radically accepting my grimy, cronchy art tendencies

(also, this is just an old sketch I decided to render a bit. I promise that this level of productivity from me is abnormal)

So I've been playing Death Stranding lately. Wait, that's not what this post is about. Well, it kind of is. Hang on. What is Death Stranding about?

A: Norman Reedus getting bare ass naked B. Sneaking around ghosts with the help of your sidekick, an actual baby C: Carrying 50 Amazon packages up a hill while trying to not topple over D: Waking up in the morning and drinking 5 Monster Energy™ for breakfast

For those following along at home, the answer is actually none of the above. Despite the set dressing being bizarre to the point of near absurdity, what the game is actually about, like thematically, is actually really simple.

See, the development of Death Stranding was actually quite a trip. Hideo Kojima is the video game world's equivalent of an auteur director. He has a very recognizable personal style. It's thoroughly horny – he caught a bunch of shit for the design of Quiet in MGSV, but like, a lot of Kojima characters are just -like that-, including the dudes. Also, this is going to possibly be important later.

Anyway, so Kojima was going to do a rebootmakequel of Silent Hill, and the demo actually made it to the PS store and I could actually write a whole side essay about why P.T. (it was called P.T. for some reason btw) was brilliant game design for how it used the same hallway over and over and it was somehow beneficial to the overall feeling of horror. So Konami it turns out kinda sucks nowadays and they like, fired Kojima (they were huge dicks about it behind closed doors, too) and scrapped the project and kicked him out on the street and kept the Metal Gear series which was his baby (literally the baby in the sink in P.T., he snuck a bunch of messaging about the Konami situation into the demo like a breakup album) and Kojima would go on to form his own studio and poach some of the people who worked with him to boot. So the thing about Kojima is this: he's got a reputation for already putting some wild shit in his games, like a ladder that takes like 10 real time minutes to climb in MGS3 for dramatic effect, and a boss in MGS3 that summons the ghosts of all the people you were too lazy to stealth past and killed, or a sniper battle with a really old guy that he wanted to have last two weeks or some shit until he died of old age but he was "told that "this was impossible and not recommended." That is a real quote I just looked up. So he's coming off the heels of making this hugely successful game with MGSV and the hype of the P.T. Demo and he fucking, he like took all the people that were going to be working on P.T. Along like Guillermo Del Toro was going to co-write it and Norman Reedus was going to star in it, and he's like, I'm going to make this game called Death Stranding. And the first trailer comes out for it and it's completely nuts. Norman Reedus wakes up naked on a beach crying with a baby and there are floating people in the sky? So we're all like hooooooly shit, there's no one to tell him "this is impossible and not recommended" anymore. What's he going to make now!?

So the whole time the game is in development I keep seeing these tweets where it'll be like, Kojima and one of his homies smiling with some saccharine message about being spiritual warriors and changing the world. And not just Del Toro and Reedus, there was Mads Mikkelsen (another guy Kojima puts in the game just because he apparently loves him), and the band Chvches, and also like, Keanu Reeves at one point? You know how everyone has just kind of accepted that Keanu is a being of light? Here he was endorsing Kojima. The hype was pretty confused and frantic.

The game eventually comes out. A lot of game journos hate it because I think there was this expectation it was going to be, you know, less weird and have more of the conventional structure of a video game. That's not to say the average gamer wasn't also dismissive of it, but I think on the ground level there was more of an understanding that like, yeah, Kojima just be like that sometimes.

Because the game was a timed console exclusive and your homie don't play like that, I spent the first year or so cautiously viewing Death Stranding from a distance. I wasn't sure I was going to like it – except for being really impressed with P.T., I wasn't actually a big fan of Kojima's games as games – but I -was- sure that I was going to buy it, because of the way Konami fucked him over, just out of support. And the shit I was hearing was really out there. The primary mode of gameplay is just delivery packages. You collect Norman Reedus' bathwater and pee and use it as grenades. You get a motorcycle that looks like the one from AMC's The Ride with Norman Reedus, and when you sit on it, his character in the game says "Wow, this thing is like the one from AMC's The Ride with Norman Reedus!"

But I didn't really want to know that much about it. Something has that much fucking crazy person energy, you want to go in mostly blind, right? So maybe people just weren't talking about this, or maybe I wasn't seeing it, but then I watched Girlfriend Reviews' video about it and they came right out and said it (link provided if you want to hear Shelby say it more articulately than me):

Death Stranding is basically about the exact opposite of Twitter. It's about remembering how to be kind to each other, how to reconnect in a world where people are so often hostile to each other by default. Prophetically, it's about a world where people are afraid to go outside or touch other people and how damaging that is. It's not a game about carrying packages, it's a game about helping people by being brave enough to walk through a wasteland carrying their burdens because they can't. It's about rebuilding the lost connections between people, about restoring roads and giving people hope. I bet, for Kojima and the people close to him, it's about how to answer hostility with compassion. You can't kill people in Death Stranding. You can and are absolutely encouraged to fucking throw hands with people sometimes, but all the tools and weapons are nonlethal. So I think Kojima took all the Twitter heat he got over the Quiet nontroversy, and all the feelings of isolation he had from Konami separating him from his team during the end of the development of MGSV, and all the support and encouragement he got from his bros Del Toro and Mads and the rest, and decided to channel that into making a game that was a statement about all of it. And sure, it's a little heavy handed, and sure, it's a little saccharine, and sure, the gameplay sometimes borders on miserable in service of creating emotional payoffs. For me, especially in 2020, this message is a huge success. Social media should be an opportunity for all of us to feel more connected to each other, yet primarily it feels like one of the main forces driving people apart. Why is that? Why is the internet of today such a hostile place? I'm old enough to remember web 1.0: I can haz cheezburger memes; YTMND; the early wild west days of Youtube... What happened to us? I've thrown the blame at Twitter in the past, and I think the architecture of the user experience on Twitter is absolutely a big piece of the puzzle, because it fosters negative interactions. But in terms of the behavior, people have observed that 2018 Twitter was actually almost exactly like 2014 Tumblr. (For the record, Tumblr is now one of the chillest places left on the internet, because so few fucks are left to give.)

I think part of it is the anonymity. The dehumanizing disconnection of the separation of screens and miles. Louis CK, before he was cancelled, had a great point about cyberbullying, and why it's so much more savage than kids are IRL. When you pick on someone in person and you are confronted with seeing the pain you caused them, for most sane people it causes negative feedback and you become disgusted with your actions and eventually learn to stop being a shithead. Online, at best you can "break the wrist, walk away".

At worst, you can become addicted to "clout chasing" and the psychological thrill of being cheered on by your social ingroup. It's even worse if you feel like it's not bullying and your actions are justified because whoever you've targeted is a bad person so you don't have to feel bad about what you do to them. This is where reductive, unhelpful catchphrases like "punch a nazi" come in. For every argument, one or both sides have convinced themselves that the other side is subhuman because their beliefs are so disgusting. And sometimes it's even true! A lot of times, especially these days, people really are acting like animals or worse online. Entire disinformation engines are roaring day and night, churning out garbage and cluttering the social consciousness. (Kojima talked about this bit, too, way back in MGS2. As if I wasn't already in danger of losing my thread through this.)

The human brain was not built to live like this. You can't wake up every morning, roll over and open your phone, and be immediately faced with a tidal wave of anger and indignity. It wasn't built to be aware of fully how horrible the world is at any moment ALL AT ONCE, ALL THE TIME. And you will be. Because of another way that our brain works – the way we are more likely to share negative opinions. And because of the cottage industry built on farming outrage clicks, and because of constant performative activism.

It's not that I don't agree that being informed is important.

It's not that I don't agree that the causes people get riled up about are important.

They are. They absolutely are.

But we can't keep living like this. The constant, unending flood of tragedy, arguments, and hot takes. How much of the negativity we associate with online culture is the product of this feedback loop? What if the rise of doomer culture has been, if not entirely created by, has been nourished and exacerbated by our hostile attitudes toward each other?  Incels and TERFs, white supremacists, radfems, tankies and Trumpers – it seems like on every side of every issue, there are people simultaneously getting it wrong in multiple directions at once and there are more being radicalized every day. They are the toxic waste left behind by the state of discourse. And any hill is a hill worth dying on.

So what am I actually advocating? I don't know. There are a lot of fights going on right now that are important and we can't just climb into bunkers and ignore our problems hoping that Norman Reedus and his fine ass are going to leave the shit we need on our doorsteps. We need to find the strength to carry those hypothetical packages for ourselves sometimes - and hopefully, for others as well. Humans are social creatures. We need interaction and enrichment.

We need love.

So just try to remember the connections between humanity. Try to put more good stuff into the world when you can. Share more shitposts and memes. Tell your friends and family that you love them. Share good news when you hear it. Go on a weird fucking tangent about Death Stranding. Find a way to "be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes."

The Sixteen Deadliest Tik Tok challenges Ever (DailyDot)

So, it’s not everyday a social media platform run by Chinese people and designed to basically duplicate snap chat, except video only, becomes popular, in fact tik tok is so popular, that it has millions of users, well,  TikTok has 689 million monthly active users, whereas its twin Douyin (China’s version of TikTok) has 600 million daily active users. Combined, the TikTok/Douyin apps have over 1.29 billion monthly active users in 141 countries. Still, dumb, clout chasing teenagers have claimed this beloved social media sensation for themselves, however, clout is deadly, literally, people die from TikTok challenges, but hey, don’t take our word for it, check out the 16 dealiest tikrok challenges, with a 101% chance of decimating the insurance you wasted on your kids

The choking challenge Anything that involves choking a friend—or yourself—into near-unconsciousness is, unsurprisingly, ill-advised. Considering this is the very idea behind the choking challenge, it’s safe to say that anyone and everyone should steer clear of this particular trend.

This challenge, in one form or another, has been around for a long time. Teens have been partially strangling themselves for decades, just to feel the brief euphoria that follows that first, desperate gasp of air. The game ebbs and flows in terms of popularity but reached its viral zenith in 2017. Since then, the dangerous challenge has cropped up on various social media platforms, including TikTok. Risks of participating in the choking challenge are pretty much what you’d expect. Do it too long, and participants risk loss of brain cells, permanent brain damage and even death.

The condom challenge Another challenge that can lead to asphyxiation, the condom challenge hasn’t been around nearly as long as the choking game. This dangerous TikTok challenge requires a condom, some water, and at least two willing participants.

Performing the challenge is simple: One person fills the condom with water and drops it over the second person’s head. Thanks to the durability of most condoms, the dropped water “balloon” rarely pops. This means that many people participating in this challenge end up with an airtight seal over their noses and mouths. Bad idea.

The fire challenge You might be wondering why anyone would ever participate in something called the fire challenge. Clearly, you don’t remember being a teenager. Most common among younger users, the fire challenge is exactly as dangerous as it sounds—which has in no way stopped people from attempting it.

Performing the challenge is as simple and foolish as you might assume. Participants douse a portion of their body—usually the chest or hands—with a flammable liquid. Then they light it up and record the effects, which often lead to first- or second-degree burns. Videos of badly burned teenagers are all over the web thanks to this particular viral challenge.

The skullbreaker challenge The skullbreaker challenge is another fresh viral craze that, to most, seems completely ridiculous. The challenge has already proven itself immensely dangerous after a Venezuelan teen reportedly ended up in the ICU. Authorities have issued warnings about this particular trend, but that won’t stop some from attempting it.

You need at least three people to perform the skullbreaker challenge. All three stand in a row—in front of the camera, of course—and jump. The two on either side jump first, simultaneously, followed by the person in the center. When the center person’s feet leave the ground, however, their companions knock their feet out from under them. This typically leads to the middle person crashing backward to the ground, often striking their head in the process. It’s in the name, people: You can literally break your skull doing this. So don’t.

The outlet challenge One of social media’s newest trends, the outlet challenge is also one of the more dangerous TikTok challenges we’ve seen. This viral sensation can easily result in electrical system damage, fires, and electric shock.

To perform the—extremely inadvisable—outlet challenge, people use a phone charger partially plugged into the wall. Then they touch a penny to the exposed prongs, creating a large spark. The challenge has already caused property damage at a high school in Massachusetts. Thankfully, the teens weren’t injured, but if this challenge keeps up for much longer, someone will doubtless get hurt.

The hot water challenge Another dangerous challenge that can lead to severe burns and injury, the hot water challenge has been around for a while. Back in 2017, in fact, an 8-year-old girl died after attempting a version of this trend. The new version, which is just as dangerous, has been cropping up online.

The old version of the challenge involved drinking boiling water through a straw. The revamped challenge more often features participants pouring boiling water on themselves or their friends. Unsurprisingly, it has led to some serious injuries. One teen, whose friend poured boiling water on him while he slept, told Fox 59 that his skin “just fell off my chest.”

The snorting challenge Some of these challenges are supremely dangerous. Others are upsettingly disgusting. The snorting challenge has the unfortunate privilege of being both. It involves snorting a foreign object—usually a condom—up your nose and pulling it out of your mouth. *shudder*

This dangerous TikTok challenge, like many others on this list, is nothing new. It has cropped up multiple times over the last few decades, but in the age of doing dumb shit for followers, it has reemerged. When this challenge goes wrong, it can result in infection or damage to the lining of the nasal passage, CBS News reported. In really bad cases, it has the potential for choking, which could cause far more severe issues. Even when nothing goes wrong, it looks painful and extremely uncomfortable, so… why?

Ghost pepper challenge If you’re a big fan of hot food, the ghost pepper challenge—also called the hot pepper challenge—might be right up your alley. Blessedly less dangerous than many of its fellows, the ghost pepper challenge has nonetheless resulted in some major side effects among its participants.

Participation in this challenge merely requires that you locate and consume a hot pepper that lands high on the Scoville scale and upload your reaction online. Usually, people select between ghost, cayenne, and habanero peppers. The majority of people manage to walk away from this challenge unscathed, thankfully, but ghost peppers are nothing to mess with. Medical Daily reported in 2016 that a 47-year-old California man was hospitalized after he ate a ghost pepper–pureed hamburger during a local eating contest and ended up continuously vomiting and experiencing an esophageal rupture.

Pass out challenge Anytime a person passes out, it has the potential for negative side effects. Teens, however, are all over the trend of forcing themselves to pass out. Rather than partially asphyxiate themselves—like in the choking challenge—this dangerous TikTok challenge just involves swaying your head repeatedly from side to side.

Based on the TikTok attempts at the challenge, it seems to work. Unfortunately, a number of risks go along with successfully knocking yourself out—including simply falling and injuring yourself.

Concussion challenge Doesn’t this just sound like a great idea? The concussion challenge, also referred to as the “how to get a concussion” challenge, has been making the rounds on TikTok for several months now.

This utterly idiotic TikTok challenge requires a group. All the participants stand in a circle around the camera, which faces upward. Facing down, foolish teens then throw an object—which has ranged from a basketball to tricycles and ladders—into the air above their heads. The “challenge” is to stay put, risking a concussion when the object comes hurtling back to Earth. Why? Just… why?

The honorable mentions of dangerous challenges: These challenges came around before TikTok made its global launch, but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous or worthy of a spot on this list. Absolutely idiotic, sometimes deadly and always painful, the internet is clogged with far too many of these viral challenges.

The Tide Pod challenge We’ve likely all heard of the Tide Pod challenge. It swept the nation in early 2018, making headlines across the country. In case you were wondering, consuming soap in any form, no matter how colorful, is not a good idea. Complications from ingesting Tide Pods has led to serious health issues.

The Tide Pod challenge, as far as anyone can tell, started with a joke. Memes and jests about Tide Pods’ pretty colors and candy-like appeal were around long before people were downing the product itself. Then, people started doing just that. Younger YouTube users, in particular, fell victim to this ill-advised trend. Videos of teens and pre-teens eating laundry detergent packets briefly drenched the web before the pressing dangers of this challenge became common knowledge.

The blue whale challenge Despite the clear danger, a few of the challenges on this list might seem tempting to try out. The blue whale challenge, which has allegedly been linked to deaths on far too many occasions, is not one of them. The actual number of deaths that can be attributed to this viral trend is questionable—some speculate it’s simply an internet hoax—but its brief time in the spotlight terrified parents nationwide.

The blue whale challenge is, to put it simply, a suicide challenge. Participants are given 50 tasks to complete over 50 days. The tasks, which begin as rather benign, gradually increase in danger. To complete the challenge, anyone taking part must ultimately kill themselves. Similar challenges have cropped up over the years, but few garnered as much attention as the blue whale challenge.

The Kylie lip challenge Loads of online tutorials outline methods to mimic Kylie Jenner’s enviable look. Usually, this involves contouring and the careful application of makeup. Back in 2015, however, a very different method arose to try to imitate the young model’s full lips.

The Kylie lip challenge skyrocketed to popularity, mostly thanks to how easy it was to pull off. All participants needed was a small jar, cup, or shot glass. Placing the cup over their lips, they then created a vacuum by sucking all of the air out of the space. The intended result was puffy, pouty lips similar to Jenner’s. More commonly, people ended up with bruises and torn skin and risked permanent scarring.

The cinnamon challenge Remember planking? Ah what an innocent, mostly safe internet trend. Since the days of planking, viral challenges have gone from dumb to painful to dangerous and worse. The cinnamon challenge may seem rather tame on the outside, but don’t be fooled.

Cinnamon challenge TheButtingHeads/YouTube This challenge first cropped up as early as 2001, but it didn’t reach viral status until 2012. The necessary steps are quite simple. Just eat a spoonful of cinnamon without drinking water. In 60 seconds. All while the camera is running. This challenge lasted a remarkably long time, considering the massive health risks it posed. Participants in the cinnamon challenge were at risk of choking and gagging on the cinnamon in mild cases, and in worse cases inhaling cinnamon could lead to vomiting and scarring of the lungs.

The salt and ice challenge Thankfully, the salt and ice challenge hasn’t been overly popular since 2012. Still, fresh videos of people trying it out are always cropping up, despite multiple reports condemning the practice.

This challenge involves pouring salt onto moist, bare skin and then pressing an ice cube onto the area. Whoever endures the longest emerges victorious, but rarely unscathed. The resulting chemical reaction can lead to frostbite, first- or second-degree burns, and painful blisters. Warnings against participating in this painful challenge have, unsurprisingly, not made much of a difference.

tw: depressive/anxiety talk, suicidal thoughts

its 2:42 am while im writing this, because i cant sleep.

i thought distracting myself enough during the day through working on cosplays and watching youtube videos would help, but after a while it starts to become repetitive enough for my mind to start wandering. specifically to what led me to try and force myself to fixate on it as a distraction in the first place.

a lot of the babbling is going to be weird nonsense that only close friends of mine will get, or people who have no business being on my blog. you know who you are.

the last week has been me dealing with feelings of abandonment, anxiety, and depression. all drifting into an overall feeling of helplessness. not as bad, but feeling just as bad as when a very close friend had ghosted me in late 2018. not as intimidate either, woof, but still bad. 

i spoke up about one of my many feelings about a particular fandom issue in a way that got me into completely avoidable controversy by those who wanted to think ill of me. i was then baited into a spotlight of purposeful humiliation in front of people i either respected, tolerated, or have had the willingness to support thru my own wallet. 

i left the space due to not wanting to be further witch trialed, after already previously put in a panic due to things being dealt with in a less than mature light. my heart was racing, i had to go to work, and i kept trying to keep from tearing up at the wheel.

the conflict was stuff destined to build up. stuff unspoken about due to the unwillingness to solve issues early on and to make things easy on everyone involve. and in return, ive found a similar pattern that i have with many online situations; tolerant relationships to unspoken beefs, an eventual boiling point, and separation.

i think the thing that stings the most is that if anyone of witness to said spotlight thought of it to be too far, that im certainly not being assured that my relationships aren’t forever poisoned. that anyone is at my side or willing to speak up about how bad things are versus sweeping it under the rug like it never happened. i havent really had anyone directly a witness to it talk to me since. not that they have to, but it makes a situation feel less ignored, or eerily erased. less salt to a wound of previously short responses and ignored conversation from those (some) who enabled abuses of power.

good ol homestuck drama.

(i also keep getting accused of chasing for clout due to not being drastically defensive about sharing a space with others, but that’s its own thing.)

the night after, fitting enough, i got into a fight with my mom over something that didn’t call for dramatics. a very similar theme: she spoke over me, blamed me for things in a blatant form of manipulative psyche play, and threatened to kick me out of the space. after, i left the house during the warning of tornadoes to be by myself, and eventually stayed at a kind friend’s place. i cried and drove with a dead phone battery hoping to run into something by freak accident for the sake of not having to deal with the now. i dont think it was a panic attack? i wouldn’t know. 

a few days after, she asked me to help with groceries.

like nothing happened.

i asked my dad about it, and he was very centrist in his ideals and talked about what i should do better versus at all acknowledging the wrongs of my mom.

this is a theme that keeps happening.

i feel like this is always going to keep happening, bc these issues aren’t the firsts. i feel that if i keep attempting to go about my business in a space that something’s always going to come up regardless of how serious the situation actually is. and that someone is going to be out there waiting for me to slight them in some minimalist way to call fault while others know and do nothing.

the home life makes me feel like im no where close to leaving the situation easily, especially with little open help within proximity. i want to move, but it doesn’t seem likely for a good bit.

the fandom life makes me feel like my ability to create things for a series i care about is dampened due to direct behavior from those most relevant to it, and further more makes me unsure who i can casually converse with who hasn’t been told something. who pretends to be tolerable. most of the issues stemming from me venting in private spaces about callous situations (as if i’m the only one to have done this ever) , or from issues that never happened.

it’ll probably happen again for the hintings in this very vent: being put on a spotlight in front of multiple witnesses and contacts over a situation misconstruing my morality. fuck off if i dont have my own space to vent about being put in a vulnerable situation and my boundaries ignored.

i dont think im completely free of judged behavior. i just think others (guess whichever one at your leisure) are not exempt from their own, what it causes as a reactive antagonizing, and neither the people who’ve enabled continuation or dismissed the boiling points. 

i dunno. i felt like typing something out. the last week ive mostly felt glued to the couch.

i dont have a solution but if anything i just want to sleep so this isn’t on my mind.

ive been having very drastic thoughts recently since i feel backed into some kind of corner with the options my luck gives me, but i guess im lucky im too cowardly to do shit.

again, i was distracting myself with cosplay stuff earlier. ill probably distract myself with drawing on a later date. but i cant help but feel like things will either get worse or i’ll have to endure acting like things are fine. again.

i suppose the best thing is sticking to my own and continuing to do my own thing even if things dont look up. even tho ive been doing that.

that’s all.

night.

Oh hi! *insert long blurb about why I've been gone from YouTube here*.... but for real, this is a rap that comes from the heart about the inner workings of minderrias. Missed creating videos and so excited to start back up! Stream this song on Spotify: bit.ly/SPOTİFYFARFROMHOME Apple Music: http://bit.ly/AppleFarFromHome All other platforms: https://ift.tt/2xKeUSa ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lyrics: Far From Home Brought to you by Emerrias Here we go *sigh* YouTube is my home, and now i'm far from home, in my own dome, like my real name be spidey tho Been half a year since you seen me for real, no more clout might have to steal, did a live stream was a ghost town, but I guess im living the dream, got a job as an editor, but still feel like im being chased by a predator. Living on my own now so the dollar store in my new zone Tryna be a yung NF, join the rap game, to signal my return to my creativity Guess I'm a disappointment  Doing everything I can, I don't wanna make you disappointed    Met Gary Vee, felt like he was watching me, tried to hustle to keep up with thee in my own way but my head was in the wrong place Look man you can’t do this type of thing, what are you trying to do like, you’re barely funny I mean what’s the point, like this dumb Mega self conscious about my content, like everything is some kinda huge event {Nobody cares}.  asking myself  why I can’t do the publish publish publish thing… {si gh} without being a bish… Comment piling up, told myself me no respond till I rise again, feel like a pup,, 3 years of weeklys down the drain drip drip drip {Is that what they mean by drip?} Ohi hi used to be my thing, but you know, now nobody will know what that imply, Editing GIMPing, Editing everyday, without doing the posting, never was big on boasting, feel like an ant under a lens toasting, roasting, hopefully this rap can be the end of my shame wizard, it’s time for closing Selling my time for money while trying to build an empire of honey, working to stay, in the USA maybe ill find a honey…muwah Trying to live that American Dream but the dream is fighting back at my full steem, but I never scream. I know that even if I live the flipping swiss mountains, ill be trryna move at kilometers per hour, a thousand This is the most ambitious music project ive ever done so cut me some slack NO SLACK FOR YOU, you cant rap! You can barely even sing… Im investing in voice lesson! Its no use, you’re never going to be able to do YouTube full time, why even tryyYYyy you fooOOooOOol Look at me now im Emerrias, I think my return to YouTube is going to be big, I cant even keep up with posting a daily question to me Discord Server, LooK AT MmE iM eMeRRIaS yEeEeEeEEE fAMERrIAS oF oNE BLeHhhHHhh What's the balance between working on the dream, and working on not being forever alone, roller coaster self esteem, my life, it lives on the phone. Tryna push that content, daily, to give some kinda context on my brain, mainly. Insanely, I try to do it all but maybe I gotta stick to one game Coulda been a king on Roblox, joined in 08, but I didn’t stick to it…. so this damn time, imma rise in the macro… no more sitting in the back row, move over shame wizard, move over you foooool im trying to rise…. That fool Join my Discord server here: https://ift.tt/2HUFDml (P.S If you see this, comment FIVE 🍍s!) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Snapchat Me : http://bit.ly/Emerrias-Snapchat Tweet Me: http://bit.ly/Emerrias-Twitter Instagram Life Outside of YouTube: http://bit.ly/Emerrias-Instagram Watch me on Facebook: http://bit.ly/Emerrias-Facebook ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equipment I Currently Use (as of June 2018): Camera: Canon Rebel T6i Lens: Canon 50mm STM Microphone: Audio Technica at2020 Secondary Microphone: Rode VideoMic Go Mic Stand: On-Stage MS7701B Euro Boom Microphone Stand Audio Interface: Presonus AudioBox USB 96 Recording Program: Audacity Editing Programs: Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, GIMP Music Library: Epidemic Sounds Video Library: PixaBay

Kodak Black’s Disastrous Hot 97 Interview Shows Why Journalists Need To Hold Artists Accountable

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“We can be done right here.”

With just those six words, Ebro Darden, host of Hot 97’s popular Ebro In The Morning radio show and one of hip-hop’s most outspoken cultural voices, ignited a firestorm of debate online about his treatment of Wednesday’s guest, the rising Florida rapper, Kodak Black. Ostensibly, Kodak was on the show to discuss his upcoming debut album on Atlantic Records, Dying To Live. However, within just 15 minutes, the topic had shifted, rather uncomfortably, to the sexual assault case hanging over the 21-year-old rapper’s head like the Sword of Damocles.

Kodak stands accused of raping a young woman at a hotel room in 2016 after one of his local concerts. The woman told police that he tore at her clothes, bit her repeatedly, and told her he “couldn’t help himself,” all while she screamed for help. The rapper was arrested, indicted, and recently arraigned on those charges, even as he battled other charges ranging from possession of a firearm to child neglect, and will stand trial in April of next year. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison. Understandably, Kodak chose to take Ebro at his word, abruptly ending the interview and walking out.

Ebro knew the risk of upsetting his interview subject. He should; he’s still a journalist. His job is to interview subjects for their stories, opinions, and information about themselves, and when that conversation gets difficult, artists can always opt out, refusing further access in the future. However, despite his flawed approach, he was right in touching upon the subject of the case. Not just because it’s his job, but because there is a deeper, ethical imperative to hold entertainers accountable for their actions, and more journalists have to step up and ask the tough questions, even when things get uncomfortable or artists threaten to pull access. While he could have gone about it in a more sensitive fashion — and should have, for reasons I’ll get into below — Ebro is an example for the responsibility journalists have to tell as much of the story as we possibly can.

Watch the entire @KodakBlack1k interview… I think most of it was honest & balanced. He’s a smart guy… I just won’t be given ultimatums after we tried to be chill.. nah

— El Viejo Ebro (@oldmanebro) December 12, 2018

It’s easy to see why some of us don’t. Hip-hop has sort of always had an image problem, but in the last three or four years, it’s gotten as bad as it’s ever been. To some, it appears that the roots of the newly massive problem stem from the rise of so-called Soundcloud rap — or at least, the ability for underground rappers to capture disproportionately huge audiences by simply uploading a few songs and having them go viral. When these local acts blow up, they do so without the previously required years of grooming and development. Sometimes they have no intentions of being famous at all.

I never asked Kodak a question about the case…

— El Viejo Ebro (@oldmanebro) December 13, 2018

Then one day they suddenly are, thrust into a spotlight they’re ill-equipped to handle, often nursing serious trauma that has never been addressed before they hit the hip-hop media circuit. Instead, they find themselves like Kodak Black, suddenly being asked to stand accountable for actions that their surroundings tell them are completely normal and reasonable. It would be overwhelming for anyone, and in an effort to protect their artists, labels, managers, publicists, and corporate partners have gone out of their way to ensure that all coverage is as favorable as possible, scrubbing away at artists’ flaws and quirks that may make them less marketable. Any negative coverage can get access revoked, ensuring that there is a carrot and a stick for any outlet that wishes to use an artists’ buzz to help build its own.

The result has been a seeming deluge of young, unworldly rappers full of pain, anger, and negative coping habits being sheltered from criticism by powers with more profit motive than actual empathy for their issues. Famous Dex,Youngboy NBA, Kodak Black, XXXtentacion, Tekashi 69, and more are all examples of young men who act out their issues of rage and control on women, either via physical battery or through sexual misconduct.

Else we consign the issue to a generational one, many of the rap stars of yesteryear have also been embroiled in recent incidents of accused abuse; Fabolous was accused of knocking girlfriend Emily B’s teeth out and was caught threatening her on camera with a knife, while Kelis recently revealed that her relationship with rap legend Nas was rife with instances of physical abuse.

Imagine being mad at Ebro for not ignoring the fact an artist sitting in front of him has an open SEXUAL ASSAULT case and not bothered by the actual crime. pic.twitter.com/1graJRd4UC

— . (@DDotOmen) December 13, 2018

And while the ultimate solution to these issues is likely counseling, Uproxx writer Andre Gee once pointed out, the first step toward any sort of resolution is to hold these artists accountable for their actions. Unfortunately, they often live in industry-created bubbles designed to protect them from critique. Peers and fans often step in and fill the gap, shouting down any possible dissent. That’s why it’s up to the journalists who are the still an important piece of these entertainers’ publicity to ensure that their profiles and interviews aren’t all glowing recommendations of these artists. I’ve written before about rappers’ positions of influence as role models — whether voluntary or not — so it’s even more important to ensure that the audience understands all of the facts about them.

People being furious at Ebro for telling Kodak Black "We take sexual assault seriously here" is proof there's a lack of guidance out here. People whose job is interviewing musicians are supposed to ask hard questions. But that wasn't a hard question. That was just accountability.

— Craig Bro Dude (@CraigSJ) December 13, 2018

Of course, that won’t stop some fans from leaping to their heroes’ defense; for a certain type of fan, nothing much will. Within minutes of Hot 97 posting the clip of Kodak sulking out of the interview, Ebro’s account was inundated with indignant Kodak Black supporters who insisted that he was “clout chasing” or only bringing up the case to ensure views for his station’s Youtube video of the interview. For what it’s worth, some of their criticisms were valid; Ebro, long known for his sometimes confrontational stance — especially against younger, newer artists he perceives as “bad for the culture” — could have broached the topic a little more cleanly. Certainly, when Kodak became visibly uncomfortable, Ebro’s follow-up could be seen as an unnecessary goad.

What’s most concerning bout this Ebro x Kodak thing is that ppl have seemed to lose grip of the fact that journalists are supposed to ask tough questions. You can like a nigga music & still press him. It’s called being a professional. Ppl more mad at Ebro than Kodak. I’m confused

— Lawrence Burney (@TrueLaurels) December 13, 2018

But those fans who believe that interviews should only focus on one aspect of the artist — the music — are dead wrong. Interviews often touch on multiple subjects, including entertainers’ personal lives, relationships with other artists, and yes, their legal issues. This isn’t just good journalism; it’s finding out what makes the artists tick, knowing that life informs art. The adulation comes with criticism; it’s a package deal. In the words of one such entertainer, “If you open up that can of worms, hope you ready for the dirt that’s with it.” Scrutiny is not unavoidable, and what’s more, rappers who use their privilege as entertainers to avoid punishment and accountability for their actions mustn’t be allowed to forget the real world consequences of those actions. Entertainers should absolutely be made uncomfortable, as often as possible, when any portion of their notoriety comes from harming women.

Nah Ebro was right. We gotta start making niggas who abuse women feel uncomfortable.

— Don V (@DonV757_) December 13, 2018

When the subject came up, one thing Kodak says in the interview is: “ya’ll be entertained by bullsh*t,” and he isn’t wrong. America loves to build up flawed heroes in order to watch as their flaws ultimately tear them down — especially young, Black, heroes from impoverished circumstances with broken social skills from a life of hardships in a screwed-up environment. But ignoring those flaws isn’t a solution, because for every famous rapper who gets to glide through life untouched by said bullsh*t, there are victims who have to live with the traumas and injuries inflicted on them by those rappers. They deserve as much consideration as the rappers who clawed their way out of poverty, violence, and limited opportunity, because they’ve often done the same thing without the benefit of a label advance and a publicist who makes sure people only write nice things about them.

I’m really concerned that as a society, and on a smaller scale the hip-hop community, we may be regressing when it comes to sexual assault. When the outrage is that Ebro merely mentioned sexual assault & not that Kodak continues to thrive despite rape charges, we have a problem.

— Bené (@beneviera) December 13, 2018

If Ebro’s approach was too harsh, guess what: Allegedly, so was Kodak Black’s. The only way to get this new crop of troubled young men to get the help they need is by getting them to acknowledge and truly face the real-world implications of their abuse, because prison isn’t a solution either. Kodak has been in and out of detention since he was 14 years old, and the only effect its had is to distance him from the sort of empathy he would need to understand the harm he’s caused and make amends. He could spend the rest of his life behind bars, but that doesn’t help the next kid, or the next. If labels, managers, publicists, fans, friends, or family won’t say what needs to be said, then journalists must. Fame shouldn’t be a free pass, but it is powerful. If power corrupts, those in power must always be held accountable.

Kodak Black is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

source https://uproxx.com/hiphop/kodak-black-hot-97-interview-journalists-accountability/

Kanye West - YE Album Review/Reaction | The Cassius Morris Show

what's happening guys, thank you for tuning in to yet another album review. This is an album. I've been really looking forward to getting into digging into it's controversial, its bombastic. It'S a whirlwind: it is Kanye, West's eighth studio, album entitled ye. This album was a little while in the making we haven't had a new record since 2016, from Kanye, with the incredible release of the life of Pablo and leading up to this release was a huge amount of controversy, things being stirred up about Kanye in the press. So we're gonna jump into all that in just a moment now this album was part of a good music album roll out where there was going to be an album, I believe, every other week or once every week it started with push a T. Next was yeah, the album next is gonna, be Kid Cudi and Kanye teaming up for kids see ghosts which is supposedly coming out this week or the next next is going to be NAS and to finish off the set, it will be t Anna Taylor with What I believe is her debut record and if you don't know her, that's the girl from the Kanye West fade music, video but yeah. So I think it's pretty cool how good music is rolling out this calculated approach with putting out some albums, and I think that they're, seeing that there's a lot of competition, especially this summer, and I think good music is trying to get a pretty firm grasp on Summer 2018. So it's interesting to see that approach running with that theme, I think it's cool, seeing Kanye, embrace the newer style of producing music and I'll, explain to you why we all know that nowadays, a career lasting 10 years in the rap game in and of itself is Incredibly, incredibly rare, it's scarce, it's something you don't really see something. That'S even more rare is probably having had a career for 10 years or more and still remaining relevant for years to come, and that is something that Kanye West has managed to do. Kanye also followed an interesting formula with this studio album. He considers it a studio album, but it's only 7 songs and I think Connie has been looking around and seeing that a lot of the most successful, mixtapes and EPS coming out and current hip-hop are six to seven songs, no filler pure killer, just insane shit crazy, Beats crazy bars, crazy, hooks straight to the point in and out, and I really like that approach because it cuts out the nonsense. It cuts out the filler. You know. Of course, people are making albums where you know they're making the album an hour and 40 minutes. Just so that they can keep getting more songs to get more streams and make more money, Kanye isn't fucking with any of that, he's just doing his thing, and I really think it's cool to follow that model also of another way that Kanye is keeping up with The current trends, especially in rap and with with the younger generation, because he seems to be so in tune with it, my man turned on the trollin up to a thousand. He skipped a hundred. He skipped. Five hundred my man turned that notch up to a thousand with the trolling the trolling Kanye West has been doing, is insane nothing short of genius, and let me put it to you this way. The the main part of the trolling here was the poop scoop song. Now I will touch on this leading up to this album as a very outspoken Kanye West fan out in public, and I never let my love for an artist blind or make me bias towards any body of music. If I love an artist and they release a poor body of work, I will say exactly that. However, I've been a public champion of Kanye cuz he's one of my biggest inspirations. One of my biggest goals is to work with Kanye in one capacity or another. I think he's just fantastic and to see him dragged through. The media, like he has been in the last couple of weeks, was really really tough as a public fan and when he released that song called lifts yourself. Where, if you don't know he comes on, and he literally says scoop poop or whatever it's a bunch of crap, just a bunch of absolute nonsense, I got to say as a really big yay fan. All I could think was this album better, be fucking good, because this guy is going to ruin his career. The only possible rhyme or reason that I can come up with for that trolling song, that we so out of left field and so strange seeming to the point where most of his big fans, such as even myself, can't really describe it. The only possible thing I can think of is that yeh was simply fuckin with all of us and wanted to prove the point that he can make a ton of money and get on the Apple music charts, no matter what he puts on a song. I also think it could have been a commentary on how shitty hip-hop music has become, because there are. There are songs on the Billboard list right now, where I cannot believe my eyes or my ears that they're on there, so you know Kanye also probably walked away with a cool three and a half million dollars from that song. Just from people clicking on Apple, music or Spotify to hear the stream out of curiosity and then sending it to their friend streams, make money regardless of what's in the stream, and it's just like all these people on Instagram all these clowns who were chasing clout. You know all these people who are doing these outrageous shenanigans, half their comments, say fuck, you you're a piece of shit, but it's still a comment which boosts their posts, which boost their views, which both boost their money and people have started to figure out. It doesn't matter what the fuck I do if I can bring that attention in those eyes towards me. I'M gon na make a lot of this. I'M gon na make a lot of green, so I think it was. Hopefully it was a commentary on that. That is, that is the only possible thing I could have. I could have taken out of that now. The album was originally entitled, love everyone. That was the title that Kanye originally picked and the cover photo for this record was originally Jan Adams, who is the surgeon who operated on Kanye West's mother the day before she passed away, and I believe the surgery that was actually performed on her did lead to Her passing so recipes dawn to west, of course, and Jen the surgeon once finding out that Kanye wanted to use this photo for the album cover posted an open letter online, strongly urging and almost borderline pleading Kanye to change his mind and not use his photo. As the album cover now, apparently they got in contact. Apparently they worked it out because evidently Kanye did not use a photo of this surgeon on the album cover. But the idea of that was because Kanye wanted this album and I think he has achieved that with this album to be a commentary on forgiveness and love, and his point with that was to show that his forgiveness, his peace of mind that he's found is so So strong that not only can you forgive the man who indirectly was responsible for the passing of his mother, but he can give him glory on the cover of his amazing album as the ultimate sign of forgiveness. I think it's interesting. I understand the point, but I certainly think the current album cover is better. I think it's a better fit and, according to Kim Kardashian Kanye shot the new album cover on his iPhone on the way to the album release party, which is crazy to me. So that leads me to wonder: was there another cover? That was an alternative that he scrapped while he was on the way to the partying just said: fuck it throw this in the garbage or was was there no cover? I mean, I don't know, I don't think we'll ever know now about the album release party. This album release party was held by Kanye in Jackson's Hole. Wyoming, I think it's Jackson, Hole, Jackson's, hole, kind of sounds like a sexual thing and a lot of celebrities showed up and showed out for this shit, including Big Sean 2 Chainz. I think it was hosted by Chris Rock, I don't think Ti showed up, but there was quite a few celebrities. Ty dolla sign came through a lot of people came through out to Wyoming to go check things out at this release party, and there was actually a lot of interviewers youtubers and content creators from the internet there as well and Kanye's did a lot of interviews. That would act that were actually similar to the style of interview that I do and I thought it was so there was just something about seeing him in that seat. Doing an on location interview with somebody with microphones and cameras that went to this event in Wyoming to do this. It just showed me that this is possible like this. What I've wanted to do with Kanye for the longest time, and he is open to doing that once you build enough of a platform, you know a lot of people won't even sit down with someone like that, under any circumstances, so to see that Kahn you'll do It is cool, and you know, as I mentioned off the top. One of my top goals is to work with Kanye West. In some capacity, I would love to work on music with him one day, but the ideas that I have to work with Kanye go way way. Past music. You know, I think that I can really feel where he's coming from. I feel like I understand the way his mind works when it comes to art and the passion for that art I feel like. I can really relate to that intense emotional passion he has for it, and you know I've had similar ideas, but the album release party was really cool, they had a bonfire, there were roasts and s'mores, everybody was outside and they were, they were blasting. Then the new album - and you know I think Wyoming - is a really cool place for Kanye. He seemed to have found peace of mind out there and it seems to have given him a lot of good creative vibe. So, let's jump in to the record go straight to the track by track, because there's only seven songs on this, but I'm gon na try to give as much good commentary as I can. The first tune on the album is called. I thought about killing you and, of course, right away. People are wondering, what's this all about you know, and it's a really ear catching title and the music at the beginning is really ear catching. It'S a really good way to start the album. It'S basically the beginning is a spoken word piece, contemplating the age-old concept of light versus dark, good versus bad, and you know just the concept of the parallels between these two thoughts, the similarities and how they really intertwine with one another. This song is basically the definition of free thought when listening to it, I I could really tell that Kanye created this piece, specifically because this goes for the rest of the album, but this piece specifically was created with zero outside influence. If Kanye would have thought about how even one person would take this the wrong way and let that get to him, it would have affected this product. He really turned on the free thought. You know he says things like people tell you can't say this or say that just say it all out loud see how it feels, and you know Kanye believes from what he said now that there should be more emphasis on feeling than anything else. And if that's how you truly feel, then that's what should be conveyed. So that's that's sort of sort of what he's bringing up here and he's not saying I'm going to kill you he's not saying I made plans to kill you he's not saying I'm coming to kill you. He said I thought about killing you today and it leads you to examine that thought. Is that a bad thought is that? Is it evil to think that is evil to think anything at all, because at the end of the day, these thoughts just come into our heads? Are we to blame for these thoughts? It leads you to ask a lot of questions about the similarities between dark and light. Some people open up the possibility that he could have been talking about Kim Kardashian, especially due to the line saying you'd only care enough to kill someone. You love, I don't subscribe to that idea. I don't think that's accurate. I think Kanye was definitely, in my opinion, trying to give commentary on a much broader idea, and I don't think he would. He would be discussing her it just it doesn't quite make sense to me, but just again, a really interesting commentary on freedom of thought and the honesty to come out and say something that a lot of people have probably experienced and would never even be able to Say you know out in public when the beat drops on this song? It just changes everything it sets. It sets a mood. Kanye sounds hungry, he sounds hungry as hell. He sounds like he's, trying to prove a point and he was on this album. You know, like I mentioned when all this stuff was going on with Kanye leading up to this. I was thinking this album better, be fucking good, because this is insane and he might crash and burn. I think that was the vibe he had to so I think that he really wanted to just jump right in and show them I'm still yay. I can still fuck the beat up. I can still do something really original. I can talk about freedom of thought without making it preachy, while also giving you some hotbars over some 808, I'm a huge fan of this track, so I thought it was really creative, really groundbreaking and really interesting. One of the last parts that I can mention on this, the line goes quote how you gon na hate nigga we go way back to when I rock the braids and you had the wave cap drop, a pin for the fade and I'm on my way ASAP. Don'T get sucked in the mouth you know homie, don't play that now. Of course, Kanye West famously used to Brock is braids in his hair before he was famous at least as a mainstream. Rapper jay-z has always been known for rocking the wave caps. So I wonder, does this have anything to do with jay-z and him? I know that this album was scrapped after Kanye went on, TMZ live and it was rewritten and reproduced completely from what I understand. So that would mean that Kanye and Jay over the past month have still been having difficulties and that's contrary to what I've heard. I heard that they started to smooth things over. So part of me hopes this isn't about jay-z, but I think that it's it's more than likely that it is the next tune is called yikes and I thought it's a pretty cool title for the song, but I didn't quite say yikes, because yikes has a bit Of a negative undertone to it, I'm more said wow when I heard this song. This is just really unique. It'S it's just so Kanye, it's just so it's just it's classic to me, and I know the word classic is often thrown around and overused, but the type of cadence and flow that he uses on this, I think, is classic Kanye on the hook which, by the Way, I will throw this in hot 97 claimed yesterday, that Drake wrote the hook for this song, but it's not credited by good music due to the creative differences that have been going on, which i think is to be quite frank, incredibly petty. But that's that that's a whole different story that we're gon na get to it'll in a minute about the Drake thing, but I really think Kanye needed a song like this right now it's got the aggressive energy, it's got the sick beat it's got everything you really Need Kanye also looks on the hook at his life from a different perspective than from the first song in the first song, he seems to sort of be in a state where he's just letting his consciousness come in and out of his head stream through without any Interruption he's comfortable with all of his thoughts, he's letting them all flow freely and on this song he opens it up, saying: listen, she can get medicine. Sometimes I scare myself. Maybe I should find help. You know he's contemplating all these things and he's not comfortable with it. He'S he's in a state where he's questioning he's questioning whether he's comfortable he's questioning whether he's safe he's questioning whether he's doing the right thing, and I think that that was a really interesting commentary. On bipolar, you know one second he's accepting he's feeling like he's letting his consciousness stream through with no interruptions and the next minute he's doubting and he's in a completely different mood and scared. He acknowledges trolling on this song. Like I said, the trolling is out of control and I think he did a insane job on that, as he always does. I think the bass in this song needed to be mixed or mastered higher. This is such a great song. It'S probably the nastiest loosest wildest song on this album and it doesn't have that bass thump that it needs, and I wonder if, since Kanye scrapped the album after TMZ and had this creative burst and made a new album in in two-and-a-half weeks. If points on the album, where more detail or attention to detail could have been put, I think it suffered in that in that way, I think that if he maybe would have taken a little longer, he probably would have noticed the bass wasn't as high as it Could have been and raised it because, if I'm noticing that I certainly would have expected Kanye to notice that the musical genius that he is so I will throw that in and the other thing I found really interesting about this there's two things. The first thing is Kanye talking about his use of different psychedelic drugs. He mentions 2cb, of course, which I believe is, is a chemical in ecstasy. I know at MDMA is his own thing, but I think it has to do with ecstasy, and I do know that DMT is dimethyltryptamine, which is arguably the most powerful psychedelic on the play. And when you smoke this substance, which I personally haven't, you have an out-of-body experience in ass. What many describe as a spiritual experience for 10 to 13 minutes and you quite literally from what I understand, leave earth and have people can have incredible. Epiphanies mind-opening experiences and a whole new, mostly positive perspective on the world. It can also go for the worst, but but the majority of people when use properly in the right setting for the right reasons, you can get a very positive effect from this. It sounds like Kanye has been affected by positive psychedelic trips. It'S interesting to think about the amount of geniuses that that take these drugs and have taken these drugs through their lives, who have also had struggles with mental health and how that plays into not only their genius but but their personal struggles as well. So I throw Kanye in that category. I certainly had no clue that he had an interest in heavy psychedelic, drugs or opioids, like the ones that he'd mentioned in his interviews. Talking about his addictions, how he was doing fentanyl. He was up to almost seven pills a day. You know I'm learning a lot of new shit about easy right now that I had no clue - and you know some people - I think - aren't gon na feel too great about that. But I feel amazing about it because he's being completely honest, he's telling the truth he's he's I mean you can't really argue with that. You just can't the last part on this song that really caught my ear, just a different title type, a leader we could be in North Korea. I could smoke with Wiz Khalifa. You know, I think, he's using that line to kind of say that him and Wiz are sort of seen as enemies, but he could. He could link up with him. Of course, Kanye West's had a pretty long relationship with Amber Rose, they broke up and then amber married Wiz Khalifa and is now divorced, but it was Khalifa's baby mama, so there's been tension there. There was a Twitter feud with which ended in a phone call between the two of them and it's never been cool, but I think again playing on the theme of forgiveness. I think that's why he named route 2 is Khalifa, but I don't think was his answer to that and I can't expect that he will. I got it, but really solid tune from Kanye hasn't gotten old to me. Yet the next song is called all mine, and this is a strikingly unique song which showcases the fact that often times less is more the vocals in the beginning and on the hook are by Jame, and I was wondering who the hell does he vocals? Because it's just so out of left field and like something that I've I haven't heard at least in a very long time, and it's over this tremendous thumping bass. That'S just going insane and you know I listen to the bass on this song and other songs on this album, and that makes me wish you know. Maybe the base on yikes could have been louder. I wish there could have been consistency with that. You know that you can probably tell it that's pissing me off, but that full body thumping bass mix with that treble that's the only or the hi-hat. So I guess that's the only elements in this song musically and it's really interesting to hear that it's very minimal music wise, but the voices are being used to their full potential as instruments and I'll. Never forget this one of the the most insightful things that I heard about music, especially about rap music, was from jay-z and this fantastic inspirational interview. He did there's tons of them on YouTube and he was talking about how his approach in his belief in making hip-hop is that the voice needs to be just as much of an instrument as everything else in the mix. It'S not to be viewed differently. It'S just to be viewed as another instrument so to hear the way that they used ty, dolla, sign's, voice, Jermaine's voice and Kanye's voice through this to make tons of different instrumental ranges with the voice over such little music and make. It still feel like such a huge song was just killer. You know the way, Kanye rode that beat just so cool you know so classic it kind of reminds me of the lyrics and hell of a life or something just a fucked up, Kanye thinking about sex. Just a classic perverted, Kanye song, you know it's just comical, it's just it's something that he needs on: every album, playful references to Donald Trump's, cheating scandal, and I think that that the stormy Daniels thing was his little way of giving Donald Trump a tip of the Hat on the album, I think he really wanted to do that. He also mentions Chris Rock scandal and Tristan Thompson's relationship issues with his sister-in-law, Khloe Kardashian, so calling a lot of shots on this and you know not really pulling any punches, but this song incredibly unique. So diverse and just really out of left field, I'm just. I was so happy to hear this on Kanye's album. So I give that a really good review the next tune. Song number four is called wooden leave and this is a song discussing Kanye's, mostly his futuristic thinking, but what comes with that wishes, difficulties, communicating his ideas and how it affects his relationships with his wife, his friends, his family and just anybody around him and including his Fans but but this song is, I wouldn't say it's about the fans. I'D say it's just about his friends, his loved ones, and that's that's something that is apparent on a couple songs on this album and you know I think, back to the first tune. He does say I love myself way more than I love you and on a few moments on this album. I really feel that, and I feel that Kanye is doing this for Kanye and he's doing it for his family. This is for him. This is for him. So I definitely felt that, on this song, the vocals in the beginning and throughout the hook is actually partynextdoor, which I didn't notice at all parties really switching up his style. He sort of had the same kind of sound where, if you were to ask someone to do an impersonation of partynextdoor, they could do it. It would always be the same kind of kind of thing, but he's really stretching his wings here, and I was impressed with that. However, the part where Kanye comes in and sings - but I know you wouldn't leave it kind of - sounds like the humming that artists do in the booth to find the melody for the song. But you know they go back and they fill in the lyrics later. It kind of sounds like he's just humming the words I know she wouldn't leave instead of fully saying them. That makes me wonder, was he still toying with the melody I mean this album was made in such a short amount of there's a lot of variables that could have happened, but this is definitely my least favorite hook on the album. I'M not crazy about this hook. At all, it's just, but but there's nothing really else you could have put on it and I, like the rest of the song. It'S definitely gon na affect my rating of the overall album, because it's only seven songs, not my my favorite, but I do like the lyrics he's spinning. I really like am talking about how he thinks he's thinking. Like George Jetson, you know he's talking about his futuristic thinking that kind of gave me visuals to the 808 syn heartbreaks era of Kanye, which actually seems more relevant now than it does than it did. When it came out. You know the style he was promoting at that time, which again lends to his futuristic thinking and vision. But you know something kind of struck me with this and it's that Kanye's making a song where it's almost like, and I don't know if he's really doing it - to play the play to the audience interview in any way. But if he was, this would sort of be playing like have some sympathy for Kanye due to the situation he's in, and you know I'm thinking about he's talking about his wife and how she's so upset by what he said and he had to calm her down And stuff, he also says you know the. I said slavery use a choice. They said how yay and just the whole thing here, just rubs me the wrong way. You know, you said slavery is a choice and they said how yay this didn't happen four years ago. This happened a couple of weeks ago, I see 95 percent of the public is still wondering how yay it's gone from house way to hell yeah. I don't know what the fuck he's talking about. That'S what a lot of people are saying now. I will throw in my two cents on his TMZ live interview in that clip. Kanye talks about y'all were there for 400 years. That sounds like a choice, sounds like a choice to me, see we're mentally in prison. That'S what he said, and then he says this really fast part at the end, talking about Holocaust Jews, Jews, blacks, black slavery, Jews, Holocaust and he just sort of models. His words they're on TMZ, live after dropping this huge statement, slavery was a choice. What he actually says there in that muddled statement he says I actually like to use the word prison, because the word slavery is too direct to blacks, Jews, Holocaust in Black's slavery, and he tripped all over his words about delivering that statement. He said that statement in the clip in question. I don't want to use the word slavery. I prefer the word I like the word. He said I like the word prison, because slavery is too direct to Black's. So if you want to sit here and be thick-skulled and try to look me in the eye and tell me that Kanye is talking about the black situation and he's not trying to build a bigger point to discuss the mental slavery of our society, I believe you Are a small-minded person who was likely being fed information by the media and believing it because the fact of the matter is that he said it right there now, regardless of anything, I would also like to throw in that Kanye has every right to believe whatever he Wants that is a First Amendment protected right that he has the right to believe and say what he pleases. But let me make it very, very clear. Folks, Kanye West had a distinct responsibility to explain clearly exactly what he meant, because not everybody as a matter of fact, most people will not will not take the time to listen to his muddled explanation at the end that he quickly went over and decipher it and Slow it down and think about what it actually means and apply something that sounds literal to a bigger picture that thought process is not going on with 95 % of the people watching you another factor: I've watched hours and hours and hours of Kanye interviews. I know how his mind works at least creatively. I understand how his mind works. I understand the way that he looks at ceptin flips them around and his folk different philosophies on different things. He had the song new slaves on yeezus took quite a few years. Back 2014 he's been talking about the concept of slavery for a long time, and but the understand that I have the luxury of understanding that, because I'm a fan so that it's not gon na bother me the same way. But we need to remember - and Kanye really needs to remember that 95 % of the people who see him on TMZ live. That'S probably the only time all year that they will hear or see. Kanye West speak in any capacity whatsoever and most of them probably won't even listen to any of his music and only know him from an appearance like an award show or TMZ live. So when you go on a platform like that, you have a distinct responsibility to be very clear and concise, with what you're talking about, because otherwise you're putting your fans and, as Kanye, observe your friends and your family and your loved ones in a bad situation. So that's my thoughts on that. You know, and you know we could go on all day about that kind of stuff. I want to focus on the music, but I'm not I'm not jumping on the feel bad for Kanye train right now, because he has some explaining to do and I think he owes some people an explanation on what the hell he's trying to trying to say. Right now, this song, though the instrumental really cloudy 808 inspired, beat it would fit in on wash the throne. It sort of reminds me of the production on something like made in America, and you know it's a good song. It makes me think about my family. You know, and I think that that shows that he did a really good job, making it personal, because it's so personal to his family, that I can feel does that family vibe and I apply my own situation to it. So I think he did a pretty good job on in this song, but I would really like some more explanation from Kanye to make my life easier at least a little bit. Next, one is called no mistakes, . The hook on this is by Charlie Wilson pairing up with Kid Cudi to create a tremendous gold dust sounding classic just hook, which is just killer. I had a lot of trouble understanding what they were saying on this hook. I now understand he's saying: make no mistake girl. I still love you in terms of Kim Kardashian, so it's a follow up on the last song. Carne doubles down assuring Kim that he really loves her. It'S a perfect blend of that classic and new sound with the Charlie Wilson vocals with Kid Cudi on there and also Kanye kind of sounds like old Kanye. But one thing I've noticed about this album is that anytime, that it sounds like the old Kanye, whatever. That'S even supposed to mean at this. At this rate, it also sounds current. It doesn't sound dated which is really interesting, and I think that that's something that so many artists who get caught in the I miss the old insert name here thing they can't come close to that, because I think that that affects their minds so much but Konya Doesn'T seem like he's in a position to be affected by anything or anyone and there's a reason that why, on his big whiteboard that he was tweeting while he was preparing these albums, he had it written yay. The spiritual awakening, I believe, Kanye's had a spiritual awakening. Kanye seems wide awake. He seems, like his eyes, are wide open. I don't like using the word woke because there's too many dumb people who think they're woke and will say, they're woke. I want to let you know this right now. If you have to tell someone you're woke, I can guarantee you're, not you're only woke. If somebody tells you you're woke before you say it, I'm just throwing it out there. Folks cuz just stop using it, just let if with people start calling. You woke at that point: you're woke you can't assign woke to yourself. Okay, that's just that's just a little PSA for all you fuckers out here, but yay reflects on the difficulties he's been facing since being millions and millions of in debt. I believe he was over. Fifty million dollars in debt, he shouts out his boys. He says all my dogs who say down we up again and just the classic Kanye West's creativity with those samples man. I thought that sample was an old Paul McCartney that believe it or not. In the background turns out is actually Slick, Rick and it didn't sound like a rap song to me, it sounded like a rock song to me, so I thought that was that was cool to find out. This is the tune where he has a potential Drake diss. The line goes too close to snipe. You truth told I, like you too, bold to type you too rich to fight you calm down, you light-skinned, so Clute too close to snipe. You was interesting because, from what I understand, Kanye and Drake are neighbors over in Calabasas literal neighbors, so to be sending a dish shop at your neighbor through an mp3 file feels kind of weird to me to begin with truth told I, like you, I know Kanye Likes Drake I've watched tons of interviews where Kanye talks about Drake and he has a reverence for him and I will almost go as far to say. I do believe that Kanye looks up to Drake musically because he himself has said that Drake EC's him as his biggest competition, with the way that he can reach the youth, and I believe, Kanye admires that if Kanye is saying that about you, it's a big thing. So I know he likes some calm down. You light-skinned, I'm not a fan of this light-skinned hate tip. That'S been going on because of push of T. You know lights I mean. Obviously all I got ta tell you. Is this man ask your girlfriend light skins are popping right. Now I got to tell you your your girl will tell you, but I, like this song, the last rumor was that Drake had released or recorded a diss track that he didn't want to release, because it would be too harmful to Drake and Pusha T's career and Potentially end Kanye's career now I will comment on that quickly. It seems unlikely to me it does seem unlikely, because it's too easy to say after the fact - and I did see some people talking about this online. How are you gon na end, Kanye's career when evidently Kanye can't even and Kanye's career, because that seems like he's been trying, so I'm a huge Drake fan, I'm just gon na stay away from that, because I love Drake and I don't want to talk about one Of my favorites potentially taking an L, so let's move on to one of the most revered songs from yeh coming to the end of the album ghost town. This features three amazingly skilled artists who just came together for a blend of epic proportions. This has Kanye Kid Cudi, John Legend and oh seven, Oh shake and man just an insane insane huge grand song, the John Legend vocals in the beginning, just sound like some sort of classic Otis Redding or something that's the only thing. I could really compare it to a couple of sources are saying that partynextdoor is actually the vocals on this, and I don't believe that I believe the sources that are saying is John Legend just cuz. It doesn't quite sound like party to me, but hopefully I'm not wrong Kid. Cudi'S vocals in the beginning are nearly off-key he's singing in this really wide shaky key that feels like it could fall off the rails at any moment, but it works and it works really really well and since it feels like it could fall off the rails. It has this emotional grip on you and I you know, I lend my ear to him and I just was so curious to see what he had to say next, when I first heard this especially it's like a story, it's like a scene in a movie, this Song - it's just it takes you through a journey that I truly can't describe. The song takes on a whole new life when is joined by singer. Oh 7, no shake for a feature I haven't heard of this singer before, and I actually thought that this might have been SIA on this feature because Kanye doesn't credit the features on here or somebody he's worked with in the past by the name of Caroline Shaw. But this is a new name to me, so I was really had a huge smile on my face to hear that the world is falling in love with the new artists, especially because she got a big break on Kanye's album. I'M sure she's going to be getting calls and emails through the now that she's got this exposure and it's gon na be all kinds of feelings of you know. You didn't want me before now. Everybody'S hitting me up, but I think it's well-deserved, especially in the saturated music game, to hear a really talented voice come through always makes me smile. So I think this is potentially the climax of the album it's just it's just insane. The production on this has taken a new heights when she starts singing about how she feels like she's free for the last time, Kanye adds a spaceship and it's sort of like Tron, like shooting sound effects and spaceship sound effects, sounds like a video game where you're Getting the high score in an old 80s game, it's just it's just epic, it's of epic proportions. He also has that low, plunging guitar / keyboard effect, which he coined Kanye coined that sound. That is the Kanye sound and even if I would have heard this and he wouldn't have sang on it or rapped on it, I woulda known Kanye produced this, because that that guitar keyboard plunge was what I'll choose to call. It is just so one-of-a-kind and that, and it's just it takes it back to the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy days, where Kanye just was rewriting the game and again it shows how it's a futuristic approach, because that that shit still works. So I think that this song is gon na go really far for this album. I think it's gon na win some kind of award for sure in 2018 and fun fact this that this song, ghost town or the title ghost town was actually written under Kid. Cudi'S album on Kanye's large whiteboard, with all the album's laid out. So I'm not sure if it was this song with him on it like this or if it was a different version of the song. But I'm glad to ended up on this album and it really was one of the cherries on top and just like that, we're at the end of the album. It feels like such a quick album to listen to because it's there's so much substance in so much diversity. It really just disappears in the blink of an eye, and it ends off with a song called Violent Crimes. This tune is, it has a hook which is sung by by a female there's male voices mixed in the background, but it's a female sung hook, which is sung in sort of the tone of a lullaby, it's very soothing. It creates a conjures visuals of family well-being. Once again - and it it similar to wouldn't leave for me - and it actually seems like a much more polished version of wooden leave, it's a song. You want to listen to on a plane again. It has that that airy 808 sort of production to it, which almost is that wash the thrown kind of thing to it, and it's just the emotion that Kanye can convey. I think this is one of his best verses in the last five years. At least I mean it was it's just so impressive and I keep thinking about the the futuristic aspect of his thinking, because it's so important to what he does he's not saying she won't realize the danger she's going to be in because his daughter's two or three And you know we're going to go through. These fights were going to have these struggles. He'S saying, like you know, this is happening now she doesn't understand the danger she's in she doesn't know what those guys are going to do to her now like this is. This is current stuff he's putting himself in the futuristic aspect of it to where he knows, he's gon na have to deal with it potentially and it's it's crazy, because I heard him in an interview two and a half years ago, and he said I think about The fact that there's a very high chance that my daughter's body could be shaped like my wife's and that's really scary to me - and here we are over two years later, and that is what he's rapping about, and you know something folks seeing. That was a really good sign for me, because it shows me that that type of emotion cannot be faked. If you feel like you're hearing somebody talk about some real shit, that's been on their mind and you can feel that it's not even a feeling and you're. It'S like a feeling in my chest: it's like, I feel it right here when the shit's real and it hits you a certain type of way that can't be faked. It just can't be faked. I can't describe the emotion he, but he makes me want to cry. I believe I did tear up when I first heard this shit because you know it makes you think about. You know how everybody treats women. It'S it's it's shit. You know you keep getting these songs. Thinking do I. You know you feel bad for even kissing a girl when you listen to the ship, but it's true, you know, there's a lot of fuckery. That'S going on people are being really mistreated, we're in a generation that is bent on becoming emotionless and numb and cold-hearted and cruel and Kanye's having a child and he's bringing her up in this world. That is what's champion. That'S! What'S that's, what's applauded so I turn around and I applaud Kanye because he has the courage to stand up and talk about his feelings and that's a completely normal human thing. I don't. I don't know how we've somehow lost the aspect of normal human activity and emotion becoming accepted in in this culture somehow, but it's something that I want to hang on to. I don't want to lose the human aspect of feeling and all these things - and I again I applaud Kanye for taking on some of these. These topics he's not a perfect man, but he's a man with a vision. He'S a man with a dream: he's a man with many many different goals and he's a man who wants to do better for the world, and for that I really champion him, and you know he's in a really complex situation that only he can give us perspective On a lot of people, talk about how out of touch they feel he is with the world when they don't remember how out of touch. We are with that magnitude of celebrity to have a daughter in the normal world where you're, not famous. You have all of these issues still but to add on Instagram and Fame and TMZ and comment sections and blog comments and all these things with millions and millions and millions of people after your daughter, that's a perspective that most people can't offer and he can offer Us that - and I can't relate to it, because I'm not there - I can relate to it on a human level of that's a father looking out for his daughter, and this is his spin on it, and I also just want to throw this one thing in before. I end this because this is the end of the review, so I might as well throw this in since you've come with me this far. Thank you. I hope you've been thoroughly thoroughly entertained. This whole thing of of Kanye West has afforded a life where he doesn't have to deal with a racism, so he doesn't understand the issues of racism and all these these different insane theories. I just want to say that that is such nonsense. It'S it's such bullshit, because no, I will guarantee you this, no matter how rich you are no matter where you go and no matter how famous you are, you will likely experience some form of racism if you are of color and to say, Kanye doesn't experience racism Just because he doesn't have to walk down the street in the hood of Chicago anymore and be profiled by a police officer is ignorant and foolish. So this album yay, I'm gon na give a solid four star review. I feel like there are details that were potentially rushed, but I don't think the album suffers, because the content overall is very, very strong. There'S no filler and Kanye just really wanted to get straight to the point so solid, four stars from me on yay. Thank you for tuning into my album review, make sure to subscribe here on YouTube and here on iTunes. If you're listening subscribe to, the Cassius Morris show on all audio streaming platforms and check out Cash's Morris comm for exclusive photography and content of all kinds, we'll catch you guys on the flip side until next time. This is Cash's Morris, saying rock on when someone comes up and says something like I am a god, everybody says who does he think he is? I just told you who I thought I was god. I just told you Read the full article