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2 To The 6 - Single by Unchained
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Unchained XL is a UK-born “Afro-roots hip-hop” artist and producer with Nigerian roots. Not too long ago, he released a music video for his “2 to the 6” single.

“Already got labels tryna doctor me. If you can’t beat ‘em then join ‘em that’s their philosophy. You can try to change the tides, however obviously. It never works out how you want it like democracy.” – lyrics

‘2 to the 6’ finds Unchained XL dropping a thoughtful 64-bar verse in the main room of Black Orange Studios.

The likable tune’s cryptic title refers to the mathematical expression 2^6 (2 raised to the 6th power), which equals 64, representing the number of bars.

‘2 to the 6’ contains a relatable narrative, supreme rap vocals, and lush instrumentation scented with an Afrocentric hip-hop fragrance.

Also, the song covers a range of hard-hitting topics such as issues of racism, corruption, and economic injustice.

Unchained XL sneaks in a few references to various icons such as Nigerian filmmaker, Genevieve Nnaji (Lionheart); British Nigerian artist, “Burna Boy”; “Split” main character Kevin Crumb; and famous inventor, Thomas Edison.

The progressive emcee writes songs of protest, social commentary, and everyday experiences through the lens of a ‘third culture’ African migrant.

He draws inspiration from Afrobeat legend and political icon Fela Kuti, as well as artists like M.anifest, Antibalas, and A Tribe Called Quest.

2018 saw him touring the UK with shows in London, Bristol, Sheffield, Leeds, and Cardiff. Also, he performed alongside artists such as Mungos HiFi, Afro Cluster, and Eva Lazarus.
  
KOD by J. Cole
KOD by J. Cole
2018 | Hip-hop, Rap, Rhythm And Blues
J. Cole is a popular hip-hop lyricist out of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Not too long ago, he released his long-anticipated, self-produced, fifth studio album, entitled, “KOD”.

J. Cole – “KOD Trailer”

Cole revealed via Twitter that “KOD” stands for Kids on Drugs, King Overdosed, and Kill Our Demons. The rest of the album he leaves to our interpretation. Well, let’s begin.

INTRO


The album begins with caution. Jazz bellows underneath a female voice reciting uplifting words. Her message suggests listeners should make the right decisions (choose wisely) because the past (sand in an hourglass) can provide shelter for their demons.

Also, a way to a painless existence is provided. Those in pain must choose wisely, or make healthier decisions, to avoid being tormented by their past.

KOD

The title track showcases Cole’s Kids on Drugs braggadocios side. In verse one, he utilizes his carnal mind to reply to media/fans asking him a bunch of ‘how’ questions. But instead of being humble, Cole replies to his critics in an arrogant way.

The second verse disconnects from the first and goes into a random storytelling mode with intersecting ideas that jump from one subject to another.

The outro is noteworthy. It forms a bridge between Intro and KOD songs. Also, it ends on a thought-provoking note.

If love is indeed the strongest drug like Cole stated, then why isn’t it being chased after like the drugs listed above? Why aren’t more people getting high off love? The question then becomes…is love even a drug?

That depends on who you ask. But what we all will agree on, love is an invisible element that contributes to people being addicted to drugs? It’s a fact, a strong love for something breeds addiction, dependency, et cetera.

PHOTOGRAPH

Cole uses a 2018 rhyme pattern to address a woman he follows privately on social media. He’s addicted or loves to stalk the woman online, and it’s starting to mess with his health.

Cole always excels when he tells stories about him and a woman. Women are his go-to subject to rap about and he does a pretty good job on this song.

THE CUT OFF (FEAT. KILL EDWARD)

Cole isn’t too fond of doing features on his albums. But this time, he enlists his alter ego, kiLL edward, to help him say that Heaven is a mental mind state.

edward raps that he’s stuck in his fallen ways and that’s why he keeps falling down. That’s why he drinks alcohol and uses drugs to help him cope. But keep in mind that edward is actually Cole.

Cole raps about disloyal friends that owe him an apology and what he’s gonna do to them when they meet. But all the while, edward is in Cole’s mind telling him that drinking alcohol and using drugs will help numb his pain.

ATM

ATM is an energetically poppin’ single with replay value. It begins with the album’s theme—choose wisely.

Cole praises money like it’s biblical and even states that it solved every problem he had. But after counting up all the money, he concludes that you can’t take it with you when you die.

The Scott Lazer & Cole-directed video shows the King of Drugs chauffeuring a bunch of children riding on a drug float. The storyline is dope, reminiscent of a classic video from hip-hop’s golden era.

Also, Cole literally gives his arm and leg to purchase a vehicle. That transaction signifies what people are doing nowadays to accumulate material wealth. But keep in mind, chasing money will lead to your death or downfall. Message received.

MOTIV8

Motiv8 is a good track that features a sample from Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s “Get Money” single.

Cole encourages listeners to get high and get money, even though he just said that chasing money is detrimental to their health.

Verse 2 features one of Cole’s best lyrics and flow.

KEVIN’S HEART

Cole’s continues his lyrical crusade and touches on his favorite subject.

He raps about being in a committed relationship but admits to being an addict that’s addicted to cheating. He tries to fight the temptation and remain faithful but acknowledges that he’s fake for thinking that way.

BRACKETS

The song begins with a Richard Pryor comedy skit.

Cole speaks about being a millionaire and then he receives a phone call from Uncle Sam.

Verse 2 highlights Cole’s disgust with paying higher taxes now that he’s a millionaire.

ONCE AN ADDICT – INTERLUDE

Cole shines brightly on this song, which is reminiscent of Nas’ “Project Windows” single.

He addresses his mother’s battle with alcoholism. The reason why she drank—because Cole’s step-father had a baby with another woman. So, to cope with the pain, Cole’s mother started abusing alcohol.

With no one to turn to, she used to call to talk to Cole. But he didn’t like talking to her while she was drunk.

At the end of the song, Cole regrets being that way to his mother when she needed him the most.

FRIENDS (FEAT. KILL EDWARDS)

Cole finds solace in his alter ego and cops another bag of weed to smoke. Somehow, he needs it to cope and gets aggravated when he doesn’t smoke.

He takes this time to address his friends who aren’t motivated to succeed. He tells them several things they can blame their lack of motivation on. And ends it by saying that the blame game is also an addiction that people use to not get better.

Also, he raps about depression and drug addiction.

WINDOW PAIN – OUTRO

The song begins with a girl telling Cole about the time her cousin got shot. Cole is sad, listening to the girl with tears in his eyes.

Then Cole praises the Most High. He speaks about things he wanna do like killing the man that made his mother cry and seeing his granny on the other side.
The girl ends the song with a powerful message.

1985 – INTRO TO “THE FALL OFF”

Cole ends his KOD album in battle rap mode. He addresses Lil Pump for dissing him on Pump’s “F*ck J Cole” song.

Cole’s flow is melodic and his lyrics cut deep. He foretells Pump’s future and predicts the rapper will be on Love & Hip-Hop in five years. Also, Cole wished him good luck in his career.

CONCLUSION

J. Cole gets a big thumbs up for producing a solid album with no features. Also, his evergreen message of choosing wisely has to be applauded, especially nowadays when living recklessly is being rewarded.

Listeners have different options to cope with their pain. Using drugs and drinking alcohol are just two ways of doing so. But if you choose wisely, and pick a healthier way to ease your pain, your life will change for the better.

https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/j-cole-kod/
  
Team America: World Police (2004)
Team America: World Police (2004)
2004 | Comedy, Drama
AMERICA! F**K YEAH!
The theme’s lyrics sum up this movie as well as any could have. Made in the midst of the War On Terror in 2004, a satire was needed and who better to provide one than the satirical genius’ Trey Parker and Matt Stone, best known for South Park. On the surface, this looks like a straight forward bawdy adult puppet parody, taking the mickey out of Bruckheimer’s blockbusters, Thunderbirds and the reputation being acquired by the U.S. over the past 30 years but reaching boiling point over the last decade, certainly in a post 9/11 world.But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

This is looking into every major aspect of the above, such as chauvinism, the political interference and undue, and sometimes dangerous influence of celebrities, summed up here with the Film Actor’s Guild (or F.A.G.) with a host of major film stars ripped off, notably upsetting Sean Penn.

The infamous puppet sex scene, which is nothing more than a poke, pardon the pun, at the puppetry employed in the film.But there’s so much more such as the excellent selection of bespoke songs, such as “Only A Woman” for the sex scene, “End Of An Act” as our hero leaves the group to wallow in self-pity to the song with features verse after verse nothing more than slagging off Michael Bay’s, Pearl Harbor and Ben Afleck! But for a film with criticises these blockbusters, it understands them too well to be truly nasty about them.

The entire film IS a well made Bruckheimer film, even recruiting one of his regular composers, Harry Gregson-Williams, to be in at the last-minute, to compose a great score, but why do this if they hated it so much? They don’t; they love these films and the affection for the genre is clear, making their digs enjoyable and not hurtful… There’s even a contradiction with the political tract as one hand this would seem to be an anti-American tome where Team America blow up every city and landmark imaginable in order to protect the world from the destruction of the Terrorists… Get it?

On the other, the song entitled “Freedom Isn’t Free” would seem to suggest that we should all do our part, even though this number ends with the line, “Freedom cost a buck o’five…” But then after all the political and social satire, and the spoofing of Hollywood’s gung-ho films, it’s just a fun film.When the terrorist’s come from Derka Derkastan, the tone is clear. This is like a pair of boys playing “War On Terror” with a collection of action figures.

They’re clearly laughing hysterically as they write, produce and direct this film like two teenagers, as they create the highly insensitive language of the terrorists, use elements from films such as Star Wars and James Bond, certainly as for Kim Jong-il, is nobody safe, well not after offending the North Korean leader, but in all fairness, this is really just Eric Cartman from South Park.But in the end, this is the perfect satire, with a blend of real world political and social commentary, great spoofing but when all’s said and done, this has a great sense if humour, though at times, somewhat bawdy. This is brilliant and one of, if not the best comedy of the past decade, and one of the greatest satires of all time. And, no, I don’t believe that I’m over stating that…
  
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AT (1676 KP) Feb 20, 2019

Lol This movie is hilarious on so many levels. You just have to be able to stomach the particular type of humor. I loved it!

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Louise (64 KP) rated One in Books

Jul 2, 2018  
One
One
Sarah Crossan | 2016 | Children
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Grace and Tippi are conjoined twins, after being homeschooled for 16 years they are forced to attend Hornbeacon High.

The city can longer fund the girls homeschooling, nor can the family afford it, together they must venture the real world of stares, nasty comments, cruelty and obstacles they have to overcome.

Will they make friends? love! could it even be a possibility?

The girls realise they have to make a heart wrenching decision not only for the family but for themselves.

Easy money

   <I> If I owned a pistol i could rob a bank.

    I could stick a gun in a teller's face

    and demand a stack of cash

    then motor off in a stolen Maserati.

    I could sell drugs to kids on the street corners

    or pimp out girls to the highest bidder.

    I could break and law I wanted.

    If they imprisoned me,

    they'd have to lock up Tippi too,

    which is false arrest,

    Illegal,

    and would never stand up in a

    court of law.

    If I didn't have this damn conscience,

    we'd be rich.</I>

I loved this verse (above) It made me laugh at the thought, she has a point, how would that work?

 My thoughts,

I loved this book, i have never read anything like this before and it was thought-provoking. I had never thought of things such as when one of them is ill, the other stays in bed until recuperation, or what if one of them falls in love? If one drinks alcohol, will the other get drunk? There were times during this book where i would stop reading and do a thinking pose like J.D from Scrubs and ponder.

This book has made me want to learn more about conjoined twins and the effects on their lives, if anyone know any other books like this let me know, even if its non fiction.

Characters:

The parents - I felt no connection to the parents whatsoever, it felt like they had given up, What with the father being made redundant, depressed, and an alcoholic. The mum was overworked in a bank. However saying that it does show you the effects and costs,strain that it can have on families.

Yasmeen - has her own problems and with that she has become hardened to bullies, the twins need a friend like this

Grace was they shyer of the two whereas Tippi was most outspoken and bitchy.

Jon - I felt no connection with him at all, I just felt he was in the story as Sarah Crossan wanted to touch on the subject of love.

Dragon I felt sorry for as she was having to fend for herself in the sense that her parents couldn't afford ballet lessons so she had to find alternative ways to carry on with her dance,

This is the first book that I have ever read in verse and it was so different, easy to read and quick. the book is 430 pages and read this in less than a day.

Its told in Grace's POV, however it would have been nice to hear from Tippi too.

Sarah Crossan touches very slightly on other subjects but doesn't delve deep into them.

She also shows you that these 2 girls have such a bond that if the possibility of separation was an option they would refuse, despite the health scares, remarks and challenges they will come across.

Overall I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars
  
Jump Force
Jump Force
2018 | Action, Fighting
Great to see all (almost) your favorite characters in one fighting game, all characters are unlocked pretty much right after the tutorial, controls are really easy to figure out and game is fun to pla (0 more)
Poor character design, plot was too dull for story mode, and DLC for more characters in a fighting game always rubs me the wrong way (0 more)
Nothing To Jump Up And Down About After All - 6/10
Jump Force is a 2019 fighting game developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It features a variety of characters from Shueisha's Shõnen Jump and was released on February 15th.


After our world crashes into the Shõnen Jump multi-verse, it's invaded by an army of mind-controlled villains, called "Venoms". Under the leadership of Director Glover heroes are recruited to fight back by joining the "Jump Force".


 This game is pretty fun to play. That being said, it is pretty horrible in it's own way too. To me the 40 person roster wasn't as bad as the story mode being such a bland experience. Although a couple more characters couldn't of hurt. The create a character mode was "ok" at best even though I had fun with it. But the whole upgrade system never really interested me. Biggest disappointment was learning that all characters are unlocked pretty much by just going through the tutorials and starting story mode. Still got to give this game a 6/10. Below is a link to a video I edited and posted on YouTube showcasing some of the gameplay if you want to see for yourself how the game plays.

  
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Andy Gill recommended Music from Big Pink by The Band in Music (curated)

 
Music from Big Pink by The Band
Music from Big Pink by The Band
1968 | Rock
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I guess I probably knew Dylan before I knew about The Band and kind of found The Band through Dylan. But I like the way that all of them sing. The three of them in particular, they've got really great, really characterful voices. And they do that thing of switching voices so you get the first verse with Rick Danko and then the bridge will be Robbie Robertson and that changes the perspective and stuff. And that's something that when Gang Of Four started, by the time we got to Entertainment!, one of the things we wanted was different characters. I kind of saw songs sometimes as being a little play, a little drama, so you have different characters. You have the main protagonist and maybe the other voice would be making comments about that character or somebody else would be a different character. To a certain extent, some of that came from The Band, I think. They're a weird bunch, they came from Canada, ended up in America and they kind of drew parallels between themselves and North American history and the way a lot of Canadians ended up in New Orleans and they called them Acadian driftwood. And they kind of sing about aspects of the Civil War and stuff like that. And also they've got a sense of history. It's very much not standard rock & roll subject matter, you know. It's not cars, girls, guitars, and I love that. And they're emotionally touching. They didn't have easy lives, things didn't pan out brilliantly. I'm touched by the way that you can hear their struggles through life in their music and what they're saying."

Source
  
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Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Solo in Books

May 10, 2018  
S
Solo
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Blade Morrison has reached a pivotal point in his life. He's graduating from high school, about to turn eighteen and has his whole life in front of him But with a famous father who is always in the media and a girlfriend whose parents can't stand you, it's hard to find your place. When Blade discovers something about his past, it will change his future forever. Set on two continents, inspired by rock and roll, and written in poetic verse Solo is one of the best books I have read this year.

Thank you to Kwame Alexander, Mary Rand Hess, and Blink YA for the opportunity to read and review this book and be a part of the Solo Launch Team.

This is the first book I have read by Kwame Alexander or Mary Rand Hess and I have already picked up another at the library. This book was built on a love of music. Every character has a connection to music in some way shape or form.

Blade is yourtypical teenage boy, but for the fact that he has a famous father, Rutherford Morrison who is a rock and roll star who has fallen from grace. Often in the media because of an incident involving drugs or alcohol, Blade is tired of being there to pick up pieces that eventually fall apart again. After the loss of his mother Sunny, the family was never the same. When Blade discovers something about his past and given a letter his mother wrote to him for his 18th birthday, he sets out on a quest to find out where he really belongs.

Full of love, loss, addiction and music, Solo, although written for the YA crowd is a book people of all ages can enjoy.


  
Filled with colorful characters and excellent life lessons VeggieTales Every Day with God: 365 Daily Devos is a great addition to our daily routine. Since I have 2 boys (aged 2 and 4), I got the devotional book for boys...Shocker, I know. All the characters on the pages are the guys from VeggieTales, Bob, Larry, Junior, Larry Boy, Pa Grape, Mr. Lunt etc. Each page is labeled as Day 1, 2, 3...Instead of the dates. The devotion for the day is only one page, which is perfect for my active boys who don't like to sit still for very long. The devo starts with a title such as "It's Good to Have Good Friends" and "Jesus Loves You!" a coinciding scripture is next, the version varies depending on the verse. There are about 16 different versions of the bible used in this devotional. There is a 2-3 paragraph devo, followed by a "Thought of the Day" and "Pray Today" prayer. There are also several verses for memorization in the back of the book. The language is easy to understand and the lessons are great. From learning about spiritual gifts, God's love being real, and God's provision...to honesty, giving God your worries, being willing to forgive. There is something new every day for your kids to learn. The boys love this book and I even see my 4 year old "reading" it on his own. My 2 year old is a little young for it, but I believe this book is great for establishing the habit of daily devotions for both of the boys.
I received a free copy of VeggieTales Every Day with God: 365 Daily Devos for Boys through FlyBy Promotions in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
  
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Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated Spider-Men in Books

Nov 30, 2020  
Spider-Men
Spider-Men
Brian Michael Bendis | 2012 | Comics & Graphic Novels
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
So, here's the thing.. Brian Michael Bendis . When his writing is good, like on ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN or his own creator-owned projects like JINX and POWERS, the man is quite good. When he is regrettable, like he was on his run on ALL-NEW X-MEN and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (Peter Quill + Kitty Pryde? Really?!? Um, no..), his writing stank like yesterday's diapers! Fortunately, that was not the case with this little gem!

Let me frank here: THIS WAS A FUN READ! It was great to see Miles Morales and Earth-616's Peter Parker, <b>our/my</b> Double-P, working together. Still riding on the good++ vibe generated by INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (seriously, if you have not seen it yet, you totally need to see it), this was just what I wanted.

And that art? Wowwowwoweeewow! I sure do love me some Sara Pichelli! I never really tire of seeing her work! And the perfect compliment to her art? The always-perfect coloring by the late Justin Ponsor! Man, I am gonna miss him! Rest in peace, Justin! #cancersucks

If there was anything I could find wrong with the story as a whole was Mysterio. Look, I am a 50-year-old comic fan who got all sorts of happy when I saw the clip of SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME and Mysterio was in it -- with his fishbowl head! But, here in this story, while cool to see him used, I felt he was not really memorable. His performance in the story didn't really feel like Mysterio, you know? Other than that, the book was all aces for me!

If you are looking for a Spider-Fix, and you want to read some of the good Bendis, look no further than this one! Enjoy!
  
More Than We Can Tell (Letters to the Lost # 2)
More Than We Can Tell (Letters to the Lost # 2)
Brigid Kemmerer | 2018 | Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
One of the things I don’t pay attention to when I read a book is if it is in a series. Most of the time I’ll catch it, but in this case, I didn’t know it was part of the LETTERS TO THE LOST verse. I didn’t catch it till the book REFERENCED a scene from that book. I adored LETTERS TO THE LOST. This book DID reference, but it is a stand alone story, so if you want to read it, you DO NOT have to read LETTERS TO THE LOST – although I HIGHLY recommend it.

Each chapter is told in separate POV’s

Rev Fletcher – He lives with his foster parents and is closed off due to physical torment from his highly religious nut father.

Emma Blue – Known as Azure M in her online game – She created this game and has made it public for other users to play, one user in particular is harassing her. Her parents are a different story. Her mother is a bit controlling while her father is more of a friend who designs video games.

This book, for starters, totally DID NOT use one of my least favorite tropes and have non existent parents in a world where it’s teenagers telling this story. Kudos for giving parents roles of being parents – with the exception of Emma’s father. He doesn’t really play the role of father, and it kind of makes it known in the story, which is fine with me.

Emma keeps this new game she created to herself mostly because her mother has tried to get her away from games, going as far as turning off the internet. See, if I were trying to do that, I would have taken the router/modem with me as well, not just unplugged it. That’s just me. She finds comfort in not only an online friend she made called, ETHAN, but also when she meets REV outside a church.

Rev has his own baggage. His father gave up his parental rights, and now, he’s emailing Rev and basically stirring up old resentment, but also feelings of wanting to please his father. I feel bad for Rev and I can’t even get frustrated with him when he completely shuts down even though his best friend tries to get him to talk and help him.

Emma was being stubborn, although most times I can understand with her mother, but when things escalate between her and ETHAN (and I mean they ESCALATED!) I wanted to just shake her for being so…stupid.

It is NEVER OKAY to not at least be supportive of your friend’s interest, even if you don’t find it all that interesting – just saying.

Despite a few annoyances, some from Emma and her mother, but also Rev on some occasions, I actually enjoyed this book. I liked how this story unraveled and how that while it’s told from another verse, it’s still a book by itself. I’m left with more questions than answers. I like how the author didn’t use one of my least favorite tropes even though she could have. I wind up really liking Emma’s mother and she has put up with A LOT – so it was nice seeing how Emma actually TRIES to let her mother into her life, even if there are still baby steps to be made.

Rev realizes that his father, despite being this man who tortured, he is just a man.

It was an enjoyable read with a couple of twists that maybe I should have seen coming, but I didn’t. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, however. You really get a sense of where Rev lives and his adoptive parents.

I won’t give away anymore than LETTERS TO THE LOST is worth the read. If anything, just so you can get all excited like I did when it’s referenced in this book.