L'Orange & Homeboy Sandman - Mind vs Matter

She was really pretty

She couldn't even tell  if I was having a good time

I played it so cool

When I read Oscar Wao, I couldn't help but read the narrator, Yunior, in the voice of Homeboy Sandman. No, not just because of the Dominican connection. For one, there's the bravado. But Sandman also takes universal topics that would otherwise be corny or over-written and breathes new life into them. He caught me in a soft spot last fall when I was excited for the arrival of my first niece, and I found myself weeping to Runts.

It felt like running into a teacher at the supermarket when I saw his controversial article, "Black People are Cowards," show up on Gawker last week, reminding me that he'd just released another album on top of his single with North Carolina's L'Orange.

Mind vs. Matter is a dark vignette of a man's ultimately unfulfilling but successful pursuit of a woman.  It's sad in a way that only songs with a real dose of truth are.

Afterwards she was like, "Alright, you gonna call me!"

I was like don't assign homework

I'm not even playing

I really said that

It wasn't a set back

Part of what makes Homeboy Sandman so fantastic is that his songs are often so perfectly produced to his offerings. I'm not sure what's being sampled here, but it does a good job of mixing just enough sleaze with charm.

Of course, I can't help but point out that L'Orange is a Tar Heel.