It’s All In The Game: Josh Smith On The Rise
I remember watching the 2004 NBA Draft when the Atlanta Hawks made Josh Smith their first round pick. One of the announcers (I think it was Jay Billis) said that out of all the high school players in the draft, he was the most likely to be a bust. Despite being an incredible athlete […]

The New WWF: Hip-Hop
Loosely based on a once legitimate expression of prowess and entertainment, it has now became an over-exaggerated farce of its original form. Despite how it overtly plays to the highly stimulating and foregoes content, its fan base is expanding beyond its original audience and into new legions that know nothing of its true essence. It […]

The Wire Tap: Jermaine Crawford
When you think of the average teenager, the first things that come to mind usually dont involve Shakespeare or long term career goals. Jermaine Crawford, known to most of us as Duquan Dukie Weems on HBOs The Wire, is not only a consummate actor hes also a singer, a dancer, a budding […]

NFL Wild Card Weekend Preview
All Hip-Hop NFL Wild Card Weekend Preview Happy New Year, and with a New Year comes a new season: the NFL post season. The NFLs post season is the one time of the year when the terminology, win or go home, is at its truest. Theres no best of five, or best of seven […]

Jurnee Smollett, Denzel Whitaker and Nate Parker: Young Guns
Film writer and director Kasi Lemmons once wrote: Memory is a selection of images, some elusive, others printed indelibly on the brain. These eloquent words were recited by 10-year old newcomer Jurnee Smollett in 1997s unnervingly sexy family drama Eves Bayou. Both powerful memories and words play a part in her most recent role […]

The Socialite: You Free Tonight?
As it so happens, Ive been buried under a huge rock over the past few years. Ive come to find out that people rarely go out on dates these days – unless its staged in a 26 minute segment and is paid for by a cable network. Please dont tell me that bringing flowers to […]

Knockout Nation: 2007 Year in Review
Welcome to the 2007 year end wrapup of Knockout Nation. In 2006, we had to suffer through declarations that boxing was dead on a mainstream level. This year proved that not only is the sport alive and thriving, but that things can be even better by continuing to pit the best fighters against each other […]

Its All In The Game: 2007 NBA Throwback
It is hard to believe 2007 is officially in the books. But as fast as this year has passed, there was plenty that happened in the basketball world these past 12 months. We saw LeBron make it to the finals, an ugly referee scandal and we saw the New York Knicks (nuff said). […]

Ball With Biv: LeBron, Cuban, Miller & More
What up yall! December 27 was special, man. We caught a flight out of Boston on Wednesday and came into Dallas for the Mavericks/Cavs game. This morning, I went over to the shoot around and caught LeBron James in the hallway where we did a nice piece for the Overtime show. He doesnt […]

2007 Fashion Ins and Outs
Now that 2007 has come and gone, its a thankful day that we have some new fashion to look forward to in 2008. Im not an official fashionista, but Ive been known to rock a hot outfit at the right moment, and I do have eyes. Granted, there were a few things from the […]

Hollywood Shuffle: The Top 5s of 2007
Welcome to the first official Hollywood Shuffle column discussing all things movies, television, celebrity and just plain Hollywood. To kick things off, we bring you an in-depth look at the years rising trend and popularity of Hip-Hop in Hollywood, followed by our Short List of the Top 5s of 2007! Lists are in no particular order.1. The […]

Anthony “Tone” Gonzalez: Gangster Grill
Going from drug kingpin to film producer is not the mid-life epiphany that it seems to be when you meld the two worlds. Anthony “Tone” Gonzalez’ experience running the Bronx streets in the 80s serves as prime fodder for his films. In his latest documentary, Superfly: The Untold Story of Frank Lucas, […]

Movie Review: The Great Debaters
In 1935, Wiley College, a small Black college in Marshall, Texas defeated defending national champions University of Southern California in a debate. In terms of Black History, this story ofAfrican-Americans breaking the color barrier in competitive debate is a small victory. Many civil rights milestones, which need not be named, have shadowed this […]

NFL WEEK 17: Picks
Saturday Night Special: 12-29-07, 8:15 pm, CBS, NBC, NFL Network Game of the Week, Pt. 1 New England Patriots (15-0) vs. NY Giants (10-5) Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ *Spoiler Alert* Since all of the media outlets are making a big deal about tonights game, I decided to write a whole […]

Bone Crusher: Battle Tested
When one hears the term war hero, many historic names come to mind – from King Leonidas of the mighty 300 to Stormin Norman Swartzkopf to… Bone Crusher? Thats right, you read correctly, because this February, Bone Crushers fitness DVD Battle of the Bulge will invade a store near you. The video […]

SouthPole and Lot 29: Ahead Of The Class
Despite changing times and trends, SouthPole has sustained their position as one of the best selling brands in the urban apparel industry against their luxury driven competitors. After a successful 10-year run, SouthPole launched Lot 29 in 2001 – the brand best known for flashy design prints with cartoon characters like Wile E. Coyote and Sylvester The […]

Kimberly Elise: Pursuit Of Happiness
Playing the dual role of mother and celebrity is a natural, calm act for Kimberly Elise, yet the Minnesota native has played some of the most angst-ridden characters anyone could imagine in her career. From the naive bank-robbing mother in Set It Off to the scorned wife in Diary Of A Mad Black […]

The Socialite: Can We Talk? Like, In-Person?
With a new year on the horizon, its only natural for most of us to sit down with a pen and a pad excuse me, this is 2007 in front of our computers, and script out New Years Resolutions. Some of us are looking to expand our business, save more money, work-out more […]

Its All In The Game: If The Glove Fits
The Celtics train appears to be headed straight to the NBA Finals, and one former NBA All Star apparently wants in on the ride. This week, Gary Payton has expressed he wants to join the Celtics. According to a Boston Globe article, Payton told his long time agent Aaron Goodwin that he thinks […]

NFL WEEK 16 Picks
Grand Opening: Its been hard to pick one thing to talk about this week. So I figured with Christmas being next Tuesday, I would share with you my Christmas list. Hopefully, Ive been a good boy this year and Santa fills up my stockings with goodies. 1) The NFL finds a way for at […]