Livelii

  Originally performed as a play in 1983 and noted as August Wilson's most successful screenplay, Fences has finally made it to the big screen. Unfortunately 11 years after the death of August Wilson, a prolific Black author who created theatrical art using casual environment and controversial content centering African American conflicts. Molding Wilson as the Shakespeare of his time who inspired many actors of today, including Denzel Washington. Washington who stars in both the broadway play and the box office movie, as the lead character Troy, masters each monologue as if he's practiced them throughout his entire career. Co-star Viola Davis who plays his wife Rose, steps a little out side her comfort zone and captures it nicely. Viola as Rose shows both the controlled dominant side of women while containing the emotions that are viewed as vulnerability. After having revealed to her the infedelity of her husband, while being the mediator between Troy and their teenage ...

With all the unexpected controversy happening in Cudi's life over the last few months, fans were excited to hear that he was actually releasing the new album that was promised. While in the midst of a brief feud with Kanye and openly admitting himself into the hospital for depression, Cudi released two vibrant lead singles Frequency and Surfin . Fans became skeptical towards Cudi, questioning if he would release an album that would meet their expectations and if he created this drama as a publicity stunt. Well lose your doubt, because like all of the great creatives "pain" is an essential element to art. Passion Pain and Demon Slayin takes audiences on an ecstasy ride. The dynamics of the album is the healing process of Cudi's mind. Unlike Speedin bullet 2 heaven , Cudi stretches that sadness from speedin bullet and takes it on a world spin until he reaches his form of happiness inside of passion and pain. This album is the light end of the tunnel and fans lo...

Let's call the release of Ab soul's latest album Do What Thou Wilt "the return of Ab Soul." Here's a run down of why hip hop heads have said that Ab Soul disappeared, when he was once compared to Kendrick Lamar. Ok, in 2011 Kendrick released the classic album Section 80 which ultimately created the hype for his 2012 classic mainstream album Good Kid Maad City . Before Kendrick released GKMC , Ab Soul dropped the classic album Control System which everyone who knew of Section 80 loved and compared the two. During this time frame TDE was developing fans of the masses because of the lyrical content yet fun party vibe in their music. In the beginning of 2012 Schoolboy Q released Habits & Contradictions which also helped develop TDE's core audience. Ab Soul's release gained him the attention from both Kendrick and Schoolboy fans. Now how did Ab soul get lost in the sauce? Well after Kendrick's GKMC exploded he dominated the entire 2013 year, br...

After basically going ghost for 2 years rapper J. Cole decides to become the center of entertainment with the release of his fourth studio album 4 Your Eyez Only alongside 2 new singles False Prophets and Everybody Dies . Fans went crazy after hearing "False Prophets" where Cole decides to call out what we're assuming is Kanye for having ghost writers, and on everyone dies Cole literally murdered everyone with Lil in their name. Although rappers Lil Yatchy and Uzi Vert didn't take any offense to Cole's verse and Kanye hasn't responded to anything since being hospitalized, fans are now once again calling J. Cole hip hop's savior. Personally I can't say that Cole dissed anyone because his statements were very indirect and could be talking about anyone who's mainstream or praised in hip hop, and the verse that mention "Lil" is not shocking because not even those rappers truly care about the essence of hip hop, they simply are having f...

Donald Glover has become known for his unique creative style. Starring in his own FX series production that became an instant hit for its dynamic take on the Atlanta culture, Glover just takes my breathe away. While having a name in both music and film Donald was able to release 10 projects, including his newest album Awaken My Love . Released on December 2, 2016, Awaken My Love is the third album by Childish Gambino . This unexpected album is silently going viral, meaning this is an underground diamond. If you're listening to hear pure rap/ hip hop than don't bother, because you're not getting that from this album. Awaken My Love is old school funk mixed with rock n roll, and not that pop mainstream rock. I wish Prince were alive to hear this album because it sounds like he influenced much of the album in songs like Terrified and Zombies . Speaking of Zombies, I'm pretty sure that it's my favorite song, but then again me and your mama!! Their isn't a...

Starboy is the perfect title for The Weekends follow up album to the 2015 Grammy winning Beauty behind the madness. Although Starboy which features Daft Punk is a nice fun song, it does not do justice for the entire album. However the single is a great overall depiction of the flow and sound in the album. The Weekend is in his zone and we can hear the confidence inside the lyrics. As usual he's expressing the blunt reality and perception towards ongoing relationships. I wonder if the Weekend will ever get the happy ending that he continues to fantasize about, instead of filling the void with toxic substances. On the contrary partying is a part of him and is also fun for most people which makes it hard to restrain, or maybe that's the balance in it all. Anyways, Starboy is a pretty good album. I'm not sure if they'll have as many mainstream hits like  Beauty Behind the Madness   but it won't go unnoticed. Songs like All I Know which features rap star Future and P...

Since the revolution of music, artist have collaborated in order to exchange fan bases and create new sounds. Collaborations ultimately benefits both parties, most of the time one star isn't as popular in the media and the other needs to remain relevant in the media hence the collab. Recently major artist like Drake, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West etc... have been criticized by audiences addressed as vultures for hopping on popular songs and instead of helping the artist, stealing their artist identity while the artist rapidly declines in status. For example Kanye remixed Chief Keef's " Don't Like " Keef remained popular the entire year and now he's unknown, Drake hopped on Fetty Wap's " My Way " and completely took the Migos flow after " Versace ." Although they all were great songs, the business of music definitely left a bad taste with hip hop fans. We're seeing more seasonal artist versus long term hip hop develop in the industry. Ba...

After months of campaigning and debating the 2016 Presidential race has come to an end. Donald Trump is declared the winner in a landslide victory over Hilary Clinton. Americans are in shock, because Donald Trump will be the first president who has never had any government or military experience. Trump is a business man and an entertainment figure, no one is sure about what to expect from him as the leader of the country. During the campaign Trump withheld his political plan and policies that he would try to enforce in order to change the country. Throughout his acceptance speech he promoted unity between nations and political parties, although this sounds beautiful we're still in the shadows about what actions will be taken to create this unified fare government. Hilary Clinton's supporters are in aw, everyone is trying to figure out what went "wrong," with the votes that determined her defeat. It's simple, Hilary doesn't appeal to majority of the populat...

If you haven't begun watching the show Atlanta by now, you're officially lost in society. Atlanta airs every Tuesday night at 10 pm, providing their audience with timeless relate able humor that's cohesive to the story line and our time period. As usual the whit comedy wasted no time in addressing political subjects. In this particular episode Paper Boi is a special guest on a popular talk show "Montague," who questions the rapper with controversial topics  While in the midst of one of the most historic Elections and critical ages, there lies Atlanta engaging all audiences. In this particular commercial theirs a road runner trying to steal the little kids cereal. Imitating the typical concept seen in most cereal skits. However unlike the normal responses and development, Glover decides to incorporate an example of police brutality. This demonstration provides an innocent insight of the perspective of the average human, especially minorities. Being that the ch...

2 Sisters on top of the industry I finally listened to Solange's new album, Seat at the table . Yes, I know I'm late and many of you are probably saying "You sleep," but I wanted to be completely fare with my words. Like most people when you first hear Solanges' name,  Queen Beyoncé comes to mind, and soon after instant comparisons fuels the conversation. As a younger sister I can relate to persistent unintentional judgement from several angels both negative and positive. One moment someone is saying you're smarter than the other, and in the next skit they're expressing how you're existence obsolete. Yes, the challenges of not releasing your full potential, which is why I'm so proud of you for this album. Anyone with ears can hear that Seat at the Table is instrumentally crafted using strings and horns to build such a classic euphoric symphony. Solange talented vocals ranging  between Soprano and alto stands out through out the entire album. ...

After this video there is no way anyone should still be able to support Donald Trump . Every person who has a mother, sister, or daughter should be offended by Trump's vulgarity and disrespect towards women in such an obscene video. Although the recording of this video is in 2005, as a presidential nominee such words should never be heard, because this changes the image of you and the country if you're elected. People are now wondering if Trump still agrees with these statements and if not how would we know if he's being honest. As the face of the GOP Trump is a huge embarrassment and contradicts the conservative perception of the party, which is why important figures such as Condoleezza Rice publicly stated she does not support Trump and will not vote for him in this upcoming election. Since the leak of the video Trump has apologized, while also referencing Bill Clinton's rape allegations in attempts to shade light on his mistake. This is a terrible angle to pos...

Time is winding down for citizens to decide on which candidate they will vote for in the upcoming 2016 Presidential Election. Having only a month left until Election Day, people are still unsure of who would be the most appropriate figure to represent the U.S. Obviously the most qualified candidate is Hilary Clinton who's currently the secretary of the state, with over 20 years of political experience as senator and First Lady of the U.S., you would think this would be an easy victory for the Clinton's. Especially since her opponent Republican nominee Donald Trump seems to care more about creating controversy oppose to addressing the issues that our county face. Trump who hasn't received much support from either parties or conveyed a plan for of his political suggestions still remain competitive in the polls. Why? Although Hilary Clinton has received several major endorsements including from President Obama, people are uncertain to if she is fit for the position. Failin...

Atlanta rapper Shawty Lo died early Tuesday morning in a unspeakable car accident after leaving Blue Flame strip club. The rapper was most known for Atlanta group D4L and their hit single "Laffy Taffy," which helped make Atlanta a hip hop Mecca. His feud with Atlanta's most mainstream artist T.I. grew Shawty Lo's fan base, allowing his solo single "Dey Know" to take over the radio. Shawty Lo literally moved Units in the City , which is also the title of his debut album. Shawty Lo leaves behind his 10 children and a name as for being a good father and provider who always contributed to his home that we know as, Bankhead. Rest easy Shawty Lo, my middle school years would've been nothing without your songs, and you'll always be remembered.  

In a series of unexpected tweets last night, rapper Kid Cudi decided to yet again express his heart and thoughts to his fans on social media. This time the target was the two most popular artist in today's hip hop; former mentor Kanye West and Drake. Claiming that Ye has been disloyal to him and of course reinstating the accusations of Drizzy having multiple song writers. This reoccurring allegation towards Drake comes as no surprise and neither is Drake response; on his Summer Sixteen tour he made a very indirect and uninformative comment that may be directed towards Cudi...idk frankly I'm over beefs with Drake, because they're all quite repetitive. Everyone thinks they're soooo great. Talkin top 5 and be having 30 people write songs for them — The Chosen One (@KidCudi) September 14, 2016 However Kanye instantly responded to Cudi's words on his Saint Pablo tour in Tampa. Generally Ye is more of a smart ass with his responses, but he seems more hurt t...

With Atlanta currently being the hip hop music capital, it came as no surprise when FX announced a show titled Atlanta as a new series. The series stars Glee actor and rapper Donald Glover aka "Childish Gambino" as Earn, a struggling ATL native who comes across the opportunity to improve his lifestyle through the music industry. Earn is the cousin of a local rap artist, Paper Boy who's at the beginning of what looks like a promising rap career, that Earn offers to manage in attempt to gain income. As an Atlanta resident the characterization of the series shows dept insight of the ATL culture and personalities that you'll find in many areas of the city. Setting the base and tone of the series, while connecting each character to the main plot. The pilot episodes created instant interest for its audience, touching on topics like gun violence , influencing the youth, and of course police brutality. Which are all topics that are present in today's society. Overa...

Pop star Sia decides to release an unexpected single today titled " The Greatest ," which features rapper Kendrick Lamar . An international star alongside one of the greatest rappers in today's generation equals a hit song. These two unique artist pours creativity in every beat of the song. The video for the single doesn't include Kendrick , but the visuals show a weird perspective of the word "greatest," that both stars can identity with. https://open.spotify.com/album/77HfZENS166sAS9SUoBwYG

Life is unpredictable so when artist create songs like Paradox anyone can instantly relate to this up and down reality that life presents to us. As the second single released off of C4 Kaboom's Punchline Season , Paradox is one of the fans favorites that forces you to replay the song. In this song Paradox , Kaboom is referring to the ins and outs of life, in short events people who were once on your side may easily turn against you. In the midst of having his own internal battle with trying to be successful there are others trying to tear him down. This messages is delivered perfectly through all of its cadences of the sound, expressed vocally with passion in the music. The instrumental provides a nice ride of simplicity to compliment the more technical rap verses. These thought provoking lyrics aren't surrounded by sadness and negativity, but encouragement. The flow and expression alone on this song grabs the audience attention instantly. Nice Job! Read more about C4 Kab...

Celebrate the King of Pop   Got To Be There  Solo debut album released Jan. 24 1972  As the first song to debut on Michael's solo album titled Got To Be There, the single became an immediate success. An instant classic Go To Be There is one of my favorite young Michael Jackson song that still warms people hearts today.  Rock With You  Album Off The Wall released Aug. 10 1979 During the disco era if you can't tell by the outfit, "Rock with You," is a smooth sounding song that critics praised. Alongside many classics off of the iconic album Off The Wall , "Rock with You" was named one of the biggest singles in 1980, according to billboard.   Human Nature   Album Thriller released November 30, 1982 Hands down the best album of probably the decade, Thriller solidified Micheal as the King of Pop. I really would put every song on Thriller on this list, but I chose "Human Nature." The song has been sampled multipl...

Instead of performing his controversial single "Famous," Kanye West decided to make yet another bold or some might say weird statement by premiering "Fade." The song concludes The Life of Pablo relaying a message of hopelessness and confusion that he's suffering. As for the video, Teyana Taylor performs an abstract dance to the song, alongside the intimacy between her and Cavilers player Iman Shumpert. Her sexy display made her the center of attention, but the random weird animals is what people like myself are confused about. Do you get it?  

Toronto rapper Tory Lanez released his debut album I Told You last Friday, August 19. The album instantly went viral, as expected to with the lead single being "Say It" that took over the radio. Receiving mixed reviews from the critics, but glory from most of the audience, I Told You proved that Tory Lanez has officially made a name for himself as artist. However with a name comes a critique, and after thoroughly listening to the album, I did enjoy it, but their are 2 major flaws in the album that takes away from the art of the songs. TOO MANY SKITS! I understand that skits are used in albums in order to tell a story, but having a skit after every song is highly unnecessary. Ultimately the major point of being an artist is creating great music and having an audience to enjoy the music. How can I enjoy and appreciate the sound if after every song the music stops and doesn't flow into the next song? Tory Lanez needs to understand the concept of an interlude and inc...

After a four year hiatus from releasing any solo music Frank Ocean finally surprises us with his highly anticipated sophomore album Blonde, which was originally titled Boys Don't Cry. You know how they say all great things take time? Well if you're anything like me who specifically signed up to Apple Music for Frank Ocean's sophomore debut, you're already in love with Blonde. Great things are not done overnight and Blonde proves that with every song being completely in sync with one another, there's not a single song on the album that's out of tune or out of place. Frank Ocean perfected the dynamics of his artistic vocals and the soulful harmony in his music. The multi genre feeling that the instruments provides throughout each beat instantly grabs the audience attention. Incorporating several genres like Jazz, Blues, Rock, and Hip Hop to portray his life story and also others, especially at such a critical time. Involving his struggles with his sexuality and o...

If I could hand Seth Rogen two Oscars for Sausage Party I would personally give him them for best comedy and best overall written story line. This animated adult comedy gets extremely direct when discussing controversial sensitive topics like sexuality, religion, race and cultural background. If you have strong belief in any kind of organized religion than you shouldn't watch the movie, because there's a 90% chance that you'll get offended. Sausage Party mocks the intelligence of people by using animation to interpret our current society. Each item in the grocery store represents a different race and ethic group which are separated by their location, beliefs, and cultural back grounds. The only unity shared among the different items are their idea of God and the organized religion. Although the items share separate but similar ideas regarding the Gods they all still believe in a "Great Beyond." The "Great Beyond" is a form of an after life, that on...

The rap duo Rae Sremmurd released their sophomore album SremmLife 2 on August 12. Once again duo teamed up with super producer Mike Will for more than half of the project in attempts to recreate the success of their debut album SremmLife . Leading with the singles " By Chance " and "Look Alive," Sremmurd has established their sound and fun insight on life and rap culture that  is dominating the industry. Although the songs on SremmLife 2 haven't made the same impact as the first album, this is a solid follow up album that satisfies their fans. SremmLife 2 depicts what I call the "limbo" stages of the fun turn up session. In the limbo phase  everyone are already completely turnt and gone, it's like you're still at the party but your head is spinning and everything is moving in slow motion. This album grows on you with each listen and " Look Alive " makes you want to fly . After a few delays of SremmLife 2 the highly anticipated ...

Women are often categorized as emotional, weak, flirtatious, intelligent, and attractive. Although the 21st century has proved how strong and powerful women are in today's day in age. Hilary Clinton as candidate for U.S. Presidency alone as shown us how far women has come in world.  Throughout history women have fought for equality, recently I spoke to a woman in her early 90's who shared with that most women during her youth didn't have a single bill in their name. Now, unfortunately the numbers of single mom households have more than doubled. No, broken homes are nothing to be proud of, but this simply shows the strength of a woman. As a women the challenges we face to become successful are endless. When placed in important positions, a woman has to work twice as hard as a man, in order to receive respect and the correct accolades. We have to prove that we're a force to be reckoned with and not an easy push over. If we're not stern or aggressive we're inst...

The art of free styling was introduced to us at the beginning of rap history. In fact the terminology "rap" was used because of the speed of the conversation or speaking quickly of a subject, hence the phrase "rap it up." The old cats would say "let me rap to you right quick." Hip Hop turned that same "right quick" conversation into a 2-4 minute song. Free styling can come in any form of art, whether you're dancing or painting.  The beauty of freestyling is that there are no restrictions. So in the case of a hip hop freestyling nothing is off limits, you can miss a rhyme, get off topic, miss a beat and nowadays even sing and it'll still be considered a freestyle. However being able to remain on beat while carrying the flow with words that rhymes that make sense are components that makes great freestyler. Having the ability to display your creativity with confidence is what makes a great artist.  Once upon a time not so long ago...

We surrounded by the Wolves After premiering the controversial video for the single "Famous," which displayed a series of naked celebrities , Kanye returns with another intense visual for the Wolves which features artist Sia and Vic Mensa. The singles appear on Kanye's recent album The Life of Pablo , and the album received raved reviews for the overall sound and creativity. Taking shots at public figures such as Donald Trump, Ye shows us that he's still the old Kanye that his fans love. The visuals displayed in Wolves increases the intensity of the song, it's almost like a scary movie about reality. Making audiences question if this is reality at all.  

New Designs by York's Passion!   Finally the passion and love for music is created and displayed all over the internet. We can hold, feel and even wear our hearts on our on our sleeves for everyone to see. Music is love and love is unity, so why not create a clothing line for that everyone can relate to? Something so simple, yet overlooked by many of us, we'll at least until it's staring us in the face.  Soon to be on every shelf!  Yorks Passion has done what everyone is thinking, and that's express their passion with more than a note. The simplicity of the design makes this clothing line relatable and diverse. Everyone, anyone can Follow @AT_LAST_ATLAS Abdullah Thomas York introduces Yorks Passion the clothing line that inspires you to follow your passion. A multi cultural brand growing both national and internationally.  Follow the instagram Yorks Passion  Model Franzo Angelo Supports Yorks Passion ...

After a six-year hiatus, VH1's Hip-Hop Honors returned on Monday night with a program dedicated entirely to female rappers.  The honorees consisted of Queen Latifiah , Lil Kim , Missy Elliot , and Salt-N-Pepa all which were honored with amazing performances of their hit songs. Remy Ma opened the show with Missy's classic single "Work It."An unexpected Ke Ke Palmer helped honor SaltNPepa with their classic "Push it." Queen Latifah's " U.N.I.T.Y " tribute embraced the Black Lives Matter movement and she also brought together Da Brat, MC Lyte, and Monie Love honoring them since they were not a part of the main stage. The Bad Boy family lit up stage with the exception of Rich Homie Quan stumbling over Biggie's lyrics during Lil Kim's honor.    Naturally these major tributes honoring the woman in hip hop provoke thoughts like; where are the female artist?  Since Nicki Minaj's album, Pink Friday there hasn't been any new ...

Are Marches Effective? These past years have been quite disturbing with all of the police crimes that have gone unpunished. Normally I would have named all of the victims, but there are entirely too many incidences, where the police have gunned down unarmed people. How do we receive justice in an unjust society? Well dating back to the civil rights era, black people are known to March, boycott, and protest, using both violent and non-violent methods in order to create change. So naturally we resort to those similar methods in order to bring upon "change," but are they truly effective? The answer to that question is, NO! Why you may ask? First, the time period has changed; society problems are not as simple as they once were. In terms of easily being divided by a simple sign oppose today's mental (mind) division. Unarmed people are being gunned down in the streets like dogs by law enforcement, so how is a march going to change the situation from reoccurring. W...

By now we've all seen Jesse William's speech during the BET Awards show after being honored for his humanitarian attributes. This very controversial speech highlighted the inequality that African Americans have endured for over 400 years, specifically weighing in on the injustice in our current legal system. " There has been no war that we have not fought and died on the front lines of. There has been no job we haven’t done. There is no tax they haven’t levied against us – and we’ve paid all of them. But freedom is somehow always conditional here. “You’re free,” they keep telling us. But she would have been alive if she hadn’t acted so… free." Words like these inspired a poem of my own. I completely agree with every word that Jesse said during the speech, but I also believe that freedom is withheld from everyone to a certain extent. Every emotion is stem from either love or fear.   Life is meant to be free As free as the air we breathe Despite the...