Let’s show some love to some former Heels football players. Madison Hedgecock played at UNC when I attended there, and is currently a fullback (and Super Bowl Ring holder) for the New York Giants. Check out a brief interview with him above.
This is the new Thom Yorke vid and it’s freakin’ hot. It basically takes all of this graffiti art by famous artist Banksy and runs it over the screen at super speed. I’m diggin’.
“It’s a rare condition, in this day and age, to read any good news on the newspaper page…” REAL TALK! That’s how “Family Matters” started out, as I’m sure most of you know. For this week’s edition of “Where You At Wednesday” we take a look at one of the trademark shows of TGIF back in the day. Let’s get it poppppppin!
Reginald VelJohnson – Carl Winslow
RALEIGH STAND UP! (Maybe). Conflicting reports have VelJohnson being born in Queens, NY and Raleigh,NC. Not sure which is true, but I know I had an ex-girlfriend who told me once that VelJohnson came and spoke to her elementary school, so homes obviously had some Raleigh connects. You may also recognize VelJohnson from his roles in the first two “Die Hard” movies. He was also in “Ghostbusters” and “Crocodile Dundee”. He’s kept decently busy since his “Family Matters” days with roles in television and movies including: “CSI,” “Crossing Jordan,” “Will & Grace,” “That’s So Raven,” and “Monk”. He is currently working on the films “Steppin: The Movie” and “Jelly”.
JoMarie Payton – Harriette Winslow
JoMarie Payton never fell off the map. She’s had recurring roles on “The Parkers,” “Will & Grace,” “7th Heaven,” “The Jaime Foxx Show,” “The Hughleys,” “Desperate Housewives,” and was the voice of the mother in the animated series “The Proud Family,” for which she was nominated for NAACP Image Award in 2005. She also was an avid fundraiser for Virginia Union University.
Rosetta LeNoire – Estelle Winslow
After a long career lasting about 60 years, LeNoire died at the age of 90 in 2002 from complications of diabetes.
Darius McCrary – Eddie Winslow
Darius has also done television and movie work since “Family Matters” ended. He was in 12 episodes of the show “Committed” and appeared in episodes for shows “Eve,” “Moesha,” “Dr. Vegas,” and others. Some of his movie credits include the voice of Jazz in “Transformers,” and roles in “15 Minutes,” “Kingdom Come,” “Saw VI,” and “Next Day Air”. Many who follow hip hop culture also heard about McCrary recently, as his heated arguments with girlfriend Karrine Steffans (aka “Superhead”….yes, THAT “Superhead”) have been in the public eye. Charges filed for incidents on both sides for trashing cars and the like, but I’m too lazy to look it all up, so Google that shit if you want.
Kellie Shanygne Williams – Laura Winslow
Not much information on Kellie, other than after “Family Matters” she starred in the NBC series “What About Joan,” which ran for 20 episodes and ended last year I believe.
Michelle Thomas – Myra Monkhouse
Michelle Thomas died in 1998 of incurable stomach cancer. She was barely 30. As recently as the year she died she appeared on “The Young and the Restless”.
Jaimee Foxworth – Judy Winslow
Oh man. This is “Where You At Wednesday” Hall of Fame material right here. So Jaimee played Judy Winslow, the younger sister, who disappeared after the fourth season of the show with no explanation. They just acted like she didn’t exist. After being written off of the show, Jaimee battled substance abuse which prompted a judge require that her $500,000 trust fund be used to save her family from bankruptcy. Shortly after this, she dabbled in the porn industy (yeah, I said porn industry) under the name “Crave” with appearances in films such as “Booty Talk 20 : Supa Fine Sistas!” and “My Baby Got Back 29″. Trying to get back on the right track, she also appeared with Dr. Drew in 2008 on “Celebrity Rehab”. She recently welcomed a son into the world with her longtime boyfriend.
Jaleel White – Steve Urkel
Jaleel was never as nerdy as his character. I would have to say he is an underrated actor for making you believe that shit. Imagine how horrible that would be. Anyway, homey has a jumper on the bball court too, and used to throw lots of celebrity bball games. I watched a couple on TV, so big ups to Jaleel on that. Since “Family Matters” he has appeared in “Big Fat Liar,” “Puff Puff Pass,” “Dreamgirls,” and “Kissing Cousins.” Also appeared on TV in shows like “Boston Legal” and an upcoming episode of “Psych” on USA. He also stars in the web series ‘Road to the Altar”.
I know reader Sliz will happily point out that he saw Jaleel White buying a pair of adidas in LA one day.
Interesting Fact: Before “Family Matters,” White appeared as Bobby Wilson in 1 episode of “Good Morning Miss Bliss,” the precursor to “Saved By The Bell”.
Shawn Harrison – Waldo Geraldo Faldo
Harrison is also known for his roles on “Moesha” and “Girlfriends” and provided the voice for Timber Wolf in the animated series “Legion of Super Heroes”.
Interesting fact: Harrison is one of the kids Will Smith plays bball against in the opening credits of “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
Are y’all enjoying these as much as I am. So dope to see someone put something together like this and have it actually mean something. “THE SALVATION” peeps. GET UP ON IT. Pre-order that ish on Amazon or somethin!! Drops in 6 days!!
Check out their new video for “Warrior” above. I’m kinda feelin’ it. These guys kill a show too, saw them at Street Scene in San Diego in 2004 or 2005 with the Buttaman. Dudes was climbing all over the stage supports and shit. Came on right before Method Man and Snoop.
“Armed to the Teeth” drops October 27th.
Oh yeah, and if you slept on the “Red Dragon” download we gave you a couple weeks back, here it is again.
Glad to see Forte out the bing and doing well. Style def not the same as it was in his Refugee Camp days, but that doesn’t make the message or music any less meaningful or talented. Peep the intimate set above.
Right now, this period of mid-September to the beginning of November, is one of the absolute best times to be a sports fan. This is when Major League division races get exciting and the Wild Card heats up. Football season comes back full force, both college and pro–that means more (legally recorded) Erin Andrews, 3/4-length sleeve hoodies and mascot fights. There’s hope in the air, even for Panthers fans. Americans cling to the prayer that Andy Roddick won’t let down at the U.S. Open again. (Editor’s note: he did.) Even the fledgling FedEx Cup is must-see sports action because it means four straight weeks of Tiger—something that rarely ever happens. And for you hosers that somehow think hockey is a worthwhile diversion, the NHL’s seemingly year-round season kicks off October 1.
But if you’re a frequent reader of The Mixtape Monster Blog, you already know the one thing we’re all pining for around here…basketball. Sure we had the NBA Draft and Michael Jordan going into the Hall of Fame, but it’s just not the same. A true hoops fan craves the action, atmosphere and drama of the game. And no, the WNBA doesn’t count.
So what do I suggest you do? I suggest you take this downtime to learn a little bit about this game we love so much by checking out the following basketball documentaries.
Basketball Man
To truly understand the game, you’ve got to know where it comes from. Basketball Man details the life and legacy of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball and its original thirteen rules. When given 14 days to create a new indoor game for winterttime play at the Springfield YMCA, Dr. Naismith came up with something very dissimilar to what we now know as basketball–it was originally played with a soccer ball, involved very little contact, and did not allow dribbling. However, the game spread rather quickly and improvements/adjustments followed in stride. The Good Doctor would go on to become the first coach at Kansas. Surprisingly, he is the only coach in KU history with a losing record, but his lineage includes great names like Forrest “Phog” Allen, Dean Smith, and Adolph Rupp. Suck on that, Belichick.
Devin Green: The Journey (http://devingreen.tumblr.com)
Sure, the production quality on this four-part YouTube series isn’t going to win any awards. And yeah, you may not have even heard of Devin Green. But these facts lend themselves well to what this documentary is trying to achieve. Undrafted out of Hampton University, Green was signed by the Lakers for his rookie season, but was not on the playoff roster and was later released by the team. Since then, he has bounced around the NBDL and Europe, and spent the last few months with the Minnesota Timberwolves’ summer league team. This series gives you a brief glimpse into what that struggle is like on the majority of players out there trying to make it stick in the League. Not everybody is a Lebron or a Kobe, and for some, the grind can easily become unbearable. For others, it can become the foundation of a truly inspiring story.
Black Magic
A production of ESPN Films, this 4-hour long beast takes an in-depth look at the Civil Rights movement through the context of basketball at America’s Historically Black Coolegs and Universities. Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and renowned jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, this is a must-watch for basketball fans. Knowing the lengths people went just to play this game really helps you appreciate it even more.
Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot
Directed by Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, this film documents the first-ever “Elite 24 High School All-American Game” in 2006 at legendary Rucker Park. Hosted by streetball fanatic Bobbito, the game included such names as Kevin Love, Jerryd Bayless and Michael Beasley (or B-Easy as he’s known around those parts). On top of superb footage of the actual game action, the film features a great soundtrack and some entertaining bonus materials. To make things even better, it’s available for instant viewing on Netflix.
Hardwood Heavens: UNC – Smith Center
(Monster Note: I used this picture instead of the one Big Soda wanted, because I liked it better.)
This is a pretty cool series covering some of the great college basketball venues in use today, including Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse, Kentucky’s Rupp Arena and Syracuse’s Carrier Dome. Watching this installment on UNC’s Dean E. Smith Center, however, I began to wonder what it is that really makes this place so special, besides the mere fact that it houses the über-successful Tar Heels. Having seen dozens of games in the arena over the years, it’s a question I’ve asked myself several times–and the answer only became more elusive every time I snuck into old Carmichael Auditorium for a quick shootaround. Think about it: MJ didn’t play in the Dean Dome, the student seating arrangements still aren’t what they should be, and the physical aesthetic is unmistakably 80s. What I finally realized, though, is that the magic of the “Nose Dome,” as old-school haters like to call it, is that it means many things to many people, all individually tailored to their own specific memories. For some, it’s home to three national championship teams and hundreds of wins. For others, it’s taking down undefeated, third-ranked dook in the building’s first game. For Clemson fans, it symbolizes an assured loss in the record books. Whatever it means, good or bad, anybody who has been there has an opinion on the matter.
***Questions? Suggestions? Want to create your own basketball chant that hates on Big Soda? Big Soda can be reached at bigsoda@themixtapemonster.com***
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