The 25 Crew

Because I am such a prick, love 1up'ing people, and prooving a point, I just did a little tally of who contributes most to this site. Between myself, Fred, and the creator Chase Alexander... The #3 spot for contributions goes toooooooo.....

#3 CHASE ALEXANDER with 15 total posts since the site has been created.

And the runner up to the top prize coming in at

#2 FRED with 23 posts.

Well well well that leaves yours truly.

#1 contributor to 25below is

A DAY DA NAME. YAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY this is now my 24th post, barely passing Fred. Great run competitors. Who will take home the 25below ICE TROPHY NEXT YEAR.....?

2011: A Year For Music Pt. 2

Back in March I did a post about anticipated projects. Some came out and were phenomenal, others were very disappointing, or some anticipated projects didn't even drop (Ahem: Muscle Car Chronicles). Well with a month left there are some projects coming out im sure people are waiting to listen to.

November 29:

Jet World Order: Curren$y

December 13:

In Non We Trust Ep: Crooked I
Rejuvination: Juvenile
Mac & Devin Go To High School: Snoo Dogg & Wiz Khalifa

December 20:

The Dreamer, The Believer: Common
Careless World: Rise Of The Last King: Tyga
Thug Motivation 103: Hustlerz Ambition: Young Jeezy


AND MY MOST ANTICIAPTED... THAT I DIDN'T MENTION TO TO A SPECIAL SUB POST IS.....

THE ROOTS: UNDUN



Their 2010 Album How I Got Over, was one of my favorite albums of that year. If it wasn't for the voters (friends) in the year end countdown I would of gladly put this album at #1. There is nothing better than live instruments, great lyrics and rhymes on an album. This should be a well crafted follow up

Be Knowledgeable

Almost everyone has heard the phrase, "We fear what we don't know." That is pretty much a basis of human nature. At times, it may not even necessarily be fear; it's the fact that if we don't understand it we don't feel that it is important enough to try to understand it. Either way, you should try to learn what you don't know.
There are so many advantages of learning new things, whether it's someone else's reasoning behind an opinion or just a skill. Many people say they don't like something simply because they don't understand it. You will truly never know what you don't like if you don't give an honest effort. You never know what could come up where you'll have the skill or knowledge to help out because you took the time to learn something new.
So try your hardest to step out of your comfort zone; keep a clear, open mind; and do/learn something new. You never know, you just may gain a new interest.

What's Real?

REAL: Being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verifiable existence.
Synonyms: actual - true - genuine - veritable - virtual - factual

Nowadays, many people hate on music and artists for being too soft. A question to ask if you find yourself saying this is, "Is this real music?" Of course, we all have our own opinions and often times, very different. But before saying an artist or their music sucks, make sure you're not shooting down real music. Just because it may be "soft"--or most of the time something you can't connect to--does not make it any less real to those who do connect to it. Just because you may not connect with the music because it's not your cup of tea doesn't mean that the artist sucks and doesn't make real music. No matter who denies it, any given emotion is something every person in this world will go through on some level at some point in their lives. So how is it right to call certain music that you may not connect with yet soft, yet music that you may never in your life connect with (gangs, murdering, having sex with tons and tons of girls) is a completely acceptable choice of music?
As a lover of music, I like and listen to music that I can connect with to a certain extent. In these times, if a man raps about drugs and sex, he is widely accepted; even if you're a nerdy white kid from the suburbs that clearly does neither. Yet, if a man raps about how he has been heartbroken or played by so many women, it is still seen as soft by that same kid who always gets shut down and knows first hand what that artist is talking about.
When and why did it become so wrong for a male rap artist to honestly share how he feels? Would you rather said artist rap about a fictional life that he's only heard others live? As an adult, does it really make sense to say a man is any less of one because he is honest about how he feels, in a not-so-unmanly way? And most of all, how is it not soft or unmanly for a male artist to sing about these same "soft" topics? I would think, if anything, it would be less manly for a man to 1) sing and 2) sing about how he feels. Now don't get me wrong, I love R&B, male and female, but if sharing how you truly feel and what's true to you is an unmanly thing to do, why is it solely seen as wrong by male rappers?
Hating on an artist for showing their real self is quite an unreal thing to do; and in this day and age when everyone is quick to call someone else fake, the next time you hear a male artist rap talk about a woman he wanted but couldn't have, think about how real it is to their life and how much it honestly may connect to yours.

Are You Living Your Life?

How many people wake up and are truly happy to go to a tedious job or school everyday? You get up; get ready; head out; to go to a place where you do the same, exact thing everyday. Are you even doing something that makes you happy? Something that can help others? Are you getting something tangible out of it? Or are you just doing what you "have" to do...that you've basically been told you have to do all of your life?
When you think about it, life is one big box that most of us are put into. The box is the "standard" to how we live our lives: go to school; graduate high school; go to college; get a ["good"] degree; start your career; marry someone; have kids; put them into the same box; and support them until they can support themselves. Now, with all of that being said, I'm sure you can imagine the type of people that automatically get the opportunity to be outside of the box.
For most, this is not an ideal life. What person wants to live such a structured, monotonous life where they have no control in the bigger picture? Yes, you can control which career you go into; who you marry; when you have kids, but essentially, you do this because it is what you know you are "suppose" to do. Let's take a step back and look at our school structure. Unless you go to a special school, you will learn what "they" want you to learn. You get the same, typical education that everyone else gets...but are you like everyone else? You know when you graduate high school the next step is college. You're "prepared" for this your whole life, but are you really prepared to make the huge decision of what you want to focus on in college, to do for the rest of your life, at the young age of 18? You go to college for at least four years and you basically do the same thing just about everyday. You graduate, [hopefully] get into the career field of your choice, and work until you're stable enough to create a family. Now outside of the given nights out with your friends; birthdays; vacations, have you ever really had time to yourself to figure out what it is that you really want to do with your life? Outside of any other influences--not because of how financially set you will be or because it's what someone has, in a way, forced upon you, but because you 100% made the decision to do what you are doing with your life thus far, were you the one that made the decisions to get you where you are today?
Not to lessen your life and accomplishments thus far, but often times we accept being in this box because it is simply the norm. And deep down, many people have the urge; the drive; the passion to do so much more with themselves but suppress that feeling because it strays away from what we're "suppose" to do.
It sometimes can be the simple decision to pick up a pen and write down your thoughts to start a book; you may not do it because of the fear that it is not what you are "suppose" to be doing. As simple as it sounds, and truly is, many of us fear to do what we truly want to do because we are afraid of what it will effect. Those fears come in different ways, though. You may not see it as fear, but that's all that it is from stopping you from living outside of the box. The fear can come off as a fear of success: What if what you want to quit your 9-5 for really becomes a success for you? Are you ready for that to happen? The fear can come off as a fear of failure: What if what you want to quit your 9-5 for actually fails? What will you be able to do then? Sometimes that fear manifests in you as a feeling of it being wrong: You may crave wanting to live outside of the box, but you fear that you won't be accepted the way you should be if you try to do so. Most of us don't tell anyone that we feel as though we are living inside of this box; when we get the feeling and urge to live outside of it, we feel like it's not that big of a deal, it'll pass, and that we can just keep living the "standardized" life that we are used to.
When you have that passion and drive for something other than what you are doing with your life, it's time to answer your calling and fulfill your purpose. Don't fight the feeling that you have because you may be the next great thing outside of the box. All great people that you may look up to made the decision to step and stay outside of the box. Life is obviously not promised and is way too short for us to not live the way we want to live. Don't be afraid to try to step out of the box, let alone fear feeling that way. When it gets down to it, you know who you are better than anyway else ever will so you should never let anyone tell you to stay inside of a box that doesn't fit you. Live your life the way you want, and however you can.

Where the f#%k is yo stache??

Deon Cole (Of Conan fame) said it best, black men need mustaches. We look weird without em. But what about white guys? I decided I'd run through a list of most of the lip fur I see white guys rockin. Enjoy.









1. The Tom Selleck: Straight mustache magic right here. Its classic and well kept. It adds a certain classiness to your face. Can't go wrong with this one.

2. The Porn Star: Creepy. Avoid the guy rocking this thing AT ALL COSTS.

3. The Hipster: First off, fuck hipsters. Secondly fuck their old timey turned up handle bar mustaches. I wonder how much hair wax they go through a month?

4. The Dirt Stache: Barely a mustache, more like somebody took some dirt and glued it to your face. Commonly seen on the weird mouth breathing kids that sit in the back of the classroom as they they go over their Dungeon & Dragons strategy.

The Best Of October

Im going to make this a regular thing. The BEST OF for each month. Albums, Movies, Mixtapes, Games, etc.

So with October 2011, here it goes.

Best Album:

Statik Selektah: Population Control


Great album. Could be a top candidate of the year with features like Talib Kweli, Bun B, Freddie Gibbs, Big K.R.I.T., Mac Miller, Brother Ali, Sean Price, Termanology, L.E.P. Bogus Boys, Action Bronson, Pusha T, Reks, And the list goes on. Definitely worth a listen. All 3 of Statik's albums have been excellent.

Best Movie

Paranormal Acitivity 3


Although I have not seen this movie... There wasn't shit that came out in October.














Best Video Game

Batman Arkham City



I have spent hours upon hours upon hours upon hours upon hours upon hours... Playing this game. One of the best I have ever played in my opinion, and an excellent follow up to the previous Arkham Asylum. With all the villains to take down in this game, any Batman fan will consider it a masterpiece.

Best Mixtape

Freddie Gibbs: Cold Day In Hell


Str8 Killa No Filla was a great mixtape so I expecting the same fire with this project. I was a little disappointed after listening but now I can see the direction Freddie has been going in. Hes toned the beat down a little. The flow is still there and the punchlines, but all of the tracks kind of run together. A big improvement however is the production, nice clean crisp sounds from this project. The new CTE member needs to deliver a great album to live up to expectations.