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DEBUNKED: Beyonce's "Formation",Song/Video/Superbowl 50

Beyonce NEVER ceases to amaze. The Texas born Queen of Pop has done it again moving the nation with her controversial new song, music video and Superbowl performance. All which were chalked full of deep symbolism. First and foremost Beyonce is an artist, and good art moves people to feel a certain way.

The song and music video to "Formation" are direct homages to Bey's southern roots and the history of the South.  From the antebellum houses, to the food, style and racial history the Southern culture is uniquely beautiful. Bey perfectly portrays this beauty through the cuts of Lousiana during Katrina, urban horse rides, and old school chevys.

 "My daddy Alabama, Mama Louisiana, you mix that Negro with that Creole make a Texas bama," 

This direct display of loving your heritage is a powerful representation of self-love and a celebration of who she is as a person.

Negro and Bama, both being what a linguist would call "reclaimed epithets" where words that have previously been used as insults towards a community of people are adopted by the community as positive terms of self identification or endearment. The former being politically corrected to "African American". While the latter is still widely used to describe someone who is "country"

This blend of two Southern cultures is nothing and more prolific today than ever before, in part due to the amount of Creoles that were displaced into surrounding Southern States following Katrina.

“I like my baby hair with baby hair and afros,

I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils”

Sings Bey with Blue Ivy front and center, bouncing along with her natural hair. Throughout the video Beyonce rocks many hairstyles worn by black women from natural afros, cornrows, even blonde and straightened. The freedom to choose, and be confident in your style despite typical pressures to conform is the message. Especially now with the natural hair movement becoming so big, when 10yrs ago a lot of black women wore their hair pressed or relaxed. Knowing it's okay to embrace your natural features is important, which leads into the next line about Jackson Five nostrils. I read this as a direct nod to Michael Jackson himself who fought with issues of self image and spent thousands trying to correct his nose. A feature that he was often made fun of for as a small child. Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.-Lucille Ball 

The video features cuts of a young boy dancing in front of a line of officers as well as a graffitied wall reading "Stop Shooting Us" a plea to stop the police brutality plaguing the nation. "I Slay" Beyonce sings as she plays with the use and meaning of the word- reclaiming the power from those who have literally murdered black bodies and making it a rebellious term for people of color to ascend modern oppression through the power of their talents Beyonce is rarely a vocal person when it comes to sociopolitical issues and made headlines when one the 10 people she follows on Twitter became social activist Deray Mckesson. Tidal, the music streaming service jointly owned by Hov and Bey recently announced that they would be giving $1.5M to the Black Lives Matter Movement another silent form of speech. This video chalked full of imagery how ever polarizing, definitely reflects a reality that many minorities face today.

The song dropped, the video dropped, and then just when you thought it was over, Superbowl 50.

Beyonce undoubtedly stole the half-time show after Coldplay's public display of support for the gay community. Bey marched onto the field in an outfit identical to the one Michael Jackson wore for his Superbowl 27 performance. Flanked by an entourage of back up dancers cloaked in black, donning Afros and Black Berets they took the show by storm performing a fierce "Formation". The dancers appeared to be a spitting image of the Black Panther Party, an organization that fought for social justice. The "BPP" was formed exactly 50 years ago in 1966, some Americans saw the Panthers as a radical quasi military group aimed at causing political disruption and public chaos. The "BPP" were targeted by the FBI and subsequently shutdown. Today amidst the epidemic of police brutality and social injustice, many viewers saw Bey's performance as an indirect shot at the police while others saw a high profile celebrity using her platform to pay homage to an organization who stood up for social justice in the face of adversity.

Art, is what it is. Beyonce is an artist no doubt,  and good art draws a reaction, a response, forces uncomfortable conversation. Art can be interpreted many ways but, the fact that we are having a discussion about the symbolism that lies both in her song and performance means Beyonce has done her job. Beyonce embraces her heritage, recognizes history, is fully aware of her platform, influence and the current situation around her. She provoked a conversation, forcing people to reveal their true colors on a serious issue that plagues our society. That is art in the purest form. 

Beyonce has also made it possible to get a free download of "Formation" and Stream Kanye's new Album TLOP with a 90-day Free trial of TIDAL, scoop your freebie here

Yeezy 3 Season/ TLOP Streaming

Today was the day, Kanye dropped The Life of Pablo and debut Yeezy Season 3 sponsored by Adidas via Tidal Live stream (see the stream here). Seeing the stream live was truly an experience, an art show of fashion and music combined into something beautiful.  The audience was packed full of attendees including  Anna Wintour, Virgil Abloh, Pusha T,Wale, Nick Young, Jay-Z, 2 Chainz, A$AP Rocky, Lil Kim, Fifty Cent, The Kardashian Family and those are just the few that I could visually see. Kanye initially walked out with a healthy looking Lamar Odom while sporting a Yeezus hat and red TLOP long sleeve merch (that quickly sold out). Madison Square Garden attendants handed him the AUX and he set it off. 

The album was played from beginning to end while the audience ogled over the many different models of color sporting the new collection. As you scanned the models faces a few looked familiar  Kanye recruited Ian Connor, J Sta$h, Young Thug and even the legendary Naomi Campbell made an appearance on stage. 

As the album played on it was crazy to not only hear but see the crowd vibe to the flow of the new beats and songs. Some of the track we thought we had previously heard  were mixed again with new beats or verses added, "Facts" had a new beat and "Wolves" for instance had a new verse from Kanye add on and a feature from the newly resurrected Frank Ocean. Other talent featured on the album included Rihanna, Future, Chance the Rapper, Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Kid Cudi, TyDolla$ign, the full credits will come soon when the album drops Friday. 

Once the album ran through, Ye' even showed Young Thug and Vic Mensa some love and played a never before heard song which was just adding more fire to the mix.
The album stream and live fashion show are something totally new that Kanye introduced to the game in the smoothest Kanye way possible. Before leaving the venue Yeezy lets us preview an emotionally charged clip of a video game he designed where his mom was entering the gates of heaven. As well as dropping some nuggets that Adidas would be lowering the prices on his pieces and that he dreamed of become the creative director for Hermes even if it was only for a short while.
It was much more than just a streaming, it was truly an experience. 

GOAT

Kanye West TLOP = The Life Of Pablo

Kanye has finally revealed the mystery behind his album titled TLOP or "The Life of Pablo". The Pablo referenced is not the notorious Pablo Escobar but, the famous artist Pablo Picasso. Picasso is one of Kanye's favorite artists,"My goal, if I was going to do art, fine art, would have been to become Picasso or greater," Kanye said in a speech given to the Oxford Guild Society.  

It comes as no surprise to anyone that Ye' would compare himself to one of the great classical artists. Yeezy also dropped the final tracklist along with Yeezy season 3 that hinted at a few new colorways for the Yeezy boosts. More to come on the colorways and the actual drop of the album itself that has taken 3 years in the making (Yeezus 2013) but, at least we aren't wondering what it will be called. Stay tuned as the saga continues.

Danny Brown is back Sahtyre "Expertise"

Never sleep on Danny Brown, after a long vacay he's back on the track. Danny jumps back on the lyric flow with LA based Sahtyre on his first single of the new year "Expertise". The Detroit native rips the carpet over a nasty beat foundation birthed by Stewart Villain. A great wake up call since his last project "Old", I'm excited to see what else Mr.Brown has in store this year. Milk your ears below.

Kanye Changes his Album Title...Again.

Yes, Yeezy has renamed his album again. First it was "So Help Me God", then we had "SWISH" and then WAVES but, now we have TLOP. Well what does TLOP stand for? That's the million dollar question, Kanye has offered up no explanation thus far. The date is Feb. 10, 2016 the 10yr anniversary of College dropout and the new album drops at midnight. Ye' has challenged everyone to correctly guess the meaning of TLOP before then. The winner is to receive a Free Pair of Yeezys and tickets to Yeezy Season 3 premiere. Hype is at an all time high. The clock is winding down, and still no one has guessed correctly, at midnight we'll have both the meaning behind the name and the album itself. 

Kanye West 2004 V.Rare Freestyle from Tim Westwood

 With all things Yeezy dropping soon in Feb, Tim Westwood releases some never before seen footage of a Kanye West freestyle from back in 2004. It's refreshing to hear the old Louis Vuitton Don flow amidst the new waves of controversy with the Rolling Stone cover and "KK" gate. Check it out.

Yeezy Season 3 & WAVES premiere Tickets NOW ON SALE

That's right US citizens, tickets to the premiere of Kanye West's Yeezy Season 3 and WAVES screening are now on sale at the theatre near you. Goers can opt to buy a few different packages on a broad price spectrum from 25$ for a general admission ticket to 581$ for a package that includes a digital version of the album along with a T-shirt, hoodie and Jean Jacket.  Kanye has definitely changed the game when it comes to album rollouts and the hip-hop fashion crossover. The event is slated for Feb 11. at 4:15pm Eastern time, you can cop a ticket at KanyeWest.com

Max B on Kanye West Album "WAVES"

Max B the "Wavy Daddy" responds to Kanye naming his new album "WAVES". First off if you don't know the Max B story, do yourself a favor and quickly brush up on your hip-hop history here. Max B the creator of the wave basically goes on to say Kanye's naming the album was just borrowing of positive inspiration and that it should be done more in hip-hop. More artists should be jumping off of others creativity and inspiration in a positive way, Kanye didn't drop a diss track on him and everyone already knows who created the wavy terms so he's not trippin. Max B also commented on a new documentary based on him coming out from DJ Scoob Doo, wasn't done properly. Listen below for the full interview via Breakfast Club.

Drake-Summer Sixteen

Drake dropped some more fire today, a single from his highly anticipated album Views from the 6. On this track he shouts out President Obama, throws shots at Meek and compares pool sizes with Ye'. At one point he does yell "666", which definitely could have been left out. The artwork hints at some possible illuminati influence but looks dope nonetheless. The single released exclusively through Apple Music is high octane with a matching beat, Jimmy even throws DJ Khaled on the end. is album along with Kanye's WAVES and Rihanna's ANTI will make for another Hot year in music.

VICELAND brings the NOISEY

VICE one of the most riveting docu series to exist in my humble opinion. Is coming to Television as VICELAND and bringing with it new content from Noisey the music centric portion headed by Andy Capper. I don't actually watch traditional TV but, I will most definitely find away to see what comes out of this new endeavor. I would love to see Netflix or Amazon pick up a few seasons and put some money behind this.High hopes.

Let me know what you think

Read the OG here

Rihanna ANTI goes Platinum Already?

RiRi's much anticipated album ANTI has already been certified platinum because Samsung pre purchased 1M copies of the album to distribute as a free download. Plus the album has already been streamed 14M times on Tidal. This could easily hit No.1 on the charts but true sales numbers will be muddied because Billboard won't count that Samsung purchase, I believe he same thing happened with Drakes latest album due to his Apple deal.  Rihanna doesn't strike me as one to care too much about the stats though. She has managed however to finesse a $25M deal with Samsung last year and got them to sponsor her next tour with Travi$ Scott.

This begs the question is big company involvement good or bad for the game? Artists used to really have to hustle to get that Platinum certification. If a behemoth like Samsung can swoop in and buy 1M to put you at a Platinum level off the bat, what does that say? Is this the future of the game, where artists are financially cosigned by big companies like Apple, Samsung, or even Sony? What happens when a big player withdraws their sponsorship? I don't have the answers but I guess only time will tell.

Let me know what you think!

Read the OG here

Strongest Rap Crew? The Wrap Up and Come Up

I read the article by Complex that discussed the strongest Rap crews in the game right now. I thought the article was well written and brought up some valid points that I would not have otherwise considered. I would have liked to see my boy One Take Makonnen mentioned with OVO heavyweight crew. He def made noise last year and is on the come up to drop even more fire this year. The kid has a unique sound and he's the only one that could stop himself this year. TDE's Schoolboy Q is another brother that I'm hoping drops something nice on the game this year as well. GOOD music definitely needs to expand the portfolio or use some of the veterans on the roster to their advantage, even with WAVES dropping in Feb.

What do yall think about the crew lineup and the future of 2K16? Let me know!

Read the OG here 

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Dallas Rapper on the come-up
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