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Jordan Peele surprises UCLA class studying ‘Get Out,’ gives them a lesson

Back in 2017, Jordan Peele pulled up on a class at UCLA that was discussing his film Get Out. Peele was wearing a hoodie in the back of the class when the professor Tananarive Due called on him.

Needless to say, the students were a little hype to suddenly see Jordan Peele in their midst speaking to them about Get Out, Black horror films, and the larger idea of the “sunken place.”

The class Peele showed up to is “The Sunken Place: Racism, Survival, and Black Horror Aesthetic,” taught by Tananarive Due, a filmmaker, screenwriter, and professor at UCLA.

Pretty cool experience for students to be able to ask Peele directly about his idea behind Get Out on a deeper level. Obviously it’s an interesting film on the surface, but there’s also so much happening in Get Out beyond what meets the eye.

Professor Tananarive Due spoke to Gizmodo back in September about her course, motivated by Get Out, that examines the role of Black Americans in horror films.

Due told Gizmodo that Get Out inspired her creation of the course,

“The idea for the course, specifically, came because Jordan Peele dropped Get Out when I was teaching my Afrofuturism course last spring at UCLA. And it was one of those things where the timing wasn’t quite right and I thought, ‘Oh, I wish I used that in the course…’”

For as good as Get Out is, it’s not the first example of a Black horror film, just the most mainstream. That fact in and of itself drove Due to want to take a deeper academic look at the history of Black horror in American films. Due said to Gizmodo,

Get Out is not the first black-made horror film, but it’s definitely the most successful. And I think it definitely has the ability to be culture-changing, let’s say.”

Sounds like a rad course. This is some cool stuff from both Tananarive Due and Peele himself.

Trump is ‘consumed by dark moods’ as criticism mounts from all sides

Little ol’ Trumpy is down in the dumps over this whole ‘being president’ thing.

Gabriel Sherman of Vanity Fair published a revealing piece detailing Trump’s frustration and morbid moods as his legislative agenda continues to stall and his closest acquaintances begin to openly question his leadership.

Sherman wrote,

“In recent days, I spoke with a half dozen prominent Republicans and Trump advisers, and they all describe a White House in crisis as advisers struggle to contain a president who seems to be increasingly unfocused and consumed by dark moods.”

Poor little guy! Must be tough to be the leader of the free world and realize there are consequences for being a petty, racist asshole. Trump was especially disillusioned when Luther Strange, a candidate he backed and campaigned for, lost in the Alabama Republican primary.

According to Sherman, “‘Alabama was a huge blow to his psyche,’ a person close to Trump said. ‘He saw the cult of personality was broken.'”

Trump is a little baby child throwing tantrums on the daily and he doesn’t like anyone in his own administration,

“According to two sources familiar with the conversation, Trump vented to his longtime security chief, Keith Schiller, ‘I hate everyone in the White House! There are a few exceptions, but I hate them!'”

God, that’s glorious.

Sherman’s piece also details how people around Trump are starting (starting?) to think he might be kind of a liability. Apparently Chief of Staff John Kelly and Secretary of Defense James Mattis have openly discussed a contingency plan should Trump order a nuclear strike. This plan apparently involves some physical intervention,

“One former official even speculated that Kelly and Secretary of Defense James Mattis have discussed what they would do in the event Trump ordered a nuclear first strike. ‘Would they tackle him?’ the person said.”

The image of a bunch of crusty old white guys in suits grappling on the floor of the Oval Office as Trump tries to order a nuclear strike is kind of hilarious if the whole situation wasn’t so fucking apocalyptic.

People within the White House are reportedly worried about Trump’s open beef with members of Congress, including throwing shots at prominent Republican Bob Corker as Trump made fun of the junior Senator’s height. Corker had said of Trump, “He concerns me. He would have to concern anyone who cares about our nation.”

Sherman reports that even before all this recent noise, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon warned the president about the Cabinet voting him out of office:

“Several months ago, according to two sources with knowledge of the conversation, former chief strategist Steve Bannon told Trump that the risk to his presidency wasn’t impeachment, but the 25th Amendment—the provision by which a majority of the Cabinet can vote to remove the president. When Bannon mentioned the 25th Amendment, Trump said, ‘What’s that?'”

“What’s that?” said the President of the United States regarding a constitutional amendment that allows the Cabinet to remove him from office.

With criticism ringing in from all sides, even those closest to the president are publicly questioning his behavior. The Washington Post published a story quoting billionaire Thomas J. Barrack, one of Trump’s oldest friends, who is not so happy about Trump’s performance so far. Barrack told the Post regarding Trump’s policies, like the proposed Muslim ban and Mexican border wall,

“He thinks he has to be loyal to his base. I keep on saying, ‘But who is your base? You don’t have a natural base. Your base now is the world and America, so you have all these constituencies; show them who you really are.’ In my opinion, he’s better than this.”

Is he better than this though?

For their part, the White House claims that nothing is wrong and that all is well with the little guy in the Oval Office, an official told Vanity Fair, “The President’s mood is good and his outlook on the agenda is very positive.”

Kulture Hub was able to obtain exclusive footage of the White House. Absolutely harrowing scenes:

So what did Trump do this morning to make sure that he regained his faltering support and prove that he’s having a wonderful time being the leader of the free world?

He went on a tweetstorm about Puerto Rico. No not to offer his unconditional support as part of our nation recovers from a devastating national disaster, but rather to caution the island that his administrations “can’t keep FEMA, the military & first responders there forever.”

Look at this dipshit.

This prompted responses from Ricardo Rossello, Governor of Puerto Rico, and Carmen Yulin Cruz, mayor of San Juan.

Rossello maintained that PR is “requesting the support that any of our fellow citizens would receive across our Nation.” It’s unclear whether or not Trump is aware of the fact that Puerto Rico is a part of the United States.

Cruz was more pointed in her response to Lil Trump, calling him the “Hater in Chief.”

This comes after Trump told Puerto Ricans that aiding the relief efforts from Hurricane Maria had “thrown our budget a little out of whack.”

This fucking guy.

Trump is responding to the mass criticism of his handling of this natural disaster by trying to blame someone else, a common Trump tactic to deflect his own responsibility. “It’s not me, the President of the United States’ fault, it’s the people that had their entire livelihoods ruined by a hurricane!” Faultless logic from our ever-fearless leader.

Trump’s VP and errand boy Mike Pence said basically the exact opposite of Trump during a trip to the island last week. He told a crowd of Puerto Ricans,

“I say to all of you gathered here today to the people of Puerto Rico:  We are with you, we stand with you, and we will be with you every single day until Puerto Rico is restored bigger and better than ever before.”

This whole national experiment where we throw a serial sexual abuser and fucking lunatic into the most powerful position in the world ain’t going so hot. There is some quite delicious schadenfreude in all of this, of course, but it’s also just a massive embarrassment and nightmare.

We deserve all of this.

Kyrie Irving says Boston is ‘real sports city,’ takes veiled shots at Cleveland

Mmm, NBA drama.

Kyrie Irving spilled all the tea while talking about settling into his new city of Boston and comparing it to Cleveland.

Irving, who went to high school in New Jersey and whose dad Drederick played for Boston University, told the Boston Globe during shootaround yesterday,

“It’s exciting to be back on the East Coast. It’s fast-paced. A lot of different cultures, food, and people. You get it all, especially in Boston. I was talking to my best friend the other day: It’s a really major city.”

That’s legit, Kyrie is an East Coast dude and Boston has that energy, especially when it comes to sports. But the real juice in these quotes is what Kyrie had to say about Cleveland. It wasn’t the most complimentary thing ever. Irving said of Cleveland,

“Coming from Cleveland, the Midwest, where the culture is different. And then you move to the East Coast — into Boston — and it’s so real [and] alive. An ongoing, thriving city. Consistently. No matter what hour throughout the night.”

First off, relax Kyrie stop going to the club.

But Irving pointed out that the Midwest and the East Coast are very different and that Boston is a ‘real, live sports city,’

“You would go to Cleveland, and it would be at nighttime, and things would be going on, but you just see a vast difference in terms of what the Midwest is — Cleveland — and what Boston is. Boston, I’m driving in and [thinking], ‘I’m really playing in a real, live sports city?’ And a great city.”

I’m sure Cleveland fans will take this right in stride and not take offense to Kyrie’s comments whatsoever!

Realistically, this is hilarious. Kyrie didn’t really say anything all that bad, but surely this will turn into a whole thing because everyone feeds off drama in the NBA. LeBron will probably say some petty shit (remember when he decided to leave Cleveland for South Beach?) and Kyrie will be (even more) vilified in Cleveland.

All of this just adds extra fuel to the fire of the budding Celtics Cavaliers rivalry, which is about to be electric as fuck this season.

Especially after Isaiah Thomas, who was traded for Irving, said that he will never forgive Boston GM Danny Ainge for what he did. Thomas told Sports Illustrated,

“Boston is going to be all love. I might not ever talk to Danny again. That might not happen. I’ll talk to everybody else. But what he did, knowing everything I went through, you don’t do that, bro. That’s not right. I’m not saying eff you. But every team in this situation comes out a year or two later and says, ‘We made a mistake.’ That’s what they’ll say, too.”

As I’ve said before, seeing Thomas in a Cavs uniform is gonna suck. But Kyrie Irving, along with Gordon Hayward, brings a whole new dimension to this Celtics team.

MANS NOT HOT.

Peep the ball movement.

Oh boy, I am excited to watch this Celtics team. The Celtics and Cavs will kick off the NBA season next Tuesday and there will be so much damn narrative.

Tuesday can’t come soon enough.

Now that Harvey Weinstein is out the paint, Jay-Z wants to buy his stake in TWC

As the fallout surrounding the predatory Harvey Weinstein continues, TMZ reports that Jay-Z wants to buy his stake in The Weinstein Company.

After the New York Times published a damning and revelatory investigation of Weinstein’s abuse and harassment of young actresses and women in the film industry over multiple decades, Weinstein was fired from the company he helped found.

Now, people in the entertainment industry are jockeying for position to fill the massive void left by Weinstein.

Jay-Z, who has worked with The Weinstein Company, is among those interested in buying stake in the film company. According to TMZ,

“Multiple sources connected to Jay tell us … Jay, along with several other investors including a famous movie producer and a billionaire, are talking about purchasing Weinstein’s 23% interest in the company.”

The established relationship between Jay and TWC included The Kalief Browder Story, a documentary chronicling the life and death of a young Black man that was driven to suicide while being held at Rikers Island without trial.

Jay and TWC also reportedly had a Trayvon Martin miniseries in the works and Hov has a first look film deal with The Weinstein Company.

According to TMZ, Jay wants this partnership to expand,

“Our sources say Jay wants his relationship with the company to continue and grow, and since Harvey is out he’s looking at acquiring a substantial equity stake in the company.”

Weirdly enough, as Spin highlighted, Harvey Weinstein actually quoted Jay-Z in his statement to the Times. The only problem is that the quotation Weinstein attributed to Jay is… completely made up.

Weinstein wrote (in an otherwise unhinged and incriminating statement) that,

“Jay Z wrote in 4:44 ‘I’m not the man I thought I was and I better be that man for my children.’ The same is true for me.”

Jay-Z didn’t write that in 4:44, the album or the song. Don’t bring Jay into this! Comparing Jay-Z’s alleged affair(s) to sexually assaulting women is ridiculous. Fuck outta here, Harvey.

Regardless, Jay buying Weinstein’s stake sounds like a pretty dope idea. Harvey Weinstein is trash, Jay-Z is a visionary, seems like a win-win for everyone.

Also, there’s a noticeable dearth of Black Americans in positions of power in Hollywood, who better than to help change this than Sean Carter?

We’re eagerly awaiting Jay-Z taking over the film industry.

The 5 most poignant bars from Eminem’s Trump-bashing freestyle

Slim Shady has emerged from wherever he’s been growing his questionable beard to dole out some ether for the president. With rumors that his new album is finished floating around, this might be Eminem’s first step back into the spotlight.

But this isn’t the first time Em’s gotten political. His 2002 track “White America” took aim at politicians that criticized his lyrical content. In 2004, the song “Mosh” urged Americans to turn against George W. Bush and the Iraq War with a politically-charged music video.

But last night’s freestyle for the BET Hip Hop Awards saw Eminem reach a new level of politicization. He directly attacked Trump for over four minutes, addressing topics like the proposed muslim ban, Steve Bannon, Charlottesville, gun control, NFL protests, and the military.

Em even spoke directly to his own fans, predominately white people from middle America, telling them he doesn’t want their fandom if they support Trump.

The contrarian in me wants to say that only Eminem, a white rapper that has a massive fan base across the country, would be able to do this and not be roundly criticized. Some of the freestyle is also a little too on the nose, but regardless it’s cool to see Em use that platform to shit all over Trump’s dumb face.

https://twitter.com/drewmagary/status/918108798799306753

It’s been a minute since we heard from Slim Shady, and while he’s gotten political before, he’s not known as a ‘conscious rapper’ by any means. But combining this political rhetoric with his trademark aggressive bars made for pretty compelling listening.

Let’s peep his most provocative bars from the cypher.

Invoking Islam while criticizing the First Lady

I’ma walk inside a mosque on Ramadan
And say a prayer that every time Melania talks
She gets a mou—ahh, I’ma stop

Shady used his wordplay to shine a light on Trump’s bigotry towards Muslims while taking shots at Melania Trump. But this is a grown up, composed version of Eminem, he stops himself just before he’s about to say some wild shit about Melania.

A smart move indeed. We can probably fill in the blanks with what Em was about to say here, but going way over the top with this freestyle would only make it easier for conservatives and Trump supporters to dismiss his message.


Attacking Trump’s NFL tweets

Plus, he gets an enormous reaction
When he attacks the NFL so we focus on that in-
-stead of talkin’ Puerto Rico or gun reform for Nevada
All these horrible tragedies and he’s bored and would rather
Cause a Twitter storm with the Packers

Em went in on Trump’s penchant for starting ridiculous Twitter beef as opposed to solving the issues of our country. It’s wild that our president is more focused on NFL players’ behavior during the national anthem than actually, you know, doing what presidents do.


Trump’s racism

From his endorsement of Bannon
Support for the Klansmen
Tiki torches in hand for the soldier that’s black
And comes home from Iraq
And is still told to go back to Africa

This one was pretty specific, dropping Steve Bannon’s name and Trump’s support for the Klansmen in Charlottesville.

Em uses the tiki torch imagery that we saw in Charlottesville to offer support for Black veterans who fight for our country, only to come home and be exposed to even more racism.


Trump’s hypocrisy and fake patriotism (plus shouts out to Colin Kaepernick)

He says, “You’re spittin’ in the face of vets who fought for us, you bastards!”
Unless you’re a POW who’s tortured and battered
‘Cause to him you’re zeros
‘Cause he don’t like his war heroes captured
That’s not disrespectin’ the military
Fuck that, this is for Colin, ball up a fist
And keep that shit balled like Donald the bitch

Trump supporters are incredibly dumb. This is an established fact. Trump supporters believe that this dude cares about the military and THE FLAG, when he’s repeatedly told us exactly who he is.

Remember when Trump said John McCain wasn’t a real war hero because he was captured? Trump avoided the draft five times (four times during college and the other because of ‘bone spurs’ in his feet). Also, big ups to Colin Kaepernick.


Drawing a line in the sand with his fans

And any fan of mine who’s a supporter of his
I’m drawing in the sand a line, you’re either for or against
And if you can’t decide who you like more and you’re split
On who you should stand beside, I’ll do it for you with this:
Fuck you

If you could crystalize Eminem’s freestyle into one succinct message, it’s this. Em draws a line in the sand for his Trump supporting fans. “You’re either for or against” Trump and his bullshit rhetoric.

This is particularly notable as one would imagine that a pretty large amount of Eminem fans also happen to be Trump supporters.

I doubt that Eminem fans will suddenly reconsider their political ideologies because of a freestyle, but I suppose it’s cool to see him use his platform to try and spread a message.

The USMNT shat the bed and couldn’t qualify for the World Cup. Now what?

The United States Men’s National Team lost 2-1 to Trinidad and Tobago last night in Couva, Trinidad and have failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986.

This result is an absolute shock, all the USMNT had to do was get a draw in Trinidad after beating Panama 4-0 last Friday, but it never should’ve gotten to this point.

There are many people to blame, Jurgen Klinsmann, Bruce Arena, Michael Bradley, Tim Howard, Omar Gonzalez, and the President of United States Soccer Federation Sunil Gulati, but ultimately this is a damning stain on a team that has vied to be considered elite for years.

The USMNT is nowhere near the top echelon of the soccer world, as it so desperately wants to be. In reality, the entire program from top to bottom is deeply flawed.

Former USMNT striker Taylor Twellman went on a full blown rant after the result last night, calling out the US Soccer Federation. As Twellman pointed out, there are no excuses for this result and questions should’ve been asked years ago about the state of the national team,

“The gloves should have been off years ago. We should have been having real criticism. And the discussion after Brazil, Max, was, ‘Can we beat the Colombias and the Belgiums and the Argentinas of the world?’ You kidding me? We can’t beat Trinidad on a field that’s too wet and too heavy? What are we doing? What are we doing?”

https://twitter.com/MaxWildstein/status/917944013306650624

Twellman hits the nail on the head. With the billions of dollars being poured in to developmental programs and the MLS, how does a team of the supposed stature of the United States lose to Trinidad and Tobago?

Christian Pulisic, a 19-year-old, was the only player that put in a composed and decent performance last night.

As Twellman pointed out, this team has failed to qualify for the Olympics two straight times, there is a stunning lack of quality talent in the 25-28 age group, usually the peak of a soccer player’s career. Instead, the starting 11 from yesterday reveals a roster led by a 19-year-old and a rag-tag group of veterans way past their prime.

The most worrisome part in all of this has been the reaction from the higher-ups within the US Federation. Head coach Bruce Arena, who was brought in to bring us back to the heydays of the early 2000s (or something?) after Jurgen Klinsmann’s shtick had grown tiresome, said after the game last night that US soccer is in a “good place.” Arena told reporters,

“There’s nothing wrong with what we’re doing. Certainly as our league grows, it advances the national team program. We have some good young players come up. Nothing has to change. To make any kind of crazy changes I think would be foolish. We’re building a good system in our professional league. We have players playing abroad of some quality.”

Nothing has to change. That’s the message coming out of the USMNT head coach after failing to reach the World Cup because they couldn’t earn a DRAW against Trinidad and Tobago.

It’s also the message being echoed by Gulati, who doesn’t think “wholesale changes” are needed.

Wholesale changes are desperately needed. From the top to the bottom of the United States Soccer model. Youth development has to change. Coaching has to change. College soccer should change, if not be completely disbanded.

How can we compete with the best soccer nations when kids in Spain, Argentina, England, Germany, France, and Belgium (it’s almost laughable to compare our team to these countries) are expected to become professionals at 16 and Americans are just trying to get a college scholarship?

I’ve supported the USMNT ever since I can remember. There’ve had glimpses of promise, the 2002 World Cup and 2014 World Cup brought relatively solid results. There’s always been this idea that we’re just a couple players or a couple years away from really being able to challenge the best countries in the world.

Now, we’re back at square one. I want to hope that some good will come of this. Maybe, like Germany in 2000, this shitstorm will invigorate the US Federation and MLS to change their entire structures, but the message from Arena and Gulati is disheartening and doesn’t reveal any of the necessary soul-searching.

Next year, teams around from around the globe will compete in the World Cup in Russia. For the first time since 1986, the United States will not be there. It’s an absolutely shocking reality for US soccer, but the writing has been on the wall for years.

UK rapper Loyle Carner kicks fan out of his show for being sexist

UK rapper Loyle Carner has been blowing up on the other side of the pond.

His 2017 album Yesterday’s Gone peaked at #14 on the UK charts, got him a nomination for the prestigious Mercury Prize, and now he’s currently headlining a tour, selling out across Britain and Ireland.

But at a sold out show in Norwich on Sunday, Carner had to confront a crowd member for inappropriate comments the fan made towards opening act Elisa & Srigala.

The fan in question reportedly yelled out “you have big tits” at Elisa before Carner took the stage and Carner then used his position to make an example of the situation.

https://twitter.com/YasminVal_/status/917161354640977922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nme.com%2Fnews%2Fmusic%2Floyle-carner-kicks-fan-out-making-sexist-comments-about-support-act-elisa-srigala-2148337

In the video, Carner tells the fan he ain’t got to go home but he’s gotta get the hell outta here. “I’m sorry man, you gotta learn a lesson my young man,” Carner says to the fan to applause from the crowd. The UK rapper went on, “You gotta go. For being sexist, you gotta go.”

Carner lated tweeted that “That shit will not be tolerated.”

This isn’t a huge surprise as Carner has spoken about being socially conscious and much of his music has a politically charged message.

Carner recently spoke to NME about his album and the political awareness of our generation,

“I’m representing. I’m a millennial I guess, or just before. We’re in a good place. People have more to talk about – we have more of a political voice, we have more of a left-thinking voice, it’s more positive, we look after each other. Really I’m just trying to say that being 21 is difficult.”

Definitely cool to see a dude performer stand up to sexism and use his platform to send a message of positivity.

Salute to Loyle Carner, another UK rapper putting on.

The MTA wants to replace Metrocards with eTix, but trains are still cooked

In an attempt to make the New York subway system even borderline functional, the MTA is beginning a switch to electronic tickets from the Metrocard.

While this will help with general convenience for everyone, it will also let commuters from outside New York City consolidate all their various tickets onto their phone in one place.

So far the Bowling Green station in downtown Manhattan is the first station to be equipped with the eTix reader.

MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz spoke to amNEw York about the idea behind the new system,

“We have started to test these readers as part of the scheduled eTix expansion that will allow Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North railroad customers to purchase a joint railroad and subway ticket using their mobile phone. It’s part of our efforts to create a 21st century transit system that embraces innovation to improve the customer experience.”

https://www.facebook.com/ny1news/videos/1388169374615257/?hc_ref=ARRagIMyUud9VmgG_f7ohMhPbTXYhlxRB8tLhTZNiM9LvkAA6Cn0doch_2_kCJYQhAA

The Metrocard was implemented in the 1990s and has done its duty admirably, but it’s 2017, cities around the globe have electronic scanners that streamline the whole commuting process. It’s about time New York joined the modern world.

This sentiment was echoed by Nick Sifuentes, executive director at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, who told amNew York that it’s time to bring in some new technology on the New York subway,

“The MetroCard has been a great tool, but it’s outlived its usefulness. Cities from London to Los Angeles are definitely, at this point, ahead of the MTA in terms of fare technology and it’s good that we’re thinking of how to catch up.”

This seems like a solid plan to bring the New York subway system up to speed with the rest of the world. It’s unclear how much this will actually help with the biggest issue: train times, but I suppose it shows that the MTA is trying something.

I remain skeptical of anything and everything about the MTA, but we’ll see how quickly they can bring this new system into use.

Jerry Jones now says players who ‘disrespect flag’ will be benched

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has declared that any player that sits or kneels during the national anthem will be benched.

Jones said after the Cowboys loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday that there will be punishment to anyone ‘disrespecting the flag.’ He told reporters after the game,

“We cannot in any way give the implication that we tolerate disrespecting the flag. We know that there is a serious debate in this country about those issues, but there is no question in my mind, that the [NFL] and the Dallas Cowboys are going to stand up for the flag.”

The Cowboys owner went further with his comments on Monday night in a phone interview with ESPN, reiterating his stance,

“If there’s anything that is disrespectful to the flag, then we will not play. Understand? We will not … if we are disrespecting the flag, then we will not play. Period.”

Jones cited a specific rule in the NFL ‘game ops manual’ that reads that players ‘should’ stand for the national anthem,

“The game ops manual has an ambiguity being used for those who don’t want to enforce it — the word ‘should’ stand for anthem is their ambiguity, but how can it be ambiguous when it cites the potential penalties of fines, suspension or loss of draft picks for failing to adhere?”

This comes a couple of weeks after Jerry Jones linked armed with his players in a display of ‘unity’ as they all kneeled before the national anthem, and stood as one before the anthem.

Jerry Jones is the ultimate billionaire centrist, playing both sides to best benefit himself however he sees fit (he donated money to both the Clinton and Trump campaigns last year). The kneel before the anthem stunt, coupled with this new policy that players will be benched if they do anything to ‘disrespect the flag’ is further proof of Jones trying to play this situation right down the middle.

Well, he made Trump happy.

We’re fighting about what football players do during the national anthem, it’s incomprehensibly stupid. This is no longer about the actual purpose of the protest, which is to shed light onto the inequality in our country, but instead just an opportunity for people to prove they’re real patriots who RESPECT THE FLAG.

Our president and vice president are taking time out of their schedules to worry about what football players are doing during the national anthem. This is the dumbest country ever.

In honor of Giggs’ ‘Wamp 2 Dem’ why don’t y’all give UK rap a try?

UK rapper Giggs has been killing it on the grime circuit for a decade. His 2007 track “Talkin’ Da Hardest” became a staple of the South London sound.

Ever since then, Giggs has been held in high regard in the UK, his 2016 album Landlord peaked at number 2 on the UK albums chart.

Tracks like “Whippin Excursion” are just good hip-hop songs, not just for a UK rapper, but any artist.

Giggs’ whispery, monotone delivery contrasts with the commonly over-articulated wordplay of his UK contemporaries, he brings a sort of Americanized trap sound to his music. He raps about topics that we’re familiar with in American rap, drug dealing, inner city poverty, and generally being the man.

So when Giggs appeared twice on Drake’s More Life ‘playlist’ it would make sense that he would be one of the more palatable options for American rap listeners that turn up their noses at UK grime. But instead, Giggs’ appearances on “No Long Talk” and “KMT” were mocked, memified, and mostly made fun of.

This prompted think pieces and counter reaction from the American hip-hop intelligentsia, with people like DJ Akademiks proclaiming that Giggs had a ‘wack verse’ on Drake’s album.

Now Giggs has dropped a surprise mixtape Wamp 2 Dem (Jamaican patois for what’s wrong with them) with a promo video that takes not so veiled shots at his haters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=I62bJpxcP3A

I’m not sure I understand the hate for Giggs from an American perspective. Sure, he’s not the greatest rapper of all-time, but on “KMT” where Drake copies XXXtentacion’s flow down to the last cadence, it’s cool to hear something original from Giggs.

And as for his mixtape, Wamp 2 Dem is fire from the outset. The first track, “Gully N*****” features Giggs flowing effortlessly over a horror movie type beat for the entire song with no chorus. It’s a song that (besides Giggs’ South London accent) could belong on any contemporary Atlanta rap album.

To that end, Giggs recruits 2 Chainz, Young Thug, and Lil Duke for Wamp 2 Dem, so whether American listeners are ready to embrace Giggs, American artists already have.

There’s definitely a good amount of prejudice against UK rap from American listeners, but as mature adults, we should all be able to get past the fact that people have different accents in different places of the world.

I mean, if we take a step back for a second, it’s actually pretty cool to see the emergence of rap in the UK.

Without hip-hop, foreigners’ ideas of American culture are represented by Donald Trump, oversized fast food, excessive displays of patriotism, and cars that use too much gasoline inefficiently.

But hip-hop best represents who we really are as a country, it gives voices to communities that may not otherwise be able to express themselves on a larger scale.

In this sense, people around the world can see what places like Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York are really like. Not the movie or political version, but the human version.

This is what Giggs does for London, and South London more specifically. It’s not all tea, crumpets, the footy, Harry Potter, and people named Pippa, Giggs shines a light on the real version of London in a way that a lot of Americans would be ignorant of.

So, instead of immediately writing off Giggs and the rest of the UK grime scene, we — as American rap listeners — should embrace that our country’s music and culture has the reach that it does, that it’s causing offshoots and different styles across the globe.

And contrary to general opinion, there’s a wild diversity of sounds coming out of the UK. Here’s a brief run down of some very good, and very different, grime artists. This isn’t necessarily an introduction to these artists, most rap fans will have heard of them, but rather to show the varying styles and sounds of UK rap.

Skepta

Skepta is probably the biggest and most successful grime artist in the history of the genre, at least in terms of American success.

The north London native is a global superstar, he’s been embraced by brands across the world, and been featured on popular American artists’ music.

Skepta’s music makes for pretty easy listening, his punchline heavy lyrics and melodic flow make sense to an American ear. The effect of the London battle rapping scene, how most of the more season vets of the grime genre got their start, is clear in Skepta’s delivery.

At this point, Skepta is the artist that most embodies contemporary grime, for better or for worse.


J Hus

The 21-year-old from East London J Hus dropped Common Sense at the beginning of the summer and it’s still one of the best releases of the year.

J Hus is a much more musical artist than Skepta or Giggs, able to rap sing in different flows over a variety of beats that draw from all over the world. At times J Hus is vibing over an Atlanta trap beat, then a UK club production, then a West African-infused dancehall record.

In a genre where old heads like Giggs and Skepta are just now getting widespread attention after more than a decade in the game, this 21-year-old has a very bright future ahead of him.


Rejjie Snow

While Rejjie Snow isn’t from London, the Dublin, Ireland native brings a whole new perspective to UK hip-hop.

Snow has a much more lyrical, 90’s New York style. It’s a reason that Snow has gained such a fanbase amongst American hip-hop hipsters.

On “Purple Tuesday” Rejjie Snow flows alongside Joey Bada$$ while the Irishman sounds like he could’ve been an original Pro Era founder.

Perhaps Snow’s acceptance within the American underground, and to a certain extent his sound, is due to his time in America as a teenager, he attended Florida’s Montverde Academy and later Savannah College of Art and Design on soccer scholarships.

Whatever the reason, Snow’s style is a stark contrast to many of the other artists out of the UK.

There’s a lot on offer when it comes to our friends across the pond making hip-hop.

We are all hip-hop heads of the world, it might be worth your while to stop making trash memes about UK rappers and actually listen.