JPEGMAFIA: I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU

JPEGMAFIA new album is probably one of the best albums of the summer and year. Homie goes so fucking hard on this album. I think my favorite part about this album is calling out all the problematic motherfuckers, like the fuck they thought this was?

If you don’t know JPEGMAFIA and this was the first album to dive into, I would say that would be fine. Honestly, I haven’t consistently been listening to JPEG. I want to say I listened to him a lot in 2017 and then I just fell off, but this album was the perfect reintroduction to him. Like all of his albums, JPEGMAFIA is very genuine. This is what sets him apart from other artists. You never know what you’re going to get from him. The work he put into this album is exceptional. The production and sampling are unmatched. Every track has little easter eggs of IYKYK. I love how everything flows together. You have the goes hard bangers that transition to smooth instrumentals, to dance tracks that make you jump and just tracks that are so undeniably genius.

JPEGMAFIA is an actual veteran and someone that habitually stays on line and has always been the type of person to just say it like it is, call out all the crazy shit he sees and just represents all the homies who are tired of these fake tic tok celebrities who are literally stealing black culture to get ahead, but hey! Isn’t that how the system has always worked?!

Streaming on all platforms!

Childish Gambino: Bando Stone & The New World

Gambino has done it again. Earlier this year, Childish Gambino released a refinished version of 3.15.20 by renaming it Atavista, while also releasing music videos for songs like Little Foot Big Foot. But now Gambino has released a trailer to a full ass movie called Bando Stone and The New World. This is fucking amazing. We have watched Donald in his T.V. bag with Atlanta, Swarm, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and now this! This project is bittersweet, being Childish’s final album.

It’s only fitting to me that Gambino is going out with a bang. We are not just getting an album but a whole movie to go with it. AND this man is going on tour, The New World Tour, which I am personally so excited for. He will be in Minneapolis in October, which is also my birthday month, it’s going to be magical!

The first single we’ve gotten for Bando Stone and The New World is Lithonia. This song is literally everything. I love the intro and how he makes it a ballad and then those instrumentals come in and you get a more refined version of Childish Gambino from when he was in his alternative bag. His singing is like a lullaby, reminding you that Nobody in fact, gives a fuck. I love this vibe so much. As someone who still listens to Sick Boi, and I AM JUST A RAPPER, Royalty (Soundcloud for all his older music) it feels so full circle.  But if I’m being honest, I’m not ready for this era to come to an end.

Bando Stone & The New World shows Donald Glover as Bando Stone a retired singer who pops into society realizing that everyone is gone, and that shit is weird. He runs into another person played by Jessica Allain. Together they try to survive rabid looking animals on a beautiful island. Written by Evi Wilder.

There is no commercial release date yet for the actual movie, but there are some saying the album will be out July 19th!

Be on the look out! 🖤

Tierra Whack: WORLD WIDE WHACK

The wait is over. We have another album by Tierra Whack. Like all her albums, each have their own distinguished taste. Tierra Whack’s album is beautiful and thoughtfully put together. Her lyrical talent just gets better and better. The way she delivers her emotions. The aftermath of grief can be difficult. Especially when you're already dealing with depression. These days it’s hard to pause and just focus on yourself especially when we have social media, and we are constantly “ON” and sharing and consuming everything in such small periods of time all the time. Shit is exhausting.

My Favorite tracks: Mood Swings, moody and relatable as fuck.

Ms Behave: The drums are everything on this track. Very much giving Wakanda forever vibes.

Chanel Pit: The commercial vibe that still hits.

Moovies: I love the dance vibe it has. Gives a fun 80’s vibe and just a fun and honest track describing love in a simple form of taking a girlie to eat and a good movie. That’s all we want, honestly!

Shower Song: This is such a fucking bop. it’s so fun and I just find myself always singing it out loud!

27 Club: The melody, the lyrics. I just really love this song. I always find myself going back to this song. It’s interesting how she can make a track about such a sensitive topic that should be sad as fuck but it’s still a bop? like how?

GO STREAM THIS ALBUM. GO WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEOS!!

What I love the most about Tierra Whack as an artist is that she comes off very genuine. Her music doesn’t feel like she’s trying too hard to be anyone else. And even when she may not know exactly who she is all the time or how she feels it never comes off forced or manipulative. The music industry can come off crazy as hell and I’m glad it hasn’t rubbed off on her in any way. She takes her time when it comes to her music and how she executes her brand. Bravo!

The Vince Staples Show

Yo! Vince Staples got a T.V show, and it’s fucking dope. Right off the bat with the pilot episode Vince does not come to play when it comes to the comedy. The dichotomy of being rich and famous but NOT THAT rich and famous while Black can be interesting to navigate. And that what Vince is doing. The pressure of being a famous rapper while also wanting to be or when people turn you into an inspiration can be a lot. The show follows Vince in his day-to-day life when some wild ass shit can pop off. But hey, just another day for Mr. Staples.

Right off the bat when I saw who was playing his mama, I was like hell yeah! The amazing Vanessa Bell Calloway (Coming to America), Andrea Ellsworth as Deja the girlfriend. Kareem J. Grimes (All American) as Uncle Mike and Rick Ross as himself. My favorite episode is the Brown Family Reunion episode when Vince Staples's mom (Vanessa Bell Calloway) freaks the fuck out when she finds out that someone else brought the Mac and Cheese and gives everyone hell about it. Vince’s girlfriend thinks she’s being ridiculous, and she responds it’s about respect. I don’t know about you, but I have seen many a fight over some Mac N Cheese. It’s something so easy yet taken so seriously. A rite of passage if you will, and this episode captured that idea brilliantly. I also loved the episode Black Business. Vince tries to get a loan to do better and bigger and despite having some money to back up the idea it’s still not enough. At the end of the day, he is still just a rapper. And that can always go south. (MC HAMMER… just sayin) so while trying to leave the bank it is getting robbed and by coincidence, it’s being robbed by one of Vince’s childhood friends. It’s a hilarious scene of two people literally catching up during a robbery while simultaneously breaking down the system of white supremacy within the bank system and its ties in slavery to how it continues corruption today to Black and Brown Communities.

Overall, a very well written and executed show that I really hope gets a second season because I would love to see more of what Vince can do. I love that we are getting more shows by Black and Brown creatives. The insight and creativity are completely next level. When we let these opportunities happen, we get more beautiful shit like this. Like if you read between the lines of comedy, you see the bigger message. All episodes streaming on Netflix!

Tierra Whack: 27 CLUB

Tierra Whack is back with some singles and an album around the corner. I first started listening to Tierra Whack back when Whack World came out. She made me feel seen. She made me feel like it was okay to be weird, to be a little quirky. She always had a tinge of sadness in her songs that felt comforting. When she posted this new music video she talked about suffering in silence. I think Black women are experts at suffering in silence. We’re supposed to be so fucking strong; how can we complain or even have the time when we are taking care of everyone and everything else? I feel like it was very important to bring up because she always comes off so cheerful. Not everyone feels happy just because they look happy.

I love this song; I love how each track that she releases has its own vibe and doesn’t feel like different remixes of each other. Two other tracks that will be on the new album are Chanel Pit and Shower Song. Shower Song is another fun track with a very creative music video with different mediums. Looking forward to the new album WORLD WIDE WHACK coming March 15 2024

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Donald Glover has done it again. When I first heard about a remake of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, I didn’t really know what to expect. With all these reboots, you never do. Sometimes it’s just regurgitated bullshit. But with Donald, I knew to expect originality. And that’s exactly what this show delivers. Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) and Maya Erskine (Pen15) have such great chemistry working with each other. Nothing feels forced. Maya is an extraordinarily batshit crazy Jane and I love every minute of it. I am afraid to admit that I have way too much in common with this character. All I have to say is that I felt targeted in the Ski Resort episode when she’s sending all those texts.

The writing around this John and Jane feels more intentional. I want to learn more about them. I want know their past and why they decide this life of espionage. The show is very clever and well balanced when it delivers fast paced violence and intertwining comedy, something unexpected or something that comes across as mundane. The vulnerability that these two characters get to show and communicate to each other was fresh and gave the series more depth. The comedy was top fucking notch. The therapy episode with Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story) was brilliant. The conversation that we see John have with other Black men, talking about subjects’ main society doesn’t think they have. So, fucking well done.

The casting must be mentioned because so many talented people! I will start with my favorite Michaela Coel, Parker Posey, John Turturro, Paul Dano and a very amazing surprise… Donald Glover’s MOTHER!! Beverly Glover. That was such a special treat and made the interactions between those two characters seamless and natural. Honestly this was such a great show and so original in its own right. Seeing Donald Glover in his writing and directing bag has me so ecstatic. We have been spoiled from Atlanta to Swarm and now this? I can’t even imagine what the next project could be or how he’s going to put his own twist and spin on it. I love his collaboration on projects like this. He is truly the next big thing in television.

All Episodes streaming on Amazon Prime

A Thousand And One

I finally sat down on my day off and watched A Thousand and One. A beautiful and heartbreaking movie about family, love and sacrifice. Directed by Gotham Award Winner A.V. Rockwell. Starring the incredibly talented Teyana Taylor who wears many hats. She’s a musician, model, choreographer and creative director. Homegirl can truly do it all. Teyana plays the main role of Inez De La Paz, a young woman who is just released from jail for petty crimes. William Catlet who plays Inez’s love interest/Husband name Lucky. Lucky is also newly released when they cross paths again. Introducing Aaron Kingsley who plays Terry (child), Aven Courtney as Terry (Preteen/Teen) and Josiah Cross as Terry (Teenager/Young Adult). Terry is a quiet young kid who’s stuck in the system. Staying with unreliable foster parents and ending up in the hospital Inez decides her child should be with their mother.

We follow Inez who’s back in Brooklyn New York during the 90’s. Gentrification seems slow then all of sudden long-time homes are new condos, new retail, new coffee shops. Inez sets out to start a new beginning for each other. Each moment spent surviving and figuring out the next move until things seem to fall into place. But not everything can always be easy.

“THERES MORE TO LIFE THAN FUCKED UP BEGINNINGS” - Inez

This film is so important because it shows the Black family with no constraints. Inez might not be your stereotypical mother but she loves hard and she makes sure Terry gets the education he deserves and to enjoy being a kid. She understands that the world will try to make him grow up too fast, make him out to be something he isn’t. The whole time you’re rooting for their family. For them to grab the system by the horns.

The acting in this movie by all three Terrys is fantastic. Each actor portraying Terry really captures each stage of Terry. Watching him grow up to be this timid young kid to a timid adult who’s finally opening up and learning to be themselves. When they realize they can go farther by being themselves is the best thing ever. Truly a masterpiece showing a story through our own point of view.

Cuz fuck it, “I’ve already won, because I know you’re going to be somebody.” -Inez

Now Streaming on Amazon Prime

Noname: Sundial

IT’S HERE! After much anticipation, Noname has graced us with another album, Sundial. My favorite tracks so far are Black Mirror, Ballons, Boom Boom and Beauty Supply. I feel like Noname is usually a slower pace rapper. She’s very much a poet when conducting so I was pleasantly surprised when the songs felt faster, a little more spring in the beats and lyrics. I love that Noname isn’t afraid to call herself out about things that she said she would never do but then life happens and you gotta move on. People are mad that she doesn’t like the fact that White people listen to her music. But I believe that is too simplistic. It’s the same flack that Lauryn Hill gets. Whenever a Black artist tells their audience this is for their people, White people get so upset. but historically Black people have been out of everything, and we don’t get mad, we create our own lane. But how can white people create their own lane when they historically take and steal our talents. I feel like it’s more about the deeper fact that Noname doesn’t actually care if you like her or not because when it comes down to it, she made this music for people like me. end of story. take it or leave it.

I also love the fact that she is being more open about dating and her sexuality which is no one’s business but with all this queer hate spewing around it’s good to hear lyrics that shows Noname herself is in new relationships, being comfortable with herself etc. Black and Brown communities need to come together for our queer brothers and sisters and nonbinary folks.

Overall, I really enjoyed this album, I love seeing Noname express herself, I am disappointed on how quick men and white people feel the need to try and nitpick at this album that has nothing to do with them. Sometimes Black Women just want to exist.