Slept on in 2006: Another Year End List

As the new year rapidly approaches, I thought I'd put together a list of 10 people, events or things from 2006 that warrant further commentary. Even though some of the list may have passed as discussion points throughout the year, the management at Dotrunnings clearly feels the need to throw some more shine on said topics. Of course, publicity is relative, but we're talking about how I sees it, with my big brown eyes...and that's word to baby Kaya.

So without further adieu...in no particular order:

1. Rick James samples – We collectively said good bye to the funk legend in 2004, an icon re-immortalized in his later years for a newer generation by Chappelle. While his sketch comedy-related notoriety seemed to finally die out this year, hip-hop brought Buffalo's finest (literally) back for several bangers this year. Most notably, the Green Lantern vocal-swapping Busta track, “In the Ghetto” and the “Mary Jane”-looped AZ and MOP banger, “Bring it Back Slow”. But the highest profile use of James’ work this year came in the form of Jay-Z’s title track from his much maligned, out of retirement album ‘Kingdom Come’. Just Blaze’s masterful chopping of ‘Super Freak’ clearly out shone Hov’s superhero metaphors, on what was probably the album’s best instrumental. From the grave, Rick James still makes it funky…

2. Diamond D reworkings – the D.I.T.C. veterano who originally claimed the title of ‘best producer on the mic’, had two of his beats brought back from his seminal ’92 release, ‘Stunts, Blunts & Hip-Hop’. RnB newcomer Yummy Bingham took ‘I’m outta here’ and turned it into ‘Is It Good To You’ which got some burn earlier in the year. Of course, the Busta Rhymes would-be-NYC anthem ‘New York Sh!t’ had DJ Scratch taking the credit for ‘I Went For Mine’. The ode to New York did get some serious spins, especially in the city which inspired the song, and was remixed regionally, but never quite caught on the level that would catapult Busta’s record to cross-over popularity. Hey, I could hardly care less who sells what: all I know is that original Diamond D long player is a hip-hop classic that should be recognized as such. (oh and ‘eff' Wyclef…two times)

3. PG for PF trades – all you Charlie V fans must be catching that burn that comes with memory loss. It’s just a general principle of basketball: anytime you get a chance to significantly improve the middle of your team, you do so. In the long term (or not so long term) the transaction will be warranted, regardless of what players were exchanged. Sure, if TJ was a bum, there would be some question. But TJ was never that – tiny, injury prone…hell, throw in defensive liability. The talent was never in question. And now, who can you thank for keeping the ship afloat without Bosh? It’s just sad that Charlie V has struggled with injuries…but who woulda figured this trade would be so lop-sided, this early. I not saying Charlie V won’t be a player…but just wait until TJ plays under a coach that has the team running…

4. Hollywood aging double standards – I know, I know. Women in the biz get objectified, subjected to an impossibly self-limiting standard of beauty and often are discarded with age. And where are the roles? The scripts? Yeah, yeah, yeah…I feel you ladies. All I can say is, those who are getting the chance to represent are not only miscast, but are doing it all wrong in general. And it goes like this.
Sharon Stone. Her vehicle: Basic Instinct sequel. Her objective – sexy at all costs. Her aide: plastic surgery. And the end result: movie (and plastic surgery) sucks and, appropriately, tanks. Surprised? Really? Really. Just because Diane Lane was believable pulling swarthy, younger Euro dudes doesn’t mean every actress was meant to cougar out. Plus, the writing she had to work with was not unintentionally comedic…seeing dollar signs in a ‘franchise’ is one thing, but throwing garbage against the wall and expecting it to stick…I mean, why clown it out…they even made Stella look plausible getting her groove back. Then again, it was with Taye Diggs…
Meanwhile to contrast, Sly Stallone. His vehicle: Rocky finale. His objective: to garner as much pathos as possible, without looking like a frail old man. His aide: Roids. The result: We have a winna! Please, hate on Rock all you want…he was in roidiculous shape. Plus, they weren’t hiding the fact that he’s…uh…significantly aged in the movie. They made it work for him. That’s just smart. And it made for a good flick. Double standard or not, at the end of the day, that’s all that matters…

5. Concerts in Hamilton – Sorry. Hate to rub this in, but everyone knows live shows in intimate environments can be one of the more rewarding musical experiences – even for a genre like hip-hop which has a notoriously shaky track record as far as the traditional concert goes. But here I was, with 300 or so other people, taking in KRS-One.
Best. Hip-Hop Concert. Ever.
After a good hour and a half, the Teacha even proceeded to take a 40 minute break or so from the music to give a mini-seminar on socio-politics, entrepreneurial-ship and the general principal of righteousness. That’s forty minutes…of just talking. A lot of hip-hop acts don’t even perform for that long, especially if they face some sort of……adversity….
And for those out there keeping score…never let a Buddhist make your concert plans. It’s clearly bad luck (Re: Siddhartha - Life really IS suffering…’).

6. Rappers who can rhyme – For every Jeezy, Rowssss and Dipset affiliate, there were some lyrical cats and cats with flows that came out in ’06. Nas, The Roots, Lupe, Rhymefest, AZ, Murs…Snoop’s flow seemed rejuvenated (not feeling the whole ‘Vato’ as the lead single tho…) and the Game had his moments, shout outs and West Coast-isms aside. The Coup had the politic covered thorough, T.I. repped the south, hell even Meth’s album had its moments. Alright…fine, but some non-majors releases were bubbling too, with Papoose and Saigon grinding pre-EP material, Boot Camp had a mini-comeback and anti-industry types like NYOIL and Immortal Technique were churning out product. Oh and Ghost dropped two albums. Yes, two. You combine the best of the Fish-related releases and you have the album of the year. Really.
Most importantly, there seems to be a stable of artists that seem inclined NOT to further the marketing agenda of their respective labels and the industry in general. This can only bode well for the future: while I’m not implying a future renaissance here, there seems to be reason for optimism. Critics claim that the slump in sales indicates rap’s decreasing relevance as pop music: I say, ‘Good!’ Artists don’t need to be infatuated with the golden carrot of a cross-over audience…this notion of sales representing quality needs to be deaded. Even if it comes back to smack the offensive in their shiny grillz.
On somewhat of a sidebar: it’s funny because I sorta feel for Jay here, although he was responsible for the promotional standstill that most Def Jam artists suffered through under his ’06 watch. His middling un-retirement album and the associated lack-luster response (critical and otherwise) has clearly dented his own aura of artistic standard-setting. All while pushing “30-something rap”, clearly his personal relevance-saving agenda. What happens when the biggest dealer in the game is supplying the streets with a product they don’t really want (Avon, anyone…)? Can you expect your “only really started listening to Shawn since ‘The Dynasty’” fan base to save you here? You got several moves here, Hov…I guess that’s why the metaphor is chess, not checkers…

7. Atlantic Division Basketball - one of the only things more maligned than the reviews for ‘Kingdom Come’ the only difference being, everyone expected this to be bad. To recap…
The Nets have lost their only frontline scoring threat and still have to rely on Vince as their primary go-to option. Philly traded Iverson, with the intention of being a player in the Oden lottery. Pierce is injury-hampered for a youth-plagued Boston team run by Doc Rivers and overseen by Danny Ainge. And the Knicks are run AND overseen by Isiah.
Can they revoke the automatic playoff spot for the division winner? Whatevers. Putting aside this season…how good does our relative future look. Hey, American commentators…better learn to pronounce those Euro names proper-like…

8. Ms. Dewey Search Engine - Maybe it’s just me that’s out of the loop, but I just heard about this. And do a ‘Blockbuster video’ search while you’re at it. I know you could imdb her (for the record, I believe she’s ¾ Indian, ¼ dutch) but you might want to check here for some more, uh, info on Ms. Dewey (sorry Janina…but they’re my peoples…and they woulda found it eventually anyways…). You’re welcome…

9. The Wire – Sure it gets its critical love, especially from the bloggers (there’s a great account of one fan’s encounter with Marlo, here). But with viewing HBO programming being what it is in this country…well…it just makes manning the torrents a little more understandable.
The Wire is past being the best show in television; it’s starting to make other standards in TV look pale in comparison (Tony…what happened…?). And Season Four was another tour de force. The rise of the Stanfields, the development of the kids, even the insiders view of politics and bureaucracy: compelling is a word that doesn’t do it justice. Simply put, the Wire is the gulliest show…ever.
Apparently, Season 5 is due in ’08, but until then, I have some DVD’s to pick up…

10. Donald Rumsfeld’s firing/Baker’s Iraq Study Group Findings – Speaking of television, most people are familiar with the term, “jumping the shark”. It’s the episode, plot twist or moment in general when a show falls the ‘eff’ off, and never really recovers from this turn for the worse. It’s notable in the sense that it’s viewer-sensitive, and more often than not, the internal mechanisms need some time to identify the downward trends of the show they created, allowing things to plummet further before the end is fully realized. To me, it’d be just as interesting to document the flashpoint when the creators of the show realize that they’ve got to put their work down and just leave it alone.
Now it can be argued all day when the Bush administration ‘jumped the shark’: I’m sure there are many ‘pre-Katrina’ events that detractors could point to, if not having to settle for the, uh, managing of the natural disaster, itself. But a hallmark of Bush and his peoples has been their steadfast refusal (at least in public) to admit to errors in their policy-making in general: it’d be hard to forget that it was this man who coined the whole ‘stay the course’ mantra. Now, had there not been this little conflict in the Middle East going on, things may have been a little less conflicted for the ‘Decider’, as domestic mishandlings could be swept aside and covered up. This has not been the case, of course, and Bush has put himself in a position to be held captive by his own choices, holed up in a sort of bunker mentality to evade criticism. Until now, when he finally decided to face the music and let Rumsfeld go.
The mid-term elections may have spawned some reflective thought on Bush’s part (things like having your own party whole-heartedly rally against you to pander for votes, tends to illicit some self-examination), but firing Rumsfeld was the first significant step towards accountability made by Bush’s administration since they took office. James Baker’s little bi-partisan (a word that only bares mention in the ‘Dubya-era’ political landscape) crew with their ‘suggestions’ on Iraq only serves to rub it in. Pop’s guy is not publicly towing the line? Junior’s half-assed acknowledgement of the failings under his leadership may seem disingenuous, if not put into perspective. This is something he’s never had to do. Until now. His hand was literally forced, in this case, by some of his own peoples...
The legacy of Bush Jr. will be grounded in his ruthlessly efficient management of the press and the Machiavellian strategies employed by his political advisors to overcome such antiquated obstacles like the popular vote. Only history will be able to accurately portray how much this man really got away with, sacrificing domestic and international policy in the name of self-interest and the interest of those around him. Because a beaten down, perspective less and downright impotent White House Media Core is clearly not up to the task. But the day Rumsfeld was put out to pasture was the day all his failings were, to some degree, acknowledged. And that’s something that shouldn’t be slept on…