You're Invited To A Block Party Featuring The Headliners
Trae Young // FOBs // Kevin Hart & Chris Rock // Theo Epstein
Yo…
On Wednesday night I located some pants and jumped onto the subway to go to the Toronto Raptors game vs the Atlanta Hawks.
Freshtastic fun seeing Trae Young live.
Gave me an opportunity to check of one of the new youngbloods in action. He needs to tighten up his court vision a bit, he’s not as active as Curry running without the ball and of course D is an issue. Still good; lots of potential.
And Toronto won. Plus I yammed a footlong bacon wrapped hotdog. That alone was worth pants.
Interesting moment during the game though…
The girl sitting next to me…maybe late University age…or just graduated? was an Egyptian FOB (Fresh Off The Boat). By the end of the first quarter she picked up on my basketball knowledge and that I’m also Egyptian.
Periodically she would ask me to translate on-court happenings. At one point Trae Young was blocked twice in a row. Solid D!
And on The Big Screen it said BLOCK PARTY (brought to you "buy…" I forget which company.).
She asked me in Arabic: what does "block party" mean? Thankfully The Big Screen was showing a replay of the last block in slo-mo…see that? That’s a block. It’s a defensive stop. Cheer for those.
(I didn’t encourage her to add a variation of: “get that mess outta here.” She occasionally heckled the players in Arabic. While her sass is satisfactory I’m not sure how many NBA players can translate her trash talking. Turns out this was her second ever Raptors game so she’s got a steep learning curve ahead of her…like she didn’t even bring up a player’s mother!)
Okay, she nodded…a block is a defensive stop. Why did they call it a "block party?" You can hear the quotes in her voice.
Aww man.
How do you easily explain the layered cultural connotations of Block Party…of seeing a pickup truck pull up to the scene, its bed burdened by human sized speakers? Or be impressed with the ingenuity of a smooth DJ stealing juice from parking meters or light posts to power up turntables to drop the dopest beats?
In New Jersey at a block party I enjoyed incredible BBQed ribs. I happily munched on them while the dance floor suddenly formed into a circle and a dance-off unfolded. In Montreal I drank something blue and tangy, no clue what it was other than delicious. In NYC I had BBQ corn.
There’s “Invited to the Cookout” a social level of (cool) acceptance before we came up with corny modern terms like ally.
To have a white guy whose authentic heart and deep connection earn an invitation to the cookout is incredible. Often at block parties you’ll see a tiny handful of white faces: Ernie Johnson Jr. the host of Inside The NBA is permanently invited to the cookout. Max Kellerman an ESPN host is also invited.
Hip Hop! 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx. On August 11, 1973 DJ Kool Herc was entertaining at his sister’s back-to-school party, and tried something new on the turntable: he extended an instrumental beat (breaking or scratching) to let people dance longer (break dancing) and began MC’ing (rapping) during the extended breakdancing.
A block party sparked hip hop…Will Smith in Summertime rapped about block parties, Dave Chappelle’s Block Party came out in 2005 and it’s still a fantastic documentary (shout out to director Michel Gondry).
These are dense cultural connections…do you fully get the joke on The Big Screen: Block Party?! It all nearly fits with NBA and hip hop and street culture…and if you know these cultures you instantly get it.
I didn’t know how to explain all that to her…so I weakly said it’s like a street festival…though that’s not right either.
You can see it on her face…she didn’t fully get it.
You can see it on my face…I didn’t fully know how to explain it.
I shrugged…which is an American response.
Most British folks rarely if ever shrug. (Look at American actors in American TV shows vs British actors…in British TV shows…shrugging is not a thing they do all that much.)
Culture is complex. Thankfully bacon wrapped hot dogs are simple pleasures. I took another bite.
#SetTheVCR: Chris Rock vs Tony Rock
On December 12, 2023 Netflix began streaming Kevin Hart & Chris Rock: Headliners Only.
Make a strong tea and chill with this. This is the story of how we got here.
According to Netflix the description of this documentary reads: “From back in the day to the top of their game, Kevin Hart and Chris Rock offer an unparalleled, behind-the-scenes look at their friendship and careers.”
Some key moments that stand out:
Chris Rock’s brother Tony is fantastic in Headliners Only.
No doubt Chris is a #GOAT. But Tony Rock is super funny...he’s got solid bits like Fat People Are Harder To Kidnap.
It's a different type of humour...a different style of humour. It's Charlie Murphy all over again, right?
Funny is not a gene that some people get: 23 and Me tells you where you are from but it can’t confirm if you’ll be funny when you go back home.
There’s something in the makeup or experiences of a family…those growing up Wonder Years that create a firm foundation of funny.
So yes enjoy Tony Rock when you see him; just as we enjoyed Charlie Murphy before he passed away in 2017.
#SetTheVCR: Patrice O’Neal
A comic you’ll hear referenced a number of times in Headliners Only is Patrice O’Neal. He’s a funny legend. He died in 2011. Big Loss!
Back in February 2021 Comedy Central broadcast Patrice O’Neal: Killing Is Easy a fantastic doc directed by Michael Bonfiglio (and produced by Bill Burr).
Kevin Hart and yes Charlie Murphy are in the doc. It’s gone full circle.
The full documentary is on YouTube but you need a VPN to check it out since it’s Comedy Central and their stuff is geo-blocked in Canada. Rude!
#SetTheVCR: Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
Many of Kevin Hart’s comments in Headliners Only mirrors what he said talking to Jerry Seinfeld in Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee back in 2014. (S’on Netflix if you want to re-watch that episode. I did after I finished the doc.)
“Love these talks by the way,” Kevin said when Seinfeld Yoda-ed that “good stand up is a reduced essence of thought.”
Seinfeld’s magical ability to distill comedy into a specific science is a profound gift. He delivers an amazing There Will Be Blood reference in the Headliners Only. Even if you’re not a comic or even if you’re not funny…you instantly get what he is saying. Instantly.
This is exactly what the world lacks and badly needs. There are many people who are experts in their field. They have studied, they have published, they have investigated…they’ve done The Work.
However they suck at effortlessly explaining The Work. That X-Men mutant ability…that Seinfeld-ian distinction to choose the right metaphor or analogy that effectively conveys the full essence of the topic is magical.
There’s only a handful of people in the world who can do this. There are many knowledgeable experts but immediate connection to allow you to happily exclaim: “Oh man; I totally get it!” is so rare.
I struggled and sucked at explaining Block Party. I know what it is but how do you smoothly explain it?
Few months back I saw an interview with Theo Epstein who used to run the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Currently he’s an executive consultant for MLB. In the interview he Seinfeld explained baseball. My jaw dropped…I totally understood baseball; I understood the history. That made so much sense.
You know how many people know baseball? But how many of those people can connect and channel baseball clarity to ignorant non-fans like myself?
It’s such an impressive gift because it’s so rare. When you find these talented individuals like Theo Epstein for MLB and Jerry Seinfeld for comedy…I’d add Michel Lewis as another one…cling to them.
When there’s Breaking News on CNN the producers and reports are off-camera scrambling to find experts who can properly explain the unfolding situation:
Who are the key people involved in the latest Gaza–Israel conflict?
What catastrophic failure prompted the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and…what happens now?
When is the deadline to finally get on the nice list before Santa comes?
Where are homegrown terrorists going online to become radicalized?
Why was America attacked on 9/11?
Chances are most people don’t know the answers to these Breaking News matters. This is why news outlets will contact experts to break down the breaking news. Unfortunately as you’ve seen repeatedly not every expert has that X-Men ability to reveal in a coherent and cohesive style exactly what’s going on.
For every fact you hear on the news there is a significant backstory but…what is it?
Find these communicators. Celebrate their existence. Amplify their voices. Recommend their books and podcasts and interviews to your friends and family.
There are the talented people who’ll help you to understand the Headliners.
There are two types of people in this world…those make the shorthand and those who use the shorthand.
I didn’t invent or layer block party 2 simple words with all those cultural manifestations. However, I get it and I use it. Somebody created block party and after decades to refinement I saw at a Raptors game in 2023 and saw them on The Big Screen and instantly got the “joke.”
There are two types of people in this world…those make the shorthand and those who use the shorthand. Don’t just be a consumer who uses the shorthand…find the shorthand creators.
If you know of any others…comments are below.
I know what I don’t know…
Sammy Younan
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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair podcast: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.