Chicks in Kicks

Who doesn't love hot chicks with hot kicks? Well be posting pictures of hot girls wearing hot sneakers that everyman would like...... (hopefully unless the girl is chonga looking)

Listen to bseaged23s Playlist

We felt this song was appropriate for our blog, listen enjoy as it may bring back memories of Zoolander's epic Gas fight scene

Keepin' the Faith

What happened to hip hop? Gone are the days of the immortal crews: N.W.A., A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, De La Soul, etc. Now we're left with rappers rambling about money, cars, weed, bitches, and partying. Don't get me wrong, there's still some substance out there, there's still some legit good music, but the majority has regressed and what was built up by great minds like Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Nas, Q-Tip, and Tupac is quickly being torn down.

So was Nas right? Is hip hop really dead? I guess not.. There are still some very credible producers and rappers left in the game. Despite all his whining and complaining, you have to give Kanye West some credit; the guy makes some of the best beats out there (hey, if Common and Jay-Z have had him produce the majority of their most recent stuff the guy has to be doing something right). He also has a talent for lyrics and can come up with some good content, at least better than most of the radio shit.

Although someone like Kanye can spit lyrics of substance, no one can tell a story like Raekwon could; no one really has the flow that Method Man did; no one can rap as smoothly as Q-Tip could; no one has that exciting, ridiculous, off the wall rap style like Ol' Dirty Bastard did; no one can bring such attention to the rap game as Biggie and Tupac did. Some do come close, MF Doom, Murs, Wale, K'Naan to name a few, but none are really at the level that the old greats were. I'm open to all types of music (from electro, to hip hop, to indie rock, even to jazz and experimental) yet I find myself downloading more and more rap from the 90s because, quite frankly, I just find a lot of the music being produced now to be annoying. It's frustrating to not be able to find new music that I really like. Every once in a while I stumble across something I really dig but more often than not it's not something released in the last 15 years.

Despite all this, I don't think that all hope is lost. Examples. The Cool Kids have funny lyrics about almost anything (bicycles, fishing for whales, and directions to a party) and Chuck Inglish's production is reminiscent of old school, minimal, bass-heavy beats. Wale can do some incredible stuff lyrically and is an extremely versatile rapper who can rap over your traditional hip hop beat or switch things up and rap over an electro-disco song (W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.). Murs is also insane lyrically. I guess you can compare him a lot to Raekwon with the story-telling rap style, something impressive and pretty rare. Once again, Kanye West has an incredible talent for music production. Lupe Fiasco, one of the few mainstream artists that I really love, has some really quality production and can really string together strong rap after strong rap making his albums some of the most complete, all killer no filler compilations out there.

I guess I may just be a pessimist and your classic "the old stuff was better" kind of guy, but music always changes direction and I just can't find the substance in the new direction hip hop has taken. Let's just hope hip hop is not dead. I'm keeping the faith.

LeBron is Drakes New Hypeman

Last week at a show in Cleaveland Hip-Hop artist Drake brought out LeBron James to perform on stage with him. This isn't a first for basketball players as Shaq, Kobe, Allen Iverson and Ron Artest all have given rapping a shot. Theres just somthing about a 7 foot 300 pound man on stage rapping that doesn't seem right

heres the video

Lakers/Celtics.....great

I fully appreciate the historical significance of the Lakers/Celtics rivalry. That being said its getting old. While the rivalry of old sported the likes of Magic and Bird, Kareem and Mchale, and of course the always fresh Pat Riley, the storyline has gone stale. The Lakers had "Showtime" and the Celtics had the most fundamentally sound team around. The mecca of the West against arguably the greatest sports city in history (props to Philly on that one). It was the perfect rivalry.

In 2008, the last time the two teams met in the finals, the Celtics "Big 3" emerged to defeat the mighty Lakers, making Boston relevant in the basketball discussion once again. But, this time around the storyline is much less interesting. The Lakers and Celtics are the last two teams to win championships, taking away any David vs. Goliath angle, and frankly I can't decide who to root for.

Everytime I think of the Lakers, I see Phil (because he is too cool to use two Ls) Jackson's pompous face snarling on the bench as he watches the best players money can buy destroy the competition and heralds himself as the best coach in the game. Phil Jackson is a douche, which makes me not want to root for the Lakers

The Zen Master, at his best

On the other hand we have the Celtics, who I was fully behind in '08. However, the Celtics now have their own clown who even rivals the Zen Master. Kevin Garnett has become a poor man's Ron Artest. Complaining every time he gets touched in the post, elbowing a helpless Quentin Richardson, and just acting like an all around child have moved Garnett from one of the most respected players in the NBA, to the sandbox.

Leave Ben Gordon alone, you clown

In the end my choice is being made by an unlikely character. Its easy to demonize Kobe Bryant for what he did (or allegedly did) in his past, but watching his game today is almost inspiring. Kobe has gone from a punk kid to the best leader in the game. Does he have the natural talent of LeBron? Is he as good as Jordan? It doesn't matter. When 24 takes the court he has one goal in mind, and most of the time he succeeds. For as much as we all love to hate Kobe, he is the best leader in basketball. He makes everyone else around him better, something that only the greats can do.
So in the end, I'm going to have to live with Phil Jackson riding his talent to another championship and I'll take the Lakers in six.

Soles Inc Miami Beach

Our favorite store to Shop for sneakers.

They have a great selection but even better than that the staff is friendly and helpful

Since moving down the block the store has grown which now enables it to hold more items. And every once in a while they have 50% off sale that is definitely worth it.

click here for Store site

235 12th St

Miami Beach, FL 33139

(305) 532-7653

LeBron Says Cleveland Has Edge to Sign Him

Even though We are hoping and praying that LeBron Decides to suit up in a Heat Jersey Bosh or Stoudimire will work too