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A week long Twitter survey revealed that my tweeps’ favorite Black Star song is “Respiration.” I think @badnewsrapdudes described this song the best– “probably one of the greatest hip-hop songs ever and I’m convinced that Jesus himself made that beat.” So here is a video to get you pumped for the Black Star show tonight at Aloha Tower.

The annual Red Bull Rivals surf team contest will be held on Sept. 4 at Sandy Beach with the South Shore team defending their title. It will be the perfect way to get ready for B90X Pool Party which will be raging the day after. Not too mention, that the Crooks & Castles grand opening is the night before Red Bull Rivals. Holy crap! My liver is already starting to hurt. Labor Day weekend is going to be mental.

Last year's victors: Town. Image by Zak Noyle courtesy of Red Bull

The following is the recently announced rosters of the team:

Town (South Shore):

Captain: Carissa Moore

Makana Ciotti, Kekoa Cazimero, Joel Centeio, Dustin Cuizon, Charlie Carroll, Randall Paulson, Jun Jo, Ezekiel Lau, Keanu Asing and Kelia Moniz

Country (North Shore)

Captain: Coco Ho

Jamie O’Brien, Kalani Robb, Flynn Novak, Makuakai Rothman, Pancho Sullivan, Mason Ho, Sean Moody, John Florence, Kalani David and Alessa Quizon

I was trying to get my fix of Black Star music because they will be performing at Aloha Tower Market Place on Friday night, and I came across these two videos. The first is of young, Aussie Craig Anderson shredding to Talib Kweli’s Get By. It was a submission for Innersection.tv and the video is making me want to surf so very badly. The second video is a commercial for the Air Jordan XVI and features Mos Def’s Umi Says. You may think that this video would make me want to play basketball, but it actually just makes we want to be taller. I think 6′6″ would be a perfect height for me that way I could look MJ straight in his eye.

Bamp Projects is bringing down Black Star (Mos Def and Talib Kweli) this Friday night at Aloha Tower Marketplace and I’m crossing my fingers that they play this song. Who do I need to get at to request History? Get at me.

I’m from a rural area in Hilo called Papaikou, and like all houses in the country there is a variety of wildlife that are constantly trying to penetrate my familyʻs house to get at their food. I just got into Hilo yesterday for a visit, and I already had an encounter with some of the aforementioned animals that inhabit the country.

There was a rat in my parent’s kitchen, namely the closet, and my old-man jerry-rigged a rat trap so that if the rodent left the closet it would be proper fucked. My pops spent 15-minutes designing a cardboard chute with his pocket knife and packing tape to increase the effectiveness of the trap. My mom, two younger brothers and I were surprised when the rat was caught only a few minutes after the trap was set. Below is an iPhone picture of the trapped rat and my momʻs poodle trying to get at it. I also wanted to dedicate the UB40 video below to my dad for his ingenuity. So, eat a dick, Ratatouille. And, high-five, Old Man!

"Thereʻs a rat in mi kitchen..."

Misery’s End EP makes me feel like a random fireworks show on a Monday night at the Ala Wai Boat Harbor parking lot while sipping a Coors Light and offering a “safety meeting” to new friends. This is a must-have summer soundtrack that you can cop on iTunes for a mere $4.95, or checkout www.paulafugamusic.com.

The 808 Scene- Episode 2 from stanley rosario on Vimeo.

Thanks to Hoyt and the BJ Penn.com crew for coming through to the Anti-Canvas Art Show and putting together a killer segment. The 808 Scene is on KHON-2 at 4:30 p.m. every Sunday. Support local creative endeavors and tune in.

This last south swell I put the RVCA Eastern Trunk through the Boardshort Ball Rash Test. This consumer report is based off data collected after wearing a particular pair of shorts while surfing for three consecutive days without washing said shorts. The main criteria for this is whether or not the surf shorts give you rash on your legs or nuts. I’m happy to report that RVCA’s Eastern Trunk passed with flying colors leaving no rash on my junk after four sessions during the past south swell with the Akila Aipa twin fin. These are stretchiest pair of RVCA shorts I ever surfed in, and the length of the legs were perfect because it prevented my knees from getting torn up by my Da Kine Bauhaus tail pad. I was also feeling the cut of the RVCA Eastern Trunk’s legs that resembled jiu jitsu shorts. I applaud the designers at RVCA for putting out a sick product that looks cool, but more importantly, passed the Boardshorts Ball Rash Test.

Every last Friday of the month at 39 Hotel.