What a week. Truly, what a week.
Our brother Dan was a superhero in inviting Eric, our friend Steven and myself to Madison Square Garden - the toughest ticket in town, maybe ever? - for Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday evening. Unfortunately, what we witnessed was the Spurs and refs take down our beloved Knicks. Then two days later, we were there (on our home couches) as OG Anunoby, Jalen Brunson and Jose Alvarado heroically dismantled a historically impossible 29-point deficit and crushed all the online betting services. (Apologies to our friends at Prize Picks, a proud 2J3BD sponsor!) Afterwards, we ran around the Upper West Side — where energy usually goes to die — in search of human connection and elation. Walking down Amsterdam, our ears perked up: you could hear people chanting OG’s name outside Jake’s Dilemma from six blocks away!!! Here’s a clip of that same crowd greeting a UPS driver:
The vibes in NYC are outrageously good. Like, it feels like a parody of regular life: we were walking in the neighborhood yesterday and construction workers shouted “Let’s go Knicks!” from the windows and doormen stopped us in the street to ask if we supported the team. I don’t know what will happen if/when the Knicks win it all, but I’m guessing all the memes about Mamdani’s New York will come true!!! LGK!
And speaking of love, loyalty and brotherhood (or maybe money, power and respect) Eric and I were lucky enough to attend the Tribeca Film Festival’s premiere of The LOX documentary last night. It’s been in the works for a long time — we saw a cut in October 2018 and even then they’d been going back and forth for a while. But so much has changed: Verzuz was in 2021, for context! 2018’s price is not today’s price, to bastardize Fat Joe. Shouts to Mass Appeal, Wild Bill, Kristi Clifford and The LOX for getting it over the finish line.
Without spoiling anything, I think the doc is really good at showing the how and why of these three men, as a unit. A few years ago, the guys began branding themselves as the most loyal group in hip-hop and the doc shines in telling the story of three lifelong friends who stuck by one another in the face of shady business, long odds and death. (Puff Daddy is interviewed at length, and his responses are…very telling. Did he know he was being recorded?) It’s incredible to see so much old, never-before-seen footage and — if I’m being honest — what makes it even more special is the three of them sitting down in the next scene, cracking jokes, their bonds more intact than ever.
So I give it 4 Richie Thumbs.
Hahahahahahaha I’m kidding, but that would be hilarious. I’ve gotta keep my brand strong!
Thankfully, none of the guys read this far into the newsletter, so they won’t see that joke. And because they won’t see this, I can tell you that Eric and I are flying out to Chicago tomorrow to surprise them at their show Sunday: they’re performing at Grant Park with Busta, Ross, 2 Chainz, DJ Drama, Fabolous and NLE Choppa. We’ll be hanging with our friends at DVD Couture. So, say hi if you see us — and don’t tell Kiss, P or Louch that we’ll be in Chicago! Don’t make me regret my lack of boundaries with the newsletter.
Shouts to everyone we saw at the premiere (Cipha Sounds, Raekwon, Kid Capri, Sean C, Jonny Nuñez, Antonio “Tony” Moxberg) and everyone we met while waiting for the one elevator. So many people told us they fuck with the showcast and it was so awesome to meet you all.
Oh, and because Harry Shalom is going to ask, no, I don’t know when the doc is hitting wide release, where it will eventually be streaming or any other details!!!! Everything I know, I told you, I promise. Lack of boundaries, again.
Here’s our updated schedule:
Carlito’s Way is on Starz/Hulu. Big Lebowski, 48 Hrs. and Pretty Woman are all on Netflix.
We’re off next week because of, well, everything but make sure to check our episode on The Quick and The Dead (1995) which is available on Amazon (right here). It stars Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, a very young Leonardo DiCaprio and less-young-but-new Russell Crowe in a Western.
And, if you haven’t yet, fill out the 2J3BD reader survey, it only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you to everyone who’s submitted responses so far, it’s been really helpful in trying to tailor the experience of our show to you guys — and we have some solutions we’re putting together in spaces where we could use improvement.
That’s about it for this week! As always, you can also find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Instagram, TikTok and right here, for our weekly newsletter. But before we go: Keep sending in ideas to our suggestion box!
Here’s the latest write-ins. MacGruber would be amazing! So would A League of Their Own but I think we need a long break before another baseball movie — Sheek would boycott. Unfaithful would be a really good one, too. Thanks for all these!
Salute Kings ,, I just want to say ,, what show podcast whatever when the event is live the crowd is singing along ,, Like share baby subscribe and all that is an anthem 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
We need Dan on the show for the 1 time!