Who wishes we had the music and basketball of 2001? I know I sound like a bitter old man reminiscing on yesteryear. If I really think back, that was pre bloc party, pre kings of leon, pre lebron james, pre kobe’s 81, pre arcade fire…but for some reason it seems much simpler.

Hip Hop wasn’t “dead.” The Lakers were winning championships. There wasn’t any tangible proof the refs were cheating. Britney’s VMA performances were mad hot, and the country didn’t hate George Bush. We actually rooted for Cheney to bomb the middle east. Things were simple back then. Why is it now so complex? For every 20000 “rappers” there is one genuine hip hop artist. For all of Kobe’s heroics, that championship team has been dismantled, shaq brought a title to miami, the lakes are stuck with kwame and izzo wants out.

I don’t know if it’s my perception, my age, my transgression from truly being a child to the “dreaded” 30s or the haze from the bubba kush, but everything seems tarnished. I know life works in cycles. The lakers, one day, will win again. Music will always change and for some, it’s never been better. The country will have it’s good, its bad and it’s phuking awful leaders. I know it cycles. I was just reminded of the lakers 2001 championship dvd. I thought of shaq and his pre game huddle chant.

“Red Light Green Light…How Far We Going Back?!”