#MNR: MNR Uncut

#MNR: MNR Uncut

Disclaimer: This week’s blog WILL NOT include: any references to COVID-19, any type of political commentary, any MAGAt commentary, any vitriol directed at any of America’s 50 state governors, or any reference to Black ignorance and how it’s crippling us as a people. Your subconscious can rest easy today.

I heard that there were a record number of persons of color who were nominated for Emmy Awards last night, yet no POC won an Emmy. That’s about white, err um right. Hold on…youse pilgrims mean to tell me not ONE mother effing POC was worthy of that golden statue of some unknown deceased white man? No one? Fuck outta here. That’s some primetime bullshit. It’s the exact reason why I haven’t watched an award show since the 2000 Source Awards (RIP Jefferson Houses’ own Black Rob, winner of Song of the Year for “Whoa”). FACTS (Piperboy Williams voice)!!! Fuck the Emmys. But I do appreciate the Biz tribute (Angie Matinez told me).

It’s almost Homecoming time y’all! I’m not quite sure what that means to MF who graduated from PWIs (predominately white institutions), but for us HBCU alums and attendees, the exclamation point after the first sentence is well warranted. It’s especially true for a delinquent attendee such as myself. I attend about 1.5 homecomings per decade. I love the idea of being able to “go back in time” for a 72-hour period, back to when I didn’t have a care in the world, back to when most of my folk were still alive and well. I love being able to see my college family again, with many of whom I’ve formed lifetime bonds. Last, I love the vibes. There’s nothing like a HBCU Homecoming, irrespective of the university. To those who have no idea, no one does it better than Howard University (Washington, DC). Howard has a ton of tradition (including being the origin of some Black fraternities and sororities), a generous endowment [as compared to many PWIs] which is the largest of any HBCU (BY FAR) at $712,410,000, a super huge courtyard that makes mingling damn near performance enhanced, and that Biggie Smalls shoutout in 1997 that made it a must-attend event for Black celebrities ever since (they were already showing love way before the BIG bars). Sadly, Howard, Morehouse, and Spellman (arguably the who’s who of HBCUs) have already informed alumni that HC 2021 would be limited to undergraduate students. That fucking sux. But this damn [REDACTED] shit man…It is still player hating to no end. As of press time, my alma mater Virginia Union University’s HC is still open to alumni. The hotel room is booked. I really hope nothing changes within the next three weeks, as HC is 10.9.2021. I also hope that if there is any type of requirement of proof of vaccination that no one will be bringing their Queens Blvd issued fakey cards to any event where proof is required. As a matter of fact, I really don’t care. Brandi and I WILL NOT be attending any big room events. Shit, we’ll probably have our masks on at the game. We don’t play around with our lives. We also don’t trust youse cotton-picking N-words when it comes to being truthful. [THIS SENTENCE HAS BEEN REDACTED TO ADHERE TO PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED PROMISES NOT TO EXCORIATE COTTON PICKERS IN THIS BLOG] So, we’d rather remove ourselves from the situation. Y’all have fun. We’ll be in our room, doing what grown folk do. That is all. GO PANTHERS! 1865 PANTHER PRIDE. RIP Kermit.

Big ups to my housemate Dwayne for showing love and throwing a brother that password to HBO Max. I’ve watched every damn movie available that I haven’t seen in the theater (Malignant was crazy). I’m loving the Titans series as well. And you already know that I’m happy as Eartha Kitt’s drawz on their day off about The Many Saints of Newark dropping next month. It’s time to see how young Anthony Soprano laid the groundwork to be the king of North Jerz. Woke up this morning, you got yourself a gun…

I’m a hustler baby…

There’s only one episode remaining on “Raising Kanan,” by far my favorite book of “Power.” Every single actor plays her/his role extraordinarily well. Raq is the baddest bitch on camera since Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) in “The Last Seduction.” Jukebox is extraordinary. So are Marvin and Lou-Lou. Young Kanan was perfectly cast for the role. And my nigga Joey…the kid is a natural at acting. He makes Unique pop every episode. In addition to the characters, I love the setting, styling, and “costumes.” For those familiar with South Suicide Queens, Supreme Team, and early ‘90s NYC in general, the vibe feels just right. Parting is such sweet sorrow, but it only builds my anticipation for next season. In full disclosure, I must admit that this is the first season of Power I’ve watched from front to back. It’s also forced me to backtrack and learn my history pertaining to Kanan, Ghost, and the rest of the gang. And, as sad as I am to see Book 3 go, the BMF series premiers on the same night as the Book 3 finale. Let’s get it (insert robotic arm emoji).

IT’S SUMMER MADNESS TIME Y’ALL

Damn near 3K MF will be packed into a designated venue in Houston, TX this Saturday 9.25 to attend SMACK/URL Summer Madness 11. This is the first big room event since the [REDACTED]. There shall be no [REDACTED] restrictions pertaining to attendance. It’s going to look like events from the near distant past, back when battle rap aficionados would pack Webster Hall and other big room venues past capacity to see their favorite battle rappers wage war on the biggest stage in the sport. The buildup to SM11 began as a crawl but has quickly progressed to the normal pre-fight fuckery that we’ve come to love in the community. The main event is the long-awaited battle of the two (arguably) greatest battle rappers of the DVD era, SMACK sniper Murda Mook of Harlem World against 2 Raw For The Streets alum and Philadelphia, PA native Reed Dollaz. As of last week, Murda Mook was trying his best to find an angle for Reed, which is concerning. Mook is arguably the GOAT. His skill in the ring is tantamount to Ric Flair’s in the squared circle. If he (Angle Gawd along with T-Top) is still trying to find an angle, he may be in trouble. MONDAY’S PICK: Reed 2-1 debatable in one of the night’s biggest upsets. I’ll continue with what I’ve already established and run down the card in top to bottom order. After YEARS of shit talking, styling, and general disrespect, Yonkers, NY native John John Da Don will finally face Newark, NJ legend Tsunami Surf on the big stage. JJDD even offered to sweeten the pot with a $20K side bet, which Surf obliged. Surf’s been ducking JJDD for years, not out of fear, but out of hubris (if that makes any type of sense). I don’t think Surf is scared, not even a little. I really believe that Surf felt like JJDD was beneath him, unworthy of battling. Even though JJDD is the overwhelming favorite headed into Saturday, MONDAY’S PICK: I have Surf edging JJDD 2-1 in the other upset of the night. Nutty Block, Compton’s own Geechi Gotti (my favorite battle rapper) and Detroit legend Calicoe square off in one of the realest real talk battles in the history of the sport. Gotti is arguably the top dog in URL at the moment. He’s fresh off being co-winner of the Ultimate Madness 3 tournament, and his win/debatable streak heading in was pretty impressive. Cal is no slouch himself, fresh off the RBE main event stage versus another legend, Hitman Holla. I have Cal edging Holla 2-1, although I feel the battle could be judged either way. I also had him beating Aye Verb last year at SM 10. This is going to be a better battle than many expect, especially the Caffeine babies who think battle rap was created a couple of years ago. Nevertheless…MONDAY’S PICK: 2-1 Geechi, clearly. Cal will take a round, but Geechi will [west] coast to the victory. My other favorite battle rapper, Harlem’s K-Shine, will face fellow legend Hollow Da Don of Queens fame. The anticipation became intense, and the vibe became extra spicy after the faceoff, where Shine asked Hollow to step outside and fight him. No punches were thrown. But come Saturday, expect an all-out, Pier-6 brawl (RIP Gordon Solie). Shine still has the taste of the Chilla 30 on his tongue, and I expect him to come out swinging. The big stage will serve him well. Hollow arguably just beat the #1 ranked battle rapper on the app, Rum Nitty, in his URL comeback, and I don’t expect any fall-off on Saturday. For me, this is the toughest battle to predict. MONDAY’S PICK: Shine 2-1. I don’t go against Harlem. Other than that, I’d probably pick Hollow. We shall see. In what is easily the most anticipated battle of the night, former battle rap prodigy Chess squares off against the most popular “new” face in the URL, Philadelphia’s Eazy Da Block Captain. This will be the struggle talk battle of the millennium, as both men pen vivid depictions of surviving the ills of urban decay. Eazy is undefeated on the URL app, knocking T-Rex off at NOME 11 in his last battle. Chess is fresh off a victory (2-1 edge) in an all-out bloodbath versus Loso and a string of more than official battles in the past year or so. This battle was not originally on the SM 11 card, but fans and bloggers screamed until Smack, Beasley, and Chico listened to good reasoning. I can’t wait. MONDAY’S PICK: Chess 2-1 edge. Eazy won’t be able to out struggle bar Chess. Chess is the better rapper, bar for bar. Eazy’s amazing streak will come to an end. In a late addition, Mr. Disrespectful, Newark’s own Arsonal squares off against fast rising star Lu Castro of #BXNYC origin. Lu has been on fire lately. He was in the Double Impact battle of the night alongside K-Shine. He recently edged Mike P. He also beat Jakkboy Maine on the fake SM card in Raleigh a couple weeks ago. Arsonal is Arsonal. Few, if any, can clearly 2-1 Ars when he’s on ten. The rumor is that Ars is just battling to fulfill an obligation to the company, as he reportedly has a battle remaining on his current contract. If that’s true, there’s a good chance that Ars won’t take this battle very seriously. Having said that…MONDAY’S PICK: Arsonal, 2-1 clear, or perhaps a Gentleman’s 30. Ars DESTROYS up and comers. He did O’fficial very dirty. He got Jerry Wess up outta there in similar fashion. Ars aint finna look crazy on the big stage. I expect him to dominate Saturday. Last (first) is the Ultimate Madness 4 finals. MVP out of Charlotte, NC faces Real Name Brandon out of Pasadena, CA. I don’t have an overwhelming scouting report for this battle. I’ve seen MVP twice; I’ve seen Brandon a few times, mostly on Geechi’s league The Riot. MONDAY’S PICK: RNB 2-1 in a semi-upset. MVP is the prohibitive favorite, but I think RNB’s ability to do a little bit of everything well will be the difference maker. I’m looking forward to a movie type of event Saturday. Let’s get it. SMMMMMMMMMMMMACKKKKKKKK!

There you have it. I did a whole blog without mentioning [REDACTED], [REDACTED], or [REDACTED]. I can’t promise the same next week. Hopefully, this blog was much easier to light a Wood and parlay with than my normal brand of fuckery. Power to the people. Lagos visions.

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