Hey there everyone, I'm glad to present you the new Fiasco Classics, it's been a while since I've made a full-length issue so I hope you'll like this one. But before we get started, I'd like to give a big shout-out to Revolutionary and InsaneTRex94. For no particular reason, I just wanted to do it.
Side A - Interview With Amaranthine:
01. Hey there Amaranthine, first of all I want to officially apologize for misinterpreting your gender like 8 times out of 4 and it’ll probably happen again so I hope you don’t mind being a “bro”. On that note, I’ll ask you the same thing I asked Guess_Who – how does it feel to be one of the few male members on the site?
I don't mind at all, I'm pretty used to it by now. It's funny being one of - what, five females on the board? I can't believe it's so disproportional. But I'm glad it is, really. Girls can be quite bitchy, and having too many in one place is a recipe for disaster. As nasty as things can get around here at times, TR still feels much more laid-back and welcoming than other boards. I would appreciate it if we all took a chill pill every now and then, though.
02. In this issue I’ll be talking about how Em’s recently released music has affected the site. There was a lot of negative feedback towards it but at least there were a lot more discussions going on. Do you have anything to add on the matter?
Naturally, as a forum that's centered around Eminem, things are going to pick up and fall back depending on the amount of activity in his career. Personally, I really liked 2/3 of the new songs. Numb was funny, but had no replay value other than Rihanna's part - I had "I'm going numb" stuck in my head for days afterward. It was hypnotic. My Life was fantastic, especially the video. I can't wait to hear the second song Em and 50 have on Street King Immortal. And C'mon Let Me Ride may actually be my favorite of the three songs. The song is drop-dead hilarious, and the first time I watched the lyric video, I nearly killed myself laughing. I don't think the music video will be able to top that lyric video. It should win an award.
03. I’m not sure if you responded in that thread of mine where I asked if anyone knows about you posting on this forum, but here’s your chance to speak on that?
In real life, nobody knows. It's just not something that comes up in conversation. For all I know, I could know some of these people in real life, or people I know could lurk on the board - after all, it is the #1 forum for one of the biggest artists of all time. But no, no one in my life knows about TR.
04. Speaking about people knowing your affection with Eminem, what kind of reactions do you get when you state that you love his music?
"Oh, you do? Huh." Guys are usually kind of confused, but it's actually pretty common. Other girls on my floor in my dorm play Em all the time; I've heard Mockingbird, What's The Difference, and Any Man, to name a few, coming from people's rooms. Girls aren't just into LTWYL, Not Afraid, etc, despite popular belief.
05. Are there any other rappers that you like other than Em? If so, give us your favorites and tell us why do you like them; or what are your favorite songs/albums from that artist.
I'm kinda in love with T.I. No Mercy is my favorite album from him, but I also like Paper Trail and King. I'm really excited for Trouble Man to come out in a few weeks.
I like J. Cole, but haven't had a chance to check out too much from him. Atmosphere is sick. I have three of Nas' albums. My problem is that I don't look for new artists, in any genre. I find new music through recommendations, or I'll hear something in a movie, TV show, or find a video on Youtube, whatever. A member here introduced me to Atmosphere. I tend to stumble across a song from an artist and like it, then not check out anything else. About 90% of my music is Eminem, and I really couldn't tell you exactly what attracted me so much to Em that I broke out of that habit and got EVERYTHING he ever did. It's a mystery.
06. Despite the increase of activity in these past few weeks, it’s no surpise that this site has fallen off. And with that being said, what are your favorite TR memories?
Getting engaged to Geno and Menzo. You're invited to our wedding, by the way.
07. How do you feel about boys and their affection with sports. Have you ever had any “problems” with some of your boyfriends because of that?
I like sports too, so...no.I don't understand the big deal with football, soccer, and hockey though - which seem to be the biggest sports with guys, both on here and in my life. They're all boring and complicated to me.
I'm more of a basketball girl. I'm a huge fan of the Sacramento Kings and the Cleveland Cavaliers....the suckiest teams in the NBA, unfortunately.But I feel like the fact that they don't win much (Kings are 4-12 right now, and the Cavs are 4-14) makes it that much more exciting when they do win. I'd like to point out here that the Kings smashed the Lakers multiple times in preseason this year. I have friends who are fans of the Lakers, and they get so bored by all the winning. They aren't happy when their team wins, and it's like the world ended when they lose. With teams like the Kings and Cavs, you expect them to lose most of the games, so when they do, you're not surprised or upset, unless it's one of those games where they lose by 30 or 1. But when they win, it makes your night. I've been to around 30 Kings games, because they're my local team, and our fans are so passionate about it.
08. Places that you really like to visit or that you have visited and that you love?
Hm...outside of America, I've only been to Whistler, Canada, two years ago in November. It was beautiful, and I'd love to go back in the summer. Traveling outside the country is so expensive, though...I want to do a study abroad program in New Zealand, if I can get the grades to have the cost covered my my college. In America, I've been to Colorado, Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah. Colorado is fantastic.
09. What are some of your hobbies?
Graphic design, fish-keeping/aquascaping, reading...Harry Potter and LOTR are the keys to my heart. I'm currently nearly finished with the 4th Game of Thrones book. I used to write creatively, but not in a few years. I'm a casual video gamer. Stuff like Pokemon, Sims, Harvest Moon...all the time-wasters, really. I have every single one of the Pokemon games - including Blue and Yellow - except the most recent, Black/White 2, because I didn't think it was going to be worth the money. It seemed like it was just a repackaged, hyped version of the original Black and White.
10. As you know by now, my ego requires feeding so I’ll need you to tell me how do you like this magazine and maybe if you have any suggestions for its improvement.
I think this magazine is such a great idea! You give us something to look forward to, and it's a great way to get to know all the members better. I love it.
Eminem's New Ish Brings Life To TR
It’s become a habit to mention that TR is in a bad shape and it seems that we all hope on Em to get us out of the hole. I’m sure that the hype for his next album will be huge and that we’ll all enjoy the time when it comes. Untill then however, all we have left is Em’s feature verses. We relay on them to bring back some exctiment, to help us manage our expectations etc. What we got in the past week or two is 3 verses. Rihanna’s “Numb”, Skylar Grey’s “C’mon Let Me Ride”, and 50 Cent’s “My Life”. The first one was a shock really. The majority of the people were angry with the song, starting from the instrumental and ending with Em’s lyrics. Skylar’s song was met with a better acceptance but it was My Life that people liked the most. Of course, some people find good points about Numb while some found bad about My Life, but overall, I think it’s safe to say that that was the general consensus. Regardless of how you or I feel about the songs, what I liked about their release is how it affected this site. And in comparison to the activity from the past few months this 2 weeks have been paradise. Sure, most of the threads were pure complaining but that’s way better than nothing. All I can say is that this confirms our assumptions that more Em means more good for TR. Therefore, I’m really excited for the upcoming news, songs, freestyles, and the album itself. I don’t really have high expectations for it, in fact I don’t think I’ll like it, but I’m still excited about what that whole situation brings to the table. Looking at the big picture, I’d say it’s a great one!
The Big Bang Theory - Say Nerd:
Some of my friends were telling me about this show in the past year or two but I never really gave it a look. Few months ago I decided to download the first few episodes and see if I liked it. I kinda did so I went on to watch all the seasons and I’ve seen all of the new episodes as well. So anyway, while I don’t love the show as in I can’t wait to see the next episode or it being in my top 10 I think it’s very decent. It’s a good show to watch when you don’t have anything better to do. Another good thing is that the seasons get better and better though I do think that they peaked with season 4. Season 5 was good but still a step down from the season before, and the new one has been average as well. I love pop culture so it’s great to see some of the video games, comic book characters and/or animated shows being referenced all the time. Especially Batman and Star Wars. I think that many of the TR’s members are nerdy like that so I think you should like it (or at least give the show a chance). The character of Sheldon is also a great one. For those who watch it, you know what I’m talking about. As for the flaws, what I dislike is that the overall story is kinda stuck and some of the main characters haven’t developed at all. The locations also tend to get boring for they rarely go outside and it’s become monotone to see the same few places all the time. I hope they change some of this in the future but I hope that they won’t drag out the show for too long like they’ve been doing with How I Met Your Mother which is now paingful to watch.
Das EFX - What's The Diggity?
It seems that most of the site’s members aren’t really fans of ‘90s rap or at least they’re very selective with it. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing but just pointing it out. Because of that I have this tendency to bring up vintage Hip-Hop acts and for this issue I’ll be talking about Das EFX. It’s a duo of two members who function like one and it’s basically like listening to the same person, or more so like listening to twin brothers if that makes any sense. When they entered the scene with their debut album “Dead Serious”, they got noticed for this unique practice to end words with “-iggedy“. Das EFX used to make great music that in a sense represents the streetness of the culture. They may not be the most sophisticated lyricists or song-writters but they are great for that they represent. And if you’re to give them a listen have their “purpose” in mind. I think their best album is “Hold It Down” followed by their debut and “Straight Up Sewaside”. As for “Generation EFX” and “How We Do” – stay the fuck away from those 2. Some of their best known songs are Real Hip-Hop (produced by DJ Premier), They Want EFX, Mic Checka, Here It Is, and Baknaffek. So yeah, if you haven’t listen to this group I’d suggest you to do so, and if nothing else you’ll expand on your Hip-Hop knowledge. And who knows, maybe you’ll end up loving it?
Become Cooler
Before I get into this I’d like to remind you that I use this section to share some theories of mine, theories that I put to practice and that have been benifitial to me, so I’m definitely not trying to come off as if I’m smarter/better than you or whatever. I believe that we can all learn something from each other and even if we disagree – sharing and positive discussions can only be of help.
For this issue I wanted to tell you that you should focus on the positive. And I’m not referring to situations when the odds are against your or whatever but rather about not to nitpick. I see this all the time. For example, whenever I finish watching a movie I like to go to its IMDB page and see what other people think about it. More often than not I get the feeling that people expect every movie to be the Godfather or some shit. You need to remember that it’s OK to not be excellent, or rather – not AS excellent. This is why I say that it’s important to manage your expectations properly and enjoy things for what they are. No, Eminem won’t ever top his first 3 albums but that doesn’t mean that his new music will suck. Maybe Jordan wasn’t as athletic in ’98 as he was in ’88 but he still won the title and showcased greatness. One of my favorite movies is “Grind” (the one from 2003) and Its IMDB rating is 5.6. I’m not saying that it should be a 10 but this movie gives me something that many other movies can’t. To elaborate, I find it extremely fun, it has an enormous replay value and it’s great to watch with friends. Technically the Godfather is obviously a way better movie, however, I’ve only seen it like 3 times and I was midly bored so I’d pick Grind over it at any time. My point here is that you should be more open-minded and don’t let flaws ruin things for you. The idea can be applied in more serious matters such as evaluating people. How many times have you heard people complaing about other people rather than complimanting them? From my experience – it’s a terrible ratio.
Side B - Interview With bigray:
01. bigray, my man, what’s been good? Let’s make this first question a chance for you to briefly introduce yourself to the members who may not know you that well. And I’m not asking you to give us your home address but tell us why TR needs you. Put that ego to work man.
Firstly I would like to thank you for including me in this interview it is much appreciated homie.
Not too much going other than my same routine every day. Work, gym than home, then I wake up and do it again. Well some members here no me outside of TR (Facebook) for those who don’t really know me that well other than my posts on TR I am a very easy going dude, very friendly to anyone around me, I have a huge heart towards all my friends. Something’s I enjoy are working out, Tae Kwon Do (Got my black belt but have not practiced in a while) obviously music (Rap) and I am from Canada so of course I am a huge Hockey fan (Ottawa Senators is my team), The 2 NHL teams I despise are The Toronto Maple Laughs (Toronto Maple Leafs) and The Montreal Rehabs (Montreal Canadians). Yep BIG M and Geno won’t like my comment lol but next season we will embarrass ur teams again, I just want hockey back! Some other things I enjoy doing are hanging out with friends whether it is just chilling or partying or whatever.
It is not that TR really needs me it is more like I need TR. What I mean is where else am I going to go and get in depth detail about Eminem or any other Rap/Hip Hop, whether it is a verse, an artist basically anything to do with music as there are many intelligent people on TR and I value all their opinions.
Yes I will include this I smoke weed every day and it is and will always be a part of my life. My home address is 156 Ca--- nah just kidding lol.
02. I wanted to use this opportunity to applaud you on getting to write more for I really love when a TR member starts the MCing ways. Tell us how do you feel about the whole writing thing.
Thanks for the applaud, well the whole writing music has always been an interest to me but I never really tried until recent. I feel that I have the thoughts and I feel like ya it seems easy to write music but then when I pick up the pen it is much harder than I thought. It literally takes me sometimes a full 2 hours to write 2 bars down and at times I get really stuck and have no clue what to write so it makes me want to give up but then I got to bed and wake up again and try it again. I also have an interest in Rap Battles but the whole section is really dead so I got to wait until it picks up again.
There are so many great writers on TR and I wonder to myself sometimes why are you guys not famous yet, well sometimes they just don’t have the voice to rap but there writing could be dope as fuck.
03. In this issue I am talking about how Em’s recently released music has affected the site. There was a lot of negative feedback towards it but at least there were a lot more discussions going on. Do you have anything to add on the matter?
Yes I agree EM’s recent music has affected the site, since I have been on TR I really never seen all these negative comments about EM as I have seen the past couple years from how he talks, how we walks, how he dresses, how he performs, his screaming, corny punch lines and there is so much other negative things I have seen about EM. Don’t get me wrong it is okay to not like an artist or music but some of the threads and comments I have seen are absolutely pointless and very immature.
I have always been an EM fan since day one, not Old EM or new EM, damn just Eminem. He is the same guy that he always been, just a little older and wiser. What I did not like from him was the excessive screaming and ya some of the corny punch lines, I also was not happy with some of the production on Recovery. As for Relapse I absolutely loved it from day 1 and I can almost call it a classic in my books. My favorite EM album is MMLP hands down.
04. Despite the increase of activity in these past few weeks, it’s no surprise that this site has fallen off. And with that being said, what are your favorite TR memories?
Ya this site always seems busy when something new from EM drops and of course this is an Eminem site so it is to be expected.
One of my favorite memories on here is definitely when Koolo was around, like man how the fuck did this dude get all that music and leak it. He attracted so much attention towards himself whether it was normal people or even rappers. What he did was absolutely epic, I did not really like what he did to Eminem by leaking unfinished music that EM did not want to release but at least we got to hear some EM music that we never heard before. I also believe that Koolo is part of the reason why EM has so much hate towards him from fans as of late. He built the hate sort of by releasing all this unfinished music and by talking so much trash to his followers on SL, it is almost like he brain washed them.
Another memory that sticks in my head for some reason is when Recovery dropped and many people praised the album and then they started to hate it, nothing is wrong with that but it just sticks to my head for some reason.
05.Talk about some of your favorite MCs. When did you become a fan of that certain artist, what drew you to him, favorite songs/albums, etc.
One of my favorite questions in this interview as I LOVE Rap man, it’s like my medicine.
Well I will start off with 1 of my favorite rappers of all time and he was actually my GOAT at the time up until 1999. Of course the one and only Tupac Amaru Shakur. This guys music helped me so much growing up and pretty much helped me be the man I am today, sounds corny but he had the ability to tell a story and make you feel the pain somehow. He helped teach me some rules in life through his music, his message was always epic. Pacs got 2 classics All Eyes on Me and The don Killuminati, 10/10 albums not a single bad song on those 2 albums. A few of my favorite Pac songs are Only God can Judge me, All Eyes on Me, Ambitionz as a Ridah, Hail Mary, Hit Em Up, the list can keep going on but I will stop there.
Nasir Jones is another one of my favorites. Most people like Illmatic as their favorite Nas album but for me mine is It Was Written. The Message is easily 1 of my favorite Rap songs of all time. Some of my other favorite Nas songs are Got ur self a Gun, If I ruled the World, Street Dreams, Affirmative Action and Life’s a Bitch. Nas always keeps it real and stays true to the hip hop art. Yes he did Ether Jay Z.
Next on my list of favorite MC’s is BIG, this guy was super lyrical and such a dope punch line rapper. I loved his style and his music. Ready to Die was my favorite album of his and every song on that album is a 10/10 IMO. What got me into BIG was his East Coast style as I have always loved East Coast Rap Music growing when it was pretty much just East and West rappers around that were known.
I can talk for hours about rappers and probably write a novel so I will just put out a short list of other MC’s that I like. Redman, Wu-Tang, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Jadakiss, DMX, Tech N9ne, Yelawolf, D12, SlaughterHouse, Jay Z, AZ, Xzibt, Mobb Deep, Hopsin, Cypress Hill and probably forgetting some others.
So I will save the best Rapper for last and of course my favorite rapper of all time is none other than Marshall Mathers AKA Eminem AKA Slim Shady. Ever since 1999 when I heard My Name IS I fell in love instantly and he automatically became my favorite Rapper, NO Favorite Artist of All time. When I heard him for the first time I was like who the fuck is this dude? He aint going to last more than a day in hip hop than I listened to him more and more and was like shit this guy is gonna piss off the world with his lyrics and he was saying shit that people think in there and don’t actually say it but EM said it on his records. My 3 favorite albums from EM are SSLP, MMLP and TES. Some of my favorite songs from Eminem are Soldier, Role Model, Sing for the Moment, Who Knew, Im Back, All his diss songs, TRSS, WithOut Me, Bagpipes from Baghdad, Buffalo Bill, Rydaz, Underground and Almost Famous. There are many more but these are just a few.
06. Do you like reading? Books, comics, magazines, whatever. Any favorites?
Well I like reading on the internet about Rap news, Hockey and Cell phones, that’s about it. I really never enjoyed reading growing up, I have actually never read a novel in my entire life. I was 1 of those kids in class who pretending to read but my mind was elsewhere lol. I used do enjoy collecting comics but I never read them, just looked at the pictures and collecting them and hope they end up being worth some money. I have some Spider Man comics that came in a white and black bag and still have not opened them. I also used to collect cards growing up, I have the Marvel cards full set and many full NHL card sets. I use to have Wayne Gretzkys rookie card but my mom through it out accidently, Nah just kidding man, I wish I had it.
07. Do you like video games? Give us your preferences regarding gaming.
I always loved video games every since I grew up. You either had a Nintendo or a Sega, I was a Nintendo type guy. After that it was either Sony or Xbox and I use an Xbox now. Some of the games I enjoy are Mortal Kombat, Street Figher and of course NHL form Ea Sports.
I tried and bought a few Call of Duties but I was always terrible at them and always got killed so I gave up. Add me to Xbox live guys if you like my gamer tag is (bigshadyray.)
08. Talk about some interesting experience with a girl. Like some argument or a prank or something.
Growing up as a kid, teenager and young Adult, I always had my way with the ladies for some reason.
They liked me whether it was friendship or more. I never wanted to get real close to a girl growing up because I guess like most guys I am afraid of commitment. I always have 100% respect for a girl because growing up as a kid I lived with my mom, 2 sisters and my dad was never home. So I grew up with females which made me respect them even more.
Arguments I have had tons of arguments with girls over stupid little thing such as why is my close friend looking at her like that when he really was not even paying any attention to her or why did I look at this broad crossing the road when I really didn’t. I don’t think I have really played any pranks on girls other than calling up a girl on 3-way and my friend calls another girl on 3-way and then we connect them together and the two girls end of fighting and not knowing who called who when we really did the prank. It is freaking hilarious u should try it some time.
09. What's your dream job and what do you think you may end up working?
Growing up as a kid I always wanted to be a NHL Goaltender for some reason but it never happened. I also wanted to become a Lawyer but the education was a little too much for me and I hated school growing up. I always had terrible grade and was never in class always skipping, kicked out of school and what not. I currently do work full time in an office as an Account Receivable Specialist for the Federal Govt of Canada. I am currently taking a French course as French is essential in Canada now a days and if I want to keep on moving up I need French.
10. As I told Amaranthine, my ego requires feeding so I’ll need you to tell me how do you like this magazine and maybe if you have any suggestions for its improvement
I really like this magazine and really enjoy the questions that you ask members in the interviews. When we know members on this forum and they sometimes make silly posts or intelligent posts the interview and he have an idea about how member is in real life the interview may take away all the negative thoughts we may have on a member because the answers we provide to your questions makes the member look down to earth at times and we sometimes see they we may have a thing or 2 in common with that member, so we start to have an open mind and start to like that member.
I don’t really think there can be any improvements to your magazine, well maybe an audio interview or something but my suggestion and question is when can we interview you in an issue?
Slim Fiasco: Very soon man!
Photo Of The Week:
Going With A Vintage Hottie
I already listen to Das-EFX but it's great that your introducing them to new listeners. I also agree with the nitpicking sitituation lol. Great inerviews, Amaranthine is a Kings fan lol just kidding.
that movies a classic to me
worthy.