Category: Entertainment

Ye Album Review

Ye Album Review

Danii Gold

Kanye dropped his 8th album this past Friday and despite his crazy antics, his album is good. From addressing him being bipolar, to dedicating a song to his wife Kim and his daughters North and Chicago. YES, He’s been on some crazy shit lately from saying slavery was a choice to picking Whitney Houston’s drug infused bathroom as the cover art for Pusha T’s album that he produced…BUT, dude does have talent.

The Album Cover

His wife Kim (Kardashian-West) tweeted out that he JUST captured the cover art for his album Ye on the way to the listening party, literally hours before. That’s cray cray. I mean, the album cover really isn’t anything too crazy but the fact that he did it last minute just show his brain is very sporadic lol.

The Tracklist

“I Thought About Killing You”

It isn’t a secret that Kanye has some mental health issues, and specifically he came saying he was bipolar, so the first song on the track is “I Thought About Killing You.” I know….it sounds strange but in that song, some can debate that he was talking to and about his self. It literally says “Today I seriously thought about killing you, i contemplated, premeditated murder–And i think about bout killing myself and I love myself way more than I love you. You only care enough to kill someone you love—Sometimes I think really bad things.” Like I said, He could’ve been talking about someone orrrrrrrrrr he could’ve been talking about himself.

“Yikes”

In this record, he talks about some… yikes shit lol.  Pretty much how life can get hectic and specifically his personal life. He referenced  Russell Simmons getting #MeToo’ed. Then he talks about himself in third person–“See that’s why I fucks with Ye” and says that his bipolar is his super power, which is a good way to look at it to keep a positive mindset, Dude is something else.

“All Mine”

 The title is self explanatory and just women in general, from Tristan (Khloe Kardashian baby daddy) cheating on her. The production on this record is dope AF.

“Wouldn’t Leave”

Kanye addressed the “Slavery Was A Choice” statement and pretty much said he could’ve said worse. All in all, he stands by his statement. BUT on the flip side, he says his wife, Kim Kardashian-West. I like how he speaks of Kim in this song, as annoying as she can be at times, but he stated that she stuck by his side while he was battling his demons, and she could’ve left him but she did and she’s appreciated for that.

“No Mistakes”

Kanye sampled Slick Rick “Hey Young World” in this song, along with having legendary singer Charlie Wilson on the record and even Kid Cudi, whom he has an album coming THIS FRIDAY June 9.

“Ghost Town”

This is probably my second favorite song on the album. Kid Cudi comes back on this record singing the main chorus saying he’s been trying to make you love him but everything he does is not good enough; that’s pretty sad. Then, a young singer by the name of 070 Shake comes in on the outro of the record talking feelings of being a child and doing childish things like putting your hand on a stove knowing it’s hot, but to see if you still bleed or even hurt in general. But she also references being free saying “And nothing hurts anymore, I feel kinda free.” To me, that symbolizes having so many feelings to the point where you have to numb yourself to it and when you’re numb to certain things, it doesn’t bother you anymore. Then, sometimes you have to snap out of the numbness and see if you still have feelings, hence, putting your hand on a stove to see if you still bleed, to see if you still feel pain and have feelings. (kinda deep, I know) lol.

Lastly….

“Violent Crimes”

Long story short, this is dedicated to his daughter and it is absolutely beautiful. The lyrics are clear and self explanatory:

“Don’t grow up in a hurry”

“Niggas is savage, niggas is monster, niggas is pimp, niggas is playas, till niggas have daughter”

“I see women as something to nurture, not something to conquer”

Ye pretty much views women differently after having two daughters. He had Ty Dolla $ign hitting some vocals on the chorus too and brought 070 Shake from track 6 on this records, singing towards the end. I can’t relate but I can definitely tell where he was coming from and I respect him for that.

Overall

I love the album. I haven’t listened to a full Kanye album in a while because he’s been an asshole for a while now and even though this is the worst time to listen to his album but I was curious and I’m glad I listened to it. I STILL don’t agree with his way of thinking and antics but he is a talented artist, without a doubt. I mainly loved the slow melody tracks on this album. Him being bipolar affected his album in a positive way because with him battling his crazy thoughts is what made the album sound so dope.

I give him 4.5 stars…only because of his slavery comments, maybe even 4 stars lol. But I fucks with this Ye album.

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What are your thoughts??

 

EXCLUSIVE BWxnda Interview

EXCLUSIVE BWxnda Interview

Danii Gold

I sat down with one of my good friends and a talented artist about his music, being a solo artist, moving to a different coast AND new music he has on the way. Check out my BWxnda interview below. 

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Crooklyn Anniversary

Crooklyn Anniversary

Danii Gold
credit: themoviedb.org

Yesterday was the 24th anniversary of Spike Lee’s movie Crooklyn. I loved this movie as kid; just seeing what it was like growing up in a different culture and during a different time. The setting was 1973 in Bed-Stuy New York, but of course it was filmed in 1993. 

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credit: picsofcelebrities.com

This film was Spike Lee’s second film and just image, he’s created other films and they were just as good and even better than this one, depending on what you like. 

I love how Troy was a tough cookie. She was had three older brothers and a little one and had to adapt to how rough they were. She wasn’t all girly like some of the girls on her block and she even stood up to bullies on her block that were wayyyy older than her.

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She dealt with the normal pre-teen problems—wanting to grow boobies. When I was that age, I wanted boob so bad and then BOOM! I was blessed with a big booty. yay     Image result for side eye emoji

From dealing with arguing parents, to experiencing a culture shock down south with her cousin to losing her mother..

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Too eventually having to be the mother figure in the house and many more. 

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Happy Anniversary to one of my favorite childhood movies. What’s your favorite Crooklyn  scene?

 

Wale, “It’s Complicated” & “Self-Promotion” EPs Back to Back

Wale, “It’s Complicated” & “Self-Promotion” EPs Back to Back

Danii Gold

Wale has been on a roll with dropping these EPs (extended play) lately. In Mid March, he dropped the EP It’s Complicated that had 4 songs on it, including “Black Bonnie” featuring Jacquees, which I absolutely LOVE, it’s more slow melody EP. Then yesterday he dropped Self Promotion., which is more hip hop based with a splash of slow melody. Not only did he release these two EPs two months apart but he just released a whole album last April, Shine. I guess he figured, he gotta stay relevant and by that, he’s dropping back to back EPs.

I respect that he’s independent and that sound is different than other artists to me. There “may” be artists who have his same flow but I believe he is the first to do so with poetic words. It’s Wale’s delivery that makes his music different and as a artist/rapper, he can express his feelings in a poetic flow without sounding like a punk lol. 

What are your thoughts about Wale dropping these back to EPs?

Comment below!

Childish Gambino “This Is America” Video, Review and Thoughts

Childish Gambino “This Is America” Video, Review and Thoughts

Danii Gold

On Saturday, Childish Gambino, also known as Donald Glover for his government name that he uses for acting purposes, dropped a song and video titled “This Is America” and let me tell ya….it was needed. 

He starts off the video, topless, dancing then BOOM, he shoots a guy with a pillow case covered over his head, in the head. But the way he shoots him is in the stance with one leg stretched in an angle and the other bent slightly. After researching, that stance that he shot the guy in, was part of a Jim Crow caricature dance.  Jim Crow is the practice of segregating black people. With him doing that stance, he wants to show that Jim Crow is still I a thing in America, hence “This Is America” title; the lyrics are “Don’t Catching You Slippin Up.” 

He goes on doing a bunch of trendy dances, with students dressed in uniforms. The dancing was going on in front of us but did you pat attention to the craziness happening behind the dancing? NOPE, that was the point. Dancing could be used as a distraction in America to distract us from what’s really going on. That could be social media in a sense too.

Next scene is a black choir singing, Gambino comes out and shoots them, hinting at the 2015 Charleston Church shooting. Self explanatory message.
 

You see a burning car and a police car with sirens on, people around, and a person on a horse

Gambino continues to dance again with the school kids but in the background, You see a burning car and a police car with sirens on, people around, and a person on a horse. He lifts his hand up acting as if his hand is a gun, then everyone disappears, he lights a blunt. Then the guy he shot with the pillow case over his head, is playing the guitar. Gambino then hops on a car, one of many that are portrayed in the video, and dances until the video goes black. As the video is zooming out, you see SZA sitting on the car. After the video goes black, he is seen running fast because there are people chasing him, then the video ends.

Every time I watched this video, I saw something new. How I perceived this video is this, Americans shoots and kills innocent people, but distracts us from some of those stories by people dancing or new trends on social media. Overall, I like the video, Childish Gambino is good for creating music that makes us sit back and listen.

What are your thoughts?? Comment them and check out the video below!

CREDIT: YOUTUBE.com

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Say WHAT Ye’?

Say WHAT Ye’?

Danii Gold

So…Kanye sat down for an exclusive interview with Charlamagne The God to talk about his recent remarks and what he’s been doing the past year.

Kanye talked about pretty much being black balled in the fashion industry. He went into detail about him parting ways with Nike dealing with his Yeezy shoes. Ye says that Nike didn’t want him to profit from the shoes but instead have a certain percent go to a charity of his choice. I can definitely agree with that decision to part ways. They didn’t want him to grow and build something big and now he’s with Adidas and the company is at $15 million. Things got a little darker when Ye says he was late to a fashion show that we was part of and people were upset about it, then the following week Kim Kardashian-West, his wife, was robbed. This made him really paranoid. He’s already a black man who’s powerful in the music industry and making big bucks in fashion and to some of the jealous white eye, that’s not a good thing.

After these series of events, plus what could have been many more, Ye was hospitalized for “exhaustion” and stress. BUT he went to see TMZ yesterday and said that he had to get liposuction and the doctors gave him opioids and he became addicted to them and that’s what caused him to go to the hospital. Back to liposuction….yes Kanye got liposuction and he said he got it, supposedly, so people wouldn’t call him fat like they did Rob Kardashian. That’s sad. What’s even sadder is him getting the procedure done to please the public then becoming addicted to the drugs he was prescribed. He tried to wheel of the opioids for two days but ended up in the hospital.

Just when I thought I felt sorry for the man, he goes on to say, on TMZ, that after 400 years of slavery, it sounds more like a choice…I’m sorry, say what now?

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HOW SWAY?? So you mean to tell me my great-great-great-great grandma decided to be put in shackles on a boat uncomfortably,  shipped away from her family, on her free will; along with being raped?? Naw Ye, you tripping Ye. I don’t know what’s been going on with Kanye but he’s clearly in a sunken place. Of course, he tried to clean it up saying that’s not what he really meant, but regardless..it sounds fucked up to use that analogy. His mind is GONE and he could still be mourning the loss of mother. He could be wanting a reaction out of people and trying to be the center of attention because his album drops next month OR he could be wanting acceptance from the white community because they are the ones who tried to blackball him. Or he could possibly be in the state of mind…of a white man. Either way, the black community, including myself, are very disappointed in this man.

Speaking of disappointment, while Ye was at TMZ, one of the writers, Van Lathan spoke up and said that Ye can feel how he wants but there is a fact that there’s a consequence of what he said regarding “slavery was a choice.” HE goes on to say that Kanye “goes on making music and being an artist and living the life that you earned by being a genius, while the rest of us in society have to deal with these threat to our lives with the marginalization that comes from the 400 years of slavery that you said, was a choice.” He says that Ye has morphed into something that’s not real. It took some balls to speak out to Kanye like he did. He says he is hurt and disappointed by him. You and me both Van, you and me both.

So what are your thoughts about Ye’s recent antic? Comment them below!

Meek Mill is Home!

Meek Mill is Home!

Danii Gold
featured image: foxnews.com

Yesterday Philly rapper Meek Mill was released from a Philadelphia prison, after serving 5 months.

I’d be the first to say that I’m not a huge Meek fan, but I like a few of his songs but have yet to listen to a full album of his. Dreams & Nightmares is my shit tho!

A judge, who denied his request for bail, decision was overturned by the Philadelphia Supreme Court. If you haven’t been keeping up, he was sentenced to 2-4 years in prison for a probation violation, which stemmed from him being convicted of drug & gun charges back in 2008. 

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credit: nbcphiladelphia.com

Overall, the judge had it out for Philly rapper. Reports came out that the female judge who convicted him of the 2-4 years, was trying to persuade him to sign under her friend’s record label, then wanted him to sing a Boys 2 Men song pleading for his freedom. Of course he didn’t and BOOM he’s been in jail every sense. The public has been very supportive of the injustice that’s he’s faced while this whole situation has prolonged. Celebrities from Jay-Z to T.I. to Kevin Hart have been advocates for him since the beginning and luckily they used their platforms to bring awareness of his situation, a black man being “overly” charged for unnecessary reasons.

When Meek was released, his friend Mike Rubin, who is co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, picked him up in a private helicopter and whisked him away to the 76ers playoff game against the Miami Heat, and coincidentally THEY WON! Even Kevin Hart silly ass was there with him, sitting court side. Meek was even able to ring the ceremonial Liberty Bell replica.

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credit: slamonline.com
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credit: thestar.com

Not only did the the 76ers win the playoff, but they won first round, and on top of that, it’s been 5 years since they’ve been in the playoffs, so it looks like it’ll be a great year for Philly. They already won the Superbowl and if they get even further in the playoffs and not win, it’ll still be a win for them overall. 

What was very meaningful to me was seeing Meek with his son on the court. I think it’s beautiful to see him reunited with one of his sons. 

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credit: culturecustodian IG
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credit: nj.com

I’m glad that an innocent black man is free and he says he’ll be using his platform to shed light on situations like this. Social injustice is real and Meek says:

“I understand that many people of color across the country don’t have that luxury and I plan to use my platform to shine a light on those issues”

GO MEEK! 

Comment below your thoughts on the whole Meek Mill situation.