Hello, Hi and welcome to RDAT Tourney Talk, brought to you by Black History Month.

Did you know that Jean Baptiste Point du Sable is “regarded as the first permanent resident of…Chicago”

Believed to have been born in Haiti after the union of an African slave and a French mariner, Sable moved north on the Mississippi River, married a Potawatomie woman and settled on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Chicago River.

Although he moved to Missouri in 1800, a school, harbor, park, bridge and museum all have been named after the “Founder of Chicago” and the first black man to get a perm.

We’ve reached the Elite 8, brought to you by Motel 6, who, regardless what you wore this weekend, will leave the light on for you. But before we look ahead, here’s a chance to look back at the previous match ups.

• Game 1 – Groups – Brooklyn vs. ATL
• Game 2 – Groups – Founders vs. Finance
• Game 3 – NYC – Polaris vs. The Latin Comet
• Game 4 – Outside NYC – The Great White Hope vs. Black Excellence
• Game 5 – Outside NYC – Jersey Blunts vs. Social Chicago
• Game 6 – NYC – Marlo vs. Omar
• Game 7 – NYC – Business, Man vs. Microphone Fiend
• Game 8 – Queens – Reggie Jackson vs. Alan Trammell
• Game 9 – Groups – Drive-In Movies vs. Video Music Box
• Game 10 – Groups – Tina and Amy vs. Bugs and Daffy

Groups Bracket – Brought to you by our Corporate Champion, rubber bands. Whether holding hair together, serving as an arm accessory or flying across classrooms; rubber bands are extremely useful…until they’re not.

The initial RDAT seeding had Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik as a #12 seed and just like the NCAA College Basketball Tournament, they’ve moved on despite their placement and have a chance to reach the Final Four. An interesting result for an album that needed a year to be certified platinum.

OutKast will face the overall #2 seed, another album that took time to go platinum but was lauded in the moment and since as one of the most significant album of the genre.

Queens Bracket – Brought to you by our Corporate Champion, the Dollar Bus. Before Lyft and Uber, there were (and still are) motorized vehicles large and small that serve as transportation in large metropolitan markets like Jamaica, Queens, Buford Highway outside Atlanta and smaller locales like Ciudad Real in Panama.

Nearly going platinum the week of its release, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ eventually sold over 8 million copies and produced multiple top singles. It’s the ultimate mix of the past (production by Dr. Dre), the present (an underground rapper with a buzz generated by mix tapes) and the future (overall influence from a major player outside New York City).

Will that be enough to topple the overall #1 seed?

NYC Bracket – Brought to you by our Corporate Champion, the Brooklyn Bridge. Long used to emphasis intelligence by those willing to sell it to strangers, this National Historical Landmark connects the island of Manhattan to Brooklyn, a borough according to Mos Def, “where one of the greatest MCs was a local cat”.

An interesting match up, but one that almost seems predestined to happen. It’s already a barber shop argument as to which MC is the greatest and when those take place, these two are usually included.

Christopher Wallace was first, cemented the return of rap’s spotlight to the city of its birth. Shawn Carter followed a few years later and one of the best tracks from Reasonable Doubt features the aforementioned Biggie Smalls.

Outside NYC Bracket – Brought to you by our Corporate Champion, Kroger. Starting in Cincinnati, Ohio, the country’s largest supermarket chain by revenue dominates the Midwest and Southern states, purchased Fred Meyer, aka the West Coast Walmart, and has established a foothold in New York City with a Greenwich Village store.

The highest ranking match up from the initial seeding, this matches #3 vs. #5; Detroit, Michigan vs. Chicago, Illinois. It’s a battle of influences between two artists who not only influenced those after them but also used their status to release additional artists, including some in the RDAT Tournament.

While an argument about whether Eminem or Kayne West are actually relevant in 2018, one can’t argue that any artist coming out in 2018 has listened to and is likely been affected by Slim or Yeezy. But were they affected by their initial effort or something afterwards?

Well, there are your Elite Eight, brought to you by Motel 6. With the proper rest from a quality hotel room, the final stretch of this tournament will now be fast paced and get to a conclusion with your help. Remember, your vote counts so be sure to share your opinion in the polls for each match up. We’d like to thank our Corporate Champions – rubber bands, dollar buses, the Brooklyn Bridge and Kroger.

Artists and albums still in play are currently getting spins and 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!