January 24, 2023

Title: THREE MC'S AND ONE DJ

Constructor: Kelsey Dixon

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:
MAIN CHARACTERS (15A: Kenan and Kel on "Kenan & Kel," for example)
MARIAH CAREY (30A: The Songbird Supreme)
MAGIC CARPET (37A: Transportation for Aladdin)
DOUBLE JEOPARDY (56A: Game show round with clues worth up to $2000)

Theme synopsis: THREE of the theme answers have the initials MC, and ONE theme answer has the initials DJ.

Things I learned:
  • STU (9A: Tommy's dad on "Rugrats") As I have previously noted, I have never watched the animated TV series, Rugrats (either the original or the reboot), or its spinoff, All Grown Up! Therefore, I was thankful for crossing answers to figure out that STU is the dad of Tommy Pickles. STU, who is an absent-minded toy inventor, is married to Didi Pickles. (Noting that in case I need that information for future Rugrats references.)
  • ROY (21D: "The God of Small Things" author Arundhati) The God of Small Things is the debut novel of Arundhati ROY. The book won the 1997 Booker Prize for Fiction. If you'd like to get a feel for the book, I recommend the Ted-Ed video, "Why should you read The God of Small Things by Arundhati ROY?"
  • AHS (38D: TV show with a season titled "Coven," for short) AHS here stands for American Horror Story, a TV series that first aired in 2011. Each season of AHS is a self-contained miniseries with a different set of characters and story lines. The first three seasons of AHS are Murder House, Asylum, and Coven. The eleventh and most reason series, NYC, aired in October and November of last year.
  • DEE (62A: Kool Moe ___) Kool Moe DEE is a Grammy-award-winning rapper. He was a member of the group, Treacherous Three, and has also had a successful solo career. 
Random thoughts and interesting things:
  • MAIN CHARACTERS (15A: Kenan and Kel on "Kenan & Kel," for example) The TV sitcom, Kenan & Kel, originally aired on Nickelodeon from 1996-2000. The MAIN CHARACTERS were played by Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell.
  • SPELLS (25A: G-o-e-s l-i-k-e t-h-i-s) It took me a few hints from crossing answers to figure this out, but when I did it made me laugh!
  • MARIAH CAREY (30A: The Songbird Supreme) I have previously written about MARIAH CAREY's impressive five octave vocal range. This range and her many musical accomplishments have earned her the nickname of "Songbird Supreme." 
  • SPAM (60A: Musubi meat) Musubi is a popular Hawaiian dish. A slice of grilled SPAM is placed on top of a block of rice and then wrapped with nori (edible seaweed). We saw SPAM MUSUBI as a theme answer on June 12, 2021. 
  • AVIA (2D: Shoe brand with a "fly" name) AVIA, which sells shoes and clothing, was founded in 1979. Jerry Stubblefield, the company's founder derived its name from the Latin word, "avis," meaning "bird." He named his sports shoe company AVIA to suggest aviation and flying.
  • B'DAY (7D: Beyonce album released when she turned 25) The release of Beyoncé's second album, B'DAY on September 4, 2006 coincided, appropriately, with her 25th birthday. The album includes the songs "Déjà Vu" and "Beautiful Liar." This is an especially appropriate answer to appear in today's puzzle, because I happen to know that today is constructor, Kelsey Dixon's B'DAY. Happy birthday, Kelsey! So fun to solve your puzzle while sending you B'DAY vibes!
  • SMU (25D: School in Dallas) Southern Methodist University (SMU) is located in University Park, a suburb of Dallas, Texas.
  • BEE (35D: The Honey Nut Cheerios mascot is one) The Honey Nut Cheerios BEE is named Buzz. In 2017, General Mills removed the image of Buzz from Honey Nut Cheerios (replacing the image with the outline of a BEE) to raise awareness of the decline of BEE populations. This reminds me of news I saw the other day that the world's first BEE vaccine has been approved for use in the United States. 
  • BTS (36D: "Permission to Dance" band) You don't need "Permission to Dance" to this 2021 song by BTs. 

    Geography review:

    In addition to being the theme for today's puzzle, "THREE MC'S AND ONE DJ" is a 1999 song by Beastie Boys. I like that there is variety in the MC'S and DJ, with only one name of a person. Delightful clueing made me smile many times while solving. Thank you, birthday girl, Kelsey, for this puzzle that was a fantastic way to start my Tuesday.

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