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RIP to Rap Icon MF DOOM

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A featured artist in our #RushHourRap series, a truly original rapper, and a personal favorite of mine, it came out over the weekend that indie rap icon MF DOOM passed away at the age of 49. Yet another truly stunning loss for the music industry as a whole. Known for his lyrical prowess, and unapologetically verbose style, Daniel Dumile (pronounced Doom-ee-lay) AKA MF DOOM has been rapping under various names since the 80s. Dumile was a member of the rap group KMD, going by the name of Zev Love X, but the group broke up in 1993 after the death of his brother. After a few years away from music, Dumile came back onto the scene performing while wearing a Doctor Doom mask and adopted the moniker “MF Doom.” Doctor Doom is even on the cover of his 1999 debut solo album Operation: Doomsday.

Most of MF DOOM’s solo work came in the early-mid 2000s with probably his most well known album, Mm…Food, a clever anagram that included tracks all named after food such as “Rapp Snitch Knishes” to complete the wordplay. His last solo album dropped back in 2009, but he’s done all kinds of collabs over the years like the Madvillainy album where he teamed up with Madlib for what many call his magnum opus.

DOOM collabs often sneak up on you with their completely unique beats and work their way into your brain like the 2018 collab with Czarface, Czarface Meets Metal Face.

Speaking of collabs, I’d be remiss to not include MF DOOM’s 2016 collab with Atmosphere on “When The Lights Go Out.”

You may have never heard DOOM on the radio, but that hasn’t really been a measuring stick of musical quality since *at least* when YouTube was launched, probably earlier if we’re being honest. He was clearly an artist that was held in high regard around the industry. Rap juggernaut Lupe Fiasco even released a freestyle the other day honoring MF DOOM.

Check out this interview clip below where DOOM talks about how in his rhymes he always wanted to keep people off guard like he was “keeping a good conversation with the listener.” You can actually watch the whole interview from the “MF DOOM: The Man Behind The Mask” documentary here.

So if you’ve gotten this far, you’re probably wondering, why the Doctor Doom mask?

“It don’t matter what the artist look like, it’s more what the artist sound like. The mask really represents to rebel against trying to sell the product as a human being. It’s more of a sound.”

In a sea of ringtone rap and corporate branding, MF DOOM was truly one of the most unique, genuine, gonna do things his own way type of artists we’ve ever seen. Rest in Peace.

Living off borrowed time, the clock tick faster

The 300s Top 10 Blogs of 2020

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2020 was a weird year to say the least. Remember when we literally had no sports to watch except for Korean baseball at 5 AM? Thankfully the sports leagues figured it out as some simply removed fans and resumed play as normal like the PGA Tour whereas others created full on bubbles like the NBA and NHL. We also had some tasty pop culture blogs sprinkled in throughout the quarantine so buckle up you’re in for a treat. Without further ado, I present The 300s Top 10 Blogs of 2020.

10.) Must Watch SNL Skit: Pete Davidson Raps a “Stan” Remix for Santa Clause

9.) Blog Favorite Comedian Daniel Sloss is Doing a Live “Day Drink With Dan” This Saturday and It’s Exactly What It Sounds Like

8.) Billy Beane is Reportedly Finally Coming to Work at Fenway…to Build John Henry’s Soccer Empire

7.) The XFL is Recruiting a Massive Free Agent: Guy Fieri

6.) A List of the Top Tom Brady Documentaries, Cameos, and Skits to Watch While Self Quarantining

5.) Dale Arnold Just Got Bagged Dressing Like a Mannequin On Live TV

4.) The Bruins Drunken Zoom Call With the 2011 Team is the Quarantine Content We All Needed

3.) Celtics Top Pick Aaron Nesmith and His Vanderbilt Track Star Girlfriend Immediately Become Most Athletic Couple in Boston

2.) Joe Kelly Picked His Top 5 Teammates for a Fight Club. Who Ya Got?

1.) Celtics Fail to Close Out the Raptors and the Refs as They Force a Game 7

Zdeno Chara is Leaving the Bruins, But He’ll Always Be a Boston Legend

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NBCSports Boston – In a stunner on Wednesday afternoon, Zdeno Chara signed a one-year, $795,000 deal with the Washington Capitals. “We are extremely pleased to have Zdeno join the Capitals organization,” said Capitals GM Brian MacLellan. “We feel his experience and leadership will strengthen our blueline and our team.”

Originally reported by Ken Campbell, Chara confirmed the move with a tribute video to Boston fans on his Instagram page.

“My family and I have been so fortunate to call the great city of Boston our home for over 14 years,” his caption reads. “Recently, the Boston Bruins have informed me that they plan to move forward with their many younger and talented players and I respect their decision. Unfortunately, my time as the proud captain of the Bruins has come to an end.”

Zdeno Chara is carved into the Mount Rushmore of Boston Athletes in the 21st Century right alongside Tom Brady, David Ortiz, and Paul Pierce. Chara will be forever beloved by Bruins fans because he chose to come here when he was at the top of his game and the B’s were coming off a last place finish. I still vividly remember sitting in my buddy’s living room that July day in 2006 when Chara (and Marc Savard) signed a massive 5-year contract to come to Boston, which was something the Bruins never did when I was younger. So it was monumental for a guy like Chara to even sign with the team, let alone become a franchise legend, a 14-year-captain, and of course bring the Bruins their first Stanley Cup in 30+ seasons. Not to mention anchoring the defense to two more Stanley Cup Finals appearances.

Chara was an elite defenseman, played the powerplay and the penalty kill, was a captain for over a decade, had the most terrifying slap shot in the league, and he was a physical force. Hell the Canadiens legitimately tried to have him arrested up in Canada for nearly decapitating Max Pacioretty back in 2011. He was also the most intimidating enforcer in the NHL well into his forties with 30 fights in his Bruins career alone.

Chara will be remembered for a lot of things, primarily this iconic photo with the Cup.

He’ll be remembered for his dominance on the ice as one of the best defensemen in the NHL (3x First Team All-Star, 4x Second Team) and then while in Boston becoming the best in the league when he won the Norris Trophy in 2009. Chara will always be the center of some hardcore Boston sports bar trivia too as the owner of the hardest shot in the entire league at 108.8 mph.

Aside from all of the personal accolades and team success though, it was the absolute grit and determination of Big Z that made him a fan favorite. He was always the hardest working guy wearing the spoked B and was routinely setting the bar during the Bruins annual conditioning tests even as he was the oldest player on the team.

The one sight I’ll never forget and one that will be played in his Hall of Fame reel is the ovation Zdeno Chara, with his jaw wired shut, received before Game 5 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, less than two days after breaking his jaw. Chara took a puck to the face in Game 4 and needed surgery to insert metal plates into his jaw and he didn’t even miss a game.

It seemed like the writing was on the wall for Chara this offseason unfortunately, as the Bruins appeared ready to move on after his playing time had started to dwindle. With a bunch of young defensemen the Bruins want to develop or at least evaluate at the NHL level, the team was likely less concerned about the money they’d have to pay Chara and more concerned with kickstarting a youth movement. The Bruins may have also wanted to avoid the optics of having their captain playing 3rd or 4th line minutes assuming Don Sweeney and Cam Neeley didn’t want to stick Chara out there as a Top-4 defenseman at this point in his career.

This is the worst part of getting older as a sports fan; watching your idols get older with you. They get older, sometimes they break down physically, sometimes they move on to other teams, and eventually they all retire. I’m over 30 so Chara has been a pillar of the Bruins for nearly half of my life, which is insane to type. He may not have won as many championships as Tom Brady or Big Papi, but he was just as monumental in changing the culture of an entire franchise and putting yet another Boston team on the map after years of mediocrity.

For that Big Z will always be remembered as a Bruins legend.

Jayson Tatum Has an A++ Nickname for Rookie Payton Pritchard

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Jayson Tatum has already blessed Payton Pritchard with the honor of an official nickname and we’re only four games into the season. Is 8 Mile the most original nickname for a white boy playing ball? No, not really. But Pritchard does have the dark high fade buzz cut so he actually looks pretty similar to B-Rabbit.

Finkle is Einhorn, Einhorn is Finkle!

Plus if the nickname sticks then it’s definitely a future t-shirt we’ll cook up in the lab. More than anything though it gives me an excuse to post the 8 Mile rap battles every time Pritchard has a big game. Again it’s only been 4 games, but it’s looking like Danny may have hit on something here with the rookie PG out of Oregon (8.3 PPG in 22 MPG) so you may be seeing a lot of 8 Mile rap battle videos this season. 3-1-3!

#RushHourRap – Wu Tang Clan – Biochemical Equation

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Confronted by the devil himself, and stay strong
You think you can take the King, now meet Kong
Strong as the base of a mountain, there’s no counting
How many MC’s, have sprung from our fountain

From the group that needs no introduction, this 2005 track “Biochemical Equation” comes off one of Wu Tang’s massive collaborative efforts, Wu Tang Meets The Indie Culture. This song in particular features verses from both RZA and indie legend MF Doom so there’s plenty of clever wordplay here. RZA really is a five tool player as a producer, rapper, and an actor with dozens of acting credits to his name, including a season on the wildly underrated Californication. Just a quick quarantine binge recommendation if you’re looking for a new show.

Now add this track to your iPod shuffle or just follow the #RushHourRap playlist on Spotify!

The Patriots Could Be in for a Bit of Rebuild…

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This really has just been a disaster of a season. The Patriots just got dunked on by the Buffalo Bills after going 29-3 against them between 2001-2019 with Tom Brady under center. It was a blowout, it was a changing of the guard, but to say it was embarrassing would imply that the end result was surprising. It was not. In the infamous words of Trent Dilfer, the Patriots aren’t good anymore. It’s the first time the Patriots have been swept in a season by a divisional opponent in 20 years, they are dead last in the NFL in passing TDs with 8 (one of which came from WR Jakobi Meyers), and the team is uncharacteristically undisciplined, which was only exacerbated by that head scratching challenge flag Belichick threw on what was clearly a catch directly in front of him and his son.

Someone clearly told Bill to throw the red flag though so Ernie must be going blind up in that fucking lighthouse.

#RushHourRap – Saud ft. Shiloh Meets World and King Los – Woman

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Another day of #RushHourRap bringing you fresh tracks that you may or may not have heard before, but this is one you need to add to your rotation. Produced by Saud, featuring Shiloh Meets World and King Los, “Woman” is a slick, up tempo bass heavy track that just feels like a speeding down the highway kind of jam. So check it out or you can follow The 300s #RushHourRap playlist on Spotify below and we’ll curate it for you.

This is Why the NBA On TNT Guys Are the Best

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I understand most athletes don’t want to talk to the media and I get that Kevin Durant probably hates Charles Barkley, especially for saying things like the reason Durant left Golden State is because he was a bus rider, not a bus driver on a championship team and he wouldn’t be a “made man” until he was the No. 1 guy on a championship team. I get that. But to act like a mopey 16-year-old with a handful of one word answers when the TNT guys are asking him pure softball questions is just silly. Especially when you’re a guy who LOVES to talk and had his own documentary about himself and has his own podcast. Especially after Kyrie just had his own shit storm and refused to talk to the media until the fines piled up and he relented (and Barkley bashed Kyrie’s meandering explanation behind that).

So it’s well within Durant’s rights to fulfill his media obligations and say nothing (I’ve watched Belichick do it for 20 years), but I also love the NBA on TNT guys just absolutely roasting KD for it. Can you imagine any other pre-game/post-game crew in any other sport doing this? No shot. The NFL, MLB, and the NHL are pretty straight laced at best and at worst are just playing grab ass with all the players. It’s the reason why this is one of the few pre-game broadcasts that I actually will tune into. When the Patriots are on I put the game on just in time for kickoff and not a minute earlier. It helps that TNT give these guys the leeway to screw around and speak their minds, but it also helps that guys like Barkley do not give a single shit about being friends with these players.

#RushHourRap – Cozz ft. J. Cole – Zendaya

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A side note, I’m rootin’ for you, I use these bars and start recruitin’ for you
But treat her right
And just remember, on your lonely nights this mic will be your friend
You tell it all your secrets that you keepin’ deep within
Your fantasies, regrets, your happy moments and your sins
And if he doesn’t comprehend, at least he can pretend
Let’s begin to be the men we never seen

J. Cole really is a one man murderers’ row of guest spots, including this 2018 feature on Cozz’s “Zendaya” track. Cozz is a member of Cole’s record label, Dreamville, and has been featured throughout Cole’s Revenge of the Dreamers series that’s essentially acted as a spotlight for his up and coming artists. Cole has spoken extensively about how he intentionally got on as many other artist’s tracks as possible to show people what he can really do when he’s in his bag. So much so that he even rapped on “A Lot” how nobody even wants him on their song anymore because he’s that good.

I never was one for the bragging and boasting
I guess I was hoping the music would speak for itself, but the people want everything else
Okay, no problem, I’ll show up on everyone album
You know what the outcome will be
I’m batting a thousand
It’s got to the point that these rappers don’t even like rappin’ with me

On His 72nd Birthday, Ranking the Top 5 Samuel L. Jackson Roles of All Time

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I cannot believe Samuel L. Jackson is 72-years-old, the man doesn’t look a day over 55. Granted, Samuel L. has been around forever and has been in pretty much everything (IMDB calls him a “highly prolific actor”) having appeared in over 100 films in his career. With that being said what are his Top 5 roles ever? A couple of rules here, I’m obviously only including the movies I’ve personally seen, but I must admit I am not a completionist so I have not seen every single one of Jackson’s movies. Also, I left off any roles where he is barely in the movie, as much as I wanted to include the smooth piano player Rufus from Kill Bill 2 who gets 43 seconds of screen time… Jackson talked about his favorite roles a couple years back, but let’s break down what we think his Top 5 roles of all time are below.

No. 5 – Coach Carter
Ken Carter

Before these kinds of sad sack sports flicks turned into a genre of Made For TV movies, Jackson took a film that probably would have went straight to DVD if not for his performance. The biggest name in this movie besides him was Ashanti and a pre-“Step Up” Channing Tatum. So yea this movie was destined to be an MTV2 rerun, but Jackson turns it into a pretty legit movie about redemption, work ethic (or at the very least doing the bare minimum in school to pass), and triumph in the face of adversity.

No. 4 – Star Wars
Mace Windu

Mace Windu is on this list almost entirely because of the story that the only reason he randomly has a purple light saber is because Samuel L. Jackson told George Lucas to do it. But seriously, Jackson brought an aura of cool that Star Wars, specifically the Jedi, lacked before him. Star Wars created groundbreaking characters like Darth Vader that became literal film archetypes, but aside from Han Solo who could you say was actually cool? Samuel L. Jackson reminded people that oh yea not every Jedi is a goodie two shoes, some of them are badass warriors. It’s just a shame Lucas didn’t let him drop some MF-bombs on Emperor Palpatine.

No. 3 – Django Unchained
Stephen

Django Unchained is another excellent Tarantino movie in a long line of them, but it’s one that is absolutely gobbled up by the likes of Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx, and Leonardo DiCaprio. I wouldn’t fault you for forgetting Samuel L. Jackson was even in this movie if you haven’t seen it in a while. But upon closer review, I found Jackson’s role of Stephen higher on my list than I would have originally thought and it’s because he plays, as Entertainment Weekly dubbed it, an “unrepentant monster.” Something you don’t see Jackson, or any actor really, do a lot of. Back when the movie came out EW asked him about potential Academy Award hype and Jackson’s answer is why this role is so high on my list.

“Well, the point of that award is that you were an actor in a film who made a dynamic impact on the story with a memorable character. And would anyone else playing the part have been as impactful? That should be the question — did you do your job? Yes. Did I make you hate me? Yes. Did I inhabit the character full enough to make you believe that, and make you uncomfortable enough to make you hate me? Yes. And you feel guilty because then you want to see me die. I did what I was supposed to do for that film, which should be the criteria for voting or not voting.“

No. 2 – The Avengers (and every other Marvel movie)
Nick Fury

You could argue that Nick Fury was basically just Samuel L. Jackson playing himself with an eye patch and a leather duster jacket, but that ignores the fact that he helped tie together the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe before the first movie was even off the ground. When he appears after the credits of Iron Man 1 it’s a complete shock that draws you in and gave you a sense that something very big was happening, even if you didn’t know what that was. Nick Fury has acted as the godfather of the whole Avengers team and the bonding agent in movies with lesser known characters and story lines like Captain Marvel. Nick Fury is the constant in the largest example of cinematic world building ever created.

No. 1 – Pulp Fiction
Jules Winnfield

Jules Winnfield is one of the most quotable characters in any movie ever. Period. Full stop. Jules’ is so memorable for his unique internal conflict of being a gangster’s muscle/hitman while also having recently found God and trying to walk the righteous path. Jackson’s work here provides some all time acting like the diner standoff where he legitimately spawned an entire generation of Etsy businesses creating Bad Ass Motherfucker leather wallets. Then of course there’s the Bonnie Situation scene with Quentin Tarantino dropping in for a cameo before they call The Wolf, but most notably the biblical speech Jackson gives quoting Ezekiel 25:17 right before blowing some poor guy’s head off with his hand cannon. That’s why Pulp Fiction is our No. 1.

Honorable Mentions:

  • Jurassic Park
  • Die Hard: With a Vengeance
  • Jackie Brown
  • Snakes on a Plane (iconic)
  • XXX (an all-time great bad movie)
  • The Incredibles
  • S.W.A.T.
  • Deep Blue Sea
  • Goodfellas (poor Stacks)

What do you think Samuel L. Jackson’s best role of all time is? Tweet us @The300sBoston