“Prince Outlived Mike Jack!”
Also: 3 Body Problem, TYLA, Strands
The Big Poop 💩
a sit-back spotlight on the past week’s most enjoyable entertainment
When I saw Future and Metro Boomin dropped a new album, I made a mental note to get to it later. I figured it would be perfect to bump at the gym when I was setting a new PR on bench (cause that’s totally something I do), but then I saw that Kendrick had a feature on the album. My reaction was pavalovian. Without thinking, I googled what song he was featured on, found it, pulled up “Like That”, moved the cursor to the middle of the track—figuring that was where a feature would come in—and hit play.
These niggas talkin' out of they necks
Don't pull no coffin out of your mouth,
I'm way too paranoid for a threat
Oh, I thought. This wasn’t reflective or introspective Kendrick. This wasn’t protest rallying Kendrick. This was Kendrick pissed-off. This was mad Kendrick. Confrontational Kendrick. And as the song went on, I realized this was Kendrick firing shots at Drake and J. Cole.
There are plenty of historical and gossipy reasons why Kendrick dissing these two was significant, but none bigger than the fact that right now, these three are the biggest names in Hip Hop. Drake has held the belt for being the most commercially-successful Hip Hop artist for a decade. J. Cole’s pen has been top-notch since the pandemic (spend an afternoon listening to J. Cole’s recent features if you don’t believe me). And Kendrick literally owns a Pulitzer Prize.
Thus, it didn’t seem crazy when J. Cole claimed they were The Big Three on “First Person Shooter,” a song on Drake’s For All the Dogs album last year...
Love when they argue the hardest MC
Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?
We the big three like we started a league, but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali
Might it be that Kendrick didn’t like J. Cole comparing himself to Muhammad Ali (the original G.O.A.T.)? Or did he find it insulting to even be mentioned in the same breath as the other two? Whatever the case, on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That,” Kendrick said:
Ah, yeah, huh, yeah, get up with me
Fuck sneak dissin', first-person shooter, I hope they came with three switches
And…
Think I won't drop the location? I still got PTSD
Motherfuck the big three, nigga, it's just big me
Nigga, bum
What? I'm really like that
And your best work is a light pack
Nigga, Prince outlived Mike Jack'
Nigga, bum
'Fore all your dogs gettin' buried
That's a K with all these nines, he gon' see Pet Sematary
Nigga, bum
Let me tell you, I listened to this verse like thirty times that first night. I couldn’t even make it to the end of the song. No disrespect to Future, but I would simply move the cursor back to the beginning of Kendrick’s verse every time, so I could hear it again and make sure I hadn’t missed anything. Make sure my ears weren’t deceiving me.
Kendrick saying, “Prince outlived Mike Jack” months after Drake said, “Niggas talkin' 'bout when this gon' be repeated / What the fuck, bro? I'm one away from Michael / Nigga, beat it, nigga, beat it, what?” HILARIOUS. The diss happening on frequent Drake-collaborator Future’s song on an album titled. “WE DON’T TRUST YOU.” JUICY. Kendrick punctuating his bars with, “Nigga, bum.” I AM DEAD. 💀
To be clear though, despite my trademark enthusiasm for this verse, I doubt it’ll become one of my top 20 Kendrick verses of all-time. I don’t even think its on par with the think-piece generator of the century, 2013’s “Control.” But it’s so Hip Hop at a time when Hip Hop could really use a stimulant. It’s someone at the top of the food chain taking a shot at two others at top of the food chain. It’s bigger than Drake vs. Meek Mill or Drake vs. Pusha T (as fun as those were). This is potentially the catalyst of a beef that’ll go down in history and be put up there with Biggie vs. Pac or Jay Z vs. Nas.
Or maybe it won’t. Maybe Drake and J. Cole never acknowledge the verse. Maybe Kendrick goes back into his proverbial hibernation after this. Either way, no matter what comes from it, nothing can take away from the night in which I listened to it thirty times nonstop, analyzed every bar, and dreampt of the implications.
Nigga, bum. 🎶
Recent Splashes 💦
smaller spotlights on recent enjoyable entertainment
3 Body Problem (TV Show)
I love a show that requires me to pay attention, but it usually needs to convince me to. With Three Body Problem, I wasn’t convinced until the end of episode 2 when a character in an earlier timeline received a message from an alien and responded to them in a surprising but true-to-character way. I’m vague there to avoid spoilers, but it was at that moment I knew that this show required my attention. Since then (I’m five episodes in) that attention has been rewarded. The show is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, in that it’s just so sciencey. It has extra terrestrials, virtual reality, hard-ass science like astrophysics and nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and good ole fashion science-fiction all under one umbrella. Not only that, the science is used to advance the plot, provide surprises, and really shape the world. It all feels one-of-a-kind. And if that sounds too Chem 1123 for your tastes, fear not. The show is in the hands of the guys who brought you the early seasons of Game of Thrones—who yes, technically brought you the later seasons too, but with this show they’re showing off their early season magic. They’re adapting a dense but beloved novel and turning it into something that feels fresh and innovative to a new audience.
TYLA (Album)
A lot of albums have dropped in the past couple weeks. I was contemplating spotlighting Waxhatchee’s Tigers Blood, Kacey Musgraves’ Deeper Well, Ariana Grande’s eternal sunshine, Bleachers’ Bleachers, but Tyla’s TYLA turned out to be my favorite of the bunch. The South African native’s single “Water” last year was an instant “Who is she? I must know more!” song, and she proves that interest was warranted on this project. On TYLA, she provides 13 (14 including “Water (Remix)”) unskippable songs that tap into her roots while still feeling very of-the-moment. It’s sprinkled with thoughtful features and perfect twists on her sound. I’ve listened to the album front to back, back to front, shuffle, and every other direction and it never disappoints. It’s liquid cool, silky smooth, and one that can bang at the club or set the mood of stay-in night. I love it and think it’s one of the best albums of this new year.
Strands (NYT Game)
When it comes to NYT games, Wordle and The Mini are staples, Connections was a fave when it first dropped but now is only dabbled with, and the others might as well not exist to me. That’s been my situation for months, but when Strands dropped, I found myself squeezing another game into the rotation. After a month of dabbling with it, Strands now sits firmly next to Connections. It isn’t a daily game for me like Wordle and The Mini, but a game that gets played if I fly threw the first two or have time to kill for some reason. I find that it strikes the right balance of being challenging and rewarding, and with the built-in hint system, it gives plenty of room to grant yourself some grace in solving the puzzle. I would say that if you’re looking for a way to change-up your NYT games rotation, Strands might be your man.
A Quick Phone Call 📞
a subscriber-suggested spotlight on enjoyable entertainment
What a wild concept. An animated show that picks up a story that ended nearly 27 years ago with an animated style that’s meant to capture the look and feel of said 27-year-old show? It was a wild concept when I first heard about it. It was a wild one when I saw the first trailer. And it’s now one when I see the final product. And yet, I’m pleasantly surprised to say X-Men '97 works. The show continues the story of the X-Men: The Animated Series. Professor X is gone. Cyclops is in charge. Jean Grey is pregnant. And Magneto is not to be trusted. It all feels very X-Men with its explorations of themes about tolerance, prejudice, and racism, but what really makes it excel is the modern touches. The way Cyclops uses his laser eyes to bounce around rooms and ease his fall from the sky feels like it could only be accomplished with modern animation, but its all done in this 90’s coat of paint. As someone with no nostalgia for the original 90’s show (I was more of an X-Men: Evolution guy), the wild concept somehow makes it feel from the past but also brand new. I’m hoping the arc of this season is as wild in concept too.
Want to have something spotlighted? Leave a comment or email whileyapoop@gmail.com.
Upcoming Dumps 🪠
potentially enjoyable entertainment on the horizon
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (Movie) - March 29
This felt like a miss for me, but the groupchat just suggested we all go see this is 4DX next week… So, I guess I’m seeing this in 4DX next week. Here’s hoping it’s a good time!
COWBOY CARTER (Album) - March 29
Couple days late getting this newsletter out, so this album is out TODAY. To be honest, I don’t love the title, but I love “Daddy Lessons” and “TEXAS HOLD EM’,” so I’m ready for this era of Beyoncé.
Monkey Man (Movie) - April 5
Jordan Peele. Dev Patel. Stylized action. A revenge plot. Rave reviews. I’m so there.
Ongoing Wipes: Black Joints (Part 1) 🧻
an ongoing exploration of thematically-related entertainment
I’m starting a new Ongoing Wipes series that focuses on movies about the black experience, stars black stars, and/or are directed by black auteurs. I’m dubbing it “Black Joints” in honor of the legend Spike Lee and because it felt like “While Ya Poop” could use a hit of that.
I wanted to start with a fun-action movie that has felt like a blind spot for me for years, New Jack City. I’m happy to say that it did not disappoint in part because of my man, Wesley Snipes. Nino Brown. What a talent. What a bad man. He is just so effortlessly cool and smooth and gangster. It’s wild to me that Snipes isn’t mentioned more as an all-time great, doesn’t have a room full of awards, and hasn’t worked with a number of the best directors of his generation. (Sidenote: I did a quick Google search and found that there’s plenty of things that point to Snipes’ ego being a problem… But I don’t know. It feels like his “ego” might have been glossed over more if Snipes were —)
Anyways, this gangster movie is corny in a lot of ways. The street gangsters have a whole bomb that the cops have to defuse. Chris Rock’s Pookie stuff has more twists and turns in thirty minutes than a Mario Kart map. And Nino holding up a child as a shield in a gun fight is so absurd in any context. But the movie is also very earnest about the story it’s trying to tell and the themes its trying to explore. I’m on the fence about how well it explores those themes, but earnestness goes a long way in my book. Plus, how could you not love a movie that gives you lines like “You gotta rob to get rich in the Raegan era.” and “And if this dreadlocked boomboorah even blinks wrong, you lullaby his ass.” You can’t. You have to love it.
Next in the “Black Joints” Series: He Got Game
An Old Toilet 🚽
a look back at older entertainment
I got bit by the Suits bug. I felt it nibbling on me as I glimpsed my sister watching episodes over Christmas Break, but it really sunk its teeth into me the last few weeks. Harvey is my guy. Mike is me (brilliant but inexperienced). Donna rules. Luis sucks (but not completely). And Rachel is literally a future princess. The show is still very much a USA Network drama (not everything works: like please let me never see Trevor again), but the characters are so likable and the plot lines compelling enough that it’s hard not to hit “Next Episode” every time. I’ve often found myself staying up way past my bedtime to catch one more.
The Flush 🌀
closing thoughts
The days are getting longer. The sun is setting later. And Broadway season is upon us. Over the month of April (the month in which a plethora of Broadway shows will be opening and the last month for a show to become Tony eligible), I’m going to try to send out a couple of Broadway related dumps (issues). It’s an idea I’ve been tossing around for a while: having a number of issues centered around an overarching theme. Think like beach reads at the beginning of Summer. Blockbuster movies toward the end. And scary movies in October. Just themed newsletters that kind of match the vibes and feelings of the season we’re in. I’m excited about it, but April will be the first swing at it, so let’s see how it goes!
Until then. Keep pooping! 💩