by SCOTT C

I was in the passenger seat of a friend’s car a few weeks ago, championing this city’s underground expressway like I had designed and built it with my own hands. I simply couldn’t get my mind around the fact that owning a car would completely exempt you from tickets and turnstiles, and no, this is not a thinly veiled environmental flake-off. I think I love and hate the metro all at once, as you’ve probably read here in the past. As with all complex relationships, the shifts from good to bad are unpredictable, let alone unexplainable, prone to fits of zealous intensity and deafening silence.

But there I was again this week, dreading the bus and getting bumped and jostled by people desperate to get out of the cold. Locked between a protruding backpack and a girl in a single seat writing “fuck school” repeatedly on her notebook, I started thinking about Twin Peaks and sweet potatoes, and even pondered the Israeli elections for a minute. I noticed an ornery three year old testing his mother’s patience with slaps to the face, and amazingly, bites to the shoulder and arm. I also caught a few onlookers chuckling to themselves, obviously thinking about the right way to discipline a child.

As the bus inched along in the afternoon traffic, the battered mother rang the bell and pushed her way to the back doors with wild-child in tow. The bus stopped and baby stepped down followed by mom, only they didn’t get off. “Monsieur!” she screamed, “Monsieur, his foot is caught in the door!” Now, you’d think that in a packed bus of 50 or 60 people, someone would jump in to help this kid - but I clocked at least 30 seconds in my head before I pushed past about six people to shift the door off of wild-child’s ankle. All I could think about then was how that kid would probably be slapping his mom and acting all out of order again in no time, like nothing had even happened, kind of the same way more people piled on the bus and we continued on, like nothing had even happened.

Looks like Jadakiss is on for Feb. 20 at Aria. Word has it that Ruff Ryders are planning on setting up shop right here in Montreal in the form of some sort of satellite office, but I’m sure we’ll hear more soon enough.

Got a note from T.O. producer and Compost artist Moonstar the other day. Apparently he was in town for a show with the group LAL last week, who are signed to his label Public Transit Recordings, but did we know about it? Nope. He’ll be back, though. I’ll make sure of that. Wasn’t able to get ?uestlove on the phone before the Roots show this Friday, Jan. 31, at Metropolis, but I don’t think they’ll have any problems packing the place. Grab them tickets quick if you’ve been sleeping.

Next week, the return - seven reasons to be thankful for what you’ve got… :

Talk low, talk slow, and don’t talk too much… incubator@hiphopsite.com

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