Music
Mike Tyson drops video for Soulja Boy diss track
The world definitely did not need this
You might be asking yourself, what does the Soulja Boy vs. Chris Brown bout need to spice it up? Answer: not a Mike Tyson diss track. This foolishness, titled If You Show Up, that the former heavyweight champion of the world released is total garbage. What’s a shame is that we were borderline here for this completely ridiculous boxing match, but this song is so awful that anyone who even wanted to tune in to this for fun should probably reconsider.
The celebrity duel was intriguing for many reasons. One, seeing two actual celebrities step into a ring to beat each other up is comical on a certain level. But it also represented an interesting evolution in the state of hip-hop beefs. Instead of brandishing guns or shooting videos on Instagram, why not duke it out? Seems like an actually decent way to settle a score, with the added bonus of money going to charity. There was something genuinely funny about the whole thing, which possibly set a precedent for other stars to do this in the future.
In studio. Dropping heat. Wait and see what this is about… pic.twitter.com/3jyDiUgcz6
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) January 8, 2017
Alas, Tyson ruined it. As serious as this squabble between Brown and Soulja Boy may be, the boxing match, reportedly set to be in Dubai, was clearly ridiculous. The latter is posting absurd videos of him training with similarly skinny dudes in a random home gym, an appropriate level of involvement for a situation like this. It’s funny because it’s stupid. The same way that arguing over Instagram likes is stupid, yet I digress.
Don’t get it twisted, we love Tyson. His cartoon was excellent and, in general, this phase of his life has been more entertaining than anyone expected or even really deserved. But this latest stunt screams of post-verdict O.J. Simpson, who had no idea what to do with himself so he just did any random thing to stay in the limelight.
It need not be pointed out that this song is trash top to bottom. But the video doesn’t even feature Tyson. It’s a bunch of models rapping the lyrics in scenes that are quasi-related to the content of the song. He throws in a shot at Floyd Mayweather, who was the original promoter of this fight, until a side beef erupted with Soulja Boy, not surprisingly. That random scuttlebutt aside, this video is still dumb.
Directed by Tonio Skits and produced by Damon Elliott, who describes himself on Instagram as a “🎥Producer 🎶Songwriter * Composer 💪Fitness Buff 🚴SOUL NOMAD💛,” this isn’t the first time they’ve worked together. There’s a whole slew of boxing-related parody videos, which actually ARE funny, compared to this diss track nonsense.
I'm just going to assume that the Mike Tyson diss track of Soulja Boy is part of a viral health awareness campaign for pugilistic dementia.
— THAT Calvin (@Calvin_Hussey) January 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/warrior14x/status/821764321495646209
I wanted to like this fight. I was willing to shell out some dollars to actually watch this thing live, just for the showmanship aspect of the function. But this video is so laughably awkward that it gives one pause. These rhymes are way too boring and waaaaay too serious. This could have worked. It could have been funny. We would have all laughed and moved on. But now I’m forced to think that Tyson *actually* dislikes Soulja Boy, when we all know that’s not true and just a goofy stunt between Hollywood dudes.
We’re always rooting for you, Mike. But let’s leave the boxing rap to Adrian Broner, who really is about that life.
All Day
Daily Dose: 1/16/17
Bishop Eddie Long dies at 63
4:00 PMWe had some more fun on the radio this weekend, so if you didn’t get a chance to listen to The Morning Roast, here’s the podcast. Yes, we talked politics and The Bachelor, back to back.
We could have had a really awkward situation on our hands today. Over the weekend, it was reported that President-elect Donald Trump was going to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture. But since he had already started beef with civil rights movement icon, Rep. John Lewis, Trump had to cancel, because he might not have realized that Lewis is actually honored in said museum. Now, he says he’s going to visit with Martin Luther King III, which promises to be a mess.
Speaking of Washington, D.C., the last week has been odd. Since the inauguration is just a few days away, all sorts of things have been locked down, fenced off or otherwise blocked. The event, weekend and parade are a security nightmare on a local level and with all sorts of folks coming to town, it creates a real problem, logistically. Anyways, various groups have things planned for the festivities, if you will. Plenty people plan on protesting and one such collective will be theater groups.
Bishop Eddie Long has died. If you don’t recall, he was the Atlanta megachurch pastor who was accused of coercing young boys into relationships. As a result of his flair, his look and his open denial of the claims, he became famous on Black Twitter and eventually ended up being sort of an unfortunate symbol of what a lot of people consider to be the rampant hypocrisy within many black churches. He then started showing off a dramatic weight loss, which scared as many people as it impressed. He was 63.
I can’t imagine that Mike Tomlin is happy with Antonio Brown. After the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Kansas City Chiefs to advance to the AFC Championship, the Pittsburgh head coach gave a pretty rousing postgame speech. For whatever reason, his star wideout decided to live-stream said words. Seriously, a grown man actually decided to clandestinely document his boss after an excellent victory. Unsurprisingly, people are ripping him. And he specifically went against Tomlin’s words.
Free Food
Coffee Break: Portlandia is a favorite of ours in this household. Seriously, I love the show, because it’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve probably ever seen on television that actually makes sense. Alas, it’s ending after the eight season, and that makes me very sad.
Snack Time: I’ve told you about Song Exploder before, and this episode with Solange talking about Cranes In The Sky is extremely fun to listen to.
Dessert: We don’t love pitch invaders, but we do love these two.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 1/13/17
The presidential bromance ends perfectly
1:50 PMWe got the gang back together in the studio this week for the first All Day Podcast of this year, which was exciting. This week, we talked President Barack Obama’s farewell speech and the Golden Globes, among other things. Tune in!
Things got very real at the White House on Thursday. President Obama pulled an all-time great on Vice President Joe Biden, surprising him with a Medal of Freedom, which doesn’t happen every day. Men aren’t necessarily allowed to show love to each other, like actual love, in public or professional spaces, but it happened in a glorious way Thursday. Biden was legit caught off guard, but because he’s such a boss, he apparently just had a half-hour speech ready to go, which is basically what being a grandfather is all about. It was a pretty incredible moment, all around.
Did you know that the sky is blue? That water is wet? Those things seem obvious, no? Well, a new report from the Department of Justice shows that in Chicago, police officers have been engaging in patterns of violence that put both themselves and other civilians at more risk than necessary. I’m not trying to be flippant, but ask any person who’s lived in Chi-Town for any amount of time and he or she will tell you that these are all known facts. It is quite something to hear actual government officials admit that law enforcement officers are doing way too much.
Here’s the thing about diplomacy: If you suck at it, people notice. Meaning, if the people whom your country elects to lead them are wandering around the globe acting like jerks, it presents a problem for the regular citizens of said nation. Fast-forward to here in the United States of America, and Donald Trump being the president-elect. Is this actually going to be a problem for us, beyond our shores? It’s been said for a long time that the U.S. needs to improve its image, but the question remains: Is that still true?
You know Bo Jackson. The man who played for the Los Angeles Raiders and the Kansas City Royals and was a generational star from a marketing standpoint who is now driving cars on television? He’s cool. His impact as a two-sport athlete was unlike anything we’d seen to that point, and the way his career ended was a bummer to everyone. Now, he says that had he known about the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), he would have never played football at all. Of course, that makes sense, but to hear former players be so candid about the game that gave them so much is really telling.
Free Food
Coffee Break: Hip-hop can be so incredibly dumb sometimes. Artists are artists and live in worlds that are different from anything you and I will ever know, but some things are just ridiculous. If you want to instantly understand why people hate the rap game these days, check out this interview with Kodak Black on The Breakfast Club.
Snack Time: Police officers and donuts go together like peas and carrots, to quote Forrest Gump. So someone in Georgia decided to take advantage of that. I’ve gotta say, writing “Black Lives Matter” on a box of donuts is strong.
Dessert: I hate coins. But this is a coin I’d gladly spend anywhere I could.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 1/12/17
Vance Joseph is ready for his close-up
12:37 PMThe show Black-ish really did the damn thing Wednesday night, y’all. If you didn’t see it, check out this recap. That show continues to be one of the best of its generation, and we’re here for it.
I happen to live in Washington, D.C. I also happen to be from D.C. So, for all of my life, I’ve been looking at the Old Post Office Tower downtown, like it was nothing. Then, one day, Donald Trump decided he wanted it and the government let him have it. Then, he decided he wanted to run for president. Now, that’s creating a big problem, because hello, you can’t have a lease from GSA and actually be commander in chief. However, Trump thinks he can.
It’s awards season. The time of year when the people who work so hard to entertain the rest of us are given the opportunity to dress up, show up and show out in front of the cameras, to let the world know just how great they are — in theory. Those situations don’t always involve the most people of color, because you see, when it comes to greatness in characters, oftentimes, the powers that be don’t recognize us. Desus and Mero sat down with the great Wesley Morris to discuss.
Among all the crazy things to happen this week, Jeff Sessions is high on the list. The man looking to be confirmed as the U.S. attorney general sat in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, and it was a doozy. The guy has been a senator forever, so there were quite a few familiar faces in the old network for him to call on, and it showed. As it turns out, it’s actually rather difficult to block a cabinet nomination, and here’s what we learned from all that.
Before yesterday, I had never heard of Vance Joseph. But today, he’s the head coach of the Denver Broncos. He’s also a black man. I don’t know why, but that’s the last franchise I expected to hire a man of color to lead its squad. Alas, they’ve done it, so we’ll see how things go. For all you screaming about how the Rooney Rule is bunk, well, that’s exactly how Joseph got hired, if you were wondering. Right now, though, he’s got a lot of work to do.
Free Food
Coffee Break: I must admit that one of my favorite things to do on my phone is play games. Simple as that. I’m big into 8 Ball Pool, but I’ve shuffled others through the rotation over the years with much success. Anyways, check out this list of the best iPhone games. It’s dope.
Snack Time: Bike lanes are always the source of much controversy, but in London they’re starting a pilot program to help people out. Laser projections are always fun.
Dessert: Janelle Monae’s having a great year. Listen to her talk about it.