If it seems like I've spilled a few quarts of ink on Sportn' Life Records over the last few (and I am not paying for the dry cleaning, y'all), it's only because in my ever so humble opinion there is not a more exiting collective in town right now. Fresh-out MC Fatal Lucciauno is a riot-making behemoth (who's opening for Wu-Tang Clan at the Sho-Do December 1 with Scribes and Graves), Spaceman wields one of the town's illest voices (shades of the Rockness Monsta) and rock-star-level charisma, and D.Black's sage self-discovery has given the MC, father, and Sn'L co-owner an arresting dimension and depth—"God Like" from White Van Music and a new sampler of material cut from his upcoming Rejuvenation LP testify to that. The Life is shutting shit down, quite literally—its recent showcase at the Sunset came to a rather unexpected end when power in a three-block radius suddenly shut down right before Black hit the stage. Thankfully it was just a run-of-the-mill blackout and not the jump-off of the imminent zombie apocalypse; as Hov once said: Lights out niggas!

You can also catch Space at High Dive on November 28, with fellow Lifer SK, bossy Young Soprano, Jay Barz, Gameboy, Ripynt, Json, DJ Rise, and Mic Phenom (joined by Street Academy's Logics, who reports that his solo debut, When All Else Fails, is coming soon). Phenom (that's fuh-nom, not fee-nom), well known for the heaps of emotional abuse he regularly hands out to foes in put-some-money-on-it street battles (check them YouTubes), is the favorite for the 206's coveted 2008 About Fucking Time award for prepping his mixtape The Day the Earth Stood Still. Klaatu barada nikto! Really doe.

The next edition of the Corner is on November 29 (at the Rendezvous, of course), with Chi-town MC Soul, Petty P, Tulsi, and my man Redskin the General—yep, Blockburners are definitely in the building, as you should be. Make sure you check out that video for Redskin's "Headhuntin" and download his dope Kay Slay–hosted, B-Mello-mixed Warrior Status mixtape from the General's MySpace(/redskinthegeneral).

El Corazón is yet another building you'll want to be in come December 3, if you like Young Buck (along with fellow Young-ster Soprano, Logics, Diggz Dimes)—and who doesn't? Just for the love of everything you may consider holy, make sure you do not go there the night before, lest your senses be assailed by the artificial, MTV-created douche-rap stylings of Shwayze. I mean Cisco fucking Adler—really? What is this, the renaissance of worthless celebrity-spawn? Shwayze's not even credible as far as so-called "hipster rap"; these guys make Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes look like Willie "Read These Nikes" D from the freaking Geto Boys. Play witcha mama, Shwayze! recommended