I don't know what's more cliché than quoting Drizzy at this point—it's the stuff that struggle status updates are made of—but I can't sit here and lie to you, acting like I didn't immediately and totally relate to those lines in "Worst Behavior." I mean, "Mufucka never loved us!... Remember? Mufucka?!" Yes, he's so cookie-dough softbatch, and that video was the weakest broth—but c'mon, you know that part sounded cathartic as hell when you first heard it. What that phrase means to me: memories of being a lot younger in this hiphop shit here and getting fronted on. I'm sure my Seattle rap generation—from Oldominion to the Blue Scholars to Macklemore—knows exactly what I mean. I recall how I didn't start getting daps, and seeing the teeth of mufuckas who weren't my contemporaries, until those cats felt like I had something to offer them (aka when I started working at The Stranger). I never forgot that shit, and I know I'm not alone. I honestly look forward to the day that I can quit my jobs, when I might get some more authentic interactions from so-called real ones, or more importantly, so that the chronically self-stuck will no longer register my face.

Look, young heads in this town: You are the future, so determine it for yourself. Don't let anyone (myself included) tell you what you can't do. Just take it serious, respect and learn the history—ask someone. I had to find out for myself—and I still am, since shit wasn't as well-documented as things are now, and since most of the old heads I asked wouldn't share. Even still, "You Must Learn"—because if you don't, your piss-poor work will show, and whatever you build will not last. But even if you do it right, if you show respect, and you don't skip steps, you still might not get the affirmation you seek. Don't trip, just keep it moving. See where you end up. Is this a rant? No, it's actually a visionary stream of consciousness, and YOU DON'T HAVE THE ANSWERS, SWAY.

Anyway, back to Drizzy: Drake is bringing his "Would You Like a Tour" to the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday, December 4. He's bringing along WCW intercontinental champion Miguel (leg drop game vicious) and the man known as Nayvadius Cash to some, and Future to everybody else. Future Vandross made probably my favorite non–Young Thug song of 2013 with "Shit," and that alone is enough to get me there.

What else? Elzhi is back at Nectar on Saturday, December 7 (he seems to like it there), with the Good Husbands, Nu Era, Random (aka Mega Ran), and DJ Indica Jones. The next night at Nectar, Miss Casey Carter hosts Jabee and Q-Dot, with Spac3man and Astro King Phoenix. The latest fresh-scrubbed white rapper to hit the Crocodile, Jake Miller (from the Stand Your Ground state), brings his "Us Against Them" (yeesh) tour on Tuesday, December 10—the same night Macklemore & Ryan Lewis kick off their three-night stand at the fucking KeyArena with Talib Kweli and Big K.R.I.T. opening. Oh well. recommended