#a glimpse of happiness before the ep on monday………….

[savethedots]

genuine smiles - a rare sight

[lotrewrite]

LOT Season 2 4.17.17 Recap

All right! Here is the recap of ideas from Monday’s chat sessions. It’s still fairly rough, since I’ve mostly devoted my time to incorporating all of the below into what my next post is going to be about, which is the episodes layout for the season. I’ve tried to group them by subject for convenience. 

TL;DR: you should probably go look at the post with the episodes instead, it'll have the ideas that we discussed (below) incorporated into episode

----------------------------------------------------

Oculus Len: Len: well, I was thinking that Oculus!Len would actually appear gradually throughout the season Mick assumes he's a hallucination, and when Len corrects him Mick doesn't believe him? maybe Len doesn't know what he is we have them scattered to the spear pieces so maybe the spear pieces, when activated, "draw in" unusual activity so it's indirectly because of the spear that's how he finds them – therefore he can also find the Legion when they have spear pieces; Like beacons that disrupt the flow of time. they're rocks in the river of time Mick can see him because he was exposed to the Oculus energy in the chair during his time as Kronos sort of a sub-theme I want to work on with Len is that he doesn't always communicate well with people even Mick, he often relies on Mick just getting what he means and that would make it all the more frustrating that Mick goes with Legion!Len even when Oculus!Len tells him not to Episodes where Len appears Episode where this is explained (by magic user?)

Gideon episode More exploration of the ship and Gideon’s limitations now that the Vanishing Point is gone It would also explain why they need to go find "experts" to learn about the spear and other things because they can't just ask Gideon any more Gideon is grieving the AIs in the Vanishing Point and Rip, as well as her isolation/dehumanization by the team, traumatized by Rip hacking her if that’s there Gideon episode: they find a mostly destroyed ship with an AI gone crazy from grief or something and none of them realized that could happen; creepy ghost ship with insane AI Gideon steps in to save the Legends a haunted ship episode would be a great time to introduce Len-the-full-ghost instead of as a hallucination This is the first episode where Oculus!Len interacts with something and is recognized by Gideon, identifying him as a ghost instead of just a hallucination Episode at the midpoint

Kronos’ ship Possibility: solving where Eobard got his own Gideon? From Legion!Rip? from Kronos’ ship? Legion finds Mick’s old ship, gets his AI from there?

Episode 3 - 1942 Episode 3: Sara in 1942: She teamed up with them while waiting to be picked up because otherwise she'd get bored and go back to the League of Assassins and really, twice is enough bet she and rex would have some issues about leadership So the JSA was in Russia/Finland and Sara went: Heeeeeeeyyyyyyy, guys... :D Amaya had seen lightning just before finding Rex's body but didn't actively recall it until seeing Barry run during the crossover. When she mentions it to the others, they realize they're dealing with a speedster

End of Legion Team uses the spear's relative immunity to the time stream to go back in time to interfere with a prior timeline by simply stopping Eobard right after flashpoint, using the spear to rob him of his time travel powers and ditching him right after he killed Barry's mom thereby kickstarting his evolution to become Flash season 1 Wellsobard. Eobard gets exactly what he wants: to be saved from the Black Flash. By stopping Eo at that point, he doesn't ever recruit Damien or Len, so they are back in their timelines WITHOUT a memory wipe and the subtle differences between pre-Legends Eo and post-Legends Eo could also excplain some of the differences in post-Flashpoint Flash universe Possibly emotional farewell between Mick and past!Len before he fades away, then he goes back to Oculus!Len Oculus!Len decides to sacrifice himself again (end of his arc – accepting his choice to be a hero as well as a villain, accepting it’s a part of who he is) and grabs the spear to destroy it, but it actually brings him back because it is immune to time aberrations (ALT: Len regrows body from hand?)

Laurel Sending Laurel to E-2 – they know she’s not Black Siren because of watch detectors one way to give a reason for her to go is because Laurel's death is such an important moment, rescuing her as a speedster abberation - which makes her a target for the Black Flash. Meaning that Eobard saved Laurel not only to get the spear pieces from Sara, but ALSO to give the Black Flash an alternative target Does Laurel like being E-2? It’s better than being dead

Doomworld Doomworld: Wanted!AU – superheroes are miserable regular humans, lots more villains, villainous superheroes and ALL the cameos; actual dystopia going on Lisa is ice skating and queen of a country

Legion composition Some people proposed Queen B, some people proposed Zazzala merger of characters – past!Damien knows a magic user who will be helpful and calls for Queen Bee, who has obtained a mystical artefact (Emerald Eye), which gives her mind-control powers. Damien protects himself and Eobard against it by obtaining amulets against mind control? (Len later demonstrates himself to be capable of picking them off without them noticing, rendering them all vulnerable) Joke about Poison Ivy not returning their calls Queen Bee is an antagonist of Mari-Vixen, both in terms of causing the civil war that caused her to leave her home and stalking her for her token, and this incite Amaya to be curious about her future

Mick moments Finale: Mick and Oculus!Len to team up with Jax and the Legends and fight the Legion Mick moment: at some point he has a moment where he can choose between himself (the chance for the heist or burn of the century) or a teammate and realizes he values the team and wants to stay with them At some point Mick and Ray talk about suicidal ideation they have; Amaya talk to about grief Mick has worsening hallucinations – doesn’t reveal it too soon; concern about mental illness explicitly mentioned; so he's at first an echo, then a whisper, then a glimpse, then a full fledge appearance

Sara arc Sara: saves her sister, then has to step up as leader, then becomes overprotective, confrontation between her and Jax at the end; she goes to talk with Laurel and returns to take up the mantel of captain before going into final fight

Nate Nate’s lucky never-goes-dull pencil is a spear piece He is a grad student and does not question it

Jax/Stein rescue Jax/Stein – medieval constantinople or crusades – people were certain they were right and it goes horribly wrong – stein: so much scientific knowledge being destroyed! jax: also people dying?? Sets up Jax’s arc and helps him realize he knows what the morally right thing is, but he lets himself get overruled

Vikings Jax romance during the Vikings episode Pagan period, everyone addresses their grief, plot happens and at the end they’re at a funeral, a skald singing a tale to trigger the funeral/grieving part of the vikings ep, so there's a big story swap between the legends – make them get up and talk about their dead (Stein is chosen, ends up talking about Ronnie; Mick throws his bottle into the fire, gets up, talks about Len; Ray about Anna) – Sara letting go of rage and grief over Laurel – recognizing she didn’t react well Lisa had been told long before, but she’s still upset; she talks with Mick about his presence with the Legends Jax meets a shieldmaiden who gives him pointers on defending himself without Stein/remind him to be awesome on his own as well – Jax is shocked his flirting actually worked

Episode 6 – cyberpunk heist Could be in the future, cyberpunk, Lisa runs the heist Ray insists on being too clever and going off-script, the suit is damaged, but it’s only destroyed in Invasion; brief mention of Batman Beyond Stein initially protests but gets into it; Ray treats it like a heist movie instead of a real heist, thinks he’s going to save the day despite being told not to use his suit, it all goes badly instead Ray losing his suit not only to excessive heroism but to a there-was-a-better-way-if-you-thought-about-it/possibly unnecessary heroism. Lisa needs to go to back-up plan and succeeds regardless Lisa and Mick get to show off their competence and positive interactions

Invasion rewrite portions of it; everyone will be acting decently to Mick, Felicity and Kara make friends with him; not to mention a better use for time travel than "go back to the 50s to get an alien and do nothing with him"

Magic-user episode Episode 8 – they hunt up a magical expert about the spear, possibly several – So Sara asks Oliver for Constantine's info – each one directing them to another (Constantine to Zatanna to Madame Xanatu and back) Constantine flirts with everyone Zed gets an image of the Legion hunting Rip down by touching the Waverider Rest of the episode: Legends go to try to save him, but fail They return to Constantine, who is apologetic but gives them the compass which he found Rip: Eobard finds him first, initial encounter between them where Rip is happy to meet an old friend from the future (he knew Eo from before Eo became a speedster; asks about if the time sphere worked out for him) and then realizes that Thawne is a villain kidnapping This ties in with Rip’s arc about his “Time Master” knowledge not helping him

American Rev Episode 9 – keep American Rev, keep rat, keep statute; Amaya gets secondary arc: she’s so mission-focused she nearly lets innocent people die, the others stop her and rescue everyone, shows her that being 100% mission above all else is bad

Later magic-user episode Later episode: Constantine sends a message/they call Constantine to ask; telling them that the Spear was last owned by Merlin so they need to go back to Camelot to figure out how it works

Pirates Pirates – maybe not in the Caribbean Ninjas v Pirates argument between Mick and Ray Pirate democracies? Ray and Amaya – Amaya learns pirates are not so bad, law and order isn’t everything, Ray sees that adventuring isn’t all that and requires discipline to be successful

Ray B-plot for one episode to be Ray trying on new identities and they don't work we could also bring Nate back later on for another conversation

Len Len joins Legion willingly He is surprised that Mick is with them and seems okay with them; he objects to plans that involve manipulation of Mick/others based on emotions because it’s “too easy”; He starts questioning, starts hesitating; "if I trust Mick's judgment - which I do sometimes - then what am I missing here?" Sara mentions kiss to Past!Len, who flirts back but doesn’t remember it Line he doesn’t want them to cross – gratuitous torture of someone for pleasure rather than to really get anything out of the person, Len decides to kill the person (mercy kill) and they’re pissed; Len fights the Legion with the help of Oculus!Len (still invisible, but able to interact) Eo thinks it’s easy but Len’s good against speedsters and ices him; Damien pulls out rarely used magic skills and puts him down; they put him in the same chair as torture victim, zoom in on his face, end of episode Next we see of Len, he’s fine - someone jokes "i'm so happy you had a /change/ of mind" - and he says nothing at all. no reaction to the pun, nothing Post-BW manipulates Mick to come with him Oculus!Len is horrified by brainwashing and tries to communicate with Mick, who doesn’t listen He hurts/insults Mick at one point and Jax/Legends realize that’s OOC based on stories of Len Mick in Doomworld realizes he's done something wrong but doesn't know how to fix it and only after he's made the decision to leave Legion!Len does Oculus!Len show up he probably thinks he's hallucinating /again/ but then they're actually able to talk During Doomworld, when Mick realizes Len has been brainwashed, that's the final push that gets him to regather the team The Legion decides to deal with Mick and capture Mick, ordering Legion!Len to torture him Oculus!Len appears and uses that to fight Legion!Len, causing him to BSOD/become confused because the manipulation of Mick (which he was also less willing to do before the brainwashing) is one thing but torturing him is another

Gangs of New York Sadie the Goat Farrel 1869 NY Gangs, headbutts her victims and a cohort shoots them with a sling shot and steals their money, gangs of NY; her nemesis was this other lady who is equally awesome a 6 plus bouncer called Gallus Mag who bit off Sadies ear in a fight and kept it pickled in a jar  - gang war between historical ladies and the Legends jump right in the middle specifically, 1860s Gangs-of-New-York NYC could feature Jonah Hex who haaaaaaaaaaates this place; If we have Hex, maybe include at least a reference to the fact that he was Confederate and uncomfortable with Yankees If we move episode 1 to being London or DC, the later episode with Jonah Hex could involved gangs of New York – he got called to solve a problem

Tudors episode Rip: Time Master’s knowledge is wrong/one-sided and colonialist overtones; could tie in with Amaya’s arc; Episode where Rip (after he comes back) tries to do things based on typical Time Master protocol (team goes one way, he goes another b/c he's sure he's right and he wants to redeem himself) except it's totally wrong, possibly just checking Gideon instead of looking himself, and it goes wrong; he is forced to realize that he’s lost everything: his family, his faith in the TMs, his captaincy, etc. -> Rip also realizes that if his Time Master info is wrong, he might have taken IMPORTANT people from the timeline, thereby robbing them of their potential (possibly they are now creating ‘new’ potential) Possibly to happen in Tudor episode - he thinks the spear has to be THIS THING but it turns out it's another thing during the Tudor episode Mick burns down the building which will then be rebuilt to be the Globe other episode ideas New Zealand episode South America episode – Chile/Argentina – could be Amaya episode for finding out about colonialization possibly an episode where they encounter some Really Bad Thing the Time Masters did (and Rip did, not realizing it was bad) Mystery Machine parked in the background

Maze episode Maze: Legion and Legends both go to future where there is a maze, it’s a TV competition (“Legends of the Hidden Temple”); there are “puzzles” you have to solve but it’s not logic, it’s references, humor, brawn, compassion, puns; O!Len cracks a joke and Mick says it out loud Some overarching minotaur threat Episode where Stein keeps trying to use logic and fails, needs to rely on others, especially Mick Eobard tries to go through walls and pays a penalty for cheating – it’s Jumanji questions is "please name the secret identity of batman" and the answer is "I don't know, nobody knows that!" possibly Lily is in danger? At least, Stein thinks she is; he needs to be scared about the fact that his intelligence isn't going to save her – this can follow up on episode where he doesn’t reveal she’s an aberration thereby getting her angry at him; she refuses to forgive him until she sees him really stressing out about her, he gets advice from emotionally mature person about how to apologize in a way she understands he means it

Filler episode filler episode/Jax's 21st birthday? that particular one doesn't have to be an aberration they go to celebrate Jax's birthday and cause chaos maybe a filler episode that has the legion fighting v the team bonding  shows off the differences between the groups Legion starts sniping about brainwashing to each other

Spear Idea: but the idea is that the spear essentially immunizes the bearer from the effects of time travel this would explain why Nate noticed his thesis going wrong but to expand on the idea a /time traveler/ with the spear would be able to "fix" time aberrations into place, making them more difficult to fix by other time travelers explaining, presumably, why the death of Jesus Christ is another "fixed" moment thus the "change" in reality idea that's why they can 'change' Eobard's reality later on and also why it would bring Oculus!Len back from the dead he's 'fixing' his own aberration Len becomes Schrodinger's cat. He is both alive and dead which only works with something immune to time or the “reality change” can be Rip getting another thing wrong

[saveexchange-blog]

Giving Back

Callum McAllister

Max and the mouth piano. 

The first gig I remember going to at The Exchange was the Deadpunk Bank Holiday Special in 2014, as I was coming to the end of my first year at university in Cardiff. I grew up in the countryside near Bristol, and while I enjoyed living in Cardiff, Bristol’s music scene was beginning to pull me home. After an emotional day seeing The Front Bottoms for the first time, gigs started to bring me back to Bristol a handful of times every month, lending a dull familiarity to drunk late night trains and that maudlin post-gig feeling. The Deadpunk Special in particular — and I’m not the first to say this — was too much of a pull to ignore. Every year it fell exactly between my deadlines. My English Literature deadlines fell on the Friday of the bank holiday, the Saturday was the show, and the following bank holiday Monday were my philosophy deadlines. A more sensible student wouldn’t have gone for a full 12 hours of train rides, punk music and binge drinking. But, I went every year without fail until the final Deadpunk Special.

During my time in university I went to gigs at venues in Cardiff — places like Gwdihw and The Moon/The Full Moon and Clwb Ifor Bach, as well as DIY Cardiff’s yearly all-dayer “Da Iawn Fest” — but in Bristol my commitment to The Exchange became almost religious. And it isn’t an undeserving or an illogical commitment. Gigs at The Exchange were the first time I saw bands like ONSIND, Martha, Great Cynics, Pup, WOAHNOWS, Petal, Bangers, Shit Present, Caves, Doe, Fairweather Band, Petrol Girls, Tigers Jaw, Foxing, Austeros, Honeypot and Probably Not and more recently bands like AJJ, The Hard Aches, Camp Cope and countless others — so many artists that I came to gigs not intending to see but surely discovered and fell in love with. And although going to gigs at The Exchange encouraged me to start listening to music in a particular scene, it has never been about conformity — having to act a certain way or dress a certain way or listen to certain things in order to fit in. It’s the kind of place that, I think, discourages strong divisions between bands and genres and is all about fostering great music. I was not the kind of person who grew up addicted to his headphones. It wasn’t until later in life that I began to engage with music in a deeper and more fundamental sense, and The Exchange was an indispensable part of that awakening. Around the same time, I was beginning to start a band with two friends from school — in large part inspired by the sense of a thriving creative community we’d begin to glimpse at The Exchange. We began meeting up in Dom’s living room and playing some quite awful cover songs and some pretty ill-formed originals. It was a weird setup. I played acoustic guitar and Max, a guitar player by trade, played bass very badly. For certain songs we swapped and I played bass where he played guitar. We took it in turns singing. In one memorable cover of Cage the Elephant’s “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” Dom played drums and bass guitar at the same time. Our equipment sucked and we sucked pretty badly, too — but it was a lot of fun. A year later we were trying to write an original set of songs for a friend’s festival, Inglefest, inspired mostly by the bands we’d been going to at The Exchange at the time. More than once me and Max had talked about how, maybe in 5 years, if we were extremely lucky, we could play The Exchange, and then we could die happy — that was when we’d have properly made it. Not just as a band, but in life. It was a pipe dream in the truest sense, for us. The band that became Toodles eventually played our first “real” show in Bristol a few years ago and our friend Will messaged The Exchange’s email address to invite them to the show and Iwan Best decided to come along to our little gig in a tiny venue called The Hatter. At almost zero notice, to a band no one had ever heard before, a guy leading a life where he worked at a venue and listened to bands every night of the week, he decided “what the hell” and came along anyway. He was perhaps the kindest, friendliest, most genuine person we’d ever met and his generosity — and the generosity of everyone we’ve met since — has been the thing that’s kept us going. We were not a good band. I’d argue we’re still not a great band. But at the time, we were young, enthusiastic musicians with a passion for live music — and that’s all that we needed to be in the good books of people like Iwan, and later the majority of our friends. He wanted to put on shows and go to shows and we wanted to play them. That’s the sort of community The Exchange nurtures. Without it, we wouldn’t be a band right now. That’s no great loss to the world of music, but we’re not the only ones. Without venues that nurture young bands, there is no scene. The encouragement and kindness of the people who work at The Exchange and contribute to it, led inevitably to Max’s band Little Baby Sharks. It led to an EP that we recorded in the studio underneath The Exchange, mixed and engineered by a talented friend we met there. It’s also kept us going through hard times. The Exchange employs Max (God knows why) and at times when I’ve been in financial difficulties, have given me the odd shift. They support our band, launched our first record, and have always found the space to put us on the bill and in their words and deeds have always made us feel welcome.  This is one example. It’s not great loss to the world if our band didn’t exist, but communities like the community that exists around The Exchange create and nurture dozens of young musicians and other creatives and without that support network, it wouldn’t be happening. It’s given us so much, which is why I’ve decided to give back. As you may be aware, The Exchange is currently going through a transition to community ownership in order to secure its future. Venues all over the UK are under constant threat of closure, and we don’t want that to be on the cards for spaces this important to Bristol’s scene. You can find out more information about buying shares or making a one off donation below. The share offer ends on the 31st. I’ll be buying my share shortly before then. The Exchange has given me far more than I have given to it, in terms of support, community, friendship, creating a safe and welcoming space — in its ethical and community-focused approach. And it’s time that I should give back.

[audiofixationnews]

#OverloadMondays: Hip Hop Council Announced + Comebacks + New Music

Here’s some overload for your Monday blues. Check out what went down this past week, March 5th-11th.

Singles

Joey Bada$$ had a great 2017 and continues to kill 2018. With an album on the way, the Brooklyn rapper dropped a new freestyle “King of The Jungle” to salute Notorious B.I.G. who’s anniversary just passed. Filled with some top-notch bars, listen to the two-minute freestyle above.

As it’s a new week, R-Mean keeps #MeanMondays going with “Makaveli,” Chris Rivers continues on with his #BarzdayWednesday with “New Frieza,” GodBodyWati releases his third #WatiWednesdays banger with “Forgive Me,” and Don Q drops fire on his #DonTalkWednesdays with “King’s Dead.”

Forever M.C. keeps the music coming. From “Terminally Ill” and “King Kong,” to now their latest banger “Piranhas.”

We’ve heard new music from Bishop Nehru x Lion Babe x Kaytranada, MadeinTYO x Harry Fraud, and Deshun.

Fetty Was takes his turn on SZA’s “The Weekend” with his latest joint “The Presidential Suite."

More artists delivered new music such as Buddy x A$AP, Sango x Smino, KYLE, Murs x Fashawn x Prof., and Lucki.

Anderson .Paak returns with a new single this week. While we wait for an actually project from the man, listen to “’Til It’s Over” via Apple Music.

Gearing up for the release of his fourth album on March 16th, take a listen to Bun B’s first single, “Knowwhatimsayin.”

MED and Guilty Simpson have linked together for a collab project. They have released the project’s first single, “Face Down,” which was produced by Black Milk.

Let’s not forget the new music from King Louie, Sir Michael Rocks, and GASHI.

 Visuals

Hip Hop journalist, and now rising MC, Rob Markman has released a visual treatment to “Believe Me” which followed up to the letter to his teenage self that he posted via Instagram. A HHNH premiere, Rob shares with them the inspiration behind the song, working with his son, and future plans.

"So at the end of the year I decided to write my 15-year-old self a letter and post it on Instagram. When I did that, I knew I wanted to write a song with that same inspiration. That’s how “Believe Me” was born. It’s really a dope exercise for anyone; with all that you’ve learned in life what would you tell your 15-year-old self?”

With his son playing his younger self, watch above as Rob Markman brings the letter to life and just let it inspire your soul. 

Taylor Bennett, Phora, Trae Tha Truth, and Skippa Da Flippa x Sauce Walka were just some artists we’ve gotten new visuals from.

Check out Big K.R.I.T.’s Tiny Desk concert at the NPR offices.

This past week marked the anniversary of Notorious B.I.G’s death (March 9th). As we spent the day reminiscing and blasting his classics, New York rapper Stro dropped a freestyle over Biggie’s “Steal & Rob.” As his style is often compared to that of the ‘90s MCs, the freestyle is a perfect tribute. Watch as Stro pays his respect.

We’ve also gotten new videos from Rich The Kid, Kooly High, Blac Youngsta and Safaree, which features a cameo from Charlamagne Tha God.

Off their upcoming PRhyme 2, PRhyme have dropped another single. Stream “Flirt” featuring 2 Chainz, via Spotify or Apple.

And then Raz Simone, YFN Lucci x Skeet Blak, Kid Ink, and Chris Brown also dropped new visuals.

Fresh off dropping Stabbed and Shot with .38 Spesh, Benny the Butcher has released a visual treatment for his new solo joint, “Man Of The Kitchen.”

Shortly after dropping his sophomore album, Memories Don’t Die, Tory Lanez drops a visual treatment for the Future-assisted track “Real Thing.”

Let’s not forget the new visual treatments from Khary, Curren$y, Backwood Jones x Shawnna, and Tobi Lou x Smino. 

Projects

Apple | TIDAL | Spotify | YouTube 

At the end of his last album, Everybody, it was implied that Logic would be releasing one more album and it would be his last. He went on to confirm the implication was true. Well, now it looks like he’s giving closure to his older projects before he makes his big exit. Last year, Logic did promise he would be releasing a follow up to his 2016 Bobby Tarantino. Coming in at 13-tracks strong, Bobby Tarantino II features the likes of 2 Chainz, Big Sean, Wiz Khalifa, Young Sinatra - pick your poison above.

March starting to look a lot like February with these releases now, sheesh. DJ Premier and Royce 5’9” - that’s PRhyme to you - deliver PRHYME 2 a week early. While it’s not exactly released, NPR has released the album to be streamed in its entirety. It will still be released to everywhere on March 16th. Serving as their collaborative debut album, the 15-track album features the likes of Big K.R.I.T., Chavis Chandler, 2 Chainz, Dave East and plenty more. Listen to it via NPR.

Arin Ray dropped Platinum Fire this week. Serving as his debut album, the Cincinnati singer first came on the scene back in 2012 on The X-Factor which led him to work with big names like Chris Brown, Nicki Minaj, John Legend and more. The 14-track album features the likes of Ty Dolla $ign, DRAM, SiR, Terrace Martin, and Childish Major. Definitely worth a listen, so pick your poison: Apple, TIDAL, Spotify, SoundCloud.

Killy makes his debut with Surrender Your Soul. The 11-track tape has production from the likes of 1mind, Y2K, and Wondagurl, the Toronto rapper has a unique energy to which he puts his all into his new project. Surrender Your Soul premiered on The FADER, and can be streamed via Apple, Spotify, and SoundCloud.

Page Kennedy delivered Straight Bars 2, as a follow up to his Straight Bars he dropped in August. Kennedy drops some serious heat over instrumentals from Jay-Z, Kanye, The Lox, Mobb Deep and plenty more. Take a listen via SoundCloud.

YFN Lucci dropped Ray Ray From Summerhill. Extensive yet a great listen, the 20-track features the likes of Meek Mill, Dreezy, T.I. and more. It’s a raw project that gives you an inside glimpse into YFN Lucci’s world. Pick your poison: Apple, TIDAL or Spotify.

Don Mykel released his 5-track EP 2ERO PATI3NCE. The Harlem rapper has been quiet since his last EP drop in September, but now he’s back. Recruiting production from the Dunk Rock, Mike Kuz, the 25th Hour, and Scott Farlee, stream 2ERO PATI3NCE via Apple Music.

Toronto singer Anders released his sophomore project, Twos, this week. The tape followed that of his 669 debut he dropped last year. The 8-track EP features production from the likes of LUCA (who’s a regular collaborator), FrancisGotHeat, Business Boi, and many more. Take a listen via SoundCloud. 

03 Greedo has finally dropped his debut project under Alamo Records, titled The Wolf of Trap Street. The 21-track tape features the likes of Yhung T.O, PnB Rock, OMB Peezy, and more. Pick your poison and take a listen: Apple, TIDAL, Spotify. 

Lil Yase delivers Winner’s Circle earlier than its set release date. Featuring the likes of Drakeo The Ruler, Lil Pete, J. Stalin, Mont and more. Stream via Apple Music.

Brain Fresco dropped his latest project, Love Scars. The 15-track project features the likes of KAMI, Chance the Rapper, Twista, Vic Mensa, and several more. Love Scars deserves a spin, as Brain Fresco is consistent and beyond talented - pick your poison: Apple + Spotify.

Here’s a project I missed last week: Blu has stepped out of the booth and behind the boards on his newest project The DS Dumb Style. Blu recruited the likes of Homebody Sandman, Nova, Blame One, ScienZe, and more for his tape. Check it out via BandCamp.

We also got projects from Jeremih and Lil Yachty. 

Coming soon...

Keri Wilson has announced that she is gearing up to make a comeback in eight years. She teamed up with IfOnly to launch an auction that will allow fans to bid on a chance to get a tour of her studio and listen to her untitled third studio album. Starting off at $2500, the money will be going towards the Keri Hilson Foundation that benefits women and children through education, arts, health and fitness.

Drake announced during a Toronto Raptors versus Houston Rockets game that he is working on a new album for Toronto: “I love each and every one of you, I’m happy to be home. I’m working on this new album for the city.” Since last year, he concluded his More Life with “I’ll be back 2018 to give you the summary.” Looks like he’s a man of his word. We shall see.

MED and Guilty Simpson have teamed up on a new collab project, Loyalty. Set to release March 16th, scroll up to hear the project’s first single. Coming in at 10 tracks, and only two features from Blu and J. Mitchell, pre-order Loyalty via iTunes.

Also set to release this Friday, March 16th: Curren$y, Back at Burnies; Bishop Nehru, Elevators: Act I & II; Jacquees, This Time I’m Serious; MURS, A Strange Journey Into the Unimaginable; PRhyme, PRHYME 2; Saweetie, High Maintenance; Rich Homie Quan, Rich As In Spirit.

After releasing the first visual offering (above) from his upcoming debut, Khary is gearing up for his new and first album, Captain, which is set to release April 6th.

With the recent reveal of the official tracklist for Rich The Kid’s upcoming The World Is Yours. With features from Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, Khalid, Rick Ross, Bryson Tiller, and more, Rick followed up to say that the tracklist was incomplete and it was missing features from Kanye West, Frank Ocean and Migos. The World Is Yours is set to release March 23rd.

Back in August, SZA hinted that there existed a deluxe edition of her debut Ctrl. Now she has confirmed via Twitter that there are actually six bonus tracks that could be added to make this deluxe edition.

Check This

The OG legends, Eric B and Rakim, are planning to be in a city near you! What started off as a simply tweet, “it’s time to show you,” they have announced that they will be going on tour. Kicking off in Boston on April 8th, Eric B and Rakim will close out their 18-date tour in San Francisco on May 3rd. Check the tour dates here and stay plugged for more updates. 

While we’re on the old school tip, let’s talk about Q-Tip! The Tribe member has now been appointed lead advisor of the John F. Kennedy Center’s Hip Hop Culture Council, to which he says “reflects the creative, social, and intellectual wealth of the Hip Hop community.”

“The members are the embodiment of what we stand for and all that we aspire to achieve with the Hip Hop Culture program” - Q-Tip 

The council members include legendary Hip Hop contributors like Questlove, Common, Grant Hill, LL Cool J, Bobbito Garcia, Black Thought, 9th Wonder, and several more. It is said that starting in the Spring, these members will be able to “create, experiment, develop, and produce work at the Center.” Check out more information, and the rest of the council members over at Medium.com

In honor of Phife Dawg, the Billionaire Boys Club teamed up with A Tribe Called Quest and Sony Music to create a special collected called The Space Program capsule. The collaborative capsule will include a collection of products and accessories from shirts, hats, hoodies, and more. Also going in is a hoodie with the words “FOR MALIK” in honor of Phife. The Space Program capsule collection drops this Tuesday (March 13th) at the BBC flagship store, webstore and Tribe’s website as well.

Genius has began a new weekly talk show, For The Record, that’s hosted by Rob Markman. First up, Genius has Lil Yatchy over to discuss his latest release, Lil Boat 2, and more. Check it out. 

Only six weeks after releasing their sophomore album, Migos have officially earned their second Platinum record. What took Culture five months, Culture II has now gone platinum in less than six weeks with its single “Stir Fry” as the NBA All Star Weekend’s official song.

Post Malone has earned himself a huge feat as well. His “Psycho” single, featuring Ty Dolla $ign, debuted No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

The 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards took place last night and many great things happened. From Eminem and Kehlani performing together, to Cardi announcing her debut album will finally be arriving in April (let’s hope), to Chance The Rapper being honored with the Innovator Award. Check out XXL’s list of winners. 

Stay Plugged

That sums up this past week in Hip Hop. Come back next week for more.

[sueboohscorner]

#Lucifer S2 Ep 17 "Sympathy For The Goddess" Recap & Review

This week on FOX's Lucifer, relationships are exposed and punishment is doled out, but is it all worth it or are innocent humans being punished for bad angel behavior?  

Thought this one might please the SPN and Lucifer fans out there.  

 Lucifer and Amenadiel sit, stealthily, watching as Lilith meets with Zeke, a shady looking client of hers at an outdoor table at a bar. Lilith is trying to get the third piece to the sword of light. She appears to believe that a local crime syndicate has it. Lilith offers the man a briefcase full of money before he presents her with the item she has asked for. He, of course, walks off with the money. As Lucifer, Amenadiel, and Lilith follow him back into the back room of the bar, they realize that something isn’t right. Lilith’s client has been murdered, and a cell phone has been left at the scene of the crime. Lucifer and family now need Det. Decker’s assistance.

 As Lucifer sits in Det. Decker’s office, bugging her, Charlotte Richards/Lilith walks in and asks her for assistance with a client of hers who is having a problem. Of course, Det. Decker says no, so Lucifer coaches Lilith via pantomime as to what to say to Det. Decker to get her to accompany her to her client’s bar to “discover” the body. When they do, they discover that Bianca Ruiz might’ve been behind the killing. Bianca Ruiz is an illegal importer/exporter hiding behind her high end tequila business. It appears that whoever killed Charlotte/Lilith’s client, Zeke, might’ve gotten whatever was in his safe. The gunman who shot Zeke was inexpert and the cell phone which was left behind has an identifiable lock screen on it. Lucifer and company argue over whether said lock screen depicts breasts or, as Lucifer suggests, a woman’s perfectly freckled rump. Clearly, this is not the mark of a cold-blooded professional killer. The team agrees that it is definitely a pair of butt/boob/eyes.

Lucifer walks into Dr. Linda’s office, complaining about his life and how he’s been sidelined by his Mother and the Detective only to find Maze behind the Doctor’s desk. Maze tells Linda what a bad friend Lucifer has been. Meanwhile at the station, Dan and Amenadiel do some bro-bonding. They go out for a friendly lunch and get to know each other. While they’re doing that, Charlotte/Lilith and Chloe attend the Ruiz tequila party. While Charlotte assumes Chloe will show up in an outfit straight from her floor, Chloe impresses in a gorgeous black dress and sexy boots with beautiful straight hair and gorgeous makeup. Charlotte/Lilith suggests that Chloe seduce Chet (the rapper kid) and Chloe refuses. The two wonder why Mrs. Ruiz brought her son to a tequila party when he had just killed someone. Charlotte/Lilith surmises that Mrs. Ruiz doesn’t know and immediately tells her that her son is under suspicion for Zeke’s murder.

Maze drags Lucifer to meet with the chairman of the board who has threatened to take Dr. Linda’s medical license away due to the fact that she helped Lucifer and God Johnson escape the mental institution. Lucifer blunders by admitting to having had sex with Dr. Linda, making the case against her that much worse. Of course, Maze drags Lucifer out of the office at that point. Back at the party, Mrs. Ruiz talks to her son about what Charlotte told her. Chet killed Zeke in order to become an employee of his Mom’s and instead, he quite badly screws things up, admitting that after he killed Zeke, he dropped his phone. Det. Decker listens into this exchange and Mrs. Ruiz catches her. Whoops…

Det. Dan and Amenadiel get to know each other over lunch and a couple of beers and Dan admits that he went to improv class in order to step outside of his comfort zone and stop defining himself by other people. Amenadiel admits that Lucifer is the one constant by whom he defines himself, confiding in Dan that the two competed over everything. Dan asks if the two brothers are competing over Charlotte. Amenadiel tells him no—at least not in the way he might think, and that if they were competing, Amenadiel feels that he has lost. Dan admits that he likes Amenadiel. Meanwhile, Chloe acts as if she’s at the tequila party because she’s one of Chet’s fans. His Mom doesn’t believe her because his music doesn’t sell, but drops her suspicions when Chloe bursts into a spontaneous rendition of one of Chet’s songs. Thankfully, she caught a snippet of one of them earlier, during the investigation. Phew! The bodyguards escort Chloe out of the party and Charlotte stays. After being escorted out, Det. Decker calls Det. Dan to let him know that the phone may be much more important than they originally thought.

As they walk out of the chairman of the review board’s office, Lucifer says something callous and Maze proceeds to beat him up. Lucifer becomes upset when Maze compares Lucifer to his parents and the two have a very public fight that, somehow, no one walking by seems to care about. Maze admits that she is upset that Lucifer and Amenadiel were going to leave her to go to heaven. Lucifer tells her that he plans on going to heaven only for long enough to slam the door on his Mother and Father, once they get there, and Maze works out that Lucifer only needed her to appear angry so that he could more easily sell his story. Rather than being happy, she feels even worse knowing that and is very hurt.

 Back at the station, the teams hits a roadblock when Ella tells Det.’s Decker and Espinoza that the phone’s code is going to take a while to crack. Dr. Linda Martin worries that Lucifer and Maze have killed the chairman when they come into her office bloody and bruised. Dr. Linda tells Lucifer what for and scold him for being such a poor friend to Maze. Dr. Linda is clearly on her last nerve and Lucifer is working it. Lucifer apologizes to Maze and Dr. Linda leaves. Maze promises her on her way out that she will take care of the situation with the review board.

An important moment for Maze and Lucifer

Bianca Ruiz comes into Charlotte’s office at the end of the day to tell her she’s learned what Zeke is smuggling for Charlotte/Lilith. She tells her she is going to hide her cargo if she doesn’t give Bianca her son’s phone. Charlotte of course does her best to get it at the station. Ella tries to hug Charlotte and tells her she is a good person. Wow. Then she threatens to have someone break Charlotte’s legs if she ever hurts Dan again and she leaves Charlotte with the phone. Chloe finds her and tells her to start talking. Some time later, Chloe appears at Lucifer’s penthouse to let him know that Charlotte has told Chloe that she’s Lucifer’s Father’s ex…which is actually true.

One thing we all love about Ella is that she wears her heart on her sleeve. This show will benefit greatly from this new character's presence. 

 Charlotte shows up at Bianca’s office with the phone, but she’s wearing a wire to which Lucifer and Chloe are listening on the other end. Charlotte spills her drink on the wire. Chloe determines Charlotte is up to something and takes the team into arrest Bianca. Bianca has given Charlotte a safety deposit box key. Chloe searches Charlotte/Lilith and doesn’t find anything on her. She has given the key to Lucifer. Lucifer finds a book in the safety deposit box. The only person who can read the book, which is in ancient Sumerian to Lucifer, who can understand and speak all languages. Of course, Amenadiel is the only one who can read the book. The brothers decide that Lilith is hiding something. Maze confronts the chairman in his office. The door closes behind them.

 Back at the station, Chloe confides in Dan that Charlotte is Lucifer’s “Stepmom” and tells him that there is something about her she doesn’t trust, razzing him about being Lucifer’s soon-to-be “kinda like Dad.” Charlotte/Lilith meets with Bianca’s son who has said there was more in the shipment. He shows her a knife and of course stabs her with it. Rather than dying, Lilith removes the knife and light shines out of her and burns the kid to death. Apparently Lilith’s powers are returning. Back at the penthouse, the boys wait while Amenadiel reads the book. There is a key that binds the sword and the belt buckle together. God has entrusted the key to his favorite son. Amenadiel becomes angry, thinking that Lucifer is the one with the key. Amenadiel’s necklace comes off of his neck when he holds the sword. The key was entrusted to Amenadiel. The missing piece of the sword has been found.

In a glimpse of the season finale, we see Dr. Linda apparently dying and Amenadiel telling Lilith she will have to kill him if she wants the sword. Tune in for the conclusion to this dramatic storyline Monday, May 29th, 2017 on the season finale of FOX's "Lucifer."  

 This writer's thoughts on the episode:  

 Clearly, the writers on FOX's Lucifer have outdone themselves. So far, Lucifer seems to be more meandering, off-plot standalone with character-driven dialogue and lots of plot points left twisting in the wind. The dialogue is witty, and the plot could write itself. Fans are certainly looking forward to a wrap-up of some of the more dramatic plot points during this season's finale episode. Keeping the plot tight and weaving in the standalone episodes a bit more could certainly be accomplished via editing. That said, many shows hit a few speed bumps during their second season's while trying to iron out their identity issues. We're all looking forward to seeing how Lucifer progresses as it hits its stride!