Scribbler's Late AF Post of the Week: In Heavy Rotation, March 2016

Before finalizing the "In Heavy Rotation" post for this month, I had two other artists in mind and only four in total.  Upon the passing of music icon David Bowie, whose artistry I have always had a profound respect for, I wanted to do a review of his posthumous album released earlier this year, Blackstar.  Another person whose name has been popping up consistently on my Facebook timeline is West Coast hip hop artist Locksmith, but it's been more for his series of freestyles that have been flooding the Internet.  Nevertheless, I was interested in giving his 2015 studio release, Lofty Goals, a shot.  However, with the recent resurfacing of Tweet and the rise of newcomer BJ the Chicago Kid, it seems like R&B is beginning to have a resurgence of sorts.  Thus, I wanted to make this month's edition a somewhat-impromptu tribute to R&B/soul music in all of its different representations while implementing a new facet of "In Heavy Rotation" with my "Throwback Pick of the Month".  The beauty of this month's post is that although it's music under the umbrella of a particular genre, these artists embody the age-old adage, "No two snowflakes are alike."  Also, three out of five of these picks came highly recommended from social media and beyond, so I wanted to show love to my friends and fellow music lovers to let y'all know that I respect your musical palates tremendously.  Go time...

The American President: Donald Trump & The Societal Exposé, Part 4

YouTuber Tashya Tummings had perhaps one of the most interesting quotes of the year on the sneak: "The more public you are, the less talent you have."  If that's the case, then Republican presidential candidate and famed businessman Donald Trump is the most talentless hack in the 2016 presidential election.  Even with the candidates remaining on the GOP side, Senator Ted Cruz or Governor John Kasich aren't the "sexy picks" because they aren't as entertaining as Trump.  Sure, they could write tangible policy in their sleep with their hands tied behind their backs, but because Trump and Cruz have been too busy taking shots at each other's wives and giving news outlets even more fodder, nobody cares.  With the help of the media, Trump has effectively turned the GOP debates and town halls into nothing more than reality television for politics without having any teeth to his bombastic claims of making America "great again".  With that said, Trump isn't a lone ranger when it comes to giving the people what they want.  The difficulty in filling an arena with people interested in watching a science experiment versus the ease in packing those same stands with football, basketball or boxing fans immediately comes to mind.  It's not to devalue the greatness of sports or entertainment because, obviously, I have made a living from writing and discussing those things ad nauseam.  Nevertheless, when Americans turn on their televisions, log into their social media accounts and turn on their radios and media players, they often want a show, not a lecture.  Hence, in the fourth and final installment to "The American President: Donald Trump & The Societal Exposé", I will manifest the last reason why he is merely a byproduct of a society that routinely values style over substance...

Scribbler's 2-for-1 Special: NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championships

Although no team has received more attention in my 36 years of life than that team who wears burgundy and gold and plays in Landover, I used to be a bigger fan of NCAA Men's Division I Basketball during the 80s and 90s than the NFL.  Heck, I was even more willing to watch regular season games in college basketball than the NBA because between the energy of the crowds, the brewing rivalries between schools and the hunger and raw talent of the players, college hoops have always been a little more exciting.  Although the Georgetown Hoyas, the Maryland Terrapins and the Michigan Wolverines have always been my top three teams, respectively, there have always been "prisoner of the moment" teams on my list like the 1989-90 UNLV Running Rebels with Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, George Ackles and Greg Anthony; or even the 1990-91 Duke Blue Devils with Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill--who amazed me just being able to play ball with that hideously obstructive face mask after suffering a broken nose in a loss to Virginia.  So when March Madness would roll around, it was pretty much "don't even look at me and think we're going to have a meaningful conversation" time.  So in honor of the upcoming title game next Monday, I've decided to do a "Rave & Favorite Five" of the the most memorable and/or most personal championship games in my lifetime.  Oh, and it happens to be the "11th Hour Post of the Week", too, so you're welcome once again...

The American President: Donald Trump & The Societal Exposé, Part 3

As a tenth grader at School Without Walls Senior High School in Northwest D.C., my exceptionally brilliant humanities teacher steered us away from generic textbooks and encouraged us to consult primary source information first when it came to understanding social, political and historical events.  Her thinking was that general and secondary sources allowed for less detail and more cultural bias whereas primary source information was directly from the people with the experience(s) being researched.  Apparently, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump doesn't believe in that as he is a constant violator of former New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs coach Herman Edwards' "Don't Hit Send" warning.  Whether it's via social media or just opening his mouth, Trump says whatever he wants whenever he desires without any defendable form of mental preparedness, verification or fact checking until someone corrects him.  As problematic as this is for a presidential candidate, he is representative of an even larger dilemma in American society: taking information as presented from questionable sources to make an argument without enough supporting facts from more reliable sources.  Hence, in this third installment of "The American President: Donald Trump & The Societal Exposé", I will get into Trump potentially being the poster child of America's miseducation...

Scribbler's 3-for-1 After Tuesday Special: A Tribute to Phife Dawg

Now y'all know that something or someone has to be special for me to buck the trend and post on a Wednesday when this blog is New Problem Tuesdays.  However, if special exceptions are made when popes, kings, queens, princes, princesses, presidents and political leaders pass away, then the same must be done for hip-hop royalty.  When I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed last night before bed and saw a report that Malik Taylor aka Phife Dawg--one-fourth of one of my favorite hip-hop groups of all time, A Tribe Called Quest--had passed away at the age of 45, my heart immediately sunk and I knew that his storied bout with diabetes was the culprit--although the family hadn't confirmed it yet.  It made me feel two different things: 1) I felt like I lost one of my favorite uncles or older brothers and 2) I hate diabetes with a passion because of what it can do to people over time, especially if not properly handled.  I immediately resigned myself to listen to my two favorite albums of theirs, The Low End Theory (1991) and Midnight Marauders (1993)--the latter being the very first hip-hop album that I ever purchased.  Then I thought, "How can I honor Phife Dawg without unveiling my 'Rave & Favorite Five' hip-hop duos & groups too soon and going out of order again and waiting until next Tuesday to do it?"  The answer is threefold: 1) Tribe albums will be "In Heavy Rotation" for a while; 2) by the time this post hit the Innanets, it will be an "11th Hour Post of the Week"; and 3) I can share my "Rave & Favorite Five" Phife Dawg verses.  (You see what I did there...you're welcome.)  Hence, I bring you the first "3-for-1 After Tuesday Special" in NPT history.  Let's roll...