Recommended Album
of the Week: Diggin'
in the Crates, D.I.T.C.
Reason:
Features lyrics from Big L and Big Pun.
Recommended
Song of the Week: "Hip-Hop"
by dead prez
Reason:
Both the single and the video are on fire.
Shaq laced me
with a DJ Cipha Sound mix CD, featuring a remix of Mary
J. Blige's "Deep Inside" with Mobb Deep. Bangin'. Look for
it.
The streets called louder than a bomb during the last few
days of Black History Month, and I could not resist responding
to the cry. Hip-hop events and key Trail Blazer games collided
like protons and neutrons, exploding into exciting moments
now firmly planted in my
memory.
After watching on TV as Toronto's Vince Carter hit Phoenix
up for 51, I moseyed on down to the Rose Garden to see Portland
dismantle Utah. The intense rivalry between the two teams
means a battle is always in store--all the more pleasurable
when the Trail Blazer forwards frustrate Karl Malone and
force the old folks' squad to take the L.
After the Blazers whipped the dirtiest team in the NBA,
I faced a difficult decision: two hip-hop shows on the same
night--a rarity in Portland. Though the hedonistic celebration
hosted by 2 Live Crew at Berbati's was definitely tempting,
I opted to see Ghostface Killa and Cappadonna at the Roseland.
Allah Mathematics set the mood when he spun the classic
Delfonics joint "You Made a Promise to Me," establishing
a calm before Ghost and Cappa rushed the stage. The two
tore up the Roseland with laser renditions of back-catalog
classics and occasionally paused the beats to drop jewels
of a cappella wisdom for the heads. Ghost explained the
tracks of his excellent album Supreme Clientele,
which debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard charts, as a conclusion
to the amped performance. He rhymed, talked and, sometimes,
fell completely silent.
Once the herd cleared, I slid over to Berbati's. 2 Live
Crew had just finished, but I could tell it had been goin'
on, because it was thick, hot and funky in the club.
Throughout all of this, anticipation of the Blazers vs.
Lakers game raised a ruckus in the back of my mind, a reminder
that Shaquille O'Neal was coming to town. Unlike during
previous visits, when he and I kicked it in his hotel room,
Shaq wanted to get out. So he squeezed into a Toyota Four
Runner for a ride through Portland. Since he's the most
dominant player in the NBA, you almost forget that he's
the originator of the hoop/rap-star phenomenon. From our
spot-to-spot journeys to lunch the next day, we held mad
hip-hop debates. Shaq would play songs, ask my opinion and
argue when I didn't agree with him, which was rare.
When the league's top two teams finally clashed, many highlights
unfolded on the Rose Garden floor: 'Sheed's ill one-handed
slam off an alley-oop, Kobe Bryant's launch for the thunderous
tomahawk over Sabonis, Pippin's nifty steals and Shaq hitting
9 of 13 from the line. The playoff energy of the TNT cameras,
sellout crowd and pre-tipoff fireworks display vibrated
through the arena, often erupting into ear-throbbing yelling
that quieted when the Lakers won the game.
Afterwards, 'Sheed and I fled the harassment of security
guards to kick it. Since I was cheering for the Lakers,
Mr. Wallace decided he was going to take out his frustrations
on me, issuing a challenge to a best-of series on Sega Dreamcast's
NBA 2K.
"I'm gonna whip your ass," he boasted.
I'm not going to say whether he did or not.
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Willamette Week | originally
published March 8,
2000
|
