The Rap Grammys - You Ready?

The week we have all been waiting for - or at least I have been waiting for - has finally arrived. The 2008 Ozone Awards will finally be aired on MTV Jams. Sports fans had the Olympics. Movie fans had Batman. Now Hip Hop heads have the Ozone Awards.

Last summer, the 2007 Ozone Awards was clearly the pinnacle achievement in MTV Jams history. The production quality was mind-blowingly poor - to the point where it seemed that if you just rented out an auditorium and made up a bunch of completely meaningless awards - like Hustler of the Year - you could get all of your Southern hip hop heroes in the same building. Keep in mind this is an event that happens in real life, not in a Chappelle Show skit like the Player Haters Ball, but the Ozone Awards really happen. It's like believing in the tooth fairy and then once a year, every summer, you turn on tv and there she is, making it rain...everywhere.

On the Side: In elementary school it was comic book characters. In middle school it was wrestlers. In high school it was professional athletes. Now it's rappers. I never would've guest this as the evolution of what sorts of characters I idolized but it sort of makes sense.

Comic book characters, for the most part, are all from or live in an alternate galaxy or have some personality trait or power that removes them from the 'real' world. Well, I'd have to say wrestlers, professional athletes, and rappers are all like comic book characters in the way that they don't really experience the same world as we do - hence, we are not the same/i am a martian.

In summation: On the new T-Pain and Lil' Wayne song, Pain sings, I can't believe it/ she all on me/ like she wants me. At the end of the day, the Pain does believe it cause he lives a life somewhat removed from reality and that's why kids wish they could be Wolverine and I wish I could be T- Pain.

More On the Side: Now that comic books have officially gotten the stamp of approval from Hollywood, when are rappers, I'm talking aside from Biggie, going to get their big screen bio-pics? Would you rather see DMX in Karate Kid 6 as a cop or would you rather see The Evolution of Dark Man X - from crack pot to rap legend to crack pot? I mean it's a no brainer.

Last On the Side: I just got the new Game cd LAX. It begins with an intro from DMX. Many people have questioned this move and how Game came to this decision. I think the answer is quite obvious. Game clearly listened to the first line of X's Flesh of My Blood, Blood of My Blood, which like all good opening lines of classic albums, gets you ready for what you are about to deal with, in this case a dog-obsessed murdering necrophiliac. With no further ado: I got blood on my hands and there's no remorse/I got blood on my dick cuz I fucked a corpse. Game, in a moment of lucidity, definitely heard this and said yo, I need this dude to start my shit off right. Also, keep in mind that DMX used to be all over TRL and he still said shit like that to kick off his (multi-platinum) albums. That is not giving a fuck. Might even be Ozone Award Hustler of The Year worthy...maybe.

My favorite moment of the 2007 Ozone Awards:

- Killer Mike being so overcome with emotion after winning Street Album of the Year that it seemed all it really took was an Ozone Award to justify his last three years of independent grinding. Do yourself a favor and watch his acceptance speech GRIND TIME RAP GANG! BANG BANG BANG! Last summer we used to watch his speech over and over again before we went out drinking on weekends. This usually just resulted in the late night screaming of BANG BANG BANG! I FIRED MY BOSS AND BECAME A BOSS! For some reason, girls did not understand what we were referencing, or actually that we were even referencing anything. Also, keep in mind that I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind beat out Da Drought 3 for the award so go cop it.

Now, the Ozone Awards have already occurred and been written about but I have done my best to avoid it. Like the people who DVR'd Olympic USA Men's Basketball Games and spent the following day avoiding the water cooler and internet so that they could come home and watch the game as if it hadn't taken place at 3 AM, I have done my best to stop myself from finding out as much as I can even after learning such amazing tidbits of information like Mike Jones got punched in his face - before the show even started! - and still went on to present an award with DJ Khaled. How does one, in the aftermath of getting punched in the face, go on to stand next to DJ Khaled yelling his bullshit into a microphone and not punch him in the face? I look forward to finding out.

On the side: People always say everything in offices goes down at the water cooler. I, having not spent too much time in an office, have always assumed this is true. In one, of the two, offices I worked in, there wasn't even a water cooler because the company gave out free water bottles. Was this a move of kindness or just an attempt to nip office banter? Anyway, I sat in the back corner of my office, my cubicle next to the communal trash can. All day I would be woken up by people shooting trash in my direction only to come bend over right next to my desk, pick up a dirty wrapper or tissue and say 'I really thought that one was going in.' To which I would say, BANG BANG BANG! From then on they mostly just placed their garbage in the bin.

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!

There were a lot of things that could have gone wrong with the movie Tropic Thunder. The facts that Ben Stiller doesn’t make funny movies anymore, and that Jack Black isn’t that funny, were two major potential pitfalls lying ahead of this movie’s trudge through the stagnant neck high rivers and engulfing rainforest jungle that is big budget major studio production. However Tropic Thunder showers down laughs like napalm, and fire bombs the audience with scene after scene of classic comedy gags and situational humor.

The argument could be made that making a good parody is easy (except for the people who made Epic Movie.) All one needs to do is draw on images and situations that the audience is already familiar with and put a funny spin on it. It mostly comes together for a laugh…mostly.

So despite this movie’s satirical built in humor, it is the cast that really makes this a very funny movie. In risk of ruining the “wait, is that Tom Cruise?” moment you may have while watching the movie, his performance is worth noting. His portrayal of a beefy, hairy, pit-stained, millionaire movie producer with an affinity for hip hop dancing and berating his employees has some redeeming qualities. Actually it’s just satisfying knowing he doesn’t take himself too seriously. Ben Stiller again nails the role of an entitled dumbass who takes himself too seriously but finds out it’s lonely at the top (i.e. Zoolander and Dodgeball.) Jack Black is also funny if not damn believable as a Heroin addict struggling through withdrawal in the middle of the wild. Along with that, the brief glimpses of how Black performs his character in the movie within the movie are also great.

However, give Robert Downey Jr. an Oscar. His portrayal of an Australian actor playing a black dude is hilarious. The way his character makes fun of racism towards African Americans is reminiscent of a Mel Brooks film. On paper the jokes aren’t that good, and the dialogue between the real black dude in the cast and the fake black dude played by Downey is only funny at times. However the way that Downey delivers his lines is priceless. His rendition of a black guy during the sixties is a copy and paste from a blaxplotiation movie complete with Black Panther militant bravado. The icing on the cake is that the audience is also aware that Downey is playing an Australian, playing a black guy, in the most stereotypical form. It’s better than chicken and waffles…and not being able to swim.

The laughs don’t even stop there. Wait till you see Ben Stiller go full retard, it’ll be playing in your head movie all week. The only criticism I have of the film is that there were no scenes of the end product of the movie in the movie. I would have loved to see how they took the footage of all the unexpected situations and slapped them together in post production to make the film. Other than that, this movie is worth seeing. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see Robert Downey Jr. right next to Heath in the best actor category.

Grand Theft Movie

Video games are the new movies. I don’t mean video games are going to replace movies. There will always be movies being made, and there will always be movie theaters. Even though these days the target audience for certain movies are more likely to get high as shit, illegally download it off the Internet, and watch it in their apartments; people will always pack the theaters for a movie worth watching.

I mean video games are the new movies. When comparing a “next-generation” video game (i.e. PS3 and XBOX 360) to a newly released movie, they both exhibit the same kind of storyline, character development, action, drama, and visuals.

What adds to this movie-like effect is that video games have become so extensively detailed that they look as realistic as a Youtube video. If you’ve played a video game in the past two years you know that they have come a long way since Duck Hunt.

Aside from the amazingly life-like look and feel of video games, they even have realistic consequences to every action. Don’t walk into the fire or you’ll get burned. Don’t get shot in the head or you’ll die. Don’t try and steal your money back from the hooker until after she’s dead…just like in real life. This slathers on even more believability and uber-realism that sinks its hooks into the player and totally engages them in the character and the story. Directors can only dream about an audience caring so deeply and identifying that much with the main character in their movies.

So now that video games are basically interactive movies, what does that have to do with the realm of actual movies? The short answer is money. I’m not talking about money that video game rentals will take away from DVD rentals. I’m talking about money that production companies will spend on creating these advanced video games, and the money that people in the movie industry should be making from them.

According to the video game website kombo.com, the estimated budget that Rockstar Games spent on making the 2008 release Grand Theft Auto IV was 100 million dollars. The budget of Saving Private Ryan was 65 million dollars. That means that it took around half the money it took to program a video game as it took to produce one of the most epic war movies of all time. And Rockstar didn’t even have to blow up any tanks…in real life

But where does all that money go. First and foremost it goes to hundreds of programmers to create a totally realistic world within the video game. However video games also hire directors to oversee many of the creative aspects of video game just like a movie director does. And that money is well spent. The cinematic aspect of video games is a major reason that sets them apart from video games of the past. The similarities between a video game director and movie director’s decisions about shot selection, cinematography, lighting, and any other creative elements are almost identical. Just watch a cut-away scene from Final Fantasy XII on PS2, or watch someone play Rainbow Six: Vegas on XBOX 360 and you’ll think you’re watching a movie.

Video games also employ a sound department to create the same sound FX and sweeping scores that rival a Spielberg film. Judging by how alike these two mediums are in their creative foundations, it would make sense that the next step would be employing actors to star as the main characters in video games. Providing a voice over for a video game requires theatricality and acting ability. Why not get proven professional actors to play parts and add even more depth to the video game experience.

Imagine if the Rock’s next vehicle wasn’t a kid’s movie where he’s some bullshit ex-marine turned traffic cop. Imagine if instead he starred in the next big budget action game. Or what if Brad Pitt was the main character in an all new role playing game series? Audiences go see their movies because they like the character and identify with the actor. Wouldn’t a whole new market of moviegoers be more apt to pick up a game if they can play as their favorite thespian, or former wrestler turned Scorpion King, or whatever?

Actors are missing out on a big pay day if you ask me. They already do advertisements and have sponsorships to make money. Why not sell their faces personalities and performances to video games. I’m surprised even Samuel L. Jackson hasn’t made the leap and that guy is literally in every movie. Every single movie. The off chance that he’s actually not in the movie, only means that he was in the movie, but his part was cut out and sitting on the editing room floor.

Picture this. It’s Christmas 2010 and an ad for Grand Theft Auto 5 comes on and it’s staring Clive Owen, directed by Martin Scorsese, with music by John Williams. I would buy that shit in a heartbeat. Then you see a commercial for the newest extension of the Resident Evil series being “produced” by Quentin Tarantino (whatever that means anymore). It’s a video game marketing wet dream and would mean dollar signs for everyone involved.

However realistically that might not happen yet and I can understand why. Famous directors would be a bunch of babies and claim some kind of purist attitude towards their art and would rather spend their time hemming classic films instead of messing around with games. No one better ask Michael Bay though, because he actually might do it.

But just like everything in the world ever, the only constant thing is change. In 50 years maybe the new breed of director will also be well versed in video games and it will be commonplace for them to have their hand in game production. I mean c’mon, just having a name like Martin Scorsese attached to a gangster video game series like GTA would be fucking cool. And it would probably be just as cool for a famous director from the next generation to be involved with a video game too.

I for one would like to see Shia LaBeouf star in the next first person shooter. That way if I die in the game it will be a win-win situation. Or maybe I’ll get Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: The Video Game, and systematically kill every character in that movie by subjecting them to giant ant attacks because that fucking movie fucking sucked. Despite all the ridiculousness in that movie, the part with the vine swinging, and those fucking monkeys is inexcusable (if you haven’t seen the movie, don’t)…I mean what the fuck.

Either way the world of video games is virtually limitless. With video games gaining more respect, recognition, and legitimacy as an art form, it’s only a matter of time before video games and movies mix completely.

Yet no matter how realistic and life like video games become, it will always be comforting to know that if I ever run out of bullets in my AK, I just have to walk over another gun to automatically reload. That’s right, I don’t even have to bend over and pick it up. Nothing that stupid would ever happen in a movie.

One man's war against the myth of socially important music

Music has never affected social change.

At its best, thematically topical music has reflected the culture at large, encouraging and maybe even contributing to an existing sense of dissatisfaction and desire for social change. But even then, it hasn’t changed any minds. Most of the time, political musicians just preach to the choir (excuse the cliché). When Bob Dylan sang, “Come mothers and fathers throughout the land, and don’t criticize what you can’t understand,” young liberals nationwide rejoiced, because they had found a voice in popular culture for the shared feeling in their hearts. But mothers and fathers throughout the land didn’t stop criticizing what they couldn’t understand. Mothers and fathers throughout the land said, “Turn off that hippie bullshit and get in the car. We’re sending you to military school.”

A lot of people see the 1960’s as a triumph for the idea that music can change the world. I just don’t see it. I see a bunch of young people rightfully unhappy with American culture and government, and reacting against those institutions by taking lots of drugs, fucking, and giving the thumbs up to vague sentiments like “give peace a chance.” I have no problem with any of those ideas or activities—in fact, I encourage them—but let’s not pretend that the music of that era was a powerful social instrument. It wasn’t. It was art made by the discontented for the discontented, and if you analyzed its social messages independent from the music, it was simplistic and inarticulate. Even if a group like Country Joe and the Fish utilized particularly sharp, clever satire to voice anti-war attitudes, it was all still the same vague ideal-pushing; they didn’t say anything that could actually be operationalized. In fact, not only has music never affected true social change, but no popular group has ever produced music with the potential to affect social change. Why? Because you can’t shoehorn sufficiently thoughtful political discourse into the structure of Western songwriting. If you try, you wind up with either an awful song that sounds forced and soulless, or a brilliant political manifesto rendered completely ineffective by the fact that it’s being sung by a sweaty douchebag with an acoustic guitar, rather than spoken by a politician at a podium.

Even groups that ostensibly exist solely for the purpose of social upheaval fail the efficacy test. Take Rage Against the Machine, for example. By throwing a variety pack of leftist/revolutionary symbols (Mumia Abu-Jamal! Emiliano Zapata!) at the listener, they conjure up a vague aesthetic of anger and civic unrest. But the listener is left to wonder where to go from there. “What are we revolting against? What are the goals of our revolution? And since we’re Rage fans, we’re obviously 13-year old boys, so how much can we accomplish anyway, and how much do we really give a shit? We have a math test to cram for and we all just learned how to masturbate. But please, let me know how that Mumia thing is going eight years from now, okay? What’s that? He’s still in prison? Oh. Pass the chips and unmute the TV, the game’s back on.” Delve into the worlds of underground and independent music and you’ll find groups that are certainly angrier and more political, but even less likely to have an impact on society. Not only are their fanbases too small to be significant, but chances are, they already espouse the singer’s political leanings, which may be the very thing that drew them to the band in the first place.

Which brings us to rap (which will eventually bring us to the new Nas album, but hold on; we’re not there yet). It’s lame enough that people try to use some music as a tool of social change. It’s an altogether bad idea to assign a social responsibility to music that’s just trying to be music. Rap-haters and latent racists fall all over themselves trying to discredit the lyrical content of rap. They whine that it’s all about materialism, violence, and misogyny, and when they talk about the few rappers that they like, the list generally goes no deeper than Talib Kweli, Common, and most recently, Lupe Fiasco. Or, as they are sometimes undeservedly called, the “conscious rappers.”

Fuck that.

First of all, what’s so great about the content of love songs? You know, like almost every goddamn rock song ever written? There are literally tens of thousands of great songs whose most notable lyrics are some variation on “The love in my heart/ I hope we never part.” Where are the content-Nazis when it comes to the dull unoriginality of lyrics like that? Furthermore, where are they when it comes to classical music, or instrumental jazz, or other music with transcendent power that happens to lack lyrics? Certainly music in those genres isn’t “saying something.” So why pick on rap?

Part of it must be that they don’t understand it, and to use another cliché, people fear that which they do not understand. They don’t know about hip hop’s roots in good-natured rhyme-slinging competition, and how that attitude of braggadocio developed over time to encompass ideas like sexual conquest and street savvy. They don’t understand that when a rapper degrades women on a track, he’s not even really being misogynistic; he’s just rapping (and almost certainly exaggerating) about what an unstoppable sexual dynamo he is. They don’t know about the influence of gangster and blaxploitation movies on the culture, and since rap also sometimes accurately reflects the grim realities of urban life, they can’t separate fact from fiction. They don’t get that so much of rap is role playing. And I can see why they don’t understand all of these things: the art form is relatively new, it didn’t immediately appeal to them, and they never felt like learning. Well, that’s fine, but if you’re going to call yourself a music fan or a music critic, or both, get fucking educated.

Worse yet is when these haters claim that rap has a negative social impact; that it actually creates the problems it pretends to reflect. Honestly, maybe it does and maybe it doesn’t. I don’t know. What I do know is that something like that would be pretty hard to measure, and that it’s an unfair criticism of music that should be judged in a bubble. “Triumph of the Will” is shown in film classes all over the world today because of its innovations in filmmaking and undeniable artistic merit. It doesn’t matter that it was a Nazi propaganda film. We can look past the content and appreciate the art. I’m certainly not comparing rap content to Nazi propaganda—on the contrary, I think most of the thematic underpinnings of rap are excusable at worst and commendable at best—but I would advise haters to approach rap the same way a film student approaches “Triumph of the Will.”

Listen to the composition, and the way it completely subverts traditional Western songwriting goals of melody and development in favor of grooves and the tone quality of its elements. Listen to the way the rapper’s words bounce off of each other and the beat, like an immeasurably complex drum solo shaped by the human brain and voice. Listen to the immediate impact of the rapper’s delivery. Listen to the cleverness of the lines and the effectiveness of the rhyme schemes without worrying about what it all means. Bask in the overall aesthetic of the music. That’s rap. Not some Common easy-listening neo-soul bullshit that claims to be socially conscious just because it doesn’t call women “bitches.”

Which, finally, brings me to Nas. Nas’ latest untitled album is, lyrically, a stunningly well thought-out discussion of race in America. “Hip Hop is Dead” only occasionally delivered on its themes. This one delivers absolutely. But there’s a problem, like there is so often with Nas. The production is terrible. By that I mean it’s the worst production I’ve ever heard on a Nas album. Ergo, for a music fan, it fucking sucks to listen to. Right now, that album has a score of 70 on Metacritic, which is what got me thinking about this whole diatribe in the first place. How is a score like that possible for an album full of shitty music from start to finish? What hath the myth of socially important music wrought? I could have sworn that I clicked on the “Music” tab on Metacritic, not the “Social Commentary” tab.

And that’s my point. Music and social commentary can be delivered in one package, but when it’s time to critique them, they’re two completely separate conversations. Interesting, original, or political content in music is a bonus, but it’s literally the last thing you should look for when deciding if something is worthwhile. That is, if you’re a music fan, like I am. If you’re a sociologist or political scientist, you might have a whole other set of criteria. However, the apparent lack of academic interest in music’s themes over the years only confirms my belief that lyrical content doesn’t carry much weight in the grand scheme of things (which in turn means that it isn’t very important, which in turn means that it shouldn’t be part of any musical critique.)

Listen. If you’re going to hate on rap because it doesn’t uphold a non-existent social responsibility, that’s fine. Just make sure you throw away anything you own by Jimi Hendrix, Beethoven, Elton John, and Miles Davis. And if you’re going to give Nas a 70 for his terrible new album, that’s fine too. Just get ready for my new release. You’re going to love it. It’s a spoken word recitation of Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States” over the instrumental master tapes of Enya’s self-titled 1987 debut.

Actually, could someone please make that happen for real?

Summer Jam

From cold winters to hot summers...

i got the intellect and the tech

Reppin the Streets - Freeway

Here's a Freeway track that fits nicely with the feel of the summer.

Styles P - Good for more than just Good Times

Styles P is best known for Good Times.  You know, the song that starts... i get high, i get high, i get high...also known as the song Manny Ramirez used to come out of the dugout to.  Anyways, the man has a ton of other dope songs.  Let's take a look at some of the other tracks on his solo debut, one of my personal favorite albums, A Gangster and A Gentleman.

Daddy Get that Cash ft. Lil Mo

My favorite Styles song.  Probably the best song Lil Mo has ever been a part of.  The beat is ridiculous and Styles rides it perfectly.  To me, it is very important that rappers wrap up verses in recognition of the hook that is about to come.  See Tupac in I Get Around - he ends basicilly every verse with the lyric I Get Around.  Why?  Cause that is a tight way of wrapping up a verse. Anyways, Styles does a nice job here, ending verse 2 with "daddy go and get that cash"/ that's what my honey holla out every time i hit that ass.

The song tells the story of Styles hustling with a woman whom he is also romantically involved.  This tale is by no means new, see Biggie's Gimme da Loot, however, Styles version takes it a step further by discussing the dynamics of the romantic relationship of the hustlers in crime.  

1) She can sleep with another dude/ she gon' tell me where the safe at, the coke at, how to rob his mother too 

At first I thought this meant she definitely cares about Styles more than previously mentioned "other dude" but it could also mean she is just telling Styles so he'll empty the safe and fill her pockets...

2) If I kiss her than her heart will melt/ you don't understand how much work she carryin in the garder belt

Previously rapped in verse 1, this lyric proves her true feelings for Styles, yet only reveals Styles appreciation of her work ethic.  Let us continue...

3) And she said "daddy get that cash" / she knew i would but she didn't know i would skip that fast

So yes, like just about every other rapper, Styles stays too hard-bodied to fall for - or at least admit he has fallen for - his boo.  

Despite the typical ending, Daddy Get that Cash, is anything but, and is well worth a listening.

Get Paid

In the 90's you had to have kids singing the hook on at least one song - see Hard Knock Life - so keeping in line with the theme of Daddy Get that Cash, Styles puts out another dope song about getting guap, this time with kids instead of Lil' Mo on the chorus.  Either way works for me really.

Nobody Believes Me ft. Sheek Louche, Cross, J-Hood

This may be the creative triumph of the album.  Styles anthropomorphizes and has conversations with his gun, his knife, his money, and his weed.  As the story unfolds, Styles realizes despite his love for his weapons and hatred of the power money holds over him, all he wants to do is smoke and write a verse. As for me, I'm glad he did.

The Life

This song is a classic pairing of Pharoahe Monch and Styles.  Dope beat, dope rhymes, what else y'all want?

Bonus Styles tracks:

G Joint

The most divisive Styles song of all time.  You either love the beat or think it's garbage.

The Hardest

Another classic pairing.  

Use Mad Clips

Random song, I just love the beat and the simplicity of the hook.

Locked Up

Now this has to be the best Akon song of all time right?  First of all, it is about being in prison and Akon's whole essence is rooted in the fact that he is a former convict, hence the name A-kon and Konvict records.  Second of all the beat is ridiculous.  Third of all, if this isn't the best Akon song than it has to be Soul Survivor, I mean that one's got Jeezy on it, so you make the call.

Fly Society: New Orleans Native Finds Life After Lil' Wayne

Fear and Loathing in New Orleans - Curren$y

Editor's Note: Well literally the same day I posted this Curren$y dropped a new mixtape, Super Tecmo Bowl, his 5th in the last five months.  Check it out here.  I won't have an opinion on it til the end of the week. One.  

Curren$y the Hot Spitter was a longtime member of Lil' Wayne's Young Money imprint.  However, after never seeing a release date in sight nor ever capitalizing off the success of his only single, Where Da Cash At, Curren$y sought after and was granted his release.  Now on his own, the New Orleans native has created the Fear and Loathing in New Orleans mixtape series, releasing one new tape each of the last four months.  Today, we are going to take a look at the fourth installment.

First thing of note to me was the names of the tracks: Sky Barz, Lost in Transit, Stealth Technology, and Intergalactic Society.  These tracks, coupled with the title Fear and Loathing, make me wonder what effect Curren$y may have had on Lil' Wayne getting hooked on the styrofoam cup and believing he is a Martian.  What happened on that bus with Weezie that got both of these guys thinking they are other-worldly?  Who knows, but whatever the reason, it is certainly for the best.

Fear and Loathing is a solid mixtape.  I always thought Curren$y had a good smooth voice and now he has the right selection of beats, and lyrics to match.  I always appreciate humility and honesty in rap and Curren$y is the first to tell you the first verse he ever wrote was 5 minutes full of crimes he never committed and girls he never talked to.  

On the side:  Is every first verse a kid writes a run-on of braggadocio lies?  Curren$y's line reminded me of the first line of Aw Naw, my first song was like 48 bars with no hook, which in turn reminded me of the first verse I ever wrote, which was something about liking girls as much as pizza.  

Spitter goes on to rap about taking dates out in a Lambo he borrowed from a famous rapper friend but tells her not to worry, the Chevy in the drive is his, plus he'll be in his own Lambo soon.  Fear and Loathing makes me think he may be right.

On the side: The mixtape has 3 references to the Celtics.  He calls them as his prediction to win (or make? I'm not sure) the finals, he shouts out Jesus Shuttlesworth, and he says he's the truth like Paul Pierce.  Legit.