Happy Birthday Champ! Complex’s 20 Favorite Mike Tyson Rap References

Michael Gerard Tyson is without a doubt the most hip-hop athlete in sports history. Dude’s humble beginnings, astonishingly fast-paced path to become the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history, subsequent self-destruction after his peak, and reincarnation as a pop culture icon decades later is a script unlike any other. Iron Mike turns 45 today, and as a salute to the champ we’re listing the illest lyrical references from Nas, Pac, LL, Jadakiss, Spoonie Gee, and a slew of others. From slick lines about his ferocity and skills in the ring to the rape charge and controversies outside of it, we give you Complex’s 20 Favorite Mike Tyson Rap References…

1. Puff Daddy f/ Notorious B.I.G. & Busta Rhymes, “Victory” (1997)

LYRIC: “Real sick, brawl nights, I perform like Mike/Anyone — Tyson, Jordan, Jackson/Action, pack guns, ridiculous” (Notorious B.I.G.)
COMPLEX SAYS: Frank White delivers one of his most timeless lines, still relevant today just like Iron Mike. Good enough for a top spot here and good enough for a high place on another lil list we did.

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Nike Air Max 90 “Hyperfuse” All Colorways

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The Making of Mobb Deep’s “The Infamous”

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Although they are now considered a legendary group, leading into the release of their second album, The Infamous, it was far from a given that Albert “Prodigy” Johnson and Kejuan “Havoc” Muchita would enjoy such long and fruitful careers. Their first album, Juvenile Hell, had been a commercial flop, although it did yield a minor hit, “Hit It From The Back,” and led to them being dropped by their first label, 4th & Broadway. Prodigy even admits in his new autobiography, My Infamous Life, that him and Havoc didn’t really take the songwriting and producing process serious for their debut. It’s understandable given that both were teenagers at the time.

Besides, if it was the impetus for what was to come, then it was definitely a good thing. While only producing three songs on Juvenile Hell, the group produced a majority of The infamous, carving out a unique and unmistakable sound. Dark, moody, brooding, and sinister, the music was apocalyptic and Havoc and Prodigy’s unyielding and unremorseful lyrics painted a very bleak picture of what life was like growing up in Queensbridge (yeah, we know Prodigy is from Hempstead, Long Island, but it’s obvious he spent a lot of time in QB). It may have been unnerving to think that a duo so young could entertain such cold-blooded thoughts, but given the overwhelmingly positive response, the realness seemed to resonate.

The album contained huge smashes with “Shook Ones, Pt. II,” and “Survival Of The Fittest,” and disseminated their unique dunn slanguage all over the world. Last week the focus on was Prodigy with our exclusive Q and A, the release of the H.N.I.C.’s Complex-sponsored project, The Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson EP, and our excerpts from his book, but given that today is the 16-year anniversary of this classic album dropping, we wanted to talk to those who were involved in The Making Of The Infamous. It’s the real…

As told to Noah Callahan-Bever (@N_C_B), Toshitaka Kondo (@ToshitakaKondo), and Insanul Ahmed (@Incilin).

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Hand Jobs: 10 Awesome Pimp Slaps In Movies And TV

Working on a pop culture site, you naturally receive tons of pre-theatrical release movie screeners and free advance DVD copies—it’s what we like to call “swag,” bitches (don’t be jealous). And, every once in a while, a new disc will pop up in our mailroom that introduces us to an obscure flick we’d otherwise never know about; case in point, Sledgehammer, a little-seen slasher movie from 1983 that, as the synopsis on the back of the DVD case informed us, was shot on video tape.

Fascinated, we wanted to get a taste of what Sledgehammer has to offer, so we consulted trusty old YouTube. What we came across lifted an otherwise dismissible ’80s horror flick to pure guilty pleasure. The first clip we found culminates with a creepy kid giving the film’s hero a mighty face slap, needlessly presented in slow motion. And just like that, we fell in love with Sledgehammer.

After re-watching the scene a few times, and laughing our asses off with each viewing, we started to think about some other great blows to people’s mugs. So, kicked off by Sledgehammer’s aforementioned moment of illogical excellence, we’re about to brighten your day with 10 Awesome Pimp Slaps In Movies And TV. Because, let’s be honest—who doesn’t enjoy watching others get cheek-checked every now and then?

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Apple Just Became More Profitable Than Microsoft

It truly is a brave new world.

Not long ago, it seemed written in stone that Microsoft was the big dog on the block, a hugely profitable international force that brushed off advances from its smaller, more “niche” competitors. Now, one of those competitors, a company that almost collapsed just over a decade ago before being saved in part by Microsoft (see above video), has overtaken the house Bill Gates built in profitability.That company is, of course, Apple.

Yesterday, Microsoft posted quarterly earnings showing a profit of $5.23 billion on $16.42 billion in revenues. That number falls short of what Apple recently posted for the same quarter with $5.99 billion in profits on $24.67 billion in revenues.

To be clear, this is the first time this has happened in 20 years.

Of course, it doesn’t take a genius at speculative finance to have seen this coming. In the past decade, Microsoft has had missed opportunity after missed opportunity while Apple has continued to reinvent the industry in its own image with the iPhone and the iPad.

The numbers really just underscore what we already know: This is a new era and Microsoft is being left behind.

[AllThingsD]

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The 50 Most Racist Movies

Complex runs down the flicks that you might not have realized were wildly offensive. Turn on your racist radars, people!

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inside the making of 2010’s ‘hip hop’ album of the year

Once again, Kanye has floored us all with the album of the year, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which officially hits stores today. Complex was lucky enough to get a glimpse inside the making of this masterpiece for our December/January 2011 cover story. In fact, it’s the ultimate fly-on-the-wall account: Earlier this year, our editor-in-chief, Noah Callahan-Bever, was invited out to Kanye’s rap fantasy camp in Hawaii to watch the magic happen. We also got some of the major players involved in the album (Pusha T, Pete Rock, Nicki Minaj, etc) to break down their experience, and as an online exclusive, we have a gallery filled with 40 behind-the-scenes Hawaii photos. The issue officially hits stands on December 7, but we’re giving you a chance to check out the full package now.

Sound Check: G. Dep Didn’t Know The Man He Shot 17 Years Ago Died

Some 17 years after the October 1993 murder of John Henkel, rapper G. Dep (real name Trevell Coleman) has confessed to the crime after years of guilt and drug addiction. However, after his admission, the rapper learned from the NYPD that Henkel died, a fact he was unaware of. Now Coleman has been charged with murder and faces life in prison. Coleman is best known for signing with Bad Boy Records in 1999, and signed with Famous Records last August.