Rest In Peace, John Lewis

On Friday night, lifelong activist and civil rights advocate John Lewis passed away at 80 years old after his fight against pancreatic cancer. After being one of the youngest leaders in the March on Washington in 1963, Lewis went on to represent Georgia’s fifth congressional district for seventeen terms while continuing to strive for equal rights and treatment for all. Lewis was one of the most influential and inspiring voices of my lifetime, and I hope his ideas live on for generations after him.

It saddens me that his passing came at such a turbulent and unstable time in this country. Recent events, protests, and movements have highlighted how far we still have to go as a nation. The same systemic injustices which Lewis identified throughout his life still exist just as much now as they ever have. Disproportionate incarceration rates, police violence, generational poverty, wage inequity, voter suppression, and gerrymandering are just some of the realities which many black Americans unfairly face on a daily basis in this country. The Black Lives Matter movement isn’t simply a trend, but instead a continuation and reminder that we need to actively seek legislative justice to address and resolve these systemic failures, continue to educate and familiarize ourselves with black history and experiences, and advocate for a just society which treats all fairly and equally.

It hurts to lose an icon who was such a powerful force toward progressivism and change in this country. While my outreach and influence is limited on this blog, I also believe in being the change I want to see in the world, which means speaking up about issues which need to be addressed. To quote John Lewis, “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” In a time of struggle and strife, it’s important to stay engaged and active instead of accepting the inequities around us. That’s what I’m always going to continue to do. Rest in peace, and power, Mr. Lewis.

Thanks for reading.

The Dangers Of Normalization

It goes without saying that 2020 has been one of the darkest years in recent memory for a myriad of reasons. A nightmarish mix of incompetent presidential leadership, a global pandemic, and continued police brutality due to foundational systemic racism have defined the first six months of the new decade. While I don’t think it’s a bad thing to look for the best in any given situation, I’ve noticed a troubling trend of large issues being ignored until they reach a boiling point, or more recently, just accepting the absurdity of everything around us as a “new normal” when, in reality, there is nothing normal about what is happening. The onus is on us to make a change for the better.

Whichever methods Donald Trump used to swindle millions of Americans to support him in 2016 don’t seem to be working so far in 2020’s campaign. Recent polls collectively reflect that soon-to-be Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is beating the incumbent president on both a national level and in the key swing states which will likely end up deciding the results of November 3rd’s election. We must remain vigilant and active, though, and learn from the mistakes of the 2016 election, in which many overestimated the polling data and decided not to vote. The president’s recent attacks on dreamers and DACA, the LGBTQ+ community, and unfathomable ambiguity when discussing COVID-19 and police brutality are sickening and un-American. This can’t become normal.

While our leadership continues to fail us, the coronavirus pandemic is continuing to spread uncontrollably in many states such as Florida, Arizona, and Texas. These recent spikes have led said states to regress their reopening plans, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in-sight as there are still individuals disregarding guidelines such as social distancing and mask-wearing. At the time of writing this, 127,986 Americans have died from the virus. This is because of an unspeakable mishandling of the pandemic from the president and his administration, who infamously claimed in February that cases would shortly be down to 0. Just because the virus is continuing to spread doesn’t mean it needs to keep spreading. If we follow the guidelines and listen to healthcare officials, we can slow the spread and manage the virus. What is happening now is simply unacceptable. This can’t become normal.

Speaking of unacceptable is the fact that Breonna Taylor’s killers still haven’t been charged for murder. It’s unacceptable that black Americans are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of white Americans. It’s unacceptable that police officers receive so much funding, yet so frequently abuse their power and fail to uphold the oath of protecting and serving their citizens. It’s also unacceptable that, for many, the Black Lives Matter movement was simply a trend which served as a means to virtue signal to their followers that they’re “woke”, but then return to not giving the cause any more thought. Whether one decides to post about these causes on their social media or not doesn’t necessarily reflect the advocacy and activism they partake in, but failing to advance a movement which is striving for equality and justice for black Americans at all is unacceptable. We can’t just pretend that everything’s okay. It isn’t. This cannot become normal.

Despite the circumstances we are in, we don’t have to accept what is happening as normal. We are able to love one another, educate ourselves, and advocate for rationality all while rejecting the status quo which has led us to this troubling moment in American history. The only way forward is upward toward a future of science, compassion, justice, rationality, and equality for all. Criticizing aspects of this country doesn’t mean you hate it, it means you love it and you want to make it better, because what is happening now isn’t working, and it can’t become normal. Thanks for reading.

Album Review: RTJ4 - Run The Jewels

“Critics want to mention that they miss when hip-hop was rappin’ / Motherfucker, if you did, then Killer Mike’d be platinum” - Kendrick Lamar, “Hood Politics”, 2015

Rap music is important and transcendent. Not only does its sound and production appeal to the masses, particularly young people, but it can be used as a vehicle to address and advance issues such as injustice, equality, and prejudice faced by millions, particularly giving a voice to the voiceless. To Pimp A Butterfly is the perfect example of a masterfully crafted rap album which discusses a wide variety of issues, and on it, Kendrick Lamar makes reference to one half of increasingly iconic rap duo Run The Jewels. Recently, Atlanta native Killer Mike has been a voice of reason, articulating the frustration of millions of black Americans after the continuation of police brutality and murders across the country. Dropped at the perfect moment, Run The Jewels continues their streak of releasing timely and relevant, hard-hitting rap music with the release of RTJ4. It’s exactly what we need right now.

The album’s opening track and lead single “yankee and the brave (ep. 4)” sets the tone for what is to come on this record. Its high-tempo and hard-hitting instrumental pairs perfectly with El-P and Killer Mike’s aggressive lyricism, indicating that no holds will be barred on the upcoming tracks. This proves to be true, as the following “ooh la la” and “out of sight” return to a classic Southern hip-hop sound featuring contributions from Greg Nice, DJ Premier, and 2Chainz. These tracks feel like the beginning of a revolution, an ushering in of chaos in response to a broken system which has failed its subjects.

The next two tracks, “holy calamafuck” and “goonies vs. E.T.” are just as impressive sonically, but are a slight decline in substance from the tracks coming before them. Besides criticizing and resisting mainstream media’s role in sometimes spreading disinformation and fear, these tracks are slightly more braggadocious and prideful than they are a commentary on the world around them. The next two songs, however, are one of the biggest one-two punches on a rap album in recent memory.

“walking in the snow” is a heartbreaking listen, especially when considering it was recorded in November 2019, months before the murder of George Floyd. Killer Mike’s entire verse is absolutely masterful and insightful, but the lines “And you so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me / And ‘til my voice goes from a shriek to whisper “I can’t breathe”” are particularly crushing. This wasn’t simply an eery foreshadowing of the violent murder of George Floyd, but instead this line demonstrates the perpetual nature of police brutality in the United States, as the line was written to reference the murder of Eric Garner, who was killed similarly just years prior. These are systemic issues which have plagued black Americans for centuries, and Killer Mike is able to articulate that chillingly. The following track “JU$T”, written in collaboration with Pharrell Williams, features one of the most relevant and vicious choruses in recent memory, as Run The Jewels identifies the unjust irony of black Americans using money with the faces of former slave-owning presidents. Two absolutely incredible tracks.

“never look back” is one of the slower moments on this project, almost a calming down after the intensity of the two previous tracks. The themes of letting go of one’s past in an effort to build a brighter future are interesting, but the track gets lost in the shuffle to me. The following “the ground below” features an electric guitar riff which accompanies a killer bass, setting the stage for El-P and Killer Mike to metaphorically fight for their lives, all in style, as Killer Mike beautifully politicizes this track with the genius lines “Not a holy man, but I’m moral in my perversiveness / So I support the sex workers unionizing their services”. So good.

“pulling the pin” is a relentless takedown of capitalist American society, and sets up the album’s closer “a few words for the firing squad (radiation)” perfectly. The final track emphasizes the importance of giving a voice to the voiceless, as Killer Mike and El-P reflect on their journeys to their place in the rap game. Black empowerment is a consistent theme throughout this project, and that continues through the end of this album with brutal bar after brutal bar which encapsulate these issues perfectly.

So there we have it. Hopefully Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 declaration that Killer Mike should be platinum comes to fruition with the release of RTJ4, one of the best in this series of collaborative albums. In times of unrest and disruption, we turn to level-headed voices to beautifully articulate how we’re all feeling, which at times can be hard to identify. This project came at the perfect time and in the perfect fashion, as we are ushering in a long overdue revolution which will culminate in equality and equal treatment for every citizen in this country. This is my album of the year so far, and I highly suggest you give it a listen. Thanks for reading.

Favorite tracks: “ooh la la”, “out of sight”, “walking in the snow”, “JU$T”, “pulling the pin”, “a few words for the firing squad (radiation)”

SCORE: 9/10