Hiphopgame.com

From Gucci-Mane to Pharell, from Drake to Game, everything hip-hop related converges on hiphopgame.com. It's your one-stop-shop for being updated on all of hip-hops newsworthy events and culture all at once.

At first glance, hiphopgame.com lacks many of the bells, whistles and bling that accompany most hip-hop related sites, but the lack of flashiness actually adds to the site, and lessens distractions.

The main attraction of the site’s massive collection of anything hip-hop is the mix-tape section. Hiphopgame.com releases any and every well-known artist’s mixtape. Given the strictly promotional nature of mixtapes (which, oddly enough, are unique to the genre of hip-hop), every download on hiphopgame.com is completely free of charge, and completely legal for that matter as well.

This is where hiphopgame.com differentiates itself from other hip-hop websites: it provides hip-hop lovers with a glance into the non-mainstream world of mainstream rappers. For example, most hip-hop fans would know that the rapper Game has released three studio albums over the course of his career. What many hip-hop fans might not know is that Game has released no less than fifteen mixtapes since his first studio album. With most mixtapes containing upwards of twelve tracks (many of which never gain airplay, and are not available for purchase either in stores or on iTunes), there are literally dozens upon dozens of tracks that the average hip-hop fan would have no way of accessing let along hearing.

Hiphopgame.com includes hip-hop fans in music that the average fan was never in the position to hear. The site brings the rare tracks to the listener, in addition to equally rare hip-hop news and pop-culture. It’s a hip-hop fan’s “must-bookmark” site, and a site that should be visited on a bi-weekly basis given the frequent updates with regard to hip-hop music and news alike.

Blue Mountain State

Just as silly as the American Pie franchise and twice as raunchy, Spike TV's new gross-out comedy Blue Mountain State keeps audiences entertained even while forcing them to shield their eyes. The brainchild of Chris Romano and Eric Falconer (producers of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The Sarah Silverman Program), Blue Mountain State combines the blatant and audacious comedy of The Sara Silverman Program with the disunity between characters in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, all the while maintaining low-brow punch lines and over-the-top situational comedy.

Blue Mountain State follows the triumphs and failures of a fictional Division I college football team. The narrative closely follows Alex Moran (portrayed by Darin Brooks), the second-string quarterback who seeks the glory and perks of college football stardom minus the pressure, and Craig Shilo (portrayed by Sam Jones III), the straight-laced running back whose commitments lie with the team and his ultra-manipulative girlfriend. Throughout the series, we follow Alex Moran’s tireless existence in the overly stereotyped “college life” consisting of (but not limited to) sports, women, alcohol, drugs, partying and hazing. For comedic relief away from the already absurd behavior of all characters, Sammy Cacciatore (played by Chris Romano), also known as Mounty, the Mountain Goat Mascot, makes frequent appearances and is almost always on the search for women and alcohol.

Blue Mountain State makes absolutely no attempt at being sophisticated, and embraces the sheer raunchiness of all its episodes. As such, it is merely the gags that carry the show. As a narrative, there is little to no connection between one episode and the next, and there is certainly very little depth to any of the characters. Visually, the series maintains an interesting look, even on a cable budget, and manages to appear more cinematic than your run-of-the-mill sitcom.

Fast-paced and unavoidably in-your-face, Blue Mountain State succeeds and what it attempts to be; Animal House with far less class. If interpreted as a narrative sitcom with continuity between episodes and adequate character development, Blue Mountain State certainly fails to hold up, although this is most definitely something that the series avoids. The humor of Blue Mountain State exists in its willingness to sacrifice narrative elements for a humorous punch-line, and its ability to deliver sophomoric, sexually charged comedy on a consistent basis.

For a first season comedy series on Spike TV, Blue Mountain State abides by the “manly” sex, drugs and rock & roll theme that the network continually offers. While not the most profound comedy series, Blue Mountain State does manage to provide a relatively entertaining show through both highly provocative and highly suggestive material. Not that the show is anything to follow religiously, but its easy to hold onto when flipping through channels, even if you catch it mid-way through the episode.

The Aqua

Driving through Lakeshore East, one of Chicago’s more prominent neighborhoods featuring several of the city’s tallest buildings, it is impossible to avoid the newest addition to the neighborhood’s already memorable contribution to the Chicago skyline. Audacious and unavoidable as it may be, the 82-story recently completed “Aqua” has garnered attention well beyond the confines of the urban development in which it exists.

Whether it’s the height of the structure or the asymmetrical design that prompts its nationwide recognition is arguable, what isn’t as arguable; the design being unique. The Aqua sticks out like a sore thumb amidst the surrounding modernist high-rises. With a gelatinous façade, and balconies that extend unevenly from the structure’s core, the Aqua appears like a rough day at sea 800ft. into the Chicago skyline.

Within the structure, we find the standard amenities of most mixed-use residential skyscrapers (fitness center, pool, sky garden, etc.), complete with those geared toward the Aqua’s prospective clientele (first class appliances in each unit, floor to ceiling windows, etc.). The Aqua also boasts a high standard in green living, with energy efficient lighting in most public areas, an energy efficient façade that shades residents from direct sunlight and keeps units cooler during the warmer seasons, as well as a system for rainwater drainage aimed keeping temperatures consistent within the Lakeshore East urban development (e.g. reducing the UHI, urban heat island, phenomenon).

Aside from the fancy bells and whistles that the Aqua has to offer, Jeanne Gang, the building’s architect, seems to have traded traditional fundamentals in design for a unique structure that catches the eye. Unlike the surrounding structures that adhere to certain standardized characteristics in design, the Aqua negates all prior architectural approaches and thus its ability to fit well with neighboring buildings.

Although a relatively new urban development with relatively new buildings, the Lakeshore East neighborhood did boast good taste in its high-rises. The Aqua, while unique, and in many cases pioneering, does not fit well with the Lakeshore East neighborhood and its original architectural design.

Rightfully so, the Aqua is well know for its design, and has received much praise for its visual appeal and thoughtful crafting, and there is no questions that Gang and the Aqua were deserving of the 2009 skyscraper of the year award. That aside, though Gang did well to manifest a structure which appears organic in design and functions by organic (green) standards, and although it’s unnecessary to know the structure’s name before understanding its resemblance, the Aqua is an audacious addition to the Lakeshore East neighborhood which lessens from the neighborhood’s overall appeal before adding to its trend.