HOT COLLABORATION
Jay-Z and Linkin Park
For a "retired" rapper, Jay-Z's working hard. He scores with his MTV
"mash-up" live performance with Linkin Park. Basically they've combined
his "Encore" song and Linkin's "Numb." The results are a solid rap-rock
track, and a clip that's likely to get loads of MTV airplay. So for
those keeping score of Jay's collaborations:
• Jay-Z and the Roots: Great
• Jay-Z and Linkin Park: Good
• Jay-Z and R. Kelly: Utter disaster
HOT ALBUM
De La Soul's The Grind Date
"De La Soul is now back on the map," barks Flava Flav on The Grind Date.
He's right: Fifteen years after creating the all-time classic 3 Feet
High and Rising, De La can still hang with rap's best rhymers. The trio
gets funky on "Verbal Clap" and deep on "Church." "The Future" honors
old pals A Tribe Called Quest and Jungle Brothers. Spike Lee, Common and
MF Doom chip in nicely as well.
HOT DVD
The Kids in the Hall, Complete Season 2
I'm crrrrrrushing your head. Fans of Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin
McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson get their second DVD treat
with this four-disc set. Beyond the brilliant sketch comedy, the extras
include interviews with the Kids as they explore the creation of such
characters as freaky child Gavin, the Queen of England and the Chicken
Lady. Inevitably, the interviews get to the Kids in drag. McCulloch
admits all five men are "feminine guys." Thompson jokes, "It's not that
Canadians are all drag queens ... OK, they're all drag queens." Order
the set at
www.comedycentral.com and you get a free Kids T-shirt. In dresses.
Rob Clark
