QUIZ: How Hyped Should You Be For 'Watch the Throne'?

Little by little, news about Jay-Z and Kanye West's upcoming collaborative effort, Watch the Throne, is being released. Over 4th of July weekend the album artwork came out on the same day that pre-orders became available. Then Hova graced us with actual information in the form of an official track listing. This week the first single, Otis, dropped and predictably the internet exploded. There's no official release day (although pre-sale info indicates August 2), which means it could drop at. any. time. Which begs the question, how hyped should you be for this super-secret, collision of rap-icon goodness? Luckily for you, HHCB has assembled this brief quiz to assist you.

1. How many Jay-Z albums do you own?

a) Just one, Best of Both Worlds. (-10)

b) Just one, Reasonable Doubt. (0)

c) One to five (+10)

d) All of them, even Collision Course. (+20)

2. Which is Kanye's best album?

a) The College Dropout (0)

b) 808's & Heartbreak (+3)

c) My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (+10)

d) It's yet to come! (+15)

3. How do you feel about ostentatious displays of wealth?

a) I find it disgusting in a world where so many people have so little. (-15)

b) I'm ambivalent. (0)

c) It's all part of the game! (+6)

d) I'm sorry, what was the question? I couldn't hear you through my diamond-crusted mink earmuffs. (+25)

4. Complete this sentence: The best thing about Kanye is...

a) ...his impeccable fashion sense. (+2)

b) ...you never know what he's going to say next. (+6)

c) ...when he shuts up and makes music. (+4)

d) ...he's a true entertainer. (+8)

5.Complete the analogy, Jay-Z:Kanye::

a) Bert:Ernie (0)

b) Colbert:Stewart (+2)

c) Ben:Jerry (+5)

d) Butch Cassidy:The Sundance Kid (+8)

6. How do you feel about collaboration?

a) Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the soup (-10)

b) Two heads are better than one (+10)

7. The best verse on "Monster" was...

a) Yeezy's! (+7)

b) Hova's! (+7)

c) Nicki's! (0)

d) The Teflon Don's! (-14)

8. If Jay-Z was an American president, he would be...

a) Jefferson (+5)

b) Buchanan (-10)

c) Hayes (-2)

d) JFK (+10)

9. Complete this sentence: Hip hop is...

a) ...dead. (-5)

b) ...evolving. (+1)

c) ...past its prime. (-3)

d) ...better than ever! (+15)

10. If Watch the Throne was a superhero movie it would be...

a) Batman Forever (-10)

b) X-Men: The Last Stand (-5)

c) The Incredibles (+5)

d) The Dark Knight Rises (+15)

Now add up your score to determine how hyped you should be for Watch the Throne...

Less than 0 (What is Watch the Throne?): I'm not sure how you got here, or why you decided to take this quiz.

0 - 49 (You are slightly hyped): You seem to have an appreciation for hip hop in general, but aren't too sure about it's current status.

50 - 79 (You are moderately hyped): You are genuinely excited for this album. You may have ordered it on pre-sale, but you have more or less continued to live your life normally.

More than 80 (You are extremely hyped): Congratulations. You have been playing Otis on repeat. Jay-Z and Kanye are your alpha and your omega. You may have one or more Jay-Z or Kanye related tattoos or you might be a member of Yeezy's entourage.

Entourage Season 8

Looks like the new season of Entourage will be full of surprises. Hopefully one of them will be the show not sucking. Zing!

#NowPlaying

Kanye Responds to Gay Fish

A week after an inexplicably disgusting (even for South Park) episode dedicated to queefing, Trey and Matt returned to form with a more sensible subject matter: Kanye West's ego. A lot of celebrities are quick to get bent out of shape when they're completely ridiculed by SP or SNL, but Weezy showed uncharacteristic humility on his blog:

I NEED TO JUST GET PAST MYSELF. DROP THE BRAVADO AND JUST MAKE DOPE PRODUCT. EVERYTHING IS NOT THAT SERIOUS. AS LONG AS PEOPLE THINK I ACT LIKE A BITCH THIS TYPE OF SHIT WILL HAPPEN TO ME. I GOT A LONG ROAD AHEAD OF ME TO MAKE PEOPLE BELIEVE I'M NOT ACTUALLY A HUGE DOUCHE BUT I'M UP FOR THE CHALLENGE.

In case you missed the episode in question:

Streetwear for President '08

If you had to guess, I don't think it would be hard to figure which candidate the street scene supports overwhelmingly. Shepard Fairey, the artist behind the notorious viral art of Obey famously lent his support with his Hope poster.

Recently, Obama love is being felt even more fervently, showing up more and more often on one of my favorite streetwear blog's High Snobiety. First, Kidrobot released images of their Kidrobama '08 T. Even cooler was Jim Lasser's Obama Force One which features Obama on both soles, along with the phrase "A Black Man Runs And A Nation Is Behing Him" on the left sole. Upper Playground released a limited edition Obama T along with Digital Gravel as well.


My favorite by far though has to be Mighty Healthy's political design that features the slogan, "Obama Bumaye!" taken from the famous Rumble in the Jungle between Ali and Foreman. I wonder: Does Obama has an October "rope a dope" strategy of his own?

Shwayze, Shwayze

If Jack Johnson cut a hip hop album it just might sound like Shwayze. The Malibu-based rapper's eponymous debut is filled with laid-back beach beats and party rhymes. The self-proclaimed "only black kid in Malibu" insists his trailer park upbringing (there are trailer parks in Malibu?) and gives him his hip hop bona fides. Given the content of his album, whether he's "hood" enough is probably moot.

Shwayze's producer is Cisco Adler, a guy probably better known for hooking up with Mischa Barton than his work as the frontman of Whitestarr. Adler provides the acoustic hooks for Shwayze's songs giving them their distinct beach party quality.

Shwayze's music occupies a somewhat awkward space in hip hop. It's easy to dismiss it given the MTV reality show, TRL appearance and celebrity jackass producer. But then again, he's not really being asked to be taken seriously. The Cali-style lack of self-importance helps soften the reality that Shwayze and Cisco were probably putting tracks together while Lindsey Lohan and Paris were blowing lines in the room next door.

It's hard to say if Shwayze's album is truly hip hop (probably not), but it's definitely more listenable than most of the other music sporting the same designation these days. Songs like Buzzin' and Corona and Lime may be more suited for the readers of Us Weekly than Vibe, but Shwayze still manages to demonstrate skill and creativity on more tracks than not. Like Jack Johnson, Shwayze's "talent" is debatable, but his enjoyability is not.

Mad Men: The Bandwagon Review

I don't want to toot my own horn, but I'm usually pretty good at picking worthwhile TV. My addiction to A Shot of Love and Flavor of Love notwithstanding, I got into shows like The Wire and Deadwood at the ground floor and it gave me a certain sense of pride. But with Mad Men I took my time. I heard plenty of good buzz about it, but it wasn't until I was inundated by ads at every bus stop and subway station and I got a casual recommendation from a girl I was sharing drinks with that I finally took the leap.

In retrospect, it's fitting that a woman and booze got me into the show. The show draws it's inspiration from a bygone era - 1960 to be exact - when men were men, and by men I mean racist and chauvinist all the while passing off as suave. There's a strange appeal to the show that seems to combine nostalgia with voyeurism. When you're watching you find yourself asking, "Could it really be like this?" Laughing at the same jokes that make you thankful for things like the Civil Rights Act.

The men of the show pass the time drinking, smoking, making off-color comments and occasionally thinking of slogans for products good, evil and benign (Lucky Strikes, Nixon, the Relaxeciser). At first they seemed like caricatures, but over time their facades give way to reveal complexity. The women are repressed, but wield power (often sexual) over their husbands and bosses in strange ways. Sooner or later it becomes clear the men are just as repressed, just by different rules.

A scene from last Sunday's episode explains the setting of Mad Men better than anything:
A young man who is coming on to Betsy Draper looks at her and says, "You are so profoundly sad." She responds by saying, "No, it's just my people are Nordic."

The dialogue is brilliant. The series is often surreal and hilarious, but filled with a cast of characters harboring unfulfilled desires. I may be jumping on the series after everyone else has already decided how great it is, but hopefully it will be around for a while longer. That way I can still look smart for watching it now.

Mad Men airs Sundays at @ 10 pm on AMC

Rodrigo y Gabriela

Made it out of the city to Jersey for the All Points West music festival. One of the pleasant surprises for me was Mexico City guitar duo, Rodrigo y Gabriela. I'd heard of the two before, but seeing them live gave me new found appreciation for their music. Even though the rain was really coming down they managed to keep everyone up with a very energetic set. Unfortunately they were followed by Cat Power who made everyone want to slit their wrists. Well, the mood was fun while it lasted.

Dr. Dog, Fate

When people hear the name Dr. Dog they expect a hip hop artist. Considering this blog's name and the group's West Philly origins it's not an unreasonable assumption. But defying expectations is precisely how indie rockers Dr. Dog have created a name for themselves.

When you listen to Dr. Dog - their latest album, Fate, released yesterday is no exception - you can't help feeling surprised. This is indie rock? Then why does it sound so pop?

Dr. Dog have been compared to The Beach Boys and The Beatles in their early years. And with their uniquely exuberant style, replete with three part harmonies mixed with heavy guitar, it’s a valid comparison. But be careful before you try to pin them down so quickly.

Fate offers more of the upbeat, but eccentric sound that garnered Dr. Dog a lot of buzz (including a spot on Conan O'Brien that had to be cancelled) when they released We All Belong. But the album obviously incorporates more than just pop influences. Throughout the album there's hints of vaudeville (see "Old Days"), and a distinct modern blues influence on tracks such as "Army of Ancients" and "The Beach". If Jimmy Page, Conor Oberst and David Bowie had a musical menagé å trois, this album might very well be the love child.

On the band's web site they claim an interest in "three-part harmonies, the out-of-doors, hoagies, vegetables and diminished chords" while the influences listed on their Myspace page are R. Stevie Moore, Benjamin Franklin, Andy Kaufman. It's clear the band wants to avoid being labeled as anything other than original. And Fate is nothing if not original.

It's more than that though. It’s also a brilliant blend of sounds and a powerful follow-up to the success that was We All Belong.

Be KANYE

Aw, viral marketing. Who doesn't love it? Aqua Teen Hunger Force sparked a panic with their viral campaign and Forgetting Sarah Marshall used it to appeal to angst-filled potential moviegoers. Now, it looks like Absolut and Kanye West are trying to get in the mix with a viral campaign called BeKanye that's sprouting up on NYC subways.

One such ad caught my eye on the 6 train today, and I couldn't really decide what to think. At their heart viral marketing is sort of a little engine that could enterprise. With heavyweights like Absolut and Kanye West teaming up on a viral campaign it feels like it probably feeds Kanye's supersized ego more than anything. Not that Judd Apatow or Adult Swim are starving artists, but I dunno, they seem kinda scrappy.

But who knows? Check out the web site and decide for yourself: brilliant or boorish?

The Dark Knight: The 4am Review

There are a lot of reasons it’s hard to write a review of a movie you just got out of an hour ago. Not the least of which is that it’s tough coming up with original adjectives at 3:40 in the morning. But, luckily I’m not planning on coming up with any grand, innovate analysis of the movie. I can’t dispute much of the buzz already going on.

Heath Ledger turns in an intense and brilliant performance. Christopher Nolan has taken the comic book movie to new heights. Maggie Gyllenhaal is not suited for HD (or whatever type of cinematography they used). Overall, it was a thrilling experience.

What I realized about comic book movies while watching The Dark Knight, and maybe this is true of all incredibly hyped fantasy movies, don’t have to be perfect to be amazing. The dialogue can be filled with clichés. The plot can leave a lot of questions unanswered, or more often than not provide answers that are flimsy. But ultimately, none of this matters.

Movies like The Dark Knight are judged by a different, simpler set of criteria: 1) Does it stay true to the comic (if not the story than the spirit)? 2) Does it show imagination? The Dark Night definitely does both.

Ledger reincarnates The Joker as a rabid dog with a deranged sense of a higher purpose. While Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent/Two-Face is overshadowed, he’s nevertheless outstanding. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman each skillfully reprise their roles as the elder statesmen who seem to endlessly provide one-line wit and wisdom. Meanwhile, through special effects, new gadgets and great cinematography Nolan keeps the action going practically non-stop.

The Dark Knight meets the standards of a great comic book movie and then some. It may even be a great movie by any standards. But in the end, that’s not what matters. A movie like this only has be truly great the first time you watch it.

After what seems like years of hype and anticipation all The Dark Knight had to do was avoid disappointing. Luckily it did. It was truly entertaining. And that’s more than enough to make plenty of moviegoers, including myself, go back for more.

That's Stupid!

The Cool Kids, a Chicago based rap-duo have been slowly simmering, gathering hype and getting ready to blow up. They've been featured on NBA Live '08 and Entourage. By way of comparison they've attracted roughly 600,000 plays on last.fm while similar, but better-known artists Spank Rock and M.I.A. have 1 million and 8.8 million plays respectively. But with the group touring with Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def and other hip hop notables for the Rock the Bells Festival it's only a matter of time before these two are getting play in a Judd Apatow trailer of their own. If you need auditory proof these guys are the real deal check out their mixtape, "That's Stupid!" available for download off their myspace page.


Hat tip to highsnobiety.com