$ykotic quicktrike...'cept it's Cult

i aint a biter. and thats my man regardless. but i just had to drop these on yall. imagine gettin ur bboy on with these! remember the Alpine goggles? what an upgrade!

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And Then There was One...

Pay homage to the rap legends. These guys have started trends, sold millions of records, restructured the way group members can earn some cash individually, put a NY borough on the rap map, and are still able to retain and conduct business ventures like a newcomer starting a rap career. This is very, very hard to do in the world of Hip Hop. These guys have seen so much of the industry from it’s inner and outer functions that when they say something, you should lend an ear for minute right? If you haven’t heard this you might want to take some time out to. Method Man, Ghostface Killah, and Raekwon are speaking about the state that rap music is in these days. But since I included a Worldstarhiphop link you know you have to read the comments, because no matter how absurd they may be sometimes over there, you know they are still actual thoughts of people.

Now a lot of what Meth (primary speaker on this one) and Ghost are saying is actual fact. Why would you go on a track with other rappers, good, talented rappers with mediocre material? Correct me if I’m wrong but that’s the moment when you WANT to bring your A game, because this show of skill could open other doors for your career as a rapper. I can’t see “swag” on a MP3, can you? I could be the richest man on the planet and drop horrible 16’s on songs with other rappers who want to be ME, super rich, but I rap like a gerbil taking a hard shit. Am I the GOAT because of this monetary wealth I have but can’t buy a rap skill?

No shots at anybody. Just saying.

You can’t be a lawyer if you don’t know law, no matter how much ‘gift of gab’ you have or ‘look the part’ with a solid connect in the practice. You may be able to fool a couple of people, but once your skills are put to the test and you fail, you’re done. You have to constantly prove your law knowledge superiority to win cases. Yet there are certain levels of lawyers, what they call their specialties. The criminal lawyer is high profile, most of the time is going against government, a lot of times end up the government’s lawyer, the DA. The ambulance chaser is the crackhead lawyer, looking for the quick buck. Looking like rap isn’t it? The ambulance chaser lawyer knows he can’t do criminal or tax law, doesn’t even bother to, and stays within his boundaries. The ‘ambulance chaser’ rapper acts like the rap DA, even though they have never done the due diligence to even be in the conversation of a past or present rap DA. Wacka Flocka Flame has only done one song that a few of the vast American population would know and was publicly assaulted all within an Earth hiccup. I don’t think he should be or is qualified to specify what rappers need or don’t, even for himself. He just got in the door (regardless of his mama’s job), how much could he really know about how the game works? But of course he has his own opinion. If he chooses to put himself in a very small space with no chance of growth, then let him, because that’s exactly what he did, imposed a limitation on his career growth when he stated “I don’t need lyrics”. What happens when the rap climate changes, like it always does, and it calls for something with lyrics and true expression? He’s done, just like the ambulance chaser lawyer trying a death penalty case. Check for reference the video out there with Diddy and Ross doing their verses to Wacka’s song. Where was he? Wouldn’t that have been a hell of a good look for him to grace the same stage as them? Look at how they know what Ghost was saying to be fact, and they are running with the young boi’s song. If he had lyrics it would have been a requirement to get him to appear.

You have to show and prove you are qualified for any job out there, a D-boy, mail clerk, receptionist, college student, fry man, assistant manager, lookout. If you are garbage at your job you get fired, right? Soooo, why not a rapper? A MAJOR rapper qualification is you have to have some type of lyrics, or find something else to do for the crew (DJ, dance, hold/roll the weed, staple the posters, beer runs, etc). Now let’s realize that having lyrics is WAY DIFFERENT than being a ‘conscious’ rapper, this is a big misconception in rap music. Sir Mix-A-Lot had some lyrics, he wrote in a crafty way “look at that fat ass” and to this day is STILL getting paid for his lyrics. Who really remembers the beat? People recite the lyrics with ease. Public Enemy is conscious, but I never saw anyone break out a dictionary to recite a Chuck D verse, he used simple English to get his point across.

The most frequently used excuse for bad rappers & fans is “I don’t wanna hear no one kick knowledge”. “My fans don’t wanna hear me kick knowledge”. Telling people how to split the brick, serve the customers, hold down the trap, specify versions of diamond cuts, or how to do a dance step is kicking knowledge fam. You have to ask yourself what TYPE of knowledge do you want to hear or speak upon. Conscious rap is for the rap fan that wants uplifting content in their music, so let’s not ignore that 2pac’s “Keep Your Head Up” is a conscious song because of your connection to Pac’s inner thug. Another excuse is “I wanna dance in the club”. So do I. Wacka don’t make songs for the club. A rap night at a club where a song comes on and everybody goes into click mode and starts to posture for a melee is not dancing. Putting on the Prada’s to go to the club for r&b/house music night is dancing. Did you hear the Hammer example Meth gave in the interview? When it comes to Mr. Dance MC (lol), you probably won’t be able to do it bigger or better than Hammer when it comes to dance & rap, but we all know he crashed badly when he tried to come out of his lane and merge with gangster rap. He’s never recovered from that, even to this day. He boxed himself in with dance, and NO LYRICS. Someone recite “Can’t Touch This” without the WTF? face and you win ridiculous bragging points. Bet you have to do the ‘Hammer-time’ dance too, but you can leave the pants home. See how the gimmick has outlived the artist that has no lyrical content?

Now the regional topic Meth used about southern rap is moot, wackness is everywhere. I do understand the reference that is used, because that is the ‘prototype’ of today’s successful rap, and believe it or not, a lot of it is from the southern region of the US. The Nelly example was a good point. Nelly was the DA, Chingy was the ambulance chaser. The labels have manufactured so many failures that they refrain from acquiring raw talent to mold into a true artist. They invest in your already done hard work and take large percentages like they did all of the work. So you know they’re not setting rappers up for the long run by teaching them how to talk to the media, giving music lessons, seeing if you can play an instrument. Now it’s actually better for them to let you fall off, after all Mr/Miss rapper dude, you signed a 360 deal didn’t you? No reason to wait for a recoup from sales, they’re getting their investment back NOW while you commit career suicide going to jail and burning your money on lawyer fees, pills, costume jewelry or whatever. Does this scenario sound familiar?

I found this Wu interview quite informative because they are teaching a class that is not being taught these days. Especially the part early on when Meth says “watch, there’s only going to be ONE LABEL…” A perfect example of this is the bouncing around of Game’s contract on Interscope. The way sales are going now how long before Koch/E1 closes the doors? Universal is the largest (Def Jam the most rap), Warner Bros (Atlantic), Sony/Columbia hardly has anyone, Virgin? Nope. This is why I can’t understand why cats laugh at an Amalgam Digital, they’re pretty much the only ones left on the new artists’ side, doing the digital thing, serving the Gen Now rappers who pay them no mind. So you can’t say Meth was lying, Universal is the only entity set up to outlast the others. Cash Money, Bad Boy, Aftermath, Shady, Maybach, CTE, Roc Nation, Disturbing Tha Peace, and more all reside on Universal. Warner has So Icey and Grand Hustle, and whoever else doesn’t want to work for Universal, but for how much longer? If Lyor Cohen & Kevin Liles (now @ Warner Bros) left you on DJ to rot, shelved you, you get released and go try to get put on at Warner, think they're gonna sign you? Your name is not Jay-Z. And with the one label thought, what type of music do you think Universal would put out for the people? Wouldn’t they really control what the masses hear and like? Do not forget this part, COMCAST owns NBC/Universal. Yes the cable channel now owns the record label, TV and movie studio empire. Expect changes, it is imminent.

These Wu-Tang men don’t sound old and bitter to me, they are doing what OG’s are supposed to do, put that bug in the youngin’s ear to help them get to the next step. We are trying to warn y’all that your time is running out with this Gen Now rap. Step back and re-learn the basics if you still want to be an emcee, go back to trying to churn out cohesive music for the ages to cherish and leave the fly-by-night swag and guap guys to die in their own iniquity. And I don’t mean literally either.

The $ykotic Don McCaine

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THATS THAT BOL-SH!T

the ill shit,,,

Author: Combat Jack
Comment:
Don't know how you do it Byron. I couldn't wait 3 months just to get check one. iHipHop might not be as esteemed as XXL. But them cats paid me my check week one. Plus they doubled what I was getting here.

Maybe it's because of the fact that you don't have any kids.

Or happen to live in the Midwest, where everything is cheaper.

There. I said it. No shots. Just sayin.

See all comments on this post here:
http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=70715#comments

this was in my email. it's Combat Jack commenting on Bol's post (follow the link) on XXL. i went to add my two quarters, and when i pressed the button to add my shit, boom! me and CJ shit was gone at the same time! (i commented under his shit). it's like $yk said. XXL is loosin mad weight. it's about to shed the only muscle it got left.

i mean the mag is nowhere what it used to be. it was the saving grace when The Source fell victim to niggadom. ifn u fux wit me regular, then u remember my piece on responsible editorial. i mean somebody somewhere has to be the gatekeeper to what gets disseminated to the public. good people with really good intentions can come off like they wanna fly planes into buildings and really mean somethin totally different. sometimes, we need somebody to watch our back.

it used to be a time when it was well understood that XXL had our back. it was the gatekeeper to the culture and an artist had to really get that work in in order to get that XXL rating. it meant something. now it seems that it's part of a promotional package. it comes bundled with radio airplay and jail time. and it's funny. every "real" nigga i know tried to avoid the penn like crazy. these dudes blow weed smoke at it cause they know they get to sit up in PC (pussy city), away from the real criminals. they come home, get that write up in the mag, the rating, and the street cred to the mothafuckas thats far removed from this shit. i mean, my old heads wouldnt even speak to me when i went back on parole violation. they said that they gave me knowledge and insight into the game in order for me to SURVIVE in it. not become a victim of it. and they were right. and real talk, it hurt that i disappointed them like that. one has a life sentence, and the other has 136 years LEFT to do. so Bambu and Kippy, rest assured, i'm on the J-O now.

the baw Bol is a real talent. i dont dick ride or "network" (code word for dick ridin') like you do. i tell it like it is. or how it ain't. and he got this disaffected, self depricating, Woody Allen-esque caricature , thats really steeped in a real understanding of hisself. it takes honesty and guts to get to that point in your life. and if it's a character, he need to sell it to the Borat dude. either way he can WRITE. we all know that. but maybe he's like a lot of dudes i know that just really arent aware of what they're worth. my man Rhythm GAVE AWAY THE BEAT TO "JUMP" BY KRISS KROSS. he thought it was wack. he used to be at the Ruff House studios(home of one of my favorite engineers, Joe "the Buthcher" Nicolo [think "PSK" by Schoolly D, and the entire "Score"]), when Jermaine Dupree (what label was Kriss Kross on?) came in and asked him what was he gonna do with that. he GAVE IT TO HIM free and clear, as in givin him the disc it was stored on! 3 million records later, my man... well, thats his business. either way, it's what i think CJ was tryin to tell his homie. you're worth more than that. recognize. cause all the rest of us do.

and if he roll out, it'll be interestin to see what they gone do then. i'm sure somebody else will come to blog there, probably to help drive traffic to their own domain. i would. in an instant. there's a whole lot of people that still wanna believe. and if they need somethin to believe in, why not believe in me? my name is CULT.

so here's to the talented mothafuckas that almost never get the accolades or the paycheck that they deserve. here's to the ones that realize what they're worth and move out on it. those are the ones that become the legends in the game. the others become the bullshitters and the quitters, aka your uncle that still lives with his momma at 47 yrs old. one day ask him how he got there. but bring 5 dollars. cause he gone ask you for it anyway.

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Lockdown

I’m bugging out right now.

While most of us are suffering from that love hangover, this is the time I start looking at baseball spring training. All of the holidays are over until April so I start looking into what the hometown Yankees are putting on the field for the upcoming season. The NCAA tourney is near, pro basketball heats up when the last two weeks of the season are around, baseball is starting.

And while glancing at the headlines I start to see the stuff about the collective bargaining agreement. Then I remember that NBA Commissioner Stern was just talking about the collective bargaining agreement at the All-Star Game. THEN I said to myself “weren’t they talking about the collective bargaining agreement during the Super Bowl?

Everybody is gonna strike at the same time? I do a little research, and the NFL would be this coming season but the NBA & MLB would be the same year, 2012 (I kid you not).

And I’m not going there with that.

What I’m saying is that the circumstances are different than when baseball and basketball & football (scab games are awful BTW) went on strike years ago. The owners’ pockets were being filled and the players wanted a raise. Franchises are hurting now because of many over-inflated player contracts and low gate revenues (the fans are broke). Would those owners out there who are bleeding red welcome a closure of the doors for a year or two? I think so. The Yankees can turn to the YES network and keep selling fitteds, the Braves have TBS, The Kansas City Royals and The Cincinnati Reds are stuck. The economic recession allows the owners to maintain their firm stance on lowering payroll, and winning that argument too. Now what employee do you know that wants a pay cut?

Personally I think the leagues should contract, those booty butt franchises need to close up shop and send them bench warming, pine riding weed carriers home, shuffle up the rest of the players and keep it moving, but I also know that thought will take some change of address requirements for teams still standing. Some teams will need to move to larger markets for their ultimate survival. Where is all of this money coming from to do this?

Nowhere. All of the leagues are at their peak. ALL of them have struggling franchises and terrible organizations that bleed like a hemophiliac. But once you get the employees to take a pay cut you can start the power moves. I used to work for this company some years ago and before it was up for sale, executive management locked us in on wages to report no growth in payroll, hence less taxes and expenses, but same incoming revenue, and the company was sold within a year's time while we were locked in for 2. You figure the new company would give it a year anyway, try to see if they can make it work right? Just remember you have that one year left while you collect those paychecks, (peep the jewel 9-5 ers) if that. They will want their people with them and fresh faces for cheaper pay.

I can’t imagine there being no NFL til 2011, but they may play one more year and renegotiate in 2012! Then the MLB may fall back while the NBA decides they ain’t gonna roll either? No sports at all in 2012 except the London Olympics?

Told y’all I was bugging…

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Sykotic Quickstrike: Kibblez & Bitz

Shouts to Dallas Penn. They go well with the cocoa suede jean jacket.


Did anyone get that call the universe left last week? It had America looking like a brick of yay fell from the heavens…

Birdman, we all kinda know that Kells is a weirdo, but a red star tattoo on your noggin like a Heineken cap is weird too.

Anybody notice that since Kanye came back from abroad the Jay/Illuminati talk died down?

Are you surprised that Canada is taking the ridiculi L with the Olympics? The whole world knows that Canada is the United States North, why don’t they?

Fifty lashes to the editor of the “We Are The World 25”video. 25 years later and it’s worse than the 1st one, with less technology then. And did Jay and Em even belong on that song in the first place? This is why the editor shouldn’t get 100 lashes…

Who out there is left to blog for XXL?



$yk!

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YOU MUST CHOOSE

first off, my man $yk has been holdin me down! and i see from the folks comin thru checkin him out, yall agree the baw is nice wit his. me, i been in the studio tryin to finish this album i'm tryin to drop on yall. i mean it feels so right to drop that shit right now. but gettin it done is the issue. as a producer and engineer, i can tell u that i understand Dre and Detox... to a degree. this nigga been tryin to get it done for damn near a decade. he gone defeat the purpose from the pressure of expectation alone. i aint gonna do that. im just gonna blam when it's done. it's just that when its your job to get other people's shit done, it kinda inadvertently pushes ur shit back without even tryin.

i was lookin thru the comments here at the site and i came across somethin Avenger XL was sayin about the inherent xenophobic nature of humanity. altho i may tend to agree with that assessment if we were to analyze national convergences. but this hip hop shit is different. it is the the xenophilia that continues to be its triumph.

xenophilia is a $50 word that means atrracted to the unknown or unalike. takin a likin to the shit that aint around u on a regular basis. this is whats made this hip hop shit so valuable because it has traversed way across cultural lines and local identifying factors and has become an almost universal platform for communication and identification for the youth of the world. the beauty is it has been able to find itself translated into many forms familiar with local styles and customs but still assignin it to the time signature James Brown created in 1965. hip hop has become the basis for a world community.

now if this was in the political arena, we'd be assigning this form of national cultural intrusion with New World Order objectives. because the goal of the West has been to make the world have a common point of view steeped in the ideals of Western culture. they have been largely successful, as english has become the communicational center piece for global business and education. being as tho it is a product of AMERICAN black and Latino people, hip hop can and has been seen as a product of western civilization. it's aggressively asserted notion of free and open expression fits well within the parameters of western democratic philosophy. now the western ideal of "democracy" has found a foothold in the agendas of countries around the world, when in actuality it is really the "right" of the people to have a say in who gets to make decisions FOR them. so the people dont have a say in the law. they elect people to determine that for them. in other words, they elect people to RULE over them. this is different than the right to REIGN over a people. and make no mistake, the Queen of England is still runnin shit. but thats a topic for another discussion....

i couldnt help but notice the inherent intrusion of the cultural aspect of hip hop. it has become a world voice. a place for synergy and synthesis in a creative and ideological framework. but it has become a haven for all the other fodder that characterizes the experiences of black people in America and their collective, mass abuses and the expression of them in a multi-tiered manner. this is also a reason why i feel others around the world adopt it as well to express the same angst from their own point of view. to tell their own story. violence, misogyny, homophobia, homphilia (these dudes love them some gay people... they dress just like 'em..), love of money over the love of substance, glorification of the prison industrial complex, drug culture (usin and dealin) and the degradation and abhorent revulsion to their own self images. then there's this glass fishbowl syndrome and the fact that so many people use it as a vehicle for fame. as $yk outlined in his post about the 360 deals, these dudes are content with just being FAMOUS. my old timer told me a long time ago that fame without fortune is a backwards hustle. but there are those who are happy with just being noticed, to have girls recognize them and say their name. and hip hop has served as a vehicle to get them there. wait... i know better than that. i should say the RAP INDUSTRY has served them that medicine.

then bear in mind that the industry aspect brings in to play the idea of capitalism as practiced in the west. that is a practice of IMPERIALISM, cause capitalism is no more than the old school barter system applied to a sytem of averages that yield a predictable economical outcome. these dudes have taken it to a point where they just capitalize off of the next man. literally. especially if u understand how this Federal Reserve system works. we, or anyone with a social security card, is a cataloged piece of collateral. we have been capitalized, that is, made to be an instrument or bond for barter. thats why when CNN puts on the screen the national debt, they always tell u what part of it YOU owe. because you are the collateral they use to borrow from the Federal Reserve. and thats a private institution that the government works as an agent on behalf of. they will send out government employees, armed or civilian, to setttle the business of a private entity. if we were to define this strictlty from the meaning of the word, this is FASCISM. this is the same shit as Nazi Germany. this is what the Rap Indusrty is a part of.

if you love the Matrix series like i do, then i know you dug the scene when Neo and Trintity bust into the building to get Morpheus away from the agents. that scene was crazy! they murked aybody in the building, or at least aybody on that floor. awesome scene. but in that world, because of the fact it was a federal building they broke into, on that evening's news, i'm sure it was reported that a small team of well armed, well trained gunmen stormed the building, slaughtering dozens of hardworking, decent men and women in uniform, like those that gave their lives on 9/11. and all of us watching, we all condoned and applauded an act of terrorism. only because we had the inner knowledge that it was done for a more noble principle, informed by a higher knowledge. what makes that different from the people who brought down the towers? or those that strap bombs to themselves? they can make the same claim. the Masons? The Illuminatti?

i say that to say, to those of us that love this culture, to be aware of its application outside of its artistic one. and to be aware of where u really stand. because it has the potential to be intrusive, have a noble usage, be inclusive, or be abusive.

me, i know where i stand. i stand with my niggas. in every manner in which that can be taken. and as we work it out, we somehow keep turnin out works of art. we stay wit that work. and we gone stay puttin that work in.

now air it out...

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THE 360 ROTATION

What it do family? Y’all know how I get down when it comes to this music industry thing. I stay trying to put my people’s on to game. Give you those intangibles that many will not tell you about, because it’s in their interest to take advantage of you.

I’m reading this beautiful article on allhiphop.com and I’m like, this is part two to my mp3 blog! All of the homies were building about this over at the X-spot so I figured I would bring it back to headquarters and this way we wouldn’t be comment moderated over here and could expand our minds.

Avenger XL brought up some very solid and valid points. Dudes like Pill or Wale will never see budgets or label pushes like Taylor Swift will. Hip Hop WAS a cash cow. The deals rappers were signing were slave deals. How many times have people reffered to Q-Tip’s lyrics on the industry? How many fans loved Gza’s song because he gave you the real on the labels? These slave deals made record execs UBER RICH y’all. We can all quibble about how it’s the artist fault for signing on the dotted line, but reality has to settle in somewhere because even Joe Six Pack gets paid pennies on the dollar for that 9 to 5. But the contracted worker needs to know their net worth, something we tend to push aside because we want that paper. I can’t even begin to tell you how many people I have seen and known sell out for what they thought was “real money”, only to be caught up in the fine print. And that’s another thing too, smart ass nukka’s don’t read until it’s too late, late being when the check doesn’t look right, just like a recording contract.

Most of the old heads don’t even own the publishing rights to their hit songs so I can imagine what these youngin’s actually own with this disposable music age we live in. These 360 deals that the labels are passing out now give them the right to have their hand in your pockets all of the time. We all know they really do not provide the services they are being paid for, so why do dudes sign these deals? It’s not like you need them to mass produce vinyl, I already showed y’all it’s a computer world. If rappers are going to get signed off of the strength of their grass roots following and successful mixtapes, money off of self bookings of shows and endorsements (whether street or corporate), why would you need the major label? Rappers are literally allowing a fox into the hen house and we need to understand this atrocity and stop this practice. Study that breakdown of percentages. Said rapper/artist ALLOWED them to come in and make that money, money that was all YOU if you would have kept on grinding. This internet age allows you to keep things for yourself, you can submit videos and interviews all day without a label. Distribution? Y’all already know I said it’s a better look to sell tangible objects rather than music. How much do you think payola determines anything anymore? If nation or eskay post your music on nahright, you’ve pretty much done more than what a street team could ever do. If Combat Jack says your name in a sentence, be prepared to supply the demand.

Blogger’s note: XXL your co-sign is losing weight. Fix that. *


I’m not gonna go off on a tangent on this one, because y’all are out there and you have coherent thoughts and good views on this subject. But check this out on ya boy Guch, he has a 360. Let’s build in the cipher.

The $ykotic Don McCaine

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THE UNIVERSE ON LINE ONE...

First off, study that picture. Take a couple of tokes, get your psychedelic on, whatever you need to concentrate. You have to stare at the sun to see the planets closest to it, then you can appreciate the accuracy of this picture.

Yes, also the trajectory of the other planet. The one acting like a belt to help crank our universe. The one most don’t acknowledge. Where do those people go when that planet is going around the sun? That planet must have the Wolverine “adamantium” ores on it to be able to withstand that type of heat, and that type of cold when it makes it’s run through the dark sides of space. Wouldn’t it have had to crash or had a close call with one of those planets down there one time or another? Pushpin that thought.
Everybody loves the sun. The radiant, golden rays of light, the universe’s money. Without it the universe falls off. Planets will crumble and float helplessly in space without the sun’s light and gravitational pull. That other planet, which goes against the grain doing a figure 8, would travel to it’s other point in outer space and stay there, unless it’s within our solar system, caught up with us in the drama. There would be no gravity to pull it back towards us if the sun wasn’t around, and that planet would stay around what’s causing it to spin back to us, a dead sun. Now I’m not even going to get into the climate change (see that?) this planet causes when it comes to town, but put it like this, the Atlantic Ocean would be the largest ocean on Earth, the sun would rise in the west, the magnetic poles would change their position, so take a moment on that visual and also try to imagine the Earth’s crust making the plates re-shuffle the deck.

Understand that this has been on major broadcasting TV.
We have been having “objects” lately flying by the Earth a little too often for my taste.

Often on the western part of this continent of North America, even as recent as some weeks ago, I can see the sun AND the moon in the sky. Even as early as 1 o’clock in the afternoon! And I do remember sometime over the summer in ’09, there was this red orb in the sky as clear as day (Mars?). At night I can see the constellations just as well as the headlights in the street, so take heed that I am not delusional in any way, shape, form, or fashion. The big city streets of NY have me trained to do the knowledge to what’s surrounding me. You may walk into something you may or cannot get out of being unaware. The missile shot at the moon (which by the way, was for what reason?) and the strange moon colors give room and food for thought.
Now I don’t know if you know this story on that island, but you should keep it in mind. Coincidence plays a major part just as much as the players do, because the G7 forgiving a billion dollar debt sounds suspect, especially when they all have money issues. Change is happening all around us. Everywhere. I know that we must deal with our responsibilities or what have you within our own individual existence on this planet, but the universe is talking to us, talking about us. Even within my small existence of life I have noticed the change in climate and conditions. We are in dire straits, and to be honest, I don’t expect many to believe, I expect many to chastise and deny. The conspiracy is the suppression of knowledge and not the relevancy of slandered information.

There was a movie that was just out named after the next two years of our yearly calendar, but it was dwarfed by the other movie that’s the largest cinematic brainwash of all time. You should grab the DVD of the aforementioned movie when it comes out, not the heavy religious version that is all over the ‘net. I have never seen a disaster movie where the constituents were warned of an incoming threat at the earliest moment (panic?) but were only informed at the last moments, to try and secure any futile means of survival, so I see no difference with this practice in reality. Those Indian guys have been right all along, I don’t want my emotions of wishing this isn’t gonna happen cloud the reality.

The universe is calling, you might want to pick this call up. It just left a message with the latest Hubble telescope view.

The $ykotic Don McCaine

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SURVIVAL SERIES: BOOT CAMP (Part One)

^ They look like duck boots. Adidas is trying to step their urban division game up. Check them out at HYPERLINK "http://www.kicksonfire.com/2010/01/18/ransom-by-adidas-fall-winter-2010-boot-preview/" kicksonfire.


One thing I was always told by my parents is that you should always have a good pair of shoes. Better yet multiple pairs of good shoes. Cheap shoes do nothing but destroy your feet, bottom line. Wearing the same shoes doesn’t allow the shoes to dry, with sweat, rain, snow constantly trapped in the sole. Imagine that walking on your carpet while you get your sock stroll on. And always putting on new shoes also is not a good thing, unless it’s to fuel your vanity. Just like you leave an impression in the sand, you leave one in your shoe. It bends, strikes, and stretches to the form of your own two, so realistically when we should know width sizes and insole alteration methods, we stuff our feet in commercial cuts of cloth, sizing many cannot adhere to.

Welcome to your bunions, corns, and calluses. This is why many wealthy people have their shoes customized. Not only because they got it like that, but it’s quality that fits them only for years to come. Youngin’s take notes. Custom made shoes, not just custom colors. Leathers, soles, stitching contrast schemes, the works, for your feet only.

Since it’s Winter MMX, Here are some boots that I think you may wanna snatch up for the ugliness that is the Winter Solstice. Some of them are good closet staples, that one pair you won’t need to replace anytime soon.





With some cords, a golf shirt, a button-up and a sweater for that layered look you best believe you will smell the hatred. HYPERLINK "http://www.zappos.com/polo-ralph-lauren-ranger-shearling-rolldown-black-buffalo-plaid" Polo FTW.






Now whoever out there has a military style heather gray wool coat, a pea-coat or a clean leather can appreciate these. Red Wing boots have outlasted some people’s families. If you can find them in the colors (red & a pumpkin color are floating around as well) get them. They are worth the loot. HYPERLINK "http://www.davidz.com/products2.cfm/ID/7928/attr1/6331/color/GREY/name/Red-Wing-8-Inch-Boot---Exclusive-at-David-Z/" Believe that.




Do I need to say anything about these? Maybe that these construction boots are part of the HYPERLINK "http://www.zappos.com/timberland-earthkeepers-yele-classic-brown" Yele series.





I have copped these like 3 times in my life. Used to scuff the hell out of them but they were comfy as hell, rocking them with sweats and a North Face bubble coat and I was good for the NYC cold on the block. HYPERLINK "http://www.zappos.com/vasque-sundowner-gtx-burgundy-2" Vasque gets the OG nod.






HYPERLINK "http://www.zappos.com/timberland-earthkeepers-collection-6-leather-boot-black-oiled-full-grain" My 9-5 brethren do not look right wearing the constructions to work. Cheese boots do not look cool in the office all day with polyester slacks on (and I will be going there with the clothing), cop these homie. Those salt stains look horrible at the club and the manager’s meeting and those shoes have your toes one step anyway from frostbite. Make the investment, you won’t be sorry.


Tweeds, wools, jeans go good with these. These work well for those after work or getting together nights, and there’s no shame in dressing up on the weekends. But some of you may not be able to get away with the Frye distressed look boot until HYPERLINK "http://www.zappos.com/n/p/p/7572604/c/3.html" casual Friday.






To be honest I actually like slip on boots like these. Easy to put on, and the suede gives the boots a unique look when you have the wool and leather coats on. HYPERLINK "http://www.zappos.com/blundstone-bl065-chocolate-suede" Blundstone has been around for over a century. Got to be a reason why.





HYPERLINK "http://www.converse.com/" \l "/products/shoes/allshoes/112065" Yes these are Converse. You have to click the hyperlink to appreciate these shearling Cons. You can get into a lot of bars and spots with Cons. I would grunge out with these or even throw on the camo pants to wear. They have a military look to them HYPERLINK "http://www.davidz.com/products2.cfm/ID/6976/attr1/6262/color/BLACK/name/Converse-All-Star-Outsider/" just like these Cons do.




Everybody doesn’t live where it’s cold so we can’t forget them. HYPERLINK "http://www.kicksonfire.com/2010/01/11/new-balance-h574-%E2%80%9Chawaii%E2%80%9D/" New Balance calls these the Hawaii kicks, although I see the NY colors in them. They’re also all terrain so you know that means braving many of the winter elements as well. I will be waiting for these to drop to cop. I can see I will need gaiters for these kicks. Yes Gore-Tex gaiters to cross them streams.





For a cat that hunts game and does country stuff, these work well from the transition of dirt to asphalt. Low cut defeats the purpose with these HYPERLINK "http://www.zappos.com/timberland-urban-field-boot-leather-and-fabric-popcorn-chocolate" Timbs, and they should be the Gore-Tex versions if you buy them. I roam nature in my 8 inch beef & broccoli Gore-Tex versions.

The boot game has to be on point, gentlemen.





HYPERLINK "http://www.zappos.com/ralph-lauren-collection-sanders-tan" On my wish list. This is part two. Leave them Robert Wayne, Steve Madden, and Kenneth Cole feet cruncher shoes alone. I’ma run through those styles on how to look sharp and win. Shouts to my Joe six-pack cats.

$ykotic Don McCaine

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