#really any rap by a woman who isn’t Nicki Minaj

[vivaciousoceans]

I used to pride myself on listening to pretty much everything but I can’t stomach most pop these days, especially hyperpop, it’s just unappealing to my ears

[blackleopardgirl]

A random woman from Romania-

By now I’m sure we have all seen/heard of that woman from Romania who went on a little mini rant about my favorite music industry halfway around the world. While she did make some points, I thought that it would be interesting to dissect what she said and reply as someone who’s been studying them for a couple years. First and foremost, it’s evident to me that this music industry doesn’t have ANY buzz around it whatsoever, and that nobody outside of other Alb@nians care about this music industry because if a random nobody from Romania, who probably bought her followers, is online making noise in your community, then it’s clear that nobody really but you all really care about this music or these artists.

   It's always funny whenever fans, or diaspora tell people that their music industry is a “worldwide/international” music industry- like pipe down! You know that nobody cares about this music but you all, which is why your artists have never sold out an arena anywhere significant (The Laxness center in Germany comes to mind- it was only 1/3 filled for the EasyShqîp festival- yikes.) and most of the YouTube views are still purchased to boost the video and make it seem more popular than what it really is. 

  However, the woman in her article stated that Melinda wasn’t as talented as Tayna, and while I agree that Melinda doesn’t have the better career, I don’t think that it’s necessarily because somehow Melinda is “more talented” I think that its because Tayna is more versatile and is able to market herself in different genres of music, and over all styles BETTER than Melinda can, and so more of her songs tend to be listened to, and people who aren’t even fans can enjoy them; especially when she’s on a feature with a totally different sounding artist. However, this isn’t due to Tayna being talented- I’d argue that it’s due to her just studying how American rappers like Nicki Minaj have been so successful with her versatility and therefore have just copied what artists like Nicki have done. You’re not going to sit here and tell me- an American woman that watched Nicki Minaj’s career that Tayna is just magically coming up with her mannerisms, the way that she raps, her different interests in styles all on her own. Especially since when I think about it, Tayna stole a beat and lyrics from a reggae artists in Jamaica, doing his accent and everything, and then ignored the claims of copying when he outed her. 

  She’s not original, or talented, Tayna is just simply better at being a culture appropriator. Tayna is willing to copy how other artists perform, sing, dress, and behave in their music and then adopt that for her own, make the song mainly in Alb@nian; and because most Alb@nians have no access to  (friends with, dating, coworkers, etc) Latino, Caribbean, African, or African American people which is why they can watch N0izy make a terrible song about being some king of dancehall and y’all eat it up every time, its why Tayna sat up there and posted, “HurriTayna season” after being in Miami and seeing ‘Bichota Season” everywhere and y’all didn’t clock that, and I’m even surprised that you all have noticed that Elvana has copied Karol G’s outfit and hair for her, “Mí ex tenia razon” music video! You all don’t LIVE on this side of the world and therefore you aren’t aware when something has been completely copied or just jacked from another artist, so you call it being “Original”, its not original babes, its just copying, re packaging, speaking mainly in a language you understand (Alb@nian) and then you all enjoying it. There are artists 20 times better from those genres of music that you just haven’t listened to, the Alb@nian artists didn’t invent that style of music or music video idea. 

  Lastly, we have to talk about how talented Melinda actually is in comparison to Tayna because I believe that this Romanian woman may not have done her homework entirely. Melinda can actually sing- whether or not she chooses to sing more in her music or not is her business, but Melinda actually has talent there. Tayna sounds like she’s trying to shit every time she belts out a struggle note. It sounds awful! Half the time she sounds as if she’s howling like a damn dog into the crowd! Tayna can NOT sing, and her using autotune and a fake soft voice in her music isn’t fooling me, I’m an adult, I know what she’s doing, and she isn’t slick. Next, neither Tayna nor Melinda can dance- they’re both awkward, Tayna is more cringe in my opinion, but its just because she does way too much for such a small stage that bothers the hell out of me. Melinda can only shake her ass, and she can’t even do that on the beat from what I’ve seen so- typical white girl behavior.

  While this woman was correct perhaps in some areas, what she fails to understand is that they’re all pretty much untalented, lazy, artists who are going to hop onto whichever new music trend that they believe they can make more money on. 

[queensofrap]

Cardi B in the March 2019 issue of Harper’s BAZAAR. QUEEN.

Cardi B Opens Up About Her "Rags to Riches" Cinderella Story

When Cardi B visits her favorite nail salon in the Bronx, she enters through a raggedy hallway covered with a rug emblazoned with the image of a $100 bill. The salon, which overlooks a bustling avenue of pizza shops, sports-gear superstores, and boutiques with weaves in 70 colors, is a temple to money, excess, and sexiness, symbolized in the application of nails that look like diamond-encrusted Buck knives. Portraits of two icons of pulchritude hang on the walls—namely, Marilyn Monroe and the very 2019 version of Marilyn: Cardi. 

With a posse that includes her dad, her half-sister, her half-brother, and two Drogosize bodyguards whose names I don’t catch but imagine to be Bulwark and Spear, Cardi, 26, heads toward a private side room. She surrenders her hands and feet to Jenny Bui, her sharp-tongued nail tech of more than half a decade, even back when she didn’t have the money to move out of this borough.

A tiny, makeup-less sprite in magenta leggings and a playful Moschino sweatshirt, Cardi talks about where she’s at today. On one hand, she says, “I feel like my life is a fairy tale and I’m a princess—rags to riches, people trying to sabotage,” she says. But she also complains fervently about being over the fairy-tale life and wanting peace and quiet. “Before, I cared about everything—relationship, gossip. Now I don’t feel like I have the time to please people,” she explains. “I don’t care about anything anymore—just my career and my kid.” What about money, the thing she raps about caring for quite a bit? “Well, I care about my career because of my money,” Cardi says, giving me a “c’mon, stupid” face.

“Before,” in this context, means before the tectonic shifts that have taken place in Cardi’s life in the past year: that she became a global superstar; relocated from New York to Atlanta to live with the charismatic rapper Offset, her new husband; gave birth to an unplanned but much loved daughter, Kulture Kiari, in July; then, five months later, after the drip-drip-drip of rumors about Offset’s infidelity, announced on Instagram that the marriage was over.

Today Cardi tells me that Offset has been to her apartment, but they haven’t seen each other and are “not really” talking, which is a bit hard to believe after she shows me videos of her gurgling baby on her iPhone and happens to scroll past a photo of Offset with a time stamp reading today. When I ask her if she’s getting back with Offset, I can almost hear her curious entourage, who have arranged themselves on sofas on the perimeter of the room, lean forward to catch the answer. For a moment, the only sound is Bui engaging in some hard-hat-level sanding and scraping of the star’s three-inch nails. Then Cardi says both, “I don’t think so,” and “Who knows? You never know, you can never tell,” neither of which is exactly a definitive answer.

I’ve interviewed dozens of pop stars, and Cardi, despite the massive entourage and the bear-claw-like nails, seems the most normal. She’s not the most down-to-earth or the most perfect, and she’s definitely not the least into social media, but she knows who she is and where she came from, and has somehow managed to keep expressing genuine emotions in the face of blockbuster success. And while her emotions can sometimes seem out of control, who hasn’t been there? We might not have screamed and thrown a shoe at Nicki Minaj at a Harper’s Bazaar event this past September (in retribution, Cardi has said, for various slights from Minaj, including liking a negative comment about her parenting skills), or allegedly ordered an attack on two female bartenders at a strip club visited by Offset (a judge issued orders of protection in December for the accusers), but we’ve all been mad as hell. And the unbearable cuteness and sexiness of Cardi, a raunchy L.O.L. doll, quickly erases those moments, drowning them in adorable high jinks.  

Leaving aside the fake nails and boob implants, with Cardi the artifice is in the artwork. In the space of less than a year, her music, videos, and fashion have made her a star of Lady Gaga proportions. She releases hit after hit; following last summer’s “I Like It,” the first Latin trap song to rise to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, with “Money,” a song, unsurprisingly, about money. In the video, she wears gorgeous clothes (she’s got “10 different looks and my looks all kill,” she raps), including outfits referencing Thierry Mugler, a gold bikini inspired by 1990s Lil’ Kim’s, and a custom Christian Cowan bodysuit fabricated from dozens of actual watches. She’s a post-Kardashian American superstar, a master of selfies, belfies, late-night Instagram videos, and all other manner of self-promotion— and also a creative genius. In 2019, no one needs to pick.  

Raised in the Bronx, Cardi was the naturally rebellious daughter of a Trinidadian-born cashier mother and a Dominican Republic–born cabdriver father. Her mother was strict. Nevertheless she joined the notorious Bloods gang, moved out of her mother’s home and in with a boyfriend and, finding herself broke, took a job as a cashier at a grocery store. To build a nest egg, she became a stripper. To build a bigger nest egg, she became a hot girl on social media. In 2015, she was cast as a lovable loudmouth on the VH1 reality show Love & Hip Hop: New York, then began releasing her own mixtapes. Her debut single, “Bodak Yellow,” went to the top of the charts, and it took her only one album to achieve escape velocity: Invasion of Privacy, arguably the best debut album from a female rapper since Lil’ Kim’s 1996 Hard Core. 

It’s an intense time for Cardi, now one of the biggest rappers—and one of the most famous women in the world—caring for an infant and dealing with a semi-estranged husband. Her answer is to be as real as she can. As much as she may imagine herself as a princess, she talks about admiring Meghan Markle for becoming a real one. “She must just be like, ‘Who am I?’” Cardi says, referring to Markle’s having to live by the royal family’s rules. Not being able to be herself would be the worst punishment for Cardi. 

Up and down, joy and pain, sunshine and rain—we’ve experienced all her days on her social media channels, where she posts close-up, emotional videos like an Instagram mime. She’s not your typical grasping celebrity, and doesn’t get off on endless adulation. “I work with somebody who gives me compliments all day, and I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh, can you just stop?’” she says.   

Cardi’s fans have been so protective of her that when Offset broke in to her set at a concert, walking onstage with a $15,000 rolling floral display made of 2,000 roses that read TAKE ME BACK CARDI, they exploded on social media with anger over a man who refused to take a woman’s “no” at face value. (A backstage video showing one of Cardi’s reps escorting Offset to the stage did little to dim the outrage.)  

I ask if any family or friends influenced her decision to leave Offset. “No, I decided on my own,” she declares, looking me straight in the eye. “Nobody makes my decisions about my life but me.” Before they broke up, Offset begged Cardi to see a therapist. “I didn’t want to go to marriage counseling,” she says, in a firm tone of voice. “He suggested it, but it’s like, ‘I don’t want to go.’ There’s no counselor or nothing that could make me change my mind.”

Like many women who’ve experienced heartache and alleged infidelity, she seems caught between wanting to stay and leave. As Elizabeth Gilbert wrote in Eat Pray Love, Offset is “[her] lighthouse and [her] albatross in equal measure.” But Cardi also knows that dating new guys might be bizarre. “I have a kid, and I’m also famous,” she says quietly. “So I can’t just sleep with anybody. People talk. You know, if I date somebody in the industry, that’s another person in the industry. If I date somebody who is not in the industry, he might not understand my lifestyle.” Since the breakup, she’s been getting a ton of messages from guys but ignoring them. “It’s like, ‘Bro, why would you want to holler at me right away? You’re weird.’ If you think Imma automatically hop onto you after a marriage, that just means you think I’m a sleaze. And I’m not. I have a kid—I have to show an example.”

Bui, who has been listening intently to our interview while crafting Cardi’s nails, waves a hand and then interjects, “You’re so old-fashioned!”

“Jenny, just because I’m out there and very sexual doesn’t mean that I have to be whorish,” says Cardi. “I like to have sex. That doesn’t mean I have to have it with everybody.” She pauses, then adds, “Not that I judge women who want to have sex with the world.”

Done with her rant, Cardi turns her attention to her nails. “Damn, that’s sharp,” she says to Bui, whistling a little under her breath. “The polish will make them less sharp, right? Because we can’t forget about the baby.” Ignoring her, Bui says only, “Don’t move.”

Throughout our conversation, Cardi has been jiggling her leg up and down like a schoolkid. I ask her how long she’s had that habit. “Forever, and you know what? People always talk shit about it, but now it’s like, ‘Ha ha,’ because when I do it my daughter likes it,” she says.    

Despite the indelible image of Cardi breast-feeding in the “Money” video, wearing a black gown open at the bodice, she isn’t breast-feeding Kulture, whom she’s nicknamed KK. “It was too hard,” she explains. In fact, she spent most of the time after the baby was born in a haze of postpartum depression. “I thought I was going to avoid it,” Cardi says. “When I gave birth, the doctor told me about postpartum, and I was like, ‘Well, I’m doing good right now, I don’t think that’s going to happen.’ But out of nowhere, the world was heavy on my shoulders.”

Realizing that taking KK with her on the tour bus was unrealistic but unable to bear leaving her at home, Cardi dropped out of a lucrative tour with Bruno Mars. She started feeling better a couple of months after the baby was born, she says, and her mother has been helping out; Cardi hasn’t hired professional help because she isn’t sure she can trust anyone outside her family.

As a new mom, Cardi is still experiencing aches and pains. “For some reason, I still don’t feel like my body’s the same,” she says. “I feel like I don’t have my balance right yet. When it comes to heels, I’m not as good at walking anymore. I feel like I’m holding a weight on me. I don’t know why because I’m skinnier than I’ve ever been. But there’s an energy I haven’t gotten back yet that I had before I was pregnant. It’s just the weirdest thing.”

The baby is starting to help Cardi balance her emotions, though. “Sometimes I’ll see something online and it’ll piss me off, and then my baby will start crying or something, and it’s like, ‘You know what? I’ve got to deal with the milk. Forget this.’” She’s thinking about pulling back a little from social media. “I’ve noticed that every time you respond, you just make things worse, so I’m over it. I’m just over it. I really don’t need it, and sometimes it just brings chaos to my brain.” She adds, “I can stay off social media. I’ve been trying.” For months after KK was born, Cardi didn’t put pictures of her on social media, and certainly didn’t sell any to the tabloids. She says Offset wanted to put a picture up, but she was unsure.  

“As soon as she was born, one month in he was like, ‘She’s so beautiful. Watch how people gonna go crazy.’ ’Cause a lot of people were saying mean stuff, like that we don’t post her because she’s ugly. He was like, ‘I’m about to post my baby right now.’ But then we were very concerned because we were getting a lot of threats, so he said, ‘The world don’t even deserve to see her.’” Eventually Cardi wanted to put a photo up because “it’s really annoying and we don’t have a life. We have to hide her all the time. I can’t go to L.A. or Miami and walk down the beach with my baby. I want to go shopping with my baby. I want to take a stroll with my baby. Sometimes I feel bad for her because all she knows is the house.” But can’t you put on a baseball cap? I ask. Will people still recognize you? “Yeah,” she says. “It’s my nose.” 

Bui applies a final coat of purple paint on Cardi’s nails—a brief discussion ensues about whether the shade is the exact “baby purple” Cardi has requested—and then she talks about needing to get home to go to sleep. “I’ve got a big meeting in the morning in Boston,” Cardi says, nodding slowly. “Lots of money in Boston.” She begins horsing around with her six-year-old half-brother, ribbing him for being rebellious the way she used to be. “He’s a child of the corn!” she wails. “He’s just like me.” (Her half-sister adds, “Like you, sharp but sweet.”) Bui says she thought that when Cardi hit it big, she wouldn’t see her in the salon again. “I told her, ‘You’re going to forget about me,’ ” Bui says. “And she said, ‘Never.’”

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 12th August 2018

Top 10

Yep, we still have the same top two here, in fact the top five has stayed mostly still overall. “In My Feelings” by Drake featuring City Girls has stayed on top due to the video and streaming power, and I don’t see it stumbling for quite a few weeks.

Right behind it is “Shotgun” by George Ezra, still at the runner-up spot.

“No Brainer” by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo and Chance the Rapper is up a spot to number-three, swapping places with...

“Rise” by Jonas Blue featuring Jack & Jack, which is down a single position to number-four.

“Youngblood” by 5 Seconds of Summer is steady at number-five. Funnily enough, I recall saying these guys had their five seconds of fame back when I reviewed “Want You Back”, so don’t rely on me for predicting anything.

Also staying stable is “Jackie Chan” by Tiesto and Dzeko featuring Preme and Post Malone at number-six.

At number-seven, up a space from last week, is “Girls Like You” by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B.

Meanwhile, at number-eight, we have an 11-space gain straight to number-eight for “Body” by Loud Luxury and brando. I didn’t think this would be as popular as it ended up being, to be completely honest, and I’m very surprised at how fast this has gotten into the top 10.

Then we have our highest debut from Travis Scott’s ASTROWORLD, which has landed an album bomb of sorts – three songs, as is the limit on the UK Singles Chart. That debut, unsurprisingly, is “SICKO MODE” featuring uncredited vocals from Swae Lee and Drake, at number-nine.

Also, we have Tyga and Offset creeping into the top 10 via a one-space jump to number-ten, with “Taste”, and that rounds off our top 10 quite nicely.

Climbers

Now for the climbers and, honestly, despite the album “bomb”, not much happened of interest on the charts other than those three songs, in fact, barely anything has really happened. The only notable gain out of three non-top 10 gains is the 11-spot leap for “Eastside” by benny blanco, Khalid and Halsey, which is now at #12. The other gains are only single-space increases so it’s pointless noting them.

Fallers

The fallers, however, are a bit of a different story. A lot of pop girls struggled this week, including Ariana Grande with “God is a woman” down three spots to #13 and her feature on Nicki Minaj’s “Bed”, which has dropped seven spaces to #38. Speaking of Nicki Minaj, “FEFE” with 6ix9ine and Murda Beatz whimpered down four spots to #21, and the other female rapper on the charts right now, Cardi B, hasn’t exactly been gaining either, as “I Like It” featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin is down five spaces to #14. Anne-Marie’s “2002” is down six spots to #32, Jess Glynne’s “I’ll be There” got hit identically down to #36, while “This is Me” by Keala Settle and The Greatest Showman Ensemble is down seven spots to #40. Drake had it particularly rough as well, with “Nonstop” down two to #30 while “Don’t Matter to Me” with Michael Jackson is down six to #19. The biggest fall, however, is definitely “If You’re Over Me” by Years & Years, falling a whopping 21 positions straight to #28. How much of this is due to Travis Scott? I’m not exactly sure.

Dropouts

“Ay Caramba” by Stay Free Get Lizzy Presents Fredo and Young T & Bugsey, or whatever on earth that title credit was, is unsurprisingly out straight from the debut at #38, while “Paradise” by George Ezra is also out from #39 – it had a good run. “Leave a Light On” by Tom Walker is also out from #36, but that’s it, so let’s run through the Ed Sheeran Update!

The Ed Sheeran Update

“Perfect” is down three spaces to #60, while “Shape of You” stays at #77. Not much to see here.

Well, that was quick. No returning entries so let’s go right into our new arrivals.

NEW ARRIVALS

#37 – “Best Life” – Hardy Caprio featuring One Acen

Okay, so before Travis Scott, we have a song that been bubbling under the top 40 for quite a long time, and to be honest, I was dreading the day Hardy Caprio returns with another hit, because, God, is he boring? At least now he has a guest star to maybe improve or diversify things but has that really helped at all? No, because it’s still the same faux-dancehall faux-grime stuff to expect. I call it that but it’s really just desaturated trap with some shrill synths and keys that make a just listenable beat for the two rappers to spit over, however the song is mostly the singing chorus, assumingly by One Acen, who also sings during the post-chorus, and he doesn’t have a bad voice so I’m not complaining at all, but maybe I wanted something more interesting to combat Hardy on the first verse biting a Lil Baby flow from “Yes Indeed”, because, out of all the songs to copy, you had to copy the worst possible trap-rap song you could find on the Hot 100? Okay, Hardy... To be fair, this isn’t awful and they both ride the beat well, even if the rapping is actually quite brief. It’s just more of the same, more of the same. In fact, I think I’m going to coin a name for this. Damhall – it’s watered down dancehall with grime-ish lyrics and trap percussion, as well as autotuned vocals, rapping often with melodic, R&B-inspired flows. It’s not the best name in the world, but it’ll be better than saying “faux-dancehall faux-grime schlock” week after week. Not feeling this damhall genre to be perfectly honest. Now let’s take a ride down to ASTROWORLD.

#29 – “CAROUSEL” – Travis Scott featuring Frank Ocean and Big Tuck?

We start with the second track on the album, “CAROUSEL” featuring uncredited vocals from... Frank Ocean? Damn, Frank doesn’t seem like the guy to be doing pop features as often, so Travis and the beat must be something special that made Frank want to lend his immense vocal talent.

Not really. I do like the beat, however, it’s pretty cool how it’s just constant gang vocals going from the left to the right channel as a backdrop behind your typical trap-rap production, which makes it have a party-ish aesthetic that I really like and think fits Travis’ flow really well. Frank, on the other hand, on the hook, sounds asleep and bored, and he does throughout most of the song until his verse where he starts straining his voice very forcefully and frankly, it sounds pretty terrible over a club-ready beat. Come on, Frank, the bored flow at least works for stuff like this, you didn’t need to put any effort or emotion into this performance, yet, you do for some of it and it just doesn’t sound good at all. Stick to sounding like you’re on half a Xan during your guest features, it works much better. Oh, yeah, and this song is barely three minutes and ends very abruptly. It’s just kind of sloppy if anything, mostly because of, unfortunately, Frank Ocean. The song’s serviceable, I suppose, and I know why it charted – it’s catchy, it’s at the start of the album, yet I’d have much preferred “NO BYSTANDERS”, “SKELETONS”, “R.I.P. SCREW” or even “STOP TRYING TO BE GOD” to chart instead of this and the next few tracks, although this next one I’m not necessarily complaining about.

#15 – “STARGAZING” – Travis Scott

Ah, the opening track to ASTROWORLD, and one of the few songs that doesn’t have features as well as actually being somewhat astro-themed, as it’s very psychedelic and trippy yet does feel like a theme park ride in its structure. Let me elaborate.

It starts with some slow, eerie chords with some beautifully autotuned singing throughout, before you get a drop – the bass and the rollercoaster – which starts initially with some pretty disjointed drum patterns, as your mindset would be during a ride, as Travis says, “going crazy” and “rolling”, quite similarly to the effect of psychedelics. He has some pretty... interesting falsetto vocals here, as well as the classic ad-libs we know him for crowding the catchy hook, before the drums start to collapse briefly and we get a moment of peace, of build-up, with some sweet guitar and extra keys, which sound really pretty, especially with all the sound effects of people screaming and having fun on Astroworld building the atmosphere. It then comes to a sudden stop and you’ve gone down the biggest slope in the rollercoaster, so you’re calmer but the ride hasn’t stopped. The beat switches and now you’re going through maddening keyboard loops whilst a slick trap beat plays, allowing Travis to spit some surprisingly impressive bars here, with a simple flow but some funny lines like about how it’s not a moshpit without injuries and how Kylie’s jumping off him like Moby – you figure it out – while a faint “alright, alright” vocal sample plays, and then it just comes to an abrupt stop. Your ride has finished, but it’s only the first track so you’re ready for the unimpressive mediocrity of the other rides in the theme park that you only go on because you have younger siblings with you.

#9 – “SICKO MODE” – Travis Scott featuring Drake and Swae Lee

Speak of the devil.

Alright, so this track is three songs, and the only reason why this absolute mess of a song was the biggest hit is because of Drake, but you know that already. Let’s analyse each part of this five-minute trap-rap trilogy.

We start with a fantastic sample, and one of the best moments on the album as Drake just sings over one of the best beats I’ve heard this year, God, I love that sample so much, but then the percussion comes in and he starts rapping, for one bar. Yep, the last line (the title) echoes and we go into a completely different song with a serviceable beat, where Travis Scott starts rapping with a flow I feel we’ve heard from him a few times before, with some extra classic hip-hop samples acting as ad-libs to his rapping, as well as some pitch-shifted chopped-up Big Hawk samples acting as bridges while Swae Lee just repeats one line in the background, but then after two verses, that one transitions too, pretty abruptly, into a boring Tay Keith beat for Drake to go all “Nonstop” on. Drake does half a Xan on a plane and is out like a light (like a light, ayy, yeah, what), and it tells. Over a Memphis-influenced instrumental, Drake delivers a decent enough verse but really, neither him nor Travis have enough charisma and energy to carry this. I appreciate how the beat goes all DJ Screw on us by the end, leading into the next song on the album, “R.I.P. SCREW”, but really, isn’t this just a huge waste of money for Travis? Sure, he’s probably getting it back and more, but a huge feature in the form of Drake, two guest vocalists (Swae Lee and Sheck Wes) hired purely for ad-libs, at least three samples, two of which are short clips that really aren’t worth the royalties he and his label probably had to pay, can’t be cheap, especially considering the four to six producers probably involved in this that had to get their paycheck too, even though knowing the industry, they probably won’t be getting them at all.

This song, as it is, is just a five minute slog, especially considering only the first minute is worth listening to. If someone has a separate track of just that Drake intro, I’d appreciate a link.

Conclusion

Yeah, Best of the Week goes to Travis Scott for “STARGAZING”, who also bags Worst of the Week for “CAROUSEL” with Frank Ocean and one of the two Dishonourable Mentions for “SICKO MODE” with Drake and Swae Lee, with the other going to Hardy Caprio and One Acen for just being void of anything interesting in “Best Life”. See you next week.

L

[earwaxinggibbous]

“Congratulations” VS. “Started From The Bottom”

Started as a bottom, now my whole team’s fuckin’ rears.

Self-aggrandizing rap and hip-hop anthems have existed since the genre was invented. It’s just a really nice, friendly way of saying, “hey! I’m better than you.” Generally speaking, whoever is on the track should have the power and clout behind them to make all of the bragging seem warranted. A great example is Eminem’s Rap God, which has a chorus that literally has Eminem saying he’s beginning to feel like a rap god. And we buy it, because hell, Eminem basically IS a rap god. Regardless of how you feel about him, especially as a person, there’s no arguing that his flows and style require an insane amount of skill. (Or at least, they used to.)

The other big rule, once again using Rap God as an example, as that the song should actually be good. Because if you’re bragging about being the coolest rapper with the most chains and bitches while rapping like complete shit, your point is pretty much moot. When Eminem speed-raps in Rap God, it’s essentially the proof that he is in fact the man named in the title. 

There’s only one real problem with these songs when it comes to audience reception: They’re not relatable to anybody except other rich rappers and musicians. Which can be kind of a problem since that’s not really who the music industry is aiming to please. So in somewhat recent times we’ve been getting a different flavor of self-aggrandizing rap. Songs that, instead of saying “I’m super great”, they say, “Hey, I started from humble beginnings and worked my way to the top, and now I’m super great”. Which gives us viewers the idea of this sort of achievable dream that is nearly within arm’s reach.

Enter two very, very different hip-hop artists, at two very different times.

Drake and Post Malone, in my opinion, are both pretty good, in my opinion.

Let’s start with Drake. Drake feels at least a little more like a “real rapper” than Post does. Maybe because he was on Young Money, or because he doesn’t have that sing-songy flow that Post does, but he just feels more like somebody I’d describe as a rapper. If I had any reason, I’d say it’s because Post Malone’s music, even his ego-boosting shit, tends to sound stoned or morose the bulk of the time. Drake’s voice isn’t much fun either, but at least I can believe his ego based on his vocal tones alone. Post has a tendency to sound really, really sad, or just super high.

Now one might say, “Panda, you can’t compare these two songs. Started from the Bottom precedes Congratulations by four years.” But the reason I’m making this comparison is that, despite Drake being considered the superior artist by nearly everyone, Congratulations is basically the better version of its predecessor. 

Let’s discuss this.

Now for one thing, I fucking hate the music video of Started from the Bottom. Not because it’s that bad, though depicting “working at a drug store” as “the bottom” is pretty fucking stupid, the video itself does a pretty good basic job at getting across what it wants. I just hate the skit.

I remember pulling up the song on YouTube and thinking, Jesus, this song is 5 fucking minutes long? Half the lyrics are just the title. Relax, past Panda, one minute of that video is a stupid skit that shows up randomly before the second chorus. A full fucking minute of two of Drake’s coworkers, not even Drake himself, but two of his coworkers at Duane Reade or something ogling some woman who’s checking out of the store. It’s not funny, it doesn’t really add anything, and the two guys can’t act. Drake’s body language is awkward and goofy in the music video, I doubt he’d be a great actor either, but that’s fine, he’s just the guy who made the song. Most of what he needs to do is lipsync along to the track and wave his hands around anyway. But the two guys are in a skit, an acted skit that requires acting to happen, and they suck.

It doesn’t help that it’s interrupting what is already one of the most monotonous songs that the lord hath graciously dumped on top of our collective consciousness like a weighty cow turd. The video actually tries to help the song by making it look like Drake really did work a crappy job with a bunch of assholes and was raised in a shitheap. But this isn’t true.

And I hate bringing the lives of artists into their music more than anything. Because ever since really getting into Eminem’s works, I’ve been seeing every musician’s persona as a character. Now some musicians characters, like say, Mary Lambert, are very close to their real-world self, or even identical. Others, like David Bowie or the aforementioned Eminem, are essentially entirely different people offstage. Then there’s incredibly creative people like ThatPoppy who sort of blur the difference between a musical persona and the person behind it. And honestly I find that way more interesting than ripping into an artist personally. (Unless it’s Taylor Swift.)

But Started from the Bottom is an argument against critics who don’t believe Drake ever really suffered or understands the lower class. And I’ve read about him, so I can say that he should. He wasn’t living in a complete shithole, generally Canadian shitholes are better than American ones, but he still dealt with a parental divorce, bullying due to his race and Jewish upbringing, and having to see his father arrested. But there’s two issues once we reach this point.

One. This song never mentions any of that. And two. After dropping out of school he got a TV job to act as a main character on Degrassi. And since this song isn’t about his childhood, I can only assume it’s looking back on his days as a working-class young adult.

NO, Drake. BAD hip-hop artist.

Being an actor on a TV sitcom is not the bottom. Not to mention that even when he left to start making music, he essentially had his career set. Once you’re an actor on television, if people watched your shit, you can almost definitely get a job in music afterwards. It worked for Miley, Demi, Ariana, and Selena, there’s no reason it wouldn’t have worked for Drake. Not to mention that he got picked up by Young Money, which is essentially a free win for anyone who’s better and more interesting than sentient iguana man Li’l Wayne. (Which was surprisingly rare, apparently. Where the fuck is Gudda Gudda’s next single, Wayne?!)

Yes, Drake, we know you weren’t rich. That doesn’t mean you were at the bottom. I live in a comfortable apartment in Midtown and my mom works a law firm, and we don’t even call ourselves rich. “Not being rich” is different from “the bottom”. “The bottom” is only owning hand-me-down underwear, living in a downturned umbrella and eating dirt for nutrients. 

But lyrically this song doesn’t tell you anything. All the stuff I know about this guy is just from Lyric Genius and Wikipedia. 

Wow, you only argue with your mom once a month?

Lucky bastard.

Also, really quickly I wanna comment on the uncle line for a second. “The keys” are specifically to his drop top Lexus that young Drake was borrowing. I don’t think you need me to say that people who are on “the bottom” don’t tend to own convertibles. 

And, like, rich people work at night and get in traffic too. Just because you’re in a limousine doesn’t mean there’s no traffic. It’s just slightly more enjoyable traffic. 

And then Drake just spends the rest of the song essentially sucking his own dick without expanding on his hardships, which was supposed to be the point of this track from the beginning. And I don’t get the whole “no new friends” thing he always says, this isn’t the only song he’s said it in. Drake, unless you’re gonna tell me that the entirety of Young Money and several other well-known rappers went to high school with you like some kind of wacky rap music-based sitcom, I’m pretty sure you’ve made some new friends. Either that or your obvious baby crush on Nicki Minaj is painfully laced by inconceivable amounts of mistrust.

So you’re either a paranoid asshole who just admitted to not trusting the people that got him into the game in the first place, or you’re a liar. Good to know!

Honestly this song makes me just kind of not like Drake as a person. Which is probably one of the worst things you can do as an artist. If you’re trying to make a song that allows people to sympathize with your plights or revel in your success, being this illegally unlikable while doing it isn’t helping your case in the slightest.

But honestly the worst part isn’t even the douchey lyrics, it’s just the song itself. It just feels like it goes on forever.

(Pictured: A hook, apparently.)

The chorus itself is so repetitive I’d rather listen to fucking Come and Get It, Drake has a really bad habit of sounding literally bored to death, and the beat just sounds like a Future song jacked off on GarageBand. Lame snares and lame backing tunes. One whole piano key. Wow, Drake, you’re almost as good at playing physical instruments as your mentor.

(Even he hates it.)

Sad to say the beat and production is probably the best part? Drake’s voice wrecks what was already a weak beat. Whenever he wants to be self-aggrandizing he just sounds fucking bored. Like the most self-aggrandizing thing about it is the fact that he doesn’t think he needs to actually try. In fact, The Motto (YOLO) had the exact same problem. I actually prefer that song. The beat still isn’t high art, but it’s got a little more snap to it. Kind of reminds me of Sage the Gemini’s Gas Pedal, which falls into the category of songs that aren’t that great but can be danced to if put on the setlist. 

But this? It’s no fun. A hard 1 out of 5, and that’s only because its attempted premise was almost salvageable. But all I really got out of this song was that Drake is an asshole, he went to school with Lil Wayne apparently, his mom is really really nice since they only argue once a month, and he should just go back to desperately wishing his girlfriend would call him on his cell phone. You’re way better at being sad than--

Fucking... goddamnit.

Now Post Malone is kind of... different. In many ways. One time he said he doesn’t write rap music, and while normally I’d attribute that to him being a pussy who’s too afraid to contribute to what is and has always been a predominantly black genre and racism and he secretly doesn’t wanna be associated with them or whatever. But honestly I’m inclined to give Post Malone some leeway because really, he’s a singer. He makes notes. He’s singing with a hip-hop flow and occasionally has actual rap guests who... honestly end up doing a similar thing on his tracks. (In this case, it’s Quavo! Hurray!)

Oddly enough I actually went through a few songs to compare this to before settling on Drake. I considered Cheap Thrills, as they both sort of follow a similar concept of ‘today’s a good day, let’s go clubbing with only three bucks in our collective pockets’. Decided not to because really Cheap Thrills could be more accurately compared to a myriad of other songs. Considered White Iverson, his first single, but decided they didn’t really have enough in common to use it. I had options.

Really the only reason I went with this is because Congratulations succeeds in every place that Started From The Bottom fails.

Rather than attempting to detail Post Malone’s past suffering, it moreso discusses the actual rise to fame. And alllll the people who said he couldn’t do it.

Beatwise this one outclasses Drake’s already. I remember reading critics describing Started’s beat as “haunting”, which was apparently a good thing. I don’t get it. Congratulations, on the other hand, is carried by a sort of stoned, laidback tempo. Really speaks to the whole idea of “hey, we worked really hard, our album dropped, and now we can take a break and have some fun!” 

Honestly if Post Malone wrote more songs like this and less straight-up luxury porn/self-aggrandizing rap like White Iverson or rockstar. (I feel like I’m a minority in not really minding either one of those songs.) Also I must say that Post Malone seems to be really good at picking guest artists. On rockstar he has 21 Savage, whose big thing is that he’s gangsta and shoots people and don’t fuck with him, which at least fits into the attempted tone. (Honestly Sav fits better on that song than Post does.) And in Congrats, we get Quavo.

Not only do Quavo and Post sound really good together on this, as their vocal range seems somewhat similar implying some kind of bro-type unity shit. Honestly this song gives me more band vibes than rockstar does, albeit a very different kind.

You know, you just started your band, you’re waiting to hit it big, you’ve put in all this effort with barely any money, you’re living in a shitbag apartment with 4 other sweaty dudes and you all have to sleep together and Quavo keeps rolling over and shoving his nuts in your face. It’s completely garbage and your drummer has to whore himself out for money, you accidentally get paid for a gig in beer tickets like in that one episode of Metalocalypse, and then finally, FINALLY, you drop a tape that hits big. You get on TV, you meet a record exec, and you’re calling your mom during the afterparty and you’re all celebrating because it’s been so LONG since you could just have a BREAK and now everybody’s SAUCIN’.

EXACTLY.

The lyrics work perfectly for this, but not only that, it’s to show all of the naysayers who insisted they couldn’t do it. All the haters who are now suddenly super gung-ho about how they used to be friends with Post Malone even though they actually shoved him in a locker literally every day. This somehow manages to be super-laidback and super-hype at the same time, which seems to be Post’s general style. Candy Paint has sort of a similar feel. That’s also a fucking great song. I love Post Malone. There. I said it.

But the biggest difference between these two songs is that I somehow get some feeling that Post Malone started somewhere. When I hear Congratulations, I feel like he actually had to put in some effort to get where he is. His first big hit only even got released because somebody leaked it. Nobody was ever expecting it to be as big as it is. Stoney in general is an insanely personal album, and it all feels surprisingly honest for the genre despite the drops of luxury porn and self-aggrandizing. 

Basically, TL;DR: Drake cares more about the destination than the journey. Post gives us both the conflict and they payoff. Drake’s beat lacks texture or purpose, whereas Post manages to meld his melodic voice with a smooth backing track. Also, Post occasionally bothers with wordplay! Lyricism in a melodic rap song? Who would’ve thought?

Hell, it even manages to fix the “no new friends” idea displayed by Drake by sort of re-interpreting it as “no fake friends”.

And fuck, I almost forgot to mention Quavo.

Oh Quavo. Your verse may be short, severely lacking in punchlines and technically mediocre, but you just... you sound good. You sound good with Post. Somehow Post fucking Malone manages to totally outclass one of the Migos on this track. But Quavo does pretty well. I kinda like the “Huncho Houdini” line and a few of the football puns. In the end his verse is a little too short to really judge as anything more than decent.

(Also, the music video is great.)

But yeah, who would’ve thought this white stoner with braided sideburns would manage to completely slam Drake, the god of the late 2010′s? I’m honestly tempted to give this thing a 5 out of 5, but due to a few not-rhymes that nearly slip past due to Post’s mild drunken slur, I’d have to drop it into a 4.5/5. Still, I love this song. I love this song, I love Post Malone, fuck it. Judge me if you want. I have yet to hear a Post Malone song I don’t like.

Which I guess doesn’t mean much since he only has an album and an LP out, but...

It’s more than can be said for Drake at this point.

[mydumbmcfuckinopinion]

*This post is for my friends please don’t reblog

This post has been a long time coming lmao. Lil Kim and Remy Ma dropped “Wake Me Up” and I’m about to shove my opinions down your throats. So I’ll start with the positives. I️ absolutely LOVE the ‘updated’ beat. “Queen Bitch” by Lil Kim is such a great song and definitely one of her best. The beat was amazing to begin with and the update wasn’t super in your face or offensive in any way. I️ have mixed feelings about the flows. Yes, I️ get that she’s gonna reuse the same flows as “Queen Bitch” but I️ feel like the callbacks were a little excessive. I️ think the beat was an amazing callback but she over referenced the lyrics to Queen Bitch making it sound a little less personal and innovative. To begin with Queen Bitch was heavily influenced/written with Biggie’s help. He provided the reference track to show her how to execute the song to the fullest making it feel extra unoriginal. It went from Biggie to Kim and years later to Remy. I️t feels like a tweaked copy of a copy. Personally I️ love both her verses however, objectively speaking they definitely weren’t perfect. The line “My hands like Mayweather’s” is good and all but as my pal Olly pointed out Mayweather wasn’t known for his punches but for his defense. But on the other hand of course if you got punched by Mayweather it’s still gonna fuckin hurt. Kim’s chorus was okay. It was a little bland and repetitive and she doesn’t sound like herself but the humble reference was dope. Remy’s second verse is fun af but soooo repetitive. She rhymes ‘shit’ literally 8 times in a row. It’s difficult to stomach from an analytical standpoint. Nicki does the same thing in “Rake it Up” with the word China. Nicki did it bc she’s into using homonyms/homographs but that’s not what I’m babbling about rn. Again, when Remy rhymes shit 8 times in a row it’s because Lil Kim had rhymed bitch in “Queen Bitch” 7 times during her first verse. So not only is it repetitive as shit (pun intended) it’s also not at all innovative or creative. The strongest lines in verse two were definitely “‘cause you a clown and Homey don’t play that shit” you kiddos probably don’t remember the show “In Living Color” but this line was a great reference to a great show that jump started a lot of careers. The bars that dig the deepest are definitely “I heard he lay that dick, you let him filet that fish/You just met him, how he bae that quick?” This of course is a shot at Nicki Minaj and her new boyfriend Nas. Remy is implying that she heard Nicki fucked Nas and made him ‘bae’ too quick seeing she recently cut off her engagement to Meek Mill. Ouch Remy. She then raps “I'll say it to your face, don't gotta relay that shit/If Nick-ole a Kid-man, OJ that bitch!” Oh my god where do I️ even begin with this. Remy in her Genius video explains the lyrics and starts the video off by saying this song is “not about anyone” like bruh you can’t say “I’ll say it to your face” and “it’s not about Nicki” she’s being incredibly hypocritical. Now to the most frustrating line of all. “If Nick-ole a Kid-man, OJ that bitch!” First of all, OJ was not married to Nicole Kidman he was married to Nicole Brown. Second, Nicole Kidman is an actress and has no ties whatsoever to OJ. Third, Nicki’s full name is Onika Tanya Miraj, not Nicole. Fourth, Remy caught her mistake AND KEPT IT IN KNOWING IT DIDN’T MAKE SENSE. It’s so frustrating listening to her claim to be an artist dedicated to her craft when she won’t even fix a simple but vital mistake because it “sounded dope”. Again, hypocritical. Now to the final line of the second verse. “If that's your dog, I suggest you go train that bitch!” She’s telling Nas to control Nicki bc Nicki’s out here not paying homage to rappers like Lil Kim who helped lay the foundation she built her empire on. I️ agree with this but not the control aspect of course. She’s her own woman but I️ really hate that the artists I️ respect and look up to disrespect each other and drag other women down like it isn’t already difficult enough in a male dominated industry. I️ also feel like Remy just didn’t put enough into this song. She had two simple verses, used a blueprint of a blueprint, and didn’t fix sloppy/lazy mistakes. Lil Kim closes the song with some of the worst, unoriginal lyrics I’ve ever heard from her. I️ Love Lil Kim to death but I’m so disappointed in this song. So much potential wasted. Kim should have had a rap verse with complex metaphors and her famous fuck you attitude and voice but instead we got what sounded like a washed up auto tuned Kim. She didn’t sound like herself, she was slurring words, wasting space (there should have been a rap verse in place of that nonsense) and the auto tune made it unlistenable. I️ honestly can’t even listen to the ending because it’s that bad. I️ skip after Remy’s verses. I️ do love the song though it’s a bop if you don’t over analyze and skip Kim’s verse. I’d probably give this song a 4/10 maybe a 5/10 on a good day. Beat was good, some great lyrics but mostly stale and unoriginal, and having Lil Kim and Remy Ma on a distrack @ Nicki is such a fuck you so I️ dig that distrack wise.

[womenofcolor15]

Nicki Minaj Says White People Post Better Things About Her Than Black People After She Unleashes Her WRATH On 'Demonic' Wendy Williams

Nicki Minaj was NOT on that Omarion "unbothered energy" during her recent episode of Queen Radio.  After giving Wendy Williams an extra bitter and very harsh taste of her own medicine, Nicki now claims white people post better things about her than black people.

  Everything she said inside.  

Mrs. Petty apparently isn't here for how black people post about her in comparison to white people.

  LMAO screaming pic.twitter.com/g6HqB0e4Fv

— (@SlideAroundAri) November 5, 2019

Oh really?

Who's going to tell her TMZ is white owned?

          View this post on Instagram

                  Still the biggest first week from any female debut (in any genre) this decade. What’s your fave song from #PinkFriday?

A post shared by Barbie (@nickiminaj) on Nov 2, 2019 at 8:23am PDT

During Nicki's Queen Radio episode Friday night, she had plenty to say to defend herself against Wendy Williams.

After staking her place as the Queen saying, "Platinum album with no radio play none of your faves could do that sweetheart,” things took a sharper turn when she clapped back at Wendy harder than a mug.

After Wendy got messy recently about Nicki getting married to an ex-con with a long wrapsheet who did plenty of time, Nicki got messy right back, referring to Wendy as Mr. and Pendy (since she says shes shaped like a P) and other shady adjectives. But not before she quoted scripture saying, "God already told us he placed our sins into the sea of forgetfulness."

Then, it got real:

"So how can you remember something that God already forgot? How can you blast a bunch of rappers, and interview a bunch of rappers, that all they do is talk about shooting and killing, then continue to mention somebody that actually did that, then served their time and paid their debts to society?"

        View this post on Instagram

                  HEAVY ON THE SLEEEEEEZE‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ #HarleyQUEEN & her love

A post shared by Barbie (@nickiminaj) on Oct 28, 2019 at 6:26pm PDT

  Then, she went for the jugular:

"That's why Kevin [Hunter] was on that island chillin' (addressing pics of Wendy's estranged husband on vacay with his mistress). I can't... He said "B*tch I can't come to that episode, my real b*tch giving birth chile."

"When you announce my husband, P, there's no need to mention his past because these rappers is rapping about shooting and killing everyday. Talking about guns they aint never had, gins they aint never bust. Ok?" Do you mention Gucci Mane's body every time you mention him? Or his wife? Do you mention his man down? His charge? Where was you at when Kevin had his d**k knee deep into that b**ch punani?!"

Chile.  Nicki then switched back to Jesus:

"I pray for you because I know you're hurting and I know you must be sick and humiliated. I pray for you. I let it go when you had to tell the audience whatever [Kenneth] had to do time for. But, every time you mention him, you feel the need to bring these things up, as well as something he was wrongfully accused of doing when he was 15 years old, and because he didn't have $7,000 to bail himself out. Because when you're in the hood at 15 you don't have that kind of money and neither does your family. And when the alleged accuser wrote a letter to the judge to recant the statements, she was told she would go to jail, allegedly, if she recanted the statement."

Then, she oddly did exactly what she accused Wendy of doing - putting white people on a pedestal. (Especially since we know of plenty of white owned sites who don't have such nice things to say.)

"But white is right. But I didn't know in our society, you have to be plagued by your past. I didn't know that people can't turn over a new leaf. I didn't know that your viciousness and evilness was this deep rooted, this deep seated. But I understand why now. When a woman isn't really being loved at home, the viciousness is a different type. So, I really wanted to pray for you today."

"Because look at where you are now in your life. Look what age you are. You sat up there being vicious all this time, and paid for that man's mistress for all these years, chile. You paid for her shopping sprees. you pad for her hotels. B***h you probably paid for her GYNO bills. You paid for that baby to be delivered, ho. How you doin'?! I want to know what you was doing when that MF'ing d**k was knee deep in that p***y. I don't want to imagine you without that wig on your head. And that's why he ran! That's why. That's why!"

Nicki didn't stop at Wendy's criticism of her, she also talked about her criticism of Beyoncé (which, honestly, we never understood either):

"I watched you do that to Beyoncé for years and I could never for the life of me figure out why. Like, what does this woman have against Beyonce? It's sickening to watch. But I remember when I was somewhere with Nas, and you walked up to him and acted like you didn't see me and said to him, 'Oh my god, why are you with her? I don't like her.' Then you said you and Kevin had spent the whole morning playing Nas. B***h, Kevin wasn't playing Nas. Kevin was knee deep in that p***y. You was playing Nas! You was playing yourself AND Nas!"

Lawdt!

The Pinkprint rapper also revealed she previously defended Wendy after the mistress drama:

"And I was one of those black women supporting you when that came out. I said forget about what she's said about me in the past. Let's all support her and uplift her." Then, she called "wanna be Queen Radios" and people who are dying to get her to say their name - peasants. "I know you must have gone through a lot, but you are demonic."

Nicki is taking the pettiness one step further, announcing that this week, she's bringing Tasha K - the woman who called the hospital acting like a family member to find out Kev's mistress was having the baby - on the show. What's extra awkward, is that DJ Boof was right there in the studio with Nicki during this episode. Yes, the same Boof who also DJ's at "The Wendy Show" and, according to Wendy, constantly asks her out on dates now that she's single.

  Photo: Instagram

[Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2019/11/01/sheesh-nicki-minaj-unleashes-her-wrath-on-demonic-wendy-williams-during-queen-radio

[cockholmsyndrome]

omfg who did you drag in your final paper

this paper was just drag after drag after drag, i felt like i was on some type of drug while writing it lmfao..

“Well, That’s Not Fair:” Subtle Racism withinFeminism 

August 24 of2014 was a memorable night in the music industry. It was the night of VideoMusic Awards, a well known award show for musicians. It was overall a verysuccessful year of accomplishments for Beyoncé Knowles Carter. However, sheopted to use her remarkable status in the music industry to highlight feminismduring her VMA performance. Towards the end of her 16-minute medley, the wholestage went dark and the word ‘Feminist’ brightly lit in the background. To nosurprise, she was heavily criticized for her bold statement. Would this samestyle of performance be shamed if Beyoncé were white? Does feminism equate withcertain skin tones? Each decision made by a female artist is essentiallycrucial to her career. It can drastically take a negative toll on the way thepublic views her. Though, the way society treats black female artists and whitefemale artists have shown a questionable trait upon the matter of feminism.

ParentsTelevision Council quickly responded with their thoughts concerning thisperformance by Beyoncé. Tim Winter, the PTC president stated, “It is perplexingthat a performance would include, on the one hand, strong, positive writtenmessages above the stage about honoring and respecting young women and endinggender-based double standards; while on the other hand the female performersare on stripper poles with back up dancers in flesh-toned bikinis.” Hedisregarded the fact that while being a feminist, you can also express sexpositivity, which was the main goal of Beyoncé’s performance. Women areconstantly shamed for being too sexualized, or they’re sexualized against theirown will. In comparison, we haven’t seen as muchharshly negative commentary about Miley Cyrus’ sexualized dancing that tookplace during the same award show in 2013. She was able to be show sexualizedtraits on stage with Robin Thicke and the PTC President had nothing to publiclyannounce about her behavior. Why didn’t he show the same type of response for Beyoncéthe following years? Curiosity strikes once again when you begin to wonderwhether or not race has anything to do with the way media and the communityreacts to different types of women.  

Race is one keyfactor that no one really thinks about when talking about the treatment offemale artists. Society tends to group women all together and state that allwomen face the same type of issues, when that’s merely just speculation tobroaden the term ‘feminism’. All women certainly face scrutiny. Though,different women face distinct levels of scrutiny based on their racialidentity. There have been multiple scenarios where a white female artist hasbeen treated with the upmost respect; meanwhile, a black female artist has beentreated differently in similar situations. Specifically, media outlets haveshown this discrete pattern with the way Caucasian women are portrayed versusthe way black women are presented. 

Susei Carneirowrote an article about the struggles that Brazilian black women face frommedia, labor, and society. She begins her discussion of media by mentioning thestereotypes and stigmas that damage the representation of black women. Inaddition, emphasizing the amount of power media holds over society. “Becausethe naturalization of racism and sexism in the media systematical reproducesthe stereotypes and stigmas that damage the social value of this group… Thesymbolic exclusion, the lack of representation, or the distorted image of blackwomen in the media are forms of violence that are so painful, cruel anddamaging that it could be regarded as a human rights issue,” she argued.Consequently, these distinctions in the treatment towards women of color have mainlybeen driven by the stereotypes that have been formed about them overtime. 

A commonstereotype that’s been applied to black female artists is their habit of havingan angry attitude. This stereotype has been broadcasted by multiple mediaoutlets that commonly write about musicians and celebrities. Media journalistsare well known for the subtle racist behaviors implemented into theirdiscussion of musicians. It’s typical for competition to arise in such anintense industry, though, the presentation of different artists have been basedupon their racial skin tone. A recent heated discussion in pop culture was thefeud between two female artists that go by the names of Taylor Swift and NickiMinaj. 

Billboardarticles are well known in this industry for spreading the news about recentevents in the music industry. Though, a sliver of their racist view point wasrevealed for a moment. An animation of the two celebrities was plastered at thetop of an article about the feud. In the image, Taylor Swift had her handrested on her hip and her facial expression was calm. Simultaneously, for NickiMinaj, her arms were crossed defensively and a frown was smeared across herface like an upset child. Two parties were involved in this feud, but one (awoman of color) was portrayed as the villain, while the opposite party (aCaucasian female) was presented as the victim. These little distinctions in thephoto had exposed who Billboard had supported in this feud. It wasn’t justBillboard participating in these subtly racist acts. Multiple other sources woulduse images of this black female artist in the middle of yelling or just lookingdisgruntled. On the other hand, Taylor Swift was portrayed as a straight Astudent that could do no wrong. Of course, this isn’t meant to sound demeaning towardsMs. Swift. It’s a valid point that emphasizes the cruel differences between thetreatments of women of color in media versus Caucasian women discussed inmedia.

Surprisingly, Nicki Minajand Taylor Swift concluded their feud by shaping it into a positive message byperforming on the Video Music Awards together in 2015. In society, women havebeen raised in such a manner that they’re constantly comparing themselves toeach other. Whether it’s their clothes, their bodies, or their facial features,competition of beauty between women has been shaped by societal norms. Throughthis notion, cat fighting within the music industry was found very common.Society has sculpted the culture of femininity to also have a characteristic ofbeing selfish and catty. From the competition that arises in the musicindustry, media outlets try to form rivalry among successful female artists.Rather than emphasizing their achievements for celebration, it’s for dramatizedgossip. 

It’s understandablethat media outlets are going to be strongly opinionated in their discussions ofevents in the music industry. They will toss aside the concept of unbiasedwriting for the sake of getting views on their work. It’s the audience choiceto believe what they read or to form their own opinion. Surprisingly, it isn’tjust media outlets that have been treating women differently based on skin. Thepublic in general, have been showing signs of giving torment to black women atan intensified degree in comparison for white women doing similar things. 

Throughouthistory, Caucasians have been given privileges. That includes their ability toenter black culture without any penalization. Though, if the roles wereswitched, then negative comments were sternly made. A primary example of thishypocrisy took place during the Country Music Awards and the BlackEntertainment Television Awards. Country Music Awards is a time to appreciatethe genre of music that’s been categorized under country, a genre of musicthat’s primarily Caucasian. With Beyoncé broadening her talent andexperimenting her abilities, she released a song that fell under the style ofcountry music. She titled the song ‘Daddy Lessons’ and managed to perform thesong with Dixie Chicks during the Country Music Awards. Though, the audiencethat had an intense passion for this genre didn’t take her presence on stagelight-heartedly. The New York Times wrote an article about the intense backlashshe had received from the public. An individual claimed that, “her policereform and Black Lives Matter movement had no place at the ceremony.” Though,she simply performed a song about her father and didn’t even show a singleindication of the Black Lives Matter movement. The article quotes a commenteron Facebook that stated, “Why are you showing Beyoncé and Dixie chicks? Onedoesn’t believe in America & our police force while the other didn’tsupport our president & Veterans during war. Neither are country andBeyoncé could not be bothered to put on some clothes for the occasion.” Whilesimultaneously being sexist and racist, the commentator seemed to show a muchmore intense distaste towards Beyoncé, the only colored woman on the stage thatnight. 

The BlackEntertainment Television Awards are meant to celebrate minorities across theindustries of music, acting, sports and more. A turn in the opposite direction wastaken when Iggy Azalea was offered the chance to perform for the show in 2014.She attended this ceremony that was specifically meant for minorities and performeda rap song titled ‘Fancy’. As a result, she was only praised for entering thisgenre of music that’s solely been formed through the struggles of minorities.Several comments from the public floated around stating ‘Iggy Azalea Rocks 2014BET Awards’, filling their titles with complete admiration towards thisCaucasian female artist. Simultaneously, Beyoncé received harsh criticismmerely for performing a country song during the Country Music Awards.Essentially, the artists themselves aren’t the issue on knowing theirboundaries, but the way media outlets/audiences respond to these events in sucha hypocritical manner. 

Opportunitieshave been formed differently for individuals throughout centuries. It’ssomething that’ll still be fought for in the future. Though, at a certainpoint, when an opportunity is so misconstrued it begins to get questioned.Rolling Stones released an article that explained how Beyoncé was shot downfrom even submitting her song ‘DaddyLessons’ into the Grammy nominations. The public found this situation to bequite confusing since she was just asking for a submission for her song.“Beyoncé earned nine Grammy nominations when the categories were revealed onDecember 6th. While the bulk of the singer’s notations were in all-genre, popand rap categories …. Inclusion there makes the outright rejection of thetwangy “Daddy Lessons” somewhat more of a head-scratcher.” Nepotism is predictablein such an industry. Though, the award show had essentially put a firm barrierin front of this successful black artist. This barrier had resisted her fromsubmitting a country song into a country nomination. People who don’tunderstand the subtle behaviors of racism within the music industry, willalways find this action as a head scratcher.  

The adversitiesthat minorities had faced throughout decades of violence and theft had amassive effect on the way people see ‘beauty’. With the way, history has shapedthe lives for darker skinned people; it’s understandable that white women havebeen glorified for their skin tone. The commonality of having straight hair andlight skin has gotten women of color to seek themselves as not naturallybeautiful. Gail Hilson Woldu stated, “Sociologically [Nicki] is reallyfascinating because she is not only dressing up to be a woman, but she’sdressing up to be a white woman”. This was applied to multiple other women ofcolor within the industry. They suffered societal shame that was given to theirskin tone and hair texture. By implementing white features to their appearance,they were attaining attention and glorifying this concept of being white toanother extreme degree. This concept of white-washing was driven by the lack ofglorification towards colored women. 

There hasalways been controversy behind the concept women of having sexual appeal.Whether it’s the way they dress, act, or dance, it’ll always be criticized. “Formany black women performers, having a voluptuous rear end was an asset and nota defect that needed to be camouflaged”, Woldu states by mentioning thesexualized actions towards black women. While it may be acceptable for them tohave bold sexualized features, it’s also been expected for them to have these voluptuous rear ends. “In “Baby’sGot Back,” by rapper Sir-Mix-a-Lot, black women’s protruding behinds are theobject of desire and lust, whereas white women had flat as a pancake behinds …and the fashion industry that celebrated anorexic looking white women aremocked in this music.” In the hip-hop culture, black men were only capable ofshowing appreciation towards the curviness of black women in their music. Withblack men objectifying black females in their music, it develops the heighteneddesire of sexualization towards black women over white women.

“Thesexualizing of black women is a continuation of slavery mindset in thetwenty-first century that is being perpetuated not only by black rappers, butmany of the white audiences who fuel the consumer base. There is nothinginherently sexual about black women, but instead, there is a sexuality placedupon their bodies, first by colonizers, then by the slaveholders, and now bythe popular media,” Lindsey Wiltse stated in her article. Essentially, all thehorrific actions inflicted onto the minorities over the several centuries ofhistory have sculpted this over-bearing habit of sexualizing women of color. Thehypersexualization of women that has been shown through hip hop culture, hasallowed for the white gaze to look into black females from a sexualized viewpoint. With the white gaze involved in hip hop culture, there’s an extraneousamount of sexualization towards black women. In reality, hip hop culturewithout the white gaze, focuses on its roots such as jazz and reggae. Themainstream aspect of hip hop has been inclusive to the white gaze and it hasresulted in a difference of sexual appeal in black women versus white women.

Overall, womenare constantly being challenged by the barriers of sexism that has beendeveloped over history. Female artists are still intensely sexualized andlooked upon as objects in the industry. Regardless of whether the artist is awoman of color or Caucasian, it’s expected for them to have a sexual appeal intheir appearance. In addition, women are criticized for not upholding multipleexpectations for their talent. For the music industry, having a pretty face anda marvelous singing ability won’t be enough for a woman to achieve success.They’re expected to reach a strict standard of beauty, attain the ability todance in uncomfortable heels, be charming and so on. For male artists, the mostthat’s expected for them is to wear basic clothing and have an ability tosing. 

Men arediscussed for their actions and their music. For women, they’re typicallyoverlooked for their talent and mainly looked upon as sexualized objects topoke at. A recently well known example would be LA Weekly posting amisogynistic article about Sky Ferreira. The article stated, “A third unnamedgroup that included me couldn’t help but reminisce on the past, on herdefiantly atomic boobs — the two knockers that altered the course of humanhistory.” As a result of the article, Sky Ferreira swiftly responded by statingthat she was more than just her body and that she was a musician. Sheemphasized a point that she is more than her sex appeal and her “knockers” andthat they’re two traits that she’ll never be ashamed of when discussing hercareer. With enough attention from the audience, the article was shortlyremoved along with an apology from the LA Weekly writer. Rather than focusingon her talent, or her ability to sing and write music, LA Weekly settled on theconcept of analyzing her body. This is routinely applied to only femaleartists. Though, for men, they’re commonly focused on their lyrics aren’tpresented in media at all.

Society tendsto just throw all the issues that women face under the title of feminism.Simultaneously, society forgets the specific type of issues that only women ofcolor have to battle each day. The barriers formed by sexism shouldn’t blur thelines within feminism. It shouldn’t be forgotten that white women clearly havean advantage in the world over women of color. When the non-Caucasian relatedissues are lost in the mix of feminism, it becomes ‘white feminism’. Commontopics that are connected to feminist discussions include rape, abortion,sexual assault and wage gap. Those topics are essentially the introductorycourse to the entire range of actual feminism that’s inclusive to all types ofwomen. While these commonly known topics are bringing awareness to issues, manymembers of society don’t really focus on the race aspect that lies withinfeminism. The manner of how a black women experiences sexism and inequality iscompletely different from the way a white woman experiences these issues. Toview feminism from a one-sided view of white women is not feminism at all.Kimberley Crenshaw stated in 1989, “The view that woman experience oppressionin varying configurations and in varying degrees of intensity. Culturalpatterns of oppression are not only interrelated but are bound together andinfluenced by intersectional systems of society.” White feminism needs to beadjusted into a better understanding of issues faced by women of color. They’remore likely of being a target of hate and criticism than white women. Ofcourse, this isn’t to say that white women aren’t treated unfairly. But it’simportant to acknowledge how the issues that aren’t related to white women areoverlooked during the topic of feminism. 

[soyoureviewhiphoptoo]

Soundtrack of the Week 06/07/2017

Another week, another Soundtrack. I must say that I spent a majority of the week with Jay Z- 4:44 on repeat. Without a single doubt in my mind, I can exclaim that 4:44 is a masterpiece that I urge everyone to listen to (and I urge everyone to read my review on the blog). Not to worry, this will not be my third post in the space of a week where I talk about Jay-Z.  This is the Soundtrack of the Week. (long post inbound)

Calvin Harris- Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 Released June 30, 2017 Label:  Columbia Records

There was a time when I would not have acknowledged Calvin Harris. I would hear his EDM songs randomly on an advert or in the gym and I would just overlook him. His music is not particularly bad (He has some of the better mainstream EDM songs, they’re just overplayed) but they just were not for me. I was not going out of my way to listen to a Calvin Harris song, let alone an album from him….then he released Slide. I was online one day and I saw the phrase “Calvin Harris Ft. Frank Ocean and Migos”. I can openly say that I was very intrigued. I am a huge Frank Ocean fan so I was glad to hear him make music and not disappear after releasing his latest album Blonde and I’ve grown to really like Migos. But I was more intrigued to hear what a song between those four men would actually sound like. Needless to say, I was blown away.

Soon thereafter, Harris releases three more singles Heatstroke Featuring Young Thug, Pharrell Williams and Ariana Grande, Rollin Featuring Khalid and Future and Feels Featuring Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and Big Sean. Honestly, those songs gripped me and pushed me towards listening to this album. Here’s the thing… Calvin Harris found a way to throw together a group of artists on a song, who have no business being together on paper and make amazing songs that are able to flow right. What I appreciate even more about this album is that Calvin does not give up his artistry on production. He isn’t trying to throw out Hip Hop or RnB beats but he’s sticking to his own wave of EDM and disco beats. Calvin Harris has just entered the DJ Khaled lane of being able to bring in superstar artists on smash hit songs for the summer. Definitely worth a listen.  

RATINGS

Concept: 3/5 Production: 4/5 Lyrical Content: 3.5/5 Flow and Delivery: 3.5/5 Repeatability: 4.5/5 Did I enjoy this project? I really did Songs to Recommend? Slide, Rollin, Hard To Love, Feels and Cash Out

Final Rating: 3.7/5

Calvin Harris Featuring Frank Ocean and Migos- Slide The lead single of the album and my favourite song. A mixture of warming Frank Ocean vocals with interesting Migo verses that do not superimpose themselves over the upbeat summer beat.

Iggy Azalea- Switch Released May 19, 2017 Label:  Def Jam Recordings AND Iggy Azalea- The New Classic Released April 21, 2014 Label:  Def Jam Recordings and Virgin EMI Records

Clearly, this is the week where I listen to artists where I would not normally listen to. While Calvin Harris built up intrigue in my mind that drew me in whereas Iggy Azalea is…something else. Here is a lengthy anecdote for you guys. Once upon a time, I was intrigued by Iggy Azalea. When she was on her come up in 2012/2013, Nicki Minaj was the only female rapper in the mainstream (who I am not a big fan of but whatever). I was looking forward to the prospect of someone else coming to take the crown of the top female rapper. Then Iggy released her biggest single to date, Fancy. Now…I was not a fan of the song. The song itself is not bad but it did not feel unique. The beat felt like someone hacked Mike WiLL Made-It’s laptop and took one of the beats from his untitled, throwaway folder (This song was released around the time Mike Will came to his prominence, releasing hit songs with Rae Srummurd and Miley Cyrus of all people) and Iggy’s verse was good (not mind blowing but better than most rap verses on pop songs) but it was overshadowed by the Charli XCX hook which gets annoying very quickly. 

Iggy Azalea Featuring Charli XCX- Fancy The hit single from Iggy Azalea. The music video is reminiscent of 90s high school sitcoms like Saved by the Bell and Clueless. (The benefit of being born in ‘96 is that you are able to catch the great things of the 90s, everyone’s favourite decade)

But there are two instances where my intrigue and liking of Iggy vanished. First, I learned that she was Australian.  “Excuse me, are you a xenophobe?” I have no problem with her nationality obviously. The issue arises when you learn that she is Australian and yet she sounds like a black woman from Atlanta when she raps…that is false advertising and feels disingenuous to listeners. The second issue was that as a pop rapper, she had the possibility of winning several Grammys including the Grammy for Rap Album of the Year. Mind you, she was nominated the year after we witnessed The Heist of the century when Macklemore and Ryan Lewis won the Grammy over Kendrick Lamar (You have got to appreciate that pun, you just have to) so it was highly likely that we were going to get a repeat. Granted, the committee were kind that year and she did not win anything but to even be nominated is weird.

While silly niggas argue over who gon’ snatch the crown Look around, my nigga, white people have snatched the sound This year I’ll prolly go to the awards dappered down Watch Iggy win a Grammy as I try to crack a smile

From J. Cole- Fire Squad What is interesting here is that The New Classic lost to the Eminem album, The Marshell Mathers LP 2. While they are both white artists, are we going to call Em a culture vulture? 

Nowadays, Iggy has pretty much fallen from grace. In the years since the release of The New Classic, Iggy became one of those celebrities that were famous for the sake of fame and not for her music. While she has been chasing after another hit song, she has yet to find that record. It has even resulted to using her large bum and twerking as a way to catch attention (with Booty, a song that she did with J-Lo as a way to catch the attention, Nicki Minaj- Anaconda had secured literally a month earlier and recent singles Mo’ Bounce and the aforementioned Switch).  With news of her latest album, Digital Distortion, being pushed back, her fall is even more apparent (she was slated for a release the same day as Jay-Z most recently, so maybe there was a valid reason for the pushback).  Here is my biggest problem with Iggy Azalea though which became validated when I decided to listen to The New Classic after years of clowning her for being Grammy nominated for mediocre pop music. While the album itself is not bad at all and I liked it more than I thought it would, it doesn’t feel unique. Iggy Azalea as an artist does not feel unique. She is not a bad rapper but there is nothing there that pushes me to listen to her more. She has a good ear for beats but with her production, it feels like she is chasing hype; she is just rapping over what is trending and it leaves the project sounding dated. When you chase hype in your music, you can not build up your own style and you just feel like pale imitations of others who did it far better. 

RATINGS

Concept: 2/5 Production: 2.5/5 Lyrical Content: 2.5/5 Flow and Delivery: 3/5 Repeatability: 2/5 Did I enjoy this project? I did but not really Songs to Recommend? Walk The Line, Work and Don’t Need Y’all

Final Rating: 2.4/5

Iggy Azalea- Switch The song is not even that bad. It is a decent club hit but it just feels drab and lifeless as it lacks a unique sound. Besides, in an era of trap music and mumble rap being played in clubs, who is really trying to listen to this?

I have spent a remarkably long time talking about an artist I do not even like that much…so let’s switch it up. (Oh the puns continue!) Nas- It was Written Released July 2, 1996 Label: Columbia Records

This past Sunday was the 21st anniversary of It Was Written so I decided to put this on and give it a revisit (that sounds familiar). While Jay-Z was one of the first rappers I was exposed to as a child, Nas was one of the first rappers I decided to listen during my teenage years as a way of widening my scope of hip-hop music. While I knew of him and heard songs from him, it was not until I played Saints Row 2 and heard N.Y. State of Mind for the first time, that I truly realised I needed to listen to him. I would go on to listen to his first three albums constantly.

Nas’ debut album, Illmatic is regarded as not only his best work but also one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. I will never dispute the importance of Illmatic in hip-hop history (it has had a huge impact on my life and I was not even alive when it was released) but honestly, I believe that It Was Written was a better album as a whole.

To date, It Was Written is Nas’ most commercially successful album. While commercial success should not be your standard for considering whether an album is great or not but there are cases when a combination of a style change and a stellar debut brings in more ears than ever.  Gone are the gritty, underground sounds of Illmatic and enters more polished, elaborate funk and jazz instrumentation that helped bring in the mainstream appeal. I have heard a majority of Nas’ discography at one point in my life and it is hard for me to say that any other project has a better sound in terms of production than It Was Written (seeing as Nas’ ear for beats is a running joke in hip-hop, I can say he was on point here).

What puts this album in a lane of its own is the lyrical content. Much like Reasonable Doubt, Nas explores the mafioso rap genre throughout a majority of the songs on this album. Armed with the stellar storytelling ability and impressive lyricism that brought him fame, Nas talks about drug dealing, murder, revenge and being ahead of the competition in such a deep and visceral way that you can close your eyes and visualise yourself in the situations he is describing. While Jay-Z mostly talked about the rewards that the mafia lifestyle brought, Nas talked about the dark and gruesome activities that mafiosos would partake in. The ultimate discussion of this gangster lifestyle actually comes from the perspective of a gun. With I Gave You Power, Nas personifies a desert eagle, who had become the witness of many crimes in the hoods of America, watching as himself and other guns like him are used to cause so much damage to people.

Nas- I Gave You Power

With strong features from Mobb Deep, Lauryn Hill and members of Nas’ short-lived group, The Firm, and production from the likes of DJ Premier, Dr Dre, Havoc (of Mobb Deep) and Trackmasters, It Was Written is a spectacular showing from Nas and is his quintessential album.

RATINGS

Concept: 4.5/5 Production: 4.5/5 Lyrical Content: 5/5 Flow and Delivery: 4.5/5 Repeatability: 5/5 Did I enjoy this project? Of course, I did Songs to Recommend? The Message, I Gave You Power, Take It In Blood, Affirmative Action, The Set Up, Black Girl Lost, Shootouts, Live Nigga Rap, If I Ruled The World and Silent Murder

Final Rating: 4.7/5

Nas Featuring Lauryn Hill- If I Ruled The World (Imagine That) The lead single of this album and possibly one of his most well-known songs. A song that has Nas imagining how he would shape the earth as the ruler.

[navigatethestream]

Many black women—especially rappers, activists and women’s-rights advocates—have continually called out the misogynistic elements in hip-hop. Nicki Minaj, the woman Cyrus clearly tried her best to imitate, has been an avid spokesperson against sexism and double standards. Minaj has noted, “I just want women to always feel in control. Because we’re capable—we’re so capable.” MC Lyte and Queen Latifah exposed hip-hop’s sexism as far back as the 1980s and 1990s. So the point here is not whether Cyrus is correct to bring up misogyny; it’s the irony that she would dare do so while being one of its main offenders. Remember the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards and Cyrus’ infamous foam finger? Four years ago, she performed alongside Robin Thicke, a married man 16 years her senior. As he rubbed on her entire body and ass, she used that finger as a penis, gyrating, with her tongue sticking out. Let’s also not forget that this was the same year Thicke released “Blurred Lines,” a song claiming that no matter what a woman says, he knows she’s just playing hard to get and that “[he] knows [women] want it.” Just so we’re clear, Cyrus, 24, claims to be done with hip-hop music because it’s too misogynistic, but she wasn’t done with Thicke for popularizing rape culture in a summer anthem—one that she gladly sang along to. We all know, or should know, that there is misogyny in music overall, especially country music. But the defunct trap queen, like any other cultural tourist too busy taking selfies to immerse herself in her surroundings and actually learn something, only sees hip-hop as “money, cash, hoes,” because that’s the music in which she intentionally trafficked. With enthusiastic support from quite a few black male rappers, the former Disney Channel star-turned-failed twerker intentionally used black people, especially women, as props she climbed over into relevance. Now Cyrus wants to once again be Hannah Montana, the innocent country girl she played on her once-hit television show of the same name from 2006 to 2011. Miley, what’s really good? Cyrus has since clarified her statements to mean that she appreciates all music and artists but is now taking time to expand her music personally, gravitating toward more conscious rap—just one more manufactured response in her too long manufactured career. White artists like Cyrus treat hip-hop and black artistry like an item of clothing, something to shed once it’s been worn too much. She and other performers like Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry make enough money off the backs of black people, then attempt to evolve into more peaceful, serene and tranquil versions of themselves. They “slum it” with the “niggas,” then get all cleaned up and go back to the big house with Mommy and Daddy. All the while, black people are harmed, but the people who effectuated that harm have no accountability. Now that Cyrus’ fiance, Liam Hemsworth, is back in her life, she doesn’t need hip-hop anymore to make her popular. That isn’t evolution; it’s white supremacist capitalist manipulation. Luckily, for the majority of black America, we knew that we never needed her, her raspy pitch, her nonrhythmic dancing or her failed twerking in the first place. Bye, Miley.

Dear Miley Cyrus: Hip-Hop Culture Never Needed You and It Won’t Miss You  by Preston Mitchum

[rapfornication]

A List of a Bunch of Songs We Liked by Siya Mbatha & Norman

2016, what a year. Included in this list are the emotions and memories that came with these songs. Here is a list that attempts to consolidate a most uniquely strange year .Fuck Donald Trump and enjoy the links to other pieces we thought you might enjoy too. And also fuck Donald Trump. 

Danny Brown – When It Rain 

Produced By Paul White Album: Atrocity Exhibition

One of the more left field songs that still somehow has an underlying jitty foot-light feel to it. It sounds like ‘Dip’ if it grew up in a dark basement and suffered from crippling anxiety. Danny Brown matches the atmosphere with some of his most vivid, impressive writing to date as he describes Detroit as a city that sees no change but gentrification, grannies getting robbed and more guns than necessary. Unforgettable.

Kendrick Lamar - untitled 02 | 06.23.2014.

Produced By Yung Exclusive & Cardo Album: untitled unmastered.

Cornrow Kenny brought out the circus tricks without losing his seriousness. The build-up is one captivating performance but once his voice swings into high pitched, the stunting and trumpets go into overdrive and you’re left pleasantly stunned. Get God on the phone.

Fat Joe & Remy Ma Feat. French Montana & Infa Red - All The Way Up

Produced By Cool & Dre & Edsclusive Album: Plata O Plomo

They say regionalism is dead but this all NY affair begs to differ. Cool and Dre provide the bass and unforgettable horns and the legends (plus Montana) rip it apart like a swaggier version of The Avengers. Remy Ma came back and ignited desperately needed fire.

Fat Joe & Remy Ma Feat. Infa-Red, Jay Z & French Montana -  All The Way Up (remix)

Produced By Cool & Dre & Edsclusive

 Lean Back left a lasting legacy, even for the millennials like my whack self who remembers slogans like Terror Squad, before Khaled was Billy Ocean, back when Fat Joe had the red parka in the video

"Lemonade is a popular drink and it still is". Lemonade the album that I still haven't listened to has just dropped and every beyhive fan on Twitter was up in arms mad that Jay Z was getting his lemonade from a woman named Becky -if you're into that kinda thing. And that’s all Hov was gonna do in terms of speaking on it. One more time, let it sink in. Lemonade is a popular drink and it still is. He pretty much ethered Beyoncé if you think about it.

Rihanna – Needed Me

Produced By Kuk Harrell & DJ Mustard Album: ANTI

For the first time in her long career, Rihanna sounded liberated. ‘Needed Me’ amplifies the dark, sexual charisma she always displayed in ways that feel less put-on (Rated-R, basically) and more like self-expression. A fantastic wonky Mustard beat gives her room to remind her past flame who really was doing who a favour. Savagery personified in one song. Oh, that shot of Robyn in a lacy blue dress, gun in hand, looking out to the beach? Iconic

BBNG Feat. Samuel T. Herring – Time Moves Slow

Produced By BADBADNOTGOOD Album: IV

It’s been great watching BBNG grow into their own. The legendary Sam Herring lends his heartfelt voice to this perfectly crafted number. Personally, it got me through a messy situationship. Unreciprocated love makes it feel like time is moving slow.

Kid Cudi Feat. Travis Scott - Baptized In Fire

Produced By Mike Dean & Plain Pat Album: Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'

This is the most Kid Cudi Kid Cudi has sounded for a long time. And it's scary to figure that your preference for an artist is derived in their articulation of their personal pain and struggles, I mean it's why we fuck with a Basquiat right? But here, here it's like Cudi just wanted to make his number one fan Travis Scott happy. The reserved role that La Flame takes in this feels like that, like he's soaking the moment in. The production overall sound is very reminiscent of Man On The Moon, if not a remake considering Plain motherfucking Pat, Mike Dean, La Flame and Cudder were all on this, SQUAD.

Schoolboy Q – JoHn Muir

Produced By Sounwave Album: Blank Face LP

Deadly basslines and triumphant horns score Q’s coming of age tale to churn out one of the best songs on ‘.Blankface’. Can’t help but poorly crip walk when this album cut comes on.

Kemba – Already

Produced By Frank Drake Album: Negus

Honestly, one could have chosen any song on Kemba’s often brilliant LP, ‘Negus’ but ‘Already’ takes the cake for two reasons: it’s Frank Duke’s hardest beat since ‘Fuckin’ Up The Count’ and the artist sounds angry, dissatisfied and wounded by the awful recurring problems surrounding race. Isn’t that how we all felt in this bizarre year?

Samiyam Feat. Earl Sweatshirt - Mirror

Produced By Samiyam Album: Animals Have Feelings

This song was supposed to come right after Faucet but looking in this in totality it's fitting that it only dropped in 2016, a year later. A resolute Earl spits his way through his insecurities and imperfections "despite how they praising your face I'mma make do!". Earl's raps are never really about us, mans just telling his story and again we find ourselves in it. Looking in the mirror, seeing the only the nigga we wanted to be. It's not angry, it's aggressively encouraging.

Isaiah Rashad – Park

Produced By Park Ave. & D. Sanders Album: The Sun's Tirade

Trying to follow the topics Rashad dives into is genuinely exciting. In lesser hands, it just wouldn’t work but he’s always saved by the mere fact that he’s a compelling writer. Over fluttering hi hats and knocking sparse bass, he compares himself to Nicki Minaj and Guwop, reveals sexual infidelity while denouncing his savagery and still sneaks in discerning bars about fatherhood and religion. What really trips one out is how effortless it all sounds.

Noname – Freedom Interlude

Produced By Phoelix & Saba Album: Telefone

Out the shadows, Noname took her spot as one the more talented rappers of her generation. ‘Freedom Interlude ‘  is all her strengths wrapped in one warm song. Her intricate soliloquies spill over some steady drums and calming chords as she wanders and aches about Bill Cosby, perception, motherhood, becoming and everything in between.

Jeff Chery – Salty

Produced By Stefan Green

The cliché goes: if you don’t have haters, you aren’t doing anything noteworthy. So, naturally, songs about them are probably my favourite. Nothing like glorious flexing as a defence mechanism to truly propel a song and Chery leans into his naysayers over woozy bass and autotune.

J. Cole – Neighbors

Produced By J. Cole Album: 4 Your Eyez Only

Certain people will always let prejudices rule their perception of others. As a young black man, the hurtful reminders creep up on you every time who walk pass a car and the white person inside frantically locks their door or when you call your friends for a get together and your racist nearby residents bring the police to your doorstep to break it up. Cole explores this reality in a way that’s both relatable and fittingly hopeless. No matter who or where you are, the burden of being black is sometimes too heavy.

DJ Khaled Feat. Drake - For Free

Produced By Jordan Ullman & Nineteen85 Album: Major Key

I didn't want Khaled and Drake to have another anthem so they made another anthem. And as audacious as Drizzy Drake Rogers might be, as irritating as his love "Serana, Rihanna and JLo in one year" life might be, this is a really nice song. Like those moments after when you're feeling yourself, appreciating your agility wanting to ask the person next to you “... Is this sex so good I shouldn't have to fuck for free?"

Ma-E & AKA – Lie 2 Me

Produced by: Brian Soko, Mr Kamera & Ma-E 

Ma- E is basically your uncle who tries way too hard to look/sound ‘hip’ but still somehow pulls it without coming off corny. This ‘Township Counsellor’ gem hides the lingering insecurity of being rich/famous and always wondering if people like you for you or what you offer. Roping in SA’s erratic egoistic makes perfect sense as the pair smash this one out the park.

Ka – Just

Produced By Ka Album: Honor Killed the Samurai

Gangster turned firefighter, Ka writes like how one would imagine if they found themselves in a ‘I Am Legend’ type world. Even the pragmatic, bare-knuckle beats can’t dull the emotionally profound bars about backstabbers, dead loved ones, poverty and unfulfilled potential. Guilt more than anything invades this samurais’ nightmares.

Lil Yachty - One Night (Extended) 

Produced by TheGoodPerry Album: Lil Boat

It's really the most pleasant mean way to tell a hoe she ain't no wifey, matter of fact to tell anyone she ain't no wifey. But the video is tight tho, very Odd Future 2011-esq and very much Lil Yachty's assertion that he's pretty much here to do whatever the fuck he wants with this hip hop thing, and even scarier is that you actually can't stop him. Hook hella catchy tho.

Cousin Stizz Feat. Larry June – Down Like That

Produced By Puff Daddy Album MONDA

Billed as a showcase of star potential, Stizzy breaks out of the seriousness that drives ‘MONDA’ for some old fashioned hijinks. But Larry June truly murks this sizzling beat with one of the verses of the year. Who else can deliberately rap off beat, admit and end the bar with cold ‘fuck rap’?

Belly Feat. 2 Chainz, The Weeknd & Yo Gotti - Might Not (Remix)  

Produced By Merlin Watts, DaHeala & Ben Billions

Between the time the original and now Belly had delivered consistently cold bars embodied in solid projects twice. And hip hops heavy hitters and OGs aren't asleep to this, Belly's signed to Roc Nation. Everyone on here does their part but it's 2 Chainz who steals the show with his playful but vicious flow with audacious lines like, "IF YOU LOVE ME TAT MY NAME ON YOUR UTERUS!". Belly comes through cold tapping into the drug taking, model fucking persona The Weeknd had before he went full pop on us. And while Yo Gotti's verse is otherwise forgettable, mans didn't go down without a fight. 

Young Thug - Digits/Swizz Beats

Produced By Wheezy Album: JEFFERY

Thug’s output makes it hard to pick a favourite but these two highlight why I love Slime’s style. He’s a unique, eccentric singular voice that constantly defies rap norms and conjures up memorable hooks with ease.

A$AP Mob Feat. A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ant, A$AP Ferg, A$AP Nast, A$AP Twelvyy & Juicy J  - Yamborghini High

Produced By Hector Delgado Album: Cozy Tapes Vol. 1: Friends

First off, s/o and daps to A$AP Mob for executing skits on a tape the way we remember skits on a tape, niggas too fucking cozy. It's the type of contextualising taking us back to Pesos. A corner store in Harlem. Second, you gotta want to believe that Yams in heaven tripping the fuck out not only watching the most tumbler-esque video but fact that the whole tape is not only an ode to Yams but also the preservation of his legacy.

Denzel Curry – ULT

Produced By Finatik N Zac, Nick Leon & Ronny J Album Imperial

The most gifted pick on 2016’s XXL Freshmen List. ‘ULT’ is the perfect song if you’re unfamiliar with Curry’s work. It’s high tempo and ferocious coupled with unyielding intelligence. Denzel sounds unflinching in the face of racial profiling and police brutality as he basks in the idea of unity. The chorus carries its 2Pac influence proudly. Revolt music.

Chance The Rapper feat. Saba - Angels 

Produced By The Social Experiment & Lido   Album Coloring Book

Chance is that guy, he either irks you or like Obama he's on your playlist(s). So this song found its way onto mine. This is the soundtrack to my success, the background music to scenes of triumph, the sound of joy, a thugs prayer of gratitude ..that's this song. Pain is beautiful but it takes real skill to articulate happiness. 

 ASAP Mob - Telephone Calls Feat.  Yung Gleesh, Playboi Carti, Tyler, The Creator & A$AP Rocky

Produced By Plu2o Nash Album Cozy Tapes Vol. 1: Friends

The best thing about this song outside the quotable, outside Tyler stepping his flow up, outside walk Gleesh walk and outside "POST MAN, who dis?" is A$AP Rocky's verified lyrics where he writes about Tyler "I wish I knew this nigga my whole life" ❤

Frank Ocean Feat. KOHH – Nikes

Produced By Malay Ho, Om'Mas Keith & Frank Ocean Album: Blonde

Frank’s writing displays vulnerable humanity that we all try and tap into on our best days. ‘Nikes’ is filled with hilarious shit talking, short eulogies to passed peers and kin, lines about doing lines and trying to stay young. Life in your 20’s captured in 5 minutes.

Isaiah Rashad - Free Lunch

Produced By Cam O'bi Album: The Sun's Tirade

 Damn, I hate to say this but drugs and depression gave depth to this man’s music and made it interesting. After Clivia Demo, I had feared that under the shadow of TDE/Kendrick hype, that like other almost kinda famous sorta artists we were going to lose him, collateral damage so to speak. But instead Rashad in the most cliche of ways turned tragedy into triumph. 

Skepta – Man(Gang)

Produced By Skepta Album: Konnichiwa

The appeal of grime is its ability to be entertaining and aggressively haughty simultaneously. Skepta comes for everyone’s head on this ‘Konnichiwa’ standout. Fake fans and friends, washed rappers &wannabe fashionstas; no one is spared. London boyz made noise in 2016.

Childish Gambino – Me & Your Mama

Produced By Ludwig Göransson Album: "Awaken, My Love!"

The signal to the stars. Sitting through this ever mortifying gospel-rock joint feels transient. A shift from dick inspired punchlines to channeling Parliament Funkdelic; Donald Glover is proof of the rewards of artistic progression.

Danny Brown - Dance In The Water 

Produced By Paul White Album: Atrocity Exhibition

I'd like to think that this song would fit perfectly in a Tarantino film that's already been made, maybe that one about the car with Rosario Dawson and the lady who did stunts for Uma Therman. I'd like to think those things, a perfect middle between the old world and new. Danny Brown, at his peak, paints the most perfect picture of curated chaos.. 

Saba & Noname – Church/Liquor Store

Produced By Cam O'bi Album: Bucket List Project

Two of Chicago’s more gifted writers take us on a ride through their hometown. Saba is insightful, sorrowful and clear headed as he tackles addiction, gang violence, gentrification and the school to prison system. Noname acts as the perfect foil. It soars with gorgeous keys and beautiful choir worthy voices that only add to the misery

Earl Sweatshirt & Knxwledge – Balance

Produced By Knxwledge Album: 2016 Adult Swim Singles

A sensible union. Two talented non stars whose styles fit each other like big feet & AF’s 1.Earl’s attention to detail add a personal touch to universal gripes of being young, black & confused. His mumblings feel at home over Knxwledge’s lush, anxious phrases.

AKA ft Yanga – Dream Work

Produced by KJ Conteh

Sampling ‘Street Fighter’ should already make this a classic but AKA takes it a step further by rightfully staking a claim to SA rap’s crown. The hook is masterful; Yanga’s voice complements the thumping bass perfectly and AKA sounds focused, sharp and agitated. A continuation of a 5 year streak that doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. Long Live Supa Mega.

Terrance Martin – Valdez off Crenshaw

Produced by Terrace Martin Co-Produced by Robert “Sput” Searight

Modern music would be less great without Terrace Martin. One could go on an endless tangent listing countless accolades and contributions but rather we stick to this one moment on “Velvet Portraits”. It’s a mesmerizing piece of jazz leaning funk that contains an electric guitar solo that’s so beautifully over the top you can’t help sit in awe. An experience.

D.R.A.M Feat. Lil Yachty – Broccoli

Produced By J Gramm Beats Album: Big Baby D.R.A.M.

There's this phenomena taking place where new kids want to be their own, don't want to inherit problems, keen to dictate their own narrative. This song is a prime example of this. D.R.A.M is on here with his puppy hugging positive healthy outlook on life bars and Lil Yachty is here in his whole self. The millennials Big Pimpin', I’m calling it.

Kadhja Bonet – Honey Comb

Produced By Kadhja Bonet Album: The Visitor

‘Classical music’ can be an off putting label. But Bonet puts a modern spin on the genre and breathes new life into it. It sounds so good it possess the power to you cleanse all your proverbial sins. Gorgeous piece of music.

 Solange Feat. Lil Wayne - Mad 

Produced By Troy "R8DIO" Johnson, David Longstreth, Sir Dylan, Solange &Raphael Saadiq Album: A Seat at the Table

Very rarely are us folk, black folk, worldwide given the space to be angry. Our sorrow, our pain and small glimmers of happiness have their time, designated hours. So when you're mad, you're mad on your own, you're carrying it on your own .. and when you finally exhale it's a lot. Mad about inabilities and inadequacies of the self. It's always just too much to never have someone ask "why you mad son?". It's a relief to have a song like this affirm that anger. Affirming the experience of holding on anger only for it to be dismissed, invalidated to be "why you always be so mad"-ed. I praise Solo for speaking this truth. 

Rae Sremmurd Feat. Gucci Mane – Black Beatles

Produced By Mike WiLL Made-It Album: SremmLife 2

Mannequin challenge aside, ‘Black Beatles’ was destined to be a hit. Swan Lee sounds like a fallen angel; cautious and courageous. Jimi admirably keeps up and Gucci is his outrageous melodic self. Mike Will brings out the trademark ear wormy tunes and you’ve got a stellar song that celebrates youthful exuberance like no other this year. Rae Sremmurd > The Beatles

Rich Chigga - Dat $tick 

Easily the hardest bars and hardest beat of the year, or the 2nd Quarter.  Upper Echelon bars. YOUR FAVORITE RAPPER WAS SHOOK WHEN HE HEARD IT. 

DJ Esco Feat. Future & Rae Sremmurd - Party Pack 

Produced By Southside & DJ Esco Album: Project E.T. Esco Terrestrial

 If you questioned the longevity of Future's "glow up" or how Rae Sremmurd would navigate beyond being the cute small guys then this song stands as testament. On this song Future sounds energized, he sounds damn near competitive on a song that features another well executed Swae Lee hook and a very well placed Slim Jxmmi.

Boogie – Nigga Needs

Produced By Keyel Album: Thirst 48, Pt. 2

Boogie has a knack of simplifying nuanced thoughts and conflicting feelings. Coupled with a video of him as a bleeding centrepiece in an art gallery, The Thirst 48 rapper tries to come to terms the difficultly of self-improvement in a world that conspires against him.

Travis Scott Feat. NAV - Beibs in the Trap

Produced By NAV Album: Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight

 Ay, millennials finally get our own cocaine raps, that tight. But say no to drugs. Drugs ruin lives. Drugs also cost way too much money to pick it up as a habit. Also, who actually does cocaine anymore. Isn't tripping on anxiety meds, though troubling cos clearly in the purest sense of self we have proved incapable of dealing with the realities of this world, the wave? I dunno, just don't do crack kids. That's not glamorous. Neither is crushed up Ritalin on your gums. Great song though 5/5 shout outs NAV for the harmonies and production s/o Justin Beiber.

Westside Gunn & Action Bronson – Dudley Boyz

Produced By The Alchemist Album: Flygod

Wrestling and food references? Boasting about hardness and superior garments over velvet soft chords? Why didn’t this collaboration happen sooner? Old heads need to pay more attention to Westside and stop complaining about mumble rap.

DJ Khaled Feat. Jay Z & Future – I Got Keys

Produced By Jake One, G Koop & Southside Album:Major Key

The God MC came down a couple of times this year to bless his subjects but this Future – assisted joint was a highlight. Not a world beater but admirable considering it is a 42 year old taking a jab at a relentless Southside banger.

2Chainz – Ounces Back

Produced By DJ Spinz Album Daniel Son; Necklace Don

This Christmas, I’m thankful that the most entertaining rapper on earth was inspired all throughout the year. A performance littered with ludicrous lines about forgotten apartments in Jupiter(???), expensive jewelry and his upper echelon sex game. The flow is never forced or out of pocket over dreamy bass and stuttering keys. How is he over 40 and more inventive than rappers half his age?

21 Savage – No Heart

Produced By CuBeatz, Southside & Metro Boomin Album: Savage Mode

The line between fantasy and realism grows blurry with each social media update. We continue to laud rappers who seem to draw from real life experiences more than the ‘posers’ and that what makes ‘No Heart’ so great.21 is way too specific & menacing not mean any of his threat- filled lines. Metro Boomin’ matches the dead eyed feel with his most minimalist work to date and the end product is as enthralling as it is terrifying. 

Chance The Rapper Feat. 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne - No Problem 

Produced By BrassTracks Album: Coloring Book

Chance The Rapper Feat. 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne - No Problem Produced by: Album: Coloring Book  Coloring Book is one of those polarizing projects, you either felt it or you didn't .. I didn't. But he made songs like this that didn't make you feel like you were at Christian Rap Camp, some menacing statements were made on here echoed by your mum’s church choir. Wayne told us about freeing the choir, Chance threw threats about labels meeting the real south side and 2 Chainz? Man that man effortlessly floated just right on this pleasant song that even this weird iPhone class project video even is enjoyable.  ZBo8QA/K2O8

Migos Feat. Lil Uzi Vert – Bad & Boujee

Produced By Metro Boomin Album: CULTURE

An ode to classy fly women that even Uzi Vert couldn’t ruin. Offset’s show-stealing hook sticks in your mind like a deferred exam. A shining example of the power of Migos as a hit-making collective.

Kanye West Feat. Kendrick Lamar -No More Parties in LA

Produced By Kanye West & Madlib Album The Life of Pablo

It's only fitting that the most flagrant and audacious bars would find themselves sitting on this masterpiece. It's almost felt like a battle rap, Kendrick urging Kanye to rap again and Ye coming the fuck thru, "that God for me!" Pablo declares triumphantly and the song is so good, it's such a Kanye signature sample old heads the energy in the recording studio is crazy with McDonald's and Hennessy. Crazy. Fucking magical is what it is.

G.O.O.D Music Feat. Kanye West, Big Sean, Quavo, Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Travis Scott, Desiigner & Yo Gotti - Champions

Produced By Kanye West, A-Trak, Lex Luger & Mike Dean Album: Cruel Winter

Briefly, for but at least a second it looked like Kanye, Pusha T, fucking Kid Cudi, La Flame, 2 Chainz and even Big Sean .. it looked like the gang were back together. This single came as a result of hysteria, a just released Gucci, Kanye West finally releasing an album, a Quavo in his prime on a fucking MIKE DEAN track. In this moment, with the whole world in a frenzy doing everything they could do to somehow get their hands on these super stars, we were reminded that this label, GOOD Music, is a home to champions.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 7th July 2019

I have been cooped up sick for the past week so I am so glad I can have a pretty easy episode of REVIEWING THE CHARTS this week, in fact, I have a really easy week ‘cause nothing really happened. I can pretty much play catch-up and that’s been great. I’ve even been more active on Twitter because of it. Anyway, time for another round of relatively family-friendly lame pop music ramblings.

Top 10

“I Don’t Care” by Ed Sheeran featuring Justin Bieber is still at the top spot for its eighth week and its only competition is the five other Ed Sheeran singles from his No. 6 Collaborations Project. Oversaturation is not a word Ed Sheeran understands, and I’ll get back to that when I talk about his second of three songs in the top ten right now.

“Senorita” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello is steady at number-two but Thog don’t caare

We have our highest new entry on the chart this week at number-three, the... third newest Ed Sheeran single from the project and by the time you’re probably reading these, fourth-newest (Seriously, Ed’s ran himself into a corner if he wants that mini-album bomb considering by now he should damn well know UK chart rules). It’s “Beautiful People” featuring Khalid, but we’ll talk about it later. It’s Sheeran’s 40th(!) UK Top 40 hit, and 24th Top 10 (That’s a pretty great ratio), and Khalid’s twelfth UK Top 40 as well as his fifth Top 10 (Slightly less great ratio).

Up a single space from the debut last week is “Crown” by Stormzy at number-four.

Unfortunately, that means he brought Lewis Capaldi’s “Hold Me While You Wait” with him up to number-five.

Oh, hey, it’s Ed Sheeran, I haven’t seen him in two spots. I was starting to worry about him – I mean he might be falling off. Sigh, “Cross Me” featuring Chance the Rapper and PNB Rock is down two spaces to number-six. To be fair, I like this song.

“Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus is surprisingly pretty stagnant at number-seven.

Mabel’s “Mad Love” is of course up five spaces to number-eight, and looking like a pretty promising Summer hit, as well as being her third UK Top 10.

“Wish You Well” by Sigala featuring Becky Hill is sadly up three spots to number-nine. It’s Sigala’s seventh UK Top 10 and Hill’s third (second as a credited artist).

Finally, we have the unfortunate rebound for “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi up four spaces back to #10.

Climbers

It’s not all bad though, my favourite song on the chart right now, “Ladbroke Grove” by AJ Tracey, meets the top 20 at #16, up five from last week, becoming his fourth Top 20 hit. Elsewhere on the chart, “Thiago Silva” with Dave has debuted at #56 despite being three years old because of a crazed fan at Glastonbury rapping the words (near-)perfectly, but that’s not in the top 40, so Alex’s 15 minutes of fame won’t get covered here. Dominic Fike also gets his first top 20 with “3 Nights” up six spots to #20, which is an incredible song too. “Strike a Pose” by Young T & Bugsey and Aitch is up five to #22 and “Summer Days” by Martin Garrix, Macklemore and Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy is also venturing up the charts, specifically seven spots, at #26. “Find U Again” by Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello is up six to #31 off the debut and “Location” by Dave featuring Burna Boy has a chance at a second wind up five to #34. Wow, these are all great songs. Sure, there’s nothing promising in the new arrivals really, and we can safely ignore “Mother’s Daughter” by Miley Cyrus getting a video push up seven placements to #33, but this Summer has some pretty great hits so far and I’m glad it does because otherwise my end-of-year lists would be dry as hell.

Fallers

Most of these fallers this week are also pretty bad songs so it seems to me that the rubbish we kept in Spring is slowly being pushed out finally, as well as some unfortunate losses and songs that debuted high but collapsed afterwards. That last category includes songs like “You Need to Calm Down” by Taylor Swift down five to #15, “Bounce Back” by Little Mix down eight to #25 and “Mocking It” by JAY1 down eight to #27 off the debut despite an EP release. “Easier” by 5 Seconds of Summer stops wasting everyone’s time with its sloppy Nine Inch Nails sample down six to #37. Stormzy’s streaming cuts have finally cut the power of “Vossi Bop”, however, which is a great song, down a whopping 11 spaces, but thankfully only to #14, and the pretty good “Kilos” by Bugzy Malone featuring Aitch is down 10 off of the disproportionally high debut considering both artists’ current popularity last week to #30.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

My only response to this first drop-out is ferocious laughter, as Taylor Swift’s “ME!” featuring Panic! at the Disco has dropped out from #30 after a mere nine weeks on the chart and never hitting #1 or even #2, with a flailing single barely on the charts to save her album release from completely going under. In terms of other drop-outs, there really aren’t any to speak of, except more ferocious laughter, as “MEGATRON” by Nicki Minaj drops out from #34, which was its DEBUT. This means it’s below both “Shotgun” by George Ezra (A song that’s been in the top 75 for 67 weeks), “Thiago Silva” and freakin’ “Mr. Brightside” by the Killers (Which also re-entered outside of the top 40 because of Glastonbury)! Otherwise, we have some drop outs for UK hip-hop, as “Mr Sheeen” by Russ splash and Digga D is out from the debut at #28, and “Shine Girl” by MoStack featuring Stormzy is out from #36. They’re both not particularly great songs, but they had some promise.

We have one returning entry for once, which is “Giant” by Calvin Harris and Rag’n’Bone Man to #40 after it dropped out from that exact space two weeks ago. Sure.

NEW ARRIVALS

#36 – “Higher Love” – Kygo and Whitney Houston

Produced by Kygo and Narada Michael Walden – Peaked at #2 in Norway and #63 in the US

So, Whitney Houston was an incredible singer and sadly passed away at age 48 in February 2012, after a decades-long career being wrapped up in personal struggles that soon overshadowed her music, especially her marriage with Bobby Brown, cocaine usage, but still eleven Hot 100 number-ones to her name, including some of the most iconic hit songs of all time such as “I Will Always Love You”, and the novelty of being one of, if not the, first African-American female singer to appear on MTV. You all know that. Posthumous releases have been few and far between, mostly consisting of cash-grab compilation albums, reissues and box sets, but there have been four posthumous releases as singles before this, most of which are just from a movie she starred in before she died, including duets with Jordin Sparks and... R. Kelly. Huh. None of them charted, then in 2016, some Malaysian dude sampled her in a cover of a mid-1960s progressive rock song... and that leads to this. I feel I should clarify that this is a Steve Winwood cover (Mostly because he and his co-writer are getting all of the royalties off of this, not even Kygo is credited as a songwriter), since this was his first #1, featuring (uncredited) vocals from Chaka Khan, from 1986, but then Whitney Houston covered it in 1990 for the deluxe Japanese version of her third album (Which explains the Walden guy’s production credit). Somehow, Kygo found the isolated vocals for this deluxe Japanese bonus track (We needed that dude on the Clockman search, I swear – or maybe he just has trunkloads of money) and made it a tropical house song, and it’s actually pretty good.

This is Houston’s 32nd(!) UK Top 40 hit and Kygo’s eighth, and it has no right to be this good. You’d think Whitney wouldn’t be putting this much effort into a Japanese bonus track, but her vocals don’t sound strained or tired here, they’re just as beautiful as her biggest hits, you’d think she was planning for a single release. The lyrical content isn’t anything special but with the grandiosity of the piano and trumpets that build up to a relaxed vocaloid drop that seems anti-climactic until it hits you again with a much more epic drop, you can really feel how desperate Whitney is in the lyrics, even when mangled to hell and back in the vocal fragments. I have nothing to talk about with this song really, and it may be a tad overlong for my taste, but this is decent, especially considering Kygo’s recent efforts and this being a tropical house remix of a Steve Winwood cover that was released exclusively to Japan in 1990 – you wouldn’t expect quality out of this, let alone choir vocals in the second drop that really make the song feel pretty religious for... no reason, but I guess Winwood’s song was always up for interpretation and he must have given this the thumbs-up at the time. The dude’s never going to complain about free royalties from some EDM DJ, he didn’t back in 2004 when Eric Prydz did it.. which, by the way, had a video that even the Prime Minister at the time admitted to being aroused to—okay, why is Steve Winwood the person who I found the most interesting here? It’s a good song, let’s leave it at that before I go on an essay-length ramble about Steve Winwood, Tony Blair and Japanese Whitney Houston songs.

#29 – “Don’t Check on Me” – Chris Brown featuring Justin Bieber and Ink

Produced by Sheldon Ferguson – Peaked at #13 in New Zealand and #67 in the US

Alright, so, yeah, I’ve used all of my energy up for that first song because I have nothing to talk about for this one or the song afterwards. It’s Brown’s 36th Top 40 hit here in the UK, which is about 35 too many (Yeah, I liked his last one, “No Guidance” featuring Drake, and I’m not exactly proud to say that). It’s Bieber’s 45th (Holy moly) and this Ink woman’s first, mostly because she has never released solo material and doesn’t have a Wikipedia page. Ink sounds good on the song, but Bieber’s boring as he always is and Brown’s vocals are incredibly overproduced, especially for this tone of song. In fact, I’m not going to go in any more depth than I need to, and just leave you with this. This song is a stripped-down acoustic ballad fronted by Chris Brown. That’s all you need to know.

#3 – “Beautiful People” – Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid

Produced by Ed Sheeran, Max Martin, Shellback, Fred Gibson and Alex Gibson (Did this song really need this many producers?) – Peaked at #2 in Ireland and Slovakia, and #26 in the US

I always feel like the highest debuts each week are the ones I have the least to say about, but maybe that’s because I’ve heard discourse about them all week and I don’t care for them enough to go on about how the new Taylor Swift song misses the point of Pride Month or how Chris Brown is an abuser who made up with Drake after a year-long fued that ended anti-climactically, or how Lewis Capaldi makes me want to eat Kermit the Frog’s insides. This song I’ve seen little to no discourse on however, and that’s pretty telling when all is considered, considering these guys are the two biggest male singer-songwriters out right now, but I think maybe that’s because the song has little to no discourse to be provoked from it. I mean, the lyrical content is interesting, mostly because it’s about how Sheeran and Khalid don’t want to become have their perspective on life clouded by the money and fame... which is very convenient for these guys since that’s their whole appeal – they’re down-to-earth lads who sing over a couple guitar&B instrumentals despite being some of the richest entertainers on Earth, and while nothing can really tell me otherwise that these guys are genuine, I can’t help but to think the lyrics are less of a genuine message and more just fitting in line with the public appearances they’ve established for themselves over the past decade. It doesn’t help that the overproduced instrumental is stodgy and cluttered with nasal vocal samples over some fake handclaps, bumping 808s and... chanting vocals? Also, I’m pretty sure that Fred Gibson guy snuck his “Fred again” tag into this song as well, during a really janky part in the first verse? That means there are two Ed Sheeran songs with a producer tag. Huh, at least this one doesn’t have a PNB Rock verse. The hook is catchy but it breaks momentum with the post-chorus chanting that’s just dumb as hell, and I’m pretty underwhelmed with Khalid in comparison to Ed here, where it would usually be a complete wash, but I’m pretty sure that’s because Khalid doesn’t care enough about perpetuating Ed Sheeran’s image of “Haha, I don’t fit in with the current pop scene of flashy clothes and extravagant music videos!” First of all, that isn’t the current pop scene at all, it was in 2013 when Ed came on the scene but that has switched entirely, mostly to his benefit, and second of all, I’m sure Khalid has no issue at all with wearing a suit to a couple awards shows. He’s barely in his 20s for goodness’ sake.

EDIT: “I Don’t Care” does not have the “Fred again” tag. “Cross Me” still does, but I’m just glad Fred Gibson hasn’t put his claws on everything he touches.

Conclusion

What a shoddy week. Uh, Best of the Week goes to Kygo and Whitney Houston for “Higher Love” and while “Don’t Check on Me” isn’t really worthy of my commentary, I honestly think “Beautiful People” annoys me more, so sadly I’ll have to give Worst of the Week to Ed Sheeran and Khalid. Follow me on Twitter @cactusinthebank for more pop music ramblings and I’ll see you next week!

[samanthasroberts]

The 10 Most Difficult-to-Defend Online Fandoms

Oh, fandom. So passionate, so partisan—and, too often these days, so prolifically peevish. From Tumblr and Wattpad to more mainstream platforms like Twitter and Instagram, online communities have served as rallying points for stan armies: obsessives who comb over every interview and shred of non-news for information about the object of their adoration. But increasingly, fandoms' emotions have been curdling into a different kind of potion; something petty, entitled, conspiratorial, even abusive. So on the occasion of San Diego Comic-Con, one of the biggest fan events in the world, it's time for some tough love.

First, a note: this is a look at toxic strains that exist within a larger fandom, not an indictment of a given artist or person. Fandom is a pure and precious thing, and no one should feel conflicted about being invested in a pop-culture figure or property. If you express that investment by being a worse person, though—treating appreciation like warfare, demanding dogmatic purity tests, attacking people, or seeing yourself as some kind of a crusader—than it's probably time to take some time and re-assess things. We're sure nothing in the following catalog sounds like anything you've done in the name of fandom, right? Enjoy Comic-Con!

10. Barbz (Nicki Minaj Fandom)

The Barbz are a fiercely loyal sort. Case in point: In April, upon the release of Invasion of Privacy, a writer for British GQ explained how Cardi B had adopted Nicki Minaj’s style in a much more accessible way. “Nicki intimidates; Cardi endears,” she wrote. Minaj disciples responded with an all-out attack. The GQ staffer was flooded with malicious tweets, ranging from the direct (“I will kill u bitch”) to even more direct (“You better to delete that before we get your address and start hunting you and your family down!!”) The following month, the Barbz turned on one of their own when a self-proclaimed fan wondered aloud on Twitter: “You know how dope it would be if Nicki put out mature content? No silly shit, just reflecting on past relationships, being a boss, hardships, etc.” (Minaj took it further and DMed a disgustingly petty reply to the fan). For Barbz, fandom doesn’t allow for dissent—even when it's not dissent but a valid, healthy appraisal. This may come as a surprise, y'all, but love and criticism are not mutually exclusive.

9. Swifties (Taylor Swift Fandom)

Generally speaking, Taylor Swift’s fans aren’t bad—they just really love Swift and tend to be a little over-the-top about it. And most of the time, that’s what fandom is. (Also, this is a pop star who sends holiday presents to them; she’s earned their devotion.) But within that group, the “Bad Blood” singer has a few bad apples. There are those who go after Hayley Kiyoko for daring to point out that she shouldn’t be criticized for singing about women when Swift sings about men all the time. (Swift actually agrees with Kiyoko on that point.) There are Swifties who get bent out of shape when she doesn’t get nominated for enough awards. And then there are the white supremacists—fans Swift seems to have done nothing to court, but pop up anyway. Yeah, the ones who call her an “Aryan goddess”? Those are the ones who give her a bad reputation.

8. Zack Snyder Fans

Look, Zack Snyder's hardcore supporters have it rough. Or, well, they think they do. They’ve hitched their wagon to a star that occasionally blinks out. He’s made some OK movies (Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen) but he’s made even more that have been trashed by critics: Sucker Punch; Man of Steel; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That's led to a persecution complex among more than a few of his stans. While this kerfuffle has died down a bit with Snyder's step back from the spotlight—recently, he has shifted focus to make iPhone movies and produce the DC movies rather than direct them—the coming years represent a reckoning. James Wan’s Aquaman and Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman sequel are headed to theaters, and the receptions they get may determine whether critics have complaints with all DC movies, or just the ones with Snyder behind the camera. In the meantime, though, his own personal justice league will be there to defend it.

7. Rick and Morty Fans

Yes, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland created a funny, smart, challenging (god, those burps) cartoon. Yes, it delivers a bizarro Back to the Future ride through both spacetime and genre tropes. Yes, it's the most STEM-conscious animated show since Futurama. But sweet tapdancing Pickle Rick, you've never seen a TV fandom more noisome than this one. There's the "this show is so smart normies don't get it" self-congratulation that's so over-the-top it became a copypasta meme; there's the propensity to doxx the show's female writers and generally be such venal stains that Harmon despises them; there's the mass freakout after McDonald's ran out of limited-edition Szechuan dipping sauce. (Yes, that's correct.) While Adult Swim recently renewed the show for 70 new episodes, there's going to be quite a lull before anyone sees a new episode—here's hoping the fans grow up a little bit in the meantime.

6. #TeamBreezy (Chris Brown Fandom)

It’s been almost a decade since reports first surfaced of Chris Brown’s violent abuse of then-girlfriend Rihanna. Since then, Rihanna has rocketed to pop superstardom while Brown’s career has strided along, aided by a loyal following that borders on enablers. Despite an earnest-seeming redemption tour, reports of Brown’s violent behavior continue to bubble up: Brown’s ex-girlfriend filed for a restraining order; Brown went on a homophobic Twitter rant; Brown punched a fan in a nightclub; Brown locked a woman in his home, without a cell phone, so she could be sexually assaulted. (Brown’s camp denies that last accusation.) Yet, Team Breezy generally attributes such reports to misinformation and "haters." Fandoms are built on stand-by-your-man loyalty, but at some point it becomes impossible to love the art in good conscience. If the #MeToo movement is any indication, the times have changed since Rihanna’s bloody face headlined gossip sites. Willful ignorance is no longer an acceptable choice.

5. XXXtentacion Fans

On June 18, outside of a Broward County motorcycle dealership, 20-year-old Jahseh Onfroy was fatally gunned down by two assailants. At the time of his death, Onfroy, who rapped under the moniker XXXTentacion, had already amassed a rare kind of fame: He attracted deep love and even deeper hate with a ferocious mania. The allure of Onfroy’s dark matter inspired the type of fandom that spills into violent obsession. A recurring source of vitriol for the rapper, and an easy target for his rabid fanbase, was his ex-girlfriend, Geneva Ayala, who filed multiple charges against the rapper (including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, and witness tampering). When it came to light that Ayala created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for hospital bills due to damage inflicted by Onfroy, his fans bullied her into exile: forcing her to delete Instagram, hacking her Twitter account, harassing her at work to the point that she was left with no option but to quit, and shutting down her GoFundMe (it was later reopened). Having made a name for himself on Soundcloud, where he often engaged issues of mental health in his music, Onfroy willingly embraced his demons (he once called himself “lil dylan roof” on Twitter, referencing the Charleston shooter who murdered nine parishioners in South Carolina in 2015). But even now, in death, XXX is a reminder that extreme fandom has the power to blind people to the blood on their own hands.

4. Logang (Logan Paul Fandom)

Let’s get this out of the way up front. Many, even most, of Logan Paul’s fans are literal children. And so if you ask us who is really responsible for their bad behavior, we’re going to have to say the fault is predominantly with Paul and, you know, other adults. But the Logang (or the Logangsters, depending on who you ask), like Lil Tay, are inventing a new category of internet villain: the terrifying baby troll. They do all the things adult trolls do—parrot back the sexist and racist things Pauls says, stalk him outside hotel rooms, and harass and troll the “haters” daring to criticize their deeply problematic idol—but they’re kids! So you can’t really fire back at them without being a jerk yourself. Listen, Logang: all Logan wants to do is sell you merch. He’s not really your friend. Can I interest you in a puppy video?

3. Bro Army (Pewdiepie Fandom)

First rule of non-toxic fandoms: Don’t call yourselves "bro," don’t call yourselves an "army," and definitely don’t call yourselves the Bro Army. People might assume you’re a bunch of flame-war-loving trolls who think girls are icky—and where YouTuber PewDiePie’s fans are concerned, everyone would be absolutely right. It’s not just that they’ve stuck with the Swedish gamer/alleged comedian as he peppered his videos with racial slurs, rape jokes, anti-Semitism, and homophobia for nearly a decade (though that’s bad enough). It’s also that they insist that PewDiePie somehow isn’t being hateful at all. Oh, and if you quote their hero back at them, they’ll wallpaper your social media accounts with thoughtful messages about how you suck—for years.

2. The Dark Side of Star Wars Fandom

The most recent eruption has been a hilariously non-ironic campaign to remake The Last Jedi, but that's sadly just the latest in a long line of online grossness from the entitled Sith-heads who are so keen on reclaiming the Star Wars universe . Somehow, Gamergate has come to a galaxy far, far away; hectoring, harassment, even death threats aimed at director Rian Johnson. To be clear, this is a tiny (if vocal) subset of Star Wars fandom, which on the whole is as joyous and inclusive as the universe is finally becoming. But to to quote our own Adam Rogers:

"Everyone has a right to opinions about movies. Everyone has a right, I guess, to throw those opinions in the face of the people who make those movies, though it does seem at minimum impolite. Everyone has the right to ask transnational entertainment companies to make the movies they want, and if those companies don’t respond, to stop giving the companies money. But harassment, threats, jokes about someone’s race or gender? A Jedi would fight someone who did that stuff. The Force binds us all together. Hatred and anger are the ways of the Dark Side; they may bring power, but at a cost. It harms individuals, debases the people who do it, and it breaks the Fellowship. In the end, the cost of that power will be powerlessness."

1. Elon Musk Acolytes

"Always punch up" is a good life motto. You’ll accomplish a lot by speaking truth to power; dissecting the misdeeds of a relative unknown, though, makes you look like a tool. That’s why, despite the plethora of dark and toxic fandoms that flourish on the fringes of the internet, the group that tops our list of nasties is devoted to a person at the internet's very center: Elon Musk. To his fan club, Musk is so much more than a charismatic artist, a talented musician, or, hey, a flawed but successful tech entrepreneur—he’s a messiah, a vestige of an age of retrograde masculinity, when a reasonably successful man could expect his ideas to remain unchecked and his words be read as gospel. And Musk wields his one-man metaphor status (and his 22.3 million follower army) to whack out any dissenting opinions. “Because before he commented on my tweet, it was floundering in relative obscurity,” science writer Erin Biba wrote in a piece for the Daily Beast. But after Musk’s dismissive response, Biba found herself drowning in hate mail and abuse. By letting his mob pick over opinions he does not like, Musk is able to control the narrative, playing up investigative reporting on Tesla’s poor labor practices as a misinformation campaign—or even, in some recent deleted tweets, insinuating that one of the people involved with the Thai cave rescue efforts is a pedophile. It’s bad to be thin-skinned, and terrible to play the underdog, but playing it while you ignite a million-man bullying campaign is reprehensible.

More Great WIRED Stories

Sex, beer, and coding: Inside Facebook’s wild, early days

Sci-fi invades Netflix—as they both invade your home

The worst cybersecurity hacks of 2018 so far

Microsoft’s big bet on a tiny-computer future

How Silicon Valley fuels an informal caste system

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Related Video

Culture

How To Battle Trolling Ad Hominem Attacks Online

An internet troll's favorite way to argue? Ad hominem, of course! This is your guide to spotting bad arguments on the internet and how to fight them.

Source: http://allofbeer.com/the-10-most-difficult-to-defend-online-fandoms/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2019/03/20/the-10-most-difficult-to-defend-online-fandoms/

[adambstingus]

The 10 Most Difficult-to-Defend Online Fandoms

Oh, fandom. So passionate, so partisan—and, too often these days, so prolifically peevish. From Tumblr and Wattpad to more mainstream platforms like Twitter and Instagram, online communities have served as rallying points for stan armies: obsessives who comb over every interview and shred of non-news for information about the object of their adoration. But increasingly, fandoms’ emotions have been curdling into a different kind of potion; something petty, entitled, conspiratorial, even abusive. So on the occasion of San Diego Comic-Con, one of the biggest fan events in the world, it’s time for some tough love.

First, a note: this is a look at toxic strains that exist within a larger fandom, not an indictment of a given artist or person. Fandom is a pure and precious thing, and no one should feel conflicted about being invested in a pop-culture figure or property. If you express that investment by being a worse person, though—treating appreciation like warfare, demanding dogmatic purity tests, attacking people, or seeing yourself as some kind of a crusader—than it’s probably time to take some time and re-assess things. We’re sure nothing in the following catalog sounds like anything you’ve done in the name of fandom, right? Enjoy Comic-Con!

10. Barbz (Nicki Minaj Fandom)

The Barbz are a fiercely loyal sort. Case in point: In April, upon the release of Invasion of Privacy, a writer for British GQ explained how Cardi B had adopted Nicki Minaj’s style in a much more accessible way. “Nicki intimidates; Cardi endears,” she wrote. Minaj disciples responded with an all-out attack. The GQ staffer was flooded with malicious tweets, ranging from the direct (“I will kill u bitch”) to even more direct (“You better to delete that before we get your address and start hunting you and your family down!!”) The following month, the Barbz turned on one of their own when a self-proclaimed fan wondered aloud on Twitter: “You know how dope it would be if Nicki put out mature content? No silly shit, just reflecting on past relationships, being a boss, hardships, etc.” (Minaj took it further and DMed a disgustingly petty reply to the fan). For Barbz, fandom doesn’t allow for dissent—even when it’s not dissent but a valid, healthy appraisal. This may come as a surprise, y'all, but love and criticism are not mutually exclusive.

9. Swifties (Taylor Swift Fandom)

Generally speaking, Taylor Swift’s fans aren’t bad—they just really love Swift and tend to be a little over-the-top about it. And most of the time, that’s what fandom is. (Also, this is a pop star who sends holiday presents to them; she’s earned their devotion.) But within that group, the “Bad Blood” singer has a few bad apples. There are those who go after Hayley Kiyoko for daring to point out that she shouldn’t be criticized for singing about women when Swift sings about men all the time. (Swift actually agrees with Kiyoko on that point.) There are Swifties who get bent out of shape when she doesn’t get nominated for enough awards. And then there are the white supremacists—fans Swift seems to have done nothing to court, but pop up anyway. Yeah, the ones who call her an “Aryan goddess”? Those are the ones who give her a bad reputation.

8. Zack Snyder Fans

Look, Zack Snyder’s hardcore supporters have it rough. Or, well, they think they do. They’ve hitched their wagon to a star that occasionally blinks out. He’s made some OK movies (Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen) but he’s made even more that have been trashed by critics: Sucker Punch; Man of Steel; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That’s led to a persecution complex among more than a few of his stans. While this kerfuffle has died down a bit with Snyder’s step back from the spotlight—recently, he has shifted focus to make iPhone movies and produce the DC movies rather than direct them—the coming years represent a reckoning. James Wan’s Aquaman and Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman sequel are headed to theaters, and the receptions they get may determine whether critics have complaints with all DC movies, or just the ones with Snyder behind the camera. In the meantime, though, his own personal justice league will be there to defend it.

7. Rick and Morty Fans

Yes, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland created a funny, smart, challenging (god, those burps) cartoon. Yes, it delivers a bizarro Back to the Future ride through both spacetime and genre tropes. Yes, it’s the most STEM-conscious animated show since Futurama. But sweet tapdancing Pickle Rick, you’ve never seen a TV fandom more noisome than this one. There’s the “this show is so smart normies don’t get it” self-congratulation that’s so over-the-top it became a copypasta meme; there’s the propensity to doxx the show’s female writers and generally be such venal stains that Harmon despises them; there’s the mass freakout after McDonald’s ran out of limited-edition Szechuan dipping sauce. (Yes, that’s correct.) While Adult Swim recently renewed the show for 70 new episodes, there’s going to be quite a lull before anyone sees a new episode—here’s hoping the fans grow up a little bit in the meantime.

6. #TeamBreezy (Chris Brown Fandom)

It’s been almost a decade since reports first surfaced of Chris Brown’s violent abuse of then-girlfriend Rihanna. Since then, Rihanna has rocketed to pop superstardom while Brown’s career has strided along, aided by a loyal following that borders on enablers. Despite an earnest-seeming redemption tour, reports of Brown’s violent behavior continue to bubble up: Brown’s ex-girlfriend filed for a restraining order; Brown went on a homophobic Twitter rant; Brown punched a fan in a nightclub; Brown locked a woman in his home, without a cell phone, so she could be sexually assaulted. (Brown’s camp denies that last accusation.) Yet, Team Breezy generally attributes such reports to misinformation and “haters.” Fandoms are built on stand-by-your-man loyalty, but at some point it becomes impossible to love the art in good conscience. If the #MeToo movement is any indication, the times have changed since Rihanna’s bloody face headlined gossip sites. Willful ignorance is no longer an acceptable choice.

5. XXXtentacion Fans

On June 18, outside of a Broward County motorcycle dealership, 20-year-old Jahseh Onfroy was fatally gunned down by two assailants. At the time of his death, Onfroy, who rapped under the moniker XXXTentacion, had already amassed a rare kind of fame: He attracted deep love and even deeper hate with a ferocious mania. The allure of Onfroy’s dark matter inspired the type of fandom that spills into violent obsession. A recurring source of vitriol for the rapper, and an easy target for his rabid fanbase, was his ex-girlfriend, Geneva Ayala, who filed multiple charges against the rapper (including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, and witness tampering). When it came to light that Ayala created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for hospital bills due to damage inflicted by Onfroy, his fans bullied her into exile: forcing her to delete Instagram, hacking her Twitter account, harassing her at work to the point that she was left with no option but to quit, and shutting down her GoFundMe (it was later reopened). Having made a name for himself on Soundcloud, where he often engaged issues of mental health in his music, Onfroy willingly embraced his demons (he once called himself “lil dylan roof” on Twitter, referencing the Charleston shooter who murdered nine parishioners in South Carolina in 2015). But even now, in death, XXX is a reminder that extreme fandom has the power to blind people to the blood on their own hands.

4. Logang (Logan Paul Fandom)

Let’s get this out of the way up front. Many, even most, of Logan Paul’s fans are literal children. And so if you ask us who is really responsible for their bad behavior, we’re going to have to say the fault is predominantly with Paul and, you know, other adults. But the Logang (or the Logangsters, depending on who you ask), like Lil Tay, are inventing a new category of internet villain: the terrifying baby troll. They do all the things adult trolls do—parrot back the sexist and racist things Pauls says, stalk him outside hotel rooms, and harass and troll the “haters” daring to criticize their deeply problematic idol—but they’re kids! So you can’t really fire back at them without being a jerk yourself. Listen, Logang: all Logan wants to do is sell you merch. He’s not really your friend. Can I interest you in a puppy video?

3. Bro Army (Pewdiepie Fandom)

First rule of non-toxic fandoms: Don’t call yourselves “bro,” don’t call yourselves an “army,” and definitely don’t call yourselves the Bro Army. People might assume you’re a bunch of flame-war-loving trolls who think girls are icky—and where YouTuber PewDiePie’s fans are concerned, everyone would be absolutely right. It’s not just that they’ve stuck with the Swedish gamer/alleged comedian as he peppered his videos with racial slurs, rape jokes, anti-Semitism, and homophobia for nearly a decade (though that’s bad enough). It’s also that they insist that PewDiePie somehow isn’t being hateful at all. Oh, and if you quote their hero back at them, they’ll wallpaper your social media accounts with thoughtful messages about how you suck—for years.

2. The Dark Side of Star Wars Fandom

The most recent eruption has been a hilariously non-ironic campaign to remake The Last Jedi, but that’s sadly just the latest in a long line of online grossness from the entitled Sith-heads who are so keen on reclaiming the Star Wars universe . Somehow, Gamergate has come to a galaxy far, far away; hectoring, harassment, even death threats aimed at director Rian Johnson. To be clear, this is a tiny (if vocal) subset of Star Wars fandom, which on the whole is as joyous and inclusive as the universe is finally becoming. But to to quote our own Adam Rogers:

“Everyone has a right to opinions about movies. Everyone has a right, I guess, to throw those opinions in the face of the people who make those movies, though it does seem at minimum impolite. Everyone has the right to ask transnational entertainment companies to make the movies they want, and if those companies don’t respond, to stop giving the companies money. But harassment, threats, jokes about someone’s race or gender? A Jedi would fight someone who did that stuff. The Force binds us all together. Hatred and anger are the ways of the Dark Side; they may bring power, but at a cost. It harms individuals, debases the people who do it, and it breaks the Fellowship. In the end, the cost of that power will be powerlessness.”

1. Elon Musk Acolytes

“Always punch up” is a good life motto. You’ll accomplish a lot by speaking truth to power; dissecting the misdeeds of a relative unknown, though, makes you look like a tool. That’s why, despite the plethora of dark and toxic fandoms that flourish on the fringes of the internet, the group that tops our list of nasties is devoted to a person at the internet’s very center: Elon Musk. To his fan club, Musk is so much more than a charismatic artist, a talented musician, or, hey, a flawed but successful tech entrepreneur—he’s a messiah, a vestige of an age of retrograde masculinity, when a reasonably successful man could expect his ideas to remain unchecked and his words be read as gospel. And Musk wields his one-man metaphor status (and his 22.3 million follower army) to whack out any dissenting opinions. “Because before he commented on my tweet, it was floundering in relative obscurity,” science writer Erin Biba wrote in a piece for the Daily Beast. But after Musk’s dismissive response, Biba found herself drowning in hate mail and abuse. By letting his mob pick over opinions he does not like, Musk is able to control the narrative, playing up investigative reporting on Tesla’s poor labor practices as a misinformation campaign—or even, in some recent deleted tweets, insinuating that one of the people involved with the Thai cave rescue efforts is a pedophile. It’s bad to be thin-skinned, and terrible to play the underdog, but playing it while you ignite a million-man bullying campaign is reprehensible.

More Great WIRED Stories

Sex, beer, and coding: Inside Facebook’s wild, early days

Sci-fi invades Netflix—as they both invade your home

The worst cybersecurity hacks of 2018 so far

Microsoft’s big bet on a tiny-computer future

How Silicon Valley fuels an informal caste system

Looking for more? Sign up for our daily newsletter and never miss our latest and greatest stories

Related Video

Culture

How To Battle Trolling Ad Hominem Attacks Online

An internet troll’s favorite way to argue? Ad hominem, of course! This is your guide to spotting bad arguments on the internet and how to fight them.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/the-10-most-difficult-to-defend-online-fandoms/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/183577966647

[allofbeercom]

The 10 Most Difficult-to-Defend Online Fandoms

Oh, fandom. So passionate, so partisan—and, too often these days, so prolifically peevish. From Tumblr and Wattpad to more mainstream platforms like Twitter and Instagram, online communities have served as rallying points for stan armies: obsessives who comb over every interview and shred of non-news for information about the object of their adoration. But increasingly, fandoms' emotions have been curdling into a different kind of potion; something petty, entitled, conspiratorial, even abusive. So on the occasion of San Diego Comic-Con, one of the biggest fan events in the world, it's time for some tough love.

First, a note: this is a look at toxic strains that exist within a larger fandom, not an indictment of a given artist or person. Fandom is a pure and precious thing, and no one should feel conflicted about being invested in a pop-culture figure or property. If you express that investment by being a worse person, though—treating appreciation like warfare, demanding dogmatic purity tests, attacking people, or seeing yourself as some kind of a crusader—than it's probably time to take some time and re-assess things. We're sure nothing in the following catalog sounds like anything you've done in the name of fandom, right? Enjoy Comic-Con!

10. Barbz (Nicki Minaj Fandom)

The Barbz are a fiercely loyal sort. Case in point: In April, upon the release of Invasion of Privacy, a writer for British GQ explained how Cardi B had adopted Nicki Minaj’s style in a much more accessible way. “Nicki intimidates; Cardi endears,” she wrote. Minaj disciples responded with an all-out attack. The GQ staffer was flooded with malicious tweets, ranging from the direct (“I will kill u bitch”) to even more direct (“You better to delete that before we get your address and start hunting you and your family down!!”) The following month, the Barbz turned on one of their own when a self-proclaimed fan wondered aloud on Twitter: “You know how dope it would be if Nicki put out mature content? No silly shit, just reflecting on past relationships, being a boss, hardships, etc.” (Minaj took it further and DMed a disgustingly petty reply to the fan). For Barbz, fandom doesn’t allow for dissent—even when it's not dissent but a valid, healthy appraisal. This may come as a surprise, y'all, but love and criticism are not mutually exclusive.

9. Swifties (Taylor Swift Fandom)

Generally speaking, Taylor Swift’s fans aren’t bad—they just really love Swift and tend to be a little over-the-top about it. And most of the time, that’s what fandom is. (Also, this is a pop star who sends holiday presents to them; she’s earned their devotion.) But within that group, the “Bad Blood” singer has a few bad apples. There are those who go after Hayley Kiyoko for daring to point out that she shouldn’t be criticized for singing about women when Swift sings about men all the time. (Swift actually agrees with Kiyoko on that point.) There are Swifties who get bent out of shape when she doesn’t get nominated for enough awards. And then there are the white supremacists—fans Swift seems to have done nothing to court, but pop up anyway. Yeah, the ones who call her an “Aryan goddess”? Those are the ones who give her a bad reputation.

8. Zack Snyder Fans

Look, Zack Snyder's hardcore supporters have it rough. Or, well, they think they do. They’ve hitched their wagon to a star that occasionally blinks out. He’s made some OK movies (Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen) but he’s made even more that have been trashed by critics: Sucker Punch; Man of Steel; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That's led to a persecution complex among more than a few of his stans. While this kerfuffle has died down a bit with Snyder's step back from the spotlight—recently, he has shifted focus to make iPhone movies and produce the DC movies rather than direct them—the coming years represent a reckoning. James Wan’s Aquaman and Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman sequel are headed to theaters, and the receptions they get may determine whether critics have complaints with all DC movies, or just the ones with Snyder behind the camera. In the meantime, though, his own personal justice league will be there to defend it.

7. Rick and Morty Fans

Yes, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland created a funny, smart, challenging (god, those burps) cartoon. Yes, it delivers a bizarro Back to the Future ride through both spacetime and genre tropes. Yes, it's the most STEM-conscious animated show since Futurama. But sweet tapdancing Pickle Rick, you've never seen a TV fandom more noisome than this one. There's the "this show is so smart normies don't get it" self-congratulation that's so over-the-top it became a copypasta meme; there's the propensity to doxx the show's female writers and generally be such venal stains that Harmon despises them; there's the mass freakout after McDonald's ran out of limited-edition Szechuan dipping sauce. (Yes, that's correct.) While Adult Swim recently renewed the show for 70 new episodes, there's going to be quite a lull before anyone sees a new episode—here's hoping the fans grow up a little bit in the meantime.

6. #TeamBreezy (Chris Brown Fandom)

It’s been almost a decade since reports first surfaced of Chris Brown’s violent abuse of then-girlfriend Rihanna. Since then, Rihanna has rocketed to pop superstardom while Brown’s career has strided along, aided by a loyal following that borders on enablers. Despite an earnest-seeming redemption tour, reports of Brown’s violent behavior continue to bubble up: Brown’s ex-girlfriend filed for a restraining order; Brown went on a homophobic Twitter rant; Brown punched a fan in a nightclub; Brown locked a woman in his home, without a cell phone, so she could be sexually assaulted. (Brown’s camp denies that last accusation.) Yet, Team Breezy generally attributes such reports to misinformation and "haters." Fandoms are built on stand-by-your-man loyalty, but at some point it becomes impossible to love the art in good conscience. If the #MeToo movement is any indication, the times have changed since Rihanna’s bloody face headlined gossip sites. Willful ignorance is no longer an acceptable choice.

5. XXXtentacion Fans

On June 18, outside of a Broward County motorcycle dealership, 20-year-old Jahseh Onfroy was fatally gunned down by two assailants. At the time of his death, Onfroy, who rapped under the moniker XXXTentacion, had already amassed a rare kind of fame: He attracted deep love and even deeper hate with a ferocious mania. The allure of Onfroy’s dark matter inspired the type of fandom that spills into violent obsession. A recurring source of vitriol for the rapper, and an easy target for his rabid fanbase, was his ex-girlfriend, Geneva Ayala, who filed multiple charges against the rapper (including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, and witness tampering). When it came to light that Ayala created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for hospital bills due to damage inflicted by Onfroy, his fans bullied her into exile: forcing her to delete Instagram, hacking her Twitter account, harassing her at work to the point that she was left with no option but to quit, and shutting down her GoFundMe (it was later reopened). Having made a name for himself on Soundcloud, where he often engaged issues of mental health in his music, Onfroy willingly embraced his demons (he once called himself “lil dylan roof” on Twitter, referencing the Charleston shooter who murdered nine parishioners in South Carolina in 2015). But even now, in death, XXX is a reminder that extreme fandom has the power to blind people to the blood on their own hands.

4. Logang (Logan Paul Fandom)

Let’s get this out of the way up front. Many, even most, of Logan Paul’s fans are literal children. And so if you ask us who is really responsible for their bad behavior, we’re going to have to say the fault is predominantly with Paul and, you know, other adults. But the Logang (or the Logangsters, depending on who you ask), like Lil Tay, are inventing a new category of internet villain: the terrifying baby troll. They do all the things adult trolls do—parrot back the sexist and racist things Pauls says, stalk him outside hotel rooms, and harass and troll the “haters” daring to criticize their deeply problematic idol—but they’re kids! So you can’t really fire back at them without being a jerk yourself. Listen, Logang: all Logan wants to do is sell you merch. He’s not really your friend. Can I interest you in a puppy video?

3. Bro Army (Pewdiepie Fandom)

First rule of non-toxic fandoms: Don’t call yourselves "bro," don’t call yourselves an "army," and definitely don’t call yourselves the Bro Army. People might assume you’re a bunch of flame-war-loving trolls who think girls are icky—and where YouTuber PewDiePie’s fans are concerned, everyone would be absolutely right. It’s not just that they’ve stuck with the Swedish gamer/alleged comedian as he peppered his videos with racial slurs, rape jokes, anti-Semitism, and homophobia for nearly a decade (though that’s bad enough). It’s also that they insist that PewDiePie somehow isn’t being hateful at all. Oh, and if you quote their hero back at them, they’ll wallpaper your social media accounts with thoughtful messages about how you suck—for years.

2. The Dark Side of Star Wars Fandom

The most recent eruption has been a hilariously non-ironic campaign to remake The Last Jedi, but that's sadly just the latest in a long line of online grossness from the entitled Sith-heads who are so keen on reclaiming the Star Wars universe . Somehow, Gamergate has come to a galaxy far, far away; hectoring, harassment, even death threats aimed at director Rian Johnson. To be clear, this is a tiny (if vocal) subset of Star Wars fandom, which on the whole is as joyous and inclusive as the universe is finally becoming. But to to quote our own Adam Rogers:

"Everyone has a right to opinions about movies. Everyone has a right, I guess, to throw those opinions in the face of the people who make those movies, though it does seem at minimum impolite. Everyone has the right to ask transnational entertainment companies to make the movies they want, and if those companies don’t respond, to stop giving the companies money. But harassment, threats, jokes about someone’s race or gender? A Jedi would fight someone who did that stuff. The Force binds us all together. Hatred and anger are the ways of the Dark Side; they may bring power, but at a cost. It harms individuals, debases the people who do it, and it breaks the Fellowship. In the end, the cost of that power will be powerlessness."

1. Elon Musk Acolytes

"Always punch up" is a good life motto. You’ll accomplish a lot by speaking truth to power; dissecting the misdeeds of a relative unknown, though, makes you look like a tool. That’s why, despite the plethora of dark and toxic fandoms that flourish on the fringes of the internet, the group that tops our list of nasties is devoted to a person at the internet's very center: Elon Musk. To his fan club, Musk is so much more than a charismatic artist, a talented musician, or, hey, a flawed but successful tech entrepreneur—he’s a messiah, a vestige of an age of retrograde masculinity, when a reasonably successful man could expect his ideas to remain unchecked and his words be read as gospel. And Musk wields his one-man metaphor status (and his 22.3 million follower army) to whack out any dissenting opinions. “Because before he commented on my tweet, it was floundering in relative obscurity,” science writer Erin Biba wrote in a piece for the Daily Beast. But after Musk’s dismissive response, Biba found herself drowning in hate mail and abuse. By letting his mob pick over opinions he does not like, Musk is able to control the narrative, playing up investigative reporting on Tesla’s poor labor practices as a misinformation campaign—or even, in some recent deleted tweets, insinuating that one of the people involved with the Thai cave rescue efforts is a pedophile. It’s bad to be thin-skinned, and terrible to play the underdog, but playing it while you ignite a million-man bullying campaign is reprehensible.

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How To Battle Trolling Ad Hominem Attacks Online

An internet troll's favorite way to argue? Ad hominem, of course! This is your guide to spotting bad arguments on the internet and how to fight them.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/the-10-most-difficult-to-defend-online-fandoms/

[kartiavelino]

Before wrapping up this roller coaster year, test how much you remember (even if you’d rather forget).

1. What film made essentially the most dough within the U.S. this yr with out that includes superheroes? A. “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” B. “Mission: Not possible – Fallout” C. “Solo: A Star Wars Story” 2. Which Drake tune impressed the yr’s greatest viral dance problem? A. “God’s Plan” B. “Good for What” C. “In My Emotions” 3. What did stars don on the Golden Globes crimson carpet in honor of Time’s Up? A. White ribbons B. All black C. Pink roses 4. What TV present was cancelled by one broadcast community and picked up by one other within the span of 31 hours? A. “Brooklyn 9-9” B. “Final Man Standing” C. “Lucifer” 5. The Tony Awards’ Greatest Musical, “The Band’s Go to,” is a couple of band visiting the place? A. Egypt B. Saudi Arabia C. Israel 6. Which artist paid tribute to Prince through the Tremendous Bowl halftime present? A. Janet Jackson B. Justin Timberlake C. Aerosmith 7. Glenn Weiss, who proposed to his girlfriend through the Emmys, had simply received an award for guiding what? A. “The Crown” B. “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” C. The Oscars 8. What was so terrifying in regards to the monsters within the hit horror flick “A Quiet Place”? A. They discover individuals who make any noise B. They’re completely silent C. They aim libraries 9. Which artist swept the Grammys with wins within the tune, report and album of the yr classes? A. Jay-Z B. Bruno Mars C. Ed Sheeran 10. Which Hollywood Chris went full frontal, stripping down for Netflix film “The Outlaw King”? A. Chris Pine B. Chris Pratt C. Chris Hemsworth 11. What equipment triggered a significant tragedy on “That is Us”? A. A microwave B. A blender C. A sluggish cooker 12. Which character wasn’t in “Avengers: Infinity Conflict”? A. Hawkeye B. Star-Lord C. Spider-Man 13. What’s the identify of the fictional pop star Woman Gaga performed in “A Star is Born”? A. Stefani B. Ally C. Joanne 14. Within the most-liked Instagram publish of all time, Kylie Jenner revealed what? A. Her new butt B. Her new lips C. Her new child 15. One of many predominant characters within the 2018 Nationwide E-book Award winner “The Buddy,” by Sigrid Nunez, is: A. A llama B. A snake C. A Nice Dane 16. The place did the disgraced Louis C.Ok. make his controversial, unannounced return to comedy in NY? A. Carolines on Broadway B. The Comedy Cellar C. Gotham Comedy Membership 17. Which “Incredibles 2” character memorably fought a raccoon? A. Elastigirl B. Jack-Jack C. Edna Mode 18. What did “The Bachelor” Arie Luyendyk Jr. do toupset the present’s followers? A. Refused to suggest to any of the contestants B. Proposed to 1 contestant, then broke it off for one more C. Spoiled the season’s ending on social media 19. What’s the identify of the Ok-Pop group that bought out its first ever U.S. stadium present at Citi Area? A. EXO B. GOT7 C. BTS 20. Which of those celebs wasn’t one of many many who appeared in Maroon 5’s “Ladies Like You” billion-view video? A. Ellen DeGeneres B. Camila Cabello C. Reese Witherspoon Leisure solutions: 1. A; 2. C; 3. B; 4. A; 5. C; 6. B; 7. C; 8. A; 9. B; 10. A; 11. C; 12. A; 13. B; 14. C; 15. C; 16. B; 17. B; 18. B; 19. C; 20. C NY Submit photograph composite 1. Aretha Franklin’s physique was transported in the identical hearse that carried who? A. Rosa Parks B. Whitney Houston C. Ray Charles 2. Which style home designed Meghan Markle’s wedding ceremony costume? A. Givenchy B. Valentino C. Oscar de la Renta 3. Whom did Justin Bieber marry? A. Selena Gomez B. Hailey Baldwin C. Eire Baldwin 4. What did ill-fated couple Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson identify their pet pig? A. Bacony Rogers B. Piggy Smallz C. Jon Hamm 5. What’s the actual identify of Ted Cruz’s former opponent Beto O’Rourke? A. Betford B. Robert C. Alberto 6. The feud between dueling rap queens got here to a literal head at a New York Vogue Week occasion when Cardi B threw what at Nicki Minaj? A. A handbag B. A martini glass C. A shoe 7. What did troubled SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shoot into house? A. A crimson Tesla roadster B. A Hyperloop prepare automobile C. A baby-size submarine 8. The tour for Michelle Obama’s best-selling guide, “Turning into,” didn’t characteristic which superstar moderator: A. Sarah Jessica Parker B. Tracee Ellis Ross C. Martha Stewart 9. Why did the Mets give Matt Harvey the boot? A. He was out partying with mannequin Adriana Lima the night time earlier than a bullpen look B. He wanted Tommy John surgical procedure C. He refused a minor league task 10. Whom did Folks journal identify the yr’s “Sexiest Man Alive”? A. Blake Shelton B. Donald Glover C. Idris Elba 11. What number of days separated the suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain? A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 12. When Harvey Weinstein surrendered to the NYPD on sexual-assault fees, he carried a biography about who? A. Elia Kazan B. Gandhi C. John F. Kennedy Jr. 13. Donald Trump Jr.’s alleged mistress Aubrey O’Day is a member of what previously profitable lady group? A. Danity Kane B. The Pussycat Dolls C. Dream 14. Who turned the primary brazenly homosexual American to medal on the winter Olympics? A. Adam Rippon B. Gus Kenworthy C. Eric Radford 15. Kim Kardashian satisfied President Trump to commute the life sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, who was locked up for: A. Drug and money-laundering fees B. A homicide she didn’t commit C. Leaking authorities secrets and techniques 16. Whom did President Donald Trump pardon? A. Martha Stewart B. Dinesh D’Souza C. Rod Blagojevich 17. What’s the nickname of the chef behind Midtown steakhouse Nusr-Et? A. Scorching Stuff B. Posh Spice C. Salt Bae 18. Actor Geoffrey Owens, who performed Elvin on “The Cowby Present,” was job-shamed for working the place? A. Goal B. Dealer Joe’s C. Walmart 19. What place is William and Kate’s new child Prince Louis in line for the throne? A. Third B. Fourth C. Fifth 20. How outdated was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez when she upset 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley within the Democratic main for New York’s 14th Congressional District? A. 25 B. 28 C. 31 Folks solutions: 1. A; 2. A; 3. B; 4. B; 5. B; 6. C; 7. A; 8. C; 9. C; 10. C; 11. C; 12. A; 13. A; 14. A; 15. A; 16. B; 17. C; 18. B; 19. C; 20. B In a January tweet, President Trump known as himself “a really secure _____”: A. Genius B. Commander C. Zillionaire 2. “Megyn Kelly In the present day” was canceled following the host’s feedback about blackface, together with asking: A. “What’s blackface?” B. “What’s racist?” C. “Who’s black Santa?” 3. Throughout a Senate Judiciary Committee listening to, what did Brett Kavanaugh say he “favored” and nonetheless likes? A. Wine B. Tequila C. Beer 4. What’s the rallying catchphrase from “Black Panther,” the highest-grossing film within the US this yr? A. “Wakanda endlessly!” B. “Rise and resist!” C. “Panther energy!” 5. When Gov. Cuomo stated, “Can you cease interrupting?” to election opponent Cynthia Nixon throughout a debate, how did she reply? A. “Can you cease mendacity?” B. “Can you settle down?” C. “Are you a Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte or Miranda?” 6. Roseanne Barr blamed what drug for the racist tweet that obtained her hit sitcom revival canceled? A. Ambien B. Xanax C. Klonopin 7. Through the closing ladies’s tennis match of the US Open, what did Serena Williams name the umpire who gave her some extent penalty? A. “A thief” B. “A fraud” C. “A humiliation” 8. In her tell-all, Stormy Daniels in contrast President Trump’s member to “the mushroom character in” what? A. VeggieTales B. Mario Kart C. “Alice in Wonderland” 9. When Invoice de Blasio was confronted by a homeless activist on the Park Slope Y, how did the mayor reply? A. “I’m in the course of doing my exercise. Sorry, I can’t do this now.” B. “I’m as soon as once more working late to a press convention, can’t speak.” C. “Take a quantity, sweetheart.” 10. Who stated, “I might say that I’m essentially the most bullied individual on the world”? A. Lindsay Lohan B. Melania Trump C. Gwyneth Paltrow 11. Rudy Giuliani raised eyebrows when he declared, “Reality isn’t ____”: A. Truth B. Relevance C. Reality 12. What did Oprah Winfrey say she wouldn’t do, explaining, “It will kill me”? A. Revive her speak present B. Run for president in 2020 C. Host the Oscars 13. On the White Home correspondents’ dinner, what did Michelle Wolf say Sarah Huckabee Sanders does after “she burns information”? A. “Makes use of that ash to create an ideal smoky eye” B. “Burns all her hideous attire” C. “Pours Trump model wine over the fireplace” 14. Whereas visiting TMZ headquarters, what did Kanye West name “a alternative”? A. Gender B. Slavery C. Rape 15. After Invoice Cosby was discovered responsible on three counts of indecent aggravated assault, what did he yell on the prosecutor who deemed him a flight danger? A. “He doesn’t have a aircraft, you a–gap!” B. “Hey, hey, hey!” C. “And I might have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you meddling children!” 16. Which of those was not one of many two phrases folks heard within the viral audio debate? A. “Laurel” B. “Beyoncé” C. “Yanny” 17. Who started an Oscar acceptance speech by joking, “I did all of it on my own”? A. Frances McDormand B. Sam Rockwell C. Allison Janney 18. Which of those was not a reputation Paul McCartney stated was yelled out whereas he and John Lennon masturbated in a gaggle collectively? A. Brigitte Bardot B. Catherine Deneuve C. Winston Churchill 19. One month earlier than Demi Lovato was hospitalized for an overdose, she launched a ballad with the lyric, “I’m so sorry, I’m not ___ anymore”: A. Glad B. Making music C. Sober 20. Who defended the separation of immigrant households by invoking the Apostle Paul’s “command in Romans 13, to obey the legal guidelines of the federal government as a result of God has ordained them for the aim of order.” A. Mike Pence B. Mitch McConnell C. Jeff Periods Quotes solutions: 1. A; 2. B; 3. C; 4. A; 5. A; 6. A; 7. A; 8. B; 9. A; 10. B; 11. C; 12. B; 13. A; 14. B; 15. A; 16. B; 17. C; 18. B; 19. C; 20. C NY Submit photograph comoposite 1. Norway took house essentially the most medals through the 2018 Winter Olympics. What number of? A. 31 B. 39 C. 42 2. Through the World Cup, this nation’s uniform bought out and have become a streetwear hit? A. United States B. Portugal C. Nigeria 3. Mets ace Jacob de Grom received this yr’s Nationwide League Cy Younger Award regardless of having the fewest wins of any beginning Cy Younger pitcher in historical past. What number of did he have? A. 11 B. 7 C. 10 4. When Redskins quarterback Alex Smith broke his leg throughout a sport, there have been many eerie coincidences to which former Skins’ quarterback’s career-ending harm? A. Kirk Cousins B. Joe Theismann C. Robert Griffin III 5. Though France received the 2018 World Cup, which prolific scorer took house the Golden Boot? A. Croatia’s Luka Modric B. Argentina’s Lionel Messi C. England’s Harry Kane 6. At an April sport, what landed on Seattle Mariners pitcher James Paxton through the Nationwide Anthem? A. A bald eagle B. a bag of peanuts C. Robinson Cano’s batting glove 7. A video of which broadcaster dribbling a basketball behind her again went viral as she was inducted into the basketball corridor of fame? A. Doris Burke B. Michelle Beadle C. Lisa Salter 8. Throughout this yr’s NCAA males’s basketball match, which crew beat Virginia, making it the primary time {that a} No. 16 seed defeated a No. 1 seed? A. Kansas State B. Villanova C. College of Maryland — Baltimore County 9. The Washington Capitals received the Stanley Cup Championship and Alexander Ovechkin was named match MVP. What did he lose within the course of? A. His Stanley Cup successful game- worn jersey B. Each face-off C. His entrance tooth 10. Who was the NFL’s first rookie to ever have 200-plus rushes and greater than 80 catches? A. Nick Chubbs of the Browns B. Saquon Barkley of the Giants C. Sony Michel of the Patriots 11. After the Philadelphia Eagles received their first Tremendous Bowl, the town did this to gentle poles so followers couldn’t climb them throughout celebrations: A. Greased them with Crisco B. Sprayed them with hydraulic fluid C. Rubbed them with Philly cheesesteak grease 12. The Philadelphia Flyers launched a mascot named Gritty, who broke the Web when he reenacted what notorious journal cowl? A. The palms over Janet Jackson’s naked breasts for Rolling Stone B. Muhammed Ali being shot with arrows for Esquire C. Kim Kardashian’s Paper Journal cowl with the gravity-defying champagne pour 13. Which younger athlete didn’t discover himself in scorching water after tweets from his teen years surfaced? A. Josh Allen B. Donte Divcenzo C. Deyandre Ayton 14. When Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold took his first snap as an NFL quarterback, he did this: A. Threw a 30-yard landing move B. Fumbled C. Threw a choose six 15. Which California teen snowboarder captured America’s coronary heart through the Pyeongchang Olympics, the place she received the gold medal in halfpipe? A. Chloe Kim B. Lindsey Vonn C. Micahela Shriffin 16. Former UFC star Ronda Rousey made her debut as what in April? A. Carl’s Jr. spokesmodel B. WWE wrestler C. NASCAR driver 17. In June, thoroughbred Justify captured the Triple Crown — three years after what horse received the coveted mantel and broke a 37-year drought? A. Seattle Slew B. American Pharoah C. Firing Line 18. Which NBA famous person revealed he thought-about signing with the Knicks? A. Steph Curry B. James Harden C. Lebron James 19. When Tiger Woods received the Participant’s Championship in September, it was his first tour win in 5 years. What number of match wins does Woods now have? A. 75 B. 83 C. 80 20. Over the past season, Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton made headlines for sharing an condo with which participant from the Mets? A. Mike Conforto B. Wilmer Flores C. AJ Ramos Sports activities solutions: 1. B; 2. C; 3. C; 4. B; 5. C; 6. A; 7. A; 8. C; 9. C; 10. B; 11. B; 12. C; 13. C; 14. C; 15. A; 16. B; 17. B; 18. C; 19. C; 20. C NY Submit photograph comoposite 1. Who didn’t go away, or announce that they’re leaving, the Trump administration this yr? A. Hope Hicks, White Home Director of Communications B. Rob Porter, White Home Employees Secretary C. Kellyanne Conway, Counselor to the President 2. A boys’ soccer crew was rescued after being trapped in a flooded Thailand cave for 18 days. What was the identify of their crew? A. The Crows B. The Wild Boars C. The Cheetahs 3. What retail model made the $39 jacket emblazoned with “I actually don’t care, do u?” that Melania Trump wore as she traveled to fulfill detained immigrant children in Texas? A. H&M B. Zara C. Hole 4. What had been snooty canine house owners had been of getting hijacked for a non-public kennel membership in Tribeca? A. A public park B. The alley behind Taylor Swift’s condo C. The outdated Nobu location 5. The place did Hurricane Florence trigger essentially the most harm within the US? A. Florida and Georgia B. North and South Carolinas C. Virginia and Maryland 6. What Gov. Cuomo resolution almost value New Yorkers $14 million? A. Including blue and gold tiles to 2 metropolis tunnels B. Constructing a helipad for Jeff Bezos C. Putting in lots of of “I NY” freeway indicators 7. Actress Allison Mack was arrested on fees of intercourse trafficking, intercourse trafficking conspiracy, and compelled labor conspiracy in relation to her function within the Nxivm cult. On what TV present was she a solid member? A. “Smallville” B. “Charmed” C. “One Tree Hil 8. A New Jersey couple was accused of bilking a homeless man by way of what website: A. PayPal B. Twitter C. GoFundMe 9. The place did Trump and Kim Jong-un have the first-ever assembly between sitting leaders of the US and North Korea? A. Washington, DC B. Pyongyang, North Korea C. Sentosa, Singapore 10. What iconic NY diner closed after a 28-year run? A. Westway Diner B. The Espresso Store C. Kellogg’s Diner 11. Within the notorious photograph of a Honduran mom working along with her two 5-year-old daughters from tear gasoline on the Mexico-US border, what was on her shirt? A. An American flag B. Anna and Elsa from “Frozen” C. A crucifix 12. Why was California’s Camp Hearth known as that? A. It was began by a gaggle of backpacking campers B. It started at an deserted summer- camp facility C. It started on Camp Creek Street 13. What cleansing provide did teenagers flip right into a viral snack? A. Daybreak dish cleaning soap B. Tide Pods C. Brawny paper towels 14. The world’s final male of what subspecies died this yr? A. Northern white rhino B. Bornean orangutan C. Amur leopard 15. Fb CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in entrance of Congress after it was revealed that which political consulting agency had harvested knowledge from up to 87 million accounts? A. Oxford Analytica B. Cambridge Analytica C. Imperial Analytica 16. What was the controversial theme of this yr’s Met Gala? A. Heavenly Our bodies: Vogue and the Catholic Creativeness B. Majesty and Poverty: The Financial Hole C. Hacking the Hackers: A Tribute to Russia 17. What did Meghan McCain use her speech at her father John’s funeral to do? A. Trounce Sarah Palin B. Promote “The View” C. Rebuke Trump 18. In what month did the primary tremendous blue blood moon in 35 years happen? A. January B. February C. March 19. What nation abolished time period limits on its presidency? A. China B. Russia C. Iraq 20. What New York landmark did a girl climb to protest Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration coverage? A. The Empire State Constructing B. The Statue of Liberty C. St. Patrick’s Cathedral Present occasions solutions: 1. C; 2. B; 3. B; 4. A; 5. B; 6. C; 7. A; 8. C; 9. C; 10. B; 11. B; 12. C; 13. B; 14. A; 15. B; 16. A; 17. C; 18. A; 19. A; 20. B Share this: https://nypost.com/2018/12/22/before-wrapping-up-this-roller-coaster-year-test-how-much-you-remember-even-if-youd-rather-forget/ The post Before wrapping up this roller coaster year, test how much you remember (even if you’d rather forget). appeared first on My style by Kartia. https://www.kartiavelino.com/2018/12/before-wrapping-up-this-roller-coaster-year-test-how-much-you-remember-even-if-youd-rather-forget.html