"Outta Here!"*

Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas passed away today in Washington, D.C. He died in the broadcast booth before he was sceduled to call a game between the Phillies and the Nationals. He was also the voice behind NFL Films. Yes sports fans, he was that guy.

I'm sure all of you have had nightmares (or dreams for some of you depressed folks) of dying. Car wreck, plane crash, gun fight, etc. At the same time, I'm sure that many of you have had thoughts about HOW you want to die. We all wish to die as peacefully and as painless as possible. I'm assuming that most of you want to die doing something that you love.

Really, what more could you ask for?

Kalas' death reminded me of two other examples of people dying while doing what they loved. One is fictional, the others are real.

1.) Remember that scene from Malcom X when Sammy died on top of that prostitute? And she was screaming bloody murder after he didn't quite rollover after he got his? Granted, going out on top of a whore in a dirty hotel ain't the prettiest way to leave, but dying during sex? I mean, I ain't gonna lie, it kinda looked cool to my 12year old eyes at the time. Hell, I ain't saying I'm trying croak the next time I poke. But, if I'm say, 70 something years old and I'm still getting my Clarence Carter on, I won't mind having a stroke while strokin'.

2.) Jax: 1976-2008



Kalas' death also reminded me of the untimely death of Binkis Recs member and Atlanta indie Hip Hop cornerstone Jax. Jax died on stage doing what he loved, emceeing. Once again I ask, what more could you want?

3.) Hank Gathers: 1967-1990


Man, when Hank Gathers died on the basketball court, I was scared as hell. Granted, I was only 10 when it happened. But I used to play basketball everyday and when I heard that he actually died on the court while shooting free throws, I was shook. He died from having an abnormal heartbeat and at the time that sounded scary as hell. I thought I was gonna "catch it" and to this day I think that's one of the main reasons I fell back on organized sports at a young age. But, Hank died doing what he loved. What more can you ask for?

4.) Reggie Lewis: 1965-1993


Another scary incident. Reggie Lewis pretty much died the same way as Hank except he died during a practice. But it was from heart complications nonetheless. Died doing what he loved though.



Myself, I can only dream to die doing what I love, but I just hope its somewhere cool. Like, I love writing and all, but I'll be damned if I wanna die at a office computer. Hell no. At least let it be on a beach while brainstorming about a story.

So with all of that, I ask you, how do you want to go out. I'm not trying to speak death into the atmosphere or anything like that. Just asking, seeking some healthy conversation...

*before anyone trips and calls me insensitive..."Outta Here" is a play on what Kalas used to say after homeruns, get it? got it? good.

SMKA feat. GripPlyaz, Young Trimm & A.Leon Craft

New video from SKMA featuring GripPlyaz, Young Trimm and A.Leon Craft. They debuted this at the Purple Rain screening over the weekend and its now on the net for your consumption. Song jams. Enjoy.

Directed by Motion Family

"23: The Street History of a Shoe" Screening and Book Signing

The homie Amir, oops excuse me, author/filmmaker A.R. Shaw will be hosting a screening and book signing for his project 23: The Street History of a Shoe on April 23rd (next Thursday) downtown at the Spring 4th Center.

Yes, I said screening and book signing. Mr. Shaw is pulling a Master P on ya'll. Got the book and documentary for sale. When I spoke to him over the weekend he said he's letting both of them go for $15 (instead of $23, damn recession) so bring cash and support if you can.

Being the Atlanta Hawks and Dominique fan that I am, I was bred to have a Hate Jordan gene in my DNA so I've never ever ever purchased a pair of Jordan's in my life. The price tag on those thing weren't an incentive either. My brother on the other hand has a half closet full of them. So in support of the homie Amir, I might borrow some of his and rock them to the screening.

Peep the trailer for the documentary and make sure you visit www.23Novel.com to stay up on things.

MauriceGarland.com Is Still Here

Ok ok, I know. The posts haven't been as frequent, or as enlightening as they once were. But I promise I'm getting back to that. Just letting ya'll know I'm Still Here though. Twitter and Qik have pretty much been keeping my online life occupied. On top of that I've been having to do ALOT of work writing lately. Not complaining, just explaining. But, thanks for checking back here every now and then and shout out to the random calls, emails, IMs and on-the-street conversations asking whats up with the blog. Nice to know when you're missed.

Expect some changes though. Messed around and read an old Tavis Smiley article in Black Enterprise and got the creative juices flowing.

Playboy Tre: Fan A Day

Once again, Tre is back at it. The grind doesn't stop. Shouts out to everyone recognizing Tre in the street and wanting to be the next Fan-A-Day.

UNN: Grand Hustle's Source Magazine Photo Shoot

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Once again UNN comes with the exclusive content. Here the cameras caught up with EVERYBODY at Grand Hustle for their Source Magazine photoshoot. Keep an eye out for UNN, that's all I'm saying...

Playboy Tre: Fan A Day

Playboy Tre was out at SXSW on the hunt for some more fans. Looks like he caught a big fish out there.

Aggressive Listening: A-Dam-Shame- "Get It"

{you may have to scroll down to pause the video at the bottom of the post, it starts automatically}}



I don't know why. But I just woke up with this song on my mind this morning. Which prompted me to blast this ish on repeat during my morning run. My heart almost exploded. Not because of my shape (I'm in the best shape I've been in years, btw) but because this song is that crunk. I've seen plenty of asses beat to this song.

I hadn't heard anything from A-Dam-Shame in a minute though. They used to rep Scotsdale hard as hell. For a minute only them and Ghetto Mafia was all us Eastsiders had to claim in this rap sh*t (One time for Mr. Ku and Scotsdale)I used to ride to alot of their music. Granted their songs rivaled Run-DMC's length wise and they overused similes from time-to-time, but it still jammed.

Today's motto is GET IT!

Bonus Listens:

A-Dam-Shame-"Southern Hospitality" (1997)



A-Dam-Shame-"The Game Ain't Rated" feat. UGK & Too $hort (1997)



A-Dam-Shame feat. Lil Jon, Big Floaty & Bun B-"Don't Play Dat" (2003)

UNN x Grind Tube: Killer Mike and No I.D. In The Studio

Killa Kill and No I.D. found some quiet time at the zoo that is Grand Hustle to chop it up for the UNN cameras.

Playboy Tre: Fan A Day

Once again, Playboy Tre is back at it. This time he hits up the local Home Depot to see whats good. Things looked a little tense for a second. Did he really make a fan this time?

If you're going to be out in Austin for SXSW make sure you keep up with Playboy Tre, he and the rest of the H.A.M. Squad (B.o.B., B-Rich) are going to be all over the place ripping shows.