the blacklog

Rod & Ryan dive into the deep end of hip hop's greatest stories. Hip hop is an art like no other, and while we know a lot of songs where the artist talks about themselves and rags on others, there's also the storytelling aspect. They give their list of songs under Emeritus, GOAT, and honorable mention. From Slick Rick to Ice Cube to Scarface and everyone in between. They also digress and... DISCLAIMER: Rod & Ryan forgot more than they remembered because there are A LOT OF SONGS OUT THERE.

This week's pod has Rod & Ryan diving into two episodes. The first one has the one and only appearance of his girl, Henrietta. She is invited for dinner, only for the Evans to find out that she is pregnant (but not by JJ). It really is probably the first show to tackle teen pregnancy. The next episode has JJ deciding to join the Army after James is fired and JJ loses his gig. Rod & Ryan discuss Henrietta's dilemma, James' old school way of thinking with pregnancy, and JJ actually being in the Army. They also digress about Avengers Endgame, Welcome to Derry, and the Fresh Prince.

Ernie Harris is James' childhood friend from Mississippi, who shows up out of nowhere, is invited by the Evans to stay at their home. Ernie's apparently a successful businessman, but after a visit from two thugs looking for Ernie, James finds out that he makes his money from gambling. Rod & Ryan dive into the whether anyone else would accept the invite to sleep overnight at the Evans and what would happen in real life if James tried coming at those hoodlums the way he did. They also digress about Ashford & Simpson, and you meet their dad.

(Re-air) Rod & Ryan rant about two episodes from the first season of Good Times..."Getting Up the Rent" & "Black Jesus". They dive into the Evans not having a bank account, Florida praying for the first time, JJ "finding" things, and Jesus' blackness. They also digress...especially about their dad.

The 1992 film, Juice, followed four high school boys growing up in Harlem who hang tight. They decide to rob a store one night, and when everything goes wrong, they find themselves against one member of the crew. Rod & Ryan delve into the complexity of these characters, how 90s this movie was, and the greatness of this soundtrack. They also digress about video games, fasting, and bonnets.

Rappers Kid & Play star as themselves in this early 90s film. Play is having big house party while his folks are out of town, and Kid is trying to sneak out after getting punished for fighting at school. Rod & Ryan do a deep dive into all things related to this movie, including whether this had the best dance scene ever and the future stars in this movie. They also digress about the best party ever and that commercial..."I gotta great new album in the mail today!"

Rod & Ryan take a break from Good Times to deep dive into the hits from the group, Force MDs. They discuss their best songs from "Tender Love" to "Love is a House". They also jump into how the Force MDs seemed to mess up all their relationships (if you go by their songs). The crew points out how this group had the perfect songs to sing to the ladies in the audience. And of course, they digress about topics ranging from Mr. T to Kurtis Blow.

The Evans family is concerned that they may be eating dog food when their neighbor brings the main dish to dinner. Rod & Ryan deep dive into the classic scenes from this episode, and of course they digress...from stories about their dad to how Gerdy suddenly had ground round for the meatloaf but not herself.