As of this writing, everybody's upset at the hated NBA head-corpse David Stern, even more than they were before, because he cock-blocked Seattle getting hold of the Sacramento Kings. I only bring this issue up in this column because the loss of the Supersonics back in 2008 was an important moment for the self-esteem of this town. I always contended that the shared loss felt in the city, especially among sports-rabid hiphop heads, would result in a very necessary swell of Seattle pride, and so it went. That's been the battery in the back of our scene for five years now. (Everybody who hates on that can go stick a thumb in their ass and time-travel to the days when cats acted like they weren't from here—oh, what a lucky, golden era.) Anyway, now everybody's clamoring to jump right back into the greasy corporate fuckery of the NBA—and that's fine. But the new Derek Erdman–designed, Stranger-made T-shirts sum up my personal feelings about the National Basketball Association, with its racist overtones, slave-auction-ass drafts, and corporate piracy: The NBA can go fuck itself. Forever. Chris Hansen, good dude that he is, maybe could spend this interim time funding schools, or helping our homeless, or a million other things? Just kidding!

Now: Flying Lotus returns to Seattle on Wednesday, May 22, at the Showbox Sodo—if you haven't yet, go to your robot and watch the short film for his "When the Quiet Comes" directed by Khalil Joseph, whose previous work with Shabazz Palaces very clearly informed that clip. More pressing, though: FlyLo is executive-producing the new album from his tourmate Thundercat—and the two new cuts from it that are out in the world ("Heartbreaks + Setbacks" and "Oh Shiet It's X") are pure Schedule II eardrugs.

Thursday, May 23, is my favorite conflict of interest: the Don't Talk to the Cops! CD-release party at Neumos. It's totally free and features Katie Kate, Ononos, and the legend DJ Riz. Katie Kate's new album, which you'll hopefully hear soon, is some bold fusing of rap styles (including appearances from some of the town's favorites) with avant-garde Kate Bush–esque eclecticism, and one sweet-ass pop jam in the form of "Sadie Hawkins."

The bio for Tacoma's Stunna Kid sorts the pros and cons of both "swag" and "YOLO," which is pretty appropriate to the heavily-inked-up D-boy rapper. He makes clear from the door what he's about, going down the whole checklist (from ice to Styrofoam), and if you're about that life, he might be exactly what you feel the NW's particular game has been missing. He's swangin' through Nectar on Sunday, May 26, with a Moor-heavy support bill featuring Cam the Mac, Steezie Nasa, and Chief N' Jones, plus Nottus Tre, D-Pro, and Cla$$ick.

All that said: Remember that your government is listening to and recording all your phone calls, and everybody from the police to private citizens are fighting for their right to have drones peeping through your windows! Sweet dreams.