Okay, my homeboy paradox, in begging me to rap about the homeless man with the “golden voice,” — recently discovered, offered a job with the Cavs, and then sent to rehab — gave me a great idea.  For this week’s Thursday song, I’m going to take requests.  So hit me @ipoetlaureate on Twitter or at my Facebook page and let me know what current event, news story, sporting outcome, celebrity debacle, or Act of God you want me to cover.

Here are the rules:

* the topic/event has to have occurred within the last 7 days

* cannot have been a topic/event already covered by this site in a song

* must be submitted by 10:00 am Eastern Standard Time, Wednesday, January 19, 2011

* everything else goes

I’m not sure how I’m going to select the winners.  My original idea was to choose my five favorites, drop them in a flat-bill New Era, and pull one out.  I also may just do one colossal mashup.  We’ll see.  The point is we’re in this together!  How often do you get to request a song about something and have it written?  Never, right?

I guess the polite gesture would be to honor paradox’s contribution by simply covering his topic.  But that would not drive as much traffic to my Twitter and Facebook accounts as I’m banking this contest will and paradox would lose time (black out) if I did anything nice for him.  I have a rep to maintain.

I like the idea so much that we’ll do it periodically.  I love rapping about the news.  Thus, this site.  But to rap about the news/events that people want to hear seems even more satisfying.  You guys also might totally screw this up and have me rapping about Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s new baby.  No pressure.  Just the weight of the future of rap news everywhere is in your hands.  Get to poking and tweeting.

Something about that last line was off.

New shoes on MLK, courtesy of the local Plato’s Closet.