Triple H on the record for Grantland

Triple H is one of my least favorite pro wrestlers of the last few years. It seems like every time he's on screen, he's trying his damnedest to steal attention away from whoever else is on screen (or whoever else is trying to make a living wrestling). As has been said elsewhere online, he always comes off as trying to be the biggest, coolest, smartest dude in the room and it's aggravating because, until last weekend at Summerslam, he was being written as a good guy. Good guys aren't as arrogant and self-centered as his character is, or at least they shouldn't be.

But that said, Paul Levesque, a.k.a. Hunter Hearst Helmsley, is one of the more important figures in WWE/WWF wrestling over the last 20 years or so, not just for what he's been a part of in the ring, but also for the power and influence he's developed behind the scenes. So today's Grantland.com piece in which Triple H talks about how things are ordered in current-day WWE is interesting and enlightening because it comes from a perspective that truly does see just about everything happening in the company at one time.

If his role in talent development truly is as hands-on and involved as he says it is, then he's certainly to be commended on that front: WWE has more good in-ring talent at the moment than it's probably ever had, and a bunch more still working in the developmental show NXT, which just happens to be WWE's most consistently enjoyable and non-cringe-inducing show. That almost makes up for the last several years of mostly awful TV and PPV appearances by "The Game" (which he claims he didn't have much to do with from a creative aspect [I sure hope he didn't]).

"King Kendrick and I meant it:" On Kendrick Lamar's "Control" verse

I waited a day and several listens to even consider tossing my somewhat inconsequential, though studied, response to rapper Kendrick Lamar's earthshatteringly great verse on Big Sean's unreleased track "Control." The song landed like a bus-sized meteorite on the hip-hop landscape yesterday via Big Sean's Twitter. I only offer my opinion on the matter because A. I've been listening to hip hop for about 20 years now and momentous occasions in the genre excite me perhaps more than a neophyte and B. because I think perhaps the aggregate of the Internet's response to the verse has been a little off the mark.


Compton's Kendrick Lamar was indeed the most vital and pure rapper on the planet even before this verse dropped. Kanye might be more important but he's no longer a "rapper" in the sense that Kendrick is. Jay-Z might be more popular but his greatest achievements are well behind him at this stage in his career. Kendrick's contemporaries and rivals for the Greatest Rapper Alive spot are primarily those he named in his "Control" verse:

"I'm usually homeboys with the same n----s I'm rhymin with/ But this is hip-hop and them n----s should know what time it is/ And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale/ Pusha T, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, Drake/ Big Sean, Jay Electron', Tyler, Mac Miller/ I got love for you all but I'm tryna murder you n----s/ Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you n----s/ They don't wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you n----s."

A lot of fans and rappers reacted as though Kendrick was trying to diss every other rapper with his verse, that by saying he is "King of New York" and "juggling" both coasts, he's trying to denigrate his contemporaries, but a few got it right, most notably Houston legend Bun-B, who said "Every rapper is supposed to feel like Kendrick feels as far as wanting to murder n----s on the mic. That's why I wrote my 'Murder' verse."

Kendrick isn't calling out rappers he thinks sucks, he's calling out rappers he views as the exemplary talents in the genre to say that when he sits down to write his raps, that's who he's gunning for. He doesn't keep lesser talents in mind when he's in the booth; he's trying to elevate himself to the level of those he considers the best and then push beyond. He says in the verse that this is his mindset when he raps: He wants to be SO good that when people listen to him, they literally forget every other rapper while he's on the mic. He wants nothing less than complete domination when he's rapping and as Bun-B says, if that's not your goal when you rap, then what are you rapping for?

Those who feel that Kendrick disrespected anyone in his verse should listen a few more times: By saying he wants to set the standard for rap every time he steps on stage or into the studio, by saying he wants to "murder" his contemporaries and peers by being the best rapper he possibly can be, he's actually showing an immense amount of respect for the genre and its stars. Would anyone say Kobe Bryant disrespects Michael Jordan by modeling his game after him and trying to win more championships than he did? Admittedly Kobe never said he wanted to "murder" Jordan, but the rap game is a little different than basketball or, indeed, the rest of life in that way.

Rappers often brag, rappers often reference the history of the genre and rappers often call out other rappers, but rarely is one verse so amazingly written, so inspirational and so momentous as to light a fire under just about everyone else who calls themselves a rapper. Opinions on Kendrick may vary, but there's no question he's staking a claim as one of the genre's gatekeepers.

As a side note, whoever decided that Kendrick's verse should fall second in the song's lineup made a serious miscalculation. I love Jay Electronica, but he was not well served by having to follow up what may be the most memorable rap verse in the last five years.

Weekly Comics Pull - 8/14/2013

Batman #23

(W) Scott Snyder (A) Greg Capullo & Various (CA) Greg Capullo

Witness the moment Bruce Wayne becomes Batman as "Zero Year" makes history! And in the backup story, a young Bruce Wayne fights for his life in a death match in Russia!

 

 

Justice League of America #7

(W) Geoff Johns, Jeff Lemire (A) Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy (CA) Doug Mahnke

TRINITY WAR CHAPTER 4! The hunt for a murder suspect leads Superman and his new teammates to the secret behind the Secret Society, while Batman finds the key to the crime-and one of the Leaguers will be forever changed by it. Plus, who is the Secret Society of Super-Villains and what are their plans for Pandora?

 

 

Fantastic Four #11

(W) Matt Fraction, Christopher Sebela (A/CA) Mark Bagley

• The Fantastic Four...trapped in a doomed universe!
•  Spacetime have had quite enough of the First Family of the Marvel U running rampant across her! Things are about to get cosmically punitive.
•  Could someone or something be behind the illness that's befallen the First Family?

 

 

Infinity #1 (of 6)

(W) Jonathan Hickman (A) Jim Cheung (CA) Adam Kubert

The oversized kickoff to the year's most anticipate Blockbuster summer event, chaning the way you view the Marvel Universe!
•  The outbreak of war on two fronts: Earth and Space, with our heroes torn between them.
•  The world-shattering return of Thanos!
•  Includes material from FREE COMIC BOOK DAY: INFINITY

 

 

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #2

(W) Christopher Yost (A) Marco Checchetto (CA) Paolo Rivera

SIBLING RIVALRY BEGINS HERE!
•  Because you demanded it! Parker versus Parker! The Superior Spider-Man Versus Scarlet Spider!
•  Kaine has come to New York to check on Peter's 'superior' behavior, not realizing Doc Ock has taken over Peter's life. But Ock sure knows who Kaine is...Kaine, the man who once KILLED Doctor Octopus. And now it's payback time.

 

 

Uncanny X-Men #10

(W) Brian Michael Bendis (A/CA) Frazer Irving

• SHIELD has a new agent and she's a fan favorite mutant...
•  Cyclops loses full control of his powers on the streets of Los Angeles.

 

 

Wolverine #8

(W) Paul Cornell (A/CA) Alan Davis

PART ONE OF KILLABLE!
•  It all starts here, the biggest Wolverine event in years!
•  Wolverine thinks a cure has been found...but it's in Wakanda, where he's not exactly a welcome guest!
•  Meanwhile, Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. are working on even bigger problems that Wolverine might have caused.
•  Guest-starring Storm and Black Panther!

 

 

Wolverine and the X-Men #34

(W) Jason Aaron (A/CA) Nick Bradshaw

THE HELLFIRE SAGA CONCLUDES!
•  Wolverine and the X-Men face Mystique, Sabretooth and the Hellfire Club!
•  What fate awaits the Jean Grey School students who joined the New Hellions?
•  The WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN landscape is redefined!

Weekly Comics Pull - 8/7/2013

Action Comics #23

(W) Scott Lobdell, Frank Hannah (A) Philip Tan & Various (CA) Tyler Kirkham

Superman battles the constructs of an immense alien civilization that has built a feudal system based on pure evil! Plus, in the backup story, Jor-El and Lara try to save the Science Council from the colonel who seeks to make all of Krypton kneel before him!

 

Detective Comics #23

(W) John Layman (A) Jason Fabok, Andy Clarke (CA) Jason Fabok

Alfred is forced to confront the Anti-Batman known as the Wrath! Taking care of Batman all these years has left Alfred with more than a few tricks up his sleeve, but will they be enough?

 

Green Lantern #23

(W) Robert Venditti (A/CA) Billy Tan, Richard Friend

Hal struggles with his new role as leader of the Green Lantern Corps while he tries to solve the mystery of why the universe is atrophying! And an escaped prisoner has gotten hold of a power that makes her nearly unstoppable! The stage is set for the ultimate test against Relic!

 

All New X-Men #15

(W) Brian Michael Bendis (A) David Lafuente (CA) Stuart Immonen

• Love is in the air!
•  Cyclops heart and future start to fade before his eyes.

 

Avengers #17

(W) Jonathan Hickman (A) Stefano Caselli (CA) Leinil Francis Yu

"ALL QUIET"
•  The Avengers recruit more members to deal with the soon-arriving threat to Earth.
•  The Builders enter the Marvel Universe.
•  The Finale of the Prelude to INFINITY: Part Four.

 

Iron Man #14

(W) Kieron Gillen (A/CA) Greg Land

MORE MIND-BLOWING REVELATIONS AS "THE SECRET ORIGIN OF TONY STARK" CONTINUES!
•  Free at last, all IRON MAN has to do is fight a robot who can take over his armor at any time and avoid one of the universe's greatest bounty-hunters...DEATH'S HEAD.
•  An impossible choice at the edge of space will decide the fate of two worlds. Who lives? Who dies?
•  And can TONY STARK somehow find a way to avoid his destiny...

 

Superior Spider-Man #15

(W) Dan Slott (A/CA) Humberto Ramos

"Run, Goblin, Run!" Part 1 of 2
•  What's it like to be a villain in the Marvel Universe...once the Superior Spider-Man sets his sights on you?
•  Find out, from Phil Urich's point of view, in what might be the final days of the Hobgoblin.
•  Plus, what is the secret of "The Tinkerer's Apprentice"? Who's been helping the Terrible Tinkerer? And how is he, of all people, the reason everything in Spider-Man's life will be changed forever?!