Devil In A New Dress

The amount of people glaring at the screen of their smartphone seems to keep increasing. When we seem to get tired of a particular app, another one comes along to keep your attention on your device instead of on each other. Has anyone ever thought about the fact that social media is making us more and more antisocial as time goes by? Think about the last time you were with a group of your friends and how long everyone spent staring at Instagram or sending snaps via Snapchat. The funny thing is you see people in snaps and partying or having a great time but what you don't see, is the behind-the-scenes footage of everyone going back to looking at their phone as soon as the snap is over. I'm not trying to preach because I'm just as guilty as the next person. I have to make a conscious effort to not look at my phone if I'm around people. It's just so hard to avoid your phone when you are bored and you know you have it as an option. ...

Just when society had finally figured out all of the advertisements in magazines were setting unrealistic ideals by using photoshop, along comes Instagram. Filters upon filters and editing applications that allow you to give yourself a glowy look and remove imperfections. Go from looking basic, to Beyonce, in a matter of seconds. To take things even further, we don't even know what's real anymore. I follow a bunch of fitness pages and see big asses upon gigantic asses claiming to have grown by doing squats. For the asses that are real, they are impressive.  But after watching a few videos of butt augmentations, I am convinced half of the booty pictures I see on Instagram are fake. So why do I care? Because I work out hard at the gym and have made some big improvements, but still wonder how some people grow asses over night and compare myself to that standard like most other people. With the popularity of IG, has grown the amount of people who are body builders. Ho...

I awoke to a New Years Day surprise with Kanye West releasing his new single, “Only One.” I couldn't help but fight the feeling of my  eyes watering up as I read the emotionally charged lyrics Kanye posted on his website with the song.  I held back tears in feeling empathy, anticipation and excitement.  Listening to the song, I forget that it is Kanye singing from the perspective of his late mother, Donda West,   and not actually her voice. You can feel his pain, loss, and heartache with the intimate view on what goes on inside his head now that he has had his first child. “Only One” features Paul McCartney accompanying on keyboard in the background which is a much different tune from Yeezus , where he screamed and yelled his misogynistic point-of-view throughout the album.  This song makes me wonder: is the new album going to be the next 808’s & Heartbreak ? Will the entire album be Kanye singing, or just this song?  The one thing th...

It's been about three months since I've written a post. What better way to come back then by writing about the best invention that you don't know about: TouchTunes. Yes. TouchTunes. The jukebox that has a variety of music and that I spend more money on than I do buying drinks. You may not know about TouchTunes, but have probably passed by one, not knowing it was there. I have been to a lot of places where no one is even playing music from the thing until I show up. It's usually hidden in a corner and no one sees it until some drunk guy stumbles over to it trying to play Uncle Kracker or some random country song.  But I still haven't told you the best part about TouchTunes. There's an app. Yes. An app. Play all the music you want without leaving your barstool and by the click of a button on your smartphone. This provides an endless amount of entertainment when you hit play next and play a hip hop song and continue to bother the drunk guy waiting to hear ...

Most hip hop fans would agree that hip hop and rap music get a bad rap. Ever since popularity rose in the early 90’s, people took offense to the derogatory language, anti-police views, and misogynistic references. Explicit warning labels became popular in the hip hop world to ‘warn’ people about what they were about to expose their ears to. Hip hop music and rap became popular to people who came from a lower class and urban environment. The music was real and talked about what was going on in the streets, stripped of the bubble gum packaging that covered most of the pop music favorites of the decade like New Kids On The Block. Music is a reflection of the time which can be said about all genres. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, it was finally being exposed that racism was still prevalent and strong in the United States. The police brutality against Rodney King in 1991 sparked a fire in many people and when the officers who committed the acts were acquitted, the Los Angeles Riots...

There are not many moments in life where you can remember the first time you heard a particular artist or musician and knew you were a fan immediately. In the late summer of 2011, I remember the moment I first heard Kendrick Lamar. My brother had just burned me The Game's R.E.D. Album and I was listening to the intro. The second track, "The City" came on and I was already blown away by the melodic, soulful beat accompanied by the female vocals that sounded like a gospel followed by The Game's verse. And then I heard Kendrick Lamar.  At that moment, I knew Kendrick Lamar was unlike anyone I had ever heard before. His voice is raspy, lyrics are poetic, and he raps in a way where he builds up by getting more and more aggressive almost as if he's telling a story and building to the climax with his flow. And then the outro. Oh my god. I immediately downloaded his album Overly Dedicated on iTunes for $6.99 and was impressed at his true, lyrical talent. It's...

To most people, super heroes have special powers or can do something not possible by humans. To the people who knew you, you were a super hero everyday. I don't think I'm alone when I say that you left us unexpectedly. I think most of us got use to your sickness as being normal and forgot about the strength that it took you to get through the day. That's why when you left, it was unexpected. People say, 'it's always the good ones that go.' It makes people question faith and wonder if God exists. And it sucks. But I understand why. It is the good ones who show us what it means to live. You are the kind of person who makes others appreciate life.  When we take life for granted, you show us how we need to love every minute of it. You're strength and passion for life gives us life instead of letting it get sucked away by wasteless negativity. Because of you, we think twice about dwelling on things we cannot change and give us the courage to face life'...