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Dear Rap Media, Please stop asking young rappers about Tupac

I wrote about 03 Greedo’s music earlier today. My plan was to write about 03 Greedo all week, before his name landed all over social media last night when he called Tupac “a bitch ass n***a” in an interview with Billboard.

This is a whole tired ass recipe at this point. Rap blog asks rising young rapper (although at 30, Greedo can hardly be considered young) their thoughts on Tupac or Biggie, young rapper says they don’t really give a fuck about those rappers, the rap world goes after them, young rapper becomes “cancelled,” and we all go back to our lives.

We’ve seen this with Chief Keef, Lil Yachty, Lil Xan, XXXTentacion, and Kodak Black. And no matter how many times we’ve seen young rappers saying they don’t listen to Tupac, we react every time.

Lil Yachty and Lil Xan seemed to take the brunt of the backlash with their respective Tupac shade. Lil Yachty said a couple years ago that he couldn’t name 5 Biggie and Tupac songs, Lil Xan said last month that Tupac made “boring music.”

Yachty was scolded by the rap intelligentsia and written off as being disrespectful, Lil Xan drew the ire of washed up old heads everywhere that seemed to take very serious, personal offense to his claim.

Even fuckin’ Waka Flocka, who was once as radical and upstart as any of the “mumble rappers” drawing the ire of older rap listeners, got heated at Xan’s claim.

I don’t consider myself a Lil Xan fan, I’m aware of this rapper but do not choose to listen to him, but I really couldn’t care less about his thoughts on Tupac.

What does this obsession even stem from? Neither Lil Xan or Lil Yachty makes music that sounds remotely like Pac’s music, why do we feign all of this exhaustive shock and anger at kids who were not alive when Tupac was making music?

Hip-hop is very different than it was in 1996, that is how the world works. Things change in 20 years. Kids listen to different music than the people that are older than them listen to. WHY IS THIS NEWS?

I get that we all like clicks, I like clicks too! But there’s and endless amount of stuff to talk about that actually pertains to music that isn’t about Tupac and Biggie. I have learned nothing new about the artist that is Lil Xan from hearing that he thinks Tupac is boring.

https://twitter.com/broazay/status/973342621472116736

As the new generation of rappers takes the form of hip-hop further to the left, old heads have repeatedly decried the lack of “lyricism” or “real rap.” Anything new or different has thus become “mumble rap.”

The Tupac question is the tangible product of the culture wars between old heads that see ’90s-era rap as the pinnacle of the art form and younger rappers that just don’t give a fuck. Then the Michael Rappaports of the world can get all jacked up and go on a Twitter rant about Lil Xan… but WHY?

I enjoy listening to rap music made in many different eras. I enjoy reading about young rappers’ budding careers. Whether these artists listened to music made before they were born is not relevant or interesting!

Please, stop asking rappers about Tupac.

Who is 03 Greedo? The Watts rapper with the wildest style in the game

03 Greedo, whose bizarre, urgent, energetic delivery has captivated rap listeners, landed in hot water last night when an interview with Billboard revealed Greedo’s rather uncomplimentary thoughts on Tupac, calling him a “bitch ass n***a.”

Greedo told Billboard he wasn’t really messing with Pac:

“Do they need a n***a who can really rap to tell you? Tupac sucks, n***a. Any type of East Coast, West Coast beef, n***a’s from the East Coast. He’s delusional. He’s a great actor. Part of his music shit was acting. But n***a, I got to go to court on Friday, I got a whole metal leg, I’m really from the projects. I really got my ‘hood on my face. My first major project is called The Wolf of Grape Street, the gang I’m from. He didn’t even say nothing wrong. Tupac was a bitch ass ni***a. I’m a gangsta n***a. What I say goes. I don’t give a fuck if I’m wrong.”

I don’t necessarily agree with Greedo, but I know I’m not about to pick a with the self-proclaimed Wolf of Grape Street… and he has a point.

It’s becoming incredibly tiring for rap blogs to keep asking the new generation of rappers what they think of Tupac.

It’s the easiest, cheapest headline possible, and Greedo’s name was all over Twitter last night, which might have actually been the point.

But I have no interest in talking about 03 Greedo’s, or anyone’s really, opinions on Tupac. We’re here because 03 Greedo is one of the most unique and just plain old intriguing artists in hip-hop right now.

After a nomadic childhood following his father’s death brought him to Texas, rural Kansas, and St. Louis, Greedo settled in the Grape Street section of Watts, home to the Grape Street Crips, one of the most infamous gangs in the country.

This is the environment that shapes Greedo’s music, a mix of violent, unapologetic, hilarious, fun bars and sounds with zero regard for form or technicality.

Greedo told Noisey that his musical skills are purely natural, he can’t read music or play an instrument and that’s why he’s such an intriguing talent:

“I would never ruin the music in my mind–I don’t know how to read music, I don’t know how to play an instrument. Structure doesn’t belong with music; people who are doing that are not musicians…This is an untamed talent. This is how a n***a can dunk at 14 [years old]. You don’t lesson me.”

Greedo, who has a cochlear implant as a result of chronic ear infections as a kid, also attributes his nasally voice to the fact that he’s half deaf.

A half-deaf dude from the Jordan Downs projects in Watts with no musical skills who doesn’t fuck with Tupac isn’t exactly the profile label executives search for, but here we are (Greedo signed to Todd Moscowitz’s Alamo Records for a reported $1 million).

Greedo’s run began in 2016, when personal loss drove him to push harder than ever with his music. After losing his friend Mafia Ray to gang violence, Greedo recorded the tribute “Mafia Business.”

The video, shot in Greedo’s native Jordan Downs projects, with friends and family holding a cutout of Mafia Ray, is downright beautiful.

In 2016, Greedo would drop a 33-track mixtape Money Changes Everything, dedicated to another fallen friend Lil Money, as well as a 37-track mixtape Purple Summer 03: Purple Hearted Soldier, and a more R&B-inflected 13-track collection First Night Out.

Greedo, who describes his sound as “emo music for gangbangers,” is one of the artists leading a West Coast renaissance, along with Drakeo The Ruler, Mozzy, OMB Peezy, and SOB X RBE, West Coast rap’s underground is as exciting a music scene as there is in the country.

But Greedo doesn’t sound like a typical LA rapper, he’s much closer to a Lil Boosie, Kevin Gates, or Gucci Mane, even the mid-2000s auto-tuned R&B rap of T-Pain.

Greedo told Billboard that his upbringing in Watts, and the geographic history of Black migrants from the South, specifically Louisiana, informed his taste and sound:

“Watts is the most spiritual place. People from Watts are people who relocated from Louisiana. I don’t listen to West Coast music. We grew up on Cash Money, No Limit and southern music. We don’t even jam to what people jam to in Cali.”

In Watts, a completely isolated neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles, Greedo grew up in a world apart from the rest of his city.

Despite this, some of Greedo’s most compelling work has come alongside LA native Drakeo The Ruler, like on the harrowing “Out The Slums” off Drakeo’s Cold Devil from last December.

The contrast between Drakeo’s unbothered, LA-accented monotone flow and Greedo’s erratic, screechy delivery makes the partnership wildly compelling and a collaboration project is reportedly in the works.

But Greedo is pretty damn good on his own, he dropped The Wolf of Grape Street last Friday, a 21-track project displaying the entire scope of Greedo’s skills.

“If I Wasn’t Rappin'” is a bopping, jumping number with Greedo flowing in a quick-fire delivery about what the hell his life would be like without his art.

Dude isn’t lying. After giving his mother headaches by getting kicked out of multiple schools and brushes with the law, she kicked him out of the house and Greedo found himself homeless. He told Noisey:

“I was straight up homeless. Like, eat out the trash can homeless, like sleep on a park bench homeless. But then I’d get to stay at my patna’s house for a while, then overstayed my welcome–I did that with seven families–or stay with my [girlfriend]. I was just drifting around. There was a few times I would try to move back in with my mom, but we would still keep getting into it–I was a gangsta and she was a woman. We only became cool once I became an adult.”

These experiences have obviously hardened Greedo, but his music still has a certain tenderness. On the drug ballad “Substance”, Greedo wails about the need for a substances of all kinds in his life.

Greedo trades bars with Yhung T.O. of SOB X RBE on “Bacc to Bacc”, it’s a wild track with both emcees rapping rapidly over nightmarish production sans hook.

Greedo’s past has shaped an artist with little regard for tradition, be it musical or geographical.

He drifted around the country as a kid, fell in with the Grape Street Crips, almost lost his leg in a shooting, and seen his friends murdered. Dude could give less of a shit about Tupac.

You may not agree with his feelings towards Tupac, or skeptical about his seeming scatterbrained style, but 03 Greedo demands your attention, and your ears.

Pharrell’s BBC teams up with A Tribe Called Quest for legendary collaboration

Streetwear fashion brands’ collaboration game keeps going up, this time with Pharrell Williams’ Billionaire Boys Club linking with iconic Queens rap trio A Tribe Called Quest.

The collaboration includes a capsule collection as well as an exclusive music release from Tribe.

BBC

In a press release, BBC addressed the mutual respect between Tribe and Pharrell:

“With a strong history dating back to the 1990s, A Tribe Called Quest (ATCQ) and Pharrell Williams have maintained a relationship based on their deep appreciation for music, making this capsule a fitting partnership by joining music and fashion.”

BBC

Tribe’s nominal frontman Q-Tip also spoke about the opportunity to work with Pharrell, who he considers a colleague and brother:

“I consider Pharrell to be a colleague and a brother, so we as Tribe are more than elated to be collaborating with Billionaire Boys Club on a fashion endeavor of this magnitude.”

The press release described the collection, available at BBC’s SoHo location in NYC and ATCQ’s website:

“The capsule—split into two offerings that will be available at Billionaire Boys Club NYC and on ATCQ’s apparel website, respectively—includes classic hoodie and t-shirt silhouettes, hats, a patch set, and a limited-edition leather varsity jacket manufactured by Golden Bear. Designs marry Billionaire Boys Club classic logos with ATCQ’s stick-figure logo along with their infamous red and green album cover artwork seen on The Low End Theory.

BBC

The collection also features a tribute to late great Tribe member Phife Dawg:

“In addition to the varsity jacket statement piece, the capsule includes a homage to the late Phife Dawg of ATCQ, with a black pullover hoodie featuring the words ‘FOR MALIK…’ printed across the chest. Two versions will be made available with the BBC version adorning a reflective 3M spaceship outline graphic on the back and the ATCQ version seen embellished with 3M reflective prints of ‘ATCQ’ on the sleeves and ‘5’ on the back of the pullover.”

Along with some fire clothes, ATCQ are dropping a new video for “Space Program”, available exclusively on Apple Music.

Go cop, go peep, be a part of an historic collaboration.

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BBC
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BBC

Betsy DeVos proves she doesn’t know shit about public schools in ’60 Minutes’ interview

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos went on 60 Minutes last night and had a not great time answering questions about her vision for the education system.

DeVos’ philosophy towards education is all about school choice. She believes, or claims to believe, that school choice makes all students perform better. On the most basic level, kids choosing where they go to school doesn’t appear malicious, but when put into practice, especially as it relates to public school budgets, many students are completely left behind in the process.

This is the case in DeVos’ home state of Michigan, where the public school system has been ravaged by school choice.

So on 60 Minutes, CBS’ Lesley Stahl obviously asked DeVos about the Michigan public school system, which is one of the worst in the country. It wouldn’t have taken an oracle to figure out that the education secretary would be asked about schools in her home state on 60 Minutes, but DeVos was somehow wildly unprepared for the question.

In defense of school choice, DeVos pointed to Florida as a glowing example of the benefits of her plan:

“In places where there is a lot of choice that’s been introduced. Florida, for example, studies show that when there’s a large number of students that opt to go to a different school or different schools, the traditional public schools actually, the results get better as well.”

This isn’t the case. But Stahl pressed DeVos about her home state of Michigan, where DeVos has tangibly impacted education policy:

“Your argument that if you take funds away that the schools will get better is not working in Michigan. Where you had a huge impact and influence over the direction of the school system here. The public schools here are doing worse than they did.”

To that, Devos offered up this inspiring answer, “I hesitate to talk about all schools in general because schools are made up of individual students attending them.”

Ok?

As for the idea that school choice or the presence of charter schools helps public schools perform better, that link is murky or entirely nonexistent.

The Washington Post gathered data from public school districts with school choice and charter schools and how that impacted students as a whole.

From The Post:

“A 2009 study from the Rand Corp. found ‘little evidence that the presence of charter schools affects the achievement scores of students in nearby traditional public schools either positively or negatively.'”

The Post was quick to point out that there are cases where school choice has been beneficial for all students, unfortunately for DeVos that wasn’t in Florida as she claimed:

“There was an outlier that DeVos should have championed, and it wasn’t Florida: Arizona saw a big increase in charter-school enrollment and big gains in proficiency in the state’s public schools. In three of the four grade-subject combinations, Florida did better than the nation overall. In all four, Michigan did worse.”

It’s bad that the Secretary of Education doesn’t appear to know very much about schools. Between suggesting teachers in Wyoming should be armed with guns because of bears and struggling to answer basic questions at her confirmation hearing, it’s been a rough start for DeVos.

Someone come get Betsy out the paint.

interview musician

How to interview a musician: 6 steps that make the process seamless

Music journalism, and art criticism as a whole, is special because it offers the writer a chance to articulate something intangible, and to provide crucial narrative and context to an artist or piece of art.

Interviewing a musician gives the writer an opportunity to find outside information that gives that music more weight and impact to listeners. There’s some real power in that, but in order to get there you need to make sure you’ve done the necessary research, asked the right questions, and told the story in the right way.

This can be a little intimidating, especially for young writers or music lovers just getting into journalism. You have an artist or piece of work that you really care about, you know there’s a story to be told, but you don’t know where to start.

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Despite how intimidating writing about music and interviewing an artist can be for someone who is new to the form, breaking down the process into some simple steps can make the whole thing a little more straightforward.

I’m not the end all and be all, there are far better or more qualified music journalists out there, but I’m able to call myself a music writer, and I’ve gotten here without much formal training. Here’s how I approach interviewing an artist and writing a full featue.

#1: Find your artist, get in touch

As simple as it sounds, in order to interview a musician, you have to find them first. While this is pretty obvious, there are plenty of reasons that this step can provide some frustration. First, you should be affiliated with some sort of platform that you can pitch them with. A personal blog might not always work, but you can always become a contributing writer for Kulture Hub and contact them after signing up!

Timing is everything. You need to find an artist that is eager to do press. Whether they just released an album, are about to go on tour, haven’t been covered much before, just had a near-death experience, or tweeted that they want to be interviewed, make sure that you’re reaching out to an artist that has a need for press at that moment.

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Once you have an artist, find their contact. Whether that’s a personal email, a press contact, a manager, comb social media profiles or their label website. Press contacts are the best because their job is to get their artists as much publicity as possible.

Once you have a press contact, send them a message articulating your desire to cover their artist, why this artist intrigues you, and what sort of angle your potential story would have. Obviously you don’t know the final angle of your story before the interview, but give a tentative outline to what you want your story to highlight.

Quick tip: find yourself some PR contacts and foster a working relationship with them. As a music writer, these people are your best friends. If you establish yourself as a solid option for press with a specific contact, it’s a non-stop pipeline of new artists and music to cover.


#2: Research EVERYTHING

You’ve found your artist, contacted their manager, and figured out a time to talk. Now comes the actual work.

This is when you get to put your musical passion into practice. Listen to the artist’s entire discography, read every piece of press, and go through their social pages. Try to pick up on the crucial themes in their music (songwriting, production, who they’re working with).

Also begin to paint the picture of an artist as a person. Behind every piece of art is a human being and no music story is complete without understanding who is behind the sounds you hear. Your duty is to make that person come to life.

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This is the most crucial part of the entire process. Your research will help shape the questions you will ask and where you decide to take the interview. Maybe the artist changed up their sound completely between their 2nd and 3rd albums. Maybe they moved cities before their last project. Maybe their dog died. Your duty is to find the pertinent information about this person that will help you do the best work.

Go into the research process with some questions that you want to be answered or addressed. If you know what kind of things you’re looking for before listening or reading, it will help you when it comes to formulating questions.

Leave no stone unturned during the research process.


#3: Craft questions that tell a story

Your research should be such that after listening to this artist’s music, reading up about them, and scrolling their socials, you already have dozens of questions about their recording process, influences, personal life, and career prospects.

After your research you will have picked up on certain themes that you’ll want to highlight. When you’re crafting your questions, try to think from the biggest fan’s and biggest detractor’s perspective as it pertains to your artist.

Find the questions that the most devoted listeners to this artist will want to hear. What kind of things do you find relevant to this artist that haven’t been addressed in past features?

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Also ask questions that you think would answer people’s criticisms of this artist. Presumably you like the music this person makes if you’re moved to interview them, ask questions that you think address the issues people may have with this artist.

Your questions should follow a similar theme. A bunch of random questions may work for a Q&A, but if we’re crafting a full interview feature, keep your questions to a common idea, whether that’s their songwriting process, their upbringing, how they started making music. This will make it easier for them, but also for you when you sit down to write, your questions will have already formed a sort of outline for the story.

Quick tip: never ask a question in “talk about” format. “Talk about your latest album” is not a good question, make your questions as specific and direct as possible.


#4: Talk to the artist…

Yes, this seems obvious, in order to interview someone you will indeed have to talk to them, but actually talking with your words is best.

In person meetings are ideal, but phone calls will work as well. The point here, avoid emails, DMs, or texts whenever possible. It’s really easy for someone to write out an email to a question when they can think about their answer, but it’s a really fast way to lose a lot of the human emotion you’d get by talking in person or over the phone.

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An in-person meeting or phone call will also allow you to ask questions on the fly, if you picked up on something interesting that the artist is talking about a lot, but you didn’t plan on asking about it, go down that tangent!

As convenient as an email exchange may seem, a face-to-face interview or phone call will give you the ability to connect to the person your interviewing, improvise, and ultimately make your interview much stronger.

Quick tip: you can use FreeConferenceCalling.com to conduct your interview and record them.


#5: Structure your story around answers

You have your answers. Whether you went through the miserable, painstaking process of transcribing the interview yourself or paid someone too much money to do a shoddy job of transcribing for you, the interview is in writing, which means you basically have your story already.

If you did your job in asking good questions that tell a story, go into your transcript and begin annotating it, breaking up each answer into sections. In this sense, the answers will provide you with a proper structure for your story. Edit your transcript, highlight the most important answers, discard the things you don’t need.

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Arrange these sections out and create an outline for your story. The answers are the backbone of the story, your work is mostly done for you, all you have to do is create the connections and transitions between the different sections.


#6: Plug your writing in around the artist’s answers

The answers the artist gives you has already formed the structure of your story, now all that’s left to do is build the base. Think about what the title of your article is going to look like and how you can make it different from any other piece of content that’s already been created about them.

Find the idea(s) that you want to highlight most and make this the point, or thesis, of your article. I know it may bring back some PTSD, but this is no different than writing a high school english class essay, just a lot more fun.

When you make a statement, back it up with evidence from the interview. Everything should go back to that bigger idea, whether that’s how the artist moving to New Orleans shaped their album, how they changed their songwriting process, how listening to Ready to Die every day for a year influenced their most recent work, find the most important idea from your interview and make your article emphasize that point.

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In the end, make the artist’s words do most of the work, your job is to make the links and transitions between their words and put emphasis on what’s most important.

The reader is here to find out something new about the artist, not read your writing. So write clearly and passionately about the music, don’t overcomplicate the piece with dense writing. Simple is best.

Ultimately, have fun with the entire process. You’ve gotten the opportunity to ask someone who makes interesting art how and why they make it, go as deep into the details and minutiae as possible.

Go forth, young music writer, spread your wings, uncover the hidden truths within the art, write glowingly about music that inspires you, and wield the incomparable power of the written word.

Now peep some of our past music interviews for reference:

1. MeLo-X is the Brooklyn-born creative pushing the limits of medium

2. Odesza, the Grammy-nominated Seattle duo, is fostering success through community

3. Gizzle, the LA songwriter behind some of your favorite hits, is going solo

4. Who is Smooky MarGielaa? The 15-year-old rapper co-signed by A$AP Rocky

5. Meet Harlem’s Z3US FERGUSON, the producer turned rapper on the rise

6. How Toronto producer The Lab Cook forged connections to reach the top

7. An Uber ride with Izzy Bizu, the British songwriter who is ready to take over America

8. Meet Diani Eshe, the 18-year-old from Brooklyn paving her own rap career

9. Negative Gemini and George Clanton are building their own personal indie empire with 100% Electronica label

Best new tracks of the week: Lil Yachty, Beach House, 03 Greedo & more

Every Friday, we gather the best new tracks of the week for your listening pleasure.

Some fun stuff came out this week with Lil Yachty and 03 Greedo albums, and plenty of singles to go around.

Let’s jump into it.

Lil Yachty – “66” (ft. Trippie Red)

Lil Boat dropped Lil Boat 2 and it’s fire.

I can’t lie, it’d been kind of a worrisome run with some lackluster verses for the Quality Control signee since Yachty debuted with Lil Boat, but he’s back to his best on 2.

“66” with Trippie Redd is great.


Beach House – “Dive”

Baltimore ambient dream pop duo Beach House came through with another single off their upcoming album 7 and it’s beautiful.

“Dive” starts off slow but unfolds into a driving, swirling powerhouse, like a deep dive into water.

is due in May. I know, I don’t have the time to wait either.


03 Greedo -“If I Wasn’t Rappin'”

03 Greedo is one of the wildest rappers out right now.

On his highly anticipated The Wolf of Grape Street album, Greedo shows why people can’t get enough of his bizarre screech-rapping style. Dude is nice.

Young Fathers – “Wow”

Edinburgh, Scotland 3-piece Young Fathers released their third studio album Cocoa Sugar today.

Young Fathers have a pretty interesting sound, a mix of hip-hip, indie rock, and dance music. On “Wow”, there’s some serious TV On The Radio vibes.

This record is well worth a listen.


Jeremih – “Forever I’m Ready”

Chicago R&B crooner Jeremih dropped a little 4-track EP The Chocolate Box, full of some great intimate tunes for your weekend of lovin’.

The H-Town “Knockin’ Da Boots” sample on “Forever I’m Ready” is quite exceptional.

Vince Staples – “Get The Fuck Off My Dick”

We’re still only a couple of months into the year, but Vince Staples’ “Get The Fuck Off My Dick” is far and away the best song title of 2018. “GTFOMD” came complete with a GoFundMe page.

If Vince’s haters can fill the goal of $2 million, he’ll go away forever. Amazing.


Brodinski, Lil Reek – “Rock Out”

After releasing a collaborative mixtape with HoodRich Pablo Juan a couple weeks ago, French house producer Brodinski teams up with young (like really young) ATL rapper Lil Reek for the post-apocalyptic “Rock Out.”

I would like to be brutally murdered to this song. The video, directed by French director Kim Chapiron, is insane.


Wet – “There’s a Reason”

Brooklyn trio Wet’s easygoing but emotive sound made their debut album Don’t You one of the best pop releases of 2016.

Wet has much the same formula on “There’s a Reason”, it’s just some nice ass listening.


Sango – “Khlorine” (ft. Smino)

Soulection producer Sango enlists St. Louis rapper Smino for the smooth as hell “Khlorine.”

After “Sweet Holy Honey” with Xavier Omar a couple of weeks ago, Sango may be building up to a larger project.

Sango makes bops.


Anderson .Paak – “‘Til It’s Over”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=305ryPvU6A8

The wonderful Anderson .Paak’s new song “‘Til It’s Over” first appeared in the new Apple advertisement for their HomePod product with FKA Twigs dancing along to Paak’s song.

The production is more glitchy and out there than the funky style .Paak is known for, but it’s a pretty exciting preview of what could be to come from the Cali crooner.


As always…

STAY WOKE: Joey Bada$$ says he’s done with weed because it’s a ‘control tactic’

Weed is tight, weed is tight. But Brooklyn rapper Joey Bada$$ has apparently sworn off the plant, telling fans via his Instagram story how wonderful his weed-less life has been

Bada$$ wrote on the gram:

“I feel like smoking is for older people who have worked a long time and are looking to relax. Not for young people who have a lot more to accomplish and can’t afford anything slowing them down from getting to their destination. I get it though a lot of you think you need it to cop w the stress trust me I been there, But, meditation is much better.”

I feel slightly attacked by his assertion that smoking is for old people but I guess claiming that he’s got more to accomplish before he gets lifted again makes some sense… for him.

@joeybadass

Joey went on to say that he’s not smoking until he’s “chilling in that multi million dollar villa.”

Ok, all that makes sense to me, besides the fact that Joey basically called me washed, but that’s neither here nor there. But then Joey Bada$$ went all third eye, claiming that weed is being used as a “control tactic” and that’s why it’s being legalized.

“Why you think it’s becoming legal everywhere? Not just ’cause it’s lucrative, but it’s now being used as a control tactic. Look it up and ‘STAY WOKE.'”

Mmk. Seems like Joey Bada$$ could use a joint.

@joeybadass

Smoke weed if you like it, don’t if you don’t! Definitely have a glass of water, though.

Obamas in negotiations with Netflix to produce series of shows, save us all

Former President Barack Obama, aka the greatest living American, is set to “produce a series of high-profile shows that will provide him a global platform after his departure from the White House,” according to The New York Times.

The Obamas, who have kept a relatively low profile since leaving the White House last January, could see a Netflix deal as the ideal way to address issues of import to both Barack and Michelle.

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While The Times maintained that “Mr. Obama does not intend to use his Netflix shows to directly respond to President Trump or conservative critics,” he could use the platform to continue to discuss the causes he championed while in office:

“In one possible show idea, Mr. Obama could moderate conversations on topics that dominated his presidency — health care, voting rights, immigration, foreign policy, climate change — and that have continued to divide a polarized American electorate during President Trump’s time in office.”

As for Michelle, she will also be involved, possibly producing a program on nutrition:

“Another program could feature Mrs. Obama on topics, like nutrition, that she championed in the White House. The former president and first lady could also lend their brand — and their endorsement — to documentaries or fictional programming on Netflix that align with their beliefs and values.”

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Eric Schultz, an adviser to Obama during his presidency, told The Times that the Obamas, who are each working on memoirs, are looking for ways to tell stories they’re passionate about:

“President and Mrs. Obama have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire. Throughout their lives, they have lifted up stories of people whose efforts to make a difference are quietly changing the world for the better. As they consider their future personal plans, they continue to explore new ways to help others tell and share their stories.”

While the Obamas don’t see any potential Netflix deal as a direct response to Trump and his various minions, Barack has spoken out about the spread of misinformation and the gap in narrative between the Fox News and Breitbarts of the world as opposed to an NPR or The New York Times.

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In January, Obama told David Letterman as part of the former late night host’s first Netflix program about the “different planets” of liberal and conservative media:

“If you watch Fox News, you are living on a different planet than you are if you are listening to NPR. If I watch Fox News, I wouldn’t vote for me. I would watch it and say, ‘Who is that guy?'”

Obama is just too diplomatic. But his point that liberal and conservative Americans are on “different planets” remains true. Americans’ realities are completely shaped by the media they absorb, regardless of where they are on the political spectrum.

Hopefully Obama can come back and save us all. He’s the hero we need right now.

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After team asked Derrius Guice if he was gay, 4 times NFL teams asked the weirdest shit

Ah yes, the NFL Draft Combine, everyone’s favorite weekend where creepy team executives ask recently-departed college kids about their sexuality, their mother’s sex life, and how they would murder people!

You’d think that it’d be pretty simple to evaluate a prospect’s skills and personality without delving too deeply into the most private aspects of their life, but… that is not the case when it comes to the NFL Combine.

LSU running back Derrius Guice has spoken out about some questions he got from team executives that have nothing to do with his ability to play football or his professionalism. Guice told USA Today:

“It was pretty crazy. Some people are really trying to get in your head and test your reaction… I go in one room, and a team will ask me do I like men, just to see my reaction. I go in another room, they’ll try to bring up one of my family members or something and tell me, ‘Hey, I heard your mom sells herself. How do you feel about that?’”

What kind of fuckin’ weirdo do you have to be to say the words, ‘I heard your mom sells herself’ to a 20-year-old? I get that the NFL is a business and teams have to do their due diligence when selecting prospects that they will pay millions of dollars to develop early onset dementia, but this is so dumb, if not actively degrading.

The Combine is basically designed to intimidate prospects and mold them into the monotonous, myopic football machines teams want as opposed to, ya know, people. This includes a 3:30 am drug test, which is necessary because… WELL JUST BECAUSE.

Let’s look at all the weird shit NFL teams do, say, and ask prospects when evaluating them to play football

Josh Rosen is too smart for his own good

A hilariously terrifying article from SI’s Peter King earlier this week looked at how NFL teams are evaluating UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen ahead of the draft. Rosen is seen as a step down from other QBs, like USC’s Sam Darnold and Wyoming’s Josh Allen, not necessarily because of his talent but because he… thinks about stuff?

Peter King relayed the issues NFL teams have with Rosen ahead of the draft.

First, he’s a spoiled rich kid:

“Football isn’t that important to him, because he’s a rich kid whose mom is the great-great-granddaughter of the founder of Penn’s prestigious Wharton School of Business, and whose dad is a renowned spinal surgeon, and who once put a hot tub in his college bedroom. Rich kids can’t have the same drive as lower-middle-class kids.”

Not sure what Rosen’s dad being a spinal surgeon has to do with his ability to play football, but… ok. Here’s where it gets fun though:

“He’s too smart for his own good. He’s anti-Trump (once wearing a hat to a Trump golf course with “F— Trump” on it), into politics and cares a lot about the planet. Quarterbacks need to be myopic. Football only.”

First off, shoutout Josh Rosen. Second of all, imagine a profession where the phrase “cares a lot about the planet” is a negative thing. Impossibly stupid.


That time Jeff Ireland asked Dez Bryant if his mom was a prostitute

This is one of the more infamous NFL Combine moments. Then Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland asked Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute and if she still did drugs. Dez Bryant told Yahoo Sports at the time:

“They asked me if my mom’s a prostitute. No, my mom is not a prostitute. I got mad – really mad – but I didn’t show it. I got a lot of questions like that: Does she still do drugs? I sat and answered all of them.”

What is the possible point of asking an NFL prospect about their mother’s personal life? NFL executives clearly have some weird Oedipal stuff they’re projecting.


Falcons coach asks Eli Apple if he ‘likes men’

The NFL Draft Combine, chock full of Moms and sexuality!

Giants corner Eli Apple told Comcast SportsNet about the line of questioning from a Falcons coach at the 2016 combine:

“The Falcons coach, one of the coaches, was like, ‘So do you like men?’ It was like the first thing he asked me. It was weird. I was just like, ‘no.’ He was like, ‘if you’re going to come to Atlanta, sometimes that’s how it is around here, you’re going to have to get used to it.’ I guess he was joking but they just ask most of these questions to see how you’re going to react.”

What is wrong with these people?


Austen Lane details combine experience

Former NFL defensive end Austen Lane had a hilarious series of tweets a couple years ago mocking the questioning from NFL teams. They did the whole mom thing again.

The NFL is a weird place.

21 Savage is done with expensive jewelry, will put his money towards investments and the youth

21 Savage will no longer wear expensive jewelry, instead focusing on investing in businesses, real estate, and putting his money towards youth initiatives.

The East Atlanta rapper has made a name for himself with his lyrics depicting his violent and impoverished upbringing, but he’s now trying to bring a message of positivity and use his platform to make investing and helping your community “cool” for younger rappers.

21’s manager Meezy went on Twitter to announce the rapper’s decision a couple weeks ago.

“21 Savage no longer wears jewelry. Buying houses .. investing in businesses… crypto & youth start ups is what he wanna make cool for young rappers to do. Lead by example.”

This isn’t the first time 21 has shed his violent image to spread a more positive message. He attended girlfriend Amber Rose’s Slut Walk bearing a sign that read “I’m a hoe too” and his “Nothin New” video addressed racial relations and police brutality in America.

But not everyone is thrilled with 21 Savage’s decision to stop wearing jewelry. Internet rap troll and Tom from Tom and Jerry look alike DJ Akademiks claimed 21 should stick to violent lyrics and basically that no one wants to hear a positive message from 21 Savage.

L.A. rapper Nipsey Hussle took issue with Akademiks’ comments, telling Tariq Nasheed of the New Hip Hop News podcast that Akademiks basically deserves to get his ass beat:

“They said recently that 21 Savage said that he stopped buying jewelry and he gon’ spend his money on investing. You know, that’s a powerful message. Akademiks criticized him and said, ‘I don’t want to hear nothin’ but killin’ and I’m about to kill the opps.’ and he like ‘I don’t want to hear that from 21 Savage.’ That shit right there get you fucked up. And we supposed to fuck n*ggas up for that. Period. It ain’t supposed to be understanding. We supposed to catch you at ComplexCon or where ever you at and we supposed to spank you for that. And you supposed to learn ‘I was wrong.'”

A lot to get through here. Akademiks is known for these trolly-ass takes.

He’s made an entire career off of it, including mocking violence in inner-city Chicago. Nipsey’s comments have been repackaged into some sort of threat to Akademiks, which is a stretch. Nip merely pointed out how bizarre it is for a rap journalist (if we can call Ak that) to criticize a rapper for trying to be positive.

We should be encouraging artists when they make decisions like 21 Savage shedding jewelry to put money towards youth programs.

Akademiks is just such a little cornball, man.

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