With each generation there’s new hurdles but because of the work that has been laid before by the legends it makes it easier to walk through those doors and explore new options to push the boundaries from what was expected.
Category: Articles
Reflections On Black Panther’s Killmonger
In Black Panther Killmonger has similar verbiage as his father in his motivation for wanting the throne of Wakanda, empower the oppressed with the resources Wakandans freely enjoy.
Martin Freeman’s character confidently proclaims repeatedly that Killmonger’s action are a direct result of training even going as far as saying “he’s one of us”.
Killmonger had a MIT schooling and went into the Navy Seals and an even more remote sect of that silently destabilizing regimes.
This felt like the perfect training to me and though Killmonger didn’t respect the traditions of the land and continued with violent outbursts the plan of liberating the oppressed sounded appealing to me.
A Look a Hip Hop and Cinema – From Colors to Black Panther The Album
I truly believe Death Row though fraught with controversy laid the groundwork that TDE now walks on as a $100M company with iconic artists making legendary music.
Now in the era of #NewLegends along with Drake and J Cole, Kendrick has a chokehold on the hip hop world and this film’s trust with TDE has paid off with the soundtrack about to hit #1 on Billboard 200 album charts.
Hip Hop is now Pop culture surpassing Rock & Roll as the most popular genre in the States.
With Eminem and Three Six Mafia each winning Academy Awards for their songs in films 8 Mile and Hustle and Flow it shows hip hop is here to stay and also that our soundtracks are just as valid as the dominant society.
What Just Happened – NBA Trade Deadline
The NBA is a business, it is ruthless and hypocritical.
Players are expected to be “loyal” and stay with the team that’s drafted them but this generation is smarter with the two best players, LeBron controlling his destiny and Kevin Durant validating his move to Golden State with a Finals MVP and a championship.
This particular shake up by the Cleveland Cavaliers shows the front office isn’t going to be held hostage and paralyzed by LeBron James’ moves.
It gives flexibility to look to the future, possibly without James, and also the chance to compete for a championship this season.
Black Future Month: Black Panther and the Unveiling of the Afrofuturist Frontier [Contributor: John Isadore]
Black Panther is the perfect symbol of Black Future Month and Afrofuturism in a number of ways. While, yes, it was originally created by well-meaning Westerners, it has been adopted by Blacks as an aspirational, modern representation of us. It is a way for us to shed the trappings of European influence and build a superior society embracing African culture. Wakanda allows us to envision what might have been, or might even still be. It is a future for us in a way that Star Wars and Star Trek, for their efforts, simply are not and cannot be. It is OUR science Fantasy.
Representation Is Important – How Ugly Betty succeed in creating LGBTQ characters
In a world where marriage equality is recognized across the United States and transwomen like Janet Mock and Laverne Cox are being acclaimed, though nowhere near perfect, it's fascinating to look at media with a current perspective.
I truly believe representation is important and I believe Ugly Betty is a good example of this.
This America Ferrera led show takes a look at the inner workings of Mode magazine and the Shakespearean battle for power between the players.
Besides it being a great show in its own right one thing I felt was great about this show was how they dealt with LGBTQ issues.
Built For This – How LaVar Ball Can Change College Sports
If JBA is successful in convincing a star recruit to forgo a Division 1 school the sports world will take notice.
NBA doesn’t allow high schoolers to join the draft so “prep to pro” programs aren’t available.
And even their developmental G-League requires one year out of high school before being accepted.
This league gives players an opportunity to play stateside while making some real money and either become a professional player or use the money earned to start a life outside of schooling.
ADDICTION – A look at drugs and hip-hop
Some critics have said that rap music has turned from rapping about selling drugs to them expressing how they take the drugs.
The problem is when people write off hip hop’s history with drugs as just a product of ‘mumble rap’.
Yes it’s true that early records like Grandmaster Flash’s The Message were cultural conscious this was also when many thought of cocaine as a party drug which gave way to ‘ready rock’ or ‘crack’.
I feel this is the same with ecstasy or better know in the community as molly.
Historically this was also seen as a party drug and now it’s moved from the clubs to the hip hop airwaves.
LOYALTY – The lie of sports leagues
If there was any example that the call for loyalty goes both ways it would’ve been in this opportunity.
Isaiah did everything right. The fans loved him, he played hurt both emotionally and physically.
He played through a hip injury only after leading his team to not only a series win against the Chicago Bulls but also the Washington Wizards this was after he lost his sister in a car accident.
Young Black America – The Wins & Losses of Meek Mill
Sometimes it seems probation is better than sitting in a cell but to be honest this might not always be the case.
The system is not for us and it set up for citizens to become repeat offenders and return especially with the advent of mass incarceration due to the privatization of prisons.
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