, and that he will ultimately fail like Flip Saunders before him.
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My reaction to the return of small ball and the complete medicrity of my playoff picks can be summed up in one moment with Jake Delhomme: