On a Previous Episode of the Passion of the Weiss: The Top 50 Albums of: 2011; 2010; 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 50. House Shoes – Let it Go [Tres] No best album list is complete without something from Detroit. Nowhere else is as no frills and unvarnished. It operates as a palate cleanser to remind […]

In which Deen plays God. Its been approximately six weeks since I heard and later bought Nas’, Life Is Good. In that time, I’ve probably given the album around 110 listens – top to bottom (makes me wonder how I managed to listen to anything else). It’s safe to say that like most observers, I […]

Jonah Bromwich made Rick Ross take off his sunglasses for this picture. So Nas just made one of rap’s first great mature albums. It’s hard to describe the dull anticipation that “mature” conjures up in connection to rap. At best, mature albums are  showcases for craftsmanship and deft rhyming that don’t stick in your mind […]

Doc Zeus rocks Roberto Cavalli/no shirt on/convertible Mazy I can’t get past that cover. Here is an accomplished man, impeccably tailored with the watch and liquor to match, sequestered in the back room of a lavish night club. He sits lonesome. A green wedding dress has been carefully laid across his lap while he stares […]

Deen had been wanting to fanute this for a while. I’ll start this with the conclusion: one of my English teachers once told me that that was a powerful way to open an essay and that it would help inspire better writing. Bear with me, writing about the process of writing is all I have […]