Xiaocan Feng is prettier, but the most beautiful moment of this Road To UFC finale comes at the end when Ming Shi; Doctor Sleep; lands a “massive” head kick à la Valentina Shevchenko versus Jessica Eye. It knocks her opponent out cold to the point where Feng is carried out of the Octagon to the hospital on a stretcher. Brutal.
my rating : 3 of 5
2024 November 23
The title could just as well refer to Ice Cube himself. What made the rapper standout in the late 1980s and early 1990s was his brute insolence and racial/political indignations. This album includes hints of both, but the richer calmer Man he’s long since matured into just isn’t as interesting.
The best songs include the J-Dee reunion; Facts about Dee’s 20-something-year prison stint; and 3 Lil Piggies. Rollin At Twilight, at the beginning where it is, with its odd vocal breaks, comes across as a tacked-on demo. Cube should’ve omitted it to start and end the set with Ego trips.
my rating : 3 of 5
2024
It’s awkward to begin your album with a guest verse. It’s also off-putting to start it with trite samples and interpolations. Luckily for Mary J Blige, rather the longtime fans she apparently dedicated this album to in a show of Gratitude, things get more original and less irksome (better) from there. Groovy highlights include Beautiful People, Can’t Wait For You and Don’t Fuck Up.
my rating : 3 of 5
2024
“When life puts you to the test, don’t settle for second best”, the can reads, “Grab a Bang Energy and fuel your destiny!” This one does taste like Peaches and Mangos; a semitropical fruit blend that results in a mildly pleasant flavor. It’s the carbonation that dampers the experience.
my rating : 3 of 5
This Fast Twitch, “from the makers of Gatorade”, tastes like Kool-Aid with too much water in it… or not enough sugar. That’s appropriate enough considering there’s “zero sugar”; a health boast nearly rescinded with the addition of its sucralose substitute. It’s an energy drink made for sports athletes.
my rating : 3 of 5
This is supposed to taste like Gummy Bears. It sort of does, but not enough to warrant the namesake. Speaking of which, as far as energy drinks go, it’s far from the “Greatest of all time”, though the can suggests the acronym actually refers to the quintessential drinker; the Muhammad Alis and Michael Jordans of the sports world.
my rating : 3 of 5
This Rockstar Energy Drink tastes like Smarties; the candy. That’s despite the fact that it’s Sugar Free. If that bit has to do with health, the sucralose added in its place probably isn’t much better. There are also 160 milligrams of caffeine, which, according to the can, “provides feelings of increased alertness and reduced tiredness for up to 5 hours.”
my rating : 3 of 5
This “limited edition” G Fuel Energy Drink is based on Crash Bandicoot 4. It’s About Time goes the subtitle, but it’s mostly about promotion as the drink was apparently created for the sole purpose of advertising the game. The flavor is Wumpa Fruit, appropriately enough, which is actually a fun apple mango blend.
my rating : 3 of 5
Beetlejuice is supposed to be funny. It occasionally is; “I’ve been feeling a little flat”, says a man who looks like he was killed by a steamroller; but the nonstop jokes, led by its title comedian slash “bio-exorcist”, are mostly corny. The two lip-synced song/dance scenes; easily the worst parts of the movie; are downright cringey. A moderately entertaining plot, about a dead married couple trying to scare a family out of their house, lies (buried) underneath.
my rating : 3 of 5
1988
If the cover art reminds you of a Tribe Called Quest album, there’s a reason for that. Every song here, rather its music, is produced by frontman Q-Tip. That makes this the most sonically cohesive and thoroughly hip-hop LL Cool album since Marley’s Marl’s Mama Said Knock You Out. The rapper is still a Force to be reckoned with. Best songs include Saturday Night Special and Black Code Suite.
my rating : 3 of 5
2024
This is a frustrating listen. The chorus, with its background harmonization, sounds awesome; it’s one of the band’s best; but it doesn’t happen enough. It goes once on the first break, twice on the second and three times on the third, but it should be two, two and four. The rest of the song is well below par. I hate the way Michael Stipe says “Give me some”, though it’s cool how Mills drags that bit out at the end.
my rating : 3 of 5
2008
The cover photo has Tinashe looking like a dirty ho, appropriately enough. This set; the second of a proposed trilogy she should’ve saved for one proper album; is mostly about sex. She speaks of romantic (Baby) “love”, but it comes down to “the dick”; albeit No Broke Boys; and probably some pussy given her LGB tendencies. “I’ve been a Nasty girl,” she confesses, or brags, and I’m all for it. Call me Thirsty and you’ll be a day late.
my rating : 3 of 5
2024
