mrlubin

Yalls president Donald Trump armed with the most elementary of “say nazis are bad” talking points instead gave a rambling news conference that didn’t deliver any new news, only confirming what many of us already knew after his initial statements on Charlottesville and his more than 30 years in the public spotlight: ya boy Donnie is a straight up racist.

The Donald throughout the years has made his view on race familiar via dog whistling statements and accusations and improper business practices, including housing discrimination towards people of color. He’s also offered more full throated articulations, only to try to quell and diffuse with the #1 white hit of the past century whenever they get confronted with their racism “BUT I HAVE BLACK FRIEND, I CAN’T BE RACIST!!!?!”

The press conference dropped whatever pretense of believability of  his own claim that he is the “least racist person” when he offered a Desus Nice worthy Gotta Hear Both sides equivocation of the participants. Except, on one side there were actual, literal nazis shouting classic Nazi refrains like “Jews will not replace us” and “Blood and Soil.” Let us not pardon the KKK and other white supremacists whose laws and practices served as inspiration for classic Nazism in the 30s. These groups were accompanied by other alt-right associated groups which our country has a lot more tolerance for, partly due to proximity in belief system. On the ‘other side’ you had protestors offering a rebuke to the hate and bigotry on full display. Yet somehow y’all president thought it OK to make to put these groups on the same plane and call out both the very good and very bad people on both sides. 

  The Both Sides argument falls flat under the most immediate, rudimentary questioning but becomes a super supine wafer when you consider how the U.S. has treated issues of race both historically and contemporaneously. We have rarely as a country felt the need to listen to Both Sides, even when one side being raped, tortured, enslaved and subsequently segregated and disenfranchised.

You can’t talk to me about both both sides when the Feds sacrificed an entire neighborhood to bomb MOVE and we have never recognize that as a national tragedy.   

Don’t talk to me about Both Sides when a mosque is bombed in *another* domestic terror attack and we don’t hear a peep from your president. 

You can’t say shit about Both Sides if you don’t acknowledge that the police committed serious humanitarian violations against the public during the protests in Ferguson, New York City, Baltimore and cities across the country after protesters took the streets to demand justice for the execution of black lives by the state. 

Especially fuck off with your Both Sides when the Republican Party proactively moved to put the very laws in place that made it easy to weaponize vehicles during protests.

Don’t talk to Gome about Both Sides when the federal government at every turn of civil and racial unrest moves to imprison, execute and/or exile generations of black and brown leaders. 

Don’t talk to me about Both Sides when Trump said he wished he could go back to the good old days when protesters could just be beaten and removed on a stretcher. 

Don’t talk to me about Both Sides when David Duke and White Nationalists are crediting Donald Trump for the revival in energy of these far right groups.

Don’t talk to me about Both Sides when Trump employs a known Nazi sympathizer (Gorka), the father of the alt right (Bannon) and a dude who just plain ol hates black folks (Sessions).

Don’t talk to me about Both Sides if you only draw the line at nazis but are cool with the Confederate flag waving, Jefferson Davis idolizing, black people ain’t nothing but criminals crowd. 

You can’t talk to me about Both Sides because for centuries one side has been invisible and disregarded as less than human. Now, as one side asserts its right to equality, one asserts its supremacy. We should never ever equate the two.

I’ll never acknowledge Both Sides. 

Yesterday Wendy’s brought the #NuggsForCarter social media “campaign” full circle when they awarded the little dipshit Carter Wilkerson with a year’s supply of free nuggets after he broke the record for the most retweeted tweet of all time. Much of the internet celebrated, delighting in the fact that this seemingly innocent, nugget loving, entrepreneurial young man had pulled off the ultimate Twitter finesse to a prize most of us only dream about/get scammed for. And he did it all all with a single fucking tweet.

(Let the record show I never engaged in this evil campaign)

But, fuck that.

I will not be like you sheeple and sit idly back while this atrocity has been committed. Fuck you and you and you and everyone and everything that led us to this low point in internet history.

Fuck you Carter, you alleged Isis fighting, dog fighting, confederate flag waving, groveling, entitled son of a bitch. What have you ever done to deserve such a bounty of beautiful breaded nuggs? You ain’t never been roasted to oblivion on the timeline. You ain’t never been attacked by social justice warriors on the left and Pepe meme bombers on the right. You ain’t created or did anything for the culture™.

Fuck you Wendy’s for giving in to this little shit all for some feel good headlines, a PR story and having the most RT’ed tweet associated with your fucking fresh, never frozen brand. You realized you’ve now incentivized an entire population of internet freeloaders going brand to brand begging for free food they can afford on one week of mommy and daddy’s allowance.

Fuck you Wendy’s x2 for not even upholding the original request of 18 million RTs and succumbing to societal pressures. If a man is going to earn his nuggs, make him earn that shit. Stick to your goddamn guns.

And fuck you Wendy’s *2Pac voice*until the end of time* for removing spicy nuggs from the menu.

Fuck you all of you shameless corporations and swaggerless, dick hopping community managers for trying to ride the original wave and helping this little fuckshit get all these free nuggs.

Fuck you United for being a terrible airline. But also for trying to get in on the act before and after. You really thought you weren’t going to get roasted? 

Fuck you to everyone who participated in this sham. You do know you ain’t getting no nuggs out of this right? You know you’re just enabling right? If you RT’ed this piece of shit I hope you donated to Peaches Monroee’s (creator of “On Fleek”) GoFundMe to start her cosmetics company. The girl literally gave us a new term that’s been plastered on t-shirts and none of you fucks have ever tried to help her.

And Fuck you Twitter public for not making this the most RT’ed tweet of all time.

Before you do anything else watch this if you haven’t seen it already: 

Did you watch it? I hard a hard time making it through the entire spot myself without a few grimaces, “wtf were they thinking” faces and a “i can’t believe this shit” to a coworker. 

Let’s look at a few scenes to examine why this isn’t just the worst ad of all time but an ad that is insensitive, offensive and completely thoughtless. 

1.) Co-opting a movement 

Love

Join the conversation

Peace

These are all very nice sentiments and shit we should strive for every single day but they aren’t the typical signs you see at real protests. The protests where people are putting their safety in danger because they’re afraid they might walk outside with a hoody on and get shot, or that their family won’t be able to return to America if they board a plane to see their family in their native country are the images of protest people actually experience. The protestors certainly not as happy as the perfectly casted multi-racial group of actors walking down this very well lit street with no menacing or threatening police officers present any step of the way. Hell, they even found time to place pretty people to eat next to the protests while it was happening. The police aren’t in riot gear, apparently seeing no threat from this massive group of protesters singing and dancing their way towards them. 

Now look, I work in advertising for big brands™.  I know major corporations are risk averse and don’t want to alienate potential consumers who don’t share in what should be non-controversial views like equality and freedom of expression. But they are. But that’s why no one has ever asked a corporation to make a fucking resistance commercial. If you aren’t going to be on the ground with organizers and protesters, or helping to pay legal funds for those wrongly incarcerated or even at the very fucking least, providing food and beverages to people who are taking hours at a time out to speak out on something they believe in, then don’t use a movement for your own commercial gain. 

2- Tropes, (Un)intentional Racism, More Tropes 

All black people are good for in commercials are for hip hoppity dancing, tattoos, giving dap and staring lustfully at white women. 

All the people of color in this ad are mostly used to check boxes provide accent color to what is an otherwise whitewashed scene. 

This is an especially embarrassing lack of effort in representation when one considers the context in which the subjects are being portrayed. 

3- Our White Savior 

Ohhhh boy what in the actual fuck?!!?!

Another white woman swoops in to save the day. I wish Pepsi had Melania Trump’s number so that I can get past a few of the issues currently concerning me. 

I would’ve had a problem with this closing scene if it was from just about anyone but we’ll get to the actual ending in a bit. The fact that it’s a fucking Kardashian Jenner – the physical embodiment of wealth, entitlement and privilege in America – shifts this ad from just terrible advertising toward the realm of parody, absurdity and offensiveness. 

Do you remember the protests in Baton Rouge after Alton Sterling was gunned down by police officers? 

This is the lasting image of those protests. Ieshia Evans is walking up to a group of white police officers dressed like they’re ready to confront ground troops in Northern Iraq, and able at a moment’s notice to gun her down. 

The ending of this thing is even more absurd. Once Jenner hands the very peaceful policeman the can of Pepsi, the crowd goes crazy, like they were all Tyrone Biggums and it was time for the free crack giveaway. 

the absolute best album of the year: vince staples - summertime 06

the yung gawd blessed us a few times this year away from music as he stirred up controversy with his disregard for 90s rap, his almost beef with N.O.R.E, countless beefs with twitter thugs and consistently delivering the best interviews of 2015 this side of khaled.  his most meaningful contributions to The Culture though was his breakthrough double disc Summertime ‘06, building on the momentum from his very good but slept on ep Hell Can Wait.

summertime ’06 is an absolute tour de fucking force of introspection, social commentary and GANGSTA rap, seamlessly transitioning from one theme to another while showing the interconnectedness between them all. it is dense in a way that isn’t rappity-rap. there are no purposefully convoluted wordplay that require a few listens but there is the want and need to go back to it to unpack each song, each verse, each bar to see how it all produces vince’s most formative year.

no i.d. delivers some of his most cohesive work in years, providing a dark, evocative  soundscape that allows vince to get all the way in his bag. summertime 06 is the rare double disc that you would never know was a double disc thanks to vince’s unrelenting charismatic prowess and overall album structuring. it’s the brilliant amalgam of effortless lyricisim, storytelling, opaque production, smart sequencing and pacing that make summertime 06 the definitive best album of the year and one that we’ll be reminiscing about as a true classic for many many years.

Song you need to listen to right this second:

“3230″

“45, 9s 'round 9 in the AM

Yesterday I sat in place, today I'm finna take it

A week ago, they killed my bro, that's been the price of bangin'

Since my granny Alameda days, robbin' cause we need a raise

Fingers do the talkin' when the Cs do the walkin'

And the Cs been polluted, baptism for the shooters”

the most important album of the year: kendrick lamar - to pimp a butterfly

2015 will be remembered as the year of kendrick. following up on his classic and wildly successful good kid m.A.Ad city, everyone was eager to see if he could top his 2012 release. kendrick chose a totally different path in 2015, eschewing radio and chart success to create an album that is uniquely important to this year as any release, even if it isn’t technically superior to his previous effort or even many other records from this year.

for an artist who seemed to go the fuck out of his way to make an album for himself, a whoooooooole lot of people loved this shit. the jazzy, neo-soul record was initially met with universal acclaim before suffering through some derision to deservedly land somewhere in the middle. TPAB is the movie that sets out to win an academy award with a big budget, all star cast (flylo, thundercat, George wison, pete rock, 9th wonder) and dramatic “Oscar” moments that ultimately falls short of its promise. its a tough listen mostly because of its vast array of characters, density and disjointedness.

what kendrick did manage to achieve though is an album, similar to d’angelo’s excellent black messiah, that perfectly captured the anxiety that engulfed many brown people in 2015. it also managed to capture the hearts of folks who gravitate towards ‘conscious rap’ without being corny. it is impressive in the ground that it covers, a sprawling 16 track continent of soul, jazz, blues, and hip-hop. Its highs are definitively higher than any other album’s high this year. “alright” became the cover song for protests across the country. “the blacker the berry” wrestled with the ambiguity and conflict resulting from the destruction of black communities from inside and out. ‘i’ is a joyful celebration of loving yourself, reminiscent in tone to james brown’s “I’m Black and I’m Proud”.

TPAB is important, not because its good, although it is very fucking good. Its important because it gave a lot of people a voice that they desperately needed. it reminded a lot of us that its ok to be proud of who you are and where you came from even if there are inherent problems that lie within each. It’s important because it served as the tipping point for so many discussions on race, gender and socio policy. Its great contradiction is that there is something on the album for everyone and for no one at all really. It is truly a landmark in the canon.

Song you need to listen to right this second:

“King Kunta”

“And I put that on my Mama and my baby boo too

Twenty million walkin' out the court buildin', woo woo!

Ah yeah, fuck the judge

I made it past 25 and there I was

A little nappy headed nigga with the world behind him

Life ain't shit but a fat vagina

Screamin' "Annie are you ok? Annie are you ok?"

Limo tinted with the gold plates

Straight from the bottom, this the belly of the beast

From a peasant to a prince to a motherfuckin' king” OH YEAH

the most enjoyable album to listen to of the year: future – DS2

there was a time long long ago in a far away galaxy when listening to future was considered a dirty pleasure, especially amongst the always opinionated Hip Hop Heads.  he’s long broken through that stigma, producing melodies, both catchy and nuanced on his three mixtape run after the disappointing sophomore album honest. whereas honest was all over the place, reaching for commercial appeal while attempting to stay true to future’s trap // dystopian love roots, DS2 sees a more focused future producing his most successful piece of work in quite some time.

for an album that is so moody, future manages to produce at least eight songs that I’ve heard at parties/clubs consistently this year. it brings together fans who knew future pre-pluto and those who got put on post-honest. those fanbases are vastly different but future finds the balance for both groups. metro boomin provides most of the production allowing future to make use of his melodic authority and vocal talents to shine on every track. future even reaches new lyrical heights and delivers a few of the more poignant lines in his career.

there is an urge to try to place future in a box and that will prove unsuccessful 101 out of 100 times. even when contemplating his place in 2015, I had difficulty because I couldn’t pin down what made this record so special to me. but then you realize sometimes shit just resonates and it doesn’t really matter why. i love this album. you love this album. everyone who listens to this album loves this shit. there’s something on it for everyone. my good friend and fellow #futurehive member summed it up best when i was debating whether to cover it.

me: i love this album so much

i just haven;t thought about it that much in that light to write about it

just enjoyed the fuck out of it

yaknow?

her: yah.

absolutely

when i'm drunk

i wanna hear it

when i'm sad i wanna pick myself up wit it

when I work out i wanna hear it

i always want to hear it

and i never get annoyed wit it

especially freak hoe

LORTTTT

freak hoe speaks to me.

Song you need to listen to right this second (besides freak hoe):

“i serve the base”

They tryna take the soul out me

They tryna take my confidence and they know I'm cocky

Fuck another interview, I'm done with it

I don't give a fuck about a ho, I let a young hit it

I play the games of the thrones with you

I can't change, I was God-given

Tryna make a pop star and they made a monster

I'm posted with my niggas, let the champagne flow

A nigga was depressed now my mind back healthy

A product of them roach in 'em ashtrays

I inhale the love on a bad day

Baptized inside purple Actavis

the most criminally slept on album of the year: asap rocky – at.long.last.a$ap

RIP Yam$

I still can’t believe how many folks missed out on or ignored this excellent release from ASAP Mob front man, ASAP Rocky. rocky has established himself as a tastemanker in hip-hop, both in music and fashion with a cosign being a career maker and a ‘fuck you’ serving as the death of your #brand. rocky gets some shit in some corners of the internet$ for his appropriation of houston hip hip but on ALLA he manages to take his catalog to new sonic heights while advancing the psychedelic, drugged out elements that he first introduced us to on Live.Love.A$ap more than four years ago.

ALLA is an easy listen from start to finish, given its 18 tracks clocking in at a little over an hour. While it lacks a breakout, radio grabbing single like “fuckin problems” it features rocky at his most introspective. ”Ok, let’s get past all this swag, trapping, and fashion talking” he exclaimed on “Jukebox Joints”  and he meant it.  whereas rocky has often been forward thinking in defining cool on his previous releases he reaches deep in his bag for unexpected production and collaborators (see: rod Stewart, danger mouse). rocky did manage to put us on to something new still. he has introduced us to new talent before and new collaborator Joe Fox is another tremendous ASAP discovery as he is credited with at least five writing credits on ALLA and undoubtedly contributing to its droozy, dark landscape.

What’s most impressive about ALLA isn’t the production or overall sonic quality. We all knew Rocky has a great ear for beats and putting together projects with the help of former mentor Yams.  what rocky accomplishes with this effort is increased lyrical proficiency and breadth of’ subject matter. The two are often intertwined but almost never successfully as artists often fail to manage the balance between the two. Give ALLA a spin and list to Rocky in all of his waviness while he gives you more of himself than ever before.

Song you need to listen to right this second:

Wavybone

“I remember all the nights on different corners spittin' pitchin' water

Now I'm richer off the shit I thought of

From the home of the richest ballers

I'm Richard Porter mixed with Mr. Porter

Just picture all the jiggy shit I ordered

I went to France and almost got deported

The fans is screaming when I hit the border

I visit Nice like it's my sisters daughter

Vision broad, I thought of all the different kids and all

Poor without a sip of water, time to get my shit in order”

the best album that dropped in the past 30 days that cracked this list because its that good:  pusha t - darkest before dawn, the prelude

HOLY SHIT PUSHA TON.

WHAT DA FUCK.

one of the finest compliments you can pay to a coke-rap album is that it conveys its meaning so well that you want to go out in these streets right now and cop a brick. this is no different.  pusha closed out 2015, one of the greatest years in rap history, and blessed us with 10 of the finest keys of that perico.

pusha doesn’t cover any new ground here, and that’s OK. When you have damn near perfected your craft, there really is no need to stray from what works, just to continuously make incremental improvements upon it and that he does. Pusha still gives us vivid street tales, sneak disses and bombastic coke rap in an easy to listen to release at just over 30 minutes.

the production is masterclass with contributors ranging from metro boomin to kanye, to timbaland. the tone of the record is set on “intro” and never, ever wavers as pusha delivers haymakers and one line quotables over simple but memorable production that allow his lyrics to get up all up in your nose. Pusha really does manage to make so called pop producers like the dream and timbaland deliver their darkest, lunch room table knocking beats similar to pharrel on the classic hell hath no fury.  the melodies are few and far in between as push seemingly never takes a verse off, delivering menacing bar after bar of perfect penmanship.

If this prelude truly is indicative of what’s to come from King Push in 2016 then legooooooo.

Songs you need to listen to right this second:

Keep Dealing

“They call him a crack dealer, I am like Warhol

A nigga paint a picture of a bullet for all y’all

Now crawl for him

My sophomore jinx is more minks

But only for my mother she’ll use ‘em as couch covers

You niggas cheapening my All-Star Weekends

If y’all can’t swim in the deep end then watch nigga

Woo! 80,000 on this watch niggas

Yuugh! And I ain’t never had to watch nigga

Rich or wealthy, pick your poison

I think I paid for one too many abortions

Another Celine, it’s like a routine

It’s like ferris wheel of waist trainers and Seven jeans

Her new body's in my new body

Make her in an hourglass that’s my new hobby

Rich nigga shit, how I blew my first million