As a child, I, perhaps because of my father, felt a bit like an outcast because of my ethnic background. My father was the type of black man who legitimately passed for white in the ’40s. My mother, pardon her racism, classified her ethnicity as being an “Oriental Half-Breed.” This, depending on how many drinks […]
Read more300 Words or Less Review: @iamKINGLOS – GodMoneyWar
Let it be known that I enjoy rappers who have “bars.” I pride myself on being a person who can drop a (mostly) hot sixteen myself. But, bars aren’t everything. With LOS, listeners expect bar upon bar, and they get such. And they usually get this in a way that’s somewhat outside the norm. But, […]
Read more@Jidenna x @KendrickLamar – "Classic Man" (Remix)
So, I guess Kendrick’s hobby this year is similar to his hobby in 2011, 2012. He hops on a dope song and makes everything else irrelevant, even at a few points reducing the original artist to a feature. We’ve seen his work with “Bad Blood” and now “Classic Man” gets the Kendrick touch. Now, I’m […]
Read moreTeaching without Teaching
Over the years, I’ve had my fair share of “ha, you’re an English major; you should teach, since you’re probably only going to be good for that” jokes/puns/comments hurled my way. Some, I take better than others, because friends can call you a loser or insult your mother. But, let someone else do it, and […]
Read more"Do I Really Hate Him?": Thoughts About Fatherly Love
A couple years ago, I wrote a piece on “Let Nas Down” and the absent father. The piece mentioned my resentments towards my father. But, as with some aspects of the Speed on the Beat backstory, I usually keep quiet about my father and my feelings towards him. Because of this, I’ve never actually went into […]
Read moreA Deeper Look into "iWitness"
About six years ago, during my senior year of college, I created several (super) no-fi mixtapes that, in some ways, were the root of the upcoming Baltimore Commercial Break duology. On one of these tapes, GRADUATE F (God Really Agrees Dat Unless All Team-Up, Everybody Falls), I linked up with a friend of mine, Southern Child, […]
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