#because the changes aren’t necessarily bad. but also. early RIP to David I guess??

[novelconcepts]

Simply fascinated by the deviations made from the books. Genuinely can’t tell if I’m into most of them or not, but I’m also not mad? Wildly curious to see where they plan to go from here.

[junker-town]

Everyone thought the ACC would have too many good teams. About that!

We looked optimistically at the ACC’s parity in the preseason, but it’s looking like the wrong kind of parity.

In the preseason, much was made about the ACC’s parity. We called it the deepest conference, and said that every team in the league had top-40 potential. Vegas win totals had the entire league within a win of making bowl games.

Well, as they say, potential will get you fired, and that might happen to more than one ACC coach this season. Because it is true that the ACC is a jumbled tier of teams behind a few contender types and Clemson ... but there’s a chance that most of that tier is actually pretty bad.

The ACC’s pretty much this at this point:

Updating ACC power rankings: 1) Clemson 2) dear 3) god 4) this 5) league 6) is 7) a hot 8) mess 9) and 10) really 11) tough 12) to 13) watch 14) Louisville

— A David Hale joint (@DavidHaleESPN) September 22, 2018

Clemson’s the known quantity. The jury’s out on every other team, and the deliberations aren’t terribly positive.

By the numbers, the ACC has been September’s most disappointing conference, and it currently ranks last among the Power 5 in average S&P+, closer to the non-power American than it is to the SEC:

SEC (plus-14.9, down 1.4 points)

Big 12 (plus-9.1, down 0.3 points)

Big Ten (plus-8.7, down 0.7 points)

Pac-12 (plus-6.5, same)

ACC (plus-6.2, down 0.7 points)

AAC (minus-1.6, down 0.3 points)

Let’s try to sort this thing out. We could start with the undefeateds who might be good?

Syracuse: The Orange are 4-0 under Dino Babers. They absolutely dominated Florida State in Week 3, but we’ll get to the Noles later. Besides that, they’ve mollywhopped other bad teams, which I guess is all you can ask for.

Duke: Also 4-0, and with some wins looking more decent by the week. A 20-point win over Army is nothing to laugh at — ask Oklahoma — and neither is a 14-point win over Northwestern. Maybe they’re decent. We’ll find out!

NC State: We didn’t get a chance to judge the Wolfpack against West Virginia because that game got scratched due to severe weather. Other than that, they have wins over James Madison, Georgia State, and Marshall. /shrugs

The one-loss teams that might be good?

Miami: The Canes are 3-1. They lost a somewhat deceptive blowout at the hands of LSU in Week 1, but in Week 4, made a quarterback change to N’kosi Perry. Malik Rosier looks done, and The U now has a short week in which the redshirt freshman will presumably take the reins against North Carolina. We’ll find out what Miami’s made of.

Virginia: The Hoos lost a squeaker to Indiana. But even moreso than Mark Richt, I’m willing to trust that Bronco Mendenhall can buff and polish a lump of coal and make it a competitive team. And then I remember when he said more than half of his team isn’t ACC-level talent.

The one-loss teams that aren’t exactly what we thought they were after a couple weeks, and Wake Forest.

Virginia Tech: Lost. To. Old. Dominion.

Boston College: Honestly, pretty impressive season overall. BC handled Wake, and became ranked with impressive offense. Then the Eagles traveled to Purdue (which should’ve been more like 2-1 than 0-3) and looked as inept as they have for the bulk of Steve Adazzio’s tenure during the 30-13 loss. The troubling thing: they couldn’t run the ball early, then Purdue forced them to be one-dimensional when they took the lead. That led to four interceptions.

Pitt: The Panthers lost a game to Penn State few expected them to win, but they were a 3.5-point favorite against UNC in Week 4, and S&P+ predicted them to win by six. They lost.

Pitt, BC and VT were 7-1 entering today. They all lost. To teams that were a combined 0-8.

— A David Hale joint (@DavidHaleESPN) September 22, 2018

Wake Forest: So maybe Wake wasn’t necessarily good but could hang around with better teams. Then Notre Dame ripped the Deacs limb from limb.

Notre Dame is 5/8ths the second best team in the ACC.

— Woody Whitehurst (@woodywhitehurst) September 22, 2018

Everybody else.

Florida State: Bad. They beat Northern Illinois like they were supposed to, but Willie Taggart even admitted his team wouldn’t have won against a good team.

UNC: Bad. Blown out by ECU, beaten by Cal, and squeaked by Pitt. The silver lining for the Heels is that they didn’t have to play UCF this season.

Louisville: Bad. “Another game, another complete failure on offense for the Cardinals.” And that’s the side of the ball Bobby Petrino is supposed to have a savant-like knowledge about.

Georgia Tech: Bad. The Jackets lost to Clemson 49-21, and it should have been worse. Consider this: Tech fumbled eight times, but somehow recovered seven of them.

For years, this question of whether the ACC had parity or just a bunch of bad teams was a problem limited to the Coastal Division.

You could count on Florida State and Clemson to figure it out, and depend on someone like Louisville to be right behind. There was an established pecking order in the league.

But now there’s not, and that might be the story of the ACC in 2018 when all is said and done.

[airadam]

Episode 94 : The Illest

"...yo' ass lie like the president!"

- Ice Cube

This month marks twenty years since the death of Biggie Smalls - and yet it somehow doesn't feel like that long ago. The B.I.G man's influence still looms large over the culture and this show is no exception. Several Biggie tracks and others inspired by him dot the episode, alongside choices from the discographies of the late Phife and Nate Dogg. Besides those, a few classics and some fairly modern gems you may have missed!

Catch me DJing at Eastern Bloc Records on April 22nd for Record Store Day and then stay out for their big party in the evening! Just over a week later, check DJ Andy Smith at Whiskey Jar for a Sunday night session :)

Twitter : @airadam13

Playlist/Notes

Ice Cube ft. Chris Rock : You Ain't Gotta Lie (Ta Kick It)

The way things are right now, I should do a whole mixtape strictly on the subject of lying! Chris Rock was an inspired choice to guest on this track from "War & Peace Vol.2 (The Peace Disc)" for the adlibs, while Cube just goes in with venom on an assortment of unnamed dishonest people. Production comes from Chucky Thompson of The Hitmen, and it does have a little of that Bad Boy flavour - you could imagine someone like The Lox on this beat back in the day.

Da Beatminerz : Bentleys & Bitches (Instrumental)

Tough beat right here from instrumental version the "Brace 4 Impak" LP (can't believe it's 16 years old this year!) - definitely an album to have in the collection if the ruggedness is what you seek. 

ODB : Hippa To Da Hoppa

Two short verses of battle rhymes in Dirty's own truly inimitable style :) I don't play much ODB here somehow, but he was an MC unlike any other. This isn't one of the most often heard tracks from "Return To The 36 Chambers : The Dirty Version", but it popped into my head as one to bring out this month. The beat was one that RZA had in his archives and that Dirty had mentally bookmarked for himself when the time was right. 

Lords Of The Underground : Chief Rocka

I was well pleased to be able to cut this in and have it rhyme with the hook of the preceding track! A classic Hip-Hop single out of Newark, New Jersey, with K-Def on production. This is the video version, taken from the 12" single, with the original of course being available on the "Here Come The Lords" LP. This tune is quality all the way through, but we don't quite make it to the end of the third verse, because it made sense to loop up a notable Mr.Funkee line and then come in with...

The Notorious B.I.G. : Machine Gun Funk

...a track which happens to use it as a hook! The 1-2-3 combo on "Ready To Die" of "Things Done Changed", "Gimme The Loot", and "Machine Gun Funk" is phenomenal, but this is still an underrated cut in my opinion. Easy Mo Bee contributed an absolutely cracking beat, and Biggie's rhymes are enough for his son to rate this as maybe his favourite from the catalogue. Pure fire.

Mary J. Blige ft. The Notorious B.I.G. : Real Love (Remix)

If you weren't around at the time, it's hard to communicate how revolutionary this was. Hip-Hop and R&B were very separate things back then, and it was people like the Harlem DJ Ron G with his innovative and influential blend tapes who showed the possibilities of combining the two. When Puff Daddy (now P.Diddy) went to Uptown Records, he masterminded producing that kind of combination to the studio, and the "What's The 411? (Remix)" album is one of the most well-known examples. Ron G is actually on the intro to this track (just before the part I start playing from), but Puffy and Daddy-O (of Stetsasonic) are credited with the Hip-Hop-heavy production, blending several classic samples together to give Mary a fitting backing - which also works brilliantly for Biggie, when he comes in.

[Buckwild] Sadat X : The Lump Lump (Instrumental)

Classic boom-bap from 1996, Buckwild's bumping instrumental for the Sadat X track discussing... adventures about town. This was a quality single from the "Wild Cowboys" LP - remember when a tune like this could be a club banger?

Curren$y ft. Nate Dogg & Nijay Sincere : Let's Get It Crackin'

This has one of those hooks that just sticks in your head - Nate Dogg can do that to you. Just know that you cannot sing like him :) Anyway, this is kind of an interesting one; you may be familiar with Curren$y's recent career, the "lifestyle rap" and the sonic flavours that come with it, but this 2010 single sounds more like a move for the clubs and the radio - not necessarily a bad thing at all. He's firmly midtempo here over the DJ Taylormade beat with Nate supplying a hook that may not be catchy, but one that works for sure.

A Tribe Called Quest : The Donald

RIP Phife Dawg...aka Don Juice, apparently! Dancehall-accented tune with some nice turntable work (courtesy of DJ Scratch) for the sureshot combination of Tribe and Busta Rhymes on this closer from "We got it from Here...Thank You 4 Your Service", the final ATCQ LP. One of the only things I've heard in months that involves the name "Donald" and doesn't make me want to be sick!

Lexxus : Stress

I'm kind of mad I had to buy the "Mr.Lex" album a second time (on CD) because so many tracks aren't on the vinyl. Still, big tune here with Bobby Konders on the digital production! Lexxus only has two albums, but his singles discography is deep if you like what you hear.

Large Pro : Off Yo Azz On Yo Feet

The live guy with glasses just keeps on going. His latest LP, 2015's "Re:Living" was a concise eleven tracks, with this being one that just stuck in my head. Self-produced, of course, with the snare smacking away relentlessly in the mix. Lyrically - I guess it's motivational music, after a fashion? The hook certainly leaves no doubt about the message :)

The Alchemist : The Thirst

Thinking about it recently, I realised that in this post-anthem world with an explosion of music availability, Alchemist has quietly worked his way into the pantheon of greatest all-time producers. A nice dark beat from the first "Rapper's Best Friend" beat compilation. 

Mega Ran : 10 Gamer Commandments

Random aka Mega Ran is best known for his skill at blending of video game culture and Hip-Hop, and he gives just a piece of it on this cut from his "Notorious R.A.N - Ready To Live" tribute album. Twenty years after the passing of Biggie, Mega Ran reworks some of his tracks in tribute, and this bonus track is of course his flip of "Ten Crack Commandments"; a step-by-step booklet on how to conduct yourself in the gaming world ;)

Kaytranada ft. Craig David : Got It Good

A year ago we heard a Ras Kass track based on this instrumental, but I thought it was worth giving you the original! Coming strong for the crown of best producer to come out of Haiti, the Canadian-raised Kaytranada made some serious noise among those who know last year with the "99.9%" album, and this was a standout cut for me. The highly underrated Craig David supplies a smooth vocal performance at the high end while the beat bumps along at the bottom - great blend.

Omniscence : Golden

North Carolina coming through! The likes of Bandcamp is a godsend for allowing independent releases to be easily obtainable by the fans, and after putting out stuff like the previously-unreleased "The Raw Factor" digitally, Omniscence then moved on to bringing new material onto the platform. This piece from "The God Hour" has some bump but the gentle keyboard work is a fitting backing to Omni's two contemplative verses.

Geto Boys : Leanin' On You

A group often missed when we discuss Hip-Hop legends, Houston's Geto Boys went through lineup changes early in their life, then settled for a while before changing again, and finally coming back together with what most consider the canonical MC lineup - Scarface, Willie D, and Bushwick Bill. Here, we take a reflective track from their seventh LP, "The Foundation", with each MC taking a turn to describe a missed person or a struggle in their own lives. The production comes from someone you may not associate with this style, and also may not have thought about in a while - Mr.Mixx of 2 Live Crew, a pioneer of the Miami Bass sound. This certainly has some heft in the mix but rather than the accelerated beats that he made his name with, this sample re-work is slow and somewhat solemn, perfectly matching the lyrics. 

Oddisee : Brixton

A bit of an old one (2010) from Oddisee's "Traveling Man" instrumental album; I don't know if he made this beat in Brixton or just took inspiration from there, but it's quality as usual. I'll likely play you something from his new album "The Iceberg" in the coming months.

Willie Evans Jr. : Nerd English

Finally, we come all the way back to the theme from the episode opener! A very amusing but sincere track about keeping it all the way real, staying in your lane...however you want to put it :) It reminds us that trying to be something we're not is stressful, hard work, potentially trouble, and just generally undignified. A solid tune from the "Introducin'" LP that always makes me smile.

Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!

Check out this episode!