#Get At It Gangsta I See Me Coming From The Back Because My Crew Are Illuminati MascHers

[gothamphantomgoat]

[jestershark]

if you say "i like everything except country and hip-hop"

there was a post going around a while ago which had people justifying why they don't listen to black music and rap and it pissed me off so i made a baby's first rap playlist.

some personalized recommendations below the cut

Being An Ally (tm) means complaining about racism and also Pushing The People You Are In Community With To Do Better. so I've compiled a list of excuses I've heard people make and some songs to counteract those excuses.

so i went through the post and then some reddit/quora responses for "why don't you like black artists" and "why don't you like rap"-- the general answer for lots of these is "you have uninterrogated racism and bias and you aren't working on fixing that"

so while i don't think a lot of these excuses are like, good excuses, I'm going to go down a list of excuses and recommend some starter songs

i think a lot of White Kids have this response of "i like everything except rap and country", but black musicians make every kind of music! rap itself has a ton of variation-- it's not just mumble rap and gangsta rap, there's tons of artists with different voices, different styles, and different results. (honestly a lot of you would like backpack rap and nerd rap. i see you)

here's my list

"I like music with good lyrics"

try out doechii

By the time you hear this I'll have taken on another form The way I been snappin ya'll gon end up my children of the corn I think I've adapted to all of the cannibal savages I feel a Possession in this session I need a catholic to Assess it Come and bless it Then undress it

mf DOOM is a favourite for a fucking reason:

There's four sides to every story If these walls could talk, they'd probably still ignore me Contemplate war over a cup of warm coffee It's really getting gory, tell your problem to Maury

Don't bore V with the "Glory, hallelu-ey" Crews be like, foo-ey he's just a buncha hoo-ey I knew he had new G, who he? Viktor Vaughn He had a new sicker song, I think he call it "Lickupon"

like 90% of hiphop is just incredible lyricism and puns. what's not to like.

"rappers just write about drugs and violence"

writing about violence well is art! this song is art:

this song talks about violence, does that make it bad? unrelatable? why does it do that?

also if you like music that has INSANE lyrical flexibility, please listen to this:

"i only like music if i can somehow tie it to my ocs"

everything is going wrong in my oc's life and they're barely keeping it together:

"i like strings and traditional instruments"

this baseline + godzilla sampling is so good-- listen to how they pass the verses back and forth!

this whole album is a master class in good sampling and i really recommend it!

"i like kpop"

here's a rap song with miku in it

"i like gay music only"

there are SO MANY gay rappers and hip hop artists, so many. do you deny the internet? this song by ilovemakonnen is extremely Gay Love. here's a song about being a huge lesbian.

here's a huge playlist: find SOMETHING. here's a bunch more.

"Most all rappers sound the same", "the beats nearly all the same", "Not a whole lot of melodic value to rap" , "Most modern rap is crap with no actual musicianship or storytelling", "Because rap is hedonistic, narcissistic, misogynistic and worst of all violent."

ok go through and listen to what I've linked above. do those all sound the same to you? think about why. think about what you like about other music, and what it might be about this music in particular that you don't like.

if you listen to a song by tupac, or snoop dog, or any other 90s rapper, their music is the cornerstone of all of modern music. including country. including kpop. including stuff that's far away from any other music. without hiphop and rap you don't have like. half the other genres that currently exist, and the other half have no reason to evolve or change.

"I just don't like their vocal timber"

you're racist. find jesus.

A final word:

listen to critics who say this stuff better than i can-- and i guarantee these are fun youtube videos to watch by creators who Are Good At Their Jobs

the rap critic

fd signifier

foreign man in a foreign land

khadija mbowe

princess weekes

bonus some of you should watch this video and this video

[strawbxrryneptune]

Hood Bakugo gives me life.

I NEED you to write about the whole UA gang in the hood because this was just *chefs kiss*

Easily in my top 5 fav fics of all time ♥♥♥

Idk what you mean by whole UA gang but here's a lil smth smth

♡♡

Bakugou in the hood is beautiful. Dating him is like a religious experience tbh. He's definitely the plug/dealer everyone's afraid of. If you owe him money or anything, I pray for you. He does not take shit lightly, you will leave his place with 4 missing toes, and if you don't pay your debt by the end of the week, you won't have any legs 🤷🏾‍♀️. Carries a glock around all the time, but you wouldnt know cause he hides it. Has a temper but it's not as bad as it used to be when he was just starting out. He sits back and watches, the kind of gangsta that doesnt do the whole 'gang signs for everything' type shit, and he's not soft. For you, yeah. For his bros, sometimes, but if he needs to kill a bitch he won't hesitate.

He loves ass. Like if you walk into his crib and you're wearing shorts??

Game over.

He'll push you down onto the plush carpet of his office and make you suck him off while he takes drags of a blunt, offering it to you while you gag around him. If you accept, he'll have you blow rings around his cock while you suck it, then when he's about to cum he'll pull you off and fuck you from the back, grabbing at your ass and cursing into the air.

Gives you a smack on the ass and a bunch of rolled hundreds so you can go shopping. Get as much shit as you want, but at the end of the day you better be in his bed.

♡♡

Denki's headass is a fake hood nigga . He's probably a super senior (got held back lmfao) cause he kept getting caught either blowing bitches backs out in the stairwell or hot boxing the bathroom. When he was in high school, he was def the type to put a speaker in his backpack and blast NBA youngboy. He throws gang signs in the hallways, not even knowing what some of them really mean.

He's been shot at multiple times.

The only reason he's not always in trouble is cause he and Bakugou grew up together. No one fucks with Bakugou's crew.

He has an unhealthy obsession with tits for sure. He sees you in a tank top or an off the shoulder and hes pulling you to a secluded corner and kissing you breathless, hands tugging and pinching at your chest.

Loves when you ride him cause he can watch your tits bounce.

Even if you dont have big ones, he still loves them, sucking at your nipples and rubbing up and down your stomach.

Leaves lots of marks.

Would die for you. Has threatened to shoot your parents for making you cry, even though all he has is a pocket knife.

Has to beg Bakugou for a glock.

♡♡

Sero is the plug. Like, Bakugou does some runs for him occasionally but Sero has everything. He's always in this really ratty recliner with a pitbull at his feet, smoking a blunt and playing some dumbass game.

He has so much money constantly, its crazy.

Even tho what he does is against the law in so many ways he's friends with all the neighborhood cops. Mans never gets in trouble LMAO.

He and Bakugou are the ones who run shit.

He loves thighs. Around the house you're only allowed to wear short shorts and thigh thighs. Or, even better, naked with thigh thighs 👀

Sadly, the last option is virtually impossible cause there's always people coming in and out.

But when he isnt working, he loves to lay you down and feast on you, making you play his game or try to finish his blunt without choking or losing.

Goes down on you for hours, won't even fuck you unless you beg for it.

Doesnt give a shit about himself when it comes to you :((

♡♡

Kirishima isnt a part of the hood LMFAO

Hes like that one friend who everyone loves but doesnt belong there.

Like Jaden, Shawn, Daeshawn, and Mark.

We love Mark.

Kiri was Bakugou's childhood best friend. He and Bakugou went on different paths, and Bakugou is a growing gangsta while Kirishima is manager in training at Game Stop.

He doesn't smoke often but when he does it's really fun.

Gets the gang discounts at the store, even tho they can all afford to buy the entire Gamestop chain.

That's why Sero has every new Play Station, Balugou has every Xbox, Denki has all the Legend of Zelda merch, Mina has a bunch of cute plushies.

He always comes in clutch 😫

He loves everything about you.

Like he cant pick a favorite body part, but loose clothing (sundresses, baggy clothes, his clothes??) Makes him lose his mind.

He will lift up whatever you're wearing finger you till your creaming all over him, then slide home and make your legs shake for days.

Feral Kirishima is not a common thing, hes usually sweet and doting, the ultimate service dom, but wear his shirt with some thigh highs or a garter belt?? Or even his uniform shirt ??

R.I.P that pussy, ayyy

♡♡

Mina is literally the most fun out of all of them.

She always has some type of substance on her, a little flask, some weed in a cute baggy, some suspicious pills, you name it.

Always dresses in juicy merch.

Shes always wearing those silky sweat outfits with the crop jackets, with a gold chain and some filas.

Nails always done, hair always done.

Ms. Girl can fight, period.

Will and has beat a bitch for you.

Don't get her mad. She angry cries, and will swing on you if needed.

She also loves everything about you, but she be staring at your ass a lot.

Doesnt care what you're wearing, she will smack it.

Shes usually more domineering. Shes definitely a switch, but she takes control in the way that she knows what she wants and she'll guide you through it, even if shes "subbing"

Loves going down on you.

She gets insecure sometimes when you wanna eat her out, but always shakes in pleasure at the end of the night, manicures nails scraping down your back and scalp as she screams your name.

You literally have no idea what she does or where she goes when she disappears randomly, but she always has cash.

No one asks questions tho

♡♡

Let me know if you want a Dekusquad or individual fic/drabble :)

[songficsbyrissi]

This X-Mas (Spooky X Reader)

“'Cause this Christmas, will be the Greatest time of your life from me I ain't asking for the diamond rings I ain't really got a list of expensive things I just want you to myself while the children sleeps Santa baby, would you make a little time for me?” - Chris Brown feat. Ella Mai

A/N: hey y’all! I know I kinda abandoned you but being in College during a panoramic (Twitter joke) but I finished! I graduated undergrad so it’s lit! Even tho I don’t really care for Christmas or the holidays and I dislike Christmas music, I love this song and since it’s been a while, I might as well give y’all a Christmas gift soooo Merry Christmas! 🎄🎁❤️

************

You were not a fan of the holidays.

It’s not like you never were. You used to be but as you grew up, you grew a disdain for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years', all that.

The most wonderful time of the year, your ass.

From November 1st up until January 2nd, every year, you were annoyed and couldn’t wait for this time of the year to be over. You didn’t like it and if you had to hear “All I Want from Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey one more fucking time, someone was gonna get kicked where they’re more jolly.

You were relaxing on the couch when you heard a knock on your apartment door. You announced you were coming and opened the door to 3 boys by the names of Cesar, Jamal, and Ruby.

“Hey, boys! What brings-“

“BATHROOM!” Jamal ran past you and straight to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Ruby shook his head and Cesar gave a nervous laugh.

“Would you believe we were just in the neighborhood?”

You pursed your lips. “Nope.”

Ruby sighed out of frustration. “We need help getting Christmas gifts for our.....” He swallowed hard. You closed your eyes.

“You’re still struggling to call Jasmine your girlfriend?”

“SHE’S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!”

“Yeah yeah yeah.” You waved him off and right then, Jamal stepped out the bathroom, relieved.

“Whew, my bladder was full! Where you get that hand soap, Y/N?! Smells lovely!”

You rolled your eyes, irritated. “At Bath and Body Works where y’all should get gifts for your girlfriends.” You narrowed your eyes at Ruby, who shuddered at the G-word. “Now if you excuse me, I was enjoying my alone time.”

Cesar stopped the door from closing. “Wait. Didn’t you say you were leaving today to go spend Christmas with your family?”

Shit. “Uh yeah. Duh. I needed alone time before I left.”

“I don’t see any bags packed.” Ruby indicated, skeptical.

“Or an airline ticket on the desk. Yeah, I noticed!” Jamal added, folding his arms.

You looked at the 3 teenage boys who were waiting for you to confess. You sighed deeply, knowing the jig is up.

“Fine, 3 wise men!” You stated with a tone dripping in sarcasm. “I’m not going home. I never was going home. The reason why is because I don’t care for the holidays. I stopped a long time ago. It’s never been special to me. Also, I don’t have a close-knit family. Actually, we’re dysfunctional as hell. This isn’t the most wonderful time of the year for me. I lied so you guys wouldn’t know the truth, now are you happy?”

Jamal had a dismal expression on his face and pulled you to his chest. “Now I see what the Scrooge looks like as a black woman.”

You pushed him off and Cesar grabbed your wrist before you could hit him.

“Does Spooky know?”

You shook your head. “Nope and it’s gonna stay that way. I mean it, Cesar. Don’t say shit to your brother about this.”

Were you really depending on the little brother of your gang member friend that’s not really a friend but he’s kind of your boo to keep his mouth shut?

“Cesar told me you lied.” That was what Spooky said when you opened the door the next morning which was Christmas. You sucked your teeth loudly, disappointed that your dumbass trusted a 15-year-old who feared his brother.

“I should really kick your brother’s ass.”

He smirked at your comment. “Talk to me, Mami. Why you not fucking with Christmas?”

You left the door, letting him outside and he closed the door behind him. “Because it’s annoying as hell.”

“Nah, that ain’t it.”

You turned to Spooky with your arms folded. “Why do you even care, Oscar? It’s not like your thug ass cares for holidays and shit.”

Spooky remained unfazed by your attitude and you calling him by his government. When you first met him, he would be pissed at that. Even tried scaring you but it didn’t work. Eventually, he got used to it and only allowed you to call him Oscar.

“You’re wrong and I’ll show you. Get dressed.”

You were feeling dangerous. “And what if I don’t?” You responded with a roll of the neck.

Spooky let a dry laugh that scared you yet turned you on at the same time. Damn. You started to bite your lip then pulled it back. He got dangerously close and stared you down.

“Do you really wanna know, Princesa?”

Yes. No. Shit.

You got out of his face and got dressed as you were told. You’ll let him win this round. You got into his car and he drove back to his house where Cesar and his girlfriend Monse were making a mess in the kitchen.

“Hey Y/N!” Monse greeted you. Cesar looked at you nervously.

“Hey Y/N, how’s-“

You held your hand up. “Save it, snitch!”

“He forced it out of me!” The young boy pleaded and you rolled your eyes in response.

“Whatever. What are y’all even doing?” You asked, confused and disgusted by the sight of the kitchen and glancing at Spooky’s face, he was not too pleased either.

“Trying to do a Christmas brunch but somebody doesn’t wanna listen to the instructions.” Monse gestured towards her boyfriend with a roll of her neck, causing Cesar to groan.

You couldn’t help but giggle at the two. “Alright lemme help so I can fix this. You!” You gestured towards Spooky. “You’re helping too!”

“Nahhhh cooking ain’t my thing.”

“Well Christmas ain’t my thing but I’m here. Now throw on an apron, cholo. You’re on bacon duty!”

You couldn’t lie. Making Christmas brunch with the kids was fun as hell. You found yourself smiling and giggling during the cooking and eating. You even caught Spooky staring at you a couple of times. You pecked his lips just because he looked so adorable but if you told him that, he’ll turn into a jackass. When the boys left to get something from God knows where you were left alone with Monse. You didn’t know too much about the girl but figured you could get to know her more.

“So Monse...you’re spending Christmas with your boyfriend.”

“So are you.”

Your eyes narrowed at her response. “1. Spooky is not my boyfriend and 2. I was forced here. Christmas is bullshit.”

“I love Christmas. Even though I don’t remember the last time I actually spent it with my dad.” Monse shrugged bending over and fix her shoelaces. That caught your attention.

“Wait, you’ve had shitty Christmases and you still love Christmas?!”

She shrugged again. “Well yeah. My dad is always away for Christmas and I don’t have my mom so I’ve always dreamt of doing Christmas stuff with the people I love. When I met the boys, not to sound corny but my dreams came true. Another reason why I need to keep the group together.”

You were lost for words. “Wow, I’m sorry, Monse.”

“It’s ok. Hey, I think I hear the boys coming back.”

The boys revealed themselves and Cesar announced that you guys were being invited to have Christmas dinner with Jamal’s family which was great because you didn’t want to cook.

“I’m telling you marmalade is better than jelly. I don’t wanna hear it!” Jamal declared during dinner. A debate broke out between marmalade and jelly which really entertained you. Jamal’s family was funny and so welcoming to you, a stranger. It felt weird to you that they were showing so much love to you, a stranger. Oscar held your hand throughout the whole dinner which did something to your stomach. You don’t wanna say butterflies. Maybe it’s gas.

When the group stopped by Ruby’s house to pick him up for “friendsmas”, his grandma pulled you aside with a serious look on her face.

“Open your heart, mama.”

You gave her a confused look. “What?”

“You closed your heart. Open it. Even if it’s to Papi Chulo over there. “ she gestured towards Oscar who was lighting up a cigarette and looked back at you. “Open it to Christmas. To any holiday. Just....open it.”

You kept that in mind as you went with the others back to the house for the kids to engage in their “friendsmas”.

“I’ve never heard “Friendsmas.” You muttered as Spooky handed you a glass of wine and you watched the kids from the doorway.

Oscar shrugged taking a swig of his Corona. “Well you hate Christmas so I’m not surprised.”

You elbowed him in his side and he began to laugh in response. “I don’t hate Christmas. I just never found joy in the holidays but now I do.” You looked at him and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “Thank you. Thank you for making this Christmas special for me.”

Oscar began to grin and pulled something from behind his back. “It’s not over yet, hyna.”

You gazed at the blue velvet rectangular box and opened it slowly to reveal a silver chain that said “Oscar” You looked up at him, speechless.

“Spooky, I....I.....”

“You don’t have to say anything. Just put on my necklace and be mine.” The gangsta in front of you took a deep breath. “I love you, Y/N.”

Your eyes were as big as saucers. “You....you do?”

“Yes, girl he do! It was so obvious!” Jasmine’s voice broke through the moment and everyone glared at her. Her mouth formed an O. “Oooh sorry! I forgot we were supposed to be acting like we weren’t paying attention. My bad!”

You shook your head and felt a surge of love and confidence. You loved this man. You have for a long time but never admitted it because...your heart was closed. Damn. Ruby’s crazy grandma ain’t so crazy after all.

“I love you too, Oscar.” You pulled him in for a long passionate kiss and the crew clapped in excitement.

“Girl put your back in it! You’re under the mistletoe!” Jasmine yelled again.

Ruby started. “Jasmine-“

“Shut up and kiss me!” She grabbed him by his collar, planting a kiss on his lips.

When you finally pulled away from your kiss with Spooky, you smiled up at him and his expression was matching yours. You spoke up through your grin:

“I’ll be damned. It is the most wonderful time of the year.”

A/N: Cheesy as fuckkkkk I know but Christmas is all about the cheese if we’re gonna be honest. I hope you enjoyed it! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, y’all! ❤️🎄🎁

Tags: @karmawaelualani @chaneajoyyy @ctrlszn @witchything @sabrinafey @penguinpower17889 @robingreysantos @namjoonwatcheshentai @pananegra @bloatedandlonly @blackmissfrizzle @chonisberonica @flamingweasley @cynthetic @momobaby227 @this-glitter-pussay​ @beyondprincess​ @joyrivh​

[stilwaterskeeter]

Rewriting Saints Row IV

Hi this is my absolute least favorite game of the series and I kind of hate it! But here I am regardless putting my time and efforts into making an entire post dedicated to what I like and (in my opinions) how to fix the parts I don’t like...

This is also written to match by SRTT post rather than the base canon for the games! Which literally changes nothing but Johnny is already known to be alive before this game, so yknow...

This is also a HUGE post whoops

And again, this is just for fun. Don’t like it? Don’t interact with it. I’m not forcing you to read this. That being said, I do like discussing this kind of stuff so I totally up if you wanna just talk about alternatives or how you think things would play out and stuff

Plot/Story Specific Changes:

President’s Cabinet:

Fuck Keith David! Get him out of here! Leave sir! Go back to your movies!

Johnny Gat is our new Vice President because we know regardless of his skill at the matter, The Boss would make him his VP

This also gives Ben King a lot more reason to hold it against The Boss that he isn’t the VP, because at least before Keith David was a likable actor and had his own skillset for the role. Now it’s Johnny fucking Gat who has all the diplomatic and political tact of a shoe

The Boss’ dream isn’t some stupid 50s sitcom, that was so dumb, hardehar 50s is so nice and polite my ass

I think shit like meeting Julius, the boat explosion, Dex’s attempt to kill them, Magarac Statue blowing up even if they tried to go there, Johnny bleeding out after the fight with Jyunichi, and probably much more are better suited pieces to a much larger much more intimidating and genuine nightmare sim that would have broken The Boss inevitably

All the times they almost died because they weren’t quick enough, all the times they just barely saved their friends? A lot scarier than “oh noes I cawn’t kiww anybodwy uwu” crap

Zinyak doesn't really destroy the Earth

First of all: I don’t think he’d waste so many potential assets over the folly of one idiot

Second of all: The man’s supposed to be like a genius of sorts? So I find it ridiculous that he doesn’t have the ability to hide the fact that Earth is Actually Totally Fine from an idiot like The Boss

Third of all: To avoid Kinzie being oh so smart and debunking Zinyak’s scheme- She’s absolutely distraught when the Earth blew up and surprisingly caught up in her emotions, a pretty new thing for her. So I think it’s plausible she would bee too caught up in the moment to do much and afterwards is too caught up trying to help The Boss find and rescue what they believe is the last hopes for humanity

Kinzie doesn’t save anyone before The Boss, she goes straight for The Boss and before trying to go to Earth, they rescue Johnny Gat

Kinzie was prepared prior to saving The Boss with a few locations already in mind that she found as she was looking for them

One of which obvs ended up being Johnny

Another of which is a Surprise Prison that will help us later

All she knows is that it’s definitely based from Stilwater in ye olden days (first game, not actually ye olden days lmao) so she was assuming it was definitely either The Boss or Johnny

(Spoiler it’s Lin)

Additionally: The sim we do activities and hang out in isn’t Steelport. It should have been Stilwater and you know it.

After the Earth is “destroyed” and The Boss needs to go back into the sim and start recruiting people, Johnny steps in a lot when discussing who to save next

Sorry Matt, your rescue is getting pushed back a little

Johnny’s very adamant about not saving Matt first, “We are not saving that little goth punk whatever kid before we save our girl and Pierce. I don’t give a fuck that you’re president, I’m impeaching you, we’re saving Shaundi next. Not Matt.”

Shaundi’s nightmare sim stays relatively the same, but maybe polish up the writing better

I like her nightmare and the angle, but the writing just felt very,,,awkward to me?

She was supposed to be hung up on feeling helpless and the fact that she felt that because she was always “the damsel” and in need of protection, that Johnny was gone

But the writing kind of just skimmed over that

Then they save Pierce because, yeah, they give him a lot of shit, but he’s one of Johnny and The Boss and Shaundi’s closest friends and Johnny’s already made it clear they’re not saving anyone else until they got both Shaundi and Pierce back

Then you have the 3 rescues that you pick the order for

Asha

Ben

Matt

Then comes the replacement for Johnny’s canon rescue; It’s Lin’s Rescue Now

Kinzie isn’t sure who it really could be because they already have The Boss and Johnny, and they’ve already identified which sim is Ben’s

She asks Pierce and Shaundi for help trying to identify the sim while Johnny and The Boss are fuckin around in the sim

Neither of them have a clue who it could be

But both of them recognize the invading gang members in the sim as Westside Rollerz members so they recommend asking Johnny and The Boss about it

Johnny and The Boss have a moment of “Holy fucking shit, there’s no way” “It couldn’t be her, could it?” all the while the rest of the crew is just like “Any day now, who couldn’t it be?”

Lin’s nightmare sim is the events following up to her kidnapping and then the moments before Zinyak got her when she was in the process of drowing

A street race where some shithead Roller sabotaged Lin’s car so she had to forfeit midrace and then some guys kidnap her

I was figuring you’d be racing to catch up to her and then the race ends for you when she has to pullover

And then a brief cutscene of her trying to fight of some Rollerz goons while The Boss is locked in their car and can’t get out no matter how hard they try to break the window or bust it open

Then a followup cutscene Lin and Sharp arguing about The Playa not arriving to her rescue

“It appears to me like your little friend won’t be joining us. Oh well, we’ll take care of them soon enough. For now, just you will have to do.”

“Could your head be any further up your ass? Get on with it already, I’m getting bored here.”

And a short line from The Boss like, “What an asshole, jokes on him I wasted that son of a bitch years ago. And I’m not leaving without Lin this time.”

The last part is a timed boss battle with Sharp

Kinzie’s trying to do her tech thing and find a workaround to save Lin from drowning while The Boss fends off Sharp and miscellaneous goons

After Lin’s rescued and Sharp is dead, she steals the gun from The Boss in a cutscene and empties it into Sharp

“I have been waiting too fucking long to do that.”

There’s a brief reunion scene between her and The Boss

“Man, you don’t know how glad I am to see you.”

“Oh. My. God. You can fucking talk, that’s almost as crazy as the fact I’ve been living in this hellhole for years....You look good, did you do something to your hair?”

“You have no idea, Lin. You’ve missed a lot.”

“Nothing we can’t talk about over a beer after we get out of here. Speaking of, you got a plan for that or-?”

Kinzie chimes in, “I do.”

Kinzie isn’t the one who defends Matt when he says the mission is a bad idea because that was dumb and out of character, agree with him maybe, but not defend him

Instead of Keith’s betrayal/loyalty mission/whatever; We get Lin going into the simulation on her own to try and save Donnie after having Matt find his sim for her when The Boss pushes off saving Donnie as something to do later since Donnie’s not exactly useful in a mission like saving the universe and destroying Zinyak

“How do you even know he’s not dead? What makes you think Zinyak even abducted him?”

“Because I know he’s still alive, and Matt found him.”

“Look, we’ll take care of this after we end Zinyak. There’s no cars for him to rig or information to leak to us with these guys.”

“There’s gotta be a fucking reason he got abducted, playa. He’s worth saving.”

Johnny chimes in, “We’re not saving your stupid boyfriend right now, Lin. We have bigger fucking problems to deal with.”

It just progresses into a whole fight and the others are kind of just like....”Holy shit....there’s three of them now.” until Ben King steps in and tells them to all shut the fuck up

“Listen, Lin. We’re going to get your boy, but we aren’t doing it now. It’ll be the first thing after we kick Zinyak’s ass.”

The Boss chimes in, “Who said anything about the f-”

“I said...it’ll be the first thing we do, got it?”

Donnie’s nightmare sim is The Boss attacking his garage but Lin never shows up and instead he gets “killed” and then it’s The Boss harassing him and attacking him to get him to rig the Brotherhood vehicles and for the location of Carlos and Maero threatening him and ultimately “killing” him as well and then repeat

Bet The Boss kind of feels a little bad about always picking on him now, huh

Lin is at least, she feels guilty about setting up the raid on Donnie’s garage in SR1 and then just feels really pissed off about The Boss going after him more in SR2

Eventually The Boss shows up to help and with some hacking skills(TM) is given their superpowers and Lin is given powers as well to save Donnie

Obviously he can’t believe Lin is fucking ALIVE let alone just SAVED his ass

“Y-You’re alive? But Mr.Sharp killed you! A-And I let him! They found your body in the river and-....where the hell have you been for so long?”

“Listen, Donnie, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Are you sure? Because Earth got invaded by aliens and I’ve been dying repeatedly everyday since.”

“Shit, yeah. That son of a bitch, Zinyak, saved my ass from drowning back in Stilwater. This asshole over her saved me from that.”

“I bet their to blame for all this! It’s always their fault! Ultor, STAG, Gangstas in Space, Cyrus Temple, they’re the fucking president now can you believe that?”

The Boss chimes in, “I’m standing right fucking here! And for your information, I happen to be an excellent president!”

“Now’s really not the time, playa.”

And also that The Boss also SAVED him

“I thought you fucking hated me, I can’t believe you just did that.”

“Yeah, well, don’t get your panties in a twist, I’m only here for Lin.”

“Oh.”

Okay I lied, Zinyak DOES destroy the Earth for realsies

But only towards the end of the game, like following up to the boss battle

He reveals like 

“Oh, it seems you haven’t learned your lesson then. I suppose I’ll have to really blow up your pitiful little planet then? Such a shame really, humanity could have been quite useful to the Zin Empire, but one must cut’s one’s losses sometimes. Their certainly not worth the trouble your putting me through here.”

This gives him time however to have abducted more people, including like Oleg, Viola, Donnie, etc etc etc

Fuck the Enter the Dominatrix DLC

Yeah it’s funny and all but like, where’s something actually interesting and additional to the game?

Replace it with DLC where you rescue like Viola and Oleg and stuff instead

Viola’s nightmare obviously would have to do with being stuck working for Killbane and probably have a boss battle where you fight simbane after he tries to kill Viola as well after having killed her sister

Oleg has a few options I think but the most appealing idea to me is a nightmare about him trying (and failing repeatedly) to escape the KGB

Character Specific Changes:

There really isn’t much to be put here shockingly

Maybe I’m the only one who thinks this but I think they should have expanded on the jokey romances more

I’m not talkin’ like full on bioware romances, just yknow maybe a little more than a single repeatable scene that varies from being shockingly indepth (Johnny) to just a fucking joke (Kinzie)

Maybe like add in a decision for a difference between just like casual sex or an actual romance with the characters

If you pick an actual romance then there’s random little banter lines about it when you have homies and maybe a few lines in some cutscenes or smth, nothing huge

Like say, you have Pierce and Shaundi as homies with you:

Romance Shaundi:

P: It’s about damn time someone did something

S: What are you talking about?

P: Uh, you and The Boss? Duh

S: Oh my god, shut up

P: Took ya’ long enough...y'all only been eye fucking each other as long as I can remember

S: Shut up, Pierce!

P: Chill! I’m happy for you, girl! Don’t attack me!

Romance Pierce:

S: So...you and The Boss, huh?

P: I already don’t like where this is going

S: I’m just surprised is all, you’ve been into them since like day one

P: No. I haven’t.

S: [snorts] Yeah, right. You used to get so upset when-

P: Shut up! They’re standing right there!

Or uh Pierce and Johnny:

Romance Pierce:

J: Hey, man, I’m proud of you for finally tellin’ The Boss how you feel

P: Wh- I didn’t- I’m not the one who-

J: But if you ever even think  about hurting them [cocks gun] I won’t hesitate to put a cap in your ass

P: Man, calm down. I ain’t gonna do shit, jesus

J: [laughs] I’m just messin’ with you, Pierce. I’m not gonna shoot you.....Unless...

P: This is why I don’t tell you things, Gat! What the hell, man?!

Romance Johnny:

P: I can’t believe you and The Boss weren’t already fucking

J: Me neither

P: Didn’t you ever...yknow...like wonder? You never even thought about it?

J: Oh, no. I thought about it plenty. I wasn’t about to be the one to say somethin’ though

P: Did we finally find something Johnny Gat is scared of?

J: Fuck no, man, just after what happened with Eesh-

P: So...you were scared?”

J: No!

Lin getting to know everyone is a very big thing, like she’s suddenly surrounded by new people and everyone but Johnny and The Boss from before her abduction are dead

She gets along really well with Shaundi, Johnny (duh), Ben King, Asha, and Donnie (duh)

She gets along pretty damn well with Pierce too but it’s a pretty similar teasing relationship as Shaundi and Pierce and she gives him a hard time a lot

He gripes about how he has to deal with 2 Shaundis and Lin now a lot

She and Asha are pretty different but also pretty similar, they’re both really stubborn and dedicated to what they deem their “duties” but Lin still likes to let loose and have fun a lot more than Asha

A lot of their interactions consist of Lin trying to convince Asha to just let loose “a little” and have some fun

Asha for the most part wouldn’t ever really admit that she likes Lin but if pushed she’d definitely say something like “I definitely respect her. Maybe the Saints wouldn’t be as ridiculous and out of control if she was never taken from them before.”

Also because again you can pry wlw Lin from my cold dead hands we get this exchange:

“You know...you remind me a lot of one of my exes.”

“That’s...nice.”

“Stubborn, pretty, law-abiding, all work no play-”

“Is there a point to this?”

“Not really, I just keep thinking about it.”

“I see...and what happened to them?”

“She broke up with me for some prick named Blake...[laughs] So I broke his nose next time I saw him. Detention for a month, but definitely worth it to see her face.”

“No wonder The President likes you...”

She also gets along with Matt pretty well, having gone to him to find Donnie instead of Kinzie, although that was simply because she figured Matt would keep quiet about it and not tell The Boss, as well as Kinzie was already doing 101 things for The Boss at the time

She really doesn’t understand the whole Nyteblade thing but vampires are kind of cool she guesses and also it’s not like there’s a ton of shows or books left to entertain herself with, at least with Nyteblade, Matt’s got the memory of an elephant and probably totally recreates a ton of the episodes and key scenes because he is Absolutely That Guy first of all

She ends up getting pretty into it but if you ask about it she’ll shrug it off as simply because it’s “the only show left to watch”

Lin also remarks with Shaundi how she reminds her a lot of herself

“You know, I used to be some fun loving party girl myself.”

“Really? What happened?”

“Los Carnales and Julius fucking Little. Couldn’t go five feet out of my house without some assholes doing a drive-by or starting gang wars.”

“Oh...”

“Had to step up if I wanted it to stop, we see how well that turned out.”

“...Yeah....”

Alternatively to the nightmare sim swap I listed earlier...Johnny Gat would be The Boss’ husband in the 50s nightmare sim for sure

Kinzie definitely brings that up to Johnny if they’re both homies, especially if you romanced Johnny

Matt Miller and Donnie friendship when-

Turns out Donnie’s also a fan of Nyteblade

And Matt liked the Feed Dogs’ admittedly short lived time of activity

They both geek out of dumb shit and also talk about how fuckin scary The Boss can be and how lucky they are as some of the few remaining living members of gangs that The Boss fucking demolished

CID gets a lil more establishment

aka I mean he gets like a lil hologram of what he used to look like before becoming an AI in the zin system when he’s in the sim so he can hold guns and run around with you as a homie

also cut the whole thing of him trying to bargain with The Boss for “a woman” because that entire segment was weird and uncomfortable

[ducksbellorum]

beats, rhymes, and life (listen/download)

a gangsta!au mix - stargate atlantis fandom - arranged by ducksbellorum

1) I’m So Hood - DJ Khaled The general (albeit stupid) premise of this ‘verse, everyone is a gangsta. Yeah. And I got these golds up in my mouth If you get closer to my house Then you know what I’m talkin’ 'bout I’m out the hood 2) Ridin’ Dirty - Chamillionaire Meet John Sheppard (or J Shep as he’s known in the streets). He’s an original gangsta and rap star, Ferrari sittin’ on 26’s, hat turned sideways. And he’s not exactly sure why the feds think that he’s special, even if stuff does light up when he touches it. They see me rollin’, they hatin’ Patrollin’ and tryin’ to catch me ridin’ dirty Tryin’ to catch me ridin’ dirty My music so loud, I’m swangin’ 3) White and Nerdy - Weird Al Meet Rodney McKay (his few friends call him Rod Mac). He doesn’t really fit in with the gangsta world. Sure, he packs heat and talks smack and his Volvo sits on very modest 22’s, but that’s about it. They see me mowin’ My front lawn I know they’re all thinking I’m so white and nerdy 4) I’m Dumb - Gorilla Zoe Meet Elizabeth Weir (Liz W to some). She’s a mediator between the ghetto and the feds. She’s a wild partier and her hood loves her. They found her dancing on tables when they came to call her up for the Atlantis expedition. Everywhere I go, I bet the girls take photos Spend a hundred on a old Chevrolet And I can’t change my ways I’m so hood, man, the hood loves me

5) Early Morning Trapping - OJ da Juiceman Meet Carson Beckett (C Bex to the rap world). Carson is a rapper. And, oh yeah, a doctor, because his rap career just hasn’t quite taken off yet… Early morning trappin’, down to make it happen Workin’ 50 brick, we bring them chicken out the plastic Getting them bitches gone, we call it dope boy magic Pull up in that stanky thing, man, that thing nasty 6) Welcome to My Hood - DJ Khaled Welcome to Atlantis (aka the ATL). Atlantis quickly becomes the new hood, because no one knows if they’ll get home again. Pegasus, prepare to be turned upside down. They outside playing hopscotch And everybody know this is the hot spot Welcome to my hood Them boys will put you down on your knees 7) Corner Cuttin’ - Gucci Mane Naturally, the first thing J Shep does when he finds out there are spaceships is to trick one out with rims (who needs rims on a jumper?) and a sound system you can hear in the Milky Way. He rolls like a boss. Corner cuttin’, trap shakin’ Booty hoppin’, you hear that beat knockin’? (Is that that beat knockin?) That’s that beat knockin’ (Is that that beat knockin?) Yeah that’s that beat knockin’ 8) Flossin’ - Shop Boyz The Wraith quickly become quite a problem. J Shep stabbing their warden and waking them all up didn’t help much. “Oops, my bad, I ain’t mean to make her mad!” See I make 'em sick, When they see me they coughin’. They gonna love it, they gonna hate it When we come through flossin’ 9) Bossy - Birdman Meet Teyla Emmagan of the Athosians. J Shep dubs her Tey Em, but they find out very quickly that the Athosians are so very Not Hood. At all. Teyla agrees to join them anyway. I love it when she bossy Sexy when she bossy I know I am the boss I kinda like it when she boss me 10) All the Above - Maino Meet Ronon Dex (R Dex). He takes to the gangsta culture right away. Sometimes Teyla thinks she’s the only sane one around here. I done been through the pain and the sorrow The struggle is nothing but love I’m a soldier, a rider, a ghetto survivor And all the above 11) Out Here Grinding - DJ Khaled The street runners of the Milky Way don’t let Pegasus change them. They stay hood and do what they do and they continue to kick the Wraith’s ass regardless. Cause I’m out here grindin’ I ain’t slept in 8 days I can go for 8 weeks Ain’t nothin’ to me cause I am the streets. 12) You Know What It Is - T.I. R Dex and J Shep hit it off immediately. Within weeks of meeting each other they’re already road dogs. Every time something epic happens, they look at each other and go “You know what it is!” I’m a real homie, throw six figures on me Got a pistol you don’t want it, boy, you what what it is Ay, I’m way flyer, my pay’s way higher If they ever mention sire, boy, you know what it is

13) Look At Me Now - Chris Brown No one really respected Rod Mac as a gangsta. Until during one rap session, the scientist walked in, said “Hell, Sheppard. Lemme show you how to keep the dice rollin’ when you doin’ that thing over there, homie. Let’s go!” and proceeded to spit some of the fastest rhymes Shep had ever heard. When he finished, Shep blinked, then extended a hand and slapped skin with the other man. “Respect, bro.” I don’t see how y'all can hate from outside the club Y'all can’t even get in! 14) Yeah - Usher After that, the team started to rap and sing together on a regular basis. Teyla still refused to join and Ronon was still hesitant about his skills, but everyone gathered up to watch Shep and Rod throw it down. Take that and rewind it back R Dex got the beat that make your booty go Take that and rewind it back J Shep got the voice that make your booty go Take that and rewind it back Rod Mac got the flow that make your booty go Take that and rewind it back Tey Em got the booty make your booty go 15) Do the Ricky Bobby - B-Hamp However, there is that one song that all of them will go absolutely crazy and dance to… Do the ricky Bobby, stop, pose for the frame Do the ricky Bobby, stop, pose for the frame Do the ricky Bobby, stop, pose for the frame And I dip and we do the same thing 16) Up All Night - Drake Life out here isn’t always slangin’ and bangin’ and rappin’ with your homies. The danger is very real and there’s no guarantee you’ll be here tomorrow. Everyone in the city is acutely aware of this. I be up all night, whole crew’s in here Cause I don’t really know who I'mma lose this year Man I love my team, man I love my team, I would die for them 17) All I Do Is Win - DJ Khaled Simple explanation: the Atlantis expedition are bad-ass kings of the street. No lie. And they win at life. All I do is win win win no matter what Got money on my mind, I can’t ever get enough And everytime I step up in the building Everybody’s hands go up and they stay there 18) Right Above It - Lil Wayne No matter where they go, everyone tries to stay on their good side. Their rep is the baddest in the galaxy and nobody wants to mess with the ATL. Now tell me how you love it You know you at the top when only heaven’s right above it It’s Young Money, motherfucker If you ain’t runnin’ with it, run from it, motherfucker, all right Bonus Tracks: 19) Bed Intruder Song - Antoine Dodson It takes the abduction of her people to make Teyla go gangsta. After returning from New Athos, she dragged Jennifer Keller (J Kels) into her room and when they came out, this song was born. He’s climbin’ in your stargate He’s snatchin’ your people up Tryin’ to take 'em so y'all need to Hide your kids, hide your wife 20) Damn, It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta - Ghetto Boyz There is really no excuse or explanation for this song. I just find it hilarious and kind of apt. :) J Shep: And all I gotta say to you wanna-be- Tey Em: Gonna-be- Rod Mac: Pussy-eatin’- R Dex: Cock-suckin’- C Bex: Pranksters: Liz W: When the shit goes down, what you gonna do? All: Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta!

[rapuvdayear]

2000: “Ghetto Qu’ran (Forgive Me)” 50 Cent (Trackmaster Ent./Columbia)

It’s been over a year since I teased the idea of doing a post about my favorite 50 Cent tracks, so I guess now is as good a time as ever to get around to it! 

With the exception of maybe Kanye, I can’t think of another rapper with more raw talent whose career has been more disappointing. Obviously both Ye and Fiddy have been monstrously successful, but IMO they either burned brightly before descending into white supremacy apologia (Kanye) or never achieved their best possible trajectory (50). It’s not an accident to put them together in this way, either; just 12 years ago next month they faced off in what turned out to be a very underwhelming battle over whose album would sell better (this was back when album sales, not streaming numbers, still meant something). In many ways, it was a crossroads for each artist: Kanye dropped what I believe was his magnum opus, then followed it up with his fourth-best album, third-best album, and second-best album, before dropping off a cliff, while 50′s release basically removed him from the conversation about who was relevant in rap (“My Gun Go Off” and “I Get Money” are honorable mentions for the list below, but otherwise Curtis is entirely forgettable). 

These days, 50 has gone the Ice Cube route and is probably more recognizable as an actor than as a rapper. So, it’s hard to remember that once upon a time he was the savior of gangsta rap and (co-)author of one of the 25 greatest albums of all time. He beat the odds to survive a shooting, link up with the two heaviest hitters (at the time) in the rap game, and even be included on some GOAT lists. He also essentially established the “flood the streets with mixtapes before your album drops” strategy of self-promotion that Gucci, Weezy, and even Drake would follow in the days before Soundcloud was the go-to resource for building a rep. He singlehandedly destroyed a rival’s career, launched a clothing line, video game, and music label, and made a halfway-decent biopic. And then... he just sort of petered out. 

But! 50 is also responsible for some of my all-time favorite raps, which is why it’s so frustrating to me that he never lived up to the buzz surrounding him back in 2003. These are my five favorites, listed chronologically, with some commentary:

1) “Ghetto Qu’ran (Forgive Me)” (2000) Before the G-Unit days and before Eminem and Dre helped launch him to superstardom, Curtis Jackson was an up and coming rapper from Queens who had attracted the attention of another rap legend, Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay. A mutual friend introduced 19 year-old 50 to Jay back in 1996, and the veteran producer/DJ gave him a crash course in how to write songs and signed him to his fledgling label. The business relationship didn’t work out, but it helped lead 50 to Columbia Records’ Trackmasters imprint where he recorded Power of the Dollar in 1999. However, this debut album would never see the light of day after 50 was shot nine times while sitting in a friend’s car and subsequently dropped by Columbia. In the wake of the shooting--and then later, after 50 blew the fuck up in 2003--it became a sort of “lost cult classic” among rap fans. “How To Rob” got the most attention at the time, a funny-yet-vicious song demonstrating 50′s hunger through fantasies about sticking up famous rappers and R&B stars (the song was also clearly an homage to Biggie’s unreleased “Dreams,” and provoked an oblique diss from Ghostface). But “Ghetto Qu’ran” has had a more lasting impact, primarily because of how it was rumored to be the source of 50′s shooting, Jam Master Jay’s murder, and the Ja Rule/Murder Inc. beef. While all of that intrigue is important to rap lore, it distracts from the fact that it’s a near perfect rap song from a technical perspective: a catchy hook, a fantastic beat and sample, an effortless flow, and a well-crafted story that is equal parts celebration of the Queens underworld and subtle shots at street legends. Seriously, this is akin to what traveling bards used to do in medieval Europe, what poets in Ancient Greece wrote, what west African griots did/do, and what narcocorrido artists do now. If you want to learn about the Supreme Team, Pappy Mason, the Corley Family, and the Rich Porter/Alpo crew in Harlem, then this is a good place to start; as 50 puts it, “consider this the first chapter of the ghetto’s Qu’ran.” The secondary title to this track--“Forgive Me”--has a double meaning now. It was initially a plea to forgive 50 for the pain he caused in his criminal life but in retrospect an appeal to the figures whose names he drops. Also, it’s interesting to listen to this first and then compare 50′s voice with the next four tracks: this was recorded before the shooting, which left a bullet fragment lodged in his tongue that affected his speech and gave him his now-distinctive flow.    

2) “Heat” (2003) There are several standouts on Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (“Many Men,” “Back Down,” “What Up Gangsta,” “Patiently Waiting,” and “Poor Lil’ Rich” spring to mind, and I will always love “21 Questions” for the “I love you like a fat kid loves cake” line alone) but this one has always been my fave. It’s a perfect distillation of the image that 50 was trying to project when he burst onto the scene: a hood-hardened gangster who wouldn’t hesitate to do his enemies harm. And given his recent history, you could believe him, too! There’s really nothing about this song that should be praised in any way, but I’ve been thinking about the gravity of the following line a lot in the past month or so: “The summertime is a killing season/ It’s hot out this bitch, that’s a good enough reason.” Also, 50′s boast “the DA can play this motherfucking tape in court” *has* to be one of the inspirations behind this great Key & Peele sketch, right? 

3) “A Baltimore Love Thing” (2005) The Massacre was incredibly disappointing on the whole. I can remember clearly sitting around with my friends in a dorm room at the Shoreland listening to it all the way through the day that it dropped, wanting to love it but slowly realizing that it wasn’t going to live up to our expectations. “Ski Mask Way” could be an honorable mention on this list, and “Piggy Bank” is kind of funny, but otherwise it’s a steaming pile of shit. “Baltimore Love Thing,” though, is a masterpiece. It’s incredibly dark, rapped from the perspective of heroin itself (sort of like what Nas’s “I Gave You Power” does for guns) in order to detail the destruction that addiction--and, by extension, drug trafficking--leaves in its wake. Even more fucked up, 50-as-heroin voices an abusive partner addressing a woman, threatening her should she ever try to leave him. For my money, “You broke my heart, you dirty bitch, I won’t forget what you did/ If you give birth, I’ll already be in love with your kids” is one of the coldest lines in the annals of rap, full stop. In the second verse, he switches to the flip side of an abuser’s mindset: “I never steer you wrong, if you hyper I make you calm/ I’ll be your incentive, your reason for you to move forward.” All in all, it’s a great concept song that shows off 50′s range as a rapper... and is a testament to what he could have been.

4) “Hustler’s Ambition” (2005) Goddamn, I fucking love everything about this song! The beat is fantastic (great sample, btw), prefiguring the sound on a future great mixtape from the G-Unit crew. 50′s flow here is flawless, arguably the best, smoothest he’s ever been. This was basically the “theme” for 2005′s Get Rich or Die Tryin’ film, and tells the story of his come up in the drug game (or, at least, 50′s version of his carefully constructed hagiography). The lyrics are the true gems here, so I’ll just let a few of the standouts speak for themselves:

“Check my logic: fiends don’t like seeds in they weed, shit/ Send me them seeds, I’ll grow ‘em what they need”

“I sell anything, I’m a hustler, I know how to grind/ Step on grapes, put it in water, and tell you it’s wine”

“I made plans to make it, a prisoner of the state/ Now I can invite your ass out to my estate”

“Pour Cristal in the blender, make a protein shake”

and finally

“The feds watch me, icy, they can’t stop me/ Racists pointing at me, ‘Look at *****race’: Hello!”   

5) “Ghetto Like A Motherfucker” (2011) I remember first encountering this track on a Tumblr compilation (I think?) called Don’t Fuck This Up, Curtis! and allowing myself to get excited that the old 50 was back! As the compilation’s name implies, around that time 50 had been releasing a string of online-only singles that were better than anything he’d put out in five or so years, and so there was some hope that he’d soon be making a triumphant return to the rap game. Sadly, this was not to be. But I still bang this track every month or so. The idea here was that 50 had written something, set it to a very sparse, stripped-down beat, and posted it online as an invitation for DIY rap producers to play with it and layer their own compositions on top of it. In that sense, it represented a melange of rap’s earliest roots--dudes spitting over vinyl cuts in basements and parks, just fucking around and having fun--and the possibilities afforded by the digital age and rap’s embrace of online platforms for mixing and remixing material (on a side note, I like to think of this as part of 21st century rap’s “punk rock” aesthetic, and would argue that this genre has done it better than any other). As with “Hustler’s Ambition,” “Baltimore Love Thing,” and “Ghetto Qu’ran,” this track gives 50 a chance to really showcase his talents as a writer and a rapper. The lyrics are as grimy as the beat, painting a picture of urban poverty and pre-fame 50, and 50 switches up his flow at multiple points throughout. Here are some of my favorite lines:

“Slim chance I’ma go back to killing roaches/ Be quiet, you can hear the rats in the wall/ Make you wanna pump crack ‘til you stack racks”

“Dice game, shake ‘em up, praying’ for a 6/ The wolves out there hungry, they lookin’ for a lick”

“****** pissed on the staircase, in the elevator/ Now I’m pissed cuz I’m starting to smell like piss, player”

and

“All a ***** need is a block and a connect/ And a box of 9 MMs to load in the TEC.”

50′s last two studio albums--Before I Self Destruct and Animal Ambition--honestly weren’t half-bad; I would venture so far as to say that they were both better than The Massacre and Curtis. But for 50 it was too little, too late, really. Too many rappers had come along since then doing what he did, only better and fresher. This is a Migos world now; we’re just living in it. And so, I’m left to ponder what could have been. 

[thefreshfinds]

Napy Haird Villan:

Napy Haird Villan will stop at nothing to get what’s rightfully his.

Superlatively sly with his next motive, this artist is far from a Dr. Doofenshmirtz. In fact Napy Haird Villan has no remorse for those who’ve done him dirty. All he has to do is let loose his "set-it-off" attitude & the rest remains a mystery. An example can be seen in his song, “Hurt My Soul” where he says, “I cannot pretend I know these n-ggas, not my friends/See me spending bread, they wonder if I cut a check/See they want me dead, puttin’ prices on my head/I cannot pretend I got my n-ggas till the end/I ain’t tryna jell but n-ggas day I’m the hottest next to hell/....../I ain’t tryna cause friction, so please don’t you run & tell/Run your mouth, you gon’ need a f-ckin dentist to repair.” Regardless, Napy Haird Villan is just worried about his Benjamins. At most, the 973-er needs 100,000 licks till it clears. From “Wishlist” he says, “Said I don’t wanna chill today, need me a lick today. Need to get rich today, I might need to kill today.”

Besides this, Napy Haird Villan gets every walk of life seemingly tranced with his pleasant auto-tune. Sure, the beat takes an twist with its semi-distorted pattern but it gets the point across. However, Napy Haird Villan takes this approach not only because he’d like to strike fear in the hearts of those who hate. But also as a way to speak with his inner conscience. From his malicious wordplay to unbothered rap delivery — it’s hard to deny his doom. Napy Haird Villan will whip you upside your lip with his pick comb & make you regret talking bad on his name. Point. Blank. Period.

Like a Sour Patch, Napy Haird Villan might be sour, but then he’s sweet. “I’m a fun, loving, charismatic gangsta with a charming smile. No cap.” Villan adds. By far, he is of the most interesting artist that you’ve never heard of. A Southward baby, Villan comes from Newark, NJ. Yet he claims Hillside as his real home. Not only because that’s where his music comes from, but also because there’s “a few real n-ggas out there.”

To ask Napy Haird Villan how he started music is like asking him how he took his first breath. Ultimately, Villan says that he did in order to survive but music has been in his life for as long as he can remember. “I really knew it was my calling when I saw my life twist & tumble but my love for music never withered. It just kept growing.” Villan says.

Ironically, music & a blunt take place of his alarm clock. He’s built a studio in his house so sometimes Villan will wake up to his homies already in the lab, just working! Likewise he’d collab with PrinceHil when the opportunity presents itself. “I lowkey would’ve never thought to start engineering if it wasn’t for him. I watched Prince get everything he deserved plus more & I just wanted the same.” says Villan “I wanted to put that work in & show the people I been working too. It’s always love when we link but I’m still waiting to get in the lab with you bro. Let’s cook up before 2020!” As for New Jersey supporting New Jersey? Villan believes it’s ran by a buddy-buddy system. “I just don’t think black people support black people enough to get us where we need to be.” Villan says “We support the rich but ignore our friends when it comes to buying merchandise, a ticket or just something as little as showing up. People only show love to people they know & that’s the world we live in. Still, there are a few real ones out there. The real ones always recognize greatness & I try to do the same. This sh-t could be all love but people will rather hate on your success.”

Through his music Napy Haird Villan gives himself a word of advice. “I find it easier to try to keep it as real as I can to myself so if any other person was to relate, it’ll be a vibe. There’d be a connection & that way I’d be able to build a core fan base with people that still wanna feel something when they listen to music.” Alongside, his strength in music is everything. Napy Haird Villan defines himself as an all-around artist who tries to bring an refreshing sound. “I have fun making everything I make. We have a saying here in my crew, “If it ain’t a hit, we don’t want it.” So with that being said, we strive for the best melody, fire flows & we’re constantly on each other’s backs about coming with the next wave, a new genre, new content. Something for people to listen to.” Villan adds.

Napy Haird Villan’s influences include Pac, Biggie, Nas, Jay-Z, & Big-L — but most importantly, his mother. “My moms by far has been the biggest inspiration behind my wanting this. I want to get my mama out the hood & make her never have to work anymore. I think that’ll be the best way for me to pay her back especially for all the B.S I put her through.”

In the future expect many more bangers from Napy Haird Villan because he’s that n-gga with the hundreds. “Making music is about 95% of everything I do. I’m trying to make it less so I can get myself engaged in on the other side of the industry. I got plans to keep being my own songwriter, engineer, producer and manager until this hard work pays off. Until then, I’m going to need the people to f-ck with me one time while me & my gang run it up this summer. I got a lot of work dropping so I need everyone to stay tuned. VG taking over 2020.”

By: Natalee Gilbert

P.S: Thank you for that shoutout :-)

LINK(S):

1. Spotify: Search “Napy Haird Villan”

2. SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/villan-gang

3. Instagram: @napy_vg

[seraphcelene]

The Passage - 01x07: You Are Like the Sun

Talk about dread! That whole episode left me percolating with it. I haven't found the jump scares in The Passage to be all that startling. The psychological twistiness has been far more interesting and satisfying. Episode 7 ratcheted up the dread and I found myself watching as all these stories unfolded, fascinated with how the central theme to all of them turns out to be love and how love can go awry.

Amy's mom tells her, "You are like the sun." It made me think of a few things: how bright the sun is, incendiary, nurturing, and how it is a central celestial body around which satellites revolve. Maybe Amy is the opposite of all the things that Fanning is, all the thins that Brad is. She is bright and energetic and alive. She is also that which other people revolve around. At this point in the story, she's become the center of the Noah project, and into her orbit, she's attracted Brad, Dr. Lila, Sister Lacey, Sykes, Carter, Fanning, and to some degree, Richards. They've all got their reasons for being there, but she is the common denominator.

As Carter tries to peel back the layers of Amy's sorrows, an act that we watched Fanning pull when he turned Carter, I'm completely untrusting. Who's side is he really on? Is this a good cop/bad cop scenario? Amy saw right through Babcock. Shaun has zero chance of getting through to her, but Carter and Amy bonded before he changed. If the Virals are linked, doesn't Fanning know what Carter is doing? The Hive Mind would and Carter's inexperience with navigating it suggests that OF COURSE he knows. And that makes me sad, cause this is totally a set-up. An attempt to breach Amy's defenses and find her weakness so that Fanning can exploit it.

And BOY, does Fanning need to exploit it. The center of his universe, Elizabeth, makes the choice that Fanning in all of his arrogant narcissism refused to contemplate or accept was even remotely possible. She choose Lear and death rather than an undead life with Fanning. Ha! I have to say that I LOVED that close up of his face. Those dead man eyes were WOUNDED. Of course, I was terrified during that entire scene, right before we heard Elizabeth's heart monitor flat line, that she was going to rear up and rip his throat out. But Elizabeth was awesome and she was thinking and rational and as fearless in the face of death this time as she was the first time when she was faced with losing her self to Alzheimer's.

Now that Elizabeth is dead, Fanning, losing traction with the other Virals (first Winston during last episode and now Shauna is threatening mutiny), has to figure out how to round up his crew, tighten up the sinking ship and take over the world. Did I mix enough metaphors there? He sends Carter for Amy, is my theory, and then once her weakness, the wounded place in her heart that he needs to exploit in order to coerce her into turning, is exposed, he comes knocking at her front door. But Amy is all resilience and she's a kid with a pretty awesome support system that is reinforcing that she is okay! Not just special, but OKAY as she is. That's an important thing to get from a parent and that's what she gets from Brad and Lila. It's what the idealized Dream!Mom who lives in her head offers her and I have to wonder what combination of that is real and how much is reinforced by the new parents she's managed to snag.

Brad and Lila are as wounded and if Brad were infected it wouldn't take much to guess where his weakness lies. Eva was the center of his universe and her death left a psychic echo incredibly similar the mom-shaped hole in Amy's life. That idea that the one left behind is responsible for the death of a person, that same sense of loss and failure and self-flagellation that Fanning exploited to get at Carter. But Carter tells Amy true: you're a kid and it wasn't your fault. So it will be interesting to see how this goes.

Eva broke my heart and Brad! Brad was broken and gangsta and I cheered while my heart broke for him I wasn't expecting his back story to be this level of tragic. And I definitely wasn't expecting the kind of intent that led him to the day that he met Amy. It makes that moment when he decides to keep her, to protect her, that much more powerful. Brad does everything intentionally. Through Eva's story we discover that he sees the challenges, he figures out a plan of action and he proceeds. Very intentional. Every one he shot in this episode was so on purpose that I flinched cause Brad was NOT PLAYING GAMES.

And then he marched into the woods to get to Amy, made a connection with Lila that nearly got them killed and was ultimately saved by Richards (who I still don't know if I can trust). Admittedly, they broke Richards for me and his storyline is a little baffling. He was so rigid in his duties and in the way that he saw the world. Babcock had this HOLD on him and I'm not sure what broke it. I did love that he admitted to being stupidly blind and loyal - "You know the training. Submission before everything."

Other Constellations:

- Lear loves Elizabeth and EVERYTHING to this point has been declaratively about her. It took alot of him to finally let her go. Something he should have done the first time around. So, how does his access get re-centered. Who will fill that Elizabeth space for him. What will be worth him fighting? Is fighting Fanning going to be enough?

- Amy as redemption. Another reason for Brad to protect her. It's a little less in the feels then the utter Dadness vibe, but it's legit and I hope that it doesn't get used to CHANGE the way that they relate to one another. If Amy has access to Dream!Mom, does that make her less needful of Agent!Dad?

- Guilder and his weird mustache! Oh, Amy, how I love thee. He's literally floating in this bubble of his own making. Blind to the reality of what's going on around him. Even Amy calls him on it, but because he is so focused on what he wants, then he, like Fanning, doesn't see the forest for the trees. In Fanning's case, Elizabeth dies, in Guilder's case I forsee a lot of deaths and the end of the world.

We've got basically three more episodes to go (ep 8 and a two hour season finale), and I cannot wait to see how the Virals finally get out. Amy is such an unknown quantity for Fanning and the Virals as much as for the showrunners at the Noah project. There's no way that this whole thing ISN'T going to end in disaster, and I'm curious to see who gets the worse of it.

[gothamphantomgoat]

[nathjonesey-75]

The Thirty-Year Itch

When I was a young boy, I used to think that even twenty years was a lifetime – thirty was a millennium. When I turned thirty, I had the sinister feeling that I would have to grow up, start behaving maturely and that my young, green and careless days would be naturally terminated as instantaneously as my twenties.

 As it happens, looking back for three decades – my thirties were possibly more enjoyable, along with the realisation that – as the meme suggests – “Don’t grow up, it’s a trap!” So, turning back the clock to the year of 1989; an unbelievably pivotal year, not only for its eventful happenings, good and bad; but for the long-term change for the world.

 Globally, we had the start of crumbling dictatorships and old regimes as the “Iron Curtain” began to flake. Romania’s overthrowing of its communist president, Nicolae Ceausescu and overhaul of the old communist republic, the smoother Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia and even more famously – the majestically powerful opening of the Berlin Wall, ending one of the biggest divisions of the twentieth century, starting the reuniting of what we now know as Germany.

 From the eyes of a naïve, small-town boy from Wales who had two passions – sport and music, this particular year was an eye-opening door to wowing, new worlds and understanding heartache in a cruel world. In the sporting sense, it should have been another year remembered for success and silverware for my teams Llanelli RFC and Liverpool FC. Tragically, the events in Sheffield on April 15th, 1989 would change the landscape of years to come for my Merseyside second home after the loss of ninety-six lives at Hillsborough. With only a month to go until the anniversary of that colossal tragedy, I’d only like to think of Liverpool as a city more solidified through its guts, grit and togetherness ever since.

 Not only did the injustice, corruption and governmental evil epitomise the darker days of Thatcherite Britain and its inappropriate old guard of politicians and so-called leaders; but the legacy of loss and undermanagement in football changed how sport was facilitated, law was conducted – and how Liverpool and a city and as a football club – was both seen and run. Solidarity and deep doggedness from the Justice for the 96 team is something which I have grown, supported and seen – and wholeheartedly admired from Anne Williams, Margaret Aspinall and Trevor Hicks and all of their league of big, fighting hearts. Finally, some justice was seen two years ago – but did not replace those lost.

 This would be something which also deeply personified but affected one of my first heroes, Sir Kenny Dalglish. As much as it makes me proud to see him acknowledged in being knighted for his compassionate work in the city’s communities as well as for the football club, his career as our manager was torn apart by this maelstrom, forcing him to resign less than two years later. Probably my most memorable flashback of the year was watching the horror unfold on my grandparents’ old television on that fateful day. If 1989 produced some vintage wines in the way of the aforementioned freedom around the world – this one was a poisonous drop.

 On a more positive sporting note, while this was the height of passion in old Welsh rugby days – pre-Hillsborough’s standing areas meaning you could fit way, way over capacity in each stadium; I remember sitting as a ball boy in the Scarlets matches on frosty, cold nights with what must have been around 20,000 people watching derby matches in a stadium which only held 10,800 people. Possibly the link of two happenings as a ball boy was being interviewed by a New Zealand TV crew, as I was wearing an All Blacks jersey on the side of the pitch one evening – as a precursor to their tour in October 1989. Meeting the squad – one of the best teams (even to this day) I have ever seen, the day after they beat Llanelli 11-0 the previous day. Sir John Kirwan, the towering winger signed his autograph in my little old book with “Go For It”, leaving me open-mouthed, as if I’d met a god.

 In culture, my most-watched movie (apart from Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope) in cinemas was released in June 1989, among the most memorable of marketing campaigns I can remember as a child. Tim Burton’s Batman was something which I can honestly say – changed my life. I watched it four times in cinemas, then countless times when released on VHS later that year. The soundtrack by Prince, the score by Danny Elfman as well as the gothic darkness were elements with which I identified, more so than Spider-Man, after collecting tens of comics as a younger kid. It began a lifetime of slight obsession with the DC Comics character – which only petered out once Zac Snyder started making (and tarring) the Caped Crusader films with his green screen only style.

 Furthermore to the Prince soundtrack, as it was a world of far fewer musical genres back then; I was a Hip-Hop child. It was a time of mullets, soft rock and heavy metal along the mainstream music world – so discovering Hip-Hop in ’87 was something which kept me a bit one-eyed (or eared) as far as music went. 1989, it can be argued – was the best vintage year for the genre. Before the USA’s absurdly possessive copyright laws came into effect, we heard a year of sublime releases. Genre-expanding, sample-tastic albums, using the essence of Hip-Hop’s DJ styles – cutting pieces of tracks into new grooves were extending this brand of music method with new sub-genre styles. After years of Gangster Rap and politically charged messages from bands such as Ice-T, NWA and Public Enemy, a new wave of artists with alternate points to make had arrived, as did a segway from the underground to commercial hip-hop via some huge hits (Tone Loc, Neneh Cherry and so on).

 This week holds significance as the thirty-year anniversary of the release of one of my most influential albums. My copy of De La Soul’s “3 Feet High And Rising” became one of my school year’s most passed-around tapes. Along with this fresh piece of genius (which incidentally cost the band more money because of the samples used, than made them cash – and which they are currently battling with Tommy Boy Records for being finally released digitally), we were blessed with rap pearls such as Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique, Young MC’s Stone Cold Rhymin’, Queen Latifah’s  All Hail The Queen, 3rd Bass’s The Cactus Album….the list goes on. London’s Mixmaster supreme DJ Yoda even agrees with me on this!

Agreed, as DJ Yoda mentioned, there would definitely be some degree of personal nostalgia, vis-à-vis the albums which saw your personal growth and happy memories, but also the longevity of these album releases, as well as significance at the time. Latifah’s giant step for women in hip-hop, music’s expansion to new land and social equality through the softer messages of new types of rapping, following the domination of ‘Gangsta Rap’ and political bravery in the previous few years.

 One massive encounter in connection with this brand of music – was seeing the DMC Technics DJ Mixing Championship for the first time, on the television. Despite it not becoming my selected style of mixing material years later, this is where it all started for me. Cutmaster Swift was the first non-American to win the title, but it was the imprint on my mind of analogue mixing brilliance which pushed me further into records – and what can be done with them.

 At the time of this all happening, a new wave of music had begun. One of which I may have seen snippets on Top Of The Pops via certain tracks – in fact one which is now on my wall, after it was number 1 in the charts that year. L’il Louis’s French Kiss sounded like an excuse for “rudies” in a song to a fourteen-year-old heathen sheltered lad. After listening to Ice-T and especially Public Enemy’s Fight The Power – rebellion at the time for me was listening to lots of wise uprising, occasionally violent lyrics with lots of swearing and lots of putting White American policies to the ethical sword. It was five years later I caught the club-bug - and discovered House Music properly. But in 1989, it was blowing up as a scene. The effects of raves in Britain and the USA, not to mention the early stages of the club DJ superstar was catching headlines, being targeted by police and the tabloid press – with a late-eighties revamp of punk’s rebellious anti-establishment stance via electronic music and the drug Ecstasy. It was such a big year on so many levels.

 Finally, in other news – let’s have a look at what quirky little differences or nuances our kids would be baffled by – or at least raising eyebrows towards. In 1989, Madonna released the highly-anticipated, then controversial “Like A Prayer” video (for depicting Jesus as a person of colour) via a Pepsi commercial when we only had four TV channels in Britain. Now, we anticipate when she will finally call it a day. It’s not as if the royalties dried up a few years ago, is it?

 Adverts were good. I rest my case (click on link).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYkrvoI_oVE

Mullets and Shell Suits. *twitches uncontrollably*  

 *twitches uncontrollably again as Australia – proudly – announces mullets are back*

 Dear Generations Y and Z, there is a reason these garments have not been worn for over twenty-five years. This is called ��not being a chav or bogan’. I hope you can understand why it would be dangerous to revisit this abhorrent get-up.

To close – in 1989, Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, or what we now know as the Internet. You wouldn’t be reading this now without it.

 Cheers.

[musicallysublime-blog]

6 ‘N the Morning

Beastie Boys, Run-DMC, Doug E Fresh, and Ice-T are just a few artists that can be found on the Old School Rap Vol 2 vinyl. As mentioned in my previous post (click here to read) I picked up this album, at the swap meet. This was actually bought on my very first visit! It was the front cover that drew me in; with the old English lettering and the lowrider car on the cover, I smiled knowing this was going to be a good find. I wasn’t wrong once I turned it over and saw the list of songs and artist, and so it came home with me.

I think I’ve mentioned it before but here was brief time (during my high school days to be exact) that I wanted to be a DJ and these songs brought back not only the feelings of my aspirations to be a DJ but also feelings of my childhood. You see, my dad was a DJ in his hay day and these songs (I'd say about 90% of them) were constantly playing during my upbringing. So playing this album was extra special for me.  

Now, this album is quite different from the albums I’ve written about before, but I’m a girl that like all kinds of music. So with that said let's get to it. The album came out in 1995, released on Thump Records, the vinyl is also a two-disc! The first song is ‘The Show’ by Doug E. Fresh and The Get Fresh Crew. He was known as the Human Beatboxer. The song begins with a conversation that Doug E. Fresh is having with his MC Ricky D, followed by a sample beat from the animated show Inspector Gadget (which is extremely catchy!). Fun fact about the song, when originally recorded MC Ricky D actually said a  line from The Beatles song ‘Michelle’, which later had to be taken out due to copyright issues.

The second song is also worth mentioning for the fact that this time, the song was by Ricky D or Slick Rick as he would be later known as. The song ‘Children’s Story’ is catchy, however, the subject matter is much more serious than the beat comes off as. The song begins with kids asking “Uncle” Ricky for a bedtime story. He begins the song which talks about a 17-year-old who robs people and ends up getting killed. The song ends with the kids saying how weird the story was.

So now I have to mention ‘Brass Monkey’ by the Beastie Boys. This song truly stands the test of time (it was released in 1986). How do I know that you may ask? Well, not only did I hear the song growing up, but my nine year old knows the song word for word. It should also be noted that I’ve actually never played the song for him, which means he must have heard it somewhere. So when I was playing the album and this song came out, my son chimed in and said, “Mom, I like this song”,  proceeded to mouth the words.

I’m going to end with the song ‘6 ‘N the Morning’ by Ice-T. Yes, Ice-T, before he became the Law & Order SVU detective that we all (I’m sure of it) have seen on our TV, was actually known as one of the frontiers of what would be known as gangsta rap. The song was inspired by Schooly D’s song ‘P.S.K. (What Does It Mean?)’ and after taking a listen to the inspirational song, I can see the influence in Ice-T’s song. I end with this song because when I hear it it makes me want to sping those records as a DJ.

The album has some great songs that I’m sure will have your head nodding. Even if you’re not into rap, I’d say it’s worth your time to take a listen!

[rosedalemike]

The Mood: Blog #11 “WTF is next, ROSEDALE?!”

     I've had so many random ideas for what this next blog should be about. I wanna try to stay on track with the story of Rosedale's farewell/next chapter as that seems to be the most common topic with the lovely Rosedaliens that have been coming out to shows.      But the truth is that I'm just as unsure as everyone else. I don't even have a clear vision of what I picture September looking like. I guess my plan in September is to plan what 2019 is going to look like. 2019 seems so much further than it actually is, I'm sure.      The only things I'm sure of are that I would like to: 1: be a helpful contribution to music scenes (artists, venues, promoters, fans etc.) using more than just my own voice. 2: keep making new music under a different name (using my voice ...maybe some features...maybe a band? Who knows. I'd love for someone else to decide that.) 3: continue to work with other artists on their art and ideas.      I know those are all vague ideas. And regarding the name delema; I have a giant draft email to myself (the most common email address in my inbox is rosedalebooking@gmail.com) that has a bunch of artist names and band names. Some are pretty good, some are not. 

Self-Lyric Party: 

" 'cause I live entirely for the self-satisfaction that I made this- I turn Whiter than a song in C as I watch the room empty No! Just press on, believe. My numbers are truly sad Tell me again; can I beat Quicksand? Yes I Can! " - Quicksand

    As I check back to my last blog (to see how I quote/credit a lyric party...to keep continuity) I noticed that google placed a Chipotle add on the right side of the blog page! This is likely because I searched Chipotle at least 10 times in this past week. And that is because there is new company in the new Rosedale crew already and Chipotle sometimes hooks up traveling musicians with free food. 

     Her name is Siena. We all know Bryan, right? (cousin, hockey guy, #1 merch dude/email address collector...) Siena is the female Bryan. But luckily, she's not my cousin. I mean it'd be awesome to have known her all my life (like I've known Bryan all my life,) but for "heart-crush" reasons, I'm really glad she's most definitely not my cousin. 

     I met Siena at our San Diego show in November 2017. I say "our" because she's in a band called Going Postal, and they played that Soma show too. Like many bands today, they'll admit that their future is a giant question mark. But unlike many bands today, they sound awesome! 

Check them out

.https://goingpostalca.bandcamp.com/releases

     I call Siena "S Money" because one of her friends she was facetiming called her that and I, too, wanted to sound gangsta- "DJ $ Money" to be exact. Siena is finishing her final online college classes while traveling around America with me and selling my merch. When she's not selling merch she's helping me move my insane amounts of gear. When she's not selling merch and moving my insane amounts of gear she's teaching me how to promote in a more professional manner by helping me post enticing social media posts/stories/streams more regularly/organically. 

     Siena is a very kind-hearted, helpful champion that is way too chill to be so attractive. I just may be the luckiest Tall Canadian with Way Too Much Gear to have her on tour with me. After this tour she's moving to LA to become a world famous movie star so I only have about a month more of her awesomeness. She likes animals a lot, especially animal memes/vines. Mostly cats and dogs. So share/send any good ones and I'll make sure she sees them. (I'm also currently tethering off her wifi hotspot because all of Ohio's wifi is down right now.)

      Now that I've made you feel warm with paragraphs of cute kittens and puppies and rock n' roll princesses and awesome music and free Chipotle and sharing wifi; I must reveal some bad news; MY BACK IS F**KED!!! I somehow slowly injured my lower back while walking down some rusty stairs at the wrestling ring venue in Benwood, WV last Tuesday. I was getting ready to catch a little light-up-with-movement Nerf football, moving no different than any human casually walking down a set of stairs- then all of a sudden I felt my back juice trickling into the lower center of my back.     Don't be alarmed, this is not a career ending injury or anything. This actually happens to me every two years or so. And this time is not nearly as bad as the last time (when I was filling in for my Dad in his Canadian Tire men's hockey league and I casually skated behind my net to find out how 3 weeks of near paralyzing lower back pain felt.)      It's funny; when people ask if I have tall people back problems and I'm not dealing with back problems at that given moment, I usually reply "nope". But as soon as I do experience my dual-annually (I made up that word...) back pain, I remember the last time I had severe back pain.       So anyway, I had to cancel two shows and I'm not happy about it. It's getting better. I'm three days without pain relief meds. Stretching a lot. Rubbing Tiger Balm and Icey Hot every few hours. Just taking it easy in Cincinnati until Atlanta's show on Tuesday. That show is gonna be really awesome and there’s no way I’m missing it.      I played drums for a band on Warped tour in Dallas too. That was pretty fun. I learned their songs in three days. They have a lot of air horns in their music so I went kind of overboard with the Roland Pad's air horn sample. (Maybe that's why they found a replacement drummer for Pittsburgh Warped.)      It was fun seeing the Warped Tour for the last year and getting to play on stage again. We also went to the Cincinnati Warped Tour and learned what heat stroke felt like.

     Enough updates on my odd summer. I'll wrap it up with some insightful life/music stuff as I'm hanging out with the infamous Alex Baker.  https://alexanderbaker.bandcamp.com/ First though, his dad told us one of the greatest dad joke of all time: 

DAD JOKE PARTY:

"I was trying to think of a good reason to go to Switzerland and then I realized the flag was a big plus." 

But for real; we were talking about how things would be so different if we had just been understanding with our ex-bandmates in the golden years. We were all young and surrounded by the odd discovery of egos driven by art/success.  Alex was in a band called Dewey Decibel  https://alexanderbaker.bandcamp.com/album/the-dusting-dewey-decibel They had a fun indie style with a really organic, interesting production. Dewey Decibel recorded their album in their house in Nashville. From the sounds of it, once they started getting attention from NPR and local radio stations things started getting to everyone's heads. 

     It's not uncommon for a band to get along really well when things are on the up then fall apart when the going gets tough. The more I see it the more I understand the damage it did to Rosedale.      But on the other end of that unfortunate reality is the fact that I never would have met Alex Baker if the Rockstar ego-turmoil didn't happen to Dewey Decibel and Rosedale. I probably wouldn't have met Siana (AKA DJ $ Money) either. I'm not preaching that everything happens for a reason. I'm just kinda preaching that if you take the inevitable destructive events in life and turn them into fuel to move on and stay positive, better relationships grow. And those relationships are better because you've grown and learned how to be a better person.       So, like I keep driving home in all of these "Farewell Blogs", I'm looking forward to where things go. I'm happy I've experienced all the curveballs along the way to teach me how to eventually hit some home runs. I feel like I'm on the right track with these new friends that I've only met through grinding past the hard times and pressing on for what I had my heart set on.       Do you ever think of how you came to know some of your best friends? Like what events led them/you there that day and how grateful you are for those events and the transparent friendships they created? I know facebook gives us the ol "5 years of friendship" tag or whatever. But sometimes I see those and think "ohhh if you only knew, facebook...me and Casey Phillips go WAY BACK!"      Anyway that's all for now. If you've been thinking of meeting me or Siena or Alex Baker the best way/time to do it is to come out to an event we're at and experience some in person hangouts. This will be the last few weeks of touring for quite some time for me so really try to highlight these dates and make a solid effort to come catch a show. I promise you will not regret it. 

UPCOMING SHOWS:  7/24 - Atlanta,GA @ The Masquerade  7/27 - Jacksonville, FL @ Jackrabbits 7/29 - St. Augustine, FL @ Sarbez 8/3 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Black Forge Coffee 8/4 - Niagara, NY @ Evening Star 8/7 - Brampton, ON @ Spot 1 8/10 - Charleston, WV @ The Empty Glass 8/11 - Myrtle Beach, SC @ TBA Then a bunch of East Coast tour dates.

[themelancholylolita]

Spoilers!!! Banana Fish EP. 12: To Have and Have Not

Children another episode of death and fluff.

Three things first:

I never want to get on Ash's bad side.

These New York streets runth of blood of the youth

Everybody is in their feelings this episode espically Ash

Review, Recap, Reaction

Arthur crew is getting taken out from left 🔛 right.

Dick of Goblins might be my favorite name of someone in this anime

Arthur was shooked as hell. (That's right Ash is coming for dat ass)

Ibe and Ash talk about getting Eiji to go back to Japan and apologizes.

Ash plan I'm going eiji hate me so he can leave me to be safe.

Snake Yut Lung & Baby Gangsta Sing are still kicking it. Baby Gangsta is still in the about what went down at Dino crib. Yut Lung doesn't want to burden the poor boy with the truth. Well Sing did read the snake for being similar to Ash and liking him.

Sing dip out and was like " I'm going to beat the truth out of Ash"( Pray for baby gangsta cause this is not going to end well)

Ash & Dino had a chat down to the airport. (Seriously how long was Ash standing there waiting to be noticed) Ash and Dino declare war and throw some serious shade : Dino said he needed a good taxidermy for Ash soon to be dead ass. Ash hope the bastard's plane crash but didn't want to condemn the other passagers to hell with dino

Side bar: does Dino not own a private jet or is he to broke to rent one. Did the government only want to pay for a first class ticket??

The goings of Gang Boss Ash Lynx

Hunting down Arthur underlings and executing them ( He ain't playing with these boys)

Making a neutral ally of Bloody Cain. Like Ash is quick draw with the gun.

Laying out to Max how the American government and the mafia are in bed with each other and using banana fish to gain control of the middle east. Capitalism at work.

Knife fight with Arthur is set.

Eiji the gang housewive and mom

Taking pictures Golzine's office and associates.

Cooking for Ash(even if he doesn't appreciate it)

Throwing Halloween Party for the kids and teasing Ash with his greatest fear.

Friends with all the housewives in the building

• Ash & Eiji Relationship

Ash trying to enjoy Eijis cooking but failing. Eiji trying American food and not liking.

Shaming poor Eiji for his height.

All the teasing between them. Pouty Ash and scared shitless of pumpkins is my fave(Eiji did need to do Ash like that. Getting some petty revenge)

Max calling out Ash for having his shot together in all other areas but when it come to Eiji it does not compute( Ash was actually A little flustered)

Their first big fight happened: Eiji is truly living a mafia wife. Like he knew Ash was doing something bad but didn't push until he felt he went to far. Eiji really was like "Let me put my pj's on, read a book, and wait for this boy. Once he saw the blood on Ash's shirt, he went into confrontation mood: I know you in these streets killing unarmed men raging war and shit. The Ash me, skip and Shorter know don't act like that. Ash is like you don't know my world or what is like to be gifted and shit. Basically I see you kinda fight but Ash still walked out but they made up the next day

Ash liking a girl but her getting killed because her be linked to Ash. That's why he can't publicly claim Eiji for fear of getting him killed.

Last Thoughts

Alex is Ash's favorite child while Eiji's are Bones and Kong.

The different sides of Ash are always a joy

Ash about Eiji "Eiji do you love me? Are you riding? Say you'll never ever leave from beside me Cause I want ya, and I need ya And I'm down for you always"

[eng-hypnosismic]

[Interview] Kimura Subaru with Numan

You can check the original interview here

Profile

Kimura Subaru

Born on June 29th in Germany. Trilingual, speaks Japanese, English, German.

After acting in the musical “Annie”, he worked extensively as a voice actor, narrator, entertainer, model, and a singer. President of “Theatre Company Bakabakka” since 2009. Famous cola lover.

Appeared in the anime “Doraemon” (as Jaiyan / Gouda Takeshi), the anime “Haikyuu!!” (as Tendou Satori), the movie “Kingsman” (as Gary “Eggsy” Unwin), NHK “Tanken Bakumon”, and others.

- What was your opinion when you heard of “Hypnosis Mic”?

Kimura: I remember thinking that it was an opportunity just for me in the voice acting world (laughs). I felt extremely happy and thought “The time has finally come!!” I had no idea of how many voice actors felt the desire to rap, so at first I kind of thought it was a lie. As a joke, the idea would have been great… But, I never thought the time of voice actors rapping would ever come. So it was “a dream within a dream” had come true kind of feeling.

- Rap is a style that tells about yourself, so it goes well with characters songs, however, it’s not a genre often explored.

Kimura: I think that, in that sense, when I’m singing the character song, I’m also singing as that character. I wondered why everyone [voice actors] didn’t rap until now. I think it’s a good opportunity, since you get to hear all the voice actors tap into the rap genre and many people don’t listen to hip-hop, especially a lot of females. Looking through Twitter, some talks about hip-hop are like “Writing HIP HOP* makes it seem like we’re trying to look cool so let’s put it in katakana” and things like that. Hearing everyone hesitate like that shows progress and makes me happy. It may look like I’m trying to seem superior to everyone and being arrogant, but I’m actually very happy that everyone is getting into hip-hop.

T/N: Originally in English.

- First, can you tell us the charm of Ikebukuro Division’s “Buster Bros!!!”?

Kimura: Well, unlike the other teams, we are the “three brothers”, so this alone makes the team special. Being a crew of brothers is cool in a unique way and you can see in the drama that the interactions between the three are very intimate. Since they have the bond from being together since birth, “Buster Bros!!!” has the character of loyalty which gives a sense of security.

- What were your impressions on Yamada Ichiro’s younger brothers: the second brother, Jiro, and the third brother, Saburo?

Kimura: Jiro is passionate. Since he is the second son, he struggles between being like an older or younger brother. He looks up to his older brother and at the same time acts like a good role model to the youngest; you can easily see these two sides in his character. On the other hand, the third brother, Saburo, tends to be cynical. It’s quite amusing how the brothers are so different.

- The connection between the brothers can be also noticed in their songs, the standard in Ichiro’s song, following into Jiro’s song, and putting a little classical twist into Saburo’s song.

Kimura: That’s exactly the case. Ichiro breaks through the barrier, then Jiro strikes, and Saburo cleans it up stylishly. It’s beautiful to listen to them in this order.

- Do you feel any similarities between Yamada Ichiro and yourself?

Kimura: We are both the eldest sibling. And I also want to be a loyal and respectable brother. I am a bit envious that Ichiro is naturally like that. I have a younger sister, but it’s a “you’re my older brother but it doesn’t mean you’re better than me” type of relationship (laughs), so I admire his older brother vibes.

- I would like to ask about the other divisions. What can you tell about the relationship between Ichiro and Aohitsugi Samatoki, who leads Yokohama Division’s “Mad Trigger Crew”?

Kimura: Even though in this story we are rivals, privately I get along well with Asanuma-san. There’s a gap in our roles, but because of that, we have fun acting together. Like, “Even though your character says you hate me, you like me, don’t you?” (laughs). Because of that sense of reassurance, we can battle to our heart’s desire. I was being self-conscious, but when we’re standing on stage together during the first live, there’re some lines that I was hesitant to say... So I appreciate that Asanuma-san is here. “Don’t think too much, smash!! Bring it on!!” type of feeling (laughs).

Their album is wonderful. The cast of rappers who participated was deluxe, the characters’ appearance were well done and the rappers who wrote the lyrics were able to show a lot of their own style. People who don’t know much [about hip-hop] will easily get to know the characters through the songs. On the other hand if they’re into hip-hop, they’d think things like “This is very like Uzi-San” or “these are Kuro-san’s lyrics”. This feeling will be even stronger when it comes to Samatoki’s song that Cypress Ueno-san wrote, they will probably think “Woah, these are Cypress’ lyrics, for sure!”, and things like this. I think anyone can listen to the album and understand it. I want people to try listening to the songs composed/written by UZI-san, Cypress-san and “HOME MADE family”.

If the person already knows about those things, the face of the rapper who wrote the lyrics comes up. If they don’t, the face of the character or the voice actors comes up. This is the highlight of “Hypnosis Mic” too. Everyone putting their power together to create hip-hop is what makes this world so united. I think it’s a good idea to create a song by everyone.

- On December 6th, Shinjuku Division’s “Matenrou” got very popular because of their CD releasement. It was selling everywhere.

Kimura: It’s super cool. So cool and scary! (Jinguji) Jakurai-san is the last boss kind of scary. Hayami Show-san is a good actor when acting as the character, but his rap is also extremely powerful within that group. Hayami-san’s voice and such were already great to begin with, but when he’s rapping it stands out so much. I think even a rapper would be surprised if they heard it, it’s so gangsta.

If you had to describe it by a genre, it’s like a “poetry rap” type of song. It’s poetic and its slight displacement with the music still matches the rhythm. A rap that goes off beat with the music would be difficult for beginners, however Hayami-san pulled it off wonderfully. He should become a rapper right away!

(Kannonzaka) Doppo’s (CV: Ito Kento) rap is also poetic. And then there’s, (Izanami) Hifumi’s (CV: Kijima Ryuchi) EDM-like, party-like rap… It’s like the kind of rap that you would want to listen to when you’re at the beach in summer, and bob your head to (laughs). It’s different but in a good way.

Doppo’s edgy poetry rap goes well with the background track. The part with the live drums in the back is a dry snare… just kidding (laughs)(1). The snare drum in the background sounds super cool.

- Shibuya Division’s Fling Posse is still unknown, isn’t it?

Kimura: I haven’t listen to their songs yet, so I’m looking forward to it. I’m interested in Saito Soma-kun’s rap in particular. He is a voice actor I’m familiar with, and in private we listen to hip-hop together. He, himself, has never done rap before, but I’m looking forward to how it’s going to be after listening to me rap several times. I think it’s going to be good in rhythm and high quality in general.

Also, Shibuya’s characters are interesting; an idol-like designer, a gambler, and a writer. I’m looking forward to it.

- If you got to choose, what division would you want to be in yourself, Kimura-san?

Kimura: Ah, that’s a hard choice. They’re all good!! It’s hard to choose one, I’d like to be in all of them. Or, to make a new team. I’d like to make an overseas group (laughs), a division of three people from New York called “Beastie Boys”, “Run-D.M.C.” or “The Super Cool Crew of 3 MCs have Arrived!!” (laughs).

- Would the new division be a threat to the others (laughs)?

Kimura: I mean, I want to be in all of them! Shibuya Division’s dangerous feeling is also cool.

- Since the team colors are different and they’re all attractive in their own way, the fan’s are probably like,  “I think I like this division!” and can’t make a decision.

Kimura: We also do mean things. Like, which team is the best? Should we support all teams, or should we just show extra support to one team, you see.

- How about looking back at the first live at  “Animate Girls Festival 2017 (AGF 2017)”?

Kimura: It was so cool! I was nervous on how many female audiences during that time would come to watch since it was hip-hop. I couldn’t imagine so many people would travel to come see us just because they were interested.

I thought that, little by little, the wall would break. But I didn’t think that it would be this big. It’s been like that for hip-hop so far. Currently, “Freestyle Dungeon”‘s hip-hop and such are popular, but it isn’t something new, hip-hop has existed for long time now. People probably didn’t listen to it because of the lack of interest or the fact that it seemed scary. Rappers have been on this path for about 30 years now.

Therefore, if we keep working on Hypnosis mic steadily like this, when it blows up, everyone will look back at how hip hop has became, and think “we have been working hard on it since 5, 6 years ago!” That’s how I imagined it’d be like, out of the blue. It’s wonderful.

I think what made the live revolutionary was the fact that the fans that gathered worked so hard and even brought pen-lights that were on until the end. I’ve never seen people bring pen-lights to a hip-hop live, so it was nice seeing everyone raising their hands with a pen-light. It should be a holiday, “The day the girls used pen-lights”. It’s good to talk about it. It’s revolutionary, really!

- It was an event that greatly moved both sides, but do you have any expectations for fans in the future?

Kimura: Hip-hop was originally people saying “I want to change something” or even bigger, “I want to change the world”. So I hope people have received that message. Hip-hop originated in the US when black people weren’t recognized properly and lived in poor conditions. They would have no money and had to handle weapons and drugs to survive. I believe the important message was “I want to change the world, I want world peace”.

So first of all, I want people to understand that message, and, to make a change as a result of it. It’s this idea that instead of screaming at the wall alone, you’re asking everyone “What do you think?”. Another characteristic of Hip-Hop on the other hand, are negative responses/comebacks like “What did you just say?”; if there could be positive reactions too like “I think so too, so let’s do it together!”, it would be nice in my opinion.

I think this reaction towards “Hypnosis Mic” is also important. A clear call and response is important, but I wish for people to voice if it’s cool or not and if it’s boring or not. It is wonderful that everyone is enjoying it. But it’s also fine if there’s something wrong. If it’s cool, I would like people to say that it’s cool, but I would also like to hear everyone’s own reactions too.

For example, if there’s a live where Matenrou is overpowering Buster Bros!!, it’s ok to call “Back off-!!” in hip-hop culture (laughs). It’s over exaggerating the way of saying it, but it’s good for guests to engage in the hip-hop culture.

- The NicoNico regular live stream called “Hypnosis Mic - Nico Rap Battle” is also a great success. What challenges would you like to see in the future?

Kimura: I hope that everyone gets into hip-hop, so it’s wonderful that this time there are quite a lot of people that have knowledge on it. Even if it’s just a little bit, it’s good to know a bit about the genre. It would be nice if people got into the “lyrics”, not as karaoke, but as “tracks”. With that kind of feeling, I hope people get to know more about hip-hop. They also introduce various rappers so it would be nice if people say, “So there are these kinds of rappers” and got into them. Also, this is the only place where you get to hear voice actors rap, so it’s interesting in that sense.

Something I would like to do… I would like to do a live on the Nico Broadcast. There are music programs that are like, “So with that said, preparations are ready, let’s sing…,” like, “Oops, I made a mistake” types (laughs). It’s also a good idea to show live images. I would like to do that type of thing too.

- On January 21st, they are doing a Nico Live to celebrate the CD releases. What are your thoughts?

Kimura: Hip-hop, as a source, is important, but, as I mentioned earlier, we want people to hear it, that’s why having the opportunity for lives in front of guests are important. The AGF event in November was very good, and there will be different members in January, that’s why I’m looking forward to it. Someday I want to do a live with everyone. And in a place where popular rappers have performed… like the Budoukan!

I hope that something like this will happen in the future. For example, UZI-san announcing the featuring of voice actors in the future or something along those lines. Such as Asanuma-san featuring on an album of Cypress-san or Kamio-san being included by UZI-san in his works. It would be nice. In that sense, I have a desire for there to be a bridge between voice actors and hip-hop.

- Kimura-san, you worked on the lyrics of Ichiro’s song “Ore ga Ichiro”. What part stuck out to you?

Kimura: There’s the similarity to the character, but there’s also the fact that it’s easy to understand and listen to it. I talked about singing poetry rap, but my favorite type is when the sound is beautiful, and when the beat is as if made for the lyrics. There’s the part where it’s easy to listen, but I also enjoy the parts with word plays.

Also, songs that you can’t just listen to once, you need to listen to it a second time to enjoy the lyrics…[but] you’d still have the same mental image as you had first time you listened to it. Plus, it’s not just the sound from the word plays, but how the meaning of the words change. When you listen to the music you don’t really notice anything, but when you pay attention to the lyrics, the “woah, really” reaction comes and there’s a clear vision of the character. Like “there’s a different meaning behind them”, or “that’s what it’s saying but that’s not the actual message” type of thing. I quite like songs like that, I’m obsessed with them.

I especially like the second verse that goes, “There are still some things you haven’t seen”, “Our motive power ends the darkness”, “Even if it rains tomorrow I believe in my friends” and “No matter what happens on the battlefield, you can’t run away”. At first you listen only to the song, but after looking at the words, you go “Ah!!” (laughs).

- Please recommend the readers of “Kodowari Girls” any artists or albums.

Kimura: There’s a popular Japanese hip-hop album by Zeebra-san called “The Anthology” and it’s probably his best album. It’s a collection of his best works from the past to the present. Zeebra-san is the founder of Japanese hip-hop, so if you listen to his work, you’ll understand Japanese hip-hop better. A variety of rappers from different genres participate so please listen to it.

Recently, I’ve been listening to the album by Gaki Ranger, “Kinky Kids”, that came out in August 2017, and also “Saiji”, that was released two years ago. Those are particularly good. There are party tunes to mellow and even some edgy songs in there. A characteristic of Gaki Ranger is their deep lyrics. Their meanings have a type of attraction, so I want you to try listening to it.

There’s also Ketsumeishi’s album “Ketsu no Polis 2”. Ketsumeishi used to rap a lot before, unlike now that he mostly sings. Specifically in the songs “Tegami~Kako”, “Tegami~Genzai” and “Tegami~Mirai”. It is a wonderful trilogy and I encourage you to listen to it!

- And finally, please show us the famous human beatbox!

1. Kimura makes pun here by calling the drum dry and says snare at the end of his sentence, but he is actually talking about the snare drum. 

© Jp-Eng: Eng hypnosismic

© Kodowari Girls

[ariswashere]

You know, it’s Future Friday, so that means I gotta bring them Flashbacks just to tell you what your future could be like if you’re going through the motions of life. This is also because I was going through Insta looking for whatever, and I noticed that a lot of streetwear brands literally took the “skreets” seriously and they literally be branding guns and gang shit, masked up whatever, and then I go on here and I realize a lot of kids’ blogs, early 20s whatever, all they post about is the same shit, guns, money, booty, whatever, and really, I ain’t wanna be that “real dude” crapping on y’all, but on some rap shit, are you living what y’all are even about, or are you just into whatever it is you’re into so much, on some fan shit? Are you really bout it, bout it? Because...

I am the definition of a good kid in a MAAD city, but then again, maybe I’m the one mad. I don’t really claim shit, but I do take risks just to have a notion of having fun. I used to a lot more anyway. My thing is, I have done sketchy things for years, mostly just tryna smoke weed (illegally) and sometimes drinking in places you ain’t really supposed to be doing it at. We could go near a power plant, parked at a Target, at the park after dark, whatever. Even when I was a child, I’d get in trouble and when my mom would pick me up I’d wave that colored piece of paper like a badge of honor lol. I’ve been mean to people, I’ve got people be mean back, I’ve been in the locker room in middle school and feel intimidated every time I try to change. Seen one of my own friends get messed with and shout back at the dude and it’s like damn, straight bullying left and right. In high school, the boys locker room was so crazy, people would throw locks for their lockers like three rows down. On top of that, I’ve seen a bottle of powder and a gatorade full of pee thrown. Seen one of my friend’s got their shit stolen, then start blaming everyone nearby. Goddamn, why does this sound like prison? LOL. Right around the time high school ended, I met a girl who had fam down here but she was coming from the Northwest Coast because that’s where she was going to school and living with her other half of her family, and basically I ended up dating the new girl. Introduced her to the clique, and you know what happened? Basically, a bunch of good guys turned wicked. But it wasn’t just that she entered the picture, she was into drugs, but it was also because my friends were having trouble at home. Parents stressing them about work, it’s weird, right? Because even my friends who had both their parents growing up and lived that “American Dream” were having problems. So yeah, I really saw both sides of what life could really be like and it all comes down to this: We’re all a little deranged in our own way. My friends got so into weed, we’d be like stuck at one of my homie’s pads, and two of them would go bust a mission somewhere out in the boonies just to get some “dank” and then that translated to like, oh, let’s start selling some for that extra come up. Then raving happened, and if you’re into drugs, you basically end up wanting to see how you could sell some, so at least you’ll always have some “on deck”. Because it was tiring just to always try to hit up anyone we knew that either slanged or knew someone who slanged. I remember even in community college, mind you, out of the two friends I would smoke herb with, I was the only one actually going to college tryna be on a straight path type shit. My friend that usually had the most money worked at like a Marshalls or whatever. Just something. My other friend was just, you know, tryna go to school, taking something like Fashion or some shit, but ultimately could not study for shit and just wanted to get high. People that get high and still succeed in school are on another level. I had another friend who studied abroad, went to a private school, and he was more of a druggy than any of my other friends and he was just like crazy smart. Literally both crazy and smart. Type of dude that really keeps his circle so small, and you know that, because if he likes you he’ll share his drugs with you like nothing. But drug talk also gets shitty. Because when you got a friend selling drugs, they also might overcharge your other friends just because he’s tryna cash out. That’s just how it is, especially if say you leave your family’s house and you’re tryna survive. When I reached UNI, I was mostly on my own a lot. What I mean is, yes, I’d see my regular homies, but I started going out a lot more on my own. Like after class, go to a show type shit. How will you know if anyone really fucks with you if it weren’t for the internet? Most cats will always roll with a crew anywhere they go, am I right? Until you’ve actually parked in East Los in front of someone’s house, and you’re pre-gaming in your car, and the homie that lives there comes out and he’s hanging out in front and seems to be okay with you, like you don’t really know then. Until you have tried to parallel park in a dark street in DTLA and a Latino man decides to help you back in, and he’s talking Spanish to you like you know Spanish, then you really don’t know. Until you have gone to Santa Monica, coming from all the way in the burbs of the SGV, you’re smoking a joint you got from your delivery in the neighborhood like whatever, taking lame videos of you doing so, and then getting to the line of the venue, and the bouncer sees you wearing a flannel shirt and he’s like where you from homie? then looks at your ID, sees where you’re at and gives you a pound like I see you dude, then you don’t know. And even then, I’ve been in and out of the clubs, all by myself, and I’ve never been approached wrong, except maybe someone might accidentally step on your toes or bump into you, and I’m saying like, if that was another dude, that would’ve been a no no, but reacting to bs like that is for people that have no control of their emotions. And really, I ain’t tryna be a “homie” this is just me. I really understand why mom doesn’t like me shaving my head. Imagine me with my goatee and I got a short ass haircut, you know foos will be looking at me a little bit differently. Anyone, really. That’s another thing right, same reason why you would never catch me wearing Nike Cortez’ because I’m kind of old school like that where when I was growing up, I was told not to wear those because only gangstas rocked those and you don’t wanna be like approached and shit. Now everyone rocks those and they’ll tell you those are the most comfortable shoes ever lol. I used to live in a house and behind it was an elementary, I was on the corner basically, and I remember I was out in front and this fast car with loud dudes just sped off the corner, and my older cousin comes outside like “They messing with you?” That’s how old school his mentality is, like he thinks if he hears some shit like that, it’s prob some troublemakers, maybe on some drive-by shit. Then one day we had a serious talk about, dude, I can’t be around a lot to “protect” you like you gotta learn how to be on your own, and funny thing is, I have always been the one looking out for myself. The only bloody reason why I get into bs is because everyone around me gets into bs. If I get into bs, it’s because it was mostly on some ignant shit or accidentally. I almost never put myself in a position where I have trouble with other people, but I did still put myself in every position to get in trouble by the law yet 99% nothing happened, at least nothing where my parents would be absolutely devastated that it happened. Because for some reason, I’m straight crazy but I still had control. So when I drove really fast late night, it didn’t matter. Somehow I just feel invincible, like I can conquer anything, and really that’s kind of the attitude you should have, no? What are you going to lose, as long as you ain’t totally lose it? I’m saying, even just approaching people at the club, they don’t care as long as you’re chill. I’ve been in a situation where this group of friends are around me, and somehow they’re just okay with me partying with them even though we ain’t talking lol. I think what I’m ultimately tryna get at is, you need to put yourself in the position of feeling the loneliest of lonely. Eat by yourself, have a whole day to yourself, sit at the bar by yourself, go to the club by yourself, eat bloody Del Taco at 2 am lol. Feel fucking lonely, and that’s how you try not being so lonely. Because it’s all about energy. People love energy, like minding your own business and dancing like no one’s watching. You will get to that point if you do it enough. And seriously, I’ve been out and I’ve seen girls I know I’m attracted to and I know they ain’t interested, and I’ve also been in situations I never thought I’d be in and it happened. This is the truth: You gotta just die in order to live again. Because I used to trip on oh shit, I’m 27, 27 club oh noooo, am I going to make it? Then I turned 30 and I’m like fuck, I’m alive yo. From picking up weed on the side of the road, stressing about a cop passing by on my street, smoking resin out the bowl when I ran out, to all day being high, to graduating college, to grad school failure, to what? Music provider. Spitting real talk. Tryna be some weird-ass role model to my younger peers. Storyteller. Been like that though. The difference is, I have mastered the structure. I have mastered thyself and I’m still learning.

Edit: Here’s another thing, a girl is going to argue like oh, you’re a dude, you could just do whatever by yourself and not have to worry about extra attention. Wrong. I’ve been to late night events, and seen girls walk in by themselves. Maybe you’re worried because you’re dressed a certain way, well, duh, if you got your ass and titties hanging out and you’re on the bloody streets, don’t fucking dress like that unless you don’t want the attention. Is it right? No, but that’s society for you, plus I know deep down y’all want that shit anyway lol. If the right dude showed you the attention, you’d be all over him. Or you see a shawty just as hot, you know you’d like that too.