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This was the best dunk contest I’ve seen in my lifetime. It was even better just because everyone has seemingly done every dunk imaginable. Except some of these. Gordon got robbed fasho....

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Review of TLOP: How does it stack up to Ye’s other albums?

TLOP has been a long time coming, and there has not been any shortage of drama that has come with this release. With a delayed release, beef with TSwift over certain lyrics, and everything in between, all of these events have contributed to one of the most hyped albums in the last few years. And it lives up to the hype, but definitely has a different feel from his previous albums. 

The album seems to be a masterpiece, yet it is messy, unorganized, and has a sense of rawness. The album starts off with “Ultra Light Beam”, which is a gospel-inspired track reminiscent of some of Ye’s old material. The tempo immediately switches with “Father Stretch My Hands” (both Pt. 1 and 2) which has a MBDTF-type feel to it and captures the late 2000s-early 2010s Kanye. From there, there are some tracks that contain Ye straight spitting bars (Famous, Freestyle 4, No More Parties in LA, Facts) and there is some more emotional stuff as well (30 Hours, Wolves) that is 808s-ish. However, the album is not really organized in any particular way...The tempo and genre of Ye we see from track to track switches. Knowing Kanye and how thorough he is, he did all of this on purpose; this album is different from all of is previous ones because it does not conform to one identity, and you see all types of Kanye on TLOP. 

Overall, the album was a pleasant surprise, and it was difficult to track what direction it would go in, with releases like “Only One”, “All Day”, “Facts”, and more. Point being, the last few years have been all over the place for Mr. West, and with 2 kids, a budding fashion line, and more aspirations, this album is the perfect reflection of Kanye’s current life. I guess this is technically the only similarity between all of his albums; his work is always a reflection of where he is at emotionally. Overall, I would say it is his 3rd best album ever, behind MBDTF and Graduation (too many bangers doe), and it is a well-rounded album that will go down as a classic. 

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Go to 2:44. #ChanceistheGOAT

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Where do the yung Lakers go from here? 

It’s been quite the rough patch for Lakers fans; a franchise so accustomed to winning, being a top 4 seed, and at least making it to the 2nd round or Conference Finals finds itself lost with no clear direction....However, Kobe’s farewell tour masks this hard-hitting reality pretty damn well. When Kobe’s gone, and assuming Mitch and Jim Buss will NOT get a marquee free agent (someone tell Steven A Smith to stop saying Westbrook and Durant are coming to LA), then what are we left with? 

You have Clarkson and Randle from the 2014 class. Clarkson shows flashes of brilliance, and has some Westbrook-esque explosiveness, but does he really have the basketball IQ and killer mentality to go from a 15 and 6 guy to becoming one of the great young players in today’s guard driven league? Only time will tell, though it’s obvious that the dude has had his moments. Next year will be interesting in terms of seeing how he will do when given the ability to shoot 10-15 shots on a consistent basis. Randle literally only has a left, and plays quite erratic at times, but overall the guy can ball and do a bit of everything. Defensively, it has become a huge issue that he is undersized. He pretty much needs to hit the gym and get as jacked as Ben Wallace lol. However, I can see him going down two paths; either becoming a Lamar Odom-type role player that can be a huge bench piece, or become a solid starter in the NBA. I am not too sure about him being a star in this league, but I would say the ceiling would be Zach Randolph like everyone says. 

Lastly, you have D’Angelo Russell, the most intriguing player on this Lakers team. The jury is still out on him, and I would be lying if I told you I was always 100% confident that the Lakers made the right pick by choosing him over PORZINGOD or even Stanley Johnson and Justise Winslow....But lately, he has been playing a LOT better. He has great IQ, is starting to get a better feel for the timing and pace of the NBA, and his 3 point shot is coming along nicely. At the beginning of the season, people were comparing the dude to freakin’ Kendall Marshall...Kendall Marshall is slower than Shaq on crutches for God’s sake. DLoading is much more talented and is not just a 6′4 dude that can kinda pass. He isn’t Steph either, but he has the work ethic and talent to be a good player in this league. Is he a franchise player? I don’t think he ever will be. But he can definitely be a 18-20 PPG and 7-9 Assist type of player. He just needs to be able to develop and be comfortable in LA, and this starts with having continuity within the organization. Which brings me to Byron....

I think Byron has done a good job with this core, especially Russell. I know this is on the contrary to everyone’s opinion, but he is tough on all the players and it’s important not to give in to what today’s young entitled players think they want. They need an old-school guy to get on them and I think Bryon does a great job of that. His in-game strategies though....That’s a topic for another day (HE SUCKS). But the Lakers need continuity badly. You go from Mike Brown, to flirting with Phil but then going with Mike D’Antoni (smh) to Byron. Coaches need more than just 2 years to work with a depleted, crappy roster, so hopefully the Lakers consider keeping him in some capacity. 

I can sit here and talk about all the potential moves the Lakers can do, but why waste everyone’s time when we should be focusing on what the Lakers actually have NOW and develop them asap. Developing the players-->brighter future/young assets-->free agents-->Contenders. We’ll be back soon.....ish but not really. Regardless, GO LAKERS. 

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Crazy to think about what this dude could have done if not for back and knee injuries.....#TMACTUESDAYS

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CAN YEEZY JUMP OVER THE JUMPMAN?

Kanye this, Kanye that. It seems as though all people talk about is Kanye, and the hate for this man is ridiculous. The man is confident in himself, and deservingly so; he is one of the best producers and artists of all time. Bottom line, if people hate on you you’re doing something right. 

Same goes for the man’s fashion sense. Ye’s wardrobe goes everywhere from highly praised to highly criticized, as everyone has their own strong opinion about the fashion icon. However, one thing people cannot deny about Kanye is his influence; dude can literally dress in a trashbag and Crocs and every hypebeast would be flocking to their nearest grocery/Croc store to look just like Yeezus himself. His impact on the sneaker game has been widely recognized too; single-handedly popularizing the Nike Flyknit, WTAPS Vans, any Jordan, and other kicks, no one can deny his power in the industry. So when he switched to Adidas, naturally people wondered if he could continue the trend since he was one of the biggest faces of Nike. 

As expected, brand doesn’t matter when it comes to Kanye; anything he touches turns to gold. So when he signed with Adidas, seemingly every Adidas model slowly started to make a comeback; from Stan Smiths, to Superstars, to recent models such as Tubulars, all lifestyle models saw an immediate hike in popularity as a result of the signing of Ye. Last but not least, the Yeezy 750 and 350...........

What looks like a modified Roshe Run has the entire sneaker community talking. Aesthetic and design-wise, the shoe is not special in any regard. It’s pretty much a combination of Y-3s and Roshes with no Swoosh. What makes them so special? Kanye does. What made the Ultra Boost go from an overpriced, not-hyped knock off of the Nike Flyknit to “the best running shoe ever made”? Kanye (though in its defense, they’re the most comfortable runners I’ve ever worn by far lol). It’s been around a year since Kanye signed with Adidas, and the landscape of the entire sneaker game has changed so much. Adidas is back in play, Nike is very much so as well, and Jordan Brand has been releasing all GRs, and which has led to the slow and eventual death of Jordans. The question is, will Yeezy really jump over the Jumpman? It’s too early to tell. However, as long as Adidas keeps pumping out new, innovative ideas and has Kanye rocking their stuff, the brand will stay relevant and continue to inch closer to Nike and Under Armor in terms of the sneaker industry’s pecking order. Stay Tuned. 

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DJ KHALED (WE THE BEST)

A couple months ago, a close friend sent me a link to an event on Facebook message. Little did I know, this would change my outlook on life for the foreseeable future. The link was to a $5 DJ Khaled concert. If you are not aware, DJ Khaled is an established DJ who has recently become an internet phenomenon; known for his snapchats, and for his “keys to success”, he has become an inspirational figure for all of those who are currently up to date in the social media world.

Shocked at seeing how cheap the tickets were, I immediately purchased four, as I was extremely excited for what would be quite possibly one of the most memorable concert experiences ever.

The venue was in Santa Ana, and the show started off with a rapper who I did not know of. He performed for a good hour and a half, and the crowd was somewhat into it. When he got off stage, the anticipation began to build; in the meantime, the DJ played all of the most popular hip-hop songs, as this helped tie the crowd over. Since they said he was scheduled for 8PM and it was 10:30PM at this point, it was understandable that the crowd was becoming a bit antsy. Then....

The legend, the GOAT, DJ Khaled came out at around 11PM, and the crowd went nuts. He started off by performing a couple of bangers, including all of his hit songs. However, his transitions between songs were awful. How is such a renowned DJ, one of the most popular figures in the music industry, not even good at what he specializes in and does for a living? At first, I gave him the benefit of the doubt, hoping that he would stop playing songs for 10 seconds and then abruptly change the song as the crowd would get into it.....

However, it didn’t stop. 20-25 bangers and a couple inspirational speeches later, he signed off and left. I checked my phone, and it was 11:30PM. I waited 3 hours to watch DJ Khaled perform awful transitions for 30 minutes straight. It was quite possibly one of the most anticlimactic events I had ever seen.

The lesson from this experience? You get what you paid for. I paid $5 to hear 30 minutes of awful transitions and played out phrases. However, I would do it again, as the inspirational speeches will stick with me forever. Khaled did teach me how I am special, a genius, and that I will be successful if I listen to his keys to success, and knowing the keys is something that will forever hold value <3.