Superteam or Superthrees???

So, for the past three years, we have watched the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. However, this past year, was the first time in a long time, I barely watched it past halftime. It just wasn't exciting as it had been in the past and I am huge basketball fan. I couldn't quite put my finger on my disinterest. I am not a die hard fan of either team, so watching the Finals should've been easy breezy. But at the core of who I am as a fan, is someone that just likes to watch good hard-nosed fundamental basketball. Quite often throughout the playoffs, what was on display was a three-point shootout.

Ever since Kevin Durant went running into his mother's arms crying, every basketball analyst has been analyzing the idea of super teams. Some writers have claimed that super teams have always existed. Boston in the 60's, the Lakers in the 80's, Chicago in the 90's. But I tend to disagree just a little bit. Maybe this current Warriors team can be compared to the Celtics of the sixties, but both those Lakers and Bulls teams had a LOT of competition in the league during their eras, and there was a LOT of drama in the Finals. Things did not play out the way they are today. I wasn't alone in my disinterest. One night on Twitter, during a Finals game, #BlackTwitter was having a debate about cultural appropriation and it was so heated, many people forgot the game was on.

Plain and simple, this model that the Warriors have created isn't just about bringing 3-4 stars together on one team, this is about how they have changed the way the game is played. Golden State plays small, sometimes having three guards on the floor with two forwards. The pace is fast, and in the midst of their transitions, you will see three after three shot. Their is very little ball movement, and interestingly enough, the shooter is often pretty predictable. Teams are getting blown out by these guys because they can't keep up with the pace. By the time a lot of opponents make it to the other end of the court, the shot has already been thrown and made. Due to this, games turn around for them very quickly. They could be down 12 points, and within six minutes, have a ten point lead. Steph, Klay and now KD all can make quick shots from beyond three point range. They place guys like Igoudala out there to defend and block, and then have Draymond Green out there to agitate and steal the ball. Green's role on the team is amusing to me. He is the hired bully, and it is quite effective against less experienced teams, whose stars get upset at his antics. Once he feels he has the other team mentally and emotionally, Golden State is making their run.

So how do you guard that? What is the defensive game plan to keep them from going. Just from my own observation, you have to pick who you want to shut out. Your best bet is going to be Steph and Draymond. If you can agitate Draymond first, get him into foul trouble, after all he is an over-reactor, then you've got him. If Steph isn't playing well, that takes a huge piece away from the team considering he is the leader. Yes, Klay Thompson is very effective and quite frankly is the reason why the Warriors won a decisive game three in the finals. But, Steph is a terrible defender and once you make him work on the defensive end, you can pull him out of his game. Kyrie Irving can be very good at this when he is consistent. But even then, your team has to be above average offensively, otherwise, you still don't stand a chance to beat them.

Defense, fundamentals, ball movement have all fallen by the wayside in this Warriors era. While efficient, it can be a bit boring, which means the league could suffer financially. All of these college players pulling a one and done makes the draft a non-issue. Most of these guys don't even make it through their rookie season healthy. A lot of them end up on teams with no future, so free agency becomes where all of the drama is, and this year is no different. Paul George, Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porzingis have all been named as players multiple teams have a solid interest in obtaining. Cleveland, already over the luxury tax is looking to build a super team to try and get a chip. I will give them the 2017-2018 season to get it done. After that when LeBron opts out, he's gone. I can absolutely see Jerry West luring him to L.A. the following year. My Bulls look like they aren't even trying to rebuild until the Warriors cool off in about 4-5 years. So, is this what we, as fans, have to look forward to the next few years? A shootout throughout the playoffs, and the best shooters get the chip? I'm good.

The POP-UP???

So, there comes a time in every relationship, where the issue of how often your significant other can slide through to see you comes up. At what point can they just drop in, without a prior phone call or text? And, what do you do, if they call or text you, you tell them you're busy and they still come over?

On the latest episode of That Guy, Mike, who has been having some issues with his on-again/off-again girlfriend Denise, decides to pop-up at her crib. Now, he already called and spoke with her and she told him that she was busy and would have to get back with him. So, then he proceeded to blow up her phone with subsequent text messages and calls, until finally, he popped up over her house.

In the same episode, Judah (Mike's roommate and best friend)decides to pop-up on Stacy, his ex. Not only is Stacy his ex, but she has been dating one of his friends.

Check out the episode and leave your thoughts on what happens when you decide to just "pop-up" on folks for your own personal benefit.

Can't Get Enough!!!

So, on Friday, the 13th at exactly midnight, Beyonce' decided to drop an entire visual album. 14 tracks, 17 videos, without any promotion, announcements, hoopla - nothing. I watched as my Twitter timeline went into an absolute FRENZY. Then, I decided to preview the album on Itunes. So, at about 12:23, I was clicking the BUY button on Itunes and watching impatiently as each item downloaded on my iPad.

THIS BITCH RIGHT HERE...

She makes you say things like that, but for this post, I won't get into how much of a masterpiece this body of work is, instead I will focus on her and Jay's ode to their love "Drunk in Love"!

So, this video is set on a beach, at night, it's dark and the beginning with the weird almost creepy intro, makes you think this is going to be some tragic op-art piece. Then that bass line kicks and you realize soon thereafter, that this is almost a ghetto love song. We watch as Beyonce' does every street dance that most hoodrats coast to coast are more than familiar with. However, not to get too caught up in Jay and Bey's PDA, it's the lyrics that make this song a star!

"Can't keep your eyes off my fatty, daddy...I want you"

"We woke up in the kitchen saying how the hell did this shit happen, oh baby"

"Graining on that wood, graining, graining on that wood. I'm swerving on that, swerving, swerving on that big body. Been serving all this...surfing all up in this good, good."

"We be all night...LOOOOOOVE!!!"

"Talking bout you be repping that 3rd. I want to see all of the shit that I heard. No, I clink clink Eastwood, hope you can handle this curve."

"Fourplay in the foyer. Fucked up my Warhol. Slid your panties right to the side, I ain't got the time to take draws off."

"On sight, catch a charge I might, beat the box up like Mike! In 97 I bite. I'm Ike Turner, Turner, baby I don't play. Now eat the cake Anna Mae, said eat the cake Anna Mae!"

Okay, so some of these lyrics may come off as being a bit confusing. But really, Bey and Jay are bragging about their great sex life. After more than ten years together and 5 years married, I can't really hate on that. You really get that sense, when the camera catches the light shining off Jay's Rocafella necklace. Jay rapped: "I got the hottest chick in the game wearing my chain!" The Black Album was released 10 YEARS AGO!!! My how time flies.

They really tried to be subtle. (hee hee) There are plenty of metaphors and double entendre's in this song, but at the end of the day, they are still in love and love expressing how much they still are in love with each other. I can't help but laugh at all of the people who just knew this relationship/marriage/baby was all fake. Let them love. Meanwhile, this mess is on repeat!

HOTNESS: Le Francaise Edition

So here I was just talking to my brother about how I wanted to pick up French again before I completely lose any fluency I had before, and I creep up on this Asian, French, R&B artist: Monsieur Nov! Yes, you heard that right. He's Asian, He's French and sings R&B. This would be real trippy if it weren't for the fact that his songs are completely relatable. You may not be able to understand exactly what he's saying, but this gets a nod in the R&B department from moi, and I don't listen to everybody. Especially when it comes to R&B/Soul.

As if the American R&B market couldn't get any more non-existent, this guy comes along in another country and basically kills it in the language of LOVE!



C'est Magnifique!

Another way you know you've come across something HOT, is when it could be intrepreted in a bad way and you are too busy jamming to it to notice. The name of this song is called: My Hoe, but I was too busy chair dancing at my desk to notice. LOL!

Hello Cupid: Catfishing the Internet

This is the time of year that I can clean my apartment, redecorate, write, etc. Because my television viewing goes down dramatically. I'm someone that doesn't watch a lot of television to begin with, but when basketball/football/hockey season is over with, I really don't watch. However, thanks to Twitter, I have viewed the Catfish reality show on MTV based off the movie when a guy spends over a year communicating with a woman online, only to research, find out where she lived and he shows up only to find out she isn't who she claims.

I've been doing this whole "online social networking" thing for quite some time. I remember when it was just a bunch of us so-called "geeks" going to chat rooms regularly, etc. Now, EVERYBODY, including my mother is on the Internet. Between Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, the Internet is not what it used to be. There was a time, you could truly be anonymous online, until you decided maybe you wanted to show up to a meet-and-greet or some other get together with other "web folks". Those were the good old days. Now, you can find your face all over Facebook and not even be on the site yourself. Once modern day social networking sites became popular, along with the inception of smarter smart phones, it was a wrap. This leads me to this question. With all of this extra curricular Internet activity being voluntary, why are people still lying on the Internet? Why would anyone go out of their way to lie to someone they don't actually know about who they are, what they look like, how much money they make, and what they do for a living? This absolutely baffles me.

So, in my continued support of Black & Sexy TV programming on YouTube, I was pleasantly surprised when they broached this topic with their newest show: Hello Cupid! This show focuses on two women who are best friends and roommates. One of the girls, who is on the darker-skinned side, decided to place a profile on a dating site called Hello Cupid. Her profile strapped with what her roommate called "red flag information" such as the fact that she reads books, and loves the movie, Amelie, she had a modest picture of herself. Her roommate on the other hand, who is more provocative and outgoing, not to mention bi-racial suggested she get sexier pics of herself. As a social experiment they decide to place the bi-racial roommates more provocative picture on her profile. On average, she would get about 3-10 hits per day. By the next morning, her profile with the roomies picture had garnered over 130 hits!

I honestly didn't know where B&S was going to go with this series. I thought it would spark yet another "lightskin v darksin" debate, as if we need another one of those. But, as the season went on, the episodes got juicier and more interesting, as they take this experiment off the Internet and into real life. What I like about the series is that all of the actors are very good, and the characters are well-rounded. It also makes me realize, how easy it is to get "caught up" both on and offline.

Eargasm: The Stuyvesants!

I've been meaning to post some new music, new producers for a while now, but as usual, duty calls and I haven't had the time. But, The Stuyvesants have been getting HEAVY rotation in my car for months now. I don't usually just listen to beats, but they are so worth several listens. Their sound is very reminiscent of early to mid-90's hip-hop when artists could become big off the beat alone, because it was just that dope!



Right now, my favorite track is without a doubt, "Talking Hears" off of the Finer Things, Vol. 2 mixtape. Their tracks are often featured on YouTube's Black & Sexy TV shows, and it is undisputable why they've chosen them. Honestly, they could save some rap careers. Check it out!

Sorry Drake, but Breezy got you again!

So in the battle of the light-skinned R&B cats, it's no secret Drake and Chris Brown have been feuding. Whether we are hearing about them throwing bottles with broken glass flying at Tony Parker in the club, to them dissing each other on wax, it's safe to say, these two don't like each other.

Last year, Drake announced he was going to do an entire duet album with Aaliyah. This got mixed reviews, as many R&B fans, and Aaliyah faithfuls wondered how this could happen considering she died twelve years ago. Then Drake released a track with her vocals, and it was met with lukewarm reviews. He also received scathing criticism from both Timbaland, whom Aaliyah often had produce her projects, to her family. Her brother Rashad, publicly spoke out on Twitter saying that Drake had not reached out to anyone in the Houghton family. He also noted that he found it disrespectful for Drake to continue with the project, having received no inside support.

From that moment on Drizzy went on a very weird, stalker-ish journey of posting songs with Aaliyah samples. He had her tattooed on his back, and he stayed referring to her in numerous interviews, as if they were star-crossed lovers and it's well-known, they never met.



So, over the weekend, playing off of the hype of his highly anticipated album, X. Chris Brown dropped the single and video for the track, "Don't Think They Know". My stomach turned as soon as I saw that it was featuring Aaliyah. Here we go again. But dare I say, the track isn't bad. In fact, I could totally see this song, getting lots of airplay and charting well. And, it appears Chris is using this song to bring unity to the blood/crips never-ending saga in Los Angeles. Check it out!



Breezy definitely trumped Drizzy on this one. It looks like Drake will have to go back to his Dark room and listen to some more Aaliyah records, because this one Breezy track trumps all of the emo songs he tried to get people to like last year. It's not even close. Like Aaliyah sang, "If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again." Drake will have to take those words to heart.