Homeboy, throw in the towel—and come check out the Ricky Powell Slide Show at the War Room Saturday, December 10, at 8:00 p.m. If you're somehow not familiar with "The Rickster," all the more reason to come out and learn—Powell has photographed damn near all of the legends of hiphop with his Minolta Autofocus 35mm since the mid-'80s, making his mark touring with Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys, who of course name-checked him on the frat-house favorite (and legitimate classic) Paul's Boutique. Expect the famously droll Rick to keep all in attendance cracking up with his classic NYC reminiscences—and his candid shots, which beautifully capture both rap icons and civilians.
Despite the hype, Juelz Santana's What the Game's Been Missing is not the best thing to ever happen to hiphop—that honor will likely go to next year's proposed Juelz/Ghostface collab project (whooo!)—but it's goddamn good. Kicking off with the neck-snapping "Rumble Young Man Rumble," Lindsay Lohan's favorite rapper kicks his brand of surrealist street talk with more audacity, more confidence per pound than anyone this side of... well, Ghostface, I guess. Which is great when the songs don't fall flat, such as the lukewarm "Clockwork"—then you just wonder what the fuck he's so damn excited about.
And since you're asking, Lil Wayne's Tha Carter II is another certified heatrock too. Yes, Trina's boo is the last man standing on Cash Money Records (though it took a promotion to label prez to prevent him from fleeing for the sunnier climes of Def Jam), and yes, he's still aping Jay-Z's flow to death. Thing is, he transforms it with that weird N'awlins croak and turns it into another animal entirely. The beats are a smorgasbord of different sounds (provided by Heatmakerz, T-Mix and others), bringing a different vibe than that of former CMR prisoner/beat-genius Mannie Fresh; the departure works, however, particularly on standouts like the hubris-free "Best Rapper Alive" and the bluesy "Shooter," which features blue-eyed soulster Robin Thicke (son of Alan—seriously). Also, I've been sleeping on the new self-titled Slum Village album (only 'cause I didn't know 'bout it!), but that's no reason you should. This 10-track monster shows the Slum Ver.2.1 finally getting comfortable, with a lyrically stunning Elzhi gelling like crazy with the more stylistic T3, over some seriously intoxicating production. This is the best they've done since their last best (Fantastic, Vol. 2), and it's great to hear 'em get their footing again—similar to what De La did with The Grind Date, to a lesser extent.
Yo, and if you're not watching The Boondocks on Adult Swim, then really, you are not my friend. Aaron McGruder has brought his comic strip to the TV screen with all of the controversy and humor intact; it might be even a li'l more controversial just by virtue of being on television. This is another brilliant, insightful, no-punches-pulled show oriented toward us hiphop generationers... which means it's got another season, tops. Where for art thou, Dave Chappelle?
