Well, Ipcus Madness is in the books, and the winner of the Greatest Stan Ipcus Song Of All Time is “The La Life”!  We started with a field of 64 songs, worked it down to the Sticky Sixteen, then the Final Forties, and finally, after many votes tallied on Facebook, Twitter, Email, Text, and BBM, there was one winner.  “The La Life”, Produced by my good bud Max B, and written and recorded during my Senior year at College Park (’99/2000), is a song about life as a young weed smoker.  It’s kind of the dark side of it all, truthfully.  And although I could have never predicted that it would take home the crown as GSISOAT, I’m proud of it, and consider it probably the realest song I ever wrote and recorded.  I guess the real always wins.  Shouts to “I Does This”, who lost in the finals by about 5 votes.   I was also surprised that song made it as far as it did, taking out “Real Ganja Talk” in the Sticky Sixteen.  But even with a low quality recording, and only clocking in at 1:38, it’s swag was on a hundred thousand million and almost took the title home.  Peep the Final Forties poster above (by Will Merchan), and the Sticky Sixteen below (by David Roy)…

I gotta say, when we got to the Sticky Sixteen, I was pretty happy with the songs that had gotten there.  I was surprised “Wifey Material” got knocked out in the first round (by “Don’t Mind Me Miss”), and “Chilly Chill” took out the Asher Roth diss which was also surprising, but all the #1 seeds were still in, and I really thought the bigger songs would overpower the rest of the field.  Then, “Real Ganja Talk” went down, “Hammer” went down, “Ippy Strut” went down, and “My Ferris Buellers” went down, all in the Sticky Sixteen, and I was stunned.  Wow, all the songs that I thought might win it all were knocked out.  The only one left that I thought had enough heat to take it all the way was “Pay U No Mind”, which ended up getting knocked out by one vote in the Final Forties by the champ.  I’d say “Chilly Chill” was the biggest surprise sleeper of the tournament, definitely didn’t even think it would make it out of the first round, though I do really like that track.  All in all, it was a fun last minute idea I had, that was executed well, and I loved the participation from not only old and new friends, but also just fans of Stan Ipcus music that I’ve never met personally.  Some really passionate peeps got involved, and that was super cool to see.  And props to Soundcloud, who’s embedding/link sharing and streaming game is so sick that it made the tournament run beautifully.  Here’s how the bracket finished out (props to Bracket Maker too):

IPCUS MADNESS FINAL BRACKET

Also, here’s the second verse of “The La Life”, which instantly brings me back to a cloudy day in College Park.  I actually wrote that verse as a poem for my History of Blues class, and read it for the entire lecture as part of a group presentation (Aaron McGruder, the creator of The Boondocks, was in my group).  I got an A.

When I get the blues I keep my eyes red with la to head,

hold it down for the fam, that’s what my Mom and Pop said,

what they don’t know only hurts them much more,

my daily walk is down the hill to get a Dutch from the store,

I stroll dolo in the Polo but why even get dipped,

herbs that pass me by you better chill or else you’ll get gipped,

honeys used to get a smile, now they get an ice frown,

saw my old girl last night, I just gave her a pound,

no convo, instead I stayed on the low,

only concern for right now is “Yo, where’s the dro?”

I wanna stoop it, lay up and get stupid,

used to be about the ladies until I lost my faith in Cupid,

love at first sight sounds alright until she spends the night,

seeing her again depends on if she keeps it tight,

I sleep it off, wake up and walk it off,

gips talk my ear off while I’m sitting sipping beer at The Loft,

I watch the ballgame, all these birds know our name,

thinking White Plains cats will send them down the Walk of Shame,

sure I bagged a couple, shagged the double D’s with matching bubble,

puffed some trees and stayed out of trouble,

now I stay burnt like siena,

got my mans in VA, Portland, Philly, NY, and Siena,

school be blowing mines, half the time I got my mind on dimes,

the kind and wine it keeps me feeling fine,

at high noon I rise, missed a class to get some ass,

what a relief, before I brush my teeth I twist some grass,

these girls got my head, school got my bread,

I need to get on track, instead I take a sack to head,

and that’s The La Life….

Thanks to everyone who participated in Ipcus Madness!  Mad love!!!!

STREAM/DOWLOAD “THE LA LIFE”

STREAM/DOWNLOAD IP’S FAVORITES PLAYLIST