Hoops, Rap, and Everything Black 4 | Service Your Inner Child
Welcome back to Hoops, Rap, and Everything Black, a Sunday newsletter about the goings on in the basketball, hip-hop, and Black arenas. I’m the author, Curtis “Trey” Rowser.
First things first, I want to say happy heavenly birthday to my pops, who would be turning 58 on Tuesday, November 26. Love you, Dad!
Now, let’s get to it…
HOOPS, RAP, AND EVERYTHING BLACK.
HOOPS, RAP, AND EVERYTHING BLACK.
History with SLAM Magazine
Earlier this week, SLAM published my feature on this year’s Arizona’s Wildcats, led by reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year Caleb Love and former five-star recruit Jaden Bradley. It was SLAM’s first-ever SLAM U digital cover. Childhood me is in awe of making a little history with our favorite publication of all time. Read the feature here.
Record Store Day, Black Friday
RSD Black Friday is this week, so be sure to check your local independent record shops for any potential discounts, deals, exclusives, etc. Here are some of the upcoming RSD-exclusive releases that pique my interest:
Immobilarity (25th Edition) — Raekwon
Raekwon’s slept-on sophomore follow up to his classic debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.
Feet Of Clay (5th Anniversary Edition) — Earl Sweatshirt
El Toro Combo Meal (feat. MAVI) is a joint!
Shmurda She Wrote — Bobby Shmurda
I think Bobby Shmurda’s impact on the landscape of New York hip-hop is very much understated. It’s wild to think it’s been 10 years since he first took the game by storm with Hot Nigga. Nonetheless, his debut EP will be available on vinyl for the first time. This is a fun one.
Hell Hath No Fury turns 18 this week (11.28.06)
What I’m listening to…
What else?! GNX, obviously. This joint just feels so good; it’s everything I could ask for in an album. I think we’ve had enough Kendrick Lamar think pieces for the year, so I’ll just leave this here.
I’ve never understood the hysteria behind artists putting their mixtapes on DSPs. It’s not like the music wasn’t already available or accessible. What happened to downloading music and putting it on a hard drive or directly into your music library? We losing the recipes! But anyway, hypocritical me—it is nice to be able to add Can’t Cry, Split You Up, I Get Up, and Hold It Down to my Spotify playlists.
And if you need a nice lil’ change of pace, here’s an immaculate playlist my sister Brooklynn made.
I haven’t been able to listen to Cole’s audio series yet, but I’ll get to it on the drive back home this week.
A few Feast Week predictions
Memphis vs. (2) UConn, Nov. 25, 2:30 p.m. [Men’s]
Prediction: UConn
(4) Auburn vs. (5) Iowa State, Nov. 25, 9 p.m. [Men’s]
Prediction: Auburn
(7) Houston vs. (8) Alabama, Nov. 26, 8 p.m. [Men’s]
Prediction: Houston
(1) Kansas vs. (12) Duke, Nov. 26, 9 p.m. [Men’s]
Prediction: Duke
(24) Rutgers vs. (8) Alabama, Nov. 27, 10 p.m.
Prediction: Alabama
(1) South Carolina vs. (8) Iowa State, Nov. 28, 1:30 p.m. [Women’s]
Prediction: South Carolina
(6) Notre Dame vs. (19) TCU, Nov. 29, 5 p.m. [Women’s]
Prediction: TCU
A classic, reimagined…
My homie Chris put it best, sometimes you just gotta service your inner child. And copping a pair of retro Jordan’s still gets the job done. I was able to get my hands on the BC3s that dropped this weekend. I’m pretty sure I still prefer the 2018 pair, but Jordan Brand did a good job with these, in my opinion.
That’s all I got for today. I pray you have a great week and fulfilling Thanksgiving holiday. Thanks for sticking with me as we continue to build this thing out.
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