I have a theory: Your dream is kind of like the moon — the further away you are from it, the more beautiful it looks. The closer you get to it, the more you see the reality of it: the craters, the flaws, the reality. If "me" from 2002 could see me now, I'm sure he would be so excited that he finally "made it."  

Call me crazy, but lately I've been thinking that Hip Hop has more in common with the Republican Party — more specifically, the much discussed "Far Right" — than we might ever have imagined. Both entities are suffering an identity crisis resulting in crazy in-fighting.  

Every year around this time is kind of like "Steelers Week" for football fans in Cincinnati. Only the fans aren't football ones, they're Hip Hop die-hards. You'll see a lot of out of towners around the area this week, as Scribble Jam attracts Hip Hop heads from all over the country, either just to attend and have fun or to actually compete in the infamous "battles." Thankfully, only a few will probably be sporting yellow and black. Atmosphere, Blueprint, Channel Live and KRS-One perform Friday night. Thursday-Sunday at Annie's and other locations.  

Honesty. That's the first word that comes to mind when someone mentions Atmosphere, a fiercely independent Hip Hop duo (producer Ant and MC Slug) from Minneapolis whose reputation has grown exponentially (and organically) since its inception more than a decade ago.