Wayne Brady's got some tight rhymes, yo! Seriously though. He jumped on the radio with Sway and went through the "5 Fingers Of Death". Though rapping is not his profession, improv is. So naturally, a freestyle is up his alley and I found myself tuned in til the end, and nodding my head in agreement with his opening lines about rappers when "5 AM In Toronto" came on.

Plus, I saw this from my homie Hetal in the Facebook feed, who also linked to this — an old "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" rap freestyle sketch with none other than Stephen Colbert. Another great watch below:

Blue Ivy is about to be a big sister!

Amazing news for hip hop's royal couple. Beyonce & Jay-Z are expecting a second baby as E! Online cites multiple sources confirming Bey is pregnant. This may connect the dots to the "dehydration and exhaustion" that Beyonce was suffering from leading her to cancel her first ever show recently in Belgium. No doubt, congrats to Beyonce & Jay-Z!

In a recent, in-depth interview with Montreality, Bow Wow touched on numerous topics from his upcoming music, meeting the late Chris Kelly, and positive thoughts on success, his hero, and a message to the youth. But what drew my eye to this interview was a great story about an experience with Michael Jordan... (fast forward to 11:30 or read below)

I’m actually real cool with his sons, Marcus and Jeffrey…I would say, we kinda grew up together. Being on tour, every time we came to Chicago, even at the age of like 15, they would come around and we just clicked.

There’d be times I stayed over at the family, ya know, Mr. Jordan’s house…actually a funny story, I actually wore some Iverson’s to their house…and Michael Jordan woke us all up and was like ‘Whose is these?’…and I was like ‘they’re mine’…and I never saw My A.I.’s after that moment. I was in some Jordan’s going down to play some basketball.

- Bow Wow

Hah! Classic MJ.

*tips hat* BDL

Unrelated, but also hilarious: Ken Jeong & Zach Galifianakis do standup... in 1998! Wow. 15 years ago?! This 8-minute clip surfaced today with The Hangover 3 about to hit theatres.

Mikkey Halsted is coming with new music in late June in the form of Bulletproof Dreams and he kicks off the previews with a lyrical cut in the background of episode 1 of his new Day In The Life series. The video follows him around prior to, and during, his sold-out show at The Shrine with Don Cannon (my review/photos here). One of the most intriguing parts is his analysis of the Chicago police's strategy about curtailing gang violence. I don't have the type of knowledge about what Mikkey's talking about specifically, but I was nodding my head in agreement at what he was saying. Would love to hear more gems like this in future episodes. Dope camera work by Veluxe ensures some entertaining visuals so give this a press of the play button above!

PREVIOUSLY: A live, lyrical gem by Mikkey Halsted

Creed Bratton "All Of The Faces"

in video yearbook style (yes, this is actually Creed's new single)

Last night, one of the most defining comedies of our generation, The Office, shut its doors for the last time. Over nine (!) years, the Thursday night NBC staple created a new style of comedy (in the "mockumentary" form) and made stars and/or career-defining roles for its widely eccentric and talented cast. I loved the show for its dry and awkward humor, every single character flowing in a working ensemble, and the way it presented not only the everyday office happenings, but also when to be funny and when to be emotional. I felt like I cared about the characters as the series progressed and that's a sign of a great show. I remember watching the show's very first episode back in 2004 with Who Dough in fact, and we were immediately sold on the first of many Jim/Dwight office pranks. Now in our own office, I can't help but think of the occasional Office parallel if one of our many eccentric and talented "characters" does something hilarious.

Since this show had an impact on me and many others, I felt inspired today to give The Office some well-deserved dap with this post to break up the daily dose of hip hop in the Blog section. And hey, there's even some music as Creed's fitting "All Of The Faces" was performed in the episode and can be heard above. Also enjoy some of the best moments of last night's series finale in GIFs and MEMEs below (SPOILERS!) and watch the full, final episode here.

Now this seems like a natural mix: Rihanna will now be joined by Pharrell to proudce a fashion reality on the Style Network called Styled To Rock. The duo will be searching for the next great fashion designer. I know big fans of both are going to be tuning into the 10 episodes (no word on its release date) and I myself am pretty curious to see what Styled To Rock will be all about.

Tomorrow night, help us pack Double Door as, one week after the first installment, On The Grind Management presents "We Are Hip Hop 2"! 

This is another GWHH-Sponsored event with a lineup full of Chicago emcees that you see here on the site. ShowYouSuck, The WHOevers, Que Billah, and many more as you see above!

Be sure to check out our Events page for what else is going on in Chicago, including two more GWHH Events later this month (one on Saturday). 

Plus: our photo recap of We Are Hip Hop 1, headlined by Really Doe.

Hope to see you at Double Door!