Beyonce´ Knowles-Carter had herself quite a week with her latest album, Lemonade, debuting at No. 1 on the charts while her nationwide “Formation” Tour got underway as well. PSBPopCulture.com Team Member, Taylor Johnson, joined me for the Atlanta stop. Held inside the Georgia Dome, 50,000 fans were on hand for the two-hour long performance. Here’s a look back at the night:
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Brandon Clay serves as the publisher of PSBPopCulture.com. A self-professed entertainment, music and sports junkie, Clay has been on his game since picking up his first Nintendo and Sony Walkman in the early 90’s. Adding in a SLAM (Basketball) Magazine subscription in the late-90’s had him setup up for lifelong success. Clay is also a founding member of the “Luxury Boys Club” designed to stay on top of whatever is next in the world of PopCulture. You can follow him on Twitter @psbpopculture.
Lupe Fiasco is one of the premier Hip-Hop artists in the last decade with multiple songs making the Billboard charts. I had the chance to take in Fiasco in concert. Here’s a glimpse of what he brought to the table on Monday night:
Brandon Clay serves as the publisher of PSBPopCulture.com. A self-professed entertainment, music and sports junkie, Clay has been on his game since picking up his first Nintendo and Sony Walkman in the early 90’s. Adding in a SLAM (Basketball) Magazine subscription in the late-90’s had him setup up for lifelong success. Clay is also a founding member of the “Luxury Boys Club” designed to stay on top of whatever is next in the world of PopCulture. You can follow him on Twitter @psbpopculture.
The album’s film, more explicitly than the album itself, digs deeper to the roots this idea of emotional inheritance in black identity, especially for black women. The songs themselves for the most part foreshadow a narrative about a personal struggle mastered through forgiveness, willpower, and relationship peaks and valleys that a wife and husband go through. The piece references Malcolm X quotes, detailing the disrespect paid to black women, mothers show photos of sons killed by police, and Beyoncé vows that “the curse can and will be broken.”
The imagery and message on display is profound. Beyonce’ is saying progress will come from black women drawing strength from one another and more black men being made to feel themselves capable of living the kinds of lives that society has told them they can’t live. Factual to Beyonce’s own life or not, throughout Lemonade the art is relatable, raw and epic. The message is loud and clear that Beyonce’, just like every other woman, has gone through an emotional roller coaster in her relationship. She too deals with hurt/brokenness at times, she too focuses on self improvement & empowerment through spiritually to get to a place of restoration, healing and happiness. She too has made lemonade from lemons. Bravo Mrs. Knowles Carter. Bravo indeed.
Donte’ Grant is a contributor to PSBPopCulture.com and and editor of chief of TheOrganizedGrind.com. Grant, a 10-year music industry veteran, is a former A&R at Atlantic Records and Jeezy’s CTE label. Follow him on IG @MuchoDineros and Twitter @dinerojones.
Last week, we witnessed Kobe Bryant leave the game of basketball in unprecedented fashion. Scoring 60 points in front of the cultural icons such as Jay-Z and Jack Nicholson while millions sat at home to see one last Kobe performance. It was THE game we wanted to see. Although he started slow, he would find his rhythm while hosting up 50 shots en route to 60 points and the win.
Inevitably, there were Kobe detractors and one of the most notable was Jason Whitlock who guest-hosted on the Colin Cowherd show last Friday. In his comments (below), he called Kobe a fraud and a knock-off of Michael Jordan. This led to an interesting conversation with our PSB Pop Culture team about the idea originality in sport, music and art. Jonathan Hemingway and Jordan Davis dive deeper into this issue in this article.
What are your thoughts about Jason Whitlock’s comments about Kobe?
JORDAN: I’m not thrilled about his comment, however I am not surprised. The reason the statement is invalid is because it is based on the ideas that Kobe copied Michael Jordan’s game. Of course he did!!! This is basketball and the best part about basketball is when players find other players that they look up to and they study their game. You want to be able to find pieces of their game you can incorporate into your own and improve your performance. And Kobe didn’t just do this with MJ, he took pieces of all the historic basketball greats and tried to embed that into his arsenal of his game.
HEMINGWAY: Personally, I am not a Kobe fan. So I did not take these comments to be as blasphemous as many others within our circle at Peach State Basketball. I think there is some validity behind his points about Kobe being selfish and narcissist. His farewell tour was a near farce, but it was entertainment and it was what the fans wanted to see. However, his points about Kobe being a fraud I think are way off base. His comment, “Imitation is often a sign of fraud” is completely inaccurate. Kobe won five championships, a league MVP, multi-year All-Star, etc. etc. etc. There is nothing fraudulent about that. Kobe won! Whitlock can stop with that rhetoric.
JORDAN: Imitation is great for sports in two different ways. First, to truly be great at your sport you have to find a few people that are great at your sport and see what it is that gets them their success. That can be anything you want it to be. Players look at the greats work ethic, their pregame ritual and literally everything else that they do. Second, that is the only way sports will revolutionize into better and better competition. Players watching legends from the past and trying to do what they did, but BETTER.
Imitation is a transition method of historic events and greatness from one generation to the next. I was born in ‘95, so I didn’t get to watch Jordan. I did witness was Kobe, who because of this, became MY generation’s version of MJ. My generation didn’t get to experience Michael Jackson, but they did they get Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, and other artists that pulled pieces of Michael Jackson’s greatness.
HEMINGWAY: After coaching basketball for 15 years, let me share a not well-kept secret: Everybody tries to copy the winners. You see it with teams that win. In the NFL, organizations try to copy the Patriots. Now everyone is trying to copy Golden State in the NBA. Small Ball and stretch 4 and 5 players are trending. If there is one place in the world where originality has little to no value, it is in the arena of sports. In terms of individuals, you always teach youth players to mimic the successful players. You tell players to watch the footwork of a Tim Duncan or the shooting release of Klay Thompson. Everything is copied in sports, because you know that works. In terms of Kobe copying the posture, the style and the moves of MJ – he modeled himself after the best and he came very close to mastering those skills and he won. Let him live.
Is Imitation good for Music and Art?
JORDAN: I read a book by Mark Fisher, called Capitalist Realism recently. This book briefly touched upon this idea of imitation. He describes how “monetary value is the death of culture”, and so on and so on. But then Fisher talks about Kurt Cobain and his ideas on the culture of music. He referred to Cobain’s quote, “Everything is a cliche”. Kurt Cobain understood that his music would make him famous. Cobain knew that regardless of his fame, everything that could be done has been done. It is that inherent idea that everything that has taken place will continue to repeat on down the road. Because of this there is no true originality in music/art. Everything has already been tried, everything has already been done, all we can do is revamp it or contort it into something that looks new. Every artist has an artist or two, or several that they embed into their own art form. Even if it’s unknowingly.
HEMINGWAY: Much like in sports, musicians and artists take ideas or samples from their predecessors and make it their own. The most sampled song of all time is an 80’s track called La Di Da Di by Slick Rick & Doug E. Fresh. Ludacris and Mary J. Blige sampled it in Runaway Love when they scratched “like this” together (watch the video below). Color Me Badd sampled the phrase ‘to the tic toc you don’t stop” in their hit single “I Wanna Sex You Up.” Even Miley Cyrus put her own twist on the phrase La Di Da Di in her song 2013 song We Can’t Stop. She switches it up by singing “La da di da di, we like to party.” In many ways you can trace much of hip-hop back to this one song. Everything that we see in pop-culture is truly built upon something that came before. A key difference should be noted here. There is a difference between copying and imitation. Taking someone else’s work and putting your own name does stink of plagiarism. I am embarrassed to say that I have bought local rappers mix-tapes in parking lots. Only to find it is just a few teenagers rapping Young Jeezy and T.I. tracks. That is not imitation…it is a simple rip-off. However, when an artist takes a previous piece of work and takes it in another direction we can see the true value of creative imitation.
Ludacris – Runaway Love ft. Mary J. Blige
So what does it mean to be Original?
JORDAN: The true definition of originality is to be independent and creative. However there is no true originality in the world. Mark Twain once said, “All ideas are second-hand, consciously and unconsciously drawn from a million outside sources…”. After two semester of philosophy I just don’t believe there is such thing of originality.
HEMINGWAY: In my view, everything is original and nothing is original all at once. No one can walk in the same time and space as a previous athlete, writer or musician. The world changes by the day and the ways in which we encounter the culture change as well. We are unique and original by simply being who we are at this moment. Yet the thoughts, emotions, ideas that we have are all borrowed from those before us and even those around us. It is impossible to live life in a vacuum or a bubble. What is more important is using what we know and experience to mold ourselves into the best version of ourselves. That is true originality.
Is there a point where copy cats lose credibility? Or does it depend on their status?
JORDAN: There’s times when “copy cats” are badgered, the way Whitlock tried Kobe, or the way rap heads call Drake a “Culture Vulture.” Truth is, the people that attack their imitators are the ones that don’t understand it’s the way of life. When Young Thug first came on the scene everyone was saying, “Who is this Lil Wayne wannabe?”. Heck he even named his album “Barter”, after Lil Wayne’s “The Carter” album series. Now Young Thug is well known and commonly played throughout the world.
So at first, yeah the copy cats are made fun of and slandered. However once it starts to work and society looks passed the initial imitation, they develop a fan base and they are looked at as originators.
HEMINGWAY: I believe that the difference between a copy-cat and a true artist is being unique to the moment. Kobe may have borrowed MJ’s moves, but he brought LA back to championship status. Jay-Z has been accused of stealing Biggie’s rhymes, but he certainly made the 21st century his own. In the end, it does not matter who did it first what matters most is who did it the best. So in this way of thinking, “Everything’s a Remix.”
Jordan Davis is a contributor to PSBPopCulture.com with a unique blend of #PSBPopCulture reviews. Davis has been rocking the latest trends since arriving here in 1995. He is currently a student at Kennesaw State, a Social Media Intern with PeachStateBasketball.com and is well on his way to being the youngest in charge sooner than later.
Jonathan Hemingway is a Chicago sports fan who reps the Bears, Bulls and Cubs. He’s also a diehard NFL Sunday Ticket subscriber. Like Clay, Hemingway’s music taste are wide-ranged and depend on the day. He is also a major part of PeachStateBasketball.com wearing multiple hats with the title of Director of Domestic Scouting and owning CoachHemi.com.
With Drake’s “Views” album release slated for Friday, he announced a summer tour with Future earlier in the month. The initial pre-sale tickets sold so quickly, the duo immediately posted additional dates. The last time these two paired up on the road was for Drake’s “Would You Like A Tour” in 2013. Please believe I’ll be in attendance when the tour hits Atlanta.
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Brandon Clay serves as the publisher of PSBPopCulture.com. A self-professed entertainment, music and sports junkie, Clay has been on his game since picking up his first Nintendo and Sony Walkman in the early 90’s. Adding in a SLAM (Basketball) Magazine subscription in the late-90’s had him setup up for lifelong success. Clay is also a founding member of the “Luxury Boys Club” designed to stay on top of whatever is next in the world of PopCulture. You can follow him on Twitter @psbpopculture.
Beyonce´ did it with this one even creating an hour long visual film to coincide with the album. Make sure to watch it. From start to finish, the music is diverse but is easy to follow. Here’s a look at some of my favorite songs and lyrics off the album.
The buzz over the weekend was crazy and sparked conversations with some of my favorite people: Jordan Davis, Donte Grant, Jacie Hoyt, Taylor Johnson, Maci Morris and Cameron Sealey amongst others.
Sidenote: There are some (not so) subtle references to alleged infidelity rumors floating around her husband Jay-Z and Rachel Roy. Queen Bey wastes no time getting into the topic…
1) Pray You Catch Me
“You can taste the dishonesty. It’s all over your breath as you pass it off so cavalier…pray I catch you whispering, pray you catch me listening.”
2) Hold Up
“Let’s imagine for a moment that you never made a name for yourself or mastered wealth had you labeled as a king. Never made it out the cage, still out there moving in them streets. Never had the baddest woman in the game between your sheets.”
4) Sorry
“I ain’t thinkin bout you. Middle fingers up. Put them hands high. Put it in his face. Tell that boy bye.”
7) Love Drought
“Nine times out of ten I’m in my feelings and ten times out of nine I’m only human tell me what did I do wrong.”
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8) Sandcastles
“Although I promised and I could have stayed (baby). Every promise don’t work out that way.”
11) All Night
Note: Don’t let the old school OutKast “SpottieOttieDopaliscious” sample slide by you. That’s all.
12) Formation
“Cause I slay (times a million).”
Brandon Clay serves as the publisher of PSBPopCulture.com. A self-professed entertainment, music and sports junkie, Clay has been on his game since picking up his first Nintendo and Sony Walkman in the early 90’s. Adding in a SLAM (Basketball) Magazine subscription in the late-90’s had him setup up for lifelong success. Clay is also a founding member of the “Luxury Boys Club” designed to stay on top of whatever is next in the world of PopCulture. You can follow him on Twitter @psbpopculture.
We talked last week about Los Angeles Laker guard Kobe Bryant bidding farewell to the NBA after 20 seasons. Nike even created a special week-long advertising campaign with activation from athletes across multiple sport platforms to document Bryant’s legacy. What a farewell game it turned out to be as the 18 time NBA All-Star torched the Utah Jazz for 60 points in a home win at the Staples Center. David Beckham, Jay-Z, Kanye West and the legendary Jack Nicholson were amongst the celebrities court side for Kobe’s final game. Hip-Hop artist Fabolous even documented Bryant’s night with a freestyle titled “Black Mamba” that he released the following day.
Brandon Clay serves as the publisher of PSBPopCulture.com. A self-professed entertainment, music and sports junkie, Clay has been on his game since picking up his first Nintendo and Sony Walkman in the early 90’s. Adding in a SLAM (Basketball) Magazine subscription in the late-90’s had him setup up for lifelong success. Clay is also a founding member of the “Luxury Boys Club” designed to stay on top of whatever is next in the world of PopCulture. You can follow him on Twitter @psbpopculture.
I’ve talked to multiple PSBPopCulture.com family members who have or will made their way to one of the tour stops as well: Lindsey Corsaro, Rob Hicks, Peyton Little, Jessi Nelson and Morgan Rich.
Taylor Johnson joined me to take in the first of back-to-back Bieber concerts at Atlanta’s Phillips Arena. Here’s a look at the highlights of the show including Ludacris joining Bieber on stage.
Brandon Clay serves as the publisher of PSBPopCulture.com. A self-professed entertainment, music and sports junkie, Clay has been on his game since picking up his first Nintendo and Sony Walkman in the early 90’s. Adding in a SLAM (Basketball) Magazine subscription in the late-90’s had him setup up for lifelong success. Clay is also a founding member of the “Luxury Boys Club” designed to stay on top of whatever is next in the world of PopCulture. You can follow him on Twitter @psbpopculture.
Los Angeles Laker guard Kobe Bryant is one of the best to ever lace them up and a surefire first ballot Hall of Fame inductee. Tonight, he bids farewell to the NBA after 20 seasons. Nike even created a special week-long advertising campaign with activation from athletes across multiple sport platforms to document Bryant’s legacy.
Brandon Clay serves as the publisher of PSBPopCulture.com. A self-professed entertainment, music and sports junkie, Clay has been on his game since picking up his first Nintendo and Sony Walkman in the early 90’s. Adding in a SLAM (Basketball) Magazine subscription in the late-90’s had him setup up for lifelong success. Clay is also a founding member of the “Luxury Boys Club” designed to stay on top of whatever is next in the world of PopCulture. You can follow him on Twitter @psbpopculture.
Being home from college is always the ideal time to take a break from schoolwork and as my co-worker Silvano Brewster says, “chop it up” with old friends. This spring break I decided to do just that and hit my people Evan Samuels and Terah Moore. Evan just touched down from shooting in New York and Terah got off early at Epitome (Dope shoe store in the city), so it was only right.
Evan and I rode into Atlanta around 7:30 where we linked up with Terah at this lounge called Instanblue. Quality Mediterranean food, great ambience, and even better conversation as we brought each other up to speed on our lives. In typical fashion, Evan ordered the 12 oz Atlantic Salmon with basmati rice, Terah got Hummus and pita bread, & I stuck with a flatbread magherita pizza. After about two hours of laughing and sharing our different pictures with each story, we decided to peel out.
We rode around the city trying to avoid that Atlanta Hawks traffic, scooped some snacks, & eventually arrived to Mattress Factory Lofts. The second session of our long conversations took place on the rooftop, overlooking the city. The night begins to wind down and we know it’s time to head out. 12:15 am and the city skyline is in my rearview mirror as we call it a night.
Songs included (in order of appearance):
– Tim Duncan x Tory Lanez
– Pop Style x Drake ft Kanye
– Come See Me x PND ft Drake
– East Liberty x PND
Jordan Davis is a contributor to PSBPopCulture.com with a unique blend of #PSBPopCulture reviews. Davis has been rocking the latest trends since arriving here in 1995. He is currently a student at Kennesaw State, a Social Media Intern with PeachStateBasketball.com and is well on his way to being the youngest in charge sooner than later.
Brandon Clay serves as the publisher of PSBPopCulture.com. A self-professed entertainment, music and sports junkie, Clay has been on his game since picking up his first Nintendo and Sony Walkman in the early 90’s. Adding in a SLAM (Basketball) Magazine subscription in the late-90’s had him setup up for lifelong success. Clay is also a founding member of the “Luxury Boys Club” designed to stay on top of whatever is next in the world of PopCulture. You can follow him on Twitter @psbpopculture.
