#leave it to good kid to bring me another banger to calm me down during this stressful humid summer

[microbihon]

Stuck beneath the spinning glow of a familiar hue Struck by your impression like all of those next to you~

[genesisrose74]

Christmas With the Karasuno Boys (HC’s)!!

Part 2: Kageyama, Hinata, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Kinoshita, & Narita

Part 1 (Daichi, Suga, Asahi, Nishinoya, Tanaka, & Ennoshita) here!

A/n: Tumblr said my word count was too much so I’m splitting this bad boi up into two parts :p Enjoy!!

*****

Kageyama

This boy has a secret soft side for Christmas istg

He HATES showing it to other people on his team and shit

But holy bejeezus he is mesmerized by the holiday in every way possible

Lights, sweets, snow, just like,,, the general magic of December is the most awe-inspiring thing to him

Since he is still a sporty and pretty active mofo, you decided to fuel that on your holiday-themed date as Kags had noted that he’d never gone sledding before

Your jaw was on the FLOOR when he first told you because he would 10000% enjoy the hell out of it

And so you dragged him out to this popular sledding hill that you frequented as a child and taught him what to do

Not gonna lie, he was kind of nervous

“Well you’re experienced at it. I don’t wanna mess up”

🥺🥺🥺 bubby

“You won’t, Tobio! I can already tell you’re gonna be a sledding pro”

Feels a little better after that, but he asks you to help him out for his first run down the hill

He sits behind you with his arms secured snugly around your waist and his head nestled on top of your shoulder

Which would probably seem really funny to passerby because this boy is tol and intimidating in most other situations

As soon as the sled started down, Kags tightened his grip and made this cute little yelp of surprise

But you were laughing insanely hard at the combination of going really fast downhill whilst also having your boyfriend cling to you for dear life

And then when the sled stopped safely at the bottom he started to chuckle

FULL ON, GENUINE SOUND OF ENJOYMENT

That shit is rare

Y’all stayed at that hill for half the day because it was so fun

You got him a new, very high quality athletic roller for Christmas because his old one was just not cutting it anymore

And you also gave him this really cute bracelet with a volleyball, his jersey number, and a little strawberry milk set of charms attached to it

It matched this really pretty and subtle chain he’d bought for your birthday

His blueberry eyes got all wide with affection dfjdskfjsdk—

Got super blushy and couldn’t get a handle on his speech for a fat minute

He thinks you’re the coolest person ever no I do not take criticism

Geez you’re both adorable together, ideal “stoic boy becomes warmer during the holidays around his love” movie plot and I love it

Hinata

He is all in on Christmas. Not a chance this boy doesn’t get excited as hell

Will openly go into holiday mode as soon as November is over

Was secretly already listening to his Christmas playlist before then

He is one of the sweetest gift givers, that is FACTUAL

If you want something really badly, he will take notice and get it as your present immediately

He’ll also gift you an extra thing that’s handmade 🥺

Like some pastries that his mom helped him make, or a specially made basket of soaps with your favorite scents in it

It’s absolutely adorable and you cherish those ones especially

Is happy if you simply get him something; mans doesn’t care what it is

New practice volleyball? A brand new sweatshirt? Elated either way

You had seen an advertisement for a friendly match between Japan and Poland’s men’s volleyball teams, so you waited online on the ticket sales website until the minute it opened

Spoiler alert: you got some banger seats 😌✨

Shoyo may or may not have tackled you when he read the ticket details, letting out his excited giggle (you know the one)

“I can’t believe you got these, angel! You’re coming with me, right? You’ve gotta! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Gives you sweet little kisses between each individual ‘thank you’

“Of course I’ll go with you, Sho! I’m really glad you like it!”

He will give you the brightest smile of all time — that shit makes Christmas lights pale in comparison

“Have I told you how much I love you?”

RIGHT BACK AT YOU BBY

Hold his hands to warm up together when temperatures drop pls :)))

It’s become a weekly December tradition to watch a Christmas movie with Natsu at the Hinata household

She’ll sit in your lap while the three of you are cuddled under a blanket together, and Shoyo will lace his fingers with yours all discreetly

In conclusion, I am a sucker for holiday Hinata 🥺🥺🥺

Tsukishima

His room is decorated to the very minimum simply because his mom and brother had insisted on him being festive

You know those holiday instrumentals that are really calming and jazzy and stuff? Yeah, that’s the only Christmas music he will tolerate in his house

While he’s still got his usual icy demeanor, this blond bitch does get slightly less snippy with the Karasuno boys

Is always on the nose with getting you the exact thing you wanted for a present

Like,,, TO THE SMALLEST DETAIL

You don’t even have to bring that shit up beforehand, he just KNOWS

“Tsukki, how did you—?”

“It’s pretty obvious, with the way that one ad kept showing up on your phone.”

b r u h

How does he pay such good attention without even letting on??

As for his own present, you’ll usually get him two: one gag gift and one more serious gift

His dino plush collection size is partly due to the former’s contributions this time of year

Yes the dinos have names

You exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve with all the team (you made him go) and he saved your more serious one for last

It was a scarf that you’d gotten custom made, which had a Spotify code knitted into the fabric

Scanning the code opened the app to a playlist you’d created especially for him

He got pretty quiet when figuring it out and scrolling through the playlist

Would let out a certified Tsukki Nose Exhale™ when he came across certain songs

The more subdued reaction was expected because it’s Tsukishima

His little chuckles and warmer eyes were enough of a giveaway to tell you he very much enjoyed your gift

But on the walk home, he took the scarf and wrapped it around you both, and then brought his arm around your waist

“Thank you.”

You deadass almost combusted because it was so unexpected??

“You’re welcome. Merry Christmas, Kei”

Way to respond calm and collected 😌👍

But on the inside your body was in freak out mode

He wears the scarf all the time jdfsklfjdsk

Yamaguchi

Take the most tooth rotting fluff you could imagine

And then double that and put a fucking cherry on top

That’s the equivalent of what Christmas is like with Yama Yama

Y’all are like kids in a candy store — literally

For your Christmas dates it’s all about sweets and shared giggles, so frequent trips to the candy and baking isles of the grocery store is a must

Making gingerbread houses, peppermint tasting (mostly trying those different and wild ass candy cane flavors), you name it and it’s there

Stomach aches? I don’t know her

Yeah you do but they go away with enough butterfly kisses 🥰

Tadashi is exceptionally good at decorating gingerbread houses for whatever reason

He put a poll on his instagram between yours and his final products and he won by a landslide

It’s not like yours was necessarily bad, more like he’s just an icing master

You also might have eaten too many gumdrops which left your rooftop lacking in ✨spice✨

But it’s okay because Tadashi donated some of his leftovers to you

He’s such a sweetheart uwu

Please for the love of everything get him something heartfelt as his present

You know those long distance bracelets for couples?

Basically if your s/o taps the icon on the bracelet it’ll send a little vibration to the other person’s as a notice that you’re thinking about them

This boy seeks constant reassurance, and you love to give him his deserved love and validation, so it was the perfect present

It takes a second for him to figure out what it is, but after reading the directions and testing it out, the most adorable smile erupted on his face

And then since you already had yours on, he tapped the little icon again with a giggle

“Hey there”

It becomes common habit to tap it at least once every couple hours

GOD HE IS SO CUTE

He is just so soft this time of year, give him all the love and he will return it tenfold ☺️

Kinoshita

This boy is absolutely an awkward cutie and an avid romantic

Give him the cliches and he will eat em up, no doubt

It naturally gets more apparent around the holidays

He’ll take you on pretty winter walks, give you lots of little gifts (while blushing a hell of a lot), and is just a professional at stumbling upon some mistletoe

Wow wonder how it got there, Hisashi

He’s quite a bit more confident when simply alone with you than in a crowded space

And that definitely shows when he takes you out on a secluded sleigh ride around town

Yeah you heard me

A fuckin’ sleigh ride

Horses and blankets and everything

Don’t even ask how he managed to pull it off, because he loves watching the cogs turn in your head and simply will not give you a straight answer

Of course there’s the nice driver guy who’s there, but in the back alone Kinoshita’s confidence goes 📈📈

Lots of flirting, tons of skimmed touches and shared giggles throughout the ride

I legitimately simp really hard for him

Anyways it was a gorgeous ride through town and super fun

On Christmas Eve you both exchange gifts together and tbh whatever you got him will leave him happy and flustered regardless

But when he opens the wrapping paper to find an entire set of vintage VHS tapes, he’s stunned

He owns a VHS (actually canon!) and honestly loves it to death, and the fact that you’d get him tapes of pretty high quality for his collection meant a lot

Gosh he’s so underrated but a definite sweetheart, give him all the holiday love

Narita

Another underrated bby 🥺

He’s so chill and is pretty open to anything during the holidays, so long as he gets to spend ample time with you, his friends, and his family

Definitely more of an indoor person despite being accepting of most situations

Hence why you thought a cute little indoor winter picnic would be right up his alley

Which it absolutely was 😌✨ nice work

You’d made plans while in secret communications with his family members about the whole thing

He’d been pretty stressed lately with trying to handle his schoolwork, while also helping out others with theirs

Despite being a wonderful tutor, it was clearly becoming a bit overwhelming as he tried to grapple with so much at once

So when he came home one day to find a pristine house with you settled on a blanket in his living room, he was quite surprised

There’s a cheese plate, soda cans in a cute ice box, sandwiches, snacks, a presparked fireplace — you and his family went all out

Really adorable I cannot lie

“I thought you said you were going gift shopping today?”

“I might have maybe lied :P”

So he gives the sweetest little smile and sits across from you

Y’all stay there and talk for hours

After finally getting through everything previously laid out on the blanket spread, you slid him a little rectangular box that he looked at curiously

“Already? I haven’t wrapped yours yet!”

“Mine can wait a bit! Just open yours”

And so he does, and you watch with a face-splitting grin as he looks down in awe

You got tickets to see his favorite rock band in concert while they were on tour

He sprung onto you and pulled you into the tightest hug ever

“Holy shit you’re the best I love you so much how do you get even more loveable every day—!?!l”

It’s a jumble of words but you’re able to put it together and it makes you giggle

He deadass sprints upstairs to go get your gift and make sure that you feel as equally appreciated as he does

In simple words: wholesome holiday sweetness 🥰

[jaycross666]

The true power players thrive behind the scenes. For Mez, who recently dropped the lofty King title from his moniker, the studio is where the depth of his talent reveals itself. A dominant lyricist, whom you may very well have met on Dr. Dre's Compton album, Mez has proven himself a valuable asset in any given studio session. His resume speaks for itself, having contributed to the aforementioned Dre album, Kanye West's The Life Of Pablo, and most recently the J. Cole quarterbacked Revenge Of The Dreamers 3 sessions.

I first met Mez when I was writing a cover story on J.I.D and EarthGang, which happened to taking place during the Dreamers 3 session. Mez was, as you might expect him to be, in the booth. It's no wonder he ultimately found himself on two of the project's standout tracks, including the raucous posse cut "Costa Rica." A calm, confident, and kind conversationalist, I had the pleasure of speaking with Mez on the phone after the release of the Dreamville compilation. A lyricist with an impressive hip-hop pedigree, Mez opened up about his history working with legends, his own upcoming work, and following his creative impulses no matter the end.

HNHH: Hey, how you doing Mez?

Mez: What’s up G. How you doing?

Not too bad. It’s good to talk to you. Thanks for doing this.

It’s all love, I'm not trippin'. Thank you for having me, man. 

Congratulations on the Dreamville’s album. That must’ve been a great moment.

Oh man, huge. I’m always thankful to be a part of anything they got going on. It's funny cause the art is one thing but the experience, the type of people they are and the way they make you feel when you're around them is another thing. For both of those parts of the experience to be high level is something you really want to be apart of. 

I can imagine. I was only there for two days as an observer and it was still such an experience. It was something to behold. So many artists. So much collaboration. So much creativity.  

I feel like you saw me record one of my verses!

I did actually! When I first walked into the studio you were laying down vocals for a track with Ari. I don’t think the track ultimately made the final cut but it was a dope experience to witness. That studio seemed to constantly be a source of so much good music. 

It’s so crazy. Even the songs that didn’t make it. There are songs that didn’t make it that dudes will probably end up using on their own projects that are great songs. And shit, the inspiration. If you didn’t get any songs out of it, you got inspired for the rest of the year. I know that I’m definitely different after that. 

It seems like you’re always in the studio, working nonstop. What have you been working on this past while? 

From when to when?

Most recently. When you were last in the studio, what were you putting in work on?

I've been working on my EP. The EP is pretty much wrapped and my album is very close as well. I’m putting finishing touches on those right now. When I’m in the studio on my own that’s what I’ve been on lately. Every now and then, I get in with some other people from Revenge. I made some relationships. Certain people I’ve known. Buddy, I’ve known since I moved to L.A. I’ve known him for like five years. I got a song on my album with T.I. and Buddy on it from like three years ago that’s not out yet. I’m always working with different people but as of late I find myself collaborating with the people that were at camp. 

Is there anybody in particular who you clicked with creatively? I’m sure there were a lot of musical partnerships that formed at those sessions. Did you connect with anyone you didn’t expect?

Yeah. Kyle Banks, the producer. Me and him have a real musical relationship now. There’s not a lot of people I can say that about since I’m such a picky dude. A lot of the dudes from Dreamville I’ve known for years so that’s not new but I met Kyle there. Me and him have been working and he’s got beats on both my projects now and I met him at Revenge. It’s interesting how it works. 

You said you’re a picky dude with beat selection, how did that work when you were going into a session like Dreamers? Did you have to reinvent the way you were approaching things?

Nah. A lot of that shit was just tight! The beats were fire. I heard “Costa Rica” and I was like “Damn. This shit is crazy.” You’re in an environment where people bring in the best of what they have to offer every single night nonstop. That’s a rare occasion. When we’re in the studio doing regular sessions, people aren’t doing that all the time. Being in a place where everyone was bringing their best twenty-four-seven every room you walk in is inspiring.,

I’m gonna be honest with you, I don’t think I heard a bad song the whole time. I didn’t hear anything where I was like “I don’t like this,” or “I want to leave.” Maybe I had been in sessions where I felt enough had already been contributed and it didn’t make sense for me to put my energy on it but I never felt like “This isn’t good.” 

When you first heard “Costa Rica" were you in the studio with everyone? What was the studio session like when that song came about? I remember first seeing the snippets leak for that track...

For “Costa Rica,” the session was like a movie. That’s the most high energy session I’ve every been in, in my life. I’ve been in a lot of sessions with a lot of different artists and people and I have never seen no shit like that. It felt like we were partying to a song as it was being made. We were having a party to the song! We were singing along the hook as it was being made because it was so catchy and each verse had moments. “Costa Rica” is like a great example of when people talk about the energy in a room. Sometimes the energy makes the song and the energy in that room really made that song. 

Do you feel there was any particular song that got away? One you had wished had made the cut?

Yeah. It’s funny because there’s a song that didn’t make the album and I thought "Damn, this song is fire. Maybe I should ask Ib or Cole if I could use it for my shit.” You never know what’s gonna happen with songs or what plans they might have. There’s some records that I think were good enough to make it, but I can't say they would have outshined what was already there cause the album is great. That shit is amazing. 

Image via artist 

Going back to your own album, a lot of people talk about the difference between making bangers and making more reflective tracks. How do you go about finding a balance and do you have a preference when it comes to writing those different types of tracks?

I learned how to rap on shit like “Sleep Deprived.” I can literally breathe those records. It’s funny because K Quick was one of the producers on “Sleep Deprived,” and when Complex put out an article saying that was one of the best verses on the album, K Quick was like “Y’all don’t even know the story of the way he recorded it!” I didn’t write any of it down. I was just coming up with it word for word. Everybody was tripping. The truth is that came from me being very comfortable on introspective records because that’s how I learned how to make music. But also, it came from working with Dr. Dre for so many years and having to come up with shit so fast. At some point I learned that I don’t really have to write music to create it. As long as I’m in the right space, I could just sit there and come up with it.

The introspective type of records, that’s how I learned how to rap. It wasn’t until I got older that I wanted to venture into shit like “Costa Rica.” At first, I didn’t even want to do shit like that. I remember when I was in high school and Soulja Boy was out and I was listening to Illmatic. Years and years removed, listening to Illmatic in the two-thousands. Girls were getting in my car like “What is this? Why are we listening to this? Turn on Soulja." I wasn’t fucking with none of that shit at the time. I didn’t really like music that was super fun. Maybe it was because I had went through a lot of shit in my life and I needed music that was going to heal my soul. I liked shit that made me feel something. As I got older, I realized “Damn. The fun shit makes you feel something too. You just in the space to receive it.” At some point, I wanted to venture into records like that and now, my album is definitely a balance. I got “Costa Ricas" on my album and I got “Sleep Depriveds” on my album. It’s tight to be on both of those records because they’re the dichotomy of me or at least a part of it.

I like what you said about Illmatic, that being the type of record you gravitated toward. To me, when I saw you on The L.A. Leakers...Most people who go up their hold their own, but you killed it. You were going in, and it got me thinking that you must have a lot of admiration for lyricists. Who are your biggest influences when it comes to lyrics?

I got to say Nas. I got to say Biggie, Andre 3000, MF Doom, Mos Def, Jadakiss when I was growing up. There’s so many people bro. As I got older, I started listening to Jay-Z. When I was younger, I thought Nas was better but as I got older, I started to like Jay-Z a little bit more. I like Jay-Z for the plethora of different music he has but Nas is still my favorite as far as storytelling goes.

And of course in the latter generations, you’ve got Cole and Kendrick and Drake. Even Drake. At first, it was only Cole and Kendrick, but like I said, I started opening my mind more and now I admire Drake for the melodies, for the hooks, the song structure. First, I wanted to only be like the best rapper and now I want to be the best artist. That changed after a while. 

Did you remember living through the Nas, Jay-Z beef at the time?

Oh yeah. I was a kid but that was amazing!

At the time, I thought “Ether” was the craziest diss track I had ever heard, but looking back, I’ve come to appreciate “Takeover” a little bit more in the end. It was a good feud, that’s for sure.

That was the best. I love “Takeover.” I love the beat but I still do feel like “Ether” is the one. ”Ether” is so crazy to me. It’s so personal! I heard an interview with Memphis Bleek and he was talking about how Jay-Z sat in his car and listened to “Ether” for the first time by himself. He was probably scrunched up. I don't know what he looked like! “Ether” is crazy. I know I would’ve been feeling a type of way. 

As someone who loved rap beef, is there a sick part of you that wishes you were involved in one so you could let off a diss track?

Nah man. I’m a defensive person. My personality has never been like “I’m pulling up on you,” or being excited to create a problem with somebody. Especially with rap, that shit can turn into something else sometimes. People end up dying over that shit. I’m not excited about rap beef. I’m just protective. If you try me, I’m gonna have to show up. And I mean verbally. I’m not talking about street shit. I mean artistically, creatively.

If you try me, I’m gonna have to show up but I don’t plan on being in rap beef. I feel more like a Kanye or Pharrell of an artist. Hopefully, in the end, people see me as an open-minded dude. Especially with venturing into other parts of art like film. I’m really excited about that and I got other endeavors coming soon that I’ve directed or I’ve written. I’d rather be looked at more like some type of savant rather than a battle-rapper.

Like an auteur in the film world? 

Yeah bro for sure. I always say I feel like Dexter's Laboratory meets The Boondocks. I’m going to design all types of shit, clothes, film stuff. In my forties and fifties bro, I would love to design automobiles. I went to college to be a mechanical engineer. I love math and science. A lot of that shit is so far away from rap beef that is doesn’t make sense to even be thinking about that.

I’m a massive Dr. Dre fan, so I was really following everything surrounding Detox. All of a sudden, he came out of the blue and dropped Compton. One of the first surprise albums! You were one of the first people on it so that was my introduction to you. Can you tell me about your experience looking back on Compton? We’ve got the three year anniversary this year. What are some of the things you took away from working with Dr. Dre? 

One of my favorite things about working with Dre is that he challenged me. Like someone who learns martial arts, you have different senseis throughout the course of your trajectory. He’s one of the senseis that I’ve had. He probably challenged me the most out of anybody that I ever worked with. He challenged me to try this and try that and use my voice in ways you never hear. I’m the first person you hear when you press play on Compton. I’m screaming but most people don’t know that’s me because that’s not something that I’m privy to doing. It’s tight that he pulled me out of my element and made me try some other shit. He’s got real competitive nature but so do I. So, in the studio, it turned into “Let’s see if you can do it,” and I would be like “What? I can do it.” He’s smart and he knows how to pull the best out of people and that’s what he did with me a lot. 

There must have been a revolving door or hip-hop legends coming in and out of those sessions. Do you have any memorable stories that us hip-hop nerds out there might want to know? 

Yeah! For me, all that was brand new. I was living in L.A. for like a week when I started working on Compton. I’m living there for a week and the next thing I know, everybody is pulling up. Pete Rock, DJ Premier, LL Cool J. I met T.I. with Dre. A bunch of different people ended up pulling up that I heard about or listened to as a kid. Seeing them in person was crazy. The other crazy part is that, at some point, Dre liked what I was doing and was banking on what I was capable of. I remember a very specific night when Pete Rock and someone else was in the studio, and Pete Rock played a beat and I had to write a verse for it. Dre was like “Watch this. Watch what he does,” and they’re just looking at me while I’m sitting at the microphone.

This is the type of shit where I was like “Man, this is so stressful.” I couldn’t think too hard, I just had to do what I do. I didn’t have time to write anything down, I had to come up with stuff until I got what I wanted and then I turned around to look and everybody’s smiling in awe like “This shit is fire!” Those are the moments that prepared me to go on Revenge where it’s all these people. Some people aren’t used to recording in front of people. But I had to impress my idols time and time again on the spot. When it was time to go to Revenge and do that with my peers, I was like “Man, I’m excited. I’m prepared for this.” I didn’t even realize how prepared for it I was until I got there. When everybody else started noticing I was different, that’s when I realized “Damn, I did a lot of preparation for this and didn’t even realize it.” 

Having experienced both Compton sessions and Revenge sessions, when you’re working on your own stuff, is there any attempt to recreate certain environments that you experienced there?

Oh yeah bro, absolutely. You got to learn and take away from all of it. I worked on Pablo with Kanye for two weeks. That shit changed me too! Learning the way everybody works and the way everybody puts albums and projects together. I’ve been very blessed to be apart of some very special experiences. I’m definitely taking all of the things I’ve learned and incorporating them in my sessions. Of course, I’ve still got my own way of doing things as well. I think I’m a better artist because of all of it.

A couple of months back, I saw a picture of you, Anderson .Paak, 2 Chainz, Dr Dre. and Dem Jointz in the studio. It reminded me of a Compton reunion. What was going on on that day? What were you guys working on?

We were at Dre’s crib, bro. There were a bunch of people there. Sometimes we go to his house to make music. We were at his crib working on music. With Dre, you don’t know what music is gonna end up where or on whose project. He really loves to be creative so he was creating and we just happened to be there. You’ll get a phone call or a text from somebody saying, “Yo, Dre is at his crib working,” or Dre will hit you like “Yo, I’m at the crib working. What you up to?” I don’t know how I ended up there that night but it was one of the two.

Did you guys work together for your upcoming album at all?

We’ve definitely done some work but whether some of it will end up on it, I’m not sure just yet. That would be a crazy surprise if we did have something on there. 

It would. But I trust your vision, man. I think you’re gonna drop something very strong. I’m looking forward to it.

Thank you man, I really appreciate that. 

Based on everything you’ve been doing, I think it’s going to make a lot of waves. 

I’m hoping so. 

So what’s the next step for Mez? 

It’s to do things that keep people guessing. To pop up in situations that you don’t expect me in. I’m having a really good time. Especially “Middle Child,” that was refreshing. This is something that I knew I could do and a part of me that I knew existed that other people didn’t know existed. You almost feel crazy when people don’t see you the way you see yourself but after “Middle Child,” people started realizing that I was multifaceted. I felt like I could breathe. The more and more I prove myself in the music business and film and anything I feel like I can do. The more I feel like I can exhale, being the person I know I’m supposed to be. The next thing for me is to continue on that path. Continue surprising everybody.