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Music

Ranking Rappers Turned Rockers from Best to Worst

By Tom Hawking on

The latest twist in the, um, unusual career of Lil B is his unlikely metamorphosis into a based rock god. The rapper unveiled his new guitar-toting incarnation earlier this week with the video to a new song called “California Boy,” in which he wanders around Guitar Center in LA and confesses his love for a terrified-looking passing lady. We have to be honest here: the song’s pretty terrible, making it the latest in a long line of ill-advised rap/rock crossover ventures. Not every rapper deciding to make a rock song/album has met with disaster, but plenty of them have — so we thought we’d make a handy primer of which such ventures to investigate, and which to avoid like threatening rabid animals. … Read More

Film

10 of the Funniest Horror Movies Ever

By Tom Hawking on

We scored a ticket to a preview screening of Rubber this week. For those who’ve not heard of it, it’s the debut feature film for Quentin Dupieux, better known as Mr. Oizo (and responsible for “Flat Beat,” which anyone of a certain age will remember as “that song with the puppet in the video”). Rubber is very silly and very postmodern –- it’s a horror film about a killer tire (yes, you read that right) and a bunch of people watching said killer tire do its killing. The film doesn’t so much break the fourth wall as comprehensively demolish it and encourage its characters to wander back and forth through the wreckage. As one of the characters says in the intro, the film is an “homage to the great cinematic ideal of ‘no reason,’” and as such it’s the latest in a long line of truly, entertainingly ridiculous horror films. Here’s a selection of some of the funniest (whether intentionally so or otherwise). … Read More

Music

Required Reading: Books By Rappers

By Margaret Eby on

Here at Flavorpill, we’re eagerly anticipating the release of Jay-Z’s memoir, Decoded, which comes out November 16th and promises to be, at the least, a lively read. But though Hova’s autobiography may be the most anticipated rapper-penned book of the year, it’s hardly the first one worth reading. From the RZA’s musings on philosophy and kung fu to Chuck D’s explanation of the racial politics of rap, there’s a surprising range of literary offerings from hip-hop stars. To tide you over for the next few weeks, we offer this curated bookshelf full of scintillating, intellectually stimulating, and just plain great books by rappers. … Read More

Television

Sesame Street’s 10 Weirdest Celebrity Guests

By Margaret Eby on

Sesame Street has a long history of celebrity guests, some kid-friendly and some… less so. Take, for example, this week’s cameo by Katy Perry, whose cleavage was front and center during her sketch with Elmo. Though the version of “Hot ‘n’ Cold” she sang was less risque than the original, it still seemed odd to put one of MTV’s video vixens into a children’s show. Which got us thinking about the most inappropriate, questionable, and flat-out bizarre guests who have been on Sesame Street over the years. Check out our list, after the jump. … Read More

Web

What's on at Flavorpill: Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

By Caroline Stanley on

Today at Flavorpill, we judged poets by the thickness of their beards. We wanted this Harry Potter theme/Biggie remix to be Flavorwire’s official song. We were excited by the news that Spike Jonze is working with Arcade Fire on a short film. We feared the Twitter wrath of Ice T and… Read More

Music

10 Rap Songs Better Than the Monster Mash

By Spencer Lund on

Bobby Boris Pickett’s “Monster Mash” has been a Halloween staple since its release in October, 1962. Have you ever heard the Misfits’ cover? Or the Beach Boys’ version? Even Smashing Pumpkins gave it a spin. All classics. But sometimes you don’t want to rock out on Halloween; you want to listen to some hip-hop. That’s why we’ve come up with nine Halloween rap songs that might surpass Pickett’s legendary tune. Add to our list in the… Read More

Sports

Quote of the Day: Mike Tyson and Nature vs. Nurture

By Caroline Stanley on

“I remember doing the narration for another Tyson documentary and I was allowed to ad lib, and I made the comment, ‘You train a pitbull, and you get mad when it eats the furniture.’ And that’s why boxing is so rough — you take a brutal sport, and you train someone to fight like a… Read More

Music

Five of the Worst Raps by Celebrities

By Lee Frank on

Some rappers can dive right into the acting world; Ice T is lovely as a detective, Ludacris (errm, Christopher Bridges) was good in Crash, and once upon a time, before he was the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Will Smith rapped. The opposite isn’t usually true. If you can’t flow, don’t flow, please. With that in mind, after the jump and in no particular order, a look at five of the worst celebrity rap attempts. … Read More