Hey there TR members and TR guests, how the fuck are you doing? If you didn’t know by now, the guy on the cover of this issue is Gilbert Arenas i.e. my favorite basketball player. Back in his best days he used to associate himself with the word Hibachi, which refers to a special kind of grill. When Gil would catch fire and destroy his opponents (like that one time when he dropped 60 on prime Kobe in the middle of Staples Center) he would yell Hibachi and do some bragging. Well, fuckers, I’m glad to inform you that I went into Hibachi mode for this issue and wrote some serious fire! I was also helped by the always awesome Mr. DGAF who dropped a review of his own; Sam, who is now officially the guy who picks the TR Quotable; Geno, who wrote the closure on the battle tournament; and of course Lello who killed it in the interview. Go and take a shit Fleka, I hope you forget to put a toilet paper before you go in. As for the rest of you, check what you have to check and dedicate your full attention to this awesomeness that awaits you.
Interview With Lello
01. First of all Lello, let me congratulate on you getting that VET status, it’s definitely well deserved and you’re one of the best members on the site. I was going to ask you to summarize your experience in here but you beat me to it with that shout-out thread of yours, so I’ll just ask you to share some of your favorite TR memories with the readers:
thanks, I appreciate it. And yeah I thought of that shoutout a while ago Innovation told me it was the right time to do it when I hit 8888 so I did it. About my favorite TR memories, probably the time I started expanding my music taste, and everyone was calling me a dickrider or a bandwagon jumper, cause I always said my opinion without no knowledge at all on how to back it up, ok sounds like a bad memory, but on the contrary, I remember all the long arguements, all the "classic" threads, all the fighting and name calling, looking back on all of that stuff I can laugh at it. Another favorite period of mine, was my rivalry with my bro DA (especially in the Rhyme Asylum vs Slaughterhouse thread), which ended in a rap battle (which I won btw). The time Recovery dropped was the best ever, the site was superactive, and every thread would reach like 15+ pages in a day, it was crazy days, the day it leaked DAMN!
As far as bad memories, the time when JMG and the other guy and toxicbuffy spammed the forum, and the time Robot hacked the site (and mdemaz's account)
02. When did you start listening to Eminem, and would you speak on your early history as a Hip-Hop fan? Like, what are some of the first artists that you loved and stuff?
I started listening to Eminem when Stan dropped, but I did not know about albums back in the day, I just checked whatever's on TV (I was 7...), than Cleanin' Out My Closet and Lose Yourself came out in the same year a year after, by that time, I was hooked, and the rest is history. As a Hip-Hop fan, before joining TR, I used to idolize 50 Cent, I thought every rapper was either West Coast or East and they hate each othercause of 2pac, I knew Kanye and Jay, I loved Snoop and Dre and Chamillionaire (cause of Riding Dirty and Hip Hop Police), and I thought Nas was a dude who hated rap cause of his song Hip Hop is Dead (I've come a long way since then).
03. You said that you were proud of your efforts in the battle tournament, could you elaborate on that?
Yeah, I am very proud of what me and Trimss brought to the table in the battle. If you want an example of battles I used to do earlier when I joined, here is one: viewtopic.php?p=1597339#p1597339 , it's easy to see how better I have become (I don't consider myself great, but compared to that link, WOW). I am somewhat proud of the Grammar Nazi and Spyder/Black Widow Line too
04. Are you into cartoons and/or comic books? If so, let us know more about it.
I never read a comic book to be honest, but I LOVED Cartoons and I still do. Courage the Cowardly Dog, Fred Flinstones, Scooby Doo, George Jetson, Popeye The Sailorman, Pokemon, Digimon, Ed, Edd & Eddy, Cow & Chicken, I am Weisel, even fucking Powerpuff Girls.
05. What do you think of the current state of Hip-Hop, and compare it to the past few years?
Compared to the late 80s and 90s, I think Hip-Hops is way better than it was back then, I am not too much of a fan of the old days (minus NWA, Pac, Biggie, Nas). Compared to a few years ago, I also think it has gotten better, 2005-2009 I like to call "the drought" (ofc with a few gems here and there like Graduation, and Lupe's 2 albums), but then Eminem came back with Relapse and Recovery, Kanye with MBDTF, Lupe with Lasers, new artists with great potential started getting more exposed, Yelawolf, B.o.B, Childish Gambino, MGK! & of course my favorite Hopsin. and the rise of Black Hippy! Kendrick Lamar dropped the best album since The Eminem Show IMO, Ab-Soul has the album of the year so far, ScHoolboy Q is great, I haven't given Jay Rock enough chances, Rap is at it's most exciting time since Em's prime.
06. Do you know many Hip-Hop fans in real life, and what’s the situation with the domestic Hip-Hop scene in your country?
I know very few people who are into rap, and those who claim they are, think T-Pain and Pitbull and Akon are rappers (and one of the best), so it's quite depressing. I know like 1 or 2 Hip-Hop heads, one of them DA from here whome I met 3 times. Now about local Hip-Hop, there are 2 artists who I love alot "Basbous" and "K.A.L.A.S.H" who actually know what rhyming, punchlines, wordplay, good flow, good lyrics are about, the other just talk about how they are bad, how no one can fuck with them, about girls, and the typical wack shit. Rap here has 0 mainstream appeal, no Music channel airs rap, no rappers are famous natiowide, it's an underground internet movement, but one of the 2 talented dudes I mentioned, had a show, like a thousand person showed up (which is huge to this country's standard). But, even with that, the genre is on life-support. Lebanon, you let me down once again.
07. I know that you’re a big Hopsin fan so if you could tell him something, what would that be?
I would say something of this sort: Hop, I'm one of your biggest fans, I show your music to everyone I know, cause you deserve all the exposure, I know you don't like dickriders, so I'ma stay cool even though I could freak out right now! I admire the message you try to spread in your music, a lot of rappers seem to care about nothing else than materialism and gang-banging, but just a small advice, lighte up on the preaching. I hope we can meet one day at one of your shows
08. Do you perhaps write lyrics on your own language?
I have one freestyle in Arabic, (recorded), but no, I don't write in arabic at all, just this one song, it's pretty good if you ask me, I'd upload it, but not many members can speak arabic on here
09. What’s your dream job and why?
Well, there's 2 types of dream jobs, unrealistic, and realistic, my unrealistic dream, is to play for Chelsea in the English Premier League, I think that would be my definition of HEAVEN. my realistic dream job, would be something high paying in a room with an AC, a computer with fast internet, where I don't have to move a muscle (I'm lazy az fuck), or to be some kind of reporter, or football (soccer) analysist or something of that sort.
10. As I ask everybody else, how do you like this magazine and would you change/add something to make it better?
I love this magazine, I think it brings more activity to the forum, it makes us figure out more about a person each week through the interviews, the "Become Cooler" part is always something to benefit from, gives us some music to check out which we have overlooked. I appreciate what you have done for this site, surely one of the most productive members on here, I salute you. And apart from my suggestion in the 2nd issue about putting 1 track from Audio Stage each week, I have nothing to add
Sam’s Answers Spark Heated Argument
Oh man, that’s the shit I want to see. In the 2nd issue of Fiasco Classics, an argument took the discussion off-topic which is great because it brought more attention to the thread, and it’s not like I didn’t get the necessary feedback from other members so it’s all good. SajN called out Sam on some of the things that he said in the interview, like questioning the nominees for the VET status and implying that the choices were biased. Sam replied and the thing went into a back-n-forth argument which started to affect other members as well. In fact, the discussion transferred to Menzo and Blu, and they also brought Geno into it. Name was there for a comic relief and mocked the argument by judging it as if it was a battle rap and grammar would only get you 1 point. At this point, dead prez said what he had to say regarding the thread, and I and he eased things up by getting back on topic. Soon enough, and to no one’s surprise, Menzo came in again and he resumed his discussion with Blu. Some hard things were said such as: “Seriously, this is the Internet where absolutely nothing we say or do means a thing but your online persona is sure as hell a precise reflection of the true fuckin' rejected faggot you are in real life.” Blu hit him back with: “I'm sorry Menzo that I can't fit in a fuckin internet forum like you and be a complete loser. Quit acting like you're better than the rest of the just because of your G-Mod status, you're a pathetic waste, a pointless breathing being on this beautiful Earth.” Name could make this a bigger thing by elaborating on his report of the members (mods) who participated in the argument but he decided not to go for it. And that’s about it, Geno made a warning post that the discussion had to remain on topic and that was the end of it. I hope to see more of this in the thread for this issue. Sam made some promises about making it happen.
Slim’s Random Review
My favorite genre of movies is the coming-of-age one, and arguably the best film that falls under that category is Dazed And Confused. The film was directed by Richard Linklater (I don’t know him either) and it features a large cast that includes Matthew McConaughey, Jason London, Ben Affleck, and Milla Jovovich. It was released in 1993 and it was pretty much the first role for most of the cast members, or at least their break-through one. The actions are taking place in 1976 during the last day of summer and they mostly concern the high-school juniors and graduates. This film portraits the beauty and freedom of youth absolutely wonderfully and it’s a definite must-watch. It’s the epitome of fan, and the ladies are hot as well. Some of the plotlines include Ben Affleck and his buddies chasing down the junior students for the annual hazing. This makes for plenty of funny moments, but the best thing about the movie is that high-school spirit. The locations are very good as well and they’re a time-capsule. Members who are around my age or older surely remember that vintage feeling of the 90’s (and even the early 2000s) when the lack of technology made for a more special and soulful experience. Not to hate on these more modern times, I love (belong to) ‘em as well, and every generation has its own moments but there’s that old momentum that is now gone forever, and I think it’s worth cherishing. Give this movie a shot if you haven’t seen it, and enjoy the cool ass classrooms, bars where pool is played, rides around town, awesome music, beer drinking, baseball fields, and the forever wonderful state of infatuation.
Slim’s Musical Review
1993 is to me the best year in Hip-Hop, and one of the best albums from that time-period is Black Moon’s Enta Da Stage. This album is what East Coast Hip-Hop was all about. The group’s best member is Buckshot and he definitely shines over the other guys, but with the excellent production this is a great product. The LP kinda goes under the radar of classic albums when you have its peers in mind (ala Enter The Wu-Tang) but if you speak with an older fan who lived in/around New York at the time, they’ll tell you that this ish was on repeat for a while. I’ve had the pleasure to be in contact with plenty of Hip-Hop heads who were my age back then and I believe that’s one of the reasons why I love this era so much. The best song on Enta Da Stage is Who Got Da Props (you’ve probably heard it in the movie for Biggie if nowhere else) but there are other gems present as well. I also suggest you to check out the respective videos from the album for they represent awesome visuals that will make you wish you were there with them. I’ll also use this opportunity to say how important it is to witness an album when it actually drops. It’s very easy to get The Roots’ work from over 10 years and check it in a matter of days, but the anticipation and people’s reception at the time when an album drops creates a different mind-set. Just remember how awesome it was when Em was releasing his classics and no matter how much these young kids will love them, you just know that they’ve missed so much by not being present back then. Therefore, don’t let yourself to be close-minded and try to enjoy as much as new music that you can, and be enthusiastic about it. If you start playing an album thinking it’ll suck, you’ll probably get what you “wish” for.
Become Cooler
Run your own race and stick to your damn lane. In the movie Head Of State, where Chris Rock is a candidate for president, there’s this scene where he’s talking to his girlfriend and he was intimidated by the outcome of the elections. What she told him was an analogy regarding horse racing and how the horses have their eyes covered or something and they don’t even see the other competitors. I think that’s a great advice. When you do something, you should do it for you and do it your own way. Don’t worry about other people being better than you and take your time. You should focus on your own progress and put yourself somewhere left and out of the field. We’re all unique with a unique perception of the world and life so being different is completely fine. Peer and society pressure is stupid. Compromises are good but there should always be a limit. I’ve never liked drinking alcohol and I do it rarely. I have no problem with people who drink but they had/have problem with me not drinking. Especially in high school, I got bullshit like “you’re a coward” and that “I don’t know how to have fun”. Bitch, get the fuck outta here with that talk! I don’t want to be a follower so if I drink I’ll drink for me, not because everyone else does it. And if you can’t have fun without being high or drunk then that’s your fucking problem. I’m awesome as it is. Take a look at people who smoke. Most of them started at an early age because they wanted to impress somebody. Good job buddy! But let me go back to the part about being able to have fun. Many of my friends can’t stand being home alone and “have nothing to do”. They are always giving me shit about how could I stay at home and sit and do nothing. Because, bitch, I do do something. I write lyrics, draw, exercise, and am able to make stuff interesting for me. It’s not my fault you’re getting low on facebook notifications. And guys, there is some other stuff I can relate to this, like people who may consider you as weird, and when your parents can prevent you from enjoying certain things in life even though they have good intentions, but I’ll leave that for another issue.
Throwbacks – GTA San Andreas
Video games have always been my passion and drug. Now I’m not the type that fucks up his social life because of it but when there’s some (new) game I like, those few days until I finish it – that’s when the excitement rush kicks in. The PC version of San Andreas was released on June 10th, 2005. I remember that day because that’s when the school year is over in my country and when the summer break starts for students. I was far from having an internet connection at the time, but I had a guy who sold cracked games and I bought it along with some other friends. What was dope at that time is that when a huge game like that would get released, every kid on the block was playing it and it was like a competition for who would finish it first. We also didn’t have any walkthroughs available so if you didn’t know what to do at a point, that could get you stuck and if someone else solved it – they weren’t telling. San Andreas is my favorite game of all time. It doesn’t have the graphics of today but it had the gameplay and ultimate fun. You could do so much stuff and with me being a Hip-Hop, California, and 90’s fan the surroundings were perfection. You’ve all played it so I won’t review it or something, but the awesome music and voice acting can’t go without a mention. Seeing San Fierro and Las Venturas for the first was so exciting that I almost felt like I was in America. I remember that I had a dream where Big Smoke tried to kill me in my real hood, because you know, when you think about something for a big portion of the day there’s a big chance that you’ll see it in your sleep. I died laughing when I woke up, lol. Another thing is that flying school mission. That was the hardest thing in the game and everybody got stuck there. I was kinda the first who learnt how to fly and I was going to people’s homes to finish the mission for them. The one with the chopper and the rockets was a bitch as well. So yeah, this wasn’t about the game that much but more about my personal experience with it. I hope that it reminded you of your own.
Forgot About dR3
All of you native English speakers need to understand something. If you think someone deserves props for being educated on quality Hip-Hop, then those people who are from a country far far away, and have English as their foreign language – deserve double the props. Now if that person is specifically from Macedonia then you better make that triple. I fucking guarantee you that I and dR3 are borderline geniuses for our cultural adaption so to say, and I doubt that you could find someone as informed on Hip-Hop as us. Thing is, we have a foreign way of thinking and while some people may know more artists than us or whatever, we two are probably way more open-minded and know the artists we know a lot better. Cause, remember, quality always trumps quantity. With that being said, I applaud dR3 for being who he is and knowing what he knows. If I ever get my flow together, he’s the only fan I need. And when I say fan, I mean a friend who supports my work. But not to make this about me, dR3 is a TR fucking legend. I believe he brought that Canibus picture on the site and made it a trend. He’s also the guy who created the Caps Lock thread, which is one of the most viewed ones so that’s a dope thing too. He’s also one of the most respected members in here and there’s a reason why. He’s very unlikely to start an argument with somebody, and he often starts threads that are up-to-date with the latest changes in music or sports. He doesn’t post as much nowadays but he’s done more than enough for this site and I hope that you appreciate that.
Photo Of The Week
Jessica Alba in her prime.
Reader's Corner - Mr. DGAF Gives His First Fuck
A review of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate. This far from civilization they can do anything the want. But as order collapses, as strange howls echo in the night, as terror begins it’s reign, the hope of adventure seems as far removed from reality as the hopes of being rescued.
Golding’s attention to detail is praise-worthy. Minute descriptions end up painting a vivid portrait of the uninhabited forest, with echoing cries from wildlife starkly contrasted by the ominous silence of the unknown. However, the strongest point in this story lies with it’s characters and the message the convey. Golding crafts the characters with expertise, developing a wide range of different personalities. The connection between these characters and the audience is real to the touch. Make no mistake, the reality of the situation will bring out the best, and worst, of all the children; which ties into the powerful underlying message of the story. The leader of the group of rag-tag kids, as selected in a vote, is Ralph. His growth is apparent through the progression of the plot, and ultimately pits him against one of his best friends on the island, while also finding him seeking friendship in one of the unlikeliest characters. His growth marks the positive growth of society as a whole, with his intent to get rescued and live by the rules staying grounded in a proper societal life. However, his friend turned enemy, Jack, lives by the hunt, unable to follow the guidelines he helped set up himself. The result is a battle between living by the rules society provides, or living in chaos. The result is a gripping reality check, and, despite it’s 1951 setting, still holds true to this day.
The Battle Tournament
Hey guys, Geno here. In the Rap Battle Tournament, the 2nd round shaped up like so; Sox/Enimee losing to CrashBand/Man1x and Spyder/Yah-Hah losing to Eedee/Mr.DGAF. Eedee and Mr.DGAF went on to defeat Crash and Man1x solidifying their positions in the finals versus each other. In the end, Mr.DGAF took out Eedee and earned himself the title of "Rap Battle Champion". Keep an eye out for a future Creative Writing tournament and another Rap Battle tournament. Check back in those sections periodically (Creative Writing Lounge, Rap Battles) for your chance to enter and possibly become the next great champion!
TR Quotable - Sam's Choice
This will act as a tribute to the new RB Champion. Keeping that in my mind, here's Mr. DGAF's Verse from Fireworks feat Wreck.
(Verse 2- Mr. DGAF- at 1:45)
Fuck a firework -- I'm launching cuban missile crisis 2
You should listen while I do this, use precision writing through
A slew of different rhyming tools fused with instant timing too
Through precision I can move through and switch up my groove
Then I vibe, maneuver to throw a wrench in this game
Sick insane using pens as an aid, winning this race,
Instruments played while I pick up the pace
Demented brain, no sense in saying if he's mentally sane
Spitting writtens get's you instantly drained
His mission's plain, no time for breathing, just go
If I say you're flow is clean I probably mean it's a joke
I'm teasing though, the king of cults, now I'm leading the ones
Speaking in tounges, message evil cause I'm seeking some blood
Possessing people, turning heads like I'm the Exorcist
The devils kid from hell I'm sent to heaven with
Eleven kids that never quit to sever shit, not wrong to say
I'm sick as hell with thoughts deranged
From sickle cell and often say some shit that fails to stop the pain
So listen well and jot your name, I'll figure where to stock complaints
In wishing wells with drops of rain that build but there's a fault in saying
It would bail and fall with age 'cause then I'd sail the thoughts of hate
In ships compared to yachts or planes, I've got a name
But lost it in Minaj's A, S.S. like the captain
Skipper stripping down the magic mic for rapping
Stick to slacking if you think you'll catch me, wait a sec
My brain's a mess from craziness I gaze at wreck,
No place to rest inside the danger, yes I know it now
The ground opens, the hole is round, I slow it down
Shit, I get figured once I started rapping it would open me
But nothing seems to want to lead me to who I'm supposed to be
I'm focused and intent on knowing who I am
My foolish plans have lead me to this useless land
I hope I've found the only thing to tell me who I really was
But if I didn't frankly it's okay, cause I don't give a fuck.
+ nice review i really need to check enta da stage
