The past two weeks have been an
extended holiday for Nas fans, and the gifts just keep coming. “The Don,” now has visual accompaniment
courtesy of director Aristotle. It’s a veritable
NYC travelogue, opening with a nice wide shot of the Staten Island Ferry en
route to Manhattan. It’s the first image
in cool opening credits sequence that reminds me of the one from David Fincher’s
Panic Room. Cormega should be delighted to see Nas in yet
another pink suit like the one from the “Street Dreams” video. I guess Nas won’t let snaps or insults
dictate his fashion choices. The theme
seems to tie in with album title. Life is indeed good. A seemingly more mature Nas is shown balling
out in a relatively refined manner. After
enjoying a fine meal, Nas gets chauffeured around NYC while sporting a bow tie. For some reason, the bassline feels even more
imposing when playing underneath these visuals.
That’s interesting seeing as how nothing in the first half of the video
looks or feels particularly threatening.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Music Video: Nas –‘The Don’
Labels:
Cocaine Rap,
Hip-Hop,
Life is Good,
Mafioso Rap,
Music Video Review,
Nas,
New York,
Rap,
The Don
A Life-Size Valkyrie Rides For the 30th Anniversary of ‘Macross’
Two cartoons in the 1980’s introduced me to the wonderful
world of anime. One was Voltron, the
other was Robotech. Robotech
was actually made up of three different mecha anime series edited together into
one giant story arc for American syndication.
The most notable of the three series was The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, which celebrates its 30th
anniversary this year.
Labels:
Anime,
Anniversary,
Mecha,
Mockup,
Replica,
Robotech,
Robots,
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
Three and Back Again: "We Had to Tear This Mothaf**ka Up"
‘There and Back Again’
is a series of articles in which I reflect on my upbringing in Lithonia,
Georgia and my eventual return to New York in the mid-1990’s. Much of it relates to Hip-Hop, and how I
truly discovered a culture that would eventually define my outlook on
life. This was my world from childhood
to adolescence. This series began as an
ongoing column on Planet
Ill. It now makes it official debut
on ‘Scottscope’ with this piece, written in memory of the 1992 Los Angeles
Uprising.
Labels:
Black Interest,
Gangs,
Gangsta Rap,
Hip-Hop,
LA Riots,
LAPD,
Lithonia,
Los Angeles,
politics,
Society,
There and Back Again
‘Prometheus’ Featurette Offers New Footage
Despite all of the trailers, viral videos, and various other
marketing materials, the mystery of Prometheus
somehow remains intact. As much as I’ve
seen, I don’t feel like I have a real idea of what the movie is about. Punches are clearly being pulled, but the jabs
still have me stumbling around the ring.
The latest blow from the 20th Century Fox marketing flurry
comes in the form of a featurette released just yesterday. The clip is little more than ninety seconds
long, consisting mostly of testimonials by the cast and Ridley Scott himself. It also bears quite a bit of new footage. Like just about everything that has been
revealed of this film, it raises just as many questions as answers.
Labels:
Alien,
Behind the scenes,
Featurette,
Horror,
Idris Elba,
New Footage,
Preview,
Prometheus,
Ridley Scott,
Science Fiction
Arnold, Bruce, and Sly Let the Lead Fly in New Image from ‘The Expendables 2’
Some pictures don’t need
captions. If you were born in the late 1970’s
and had HBO during the late 1980’s, this image will make your heart sing. These actors ushered in an era where might
made right. The screen was littered with
bursting squibs and muzzle flashes. The
soundtrack roared with automatic gunfire, shattering glass, colliding cars, and
explosions. Every now and then, all of
those visual and sonic elements actually accompanied a good movie. All of the stars in the above picture were at
the center of a quality production or two during their prime. Now all are well past their heyday, but they
refuse to leave without a fight. They are
shown here standing side by side and laying down the law in a new image from The Expendables 2.
L.A. Confidential: An Interview with Retired LAPD Detective Greg Kading, Author of ‘Murder Rap’ Part 2
In part two of Scottscope's interview with retired LAPD detective Greg Kading (Click here to read part 1 if you haven't already), Mr. Kading talks about being taken off the Biggie and Tupac murder investigations before his team was able to make a single arrest. He also delves a bit deeper into the criminal ties of Marion "Suge" Knight and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.
Labels:
Crime/Gangster,
Diddy,
Gangs,
Gangsta Rap,
Greg Kading,
Hip-Hop,
Interview,
Los Angeles,
Murder Rap,
Notorious B.I.G,
Rap,
Suge Knight,
True Crime,
Tupac
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