No More Big 3! What's Cole's Next Move?!?!

No More Big 3! What's Cole's Next Move?!?!

July 11, 2024

If you haven’t read my previous article, scroll down on the freshthoughts2020 tab and check it out. In that article, we discussed whether Kendrick’s feud with Drake might be pointless if he doesn’t aim for the commercial number one spot. With a clear task ahead for Kendrick (whether he follows it or not), we’re left to ask: What is Cole’s next move?

I.Cole's Strong Start in 2024

Cole came into 2024 in a great position in the power rankings and was a strong front-runner to take the lead. He outperformed Drake on “First Person Shooter,” went bar to bar with him again on “Evil Ways” from the “Scary Hours Edition of For All The Dogs,” and just completed a successful national tour.

II.The Apology and Its Aftermath

IMAGE VIA THE NEW YORK TIMES

Cole was set to answer the call when he released his “Might Delete Later” EP. However, moments later, his infamous apology came, leading many people to write him off and not wanting to hear from him for a while. Then he reappeared on the bubbling New York sensation Cash Cobain’s track “Grippy,” which has been regarded as one of Cole’s worst verses. The verse wasn’t even bad, but if it wasn’t mind-blowing post-apology, any verse he penned was going to get panned anyway.

III.The Dismantling of the Big 3

The idea of the Big 3 has been dismantled. The world waits on a new K-dot album, ready to crown him as number one, while the Drizzy hive stands patient awaiting Drake’s inevitable return. Again, what is Cole to do?

IV.The Two-Part Plan for Cole's Comeback

I believe Cole has to do two things to ensure a great comeback and even get his name back into that front-runner conversation. We know he’s been hyping up his album The Fall Off, which is in a worse position post-beef. Here’s what he should do to make sure his album isn’t swept under the rug when it drops.

First, Cole has to address Symba. Why Symba? People may have forgotten about that freestyle he did on the “Control” beat, but it needs to be addressed. He sympathized with letting Nas down but went on to say he left Bas and Cozz down, the whole squad down. He slammed him for the apologies. Cole has to address how he didn’t have to clout beef with Kendrick, and most importantly, he has to spank Symba for even thinking he can say that. There are a few angles he can go with, but I probably shouldn’t reveal that. If Cole is capable like I know he is, he should know the angles too. There are plenty of lyricists who will probably make fun of that apology moving forward with general bars, but he needs to make Symba the poster child of what happens when you disrespect Cole.

He needs to do this because Symba has enough lyrical respect from peers and elder statesmen of hip-hop that he’s worth addressing, and because Symba doesn’t threaten Cole in popularity. It’s like Pusha T with Drake. Symba can scorch Cole until he’s blue in the face, but modern rap is a popularity contest, and Cole would never lose that. However, for this to be effective, Cole would have to scorch Symba as if he’s going up against JAY-Z himself—no mercy! If Cole does this, half of the two-part plan to dominance will be secured by everyone taking mental notes: “Maybe we shouldn’t mess with this guy; that apology stuff doesn’t really mean anything.”

The second thing Cole must do is very simple: hits on hits! He has to get into his Forest Hills bag. That’s far from my favorite project from him, but it’s his most commercially successful album, and his sound isn’t compromised! He should re-listen to that album hard while creating The Fall Off and study the singles from Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life. He needs smashes—songs for the radio!

With these two things working in unison, we’ll quickly forget the same people saying they “...never want to hear him again,” “he’s soft,” blah blah, will be the same people saying “oh Cole’s the G.O.A.T., Cole’s the G.O.A.T.”

These are only suggestions, and he can take these suggestions and stuff them up Rubi Rose’s ass for all he cares. But if he still cares and wants to get back in that conversation, he’s got to do something along these lines. It’s not even much, but it’ll be more than enough. Trust!

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IF KENDRICK DOESN’T DO THIS THE BEEF WAS POINTLESS

IF KENDRICK DOESN’T DO THIS THE BEEF WAS POINTLESS

June 23, 2024

This was an article I was thinking about doing for a little minute but I’m glad I didn’t get around to it until after the “pop out” show.

Let me start by stating the obvious, the show was amazing from start to finish, it was basically everything you wanted out the show.

I didn’t have many critiques but if I had to have one it would be maybe keeping the aggression a little bit in the show after opening with Euphoria. I called it before it started that he would open with Euphoria because I knew he would want to set the tone.

Then going into DNA and ELEMENT made sense if you apply today’s debacle within those lyrics but when they came on, I was kinda like “uhh I don’t wanna hear this right now”.

I was #TeamDrizzy, but if I’m going to watch an aftermath beef concert (no pun intended) then I wanna see smoke the whole time you know lol.

I can’t really think of any replacement songs so he probably made the right decision. Anyways, so he ends the night with the obvious smash “not like us” which he’s shooting the video to this weekend.

Now with all that said, I’m still here thinking what did Kendrick get in this beef for? From the outside looking in I can tell Drake entertained this because he respect the emcee code and he’s never backed down from a challenge. So when Dot finally came with a direct hit after years of subs, of course Aubrey would answer the call.

But I can’t figure out why Dot wanted this smoke with Drake so bad. I feel like Dot was used as a proxy vehicle to make a permanent chink in Drake’s Canadian armor.

I’m not saying he doesn’t have a real personal gripe with him but I am saying other people in the industry used their gripe as an opportunity to launch onto his in an effort to get the Boy outta here.

Everybody is riding the Dot wave but I swear I don’t remember people glazing cuz this hard when Mr Morale dropped. When I heard that album I was praising it nonstop in fact I was even saying that after that release artist should think twice about what they drop next because Kendrick got so deep in his substance bag it wasn’t the time to release music with nothing worth while in it. 

Really it was a truly great album that hit plenty deeper than the surface topics, but like I said people were not riding the wave that hard. In fact they was flat out calling the album trash. By people I mean the casuals because obviously his core rocked with it, he just completed a worldwide tour. 

I can tell you exactly why the casuals thought it was trash because the album did not contain a commercial hit. After releasing a DAMN, people wanted more of that sound and Mr.Morale was not that instead you learned his auntie was a man now.

The casuals made this whole battle annoying , people were saying anything and was literally regurgitating points. Someone said to me “Drake isn’t black”, I’m like he’s literally black and Jewish.

The narratives that were allowed to get push during this beef was out of control and the casuals already decided Drake’s fate so anything half way decent from his enemies would be enough to rally behind.

Though the casuals were annoying, they also play a key position in Dot’s career moving n forward. Basically they’re like swing states in politics, he already won the casuals over but he can extra secure him if his next album is a pure commercial effort.

Which brings me back to the “why” of this beef.

If this beef was to just show he can rap better than Drake or that he’s more cultured than Drake then this beef was a waste of time.

Beefs of this caliber should be only for one thing and that’s for determining rank and elevating career status. This is like a ranked match in Tekken, you’re fighting to move up not to look cool.

Yes we can say Kendrick “won” this battle. But the way he wins the war is by dropping his most commercial album to date, if he’s not trying to become “Drake” then what is he doing? 

His next effort needs to be dumbed down, a whole album of “Not Like Us”, he sprinkled in a tiny bit of Pulitzer Kendrick on there but kept it digestible. He may have put a dent in Drake’s armor but Drake is still number one even after all this because no matter how many jokes are thrown his way, everything comes down to music.

How many Dot records you’re going to hear while out vs Drake. Not saying he don’t have club records just ask yourself how many you’re going to hear? Fasure you will hear his biggest one but the moment for Not Like Us will pass and what will Dot do then? It’s a million Drake records you can choose before you throw on Swimming Pools or something beloved.

I believe the most last longing effect from this battle is the destruction of the big 3. The Big 3 is done you even see it don’t mean anything in sports anymore either.

Right now it’s 1A and 1B. Drake is 1A. Dot is 1B.

Everybody else find their place in line. The only way Dot becomes 1A is dropping his most commercially digestible  album to date THIS YEAR! I might be willing to give him to next year but dog if you do all this and take three years off don’t come back talking that number one talk. 

He’s talented enough to make a timely album he don’t need a hundred years to conceptualize like people make it seem, he just chooses to be mysterious. 

He talking about sometimes you gotta “Pop Out” he better pop out with an album or it’s gon look like you only pop out to diss the boy. When we ain’t heard from him in years after DAMN, he pops back up on Keem record and he start talking about he smoking on people TOP 5. 

Alright Dot you got exactly what you wanted you caught the Boy slippin and snuck you in a dub. Now you better finish the job foreal or don’t come back another three years wasting everybody time with this again.

And as far as what Drake should do to stop Kendrick from getting number one. He should focus making his best music and not dissing him.

Make good songs then when it’s album time get back to dissing the living hell out of him. Get at him on album cuts. But the music wins always. If Dot want that number one spot he gon have to follow up with music for the masses or just settle for being the people’s champ. I guess that’s worth something but is it really? The people turn at the drop of dime, let him do something they don’t think behooves the “culture”, his ass gon be tooted on a silver spike too Lmao.

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2023 ANNUAL YEAR END ADDRESS

OUR LEGENDS AIN'T WORRIED

OUR LEGENDS AIN’T WORRIED

October 25, 2021

There is a saying that goes, “Youth is wasted on the young”. Luckily, for the legends that I’m discussing today, youth is a state of mind and nothing can shake a veteran that’s about putting in that work.

I. MELO SCORING OVER 20

This shouldn’t even be a big deal but here’s why it is. So many people counted out that boy Melo for no reason. Some tried to say it was his “attitude”, others said he was confused about his role, and others just flat out thought father time had finally caught up to the B-More legend. Well survey says that’s cap!

That boy Melo is proving his longevity just like his banana boat buddy King James. Even other stars across the league had to express their disbelief about the criticisms regarding Mr. Anthony. Melo has been proving himself to be a valuable asset to the Lakers franchise. Something he wasn’t able to fully show with Houston or OKC. He’s been on a steady trend upwards since his redemption via Portland and now even in Year 19 the sky’s the limit for the legend named Carmelo Anthony!

II. JADAKISS WINNING VERZUZ

Verzuz is a revolutionary platform started by legendary producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, that pits togethers the powerhouses of music in a battle of catalogs! This platform is important to the culture because it makes our legends relevant again by putting money in their pockets and exposing to new opportunities with the recent exposure provided by the battle. However, there is an undisputed Verzuz champion and it’s the guy from Yonkers that had a baldie at 19 for no reason and wears timbs w/ shorts. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, D-Block’s finest, Jadakiss!

Kiss proved that lyrical manslaughter is always respected no matter what. After besting Fab during his first Verzuz appearance, Kiss made another entrance into the Verzuz battlefield alongside his L-O-X brothers to battle the Culture Gods, the mighty Dipset, most known by its 3headed monster—Killa Cam, Capo, and the poster child for Bandanas, Juelz Santana!

People were instantly writing off Kiss and the LOX because the cultural dominance of Cam and the Diplomats resonated with the youth so hard, people didn’t see the LOX overcoming those anthems. But that night the Diplomats was looking like they lost all their immunity and was facing 25 to life. Kiss went so crazy he had the Dips in shambles off Clue tape freestyles! Jadakiss may not have had that youthful dominance that Dipset had but he learned kids across the world real good that night. Even kids was just dressing up as Jadakiss for hallowen this year! (probably at the direction of the parents but the point still stands). Jada stuck to his guns and when people tried to write him and them Yonkers boys off, he showed up like Melo breaking another scoring record! Truly remarkable!

MIGHTY MIGHTY D-BLOCK!

III. NASIR’S KINGLY RESURGENCE

Man out of the legends discussed during this article, I gotta be proud most of my guy Nasir! The Queensbridge hero truly showed up these couple years. After a critically slammed fully Kanye produced album, people once again questioned “Is it Over for Nas?” “Should I listen to Illmatic for the 9Billionth time?!”. I personally enjoyed the Kanye produced album NASIR, but whether I enjoyed that or not, Nas shut all critics mouths for good when he linked up with the underdog HIt-Boy. Hit-Boy and Nas seem like a random hookup but Hit-Boy been unconsciously prepped for this moment for a while.

Hit-Boy got to produce maybe the biggest stadium banger of all time, “N***** In Paris”. Besides all the Ye stuff he had the Drake banger “Trophies” under his belt. He maintained consistency blessing the streets with his collab Dom Kennedy tapes and scooped a grammy for producing the late great Nipsey Hussle’s “Racks in the Middle” single. Wait a minute and the boy got production credits on SICKO MODE!

All his previous successes showed that he was ready to give Nas the soundtrack to properly convey his thoughts without forcing him to stay in what Hit-Boy dropped. Those tracks I mentioned sound nothing like each other but they still banged in their own way. Which is what exactly what Nas needed. He’d never fail with lyrical content but Hit-Boy had the ability to keep Nas current.

With the first King’s Disease, Nas showed us he still had plenty to say and he could give us bangers while he said them too! Nas even got his first grammy off this album, he didn’t even get a grammy for what people considered the greatest hip hop album of all time, Illmatic. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Nas delivers a sequel that is undoubtedly better than the first! His lyrics on point, the beat banging, and his songs has a new breath of life that doesn’t get tiresome.

Nas showed that he doesn’t have to play to the tune of today’s sound but he also showed he doesn’t have to boom bap us to death to stay true to himself. Even with songs like YKTV or SPICY, Nas don’t start rapping like Quavo or NBA Youngboy he stays himself while trusting Hit-Boy’s. production. This idea is expressed with the lyric, “imagine lil uzi on a primo beat, imagine n-a-s on a migos beat.” Which shows Nas isn’t afraid to experiment and he doesn’t have to lose himself while doing so, peace god!

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ONE THING EVERY RESTAURANT NEED TO KNOW

ONE THING VERY RESTAURANT NEED TO KNOW

After all these years of eating out there is a concept most restaurants have yet to grasp. It is a simple concept yet many fail to do it and when they do implement it, they act like its a pain to do so.

What is it you may ask? I’m telling you its really simple….ok here it is…

EVERY RESTAURANT SHOULD KNOW BY NOW THAT WE NEED NAPKINS!!!!!!

I cannot stress this enough, the most annoying thing is, it be the messiest food that you never get any napkins for. Fam, I have barbecue chicken wings, how do you expect me to eat without any barbecue sauce getting on my hand. You want me to just toss it in the air and rip it to shreds?

Please don’t get me started on ice cream places. My guy its the middle of the summer, I’m eating this outside and you just wanna give me a cone or a cup and tell me good luck. My dude if you don’t run those napkins before I run into your establishment and buss everybody head lol.

Come on you know I need napkins for these

Anyways, its just utterly ridiculous that many food spots haven’t caught on to this notion yet. To the ones that have, you know we appreciate you. To the ones that haven’t please get it together, it only take two seconds and you can win a customer for life for doing the most simple humane thing, give people their napkins!!

Smh so good but don’t ruin my outfit beloved, give me a napkin!

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So Simple Beloved

SHOULD HAVE APPRECIATED IT

SHOULD HAVE APPRECIATED IT

 With the recent scare of COVID-19 (infamously known as the “corona virus” ) running rampant, we’re being shown a side we always knew about humanity.

We always known people take things for granted and go crazy when they realize it shouldn’t be taken for granted anymore.

People homes should’ve been filled with basic necessities.

Hands should’ve been washed, an emergency food fund should always be at the forefront of the mind, basic preparedness was always needed.

But now people’s fear have drove them to shop like crazy, frantically getting whatever items are left.

Just like earlier this year with Kobe’s tragic passing.

Only the few that recognized the greatness in Kobe apparel was already hipped to the classics Nike & Adidas produces.

But what happened when he died?

You guessed it..prices surged thru the roof!!

Shoes that were once $120 going for $1500,

Kobe gear was always readily available, people always knew he was a Goat, why was the appreciation taken for granted.

It’s an age old question that get tiresome to answer but always need to be addressed.

Obviously we should appreciate things more before they become scare and that starts by living with gratitude.

When we’re grateful to live life and see greatness we appreciate them different.

I’m grateful to witness a run like Lebron’s so I purchase his sneakers and make items inspired by him that shows my gratitude.

I’m appreciative of God placing me in this flesh so I try to honor it by treating it like a temple.

Keeping it clean, eating a certain, and protecting my mind at all costs.

If we learn to move different, when things get dire we won’t turn into scoundrel we can move on with proper adjustment because we’ve prepared and didn’t take this life for granted.

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REALIZED YOU’RE CLOSE

REALIZED YOU’RE CLOSE

The other day was I was playing Super Mario Run on my phone. I usually just play it to pass time, but I seen that was I close to a big in-game achievement. Something called “Princess Peach’s Cake(PPC)”. PPC was available for a while but you needed a bunch of a requirements fulfilled to acquire it so I never paid attention to it.

See How Close I Am. If I Had Time I would Play it All Day until I got the Cake.

However, I noticed I was much closer to fulfilling the requirements than I expected which inclined me to keep playing.

Which brings me to my point. Once you realize how close you are to an insurmountable feat, you must continue going.

The key in moving forward is not paying too much attention to the end result.

We be looking for that bell, like “DOG WYA??!” LOL

Just keep working, constant progress and when you look up you’ll be surprised at how far you’ve come.

It’s just like our boxing sessions. Exercising for ten minutes a round, already sounds exhausting by typing it. Putting that much strain on your body (possibly mind) without stopping sounds crazy but after keeping our mind on the workout we barely realize the time that flies by. 

When you’re in the grind, its no time to worry about time, its only time to work!

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DOING SOMETHING FOR YOUR SELF DOES SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF

DOING SOMETHING FOR YOUR SELF DOES SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF

Nothing gives a black man more pride than a clean car or a new haircut. For me its that fresh new haircut that I love getting every two weeks. After a proper haircut you feel like you can take on the world.

When I came home from my haircut I realized man doing something for your self really does something for yourself. When my cut isn’t fresh, I don’t feel like getting fresh. I’ll throw on some busted J’s, hoop shorts, a worn out WELÇOME© hoodie and call it day.

But man when that haircut comes its a different story, boy I’m breaking them ones out the box so quick. I’m taking a nice long shower, (heavy on the DOVE beloved), and you guessed it, the newest of WELÇOME© is coming out the closet.

Having a clean cut just make you want to explore the world more. You feel like a man about business. The good thing is a haircut doesn’t have to be the only thing to give you that feeling. It can be  getting your nails done, running a mile in the gym, volunteering, etc.

Whatever it is that gives you the feeling do not hesitate to go in 100% on it, so you too can feel like a person about action! The world is moving too fast to just be sitting around. Encourage Yourself and get to it!

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THE CORNER IS WHERE IT'S AT !

A BUNCH OF QUARTERS

A BUNCH OF QUARTERS

It is true value is determined by perception but perception can be quite misleading. The other day I was washing and I had a bunch of quarters in my pockets. I was just filling up the machines with quarters then, when I reached in my pocket, I was surprised to see that I only had like two quarters left.

I was like “man I just had all these quarters where did they go”? The quarters felt abundant but I probably didn’t have any more than five or six dollars in my pocket.

The quarters led me to think about we can think have so much of something but really it means little. Just because you have more in quantity doesn’t mean there is more in quality.

(I really hate the quantity over quality saying because it’s used by people as an excuse to why they can’t produce anything worthwhile but that is besides the point).

Life give us “quarters” in many forms to help us think about correctly assessing what is valuable and what is not.

Also, the quarters can be used as a lesson for splurging. You may dig into your pocket feeling mountains of currency but then it gets shallow and shallow until you end up with nothing. You always have to keep note of your situation at all times because you don’t wanna end up like me and have the “where did all my quarters go face”?

*what do a “where did all my quarters go face” look like? I will not provide an example but you can imagine it looks filthy and disheartening.* 

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THE INSTALENSE

THE INSTALENSE

Recently I was watching an instastory of Pharrell’s as he journeyed through Japan. I thought to myself “man this is really cool what he’s showing me I need to make sure I hit places up like these when I hit Japan “ and then “I thought holy crap this is what instagram is really for.” I believe instagram is a tool to help show people what their aspirations and goals look like in tangible form. By having an inside look they can better visualize desirable things for themselves. 

Although mostly instagram is used as an ego-driven instant gratification platform, I believe it to be more credible than that. Japan has always been a dream visit of mine due to how much I love anime and a couple of other things. Seeing Skateboard P expose so much of his routine, makes me actualize the same things for myself.

seen this floating around? This is the guy behind “SUPPORT BLACK COLLEGES”

👉🏾  https://instagram.com/kool.kiy?igshid=11frgfha0vg6y

Another instagram user by the name of Kool.Kiy also serves as an inspiration. He is a talented young man who has his own successful clothing line, though people may not know him personally they have definitely seen his work before.

SHOP: https://www.bykiyonline.com/

At time he may posts his sales by screen-shotting his Shopify notifications that shows an abundance of sales in short time periods. Now in the eyes of lames, fools, and hams this can be taken the wrong way very quickly.

However in the eyes of myself I see something that can also be for me. Him showing his sales and the process behind his craft allows me to visualize the same for myself and use his a success as motivation and a guiding light rather to hate on.

Next time while surfing thru the gram (which you’ll probably do immediately after reading this) think about each post that features one of your desires, as something that can serve as inspiration.

Like Meek Mill classic captions used to say For Motivational Purposes Only.

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OWNERS SET THE PRICE

OWNERS SET THE PRICE

 $2 for this smh.

Yesterday I walked to the store and needed some sweets. I grabbed a pack of M&Ms  and when the cashier told me it cost $2 I almost lost my lid. I thought to myself “My mans how did this small pack of M&Ms cost two bones”? I paid the $2 and dipped.

Upon my exit, I told myself “welp that what you can do when you own the place. You set the price to whatever the hell you want”. People can complain about prices all day but there is nothing one can really say if they’re not the owner. 

People have the choice of paying or not paying. Owners will always have the people that will pay the price they set regardless, so your complaining means little to nothing to them.

SHOP: gettothecorner.com

Its like with my brand (WELÇOME©: HAND DRAW GRAPHICS), people are so used to black creators pricing everything for $20 it was an extreme shock when I came out the gate charging $149.99. Many people ridiculed me and some were vocal In how they wouldn’t dare pay that much.

But as the owner I can set the price to whatever I want and someone will buy it. Bottom line, if you want to see a difference move from consumer to owner and you can make logistics and quality control decisions till your face turn blue.

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RUSSELL’s NEW STAT DOMINANCE

​RUSSELL’s NEW STAT DOMINANCE

Russell Westbrook is undoubtedly one of the most dominant players in the history of the NBA. Averaging Triple Doubles like they’re layup drills the inhuman machine seems to be on train of greatness that doesn’t look to stop soon. However outside of points, rebs, and assists there is another category Russ may be in the running to dominate....SNEAKERS.

Russell and his son, Noah in the new Why Not 2.0 sneakers.

The New Why Not 2.0 sneakers are so damn good, I never been affected by a Westbrook sneaker in this way before. When it comes to Jordans that aren’t the retros, the Jumpman brand exhibits trouble creating aesthetically pleasing shoes. Outside of a few Melos and a couple of Team Jordans, Jordan is trash when it isn’t a retro.

Air Jordan XXXI PE WHY NOT

Air Jordan 28, WHY NOT PE

Now when it comes to Westbrook his spark was started to me when he donned the air Jordan 28, they were a beautiful OKC colorway and somehow seem perfectly fitting for him. Accompanied with a Air Jordan XXX1 PE, Russell and sneakers seem like an uniquely perfect fitting pair. Then his first signature was released and I wasn’t a fan. The first Why Not sneakers didn’t look visually pleasing and I thought Russ would be victim to the lackluster designs of Jordans that aren’t retros.

Why Not Zero.1

WHY NOT 2.0 sneakers

Then the WHY NOT 2.0 sneakers drop and boy those took me surprised. I was like wow now this is how a Jumpman signature shoe should look. The silhouette looked perfect and the colorway was vibrant and awesome. I wanted a pair immediately!! I thought if Russ could keep this up he’ll no longer be TRIPLE DOUBLE RUSS oh now you’ll have to call that man QUADRUPLE DOUBLE RUSS !

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THE PLACEMENT

​THE PLACEMENT

Imagine Dragons w/ Lil’ Wayne, performing at the College Football Championship

 Today me and my brother were talking about music and he brought up to me how he’s listening to Imagine Dragons now because of the college football championship. Imagine Dragons is a band I believe wouldn’t typically be heard by my brother even though he has a wide range of music choices. Him hearing them made me think of how important proper placement is. Your music on the right platform, your clothes on the right person, just solely being in the right place can change your life in an INSTANT.

Check out my albums, available on all platforms !  

UNITED MASTERS x NBA, the new partnership allowing independent artists to shine on the NBA’s digital platforms. 

 That importance is also noticed by Marketing Expert and Music Pioneer, Steve Stoute. Through his new startup , UNITED MASTERS, independent artists can sign up to have the opportunity to have their music played on NBA platforms. Stoute understands how labels have utilized sports biggest events to highlight their artists but the monopoly the labels has exempts the lower tier artists from having a chance of a huge audience via sports. I even signed up for a chance to be featured lol.

 Placement is extremely important it’s why top fashion brands pay for retail space inside department stores like Macy’s , Bloomingdales, etc.

Brands pay top dollar for very strategic placement in the store.

Extreme product placement is heavy throughout Grown-Ish/Black-Ish, you don’t see that many BUICK logos for nothing lol. 

 Although the placement is extremely important what’s more important is having good product to begin with. No matter how many people see the product, the positioning won’t be an advantage to you if the product isn’t good to begin with.

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THE ARCHIVES INCREASE THE DRIVE

THE ARCHIVES INCREASE THE DRIVE

Many times reflecting on the past can carry negative connotations. Connotations which are rightfully deserved because dwelling too long on the past hardly results in anything good and doesn’t allow a person to grow. 

However in this case the past serves as the very beacon of inspiration I need to create. Every first of the month I look at old blog posts of the same month to find cool references or any images that may spark an idea or two. This morning I found a TON of them. 

There’s an whole exhibition dedicated to the Archive and evolution of Mickey Mouse going on in NYC, it’s called MICKEY TRUE ORIGINAL. GO CHECK IT OUT ‼️ TICKETS: https://partners.disney.com/mickey-the-true-original-exhibition

Part of TOMMY’s renewed success is the reintroduction if TOMMY JEANS, which made the brand the talk of the town in the 90s

Reflecting on the past via archives can help bring the present you up to a different stand allowing for new creative energy to express yourself with. It’s why fashion houses or animation studios keep their archives filled with originals and masterpieces because it can serve as a new force in the present even though it is buried in the past.

While being in the present is key to creating and avoiding dull moments, never be afraid to dig deep in the past in order to spring forth a new more vital you into the present and/or future ! HAPPY NEW YEARS !

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LIFE LOGS V.2 - 11.3.18

I LOVE THE COMPOSITION

​I LOVE THE COMPOSITION

Here’s the photo , I’m referring to. Burberry checked bag alongside a flower , not a lot going on but it looks perfect. 

I was looking at a photo today on Instagram and I was really intrigued by the simplicity of it.

The simplistic nature of the photo made me wanna make a purchase and it just made think about the strength of composition.

Not good compositions either the trunk or painting needs to move. 

To me composition is just the ability to put things exactly where they need to go. It’s like a producer placing a tag right before the beat the drop, an interior decorator placing the right center piece, or even a seamstress sewing the logo at just the right spot.

Perfect composition the Balance of colors and the demand of focus to the character’s face make this a fine example of composition. 

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If you ever seen something off balanced then you can attest to how much strategic composition matters. That’s why when you see great composition, which I define as a bold feature that’s aesthetically simple, you too will be able to show your appreciation for fine composition.

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CHEAP DOESN'T CUT IT

CHEAP DOESN’T CUT IT

This past week at the library I was super hungry and doing some intense studying for one of my midterms ( property to be exact). As we were getting ready to head home I wanted pizza so I contemplated on whether to just go next door and get it or wait till we get to the house to place an order for delivery. Getting it next door would have been cheaper but I would’ve had to walk with two boxes, my work bag, and my gym bag with my gym bag in particular being a bit heavy.

That’s when it hit me sometimes you gotta say screw being cheap and pay extra for the convenience. That same week I was taking the bus home to save money even though I should’ve just took an UBER/LYFT because I knew how tired I was and how bad I wanted to get home. But I chose to be  Cheap McCheaperton and ended up having one of the worst bus experiences ever! Some guy who appeared insane, randomly started to adjust my tie, claimed that I knew him, and he was talking to a bush like he 2018 Moses. 

On top of that my bus never came and I had to pay surcharge in Uber fees because of heavy traffic from a football game. All in all when you feel it in your gut bones that the convenience outweighs the cost just get off the cheap train and go ahead and cough up those few extra coins.

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NEVER UNDERESTIMATE A GOOD PEP TALK

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE A GOOD PEP TALK

I love watching HOMETOWN HOOPS and seeing the athletes go hard at the LIFETIME ATHLETIC gym. Recently the video I watched featured Ben Simmons  getting a run in and during the vid Rico Hines gave a quick pep talk encouraging the guys to give it all they got and make sure they get a great session in. Boy was that pep talk effective. Guys was flying all over the place making every play count like it was the NBA FINALS . That’s when it hit me , you can never underestimate a good pep talk. 

In the process of improving it easy to become your own worst critic rendering you the possibility of being stuck in your head. Sometimes you just need verbal affirmations from another source that sends you to the direction of a more focused performance. That focused performance can be anything not just athlete related.

Rico Hines w/ Pascal Siakam

A senior partner can give a rising associate the push he needs, The Math teacher can give the student the much needed push to succeed on an exam, and so on and so forth. We should never underestimate the good things we can say about each other because we need each other and if those positive things can be harnessed into action than that is when boundaries are pushed and CHANGE IS MADE!

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I LOVE TIMESKIPS

I LOVE TIMESKIPS

 An essential element of storytelling is using the passage of time well. Timeskips, for those who don’t know is a literary device that advances the timeline of the story ex number of years that usually show older versions of the protagonists.

 The reason I love timeskips so much is for, the simple of idea of growth. You ride with these characters for a lengthy amount of episodes and then you get to see a dramatic change and it makes it feel like as if you’ve grown up with them.

 The most perfect example is in NARUTO. When the first series started to air on Cartoon Network and when I first read it in Shonen Jump,  I was roughly the same age as Naruto.

 When the timeskip happened in the next series I was also around his age which made it literally feel like I was growing up with them.

Shinpachi on the Latest GINTAMA volume cover

 But timeskips is a heavy discussion topic for today because I’ve been watching GINTAMA and they just had a timeskip. A weak and supporting character named Shinpachi just received massive growth due to the time skip.

 He was always super serious, couldn’t really hold his own in a fight, and was far from cool. But since the first time he was shown in the timeskip he possessed the same poise as the series’ main protagonist (Gintoki). His growth is making me more invested in the story because it is always amazing to see the weak go to strong.

From Left to Right:  Shinpachi, Gintoki, Kagura

 If you’re a storyteller yourself think about the usage of timeskips, when done correctly it is one of the biggest payoffs in storytelling.

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