Bay area rapper LaRussell is independent, making music his way, and always seems to be having the best time doing it. He is heavily influenced by the Bay sound, think E-40 or Mac Dre, but with his own 2020’s take on it. Add to that he host concerts at his childhood home (seen in the video above) and sold his most recent album direct to fans with a pay what you want model.
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The Diplomat & Primal
This is not usually the kind of show I bring to wife. But we were captive in a hotel room for a soccer weekend away and needed something to watch. We end up watching the first 3 episodes and coming home to zip through season one. A smart, no nonsense, but sometimes too smart and no nonsense for her own good ambassador lands in a diplomatic pressure cooker. All of the writing and acting is great.
Everywhere I look this is listed as Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal. A name I didn’t know at first glance, but he’s the Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and Star Wars: Clone Wars guy. Primal is very adult, by comparison to those titles, action horror animated series that has no dialogue. Just a cave man and his dinosaur friend surviving in a brutal world. It looks gorgeous and the emotion it can convey with no words is impressive. The only reason it popped up on my radar, is the third season just started airing after a four year hiatus.
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What Now? w/ John Oliver
What Now? is a podcast I’m aware of, but don’t listen to regularly. No shade, there are so many fish in that sea and only so many hours in a day. That said if you wanted to spend two great hours with Trevor Noah, Eugene Khoza, and John Oliver this is a good way to start. That’s a long listen, but I cracked up in the car, cooking in the kitchen, and on the treadmill at the gym.
Bonus for the real ones…John Oliver on his annual Men in Blazers episode.
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ABCs: Native Plate, The Roosevelt, & 1870
I’m late on closing out the 2025 ABC challenge and also ashamed to share that we did not complete it. We missed it by two letters (K and V) and even had places ready to go during the holiday break. Then I threw my back out at the gym on Dec 27th and we scraped our plans because I couldn’t walk or sit up for a week.
We are doing another restaurant challenge in 2026, but for now some quick thoughts on letters N, R, and “X”:
A wide variety of Asian cuisine + street food inspired options on the menu. We liked the vibe, food, and prices. All of it worked. If this place was just slightly closer we’d probably be regulars. It felt approachable, not like the spot for a special event, but a “you know where we haven’t been a while, we should go there tonight”.
Church Hill is the real MVP of our 2025 challenge. We couldn’t close out the year without hitting this staple that was on the list since January. It didn’t disappoint. Southern cuisine expertly elevated. But definitely a “fancy” date night spot. Get a reservation and give it a try.
Good, but not great was the through line for every course we had at 1870. Cocktails a little too bland, appetizers a little underwhelming, and mains not completely in concert with each other. If we got invited to return by someone I’d be happy to go, but for the price tag, it isn’t a place I’d pick again.
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Tifo Football Podcast
I’ve been slowly coming up to speed on football for a decade now. It was not the sport of my youth. Learning it through youth soccer via my kids and following professional football mostly by way of watching the Premiere League has been my vehicle. That also came with lots of news sites, books, videos, and of course podcast.
I am here at the start of 2026, through countless hours of research, to proclaim the best podcast in that space is the Tifo Football Podcast. Twice weekly it is perfect hour of serious commentary and data driven insight. That is then flipped on it’s head with goofball bits and tangents that ground the sport in it’s roots as a fun kids game and distraction from the world and life.
It is a priority listen every week, even when Tottenham play poorly, which is all the time recently. They rotate the cast of cohost, but generally Joe Devine is the ring leader guiding and then hilariously undermining every topic covered. Lastly I’ve talked about TIFO (their explainer YouTube channel) before on the old site and even on the podcast, RIP. Also their book, How to Watch Football, is great too.
Bonus: Somethings been cut!
I’ve been a long time fan of the All Fantasy Everything podcast and recently their producer has been shouting “somethings been cut!” when they need to edit out something problematic. He then confirmed its an homage to the Tifo Football Podcast. Love a cross over.
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MARCO PLUS
Marco Plus jumped on to my 2021 annual playlist^ as an addition in 2023. Which is a long way of saying I’ve known about him, but wasn’t on it. His latest album at the end of 2025 has been a full exploration of his music for me and I’m here to say that it is good stuff.
^ The track was “Lately” and it still destroys:
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How to with DWJ
Love a Daniel Warren Johnson comic. Last year a highlight was Absolute Batman, but this past weekend I stumbled into these older videos he did with Proko. The first is him digging through his travel art supplies and explaining how he uses them. I bet you can’t avoid buying something new after watching it. I couldn’t.
The second is a walk through of how he draws perspective environment scenes with some of those same tools. Of course he references Kim Jung Gi during it, how could he not.
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2025 Top Rap Songs
This year has been a ripper. Lots of new artist and plenty of releases from artist I already loved. In no particular order here ten of my favorites. Bonus: scroll to the bottom for the whole Rap Shit 2025 playlist, it’s a good batch this year.
Ovrkast. – Small Talk
Young Nudy – Iced Tea
Freddie Gibbs – Nobody Like You
Westside Gunn, Doechii – EGYPT (Remix)
LaRussell – AM I MUSTY?
Larry June, 2 Chainz & The Alchemist – Bad Choices
Latto – Blick Sum
Aminé – Arc de Triomphe
Clipse – So Be It
JID – Sk8
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A Cookin Soul Christmas
Did I do a Cookin Soul post on the old blog? Who knows? It is however that time of year where I put on the mixtapes and remind others how dang good they are.
Brand new for 2025…
Old favorites…
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Gymkhana 2025 + BTS
I love that the gymkhana series, made popular by Ken Block, has continued with Travis Pastrana. This years video features a sick car and jaw dropping stunts. That is every year, but they keep pushing the creative and death defying boundaries. Almost more interesting is the behind the scenes for the build out of this years car, based on the Subaru BRAT (Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter).
The interesting nugget about the “chicken tax” seats in the bed was right up my alley.
The Chicken Tax is a 25 percent tariff on light trucks (and originally on potato starch, dextrin, and brandy) imposed in 1964 by the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson in response to tariffs placed by France and West Germany on importation of U.S. chicken.
From 1978 to 1987, the Subaru BRAT carried two rear-facing seats (with seatbelts and carpeting) in its rear bed to secure classification as a “passenger vehicle” and not as a light truck.
180 Lunches 