Choppin’ It Up: Episode 1 – Philip Schultze
The first episode of Killing The Breeze presents Choppin’ It Up with Adrian Prelvukaj. This week, Adrian sits with friend, law school student, and fellow NBA fan Philip Schultze.
Choppin’ It Up
For the first segment of “Choppin’ It Up” I chose to sit down with good friend and current law school student (and former Macbeth in MS51’s rendition of Macbeth) Philip Schultze. Phil begins by explaining his current status as a 2L student at Brooklyn Law, describing his future ambitions and the many challenges of adjusting to the demands of law school. Our conversation was organic, considering we’ve been friends for ten years, but took unexpected turns as we approached larger discussions beyond the NBA.
As enthusiasts of both hip-hop and the NBA, Phil and I took over my parents’ living room to chop it up over an array of NBA related topics. We attacked the major 3-team trade between the Knicks, Cavs, and Thunder. We took some time to give our NBA fantasy basketball listeners advice, reviewing trades that took place in our own league including who the winners and losers were and why.
In today’s culture, hip-hop and basketball are often intertwined. Phil and I continued our conversation by touching base on the popular message sent by Jay-Z, sponsored by the Oprah Winfrey Network. Jay-Z argues that hip-hop is a unifying force, a notion Phil further details. Phil describes how he and I (being Caucasians) discussing hip hop on a podcast exemplifies Hov’s suggestion that hip-hop brings together all demographics. Hip-hop, as a powerful force that can connect previously unlike minds, creates the platform for meaningful conversations about race, social justice, and the state of our society.
What started as a simple conversation between two good friends about the sport we profess to love turned into a conversation about larger issues, sparked of course by none other than Jay-Z. We were able to draw interesting conclusions about the connection between hip-hop and basketball, leaving room for future discussion.
Choppin’ It Up: Episode 2 – NBA Talent and 2015 Dates