Kid Cudi-Savior of Cleveland Hip-Hop?

Lion

Cleveland has always been on the wrong end of poverty and burning river jokes, but we do produce some talent every now and then.  We may be desperate to establish our credibility among the other cities of the United States, but maybe one day we'll have to stop hanging on to facts like "A Christmas Story is based in Cleveland!!" and "Halle Berry was born here!!!"

Music-wise, Cleveland is known for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which in all honesty is really a joke considering they will probably vote Nickelback and Puddle of Mudd as members in 2050.  Indie music, my personal favorite, has never really caught on, although we did birth the super-gay-but-straight Kevin Barnes, the lead singer of the glamour loving band of Montreal.

We've had some more success with hip-hop artists, however.  Everyone knows about Bone Thugs, probably some of the only famous people to come out of Cleveland that actually talked about how much they love the city.  Now, some may argue, Cleveland hip-hop is back on the map with the likes of Ray Cash, Chip tha Ripper, and Al Fatz.  Al Fatz, Al Shmatz.  All three of these guys will most likely fall into obscurity along with hundreds of other wanna-be Tupac's and Biggie's.

But a glimmer of hope is on the Cleveland hip hop horizon (alliteration!), with emerging star Kid Cudi (of Shaker Heights) starting to catch fire across the country.  Already Kanye West's protege, Kid Cudi brings a certain swagger about him that is different from other hip hop artists.  Along with Kanye and other midwest rappers, a certain Midwest sound is starting to develop, one that seems much different than that of the East and West coasts.  I guess you can say, right now, Midwest rappers are just enjoying being "different."

Check out Kid Cudi's new video "Day n' Nite" from his forthcoming "Man on the Moon: The Guardians" album:



Oh, and keep in mind: I have really limited knowledge when it comes to rap.  But this dude's fucking tight.

Ring Master David Stern

Gorilla: You've heard about the NBA's corrupt officials.  You've probably seen horrible calls made that appear to favor one team.  I believe this corruption goes all the way to the top with NBA commissioner David Stern.  Last year his dream came true of having the Lakers play the Celtics in the finals.  Both seemed to have been great teams.  And this year both the Lakers and the Celtics sit atop their respective conferences.  Perhaps this is because they are the best teams in the NBA.  However, I feel that this is a product of David Stern molding the NBA into the ultimate money-making extravaganza.  One piece of evidence of the NBA's corruption took place last night in the Dunk Contest. 
There is no doubt in my mind that before the event started the final matchup was already determined.  There is no way that Nate Robinson should have even advanced to the final round.  Sure he is short and he can jump really high, but isn't it more impressive to see a white guy (Rudy Fernandez) dunking.  Fernandez's dunks in the first round were some of the best in the whole competition yet he recieved the lowest scores.  Two of Nate Robinson's dunks were aided by using another person to propell himself upward.  He jumped off of someone's back which is something that people do when they are not tall enough to dunk.  The whole competition was planned out with the whole Superman theme.
This may not seem like much, but I feel that the whole league is being planned out.  The greatest story that could be created at this time is for the Lakers and Celtics to renew their rivalry of old.  I am a Cavs fan and this year we have a fierce team.  However, it is hard to stay optimistic with the shenanigans of the NBA.  I do feel though that LeBron James will win a few championships.....

...with the New York Knicks.  Which is what David Stern would love to see.

BOO

Wolf:

I am no longer going to watch Scrubs.  Once my favorite TV show, ABC's reincarnation of Scrubs has managed to remove everything that I once enjoyed about it.  Where there once was genuine, layered emotionality, ABC forces blunt, childish morals down our throats.  

JD and Elliot getting back together was the one thing about this season that drew my excitement, but if their relationship is gonna be developed in such a shallow way, I would rather it never happened.  The episodes in which JD and Elliot first (and again) date are some of the best in the whole series in the way that they depict the relationship grow and fall apart.  This season?  There's more depth in the West Virginia gene pool... Episode 1 tonight: Elliot misses her man intensely, and states it multiple times in case you missed the part where they're in love this time around. Episode 2: JD and Elliot don't kiss, hug, speak, or see each other.

A show without its main characters is like *______________ without _____________.  If you haven't noticed by now, at least one main character has been missing from each episode this season.  Scrubs crossed the line tonight by airing an episode without the appearance of Zach Braff.  While his voice did appear over Elliot's speaker phone, I can also catch his voice being hilllarious in Cottonelle commercials.

Howie (dude from Little Giants) is the man, however. And should be given his own show.

*Create your own metaphor!