Line up like you 'bout to run the 100

The Lineup: July ‘12

What I can’t live without: And of course N-A-S are the letters that spell.  Nas has created his best and most complete album in over a decade.  With production that manages to simultaneously capture the essence of the classic “boom-bap” without sounding dated, Nas was able to comfortably weave in his signature rhymes.  In the past Nas struggled trying to make “current” songs that didn’t fit his style.  It’s one of those albums that remind me why I fell in love with Hip-Hop in the first place.  This is truly a classic and a must have in the collection.

(Related: Cargo shorts.  Pretty much wore them every day of the month.)

If I had one wish: It would be for us as a country to come to an understanding about guns.  Yes I know people hunt and it is a part of many people’s cultures and family traditions but we can’t be considered a top society and allow things like Aurora, Colorado to happen.  James Holmes was a complete lunatic and who knows if he wouldn’t have found a different way to hurt people but I promise that if you take the 3 guns out of his possession, it makes it a lot harder for him to try and take on 100 people at the same time.

Having said that: The Dark Knight Rises didn’t disappoint.  I won’t spoil anything here so go cop your ticket.

Unexpected Dopeness: Jay Bilas Twitter account.  Begins every day with rap lyrics and I’m not talking about your cookie-cutter-run-of-the-mill raps either.  You can tell this dude is a fan and adds bass to his EQ… and he’s a HUGE Young Jeezy fan.

Aquaman kinda sucks but… : Ryan Lochte could probably be a super hero.  The first day of this year’s Summer Games pitted the two best swimmers on the planet going head to head.  After watching Michael Phelps simply redefine domination in the 2008 games, Ryan was set on becoming the new top dog.  Well in their first head-to-head, Ryan won the gold medal and beat Phelps (who didn’t medal) by almost 4 seconds. Watch the Throne.

(Related: The baller-ass grill that he wears after a race)
(UNrelated: his 200 Free performance literally as I was finishing this post. Gotta be better if you want that immortality.)

You should have Netflix’d: Denzel.  This dude is like an episode of David Letterman.  You know exactly what you are going to get.  It won’t exactly make you change your FB status but you will always leave satisfied.  What more can you ask for when its movie night?  He entertains. All. The. Time.

(UNrelated: The Grey – I mean Liam had to have a crappy movie one day, right?)

(Related: Man on a Ledge – seriously. I would have lost a lot of money if I bet on its potential “sucktitude”.)

Had to make room on my iPod for: I can’t put Nas twice but in between listens, I managed to sneak in Childish Gambino’s Royalty mixtape.  If you forget for a second that this is the kid from Community and Danny Glover’s son, you will realize that he can rap his ass off.  This isn’t like Chris Rock’s “No Sex in the Champagne Room”, Donald Glover is serious about his music.  He raps with a passion and hunger that I wish everyone had.  Check it out.
(Related: Frank Ocean's Channel Orange. Not my favorite of his work but its got some good stuff on there)
(Related: Can I mention Nas here?)

Can’t wait for:  The race to see who’s the fastest man alive.  Here’s the thing, it might not be the guy in the picture.

(Related: The Bourne Legacy. No Damon. No problem. Jeremy Renner is that dude.)
(Related: Meek Mill debut. Can it live up to the hype?)