4th Quarter... Put Me In Coach

With the 4th quarter of the year being right around the corner there has been much to celebrate with regards to both sports and entertainment. August means football and this year it also means the 2016 Olympics that will be held in Rio. The boxing world is buzzing again and the music world is in for a treat so let us dive right into it.

NBA

With the opening round of the Olympics days away the men of team USA basketball are ready to go for the gold. Forward Carmelo Anthony has a chance to become part of an exclusive class where he would have earned 3 Olympic gold medals. Demar Derozan has already warranted comparisons to "Half man Half amazing" ex-raptor Vince Carter for his acrobatic throwdowns. The Raptors guard attempted a 360 spin while dunking on an opponent and nearly put down what Olympic teammate LeBron James tweeted would have been  "top 5 Olympic dunks" ever. Derek Fisher is looking to make a comeback to the NBA after being the head coach for the Knicks following retirement from the Oklahoma City Thunder a few years back. Metta World Peace believes he can still average 15 points per game and wants the opportunity to show off his talent next season. The Golden State Warriors will sign 2x Shaqtin' a Fool MVP JaVale McGee after losing center Andrew Bogut. Russell Westbrook signed a 3-year 85 million dollar deal with the third year being a player option to stay in Oklahoma City. The vicious guard will have a chance to truly cash in when the salary cap is again expected to see a high rise in the upcoming years.

NFL

The NFL season is literally within arms reach as preseason games begin this upcoming Sunday. Nick Foles recently signed to the Kansas City Chiefs and veteran Dwight Freeney is expected to sign a one year deal with the Atlanta Falcons. Former Falcon Mike Vick is 36 and looking for a team to sign him to a one year deal to end his NFL career properly. Former Ravens RB Ray Rice is looking for an NFL home and has pledged to donate this season's salary to domestic abuse awareness following his heavily publicized dispute. Johnny Manziel is still looking for a home, however its seeming more than likely that the former college standout will remain on the outside looking in. Tom Brady has been attending practice, however he is still set to serve a 4 game suspension to begin the season.

Boxing

Jesse Vargas and Manny Pacquiao are set to face off in November for the Filipino star's last fight. Many boxing fans are waiting to see undefeated welterweight Danny Garcia square off against guys like Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, Adrien Broner, or perhaps a rematch with British star Amir Khan. Floyd Mayweather Jr. has expressed no desire to return to the sport and has instead been signing many boxers and MMA fighters to deals through his company Mayweather Promotions. I personally would like to see more dominant heavyweights as the weight class has become boring and lacking any real excitement. The talk of Amir Khan fighting Conor McGregor is merely rumor that will likely not come true.

Hip-Hop/R&B

WE FOUND FRANK!! Frank Ocean has finally shown his face and announced that his sophomore album "Boys Don't Cry" is set to drop on Friday August 5th exclusively on Apple Music. The crooner has been M.I.A. and was supposed to drop this album a few years back in July, we'll still take it now. Pusha T may be releasing an album before the year ends as might 2Chainz, Jay Z, Nas, Post Malone, and PnB Rock. As we draw nearer to the 4th quarter, there is no doubt that there will be much to celebrate and enjoy.


http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1255-frank-oceans-boys-dont-cry-the-complete-timeline/


Per the usual please forward all questions, comments, and concerns to mcorbin1214@gmail.com and follow me on social media at the following aliases:
Matthew Rayhem Corbin: FaceBook
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Goodbye July

In the last post for the month of July I figured I'd post on Wednesday this week instead of Thursday for work reasons. Like always the sports and entertainment world has continued to amuse so lets jump right into it.

NBA

With team USA gearing up for the Olympic games, guys like Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony have led the charge as the Americans continue to obliterate the competition. The team defeated China by a score or 106-57 at the Warriors' Oracle Arena where Kevin Durant received a warm welcome playing on his new home court for the first time since signing his new deal. Team USA is looking to capture the gold for the third straight Olympic games coming off an embarrassing bronze metal effort back in 2004. Even without guys such as LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Stephen Curry, the team boast some freakishly talented players. Here are some highlights from the team's most recent blowout win:

NFL

With the NFL training camps set to begin soon there haven't been many new revelations over the past week in the league. Josh Gordon has been reinstated by the NFL with one stipulation being that he miss the first 4 games of the upcoming season. Gordon last played for the Cleveland Browns in 2014. Some early favorites for the title include the Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, Greenbay Packers, and the Atlanta Falcons.

Boxing

Gennady Golvkin and Kell Brooks will test one another's undefeated records much to the dismay of many fans. Some wanted to see Keith Thurman face off against Brooks or perhaps Shawn Porter. Other fans wanted to see Canelo Alvarez and Golvkin square off. Many such as Robert Guerrero are calling the fight a mismatch giving Golovkin the victory saying that "Golvkin is a big middleweight already and Brooks barely makes welterweight". Manny Pacquiao's opponent for his possible November brawl still has yet to be chosen and for now most people are speculating that a fight may not in fact happen.

                                             

Hip-Hop/R&B

DJ Khaled is set to release his new album "Major Key" on Friday July 29th. Many are speculating that the album may have a J.Cole feature that has not been previously discussed. The Hip-Hop mogul's album will feature Jay Z, Future, Drake, Kanye West, and many more. DJ Drama, Lil Durk, and fresh out the feds Gucci Mane have all recently dropped albums. Gucci Mane's album marks his first in five plus years and is entitled "Everybody Looking". The album has received praise from critics and Gucci may have earned hundreds of thousands of fans do to releasing an album when the buzz was so high. Lil Durk's album entitled "Lil Durk 2X" features the hit "My Beyoncé" featuring Dej Loaf along with a few radio friendly hits. The Cokeboys rapper seems to be one of the few label artists that have had an album produced with the exception of the late Chinx Drugz and the CEO in French Montana.

If you want to find Frank Ocean's next album I suggest you recruit child support, they find everybody. Besides waiting for what most thought would be an inevitable album, some have been talking about 90's crooner Keith Sweat's new album "Dress To Impress". Songs like "Nobody" are no longer on the album however that same type of "babymaking" music is there from star to finish. The album includes features from 90's group "Dru Hill" and Gerald Levert. You can purchase this album and all others on iTunes and Google Play.

I'll be back in August.



Do We Gotta Say Goodbye For The Summer?

If you're like me you've been loving this summer thus far and must be wondering, does it ever have to end? With the sports worlds on fire and a summer that has had pleasant weather for the most part, people are content with just staying in these three months for good. Lets jump right into it though with the latest in greatest in NBA news.

NBA

NBA Free Agency has already seen billions of dollars dispersed due to the new collective bargaining agreement and fans of the game, both casual and die hard, have taken notice. Some of the biggest free agency landings included Kevin Durant heading to the Golden State Warriors, Dwayne Wade going to the Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose going to the New York Knicks, Al Horford heading to the Boston Celtics, and Dwight Howard signing with the Atlanta Hawks. These players all received contracts for roughly 20 million per season despite the fact that guys like Derrick Rose and Al Horford didn't even crack the 20 point per game mark last season. Fans have scrutinized Kevin Durant for his decision to leave a franchise after a great 9 year run and the complexion of the NBA has greatly changed. There are few free agents left unsigned, however with this kind of suspenseful free agency, fans must be drooling to find out who lands where next.

NFL

The NFL season resumes in just 2 weeks with training camp being right around the corner. Arian Foster made headlines by signing a one year deal with the Miami Dolphins much to the delight of die hard fans of the Southern Florida team. Cowboys rookie Ezekiel Elliot now has the highest selling NFL Jersey for the past three months despite not even entering training camp yet. Tom Brady will serve his four game suspension after finally deciding to give up in his fight against the NFL for the now infamous "Deflategate" scandal. Johnny Manziel has continued to tell fans that he's making a comeback despite the fact that he isn't currently signed to any team. With just about a full month before preseason football, the NFL is looking to make for another great season with exciting games and fanfare.

Boxing

The world of boxing has truly blessed us all with premiere fights on primetime television for free. In a fight of the year candidate, Keith Thurman retained his welterweight title by defeating Shawn Porter via unanimous decision of June 25th in Brooklyn's Barclays Center. Thurman and Porter are close friends and although Thurman has a mandatory challenger to face next, he has expressed his desire to give Porter a rematch nonetheless. Manny Pacquiao has decided to make a comeback likely in November and Canelo Alvarez is slated to fight at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, TX for his next bout. Boxing fans have surely been given quite a few fights to get excited about across all divisions, specifically heavyweight, with Deontay Wilder scoring yet another knockout just a few weeks ago. While the 6'7" slugger did break his hand in the bout, fans are optimistic that he will make a return to the ring before the end of 2016. With this kind of summer in boxing fans have been spoiled and primetime boxing may be making more frequent trips to primetime television for more fans to indulge in.

Hip-Hop/R&B

In the rap world, many rappers are currently doing all that they feel necessary in support of the Black Lives Matters movement following controversial shootings of black people. Rappers such as Snoop Dogg, The Game, and T.I. have led protests in their old neighborhoods promoting peace and lobbying for change. Schoolboy Q released his sophomore album BlankFace which features Kanye West on the critically acclaimed track "That Part". Fabolous recently announced that Summertime Shootout officially has a sequel when he teased the art work for the tape and spit solid bars over Aboogie's "My ish" (Radio Edit). With the ummer half way over, many rap fans are anxiously awaiting to see what hot projects will drop from artists as we delve into end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter for the year. Feels like just yesterday people were tweeting "New Year, New Me".


In the R&B universe there has been little to no noise made recently after the big surge of music came with the releases of projects such as Beyoncé's Lemonade and Rihanna's Anti. Fans have cried out for their desire to see both a Frank Ocean album released as well as a Lauryn Hill album. It appears that many R&B singers are releasing music with more of  a " Pop" feel to them which is making people believe that the genre has only a few left of what may be a dying breed going forward.


With all that's been going on this summer and still plenty of sun left, lets just hope the good times continue to roll in and enjoy them before school comes back for the kids, the parties slow down, and people get into this zombielike state of living.


As usual email me @mcorbin1214@gmail.com for any questions, comments, or concerns.


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It's Been Another Crazy Week

Let's start with this bipolar weather that has climbed up to 65 degrees in heavily populated cities like NYC only to then dwindle down to the low thirties the next day. The world of sports, music, and entertainment has seen just as crazy things happen this past week.

NFL

The NFL's Wildcard weekend featured all AFC teams playing on day one and all NFC teams playing on the second day for the first time in as long as most people could remember. Another shocker was the fact that all 4 road teams won the games during Wildcard weekend, which has never happened in the history of the NFL. The frigid temperatures in Minnesota played a huge role in the low scoring game that ended with a score of 10-9 after Blair Walsh botched a 27 yard field goal attempt with 22 seconds that would have put the Vikings ahead by 2. Next week's games will feature the New England Patriots taking on the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos against the Pittsburgh Steelers  in the AFC. The NFC will see the GreenBay Packers square off against the Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers taking on the Seattle Seahawks.

NBA

The NBA is nearing the All Star break which means that already nearly half the NBA season has been played. Stephen Curry and the Warriors have remained a consistent threat to the 95-96 Bull's 72-10 record posting a record of 35-2 to date. Curry has subsequently gained traction in the MVP race with guys such as Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook. Clipper guard Chris Paul has entered the discussion after helping his team establish a 9 game winning streak in the absence of the team's leading scorer Blake Griffin.

Hip-Hop/R&B

The music world never seems to disappoint and this week was no different. Kanye West debuted his new track Real Friends/No More Parties In LA. The track includes vocals from LA natives Kendrick Lamar and Ty Dolla $Ign. Many are calling this track "vintage" Kanye and the track quickly surpassed 150K plays on the Chicago artist's SoundCloud account. Kanye revealed via his Twitter account that SWISH will be released on February 11.



Lil Durk released the visuals for his hit single "My Beyonce" from his critically acclaimed mixtape "300 days, 300 nights". The video features the Chicago drill artist locking lips with his fellow rapper girlfriend Dej Loaf. Fans were amped to see that the video paid homage to the popular movie Love and Basketball starring Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps from 2000.  New music is expected soon from artists such as Big Sean, Wiz Khalifa, Beyonce, Rihanna, and Travis Scott.

Boxing

The boxing world has been quite hushed so far this year, however some big name fighters that should be active fairly soon are Canelo Alvarez, Deontay Wilder, Adrien Broner, Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, Amir Khan, Manny Pacquiao, Gennady Golovkin, Miguel Cotto, and Erislandy Lara.

Extraordinary People

This week has been hectic with me preparing to return to college so there is no highlight person of the week. Nevertheless, I'm sure that somebody did some extraordinary deeds and should be commended. If that's you contact me via email @ mcorbin1214@gmail.com and the world may get to know you as the superstar that you are.

Nick Cannon is currently looking for Wild N' Out cast members and I'm looking to be one of them. Below is a highlight reel of some of my best snapchat videos from 2015. If you like it share it and tag Me in posts on Facebook/Twitter along with Nick Cannon campaigning for me to get on the show. This could be a great leap in my career.

Twitter: @RayhemTheDream
Instagram: @RayhemTheDream
Snapchat: Rayhem1214
Facebook: Rayhem Corbin

https://www.facebook.com/rayhem.corbin/videos/vb.1190552120/10207583379241153/?type=2&theater

Good Foundation, Strong House

  As the new year begins it's important for everyone to make this year special and to start the year off right, because a good house begins with a great foundation. This year a new portion has been added to the blog in which extraordinary people are examined and given the proper recognition for their feats. But lets jump right into things like we never left with some sports news:

NFL

After last night the stage has been officially set for the NFL Post Season with the AFC Seeding and NFC Seeding going as follows:
NFC

1. Carolina Panthers
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. Minnesota Vikings
4. Washington Redskins
5. Green Bay Packers
6. Seattle Seahawks

AFC

1. Denver Broncos
2. New England Patriots
3. Cincinnati Bengals
4. Houston Texans
5. Kansas City Chiefs
6. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Wildcard round will span the dates of January 9th and 10th with the bottom four seeds facing off in a match up of 3 V.S.  6 and 4 V.S. 5. The season's MVP appears to be Cam Newton after his stellar season and his team becoming the 7th in NFL history to finish the regular season with 15 wins. This NFL season has proved to be exciting with many teams fighting for playoff positions and seeding going into the last week of the regular season.

NBA

The NBA season has seen many teams with head scratching records such as the Houston Rockets and the Milwaukee Bucks. No team has head as crazy a record as the Golden State Warriors however who currently boast a 29-2 mark and set a record for the best start in NBA history. Unfortunately, the team's MVP Stephen Curry has been injured as of late and is questionable for their next game. The San Antonio Spurs have performed like the old running machine that they've become known for and other teams out east have stepped up their play. While Karl Anthony Towns is looking like a shoe in for rookie of the year, Knicks center Kristaps Porzingis aint too shabby. The Lithuanian has been a blocking machine that has shown his ability to shoot the ball and make great passes as well. Porzingis will be a player to look out for going forward. Kobe Bryant has announced his retirement and maintains that as much as he loves the game his body is done and it's time to hang up the jersey.

R&B/Hip-Hop

The hip-hop world saw great things to end 2015, most notably the dropping of the long awaited Pusha T album and Rick Ross's Black Market EP. While both albums had similar first week sales, Pusha's album received more critical acclaim overall and was accompanied by a short film that had fans going wild. The film appeared on Tidal and for promotional purposes, the Virginia MC went to NYC to personally give out albums on the release date at midnight. Pusha T's album is entitled Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude and will serve as the lead up to King Push which is set to drop in April. ASAP Ferg and Big Sean are amongst the two bigger names set to drop albums in the first quarter of this year with Meek Mill being set to release the highly anticipated Dreamchasers 4 mixtape.
In the R&B world, Chris Brown's Royalty album continues to sell well as does the Weeknd's album that spawned hits such as Earned It. Tory Lanez has dropped a mixtape that can be heard on Datpiff and August Alsina recently dropped his sophomore album entitled This Thing Called Life. August Alsina recently voiced his thoughts on the album being leaked.. By the Label.

Boxing

The Boxing world has been pretty amazing to close out the year 2015. The big fight that seemed to grasp many fans featured Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez. While Alvarez won the fight, there was no shortage of controversy with regards to the score. One judge nearly scored every round to Alvarez, which as some fans pointed out was "outlandish".

Extraordinary People

 It's no surprise that when it comes to fairly successful people there's more than what meets the eye.  Jermaine Greaves is one of those successful people that are very multi layered and their stories will captivate you. Amidst being in a wheelchair, Jermaine has still found a way to be self reliant and to become a powerhouse in the tough NYC scene as a recognized promoter. Greaves started in Studio 10 at the Warehouse when he began his journey as a promoter."I finally felt like people took me seriously when I was volunteer for Afro Punk" "They had me traveling all over Brooklyn, but for the experience I am grateful and it showed me alot about how this industry works"  stated Jermaine.
         "You can avoid alot of mistakes by reading books and figuring out how to create your perfect business model". This statement shows people that no matter what your profession is, reading is key. It's worth noting that Greaves was actually born on  April 28th 1992 born in Georgetown, Guyana. He relocated to church avenue in Brooklyn before he moved to East New York and Brownsville. He currently resides in Downtown Brooklyn.
            Jermaine stated that he now feels that the quickness of his success is God's will of him being made to host festivals and do all of the things that he has been able to accomplish Jermaine is currently a volunteer coordinator for the Brooklyn Music Festival. Jermaine's current mentor, Nova, is strong and has showed Jermaine that taking time to work on yourself and conduct a business the right was. For 2016 the promoter wishes to merely create his own movement and get it to a level of international recognition. Finding people that both respect and are willing to work with Jermaine are the things that he's looking for. In the words of Jermaine.. "Even if you hate me you know me".  In the words of Drake "Call me crazy, shit at least you calling." Jermaine can be found on Facebook under the name Jermaine Greaves.

Here is a photo of Jermaine with Portland Trailblazers guard Damien Lillard during All Star Weekend in NYC last year.

And of course here's a photo of Greaves with the Infamous Spike Lee.






That's all for now but per the usual... tune in next week for more stories and just to come kick it with your favorite blogger. Be sure to follow me on Facebook at Rayhem Corbin and @RayhemTheDream on both Twitter and Instagram. I'm on Snapchat now as well under the tag Rayhem1214. Happy New Year once again everyone and feel free to email me at mcorbin1214@gmail.com for business inquiries.

Summer Twilight: Back In Action

With the Summer winding down music and sports has done its just due in keeping the public entertained. Things from the now infamous Meek Mill V.S. Drake beef to the setup of historical fights in boxing such as the upcoming September 12th bout between Floyd Mayweather and Andre Berto. If you've been impressed with the media world this Summer though, prepare to be even more dazzled.

NBA

In the NBA world, players are gearing up to make the team USA roster that will only consist of 12 players and is sure to include some major snubs. Portland Trailblazers guard Damien Lilliard has expressed that he has no need to even try making the team feeling that he'll be overlooked for a second time. Guys like Paul George, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony have attended mandatory practices without physically playing thus far. The popular NBA 2K series will return on September 25th  for select customers and September 29th for the the general public. If you can't wait any longer for NBA action, the wait is almost over.

NFL

The first NFL preseason game resulted in the Pittsburgh Steelers losing a kicker for the season potentially following his tearing of his ACL. Jets quarterback Geno Smith got his jaw broken by way of a locker room scuffle that may sideline the QB for up to 10 weeks. Due to suspensions of players, it will be interesting to see which line ups take the field for select teams such as the New England Patriots in Week 1. It's officially NFL season again so sit back and enjoy people.

Boxing

The boxing world will be treated to Floyd Mayweather's potential last fight on September 12, 2015 at the MGM Grand. While some have expressed disinterest in the fight already, Berto promises to make the bout exciting. Canelo Alvarez and Miguel Cotto are also geared up for a potential November 21st bout for the title in what many are anticipating will be an instant classic and fight of the year candidate. Manny Pacquiao has also expressed his desire to fight Amir Khan in his next bout which may take place in Dubai in May of 2016. If these 3 fights can come to fruition, the next few months will be exciting for the boxing world once again.

Hip-Hop

Straight Outta Compton will finally hit the movie screen on Friday August 14th much to the delight of fans across the country. Memes have been spotted online allowing users to express the where they are "Straight Outta" to promote the film. Dr. Dre has released his first album in over 10 years to coincide with the release of the album. Drake's "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" has officially gone platinum and the hip hop world is anxiously awaiting the releases of albums still from Kanye West, Pusha T, and many others. Ja Rule has been releasing new music and Fabolous recently released a visual for the track "Gone For The Winter" from his album "The Young OG Project" which released last Christmas. Check it out below.

R&B

The R&B world has been pretty quiet with few releases. R. Kelly released a single called "BackYard Party" that is typical R.Kelly and sure to shake up that family cookout. The single is said to appear on his forthcoming album scheduled to drop on September 25th. Frank Ocean is yet another artist that has the public waiting for new music. The crooner was set to drop an album before the end of July and has yet to address the public almost two weeks after the month has already ended.

With the summer dying down, I'll continue to bring the hottest news to keep the listeners interested. As usual feel free to contact me at mcorbin1214@gmail.com or on social media at rayhemthedream with regards to anything.

Heating Up In Time For Summer

An exciting NBA finals match-up, the boxing world back on top, and music bringing happiness to all? The world of entertainment is finally on the up and up. With the Summer just a little over a week away its great to see things being so entertaining for the masses

NBA

The NBA finals match-up that includes two MVP's has shaped out to be just as exciting as advertised. The Warriors who led the league with a 67-15 regular season record have fallen behind 2-1 in the series with Stephen Curry looking less than an MVP in the 3 contests thus far. LeBron James on the other hand has set a record for most points scored through 3 NBA finals games with 123 points. Matthew Dellavadova has been the unsung hero of the Cavaliers playing exceptional defense and providing that grit that makes a player irreplaceable. Game 4 is tonight and with a win Cleveland could move to within one win of the Larry O' Brien trophy. However a win by the Warriors could make the series interesting being that the series will shift back to Oakland for Game 5 so stay tuned.

Boxing

The world of boxing has continued to be exciting following the PBC producing fights with quality fighters free of charge on prime time television. Former welterweight champion Adrien Broner will fight at Brooklyn's Barclay center on June 20th on Showtime however being a top tier fighter. His opponent Shawn Porter is a power puncher that will likely make things difficult for the "Can Man". Miguel Cotto recently scored a knockout on HBO that has essentially set up a Pay Per View juggernaut match-up between him and Saul Canelo Alvarez later this year. The heavyweight division has the new Mike Tyson in superstar Deontay Wilder who has 32 knockouts through 33 fights and knocked out his first 18 opponents in just the first round. Lookout for him to make some serious noise over the next few years,  because he's not even 30 yet.

Hip-Hop/R&B

Summer Jam proved to be just the music festival that Hip-Hop fans were hoping for. Per the usual fans were treated to surprise appearances not advertised such as the return of Method Man and Redman. Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill reunited for a performance and guys like Travis Scott got into some trouble with fans. Sadly the night ended with the police fighting off rowdy civilians who were intoxicated and high off a plethora of drugs. Troy Ave, A$AP Rocky, Dom Kennedy, and Lil Durk all dropped albums recently that are doing well and have garnered each artist nationwide recognition. Troy Ave's album is an independent release that can be found in Best Buy, Walmart, and Target.

The R&B world has been quiet with the exception of Beyonce's popular track and accompanying video featuring Nicki Minaj. 

As usual fans and friends are invited to contact me with suggestions and comments. My contact information can be found in previous posts.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/at.long.last.a$ap/id994727168

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/remember-my-name-deluxe/id991403328

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/major-without-a-deal/id998668368

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