The Emotional Impact of 4:44
A couple of months ago, rap superstar Jay-Z made headlines when he released his thirteenth studio album, 4:44. The album made headlines because Jay was the most open and vulnerable that he’s ever been. On the title track, Jay address the infidelity that Beyonce talks about on her album, Lemonade.
My 24K Magic World Tour Experience
On Tuesday, August 22nd, pop superstar Bruno Mars came to town. It was the Pittsburgh stop on his 24k Magic World Tour. It was a sold out concert and Mars showed up and showed out.
The Mystery Behind the Final Girls
A lot of descriptions that I read for the book, Final Girls compared it to a slasher movie. After reading the book, I can see why. The premise is the same. A group of college kids go on a weekend trip to a cabin and then they get murdered by a crazed killer on the loose. This sounds like most slasher movies of the late ’70s and the ’80s, like Halloween and Friday the 13th series for example. There’s even a lone survivor left to tell the tale.
All Eyez On Me: The Movie and the Man
Last month, the Tupac biopic, All Eyez On Me, finally hit theaters. It was released on what would’ve been the rapper’s 46th birthday, June 16th. There has been a lot of hype and curiosity surrounding this movie. Naturally, because Tupac was such a three dimensional person and often regarded as the greatest rapper of all time, so the movie should reflect that.
Two Great YA Novels Released This Year
Within the last couple of years, I’ve shied away from reading young adult novels because that’s all that I used to read. I wanted to expand my horizons, and also I felt that a lot of the young adult novels were the same. Recently, I read one of the best young adult novels that I’ve ever come across, and it’s called The Hate U Give. Another great young adult novel that I read recently was When Dimple Met Rishi.
Who Has the Power?
There’s always that one show that everybody watches, but you don’t. For me that was Power. A lot of people that I know watch the show, including my mother. She was always talking about how good it is. I just never got into it until now. The show centers around James St. Patrick, who is the owner of a New York City nightclub called Truth. This is his legal job. His other job is the distributor for one of the biggest drug cartels in New York City.
DAMN, it’s Kendrick Lamar
GRAMMY-award winning rap superstar Kendrick Lamar released his third studio album DAMN last month. There was a lot of hype and anticipation for this album. A lot of people including myself were wondering whether the overall sound of the album would mimic his sophomore album, To Pimp a Butterfly. After the release of the first single from the new album, “Humble” the answer was no. Lamar went the route of using hard hitting beats over his vicious flows and it’s a refreshing change of pace.
Dear White People: A Public Service Announcement
Recently, Netflix released all ten episodes of their series Dear White People, which is based on the movie and book with the same name. The series carries over a lot of what happens in the movie and then expands on it. What helps the series is that the creator of the book and movie, Justin Simien, was on board for the series as creator. Another facet that helps is some of the actors from the movie came back to reprise their roles on the TV series.
The Troubled Girl Named Marlena
Cat, her mother and her older brother, Jimmy, move to Silver Lake, Michigan, after their parents’ divorce. It’s an extremely small town with basically nothing to do. Based on descriptions in the book it doesn’t sound like a place that anybody would want to move to. At some point in the book, Cat’s mom says that she wanted to move as far away from where they were living because everyone knew why the divorce happened. In the beginning of the book, Cat meets Marlena. She is her next door neighbor. Cat is fascinated with her and wants to be her friend.
Chimamanda Adichie’s Bite Sized Feminist Manifesto
I had a hard time trying to narrow down what to discuss from Chimamanda Adichie’s new book, Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions. This was because there were so many profound and wonderful points that Adichie made about how society treats women and feminism. Adichie first rose to prominence via the feminist spectrum after a clip of her Ted Talk was sampled in Beyonce’s 2013 song “***Flawless”.