5th anniversary memorial celebrates Brown's life

Excerpt from MetroSTL.com

FERGUSON – In 2014, Aug. 9th was a day that changed many people’s lives. Whether you were a resident of Ferguson, the St. Louis area or the United States, Michael Brown’s death was a moment that sent waves across the country and, in some cases, the world.

Friday, the world once again gravitated towards Canfield Drive in order to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Brown’s death. Although many people who were present mourned the death of their family member, son and friend, the memorial was held to celebrate Brown’s life. The event was held directly at the site where the teenager was shot, with a line of roses, stuffed animals and balloons lying at the spot where police left him for over four hours.

Monte Booker’s Hip-Hop & Soul Productions Are Based in Found Sound

Excerpt from Bandcamp Daily

In February 2018, Chicago producer Monte Booker posted a Snapchat story in which he created a beat using the noises made from items in his old home. Using his trusty Tascam DR-44WL recorder, Booker recorded himself shaking a bottle of water, a pepper grinder, and an empty box of crackers. He also recorded the sound of the faucet running, the two glasses clinking together, a faulty radio transmission, and the sound of his finger tapping a bongo. Then, he loaded the clips on his MacBook Pro, reworked them with his OP-1 Synthesizer, and made a beat from the collection of ordinary sounds. This is part and parcel of Booker’s work—other producers use drum kits and synths to build songs; Booker uses the sounds around him. That unique approach has made him a valued member of the Soulection community, and a critical part of Chicago crew Zero Fatigue’s success.

Born and raised in the South Side of Chicago, Booker’s career in music began as a hobby. When he was young, his tastes included everyone from Andre 3000 and Gucci Mane to Radiohead and Coldplay, but it was Pharell, Timbaland, and Flying Lotus who inspired him to make music of his own. “What [they were] doing with music kind of inspired me to incorporate my influence to make it my own type of vibe,” he says. Booker didn’t have a computer at the time; instead, he would go to his friend’s house to learn how to make beats using Fruity Loops. One Christmas, his mother, wanting to encourage his musical aspirations, bought him a $300 laptop, and it was then that his career began in earnest. Because he didn’t have any experience with live instrumentation, Booker would build his songs from sounds he found online. That worked for a while, but eventually, Booker got bored of searching for beat kits. “It started to get to me when it wasn’t inspiring to be going through those sounds,” he says. “They didn’t sound human.”

Uncle Luke’s Not Feeling The Hurricanes After LSU Loss

Excerpt from State of the U article

There’s a lot of people that you could piss off in Canes nation, but the last person should be Luther Campbell - famously known as the legendary rapper Uncle Luke of the 2 Live Crew. For decades, this Miami superfan has been the lifeline of Miami through both realms of entertainment and sports. Not only has he stood on the sidelines of the greatest Hurricane teams in the 80s right down to the fact that he was associated with multiple violations that were investigated by the NCAA, but Luke’s flash of Canes paraphernalia helped push the team to cultural dominance in the 80s that continues to resonate either through him or other rappers that support the team. However, when you have an embarrassing loss like the one against LSU Sunday night, there’s obviously a ton of backlash that you’ll get from Hurricanes fans (hell even from our Twitter account). But, you know there’s a real problem when Uncle Luke sits down, breaks a laptop out, and actually write his frustrations in a lengthy piece for the Miami New Times.

In his opinionated article, Luke called out Mark Richt’s coaching - specifically the way he managed his quarterback Malik Rosier in Sunday night’s game. He also mentioned how Richt benched receiver Ahmmon Richards after the Senior called out Rosier during halftime and even fired shots at Manny Diaz and his adjustments at defense. According to “Unc,” there’s several players that want Freshman QB N’Kosi Perry to get some snaps. Unfortunately, if not done properly, such a decision to bench Rosier could definitely put Richt into a worse situation.

Where has Isaiah Rashad been?

Excerpt from Revolt piece

We’re only three months into 2018 and Top Dawg Entertainment is yet again having another great year in music. Kendrick Lamar and SZA continue to receive acclaim for their projects DAMN and CTRL, LA singer SiR brought a modern of touch of soul with his debut album November, the Black Panther official soundtrack topped the Billboard charts and the Championship Tour, featuring almost all of the artists on

TDE’s roster, is starting in May. it’s obvious that this West Coast record label is in the middle of a renaissance very familiar to that of Death

TDE’s roster, is starting in May. it’s obvious that this West Coast record label is in the middle of a renaissance very familiar to that of Death Row Records and No Limit, and there’s not a true answer to when this era will end.

Even with yet another prosperous year, there’s one TDE artist who fans have been waiting a while to hear: Isaiah Rashad. The Chattanooga, Tenn. rapper showed a lot of promise when his first mixtape Cilvia Demo released in 2014, but Zay wasn’t ready for the aftermath of Cilvia’s success. The following years would include an intense battle with alcohol and Xanax addiction, which almost got him dropped from TDE. Fortunately, Rashad was able to pull things together to release his debut album The Sun’s Tirade in 2016. The album was beloved for showcasing his personal struggles, over a diverse range of jazzy and southern sounds that remained cohesive with its dark concept. The project wasn’t Grammy-nominated nor a Billboard record-breaking project, but it was a solid start and proved to many that among an already dynamic roster of talent in TDE, Rashad could hold his own with quality music and a unique perspective.

NFL Star Martellus Bennett Isn't Afraid To Dress Like A Dinosaur To Inspire His Daughter

Excerpt from A Plus

Martellus Bennett has been busy since winning Super Bowl LI with the New England Patriots and signing with the Green Bay Packers earlier this year — but not with two-a-days. Instead, Bennett has been wrapped up in making books for children with diverse characters.

"I don't want my kids to grow up in a world that lacks creativity and imagination," Bennett tells Adweek. "I truly believe that children are the future, which means they will be the creators of our tomorrows." To feed their imaginations, Bennett's company — The Imagination Agency — additionally creates videos documenting the NFL Player's journey with his family and, most importantly, publishes his book.

One Player's Opinion: The NFL Has Blackballed Colin Kaepernick For Standing Up For Us

Excerpt from OkayPlayer

I remember when Colin Kaepernick was an underdog. Long before he received critical attention for kneeling during the National Anthem at a pre-season NFL game and before he was throwing touchdowns and flexing up. Kaepernick was a quarterback for the University of Nevada’s football team, and though the team wasn’t the highest ranked in the college football world, to say that they were a threat was an understatement. His rush and pass capabilities were astronomical, but it wasn’t until Nevada upset Boise State in 2010, his senior year, that Colin became a beloved figure in Nevada football and the quarterback Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers organization was scoping out for the future concern.

It’s been almost seven years and you’d think a quarterback that had taken the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl his first year as a starter and the NFC East Championship the following year would get a call right, RIGHT? Nope. Colin’s not getting any love from the “mainstream” audience these days and more importantly, there are no football gigs calling him either. After making national headlines for protesting back in 2016, we’ve seen a different Kaepernick both on and off the field (obviously), and an attitude that his “possible” employers have against his political views. It’s beautiful to see Kaepernick out here doing what he can to protest against racial oppression, and he still has more time to be a dope quarterback (with good coaching and staff around him). Unfortunately, as the days drift away and Colin continues to receive no call from an NFL team, I get the feeling that it’s not about his game on the field, especially with the trash that’s on the market. It’s about his views on this oppressive American system. The NFL heavily supports the current political values which may happen to include said “system”.