U-N-I feat. Fashawn – Pulp Fiction Part 1

The rapping really doesn’t matter, I just want this beat to be the score for my life.

“I need some food inside, my stomach mumblin’. I’ll take a Kahuna Burger with no onion.”

A Matter of Success

So recently I had the pleasure of screening, a few times, I guess what would be my directorial debut. I’d done school projects and music videos before but this was my first real written and directed short film. And people really seem to like it. The first screening was friends and family, and they liked it. Then I screened it for the film classes at my old high school, and they liked it. And then I screened it at an industry networking function, and they really liked it. But more importantly for me, people seemed to get it.

And I’m convinced that there is no greater high, than having people enjoy and UNDERSTAND your work. None. I had never been so happy.

And I also immediately understood why people sell out.

Now I dislike artists who don’t take risks. The nice term for them is crowd pleasers, but often times panderers is just as accurate. If you’re good, you’re good and no one can take that away from you, but you can’t be great until you break out of the mold a little. Shake things up. Now my piece is not particularly innovative or different. It’s actually pretty standard filmmaker fare, but there are little small risks taken. But what immediately occurred to me while I was in that high of people really liking your work, was how do I get this feeling back. And the easy answer is not making something else good. It’s making something else that people will like.

And as much as I hate art that tries simply to please people, and could only previously conceptualize why people would do it, the microscopic degree of success I achieved already had me ready to sell out. It really is a tiny success, there isn’t even money involved. I mean I honestly, deep down, thought I was better than that. I thought I had the integrity and mental fortitude to brush off any notion of pandering, but I immediately became aware that that was not the case. I mean really, I’m fucked. Because the fact that I feel the need to write about this when the success is SOOOOO small means that when it really is a big success with money on the table, I’m just gonna bend over and whore myself out.

It’s not good, and I don’t really know what to do about it.

Corinne Bailey Rae – I’d Do it All Again

Heartbreaking. And then victorious (I’m pretty sure it’s about the death of her husband).

“Hard to believe that my heart, my heart’s an open door. You got all you came for, baby.”

This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen…

seriously…?

Childish Gambino – Assassins ft. DC and Packard

The rapping is bad, the sample is too easy, but it’s all so much fun.

“I’ll crush up your skull like a truck that you crashed in. I’m never gonna die like I’m Tuck Everlasting.”

N.A.S.A. – Way Down (feat. Barbie Hatch, RZA and John Frusciante)

The album was disappointing, but this is the on track that knocks.

“Now I’m trapped in limbo with your golden fist symbol, you see the soul? Use my eyes for a window.”

Ultimate Sketch Show

So I’m a big fan of sketch comedy. But in my humble opinion there hasn’t been a great sketch show on the air in years. Of coure, SNL is always on but I’ve never found it to be that great. A really good sketch will pop up every once in awhile but it’s terribly inconsistent. But it got me thinking, if I could create the perfect SNL format show (but not live), that would be consistently funny, who would be in it?

So I tried to figure it out. It was hard. It took me a very long time.

For the cast, I tried to stay away from movie stars. Will Ferrell, Chris Rock,  and Jim Carrey would be obvious choices, but I feel like that’s too easy. And filling a show with movie stars just feels like it’s missing the point. I want it to have a ensemble feel, so I tried to stick to television stand outs. Also, any comedians were fair game, but they had to have some documented sketch or improv experience. I also put a big emphasis on diversity. I hate how so much of comedy seems to be segregated, so I kind of went out of my way to represent a range of cultures.

So with no further ado, here’s my Ultimate Sketch Show Cast.

Dave Chappelle

So the last great sketch comedy show on television was Chappelle’s Show. No question. And Dave’s enigmatic departure from the show made him more of a star than the show did, it seems to me. He sure as hell wasn’t gonna be on Oprah before that. I mention this because Dave may seem like to big of a star to be on an ensemble show, but I don’t really think so. Plus, he’s been out the game for a minute now.

But really, none of that matters. Because we’re talking about the funniest motherfucker on the planet. Chappelle’s Show is a testament to that. And the fact that the majority of that show was improvised is incredible. But what is really great about Chappelle is how on point his comedy is. He is able to make really biting social commentary, without sacrificing the funniness. And that’s what really makes him my favorite comedian. But you don’t need to be insightful to be funny. And he has no problem, just being funny. In fact he almost revels in juvenile humor.  For example:

Sarah Silverman

Sarah Silverman is pretty well known for her stand up and her won Coemdy Central show The Sarah Silverman Program, but she actually was on SNL for one season, and the HBO sketch show Mr. Show, so she’s got some sketch experience. On our show she’s the the hot chick, or more accurately the cute one. Sarah’s whole appeal is based upon her foul-mouthed antics being delivered in a cutesy naive fashion. And it works. In this way she’s also a perfect compliment to Dave Chappelle, in that they both enjoy attacking social mores with overly juvenile humor.  She would have fit right in on Chappelle’s show.

Wale ft. Duffy – Warwick Avenue (Remix)

These British chicks got soul, and Wale got international rhymes.

“She said I love you, that’s why I do this eye to eye. Kissed me on the cheek then she whispered, ‘This the last time’.”

I Hate Lucy

So Scrubs just returned, and I’m pissed.

I mean, I’m happy one of my favorite shows is back on the air, but let’s be real: it shouldn’t be. Last year ended with a big finale called “My Finale”, where they even did the whole montage clip show thing. It was a good ending, but it didn’t end. The show returned to ABC with more than half the cast gone, and a bunch of new cute medical interns.

And honestly, it’s not bad. The episodes that have aired so far have still had J.D., Turk and Dr. Cox so it’s hard to go wrong with that (but I SERIOUSLY miss me some Carla), and most of the new cast members, who are playing the students to the elder Scrubs teachers, are pretty good. (Cole is a favorite of mine) But there’s one big problem.

Lucy.

The new cast member that’s been positioned to replace J.D. when Braff finally does leave the show is a cute, young blonde whose been splitting voice over time with Braff. And she sucks. She’s not charming. She’s not interesting. And worst of all, she’s not funny. And she’s the new voice of the show.

Jay Electronica – Exhibit C (Radio Rip… sorry)

Although Jay Elect rips this, it really just makes me wish that other Jay would do a full album with Jus Blaze.

“That FOI, Marcus Garvey, Nicky Tesla. I’ll shock you like an eel electric, feel Jay Electra.”