Let’s face it. That Super Bowl last night was just not fun to watch. Sure, the Seattle Seahawks deserve the title, especially after a fantastically dominating season, but they also deserved to be challenged.
The game was horrible for many reasons, but the one that made the most sense to me was the schedule the Denver Broncos waltzed through. All sorts of offensive records were overcome left and right, perhaps shrouding their weaknesses in mystery. Not that they had a lot, though. In this day and age in the NFL, where offense is king, not many other teams besides the Seahawks could’ve shut down the fiery Peyton Manning-led Broncos the way they did. A talented team was beaten by a more talented team. Goes to show you, defense still wins championships (unless your name is Jerry Rice or Joe Montana).
The AFC West looked as deep and talented as can be, right until the postseason started. The Chiefs had an epic collapse at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts, while the Chargers were knocked out of contention in the next round by the Broncos. So, even in a season where records were broken as often as plates in an earthquake, barely making it out on top of a weakened AFC should’ve been a clue. Peyton is one of the greatest QB’s of all time, when it comes to numbers. Unfortunately, the wins don’t say as much.
Things are very different on the NFC side of things, however. Similar to the Western Conference in the NBA, the NFC clearly has the cream of the crop when it comes to championship-worthy talent. The Seawhawks and the 49ers should be an incredibly entertaining rivalry over the next few years, with other teams such as Arizona, Green Bay, Chicago, New Orleans, and Carolina thrown in just to make things interesting. Even my team, Detroit, could make some noise (I mean they should, the talent is there. But who really knows with the Lions?)
But anyways, that was last night. It’s now time for basketball season, as we move closer and closer to the glory of March Madness (GO BLUE).
Here are three grooves to get this week going for you:
Sir Michael Rocks – S.S. feat. Latif
This record amount of snow and cold weather has got me wanting warm weather more than ever. Sir Michael Rocks, with his swagged out flow and hilarious punchlines, you would he figure he’d have multiple summer songs. However, he’s only got a couple. One with The Cool Kids, and one on his own. (He does have summer and warm weather scenes in many of his videos though)
As always, one of my favorite things about Mikey Rocks’ music is how effortless he makes everything seem. He honestly sounds like he’s having a good time, all the time. The style of grand minimalism lives on.
Childish Gambino – 3005
Childish is one of the poster children of being a hit-and-miss artist. With quality lyricism and excellent voice control, he has the potential to pretty much make quality music across the board. The only problem is, the songwriting can be a bit…lacking at times. This was the problem on his most recent release, because the internet. During my experience listening to the project, I never truly felt pulled into the sound. One track will have me impressed, while the next may not captivate my attention whatsoever. Consistency and an established identity are the main things he needs to work on.
“3005”, however, is a perfect example of a hit. The hook stays stuck in my head all day after hearing it. Plus, Childish delivers with a pinpoint accurate flow and intelligent rhyme schemes. That’s enough to stay in my rotation.
Ke$ha ft. Lil Wayne, T.I., Wiz Khalifa, and Andre 3000
I know what you’re thinking. Ke$ha is not a popular choice of mine, but this song is something special. I’m not too familiar with the original Ke$ha song, to be honest, but when I first decided to press play on this remix, I was blown away. Everyone goes in on it. I mean, in.
Wiz Khalifa, who is notorious for his lazy lyricism, is also known to have really impressive feature verses from time to time (“I’m On” by Trae the Truth, and “High” by Big Sean are two prime examples). The latter shines here, with Wiz having arguably the strongest verse out of all 4 MCs (hard to argue with Andre’s though).
The best part about it is how it all came together. Ke$ha handpicked her favorite rappers for the remix edition. As she told Rap-Up.com,
“Get ready to get even $leazier with this sick collaboration I did with 4 of my favorite MCs of all time: Weezy, Andre 3000, Wiz Khalifa, and T.I.,”
This definitely earns some cool points for Ke$ha in my book. Good work.
-Ronzo
Ronzo's Word 