Hello, Hi and welcome to RDAT Tourney Talk, brought to you by Papa John’s. Look, Pizza Hut is greasy, Domino’s a little garlicky and ours is pretty decent for box store. So our owner has issues? Does that matter for your pizza?

Well, last week we got the seedings with a little controversy with only three albums being released in the 1980s and the exclusion of seminal artists like Public Enemy, The Roots, Queen Latifah, Lil Wayne, Scarface and De La Soul not included.

Now the committee has released the brackets. There was a chance that with the seedings, the RDAT would use that to create the tournament bracket, similar to the NCAA Tournament with play-in games to determine the final two seeds.

Instead, they’ve decided to return to the initial groupings presented in the beginning of the process, catergorizing each artist to provide a bracket championship with proverbial stakes on the line. But since all of this is proverbial, who can prove really, becasue it’s a line of mullarkly.

And now, onto the bracket breakdown! The official RDAT Bracket Breakdown is brought to you by Midas. If your car breaks down, your life breaks down. Let us build back up your next breakdown!

 

Groups Bracket – Brought to you by our Corporate Champion, sports. Bringing complete strangers together with something to talk about for centuries.

1. Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the 36 Chambers vs. the winner of 4. Run D.M.C. – Run D.M.C. / 5. Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill

2. Black Star – Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star vs. the winner of 3. OutKast – Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik / 6. Smif-N-Wessun – Dah Shinin’

 

Outside NYC Bracket – Brought to you by our Corporate Champion, In-N-Out. The burger chain that East Coast rap fans would heard in lyrics about California and see in West Coast music videos.

1. Eminem – The Slim Shady LP vs. 4. Lupe Fiasco – Food & Liquor

2. Kanye West – The College Dropout vs. 3. Redman – Whut? Thee Album

 

Queens Bracket – Brought to you by our Corporate Champion, The New York Mets. Our owners are happy to ignore the fact that they’re in the nation’s largest media market and spend the millions they have to produce the best product…and the faithful fan base continues to believe,  regardless of who’s in the laundry they’re cheering for.

1. Nas – Illmatic vs. the winner of 2. 50 Cent – Get Rich or Die Tryin’ / 3. Black Sheep – A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

 

NYC Bracket – Brought to you by our Corporate Champion, Compentent Public Transportation. Whether you’re in DC, Boston, NYC or Chicago, just to name a few, as a commuter, you can get around the city without the use of a vehicle. It’s something you take for granted until you live in a city without it.

1. Jay-Z – Reasonable Doubt vs. the winner of 4. Eric B & Rakim – Paid In Full / 5. Big Pun – Capital Punishment

2. Notorious B.I.G. – Ready to Die vs. 3. DMX – It’s Dark and Hell is Hot

Initial thoughts from the seedings showcase some interesting matchups, especially in the play-in games. In one matchup, you get the two groups that, it could be argued, brought rap in the mainstream. The Beastie Boys basically funded Def Jam, the label started by Russell Simmons, who’s brother is a member of Run D.M.C.

The other play-in in the Groups Bracket is just as interesting. Smif-N-Wesson is part of the Boot Camp Click, a collective of Brooklyn rappers that drew attention away from the West Coast onslaught in the early 1990s. OutKast is the prominent member of the Dungeon Family, along with Goodie Mob and Organized Noise. To paraphrase Andre 3000, they proved that the South had something to say.

The last play-in features one of the greatest MCs ever to grace a microphone against a talent that was taken from us too soon. Interestingly, the longevity question should come up in this matchup since ‘I’m Not A Player’ garnished acclaim and can still be heard occasionally whereas Rakim’s time-honored classics are played by mostly fans.

Well, there are your brackets and pairings. We’d like to thank our Corporate Champions – Sports, In-N-Out, The New York Mets and Compentent Public Transportation.

Artists in the first play-in game are currently getting spins and both will be ready for a final judgement. The question is, are you?

Be sure to follow us on Twitter, comment on Facebook and network with us on LinkedIn. Thanks for coming out and we hope to see you in the Final Four!