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The power of gratitude: How more appreciation can change your life

No one wants to hear the words “be grateful.”

When you think about it, in most cases when the phrase is used, it feels more like a demand than a suggestion and a whole lot more dismissive than helpful.

When I was younger, growing up, my dad always used to make home-cooked meals for me and my brother, every day, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Being the spoiled, unknowing kid that I was, I’d always complain about how I wanted to go out to eat and how all my friends and their families went to restaurants and how we always ate at the crib.

My dad, unbothered, almost as if he was half-listening to my complaints in the first place, would always respond, “Be grateful and eat your food.”

That experience and many like it for the longest time put a bad taste in my mouth when it came to gratitude. Whenever I heard it I’d scoff at the sentiment. In my mind, “gratefulness” was this make-believe bandaid that made everything better.

I began to see “being grateful” as a chore; like calling your grandparents or going to a siblings recital. It felt obligatory and cliche. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. We’re all in this together, let’s get smores and sing com baja over campfires.”

It would be nice if life was like a Disney movie with big smiles, jingles throughout, with everyone being grateful, but that’s not reality. There are hardships and dead ends and confusion.

There’s a crisis in Sudan, families are being ripped apart at our border. All with the most polarizing Commander-in-Cheif in history. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S. and our current opioid crisis is the worst addiction epidemic in American history — no one wants to hear about “being grateful.”

That’s why I was taken back and floored to learn in adulthood that gratitude — the very thing I had formed stigma towards — was far from what I had thought it to be. Not only did I have a shit ton to be grateful for, but expressing and recognizing these things are actually good for me.

There is research upon research documented on the health benefits of counting your blessings, including recent studies that have found it improves cardiovascular health, boosts our mental health and resilience to stress, and might have particular benefits for health professionals.

Through gratitude, we can reclaim our happiness, find new purpose and live healthier, but it all starts with our wants and needs.

Restructure your wants & needs

Harvard Medical School defines gratitude as “a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible.” Upon first reading this definition it made me think to myself how selfish I must be.

Forget the context of my dad cooking me breakfast or any one individual doing something for you. What really stuck with me was the “receiving” part.

A lot of times we find it hard to possess gratitude because we live in a capitalist society that only places value on the wants and needs that affect the bottom dollar.

Being in a state of ungratefulness is saying you haven’t received anything —  which is simply not true. Every day we’re given something — whether it’s the right to free speech, clean water or life, itself. But we’re unable to see these things without gratitude.

Gratitude helps us see past the consumer-driven lenses the majority of us have found ourselves behind and helps us see how every day, we’re gifted through relationships, life, and opportunity that has value outside of the corporate world.

If you only choose to be grateful for your accomplishments in your professional life or to standards society set for you, you’ll never find yourself being grateful for anything, which is a miserable life.


Perspective

Once our wants and needs are restructured and we’re not placing the bulk of our value in our professional accolades our perspective will have no choice but to change.

Sometimes in life, all we need is a shift in our paradigm to begin living the life we always wanted. You’ll be surprised at what opportunities you attract from just being happy and wearing a smile or the relationships you’ll cultivate just from being content with what’ in front of you.

Being grateful is neither about ignoring your failed accomplishments nor is it about being content with complacency. Gratitude, rather, allows you to see that there is just the right amount of good happening as the perceived “bad.” This allows you to see things in a way that leads you to more fortune.


Positivity

The biggest impact gratitude will have on your life is the positivity it’ll enact. Positivity is attractive. It strengthens and it’s something that, no matter how cheesy, everyone desperately wishes they had.

People shy away from gratitude and positivity and put on a cloak pessimism only because they’re so scorned by what isn’t working out.

Nowadays positivity is the most dispensable it’s ever been and that’s because people think being happy will let them down. The majority of us don’t practice gratitude or a technique for conjuring it.

But when we’re intentional about being grateful and we take time to recognize what we’re being gifted on a daily basis, the positivity will be inevitable.

Being grateful is not easy and there is more than enough to stress over. If we cultivate the habit of finding gratefulness in our everyday lives, it’ll do the same in finding us as well.

5 reasons why Freddie Gibbs’ and Madlib’s album ‘Bandana’ is legendary

Ever since Freddie Gibbs and Madlib’s Bandana dropped on June 27, nothing else in hip-hop has mattered.

The 15-track studio album features, to be frank, straight-up the best production you will find out today and is complemented by the hungry, soul-bearing underdog that is Gibbs.

It’s the first time the duo has worked together since 2014’s critically acclaimed Piñata and they picked up exactly where they left off. Except for this time, their chemistry was even more in sync.

Freddie came into the project with a lot to get off his chest and Madlib didn’t have to change one thing for his contributions to still be iconic, as you’d expect from a legend like himself — all which played into making Bandana special.

From the hard-banging thrillers like “Flat Tummy Tea” to somber reflections like in “Gat Dam” you can tell and just know that this project feels different. It’s one that sits with you after and one that you can’t wait to repeat.

As is evinced in the response which has been both loud and diverse.

Albums like Bandana don’t come along too often. You know it from the moment it starts playing to each transition throughout. That’s why we had to do some digging to see what other factors that the average listener and naked eye might have missed that went into setting this album apart.

Here are five things you didn’t know about the making of Bandana:

Bandana is a follow-up, NOT a sequel to Piñata

As you should know by now, 2014’s Pinata was the last time Freddie and Madlib got together. While it ended up being a cult classic, no one really knew how the pairing was going to work out.

 

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#BANDANA on Vinyl 🔥⁣ ⁣ Link in Story 🦓

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In speaking to Complex this past Monday, Gibbs touched on teaming of with the West Coast producer again, what the collab means for hip-hop and how it’s definitely not a sequel.

“There’s definitely pressure when you’re coming with a follow-up to anything. That’s why I don’t get into part-twos or no sh**t  like that,” he said.

“Pinata was Pinata and this is Bandana. I want this to stand alone and be a classic in its own right.”


It took five years to complete

Another reason Bandana sounds like and has the substance it does is that the album took five years to make.

Both Freddie and Madlib knew the quality of music and the magic they found in each other, opportunity just wasn’t in their cards until 2019.  And a part of that was because of Freddie’s arrest in 2016.


Bandana was largely written from prison in Austria

In June 2016, Gibbs was arrested in France for an alleged rape that took place in Austria. Though he was later acquitted of these charges in September of that year, the mental, financial and even physical toll it had on him made the rapper question music.

“I was listening to Madlib’s beats when the fucking police arrested me,” Gibbs told Complex in an interview.  “It was so easy to write the raps when I was in jail because I had the beats in my head already,” he said.

“I didn’t have nothing in there but God and my memories. All I could do was just remember beats.”

In the song, “Gat Dam”, he recalls fasting in an Austrian prison that didn’t provide Muslim-friendly meals. “Say my prayers, Alhamdulillah/No bacon, ham, bacon, ham/And cold salami/That’s all they serving,” he sings.

Bandana was conceived in raw emotion and in every track, you can fell that.


Madlib made all the beats from his Ipad

One of the most surprising and viral moments that was later revealed about the making of Bandana was that Madlib did it all from his iPad.

The Cali-born legendary producer best known for his arty music with the likes of MF DOOM and Dilla, in one tweet, took a shit on so many up and coming producers’ lives because he gave no excuse as to why one can’t get off industry-quality content.

To think that this album, which Madlib masterfully crafts in what one can only describe as Picasso-like imagery with his instrumentation, was done on a device that over half of Americans own is a testament to his genius.


Gibbs lost close friends while making Bandana

From the instrumentals and samples to the very lungs Freddie was rapping from, the soul you feel throughout this album is real. Not only from the time it took to put in and the trials faced, but because close people were lost over the span of making this album as well.

Lambo, who helped discover Freddie and is his long-time producer and friend, posted on Twitter the day the album dropped some memories of their mutual partner, ‘Josh The Goon’ who died in 2017 due to an enlarged heart.  “Josh the Goon got a n***a back to flowin’,” Gibbs raps on the song “Situations.”


If you haven’t checked out the Bandana album, do so now:

https://tidal.com/browse/album/112258019

Perfecting your perspective: Controlling your life starts with your mindset

The ‘Serenity Prayer’ is a popular prayer written by Reinhold Neibuhrwidely that’s been widely used in sermons and Sunday school groups across the world and even adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous in their twelve step program. It goes:

God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.

Whether you’re biblical, spiritual, agnostic or just a human being with basic logic, there’s an aspect to this prayer that is a fundamental truth: There are things in life in our control as there are things that aren’t.

When it comes down to it, we all live in a capitalist society where time is money, stresses are real and many, many things happen that are out of our control — which is why it’s imperative for us to be intentional about the things we do have a grasp on.

And the best way to do that is with perspective.

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No one has it perfect and we all have our own troubles but whether we succeed or we remain stuck in our current situations is based on how we choose to see ourselves.

If you’re looking for the bad, it’s a piece of cake. If you’re looking for the good, it’s a piece of cake. It’s all a matter of what you’re looking for. It’s a decision.

Will you lean into the good and accept what’s working for you or will you choose to focus on the bad and the cards that have not played in your favor? And no one’s saying minimize the trauma you’ve had in your life or dismiss it for that matter.

It’s about putting your energy into the positive, rather. Which is what we all can do.

Mindfulness

Honestly, a lot of us don’t even realize that we’re adopting negative and counter-productive attitudes every day. Then we wonder why we only attract bad things in life.

Accepting what you cannot change is not laying down or succumbing to defeat in any way at all. Instead, it’s acknowledging shortcomings and not letting them define you. Without even realizing it, we focus on failures that are already written in stone — things that are behind us… That’s a failed perspective.

We must be mindful with both our thought processes and with what we say. As cheesy as the glass-half-full cliche is, it works. Instead, focus on not having a life-threatening illness, that you have citizenship, that, although you haven’t gotten your dream gig, you’re still in the running, and that it’s not over.

A simple flip in your point of view will lead in you in a different direction and attract different things to you. Focus on what is good, on what is pure, on what you love, and that is what you will attract.


Practice

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Like anything, mastery must come from practice, and the same goes for perfecting our perspective.

Every day we must be intentional about finding the good in our lives, which is a lot harder than it ever seems. At times it feels like contentment is impossible — there’s always another level to glow; there’s always something else to attain.

That’s why centering our focus on life’s positives unlocks major wins and why only a few win.

You cannot let your losses and your deficiencies cripple you. Our job is to take the good — no matter how spare — then nurture it into more good. When we, every day, make it our business to point out the things that are working in our favor, more things will inevitably work in our favor.

No one can walk in anyone else’s shoes. We all have obstacles in our own rights that maybe only we ourselves will know about. However, it is up to us how we respond.

Nipsey Hussle in front of a plane

Hussle and Motivate: 5 Nipsey Hussle lyrics that will push you to be great

Having strong enemies is a blessing.

It’s been less than six months since the passing of Crenshaw’s Nipsey Hussle and to say his presence is still felt would be an understatement.

Not a day goes by without an “I miss you Nip” post on social media or a mural popping up (there’s been over 50 in LA alone) or a rapper paying homage via tattoo or chain.

His Marathon Clothing Store has grossed more than $10 million in sales over the last few months. Los Angeles even named an intersection after him and he won a BET award just last weekend.

You only get that kind of love when you’re gone, if the work you did while here was meaningful, which is exactly what you can say about Nipsey.

His lyrics matched his body of work in real life — it was all about hustling, maintaining and preserving. It’s what the Marathon emblem is all about and it was embedded in his music.

There are plenty of people that listened to Nipsey before he died and thousands after, but whether you’re a new fan or old, the response is always that Nip’s music pushes you to that next level.

At a time where it seems like everyone is desperately seeking motivation from anywhere they can get it, I decided to pull up 10 of my fav Nip lyrics to hopefully give you that boost you need.

1. “Blue Laces 2” reminds us we’re never in it alone

“Ones that hate us, handcuff us and mace us/Call us dumb niggas ’cause our culture is contagious/Third generation, South Central gang bangers/That lived long enough to see it changing/Think it’s time we make arrangements/Finally wiggle out they mazes, find me out in different places/’I’m the spook by the door,’ this the infiltration, double back, dressed in blue laces”

What made Nipsey’s music so powerful was his ability to convey that no matter who you were or where you were from, that you’re not the only one facing the obstacles you were facing.

When I hear these lyrics, I can immediately relate to the feeling of going through the maze of life and facing obstacles and systems way bigger than I. So It feels good hearing Nip confidently rap about overcoming them.


2. “I Don’t Give a Fucc” g-checks us about staying authentic

“I gotta hustle, momma I’ma move the white/If I died came back I’d do it twice/Brain washed by the block it consumed my life/Cool nigga but a killa when the mood is right/Bullets have the dogs howling at the moon at night/Momma it’s cold outside/Ain’t no hope outside”

Authenticity is something undeniable about Nipsey music and his song “I Don’t Give a Fucc” is a perfect example of such.

Here he’s being real with his mom, and himself, about his condition and the environment that’s made him this way. Not to glorify it either, but to acknowledge it was something he had to intentionally become aware of to break from.


3. “Status Symbol 3” keeps us opening doors

“Wanna change the game, never chase a message/Never stop grindin’, cherish no possessions/We ain’t get accepted, we just reinvested”

Nip’s music always has a story of finding a way after one way is closed and when you hear that kind of message behind some blaring 808’s, some mornings it’s better than coffee.


4. “Ocean Views” motivates us to always believe in leveling up

“Look, from fucking hood rats to fucking stars/Spending all cash, to sliding cards/It’s the definition of living large/Smoking top flight in the biggest cars/Told you ’08 this shit was ours/Getting this cake, yeah nigga then getting more/Look at this world young nigga, this really yours/Nigga this really mine, my niggas is really for it, them buildings is really high”

One of the most effective ways to spark inspiration in someone is just showing them that what they envision is possible. That’s what Nip’s music did and this bar’s masterclass ranking proves it.

Here he gives a mini-testimonial, showing people where he’s from that you can level up, just as he has.


5. “Hussle and Motivate” suggests we should remember how valuable our time is on this earth

“F— livin’ basic, I’m takin’ risks/F— what they sayin’, I’m sayin’ this/ Don’t waste your time, it don’t make you rich.”

“Don’t waste your time, it don’t make you rich” is a bar I wish everyone lived by. Recognizing how valuable, short and privileged we are to have life is something many of us lack, but it’s what Nip was clearly aware of in this bar.

Be about your business and do the work instead of the talk.

Long live Nip and may the marathon continue.

The UMG fire and Project Phoenix: Why it’s important to own your masters

Universal Music Group has not been truthful and forthcoming about the fire that took place in 2008.

When the fire took place over a decade plus ago, UMG nowhere near divulge the severity of the fire, telling Billboard at the time  “we had no loss,” and adding that the company had recently moved “most” of the stored material on the movie lot to other facilities.

Today, in what has been a follow-up to their original investigative piece two weeks ago revealing that there’s been up to 500,000 recordings loss in the fire back in 2008, not “none” as UMG claimed, the New York Times is reporting that the number of recordings loss is even larger.

Journalist Jody Rosen dug deeper and reported a list of more than 700 additional artists whose tapes were destroyed, found from UMG’s own “Project Phoenix” effort to assess what was lost in the months and years following the devastating blaze.

The unfortunate disaster claimed irreplaceable master tapes from several labels, including Decca, MCA, ABC and Chess, Interscope and featured songs from jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, to Rock n’ Roll pioneer Chuck Berry to the earliest material by Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin.

In an interview with the times, Hole’s lead singer, Courtney Love, was clearly upset with UMG’s response to the fire. “No one knows for sure yet, specifically what is gone from their estate, their catalog,” she said in a statement.

“But for once in a horrible way people believe me about the state of the music business which I would not wish on my worst enemy.”

Now lawsuits have been filed asking the Universal Music Group to come up with a complete accounting of recordings lost in the 2008 fire.

In case you didn’t know, artists’ masters are a huge deal. At the most fundamental level, nine times out of ten, a record label owns the master the recording (unless you’re independent, then the artist owns their own masters).

Otherwise, labels own the copyright to the actual file, the file which contains the music you want to place in your recording. The tradeoff is that labels provide the artist with an advance that’s recoupable against the artist’s royalties, but that never ends up going in the artists’ favor.

Furthermore, artists who don’t own their masters are prohibited from releasing any records elsewhere with another partner, label, or even artist in some cases. And any recordings made by the artists under the contract are owned by the label — possibly forever.

It’s why we’ve seen a trend of new-upcoming artists declining to sign with majors and staying indie and why we make such a fuss whenever artists who initially didn’t have their masters, finally get it.

Back in February of this year, the internet became overwhelmingly joyed at the rumor that Seattle Seahawks Quarterback, Russell Wilson, had bought his wife, singer/actress Ciara, the masters to her music discography over the holiday season.

Although the gossip ended up being false, as she later confirmed, the praises of wisdom and nods of approval Russell got was comical, almost.

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Similarly, whenever there’s news of Rihanna or  Jay-Z getting the right to their masters, people treat it as a cause for celebration or an accomplishment, and that’s because it is.

The term financial independence and freedom is one that has been rung plenty of late in hip-hop and issues like the Universal Music Group fire is one of them. Imagine not having full rights to your life’s work then they end up being lost forever in a fire.

More artists who had their masters lost in the fire include the works of B.B. King, Joni Mitchell, Iggy Pop, Tom Petty, Sonic Youth, No Doubt, Snoop Dogg, Soundgarden, and the Roots.

One can only hope that UMG owns the responsibility for this tragic loss and that artists continue to push for the ownership to their own music.

Meek Mill is now co-owner of Lids: Behind the deal and how Jay-Z played a role

Meek Mill is officially the part owner of the hat retail giant, Lids, he announced in an exclusive with Business Insider today.

Maybe if this was a decade ago, we’d call it a surprisingly good move by a rapper, but it’s 2019 and this is very much on trend with how hip-hop artists have been moving.

I mean, look at Rihanna, who’s well on her way to being a billionaire, or Jay-Z, who actually is. In fact, according to Meek in the piece issued out today, it was from being around Jay that inspired that move. Meek said,

“I’ve seen Jay-Z, and then I’ve watched other artists who came up around his time. He actually built something. He built businesses, and he built things that made him become the man who he is, that we could call a billionaire guy. He built that, and I watched that, and I studied that. That’s why I’m working the way I’m working now to build a foundation for myself too,” he continued.

Meek caught wind of the deal through his close friend and business partner, Michael Rubin, who’s the co-owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, the executive chairman of the sports retailer Fanatics, and a co-founder of Mill’s Reform Alliance Foundation for criminal-justice reform.

Rubin’s is already apart of Lids’ ownership via his Fanatics company, so, in addition to already being an avid consumer of the product, he had an in to a seat at the table. Meek continued,

“I’ve been shopping at Lids my whole life, wearing hats, fitteds, of course, fitted hats and caps, all types of hats. In our culture, it’s been a big thing. So, it was something I ain’t have to think twice about and always believed in, that it’ll work.”

The move will make Meek, whose real name is Robert Williams, the company’s lead creative strategist and release a limited-edition line of hats through the brand in August.

https://twitter.com/MeekMill/status/1143915575334170624

Like Jay, like Rihanna and many other rappers who are constantly exercising their business acumen as well as rhyming capability, Meek is leveraging his influence and bossing up while he can.

“I’m trying to get ownership in a lot of things to where I can still live comfortable the way I was living in my prime years as a rapper. I’m just trying to build a foundation of some good businesses that’ll keep me living good,” the Philadelphia rapper says.

In addition to the expanding his business portfolio, the Championships artist has an Amazon series titled Free Meek premiering on Prime Video August 9, 2019. The docu-series is executively produced by Jay-Z and goes behind the story of Meek Mill’s 2017 arrest for probation violations.

To say Meek is bossing up is an understatement and it’s even better to see how hip-hop is helping each other grow.

Creative gamer Etika found dead after struggle with mental health

The gamer world mourned today after the New York Police department confirmed the death of popular Nintendo Switch YouTube star, Desmond “Etika” Amofah. He was 29.

“We regret to inform that Desmond Amofah aka Etika has been found deceased,” the department’s Twitter handle announced.

Amofah’s body was found in Manhattan’s East River after going missing last week. Officials recovered his body two days after finding his belongings on the Manhattan Bridge.

Now his fans are saying that last week he had published a video that appeared like a suicide note to his YouTube channel TR1Iceman in which he appeared to express suicidal thoughts.

“I’m sorry for leaving such a stained legacy”

He said in a video, which has been reposted by other users on YouTube. “I hope that my story maybe helps to make YouTube a better place in the future where people know boundaries and limits and how far things should go.”

https://twitter.com/Videogameboypro/status/1141802548199866381

Born in Brooklyn, New York. Etika gained his following by posting YouTube videos and live-streams of mainly Nintendo content. He began creating videos on YouTube in 2012, and in less than a decade, amassed a following of over 800,000 dedicated fans across YouTube and Twitch.

It wasn’t until Oct. of last year that Erikah started to show signs that he was struggling with mental health.

He got his primary YouTube account terminated for “multiple or severe violations of YouTube’s policy on nudity or sexual content,” according to the video platform after uploading porn to his channel, costing him his base.

After, Amofah posted a message on Reddit saying in part, “And now, it’s my turn to die. I love you all.” Then it really went downhill from there.

In April, he live-streamed a standoff with police in Brooklyn after he had allegedly threatened to harm himself, Kotaku reported. In May, Amofah had an altercation with a security guard or police officer that led to another hospital visit.

Then came the video last week, which YouTube took down, apparently saying goodbye to fans. “It was a fun life,” he said. “I had a great time. It was great. But for it to be cut so short—it’s fucked.”

Policed reportedly responded to a person floating in the water and it was upon arriving that they discovered an unresponsive, unidentified male that ended up being Etika.

https://twitter.com/pewdiepie/status/1143573270823915520

Many saw the antics leading up to his death as publicity stunts while others argue they were cries for help, but the truth of the matter is that we should constantly be checking up on one another all the same.

As the community mourns, it’s important we check up on ourselves as well as others and know that it can happen to anyone.

The National Suicide Prevention Hotline in the U.S. is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255. A list of international suicide hotlines can be found here.

Quality Control’s Coach K on how abortion ban is affecting business in Atlanta

This past weekend at the 4th annual Culture Creators Innovators and Leaders Awards brunch in Atlanta, Quality Control’s Coach K made a powerful assessment on Georgia’s economy post-Gov. Brian Kemp’s near-total abortion ban.

While the night was about successes in Black entertainment and tech, in an interview with Variety the label co-founder, whose real name is Kevin Lee, spoke about the recent anti-abortion laws affecting his hometown of Atlanta.

“It’s already started taking money and business away. A woman should have a right to do whatever she wants to do. I have a mom. I don’t have any girls, but it’s ridiculous. The film business that was creating all these jobs in Atlanta and in Georgia, they’re starting to bail out. They need to fix that.”

Both Lee and Pierre “P” Thomas — who helped found Quality Control —  were there to receive awards for their contributions in music, fitting seeing that their label is home to some of hip-hop’s biggest names — Cardi B, Migos, City Girls Lil Yachty, and  Lil Baby, just to name a few.

As a label head, Coach K’s insight goes beyond just music into the business world, as it has to. So if there’s anyone who has a stake in Atlanta’s economy and is watching its every move, it’s him. And he’s right, there has been a decrease in business — significantly so.

Since Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed a near-total abortion ban into law in May, there have been three production companies said they will not film in Georgia, which is considered to be the top filming location in the world.

 

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This is going to be a amazing movie. We have support Black film makers.

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According to the nonprofit Film LA, a 2016 study found that 17 of the top 100 movies from that same year were filmed in Georgia. TV shows like Stranger Things, Ozark, Greenleaf, Watchmen, The Outsider, and the popular series The Walking Dead also film in the state.

If you don’t know about the new Georgia law, The ban outlaws abortion at the time when a physician can first detect fetal cardiac activity, or as early as six weeks from the last menstrual period — which is before many women and gender minorities know they’re even pregnant. The law is slated to take effect in 2020.

But what really sets this law apart and what makes it so darn scary is that it includes embryos and fetuses as “natural persons” — potentially criminalizing pregnant people who have miscarriages or self-manage abortions.

Women across the country have shown outrage and voiced their disdain for the law and in result, businesses have been standing in solidarity.

The Writers Guild, too, have long warned that Hollywood crews would leave the state over the abortion ban in back in March when the legislature considered passing the bill.

They told BuzzFeed News in May that they stand by its statement, adding that lawmakers are making the state “an inhospitable place for those in the film and television industry to work, including our members.”

It’s good to see Coach K use his platform to shed light on an issue affecting his community but it’s also sad to hear how the bill, already, has seeped so deep, that it’s now touching the music industry.

Why ESPN had to do the right thing and finally ban LaVar Ball

LaVar Ball has been banned from ESPN for life.

The gavel came down Wednesday last week as many felt the husband, father, and Big Baller Brand CEO made an inappropriate remark to Molly Qerim, who is a host on the show First Take, on Monday, June 17th’s taping.

LaVar was there to discuss his feelings about the blockbuster Anthony Davis trade that sent his son, Lonzo Ball, to the Pelicans and his comments on how the Lakers would “never win another championship,” it’s only when his comments were misconstrued during a topic transition that the network saw offense.

Qerim asked Ball if she could “switch gears with you because I have a question here,” to which Ball responded, “You can switch gears with me anytime.”

He simply echoed the phrasing she herself used, maybe with a little inflection in tone, yet nothing, many would argue, too much to read in to.

However, Molly fielded the question as an innuendo, sending a ripple effect to her coworkers to think/feel the same. The show aired on Monday, and by Wednesday LaVar was banned.

According to Richard Deitsch, who is a spokesperson of ESPN, the network has “no plans moving forward” to use Ball as an on-air guest, an on-the-record source for digital or a background source for ESPN.

In a statement to TMZ, ESPN doubled down on their decision, condemning Ball saying, “LaVar Ball’s comment to Molly Qerim Rose was completely inappropriate and we made him aware of that.”

There have been many takes and different feelings toward the initial episode, when ESPN made a ban, believe it or not, the majority of people actually came to LaVar’s defense.

Online comedians, social activist, and even big-name athletes like Dez Bryant have all come out in support of LaVar and claim it’s Molly’s interpretation that’s foul, not what he said.

They’ve even dug up an old clip showing a similar exchange that happened some year ago. Again, she uses the transitions using the phrase “switch gears” and again, he gestures and comments on it. It’s gotten to the point where they’re demanding Molly apologize to LaVar.

Despite the overwhelming evidence in defense and support of LaVar, however, ESPN got it right. LaVar had to be banned from the network, and here’s why: we must believe women.

The only thing that matters is how Molly felt, who, at the end of the program joked about having to go to HR. There have been too many years of unchecked misogyny and we’ve come too far to let what even seems like toxic male behavior fly.

If she truly and genuinely felt disrespected, what does ESPN do, not discipline LaVar? And they weren’t the only ones who saw it the way she did. From her co-host, Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman’s reactions in real-time to ex-ESPN star Jemele Hill support after, people clearly read LaVar’s comments in a way.

If anyone knows anything about LaVar, it’s that he’s vocal and rarely self-filters. It’s why he has his own television show and made a name for himself apart from his NBA-talented sons. It’s also why ESPN had him on their program.

However, because he’s so off-the-cuff, it’s made him one of the most misunderstood and polarizing characters, which has garnered him a reputation that has not played in his favor. Even if his heart is and was in a good place and even if he didn’t mean anything by it or the tone, he hasn’t exactly given himself room for the benefit of a doubt.

How different might the network have handled LaVar had he not had a bad rep? We all remember, just two years ago, when he was in hot water for telling Kristine Leahy, a former co-host on The Herd, to “stay in your lane” after she questioned him about his parenting style in 2017

Last week LaVar’s rep, Denise White, issued a statement from the BBB camp … saying, “[LaVar] was asked if he wanted to switch gears, in his mind switching gears was ‘changing the subject anytime’ and he said, ‘yes, you can switch gears with me anytime.’ At NO time was that intended or meant to be sexual in nature.”

But on Saturday he spoke for himself. “How I’m going to be banned, I don’t work for them. I got my own show,” he said. “Only time I hit on her is if she breaks in my house and I mistake her for the boogyman”, he continued.

Only LaVar will truly know what was going through his head and where his heart was, but you cannot fault a company for going to bat for its employees.

Drake

Drake pays $350k in sexual assault settlement: Here’s why no one cares

Details have emerged that Drake paid out $350k to Laquana Morris, also known as Layla Lace, this past November in a settlement where she accused him of sexual assault.

If you remember, Pusha wasn’t the only one accusing Drake of hiding a kid. Similar accusations came forth in 2017 after Drake and Morris had become intimate during the UK leg of his Boys Meets World tour.

While Drake admits the encounter, he always maintained that everything was consensual. However new revelations of him shelling out $350k to the alleged victim paints a new narrative, or at least it should.


Sexual harassment? Settlement? In this here 2019? Under any other circumstance, a report divulging such explosive accusations, even if not proven true, in this era we live in alone, should garner, at the very least, a number one trend on Twitter.

Although they aren’t indictments, we’ve seen this before. Like Bill O’Reilly, who had legal settlements totaling a reported $45 million and Harvey Weinstein, who reached a tentative $44 million deal to resolve lawsuits. What about our current sitting president and his dealing with porn star Stormy Daniels?  All that guap for what? It’s not like money absolves guilt too.

With #Metoo #TimesIsUp and other progressive movements, you’d think there’d at least been a cancel Drake campaign. What happened to “believing women?”

However, Mr. OVO has been virtually unscathed by this scandal and there’s only one reason why. Drake is responsible for too many of our favorite memories to let him go that easy.

We’re talking about a man who’s hit, “Best I Ever Had,” debuted on the chart in 2009, and went an unprecedented run of 431 consecutive weeks on the Hot 100. We’re talking about “HoustonAtlantaVegas,” “Controlla” and the co-rapper of WATTBA.

The Canadian culture shifter has had ladies’ hearts from the jump and summers on smash like clockwork. It’d be foolish not to believe that the court of public opinion would afford his graces they wouldn’t other stars.

And, to be clear, Layla’s story doesn’t exactly hold up.

After going public on social media saying that she was pregnant by Drake and appearing on a SiriusXM to confirm the rumors, Drake’s lawyers asked for a paternity test, which she refused.

After the baby gimmick didn’t work, Morris and her legal team fabricated a story that Drake raped her. In the police report, she stated that “she was raped, forced to perform oral sex and falsely imprisoned in Drake’s hotel.”

 

 
 
 
 
 
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@Shade45 #streetsweeperradio sits down with #LaylaLace the woman alledgelly pregnant by Drake. #jazziebelletv

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That’s when he and his lawyer filed against Morris for civil extortion, fraud, emotional distress, abuse of process and defamation, which was settled.

“The filing made by Drake against Layla Lace has been resolved, with Layla avoiding going to trial by agreeing to a stipulated judgment which prohibits her from repeating past statements she made against Drake,” Drake’s attorney Larry Stein said in a statement to TMZ last year.

“Drake and his team are satisfied with this outcome and while Drake appreciates the support he has received, he asks that his fans and the media allow both parties to move on with their lives.”

However, due to the new findings, thanks to the complaint Morris recently filed against her own attorney with the New York Attorney Grievance Committee obtained by The Blast, shouldn’t we be handling Drake and this entire situation a little differently?

Although the complaint violates the settlement between Morris and Drake, it shows that he indeed gave her money despite denying all allegations. Additionally, it exposes explicit details of what took place.

The Blast

According to the complaint, Morris states:

“I, Laquana Morris signed a retainer agreement with Alexander Cabereiras on January 23, 2018. I explained to him that I was sexually assaulted by the rapper Drake.”

Morris then gives explicit details and explains, “How Drake forced me to perform oral on him. It wasn’t your ordinary oral it was more so a fetish where he measured a cup and demanded that I spit in the cup until he had measured it…

“Afterward, he dumped the spit on my face repeating, ‘I wanna see your face messy.'”

Morris also states, “Being that the incident happening in Manchester UK I had to file a police report over there. I called the Manchester Police Department in June 2017.” Subsequently, Drake was investigated by authorities in the UK based on Morris’ complaint and the rapper was eventually cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.

Still, the lead investigator sent Laquana an email explaining that the reason he wasn’t prosecuted is that they couldn’t secure a “100%” conviction, which, sadly, is the case for many women who really have gone through it. According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), for every 1,000 rapes, 993 will go unpunished.

I mean, look, I like Drake just as much as the next guy. But if we’re being honest, there wasn’t a rush to judgment nor call for his cancelation because of the music he makes. We may never really know what happened in that hotel room in the UK that night, but Drake deserves more a little more accountability regardless.