What Geo Thinks

You never want to say that any roadblock a person had to overcome was a blessing, but it’s hard to say that the visa issues Skepta had last year did not almost make this “Banned from America Tour” even sweeter. It gave our culture more time to soak in his style and demeanor. It made us yearn to see him live; it built frustration in us that we could not see an artist that we love, it made me appreciate this performance more than any other I have ever been to. Skepta came to the show and well, it was shutdown.

Talent is everywhere, but it is the culture that brings it out of you. It is the culture that will give you that something extra to separate you from the crowd. That something extra that can be found in every neighborhood throughout the LBC. From the east to the west and the north all the way down to the beach, there’s something in the water and it ain’t “Gin and Juice”.

I love you moms❤️

Now the college degree will never cease to exist, and it’s credibility will never completely die out. Yes, lawyers and doctors will always need a degree to obtain a license. But nearly everything else in this era of business can be self taught, and employers are now showing preference to that. The college degree holds it weight, for now..but the new end all be all is yourself.

The biggest misconception in the Western World is that fighting terrorists means fighting against the Muslim religion. To fight terrorism you do not fight a belief or culture, you must fight the radicalism that has terrorized the world. The biggest irony of our fight against “terrorists” is that somewhere in between, the United States began to fight fire with fire. White Nationalism and Muslim hate became the war cries for the fight against terrorism. The fight against terrorists became the fight against the Middle East. Everything that our country has been built on, everything that our soldiers have fought and died against suddenly became who we are as a nation. A country as heavily rooted in immigration as the United States is, should find this unacceptable and inhumane. How can we ever be great if we are turning our backs on the very principle our founding fathers built this county on? Playing on the phobias Americans have of September 11th, white nationalist have begun their assault on the rest of the world. In times where the ignorant are loud in numbers, the rest of us must be loud in love and compassion. The United States. are no longer fighting terrorists, the President is now fighting against a darker pigmentation. Two days ago the Leader of the Free World, Donald Trump signed an executive order implementing an immediate ban on all refugees and incomers from seven Muslim heavy countries. The self-proclaimed “World Police” suddenly stopped policing and started hating. In their time of need, a country built for religious freedom, turned their back on an entire religion. It is not time for right against left, for republican against democrat; this is time for good against bad, for love against hate. We will stand with the our Muslim brothers and sisters, we will defend what our country truly stands for. WE WILL PROTECT THE FREE WORLD.

THE TAKE OVER. The latest Supreme collaboration is one that not only breaks new ground, but that washes away the sentiment luxury brands hold towards these street wear skaters. Louis Vuitton is going through a midlife crisis, and Supreme is making them feel young again. Louis Vuitton is no longer desirable to the youth; the kids of today no longer dream of owning a luxury belt or bag. This generation is growing up dreaming of one day being able to afford a box logo hoodie. That is the new marker of status in today's time. Louis Vuitton has clearly taken notice. We have all seen it, that older gentleman who keeps his eyes and ears to the radio and television to keep up on what is "hip". Louis Vuitton is timeless, there is no denying that, but to say their mystique isn't dying would be to ignore the culture of today's youth. In 2000 Louis Vuitton handed a cease and desist letter to James Jebbia and all of Supreme for their "LV pattern" inspired items. At that time a brand of such stature and class would never affiliate themselves with a such a lowly, urban skate shop. Fast forward to 2017 and it is Louis Vuitton releasing a collaboration with Supreme, not the other way around. Oh how the tides have changed. Supreme will have their name and product in an upscale Louis Vuitton store and the world is loving it. It has given the fashion world a reason to care about Louis Vuitton again, it is giving the brand an aura of excitement around it that has not been felt in decades. For years streetwear has been chipping away, opening doors here and there. Designers such as Rick Owens, Raf Simmons, and Alexander Wang pioneered the movement..artist like ASAP Rocky and Kanye West were the first to mix street wear and high end fashion. It's been a long time coming, and Louis Vuitton is one of the biggest pillars of high end luxury goods, but Supreme is evening the playing field.

A show that pushes it’s own artistic boundaries, a show that expresses itself in ways no other “cartoon” would dare of, I walked into this exhibit skeptical that any artist would be able to twist Rick and Morty in a way we have not already seen. Two steps into the room and I was proven wrong. Rick and Morty live their fictional lives knowing that they can do anything, and these artist embodied that spirit, “anything is possible”. Each artist was different, each artist gave us so many different, interesting, new perspectives of the show, and it was a breath of fresh air. Doing anything to whatever they want is what the show does, heck we do not even know if the Rick and Morty from season 3 is the same Rick and Morty from season 1. Did they die? Did we jump to a new universe? Is this the same dimension we were in last episode? It does not matter. The same goes for the art, each painting was a different universe, each artist had their own Rick and Morty and we loved it anyway! Rick and Morty is a cartoon that makes a mockery of the reality that is “Life”. In a generation of adults dying to keep a hold of their youth, yearning to stay young no matter how old we are growing. We stood in line for hours, wrapped around the entire block, and there was not a single kid in sight. A two hour line of adults, that were there because of a cartoon. Why is this cartoon hitting a demographic of grown men and women? I think it’s because of what the show preaches and that’s that you live and you die, there’s nothing deeper to it than that. That is something that resonates on a larger scale with adults than it ever could with children. Rick and Morty are living the lives that we dream about, they say the things we think to ourselves when nobody else is around. That is what made the art so captivating, there was no concept of an adult life, there was no deep-lying meaning. You did not have to read between the lines, all you had to do was laugh at the ridiculousness in front of you.

Donald Glover looks and sounds like a man who hates the current “culture” of music and those involved in it, instead he embraces it and tries to catapult it even further into mainstream America. He himself is not too good for anything or anyone. This is a show made by a man who loves where he comes from and wants to take it with him wherever he goes. 

Dylann Roof will die a hero, to himself, and to countless others who share his intolerance. When a man, filled with this much ignorance, blatantly shows no remorse for his actions…it only proves that he has already accepted his death. June 17th, 2015 Roof walked into Emmanuel African Methodist with a mission. That mission was not to kill every black there, it was not to get away with murder, but to show the minorities of this country that the white man kneeled to nobody. Roof did this as a statement, as a form of intimidation. His sole purpose was to establish the “white man” as top dog, and if he had to sacrifice himself to “inspire” some young confused men or women to follow his footsteps, the footsteps of ignorance, then so be it. It was for the greater good. His story, more than anything else, was the most important thing to him that night. The lingering effects of the Charleston Church Shooting were going to last forever, his death would only catapult his legacy. And we are giving him just that. By allowing this man to die, we are allowing him to die-not forcing him to, we are only raising his profile. Elevating him to a cult figure amongst his already growing fan base. Roof showed no remorse, no sign of wanting sympathy or understanding. He made sure the world knew he understood what he did, and he did not care. That is why the death penalty was the wrong decision here. The chair is his escape, it is his way of escaping all the pain and suffering he would have to endure in a lifetime of prison. His odyssey had an ending, and I am certain it was death. He gave his own life meaning, we had the opportunity to make it meaningless. To let him destroy himself, to let the jungle that is prison do what it does. To make him live with his actions, to deal with the consequences; internally and externally. For a confused, damaged man like Roof, life is harder than death. The death penalty is the easiest way out for a heartless, emotionless, cold being. Some people deserve worst than death, Roof deserved life.

Euro 2016 ’s Golden Boot, Player of the tournament, breakout player of the year..Antoine Griezmann was robbed. The man who lit the world on fire, who single handedly turned a defensive powerhouse in Atletico Madrid, into a force offensively, was robbed. Is he not marketable enough because he isn’t on Real Madrid or Barcelona? Is he being punished for not having joined a super club like Bayern Munich? But are we surprised? Is it shocking that an organization such as FIFA, who has been found guilty of corruption, would disregard a player of this magnitude from the FIFA World XI? In a world that’s ran by money, where every decision must be made for monetary gain, we should not be caught off guard, but we love the game and we are being played for a fiddle. Is Griezmann not as popular as Luis Suarez, Andres Iniesta, or Toni Kroos on FIFA 17? Does he not generate enough money in shirt sales? For years FIFA has done what it pleased, but disregarding the closest we have gotten to Cristiano or Messi is shameful. Today we have robbed the golden boy of a huge honor, and we should feel saddened that the beautiful game is ran by the ugliest thing in the world…dollars.

CARHARTT The working man’s brand, the simple brand. Founded in 1889, Carhartt was made specifically for the railroad workers, but fast forward to 2017 and the brand has become an urban culture staple. From the kitchen of Matty Matheson to the studios that Action Bronson is currently in, Carhartt has become the new “hot streetwear” brand. This rise was not over night though. The hard nose threads become the garments of choice for the crack dealers of the early 90’s. Keeping them warm, while also being functional, the jackets and sweaters were ideal for a winters night on a Brooklyn corner. As a result the kids did not grow up seeing their neighborhood kings in Gucci and Prada; they saw them pushing weight in the simplest Carhartt jacket. We may look at it as a fashion statement today, but that fashion statement was built on a railroad track, and survived the coldest of Brooklyn nights before it ever made way to your local skate shop.

Waddup, my name is Geovanny. I am a man of opinion. I have one on everything and if I don’t, I will in a few seconds. I like to review everything, whether it be a sporting event, a plate at your favorite restaurant, the newest blockbuster, the latest fashion, or the hottest album out. My opinions may be unpopular, but they are real and if you disagree, let me know. Let us discuss it. Hope you stick around.