The Kid Daytona - Daytona 500

I told you guys I was going hard with the music grid for the rest of May. I won't even let you ease into the lyrical heat. This first guy is a monster and, not to mention, one of the freshest cats in the game right now (top 5, at least).

Kid Daytona - The Daytona 500



The Bronx has done it again!!! Repping for uptown this time is The Kid Daytona. My first and maybe your first introduction to this man is his new mixtape The Daytona 500. The mixtape conceptually is great, using one of the most sampled tracks, "Nautilus" by Bob James (eventually Ghostface's "Daytona 500"), as the basis for all of its song. The result doesn't turn out repetitive or corny. In fact, the idea of being able to sample the same song numerous times and still have a fresh take on it for every track is extremely dope. It makes one realize how truly exemplary his production must be to milk one song for all of its musical value. That's not to say that Daytona's lyricism isn't up to par. In all honesty, he reminds me of Mickey Factz with a more laid back flow (imagine those two on a song together). Dude does a lot of reality rap and keeps his topics fresh and engaging. But that's enough wax poetic from my side. Experience the Kid Daytona for yourself with think D/L link for "The Daytona 500", my picks, some videos and other leaks. Deuces.

The Kid Daytona - The Daytona 500

Cream of the Crop:
The Wings
The Navigation
The Engine

Cream of the Crap:
None (the mixtape is only 7 songs long and there were no glaring weak tracks)

Leaks:
The Kid Daytona - Twilight (Freestyle)
The Kid Daytona ft. Amanda Diva - Lately

Dear Jaz O

Really though, Jaz? Still taking shots at Jay? While I really have a lukewarm relationship with Jay-Z and disagree with his stance on his own legitimacy, I do respect the man's talent and legacy. You, good sir, on the other hand have been MIA for over fifteen years on the rap scene, languishing in obscurity and only seen in "Hawaiian Sophie" replays on MTV Jams. Why in the shit do you find it necessary to repeatedly attempt to burst onto the scene to sully Jay's name? Not only has this been done before (coughcoughCurtiscoughcoughJacksoncoughcough), but also it's grown less effective with each shot fired (see Officer Ricky's sales). Even if your ploy was original, what credence did you think your underhanded shots would have against the biggest name in rap this side of Lake Pontchartrain? Just because you helped give Jay a leg up, doesn't mean you can or have walked in the man's shoes. Do yourself a favor and retire off that 1980's money. Maybe one day Jay will even admit that he got his name from you.

BONUS (Jay, don't think we forgot about your Hawaiian shirt-wearing ass):

Pacific Divsion - Sealed for Freshness Blendtape

What's up people? I've been slacking on dropping some new music. I'm gonna finish up the month of May with a new music drop (either mixtapes, albums or leaks) from some NEW up and comers in the game, EVERY DAY. I've realized that hip-hop, and music in general, is in need of new blood (Pharrell is 36!!!). With that said, here comes The New Breed:

Pacific Division

A lot of heads have an aversion for West Coast rap. "It's too this or it's too that." "They don't have SWAGG." "Their slang is wack!!" "Fuck that beach boy shit!!" Real talk, the West Coast is on its way back up, with Pacific Division as one of the leaders of the resurgence. They've grown tired of the traditional route of dropping "mixtapes" with a predetermined number of beats and came out with a "blendtape" with about three beats per song. This is a dope tactic considering how fickle the masses of the blog era are. These cats keep it fresh. Peep the blendtape and my pics, some more leaks and some videos from the next best thing out of California.



Pacific Division - Blend Tape

Cream of the Crop:
Pacific Division
Definition
U Know My Style
Unbelievable

Cream of the Crap:
Bang It
Run
Relax

Pacific Division - OPP
Pacific Division
Pacific Division - Pac Div

Dear Manny and Floyd

About 3 years ago, this letter couldn't have been feasible. Boxing was at somewhat of a low point in the spectrum of professional sports and competitive matchups were at a minimum. The heavyweights were dominated by few and the middleweights had just fallen off. The lighter divisions were fast-paced and had a lot of cutthroat matchups.

With that being said, today, boxing is back on the rise. There have been two years of heightened competition. The best boxers fought the best boxers instead of settling for undercard brawlers and no-namers. What's needed now more than ever is a top of the line fight, with the flair and fanfare of the mid 90's. Two of the best fighters in the game need to put up or shut up. I wonder who???



Manny, you destroyed Ricky. Better yet, you obliterated him. In the past two years, you've yet to concede a match. You put Erik Morales on the road to retirement, outclassed Barrera and put De La Hoya in the Pearly Gates Retirement center. It's about time you sealed the deal on your claim to being one of the best pound for pound fighters of your time.



Maybe you shouldn't have been claiming to be the best boxer of all time, considering how much trouble you had with Hatton before that 10th round. You also have some serious issues with the whole idea of retirement considering you've done it twice. Despite outclassing De La Hoya severely, you still haven't had that one fight that would cement you as one of the best out.

As you guys can clearly see, this is the time for you guys to fight. Fuck fighting Juan Manuel Marquez or retiring to go into politics. Boxing needs this, and both of your legacies need it. For boxing to return to the forefront of the sporting world, there can't be sub-par matches or bowing out because of purses or any of the bullshit logistics that holds the sport back. You two just need to brawl. Pick the best venue, the best promoters, trainers and refs, and have the fight of the decade; a fight for the ages. Or better yet, a fight to usher in a new age.

The Mailing List: May 2009 (#2)

2. Play Cloths Summer 2009 Collection







Play Cloths, the clothing brand from The Clipse, burst onto the streetwear scene this past spring with a simple, classy and chilled out release for their inaugural season. This summer they'll try to avoid the sophomore (is it sophomore if it's the same year?) slump with another shipment. This season doesn't seem too far away from the motif that they were going with in the spring. They came through again with some nice button ups and of course the logo tee, a staple in any brand. I think my favorite part of the release is the Vacation tee (last one featured), simply because it's an original design. I would have liked to see some fitteds or denim to top off this season, but I guess for PC less is more at this point. Of course a lot of heads are going to continue to liken PC to BBC because Pharrell helped Clipse with the brand. Judging from this season, though, I'd say they're slowly but surely carving out their own niche in streetwear. The summer collection drops on May 22.

Shoutout to Akzionz for the heads up.

Mickey Factz x KiD CuDi - Lemme Breathe

Lemme Breathe from GFCnewyork on Vimeo.

So, umm, yeah. Mickey Factz and KiD CuDi (don't know why I insist on typing it like that) are coming out with a new record called Lemme Breathe. They started the buzz in true "blog era" fashion by tweeting this:

@MickeyFactz Truthfully: We gonna leak video footage of me and cudi's record and if we get 1000 retwit's we will leak more of the record

As you can see, the two are heavy into their vinyl and 80's music, so whatever collab they do is gonna be extremely eclectic. Plus, the preview they gave us sounds pretty dope. I can only hope CuDi's verse can breathe the same air as Mickey's. Dude can't sing "Day N Nite" for the rest of his life and expect to get that Kobe number.

Trey Songz - I Need a Girl

Trey Songz is a club hit and a Lil' Wayne collabo away from being one of the major players in R&B. This is a banger and happens to be a soundtrack to so many guys other there (ladies, nice guys are the best). Dude's album drops August 4th (tentative, so keep your eyes open for updates), and he already has two dope singles already. I'm telling you now. Jump on the Trey-n (train haha) before people start calling you a bandwagon fan.

Dear Confused Streetwear Brands

I've always wanted to step on something expensive and useless.


Please, Pharrell. Don't insult housewares. That shit is probably really uncomfortable.

Since when have Bape and BBC been linchpin brands at the Home Depot? Since when does Clot do collabs with Martha Stewart? Ok, that last one was OD, but this point has to be made. Ever since Supreme put out air fresheners in their Fall/Winter collection, it seems like every streetwear brand is trying to stick their overpriced, over-hyped foot into the home and housewares or pointless trinket section of your local K-Mart. If it's not random stuff for your house, it's novelty items that'll have you wondering why you opened your wallet as soon as you leave the store. Streetwear brands looking to segue into other avenues of retail need to stay in their lane. If I really wanted a rocket ship pillow, I would go to the Disney Store and visit their Toy Story section. Stop trying to put your logo on generic branded wholesale goods and sell it to me, claiming it's limited. Dunnies and toys were cool, but y'all are pushing it. Stick to what you guys are best at and just make clothes or sneakers, with the occasional release of accessories, for the people who just have to be decked out completely in one brand. Then again, it's probably those people buying pillows and candy from a clothing brand. Only in America...


Baby Milo Candy? I guarantee it tastes like monkey dick.


Someone needs to blow the whistle on this one. How many mouths does the person who came up with this have?

Terminator Salvation

Summer blockbusters always seem to make spending exorbitant amounts of money at the movie theaters worth it. Cacophonous explosions? Check. Seizure-inducing special effects? Check. Post-apocalyptic plot? Check. Big name actor? Check (Christian Bale is really carving himself a nice action star niche). This new Terminator has guys night out (or in, if you like bootlegs) written all over it. This summer looks like it's going to have a good amount of those, to tell you the truth.

Casio Databank

Everyone, their mom, dog and pastor has a G-Shock. I've long admired the way that Casio went from the brand nerds shopping at K-Mart wore, to the latest in streetwear sheik. It's funny how things go full circle. Regardless, I'm in the market for a casual watch. From the looks of the new Casio Databank, I might not be for long. Yeah, I know, everyone has a G-Shock. Not everyone can say they have one with 13 languages, a calendar, 25-page databank, and calculator. Plus, we all know hypebeasts can't count, so I'm safe.

Barack is Officially the Man

President Obama has the best sense of humor in presidency. EVER. Dude seriously roasted everyone, in a respectful, but powerful way. If there was ever any doubt that Barack was THAT NIGGA (I had to... sorry), put that to rest.

The Mailing List: May 2009 (#3)

In 2002, Marshall Bruce Mathers II was at the top of the rap, and quite possibly the celebrity world. He had just released his now critically-acclaimed album, "The Marshall Mathers LP," to the controversy and esteem that his first album began for him. It's now 2009, and for the past two years, Em has been laying low, quite possibly a decry for his own retirement. But lo and behold, the man behind the madness is reappearing, with his sixth studio album, aptly titled "Relapse." As you can see from the cover (above), Em really doesn't seem like he's straying too far from his proven formula of pushing his over the top antics before his lyricism. While that may get dude love from MTV and the Billboard Charts, I'm not seeing the same Eminem that crushed heads with his rhyme schemes and wordplay on "Inifinite" or even "The Slim Shady LP." To tell you the truth, I think Em is going to have problems regaining his mojo after being out of the limelight and having drug problems. Perhaps "Relapse" is going to be a relapse back to the Em we all knew and loved (this Eminem seems way too skinny and does bad impressions). Only the album itself will be able to tell us that. For now, get yourself on these leaks, videos and a tracklisting for "Relapse," which drops on May 19th, though you might find a few copies floating around the interweb (go buy it, you cheap bastards).

Eminem - Dr. West (Skit)
Eminem - Insane
Eminem - Bagpipes from Baghdad
Eminem - My Mom

1. Dr. West (Skit)
2. 3am
3. My Mom
4. Insane
5. Bagpipes From Baghdad
6. Hello
7. Tonya (Skit)
8. Same Song & Dance
9. We Made You
10. Medicine Ball
11. Paul (Skit)
12. Stay Wide Awake
13. Old Time’s Sake f. Dr. Dre
14. Must Be The Ganja
15. Mr. Mathers
16. Deja Vu
17. Beautiful
18. Crack A Bottle f. Dr. Dre & 50 Cent
19. Steve Berman (Skit)
20. Underground/Ken Kaniff

Dear Rocawear

Sorry, but not everyone is cut out for the sneaker game, especially when you can't even come up with your own designs. Are Supra's that hot that other clothing brands deliberately rip off the Skytop? Not only are these kicks completely unoriginal, but even in their banality, they show no sort of flair for what they're copying. At least Levi's had some hot colorways and materials. These look like B-grade Supra's that the ROC put a few R's on and kept it moving. You guys need to head back to the drawing board on this one, especially if you're trying to stay relevant. The last time I saw someone wear Rocawear ANYTHING, Dem Franchise Boyz still had a career. At least Jay wears Rocawear. Wait, no, I lied.

Dear Rafer Alston

I guess it's hard to keep your inner streetballer in check. I've always rooted for you, Skip. It's hard to not root for you considering how good you are, and that the NBA treats streetball like the in-law that nobody likes. And I can see why with that move. No doubt it looked like it was all in fun and that the slap wasn't even that serious. I just think Eddie House was right. When you're getting rocked, there are only a few things you can do to get your pride back, including slapping another man. I hope it was worth it, because that suspension is definitely gonna hurt your squad. I'd rather see Michael McDonnell (RCDS Basketball stand up!!!) play point in your place than Anthony Johnson. At least that'd be funnier than seeing Eddie House shit on you on national television.

How to Rob an Industry Hipster

As much as I love some of these rappers, I have to admit that this shit is hilarious. Too bad whoever wrote this will probably never break through in the industry. "Hipster rap," as he calls it is here to stay for a while. Heads can't get enough of these skinny jeans and laissez-faire (look that shit up) attitudes. He's right about Jay Electronica, by the way.

Rocksmith x New Era Fitteds

I've haven't been big into fitteds since high school. These might be able to bring me back to the dark side. The two on the bottom have a dope embroidered garnet on the underbrim, while the two at the top boast dope colorways and those huge embroidered sunglasses on the front. No seriously, I might be getting back on my fitted game now. Never gonna be able to rock them like that after 23. I might as well get some good wear out of them...

Drake - Friends With Money: The Drought is Over

Ok, everyone knows about Drake. If you haven't heard about him, then I commend you, because it means you haven't listened to the radio in months, a feat only accomplished by people residing under rocks and music snobs. Regardless, Drizzy Drake has been blowing up, especially due to his affiliation with Young Money. In true Weezy-protege fashion, Drake's releasing a new mixtape, only a few months after the mixtape-that-should-have-been-an-album mixtape, "So Far Gone". The tape boast only a few new songs, in addition to about 10 songs you've already heard a thousand times. No hate, but dude should have come a little harder. I hope he's not gonna get that Jae Millz syndrome and start banking on his old shit to make money. Whatever the case, the mixtape comes out on May 11th. Go cop that and tell everyone that you've been a Drake fan this whole time. Also peep the mixtape trailer (why do music videos and mixtapes have trailers now?) below.

Dear Brett Favre

Talk about love of the game. Brett, I understand that you get like a 11 year old girl at a Jonas Brothers concert when you get on the football field. I understand that it's the only thing that you've ever really been good at, besides being a typical Mississippi boy and drinking until you think the sky is fuchsia. I even understand why you had to leave the Jets after you seemed to have retired for what seemed like the 5th time. Now, it's getting old. Don't you think it's time to move on? Maybe go have sex with your wife, join a charitable foundation and do more Wranger's commercials? Do whatever you want. You just need to retire. Playing for the Vikings might seem like a good idea, but I don't suppose you'll be feeling that childhood joviality when your arm is more contorted than Ray J's sense of self-importance. Trust me it's not worth it. There are certain things that are better during their primes and no longer cut it afterward. You just might be one of them...

Should Have Gone Out on Top:
George W. Bush (nuff said)
LL Cool J (when you put out an album and no one knows its out, please retire)
Barney (after purple became the de facto gay color, it just went downhill)
Pokemon (I hear they're on Pokemon Burgundy now)
Ricky Hatton (if you haven't seen the knockout, please come out from under the rock)
Nelly (see LL Cool J)

Dear Jacqueline Standley

via New York Post:

Joba Chamberlain's mom is in a mound of trouble.

Jacqueline Standley, the star Yankee pitcher's mother, was busted over the weekend for allegedly peddling meth to an undercover cop in their home state of Nebraska.

The 44-year-old, disheveled woman was picked up Saturday night in her apartment, which is cluttered with homemade shrines devoted to her son.

So I guess that New York Yankee money isn't good enough for you? Despite the fact that your son is a starting pitcher on the greatest franchise in sports history, you had to be out there getting that money. Selling meth ain't a joke. Hey, I can't knock the hustle, but that mug shot is a different story. You sure you weren't taking a couple hits off of your product? Remember rule number 4 though; never get high on your own supply. Then again, you would think between that Yankee money and the stacks you're getting from pushing those packs, you could account for a bit of shrinkage. Whatever the case, I guess you and your son aren't gonna talk for another two years. Hopefully you were saving up from selling...

10 Deep Spring 2009 Collection (Delivery 2)

10 Deep has a 2nd delivery of their Spring 2009 collection, with a little more reserved of a look the second time around. The graphic t-shirts are DOPE (peep the Terminator one above). They stuck with the urban biker-esque theme, shown in the jackets and kept it simple yet fresh for the button-ups. These are all available on their website, or will be by the end of the week.