DudeFresh's 2016 End of the Year Grief Counseling

      Welcome to In the Mix’s 2016 Grief Counseling with DudeFresh! We’re so happy that you could make it out here today. Last year’s year in review post was an extravaganza. This year’s is grief counseling. We say that because most would agree that this was a tough year for everyone. But honestly, people say that about every year. Every year sucks for everyone. During late December, people look back on the year and think about how they’ve been backstabbed, mistreated, put through the wringer, etc. As if for 365 days life has been relentlessly roundhouse kicking them in the gut and they haven’t had the sense to dodge it or at least tighten their abdominals. Everyone goes into the new year saying that they are going to put themselves first when really, they weren’t that selfless in the first place. I think my New Year’s resolution this year might be to count up how many “New Year, New Me” captions I see on Instagram or Facebook. People make it seem that once the clock strikes 12, and 2017 rings in the new year, all their problems will go away. I’m not saying it isn’t possible for someone to have a bad year, it’s just not likely that 99% of the country went through hell and back and need to have a pity party about it. We aren’t trying to be insensitive, we’re just realistic.

To kick things off, here’s a poem that accurately encapsulates everything that happened this year.

Harambe’s Haiku

Dead gorilla tweets,

A nation obsessed with memes,

Juju on that beat



      This year saw a lot of change happen to the two of us. The most visible is we both put our playboy tophats on the rack and entered loving relationships with our respective girlfriends. I got accepted into NYU but ultimately decided not to go. Eddie went to Chicago and met up with Dwyane Wade to discuss their upcoming line of Stance socks. And we released “Buckets” which went double platinum and has three Grammy nominations, including best rap video. Fingers crossed for February 12, 2017. We also celebrated the anniversary of Thirst Responsibly, our pride and joy. The quest to get it published is still underway. so stay tuned for that.

But enough about us, let’s go on with the counseling!

Things That Need to be Left in 2016

      Twitter f*ckery-- Starting with “don’t @ me.” This is a phrase that immediately follows after an incredibly stupid, offensive or controversial statement. We don’t know if this started in 2016, but it can stay there. You know that phrase "if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it all?" Well, for 2017 the new saying is “if you don’t want people to argue with you, keep it to yourself.”

     Let’s be real here, it’s the internet. It’s where beefs often get started and beefs get ended. If you really can’t handle a debate, then don’t put yourself in that situation. I get it, sometimes things get a little bit too intense than what you wanted, but this “don’t @ me” business is about the softest way to go about life. You don’t walk into a motorcycle bar, say “Bikes are overrated and stupid, don’t @ me” and not expect to be confronted. You’re putting yourself in that situation.

     Meme Culture-- Hey, Meme Team, can you chill? Everyone loves a good laugh, but nothing’s worse than a joke being overdone. The 3-1 lead jokes, Harambe jokes, J. Cole going double platinum with no features jokes, they’ve become stale. And if it’s not that it’s someone using still images from cartoon shows and giving them ratchet captions or rap song lyrics. Case in point, the Arthur memes. And if it isn’t THAT it’s some new phenomenon that gets it’s own Twitter account. Case in point, the penguin wife from Nat Geo.

     The internet is undefeated, yeah yeah, we get it. My question is how long are we going to continue laughing at similar variations of the same spectacle? What’s worse is that it’s permeating into rap music. It seems like rap songs gain more popularity, not from exposure, but from memification and Twitter trends. The latest case of this is Migo’s “Bad and Boujee.” After the rain drop lyric became a trending joke, the sales, streams, etc. for the song skyrocketed. Just look at “Black Beatles.” You cannot deny that the mannequin challenge had a tremendous influence on the song becoming a #1 hit. I have no problem with hip hop transcending demographics and markets, but when it’s done disingenuously it makes the culture look like a cheap gimmick.

      Dude here, as much as you want it to stay in 2016, Deion, that baby is coming along for the ride in 2017 and I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon. I agree with you in that some of the memes need to stop. Just today I saw a Facebook comment stating that the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead jokes need to stay in 2016. They honestly do, especially considering how many teams blew a 3-1 lead in 2016. Some memes; however, aren’t bad and I enjoy them. I’d be a damn liar if I said the Kermit to Kermit memes, or whatever they’re called, hadn’t made me laugh a good amount of times. Meme culture is here to stay, but it could desperately use a spring cleaning.

      Hover Boards--I’m gonna keep this quick, hover boards can and need to stay in 2016. I don’t need people rolling through my campus on their hoverboards anymore because they can’t stand the struggle of walking place to place. Hoverboards reached the peak of laziness in 2016. Let that stay in the past.

      Listicals-- Nothing says fast food journalism more than a title like “11 things you should do on the first date” or “12 reasons why your dog licks himself.” As a writer, listicals make me cringe. Mainly because of the way they are written. There are plenty of well written listicals out there. But the majority of listicals are these easy to read blurbs that don’t even attempt to scratch beyond the surface of what’s being discussed. Instead they make sweeping generalizations and weak jokes. Keep em in 2016.

      Jenner Journalism-- Ever since Snapchat got that discover page, I have seen a headline about Kylie and/or a Kardashian every single day. It’s sad to know that there are people who make their living reporting on a 19 year old girl getting fast food at a drive thru with her boyfriend. That’s more depressing than the people who jump to read it because the people who wrote it probably have degrees. They went to college not knowing that their degree will lead them to a staff position where they will report the daily minutiae of a girl who was probably in elementary school at the time. In 2017, I don’t want to see a headline about Kylie taking a selfie or a belfie. I pray that belfie (short for “butt selfie”) doesn’t catch on. If I want to see what Kylie is up to, I can follow her social media accounts and turn on the push notifications.

       As Deion just said, the discover page is filled with updates on the Jenner and Kardashian family. I never watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians, nor have I ever watched the updates that Snapchat so desperately thinks I need. I don’t care if Kylie “shows off her curves in her newest bikini.” Nor do I care whether or not I think she photoshopped her “belfie.” To be frank, the only reason I would keep up with any of the Jenner or Kardashian family is to see what’s going on with Kanye. But besides that, there’s no reason to have daily updates on their life. The only interesting moment where they deserved to be on the discover page was when Kim did the Taylor Swift Expose Party. For the sake of this blog, I literally went onto my Snapchat’s discover page to see if there was something on Kim or Kylie. Today’s headline? “What It’s really Like to Wear Kim’s Latex Dress?” Smh. Cosmopolitan can stay in 2016.

In the Mix's 2016 Hip Hop Awards

Disclaimer: I’m not a huge fan of Childish Gambino/Donald Glover. I am aware that he had a critically acclaimed album and highly successful show this year. Unfortunately that’s as far as my knowledge goes on the subject.   

      It’s become increasingly difficult to write about current rap music because there’s simply too many titles and not enough time. Once I stop procrastinating and finally get this Apple Music free trial, I’m gonna put it to work. Until then, here’s who and what stuck out to me this year in hip hop.

Beatdrop of the Year-- Father Stretch My Hands Pt.1

      Kanye knighted Metro Boomin as the DJ Premier of this generation. This is a big honor and well deserved. If not for his beats, Metro Boomin should be remembered for having the greatest producer tags of all-time. The “If Young Metro Don’t Trust You” thing took on a life of it’s own, especially during the election. That tag helped make “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” one of the biggest bangers of the year. I firmly believe this song could’ve been a #1 Billboard hit if it weren’t for the first lines in Kanye’s verse. The beatdrop alone should be reserved by the National Registry. And I will always remember the Vine of Cudi and Kanye jamming out to it during the Yeezy Season 3 show.  

MVP

      Lil Chano from 79th had the best year of any rapper for one reason: he’s doing it all without a label. SNL... no label, the Espys... no label, Ultralight Beams... no label, the Kit Kat commercial...no label. He’s easily one of the best lyricists in the game right now. With any given verse he can masterfully make bible allusions, pop culture references and go over listener's heads with wordplay and entendres. And he can do this while serious or playful. At 23, Chance has left his mark on hip hop and he’s still got some ideas that we gotta see. For everything that he’s done in and out of music he’s milly rocking and scooping the MVP award in his lap for 2016.  

Most Likely to Make You Cringe at his Success

      Drake must be stopped. Jay-Z said it best “Numbers don’t lie, check the scoreboard.” Drake coincidentally responded in saying “they don’t even want to look up at the score.” I love Drake. He’s my third favorite rapper of all-time. But he must be stopped. I’m tired of the sneak dissing, the cryptic pictures on IG, the culture vulturing, the light skinned tendencies, it’s enough. It’s in the best interest of hip hop that be taken out. Views was a very successful album and I'm sure More Life will be too. Forget about the classic album debate, this guy has yet to have a legitimate adversary. He either runs away (Kendrick Lamar), or sneak disses rappers he knows he can easily beat (Common, Tyga, Meek Mill, Joe Budden). Say a name, Drake. Man up. He’s an opportunist and his movements are very calculated, it’s time for a slip up. I don’t want to see him steadily fall off. I need for him to get exposed. I’m looking at you, Kendrick Lamar.

Most likely to Go Under the Radar

      With this Apple Music free trial I’m going to listen to all of the music in A$AP Rocky’s catalog. He was offended after a chart of rappers went viral and his name was listed under the overrated category.

      I don’t think Rocky is overrated, I don’t know what his current rating is. In 2017 I will do the necessary research because I’m disappointed that Rocky didn’t blow up as much as i thought he would. “F**kin Problems” is his most successful song and it’s three years old and star studded. He’s more than capable of topping that by himself. This year he and the A$AP Mob released new music every wednesday as part of a program titled Wavy Wednesday and nobody gave a damn. I don’t get it. Is Rocky hot or lukewarm? Has he already reached the pinnacle of success? I’ll find out the answers to this question and more in 2017.

Biggest Potential

If people care to hear what more he has to say other than “Caroline” they won’t be disappointed.

      Sidenote: MTV2’s list sucks
MTV2 resurrected it’s Hottest MC’s in the Game list. They should’ve kept it dead. Not only was the list boo boo, the people behind it were questionably irrelevant. I didn’t see the special when it aired, but I read an article from Billboard.com about it and stumbled across this sentence

“This year's panel featured a mixed bag of critics ranging from bloggers and personalities like Power 105.1's Charlamagne Tha God and Karen Civil to veteran rappers like Joe Budden and Nick Cannon.”

      Anyone who is published saying Nick Cannon is a veteran rapper is either trolling or begging to be fired.

So here’s my list of the hottest MC’s in the game this year with minimal explanation.

1. Chance the Rapper
2. Drake
3. Kanye West
4. Atlanta
5. Kodak Black

      Kanye won 2016 with TLOP, his numerous features and successful clothing line and tour. He won it a long time ago for me after he went off on Wiz Khalifa on Twitter. That was one of the best days of my life. At the same time he also lost 2016 because of his more eccentric than normal antics which put him in a negative spotlight towards the end of the year. Gucci got out so Atlanta automatically deserves a spot on the list. Not to mention Migos, Lil Yachty, 21 Savage and Young Thug had impressive years. Once again, Atlanta remains the epicenter of hip hop. Kodak is #5 because he’s making waves and garnered the attention of many. I won’t so any more because I’ve already gotten in enough trouble for talking about him.  

Sports Talk with ThatDude

Jose Fernandez’s Death
      I haven’t felt so personally touched by death than when the tragedy of September 25th occurred. I remember waking up in the morning, walking over to my phone and seeing a barrage of ESPN updates. In the midst of all those updates was a text from one of my good friends simply reading “Bro…” I feared to read what the updates were talking about, and when I finally did, I broke down crying. It was an emotional day for many people, losing a young star not even at the prime of his career. His smile and contagious energy will be missed. Fernandez, a young man who risked his life 3 times to get to the United States, was the heartbeat of Miami, a city filled with people of Cuban descent. The circumstances of his tragedy is disappointing as it appears he had been drinking, in addition to the usage of cocaine, but his death will remain a story of a star taken from the game at too young of a age. RIP Jose Fernandez.

No Lead is Safe
      This was the year that I learned that the TOUGHEST game in any sport is the closeout game. 2016 was the year of “*Insert Team Name Here* Blew a 3-1 Lead” It all started with the Thunder. They had a 3-1 lead on the (former) Defending World Champs, and best regular season record holding Golden State Warriors. All they needed was 1 more. I was pretty confident they would get it, Deion, on the other hand, was sure they would blow it. After he saw KD and the Thunder blow their regular season matchup against the Warriors, where Curry hit that dagger 3 from way down town, he knew the Thunder weren’t real. As we soon found out, Deion was correct, the Thunder blew a 3-1 lead, and in a couple months, KD would leave because he’s also not real. Next came the Warriors. I don’t have much to say about this one, any Facebook comment nowadays is “Don’t let this distract you from the fact that the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead.” Finally, switching to a different sport entirely, the Cleveland Indians decided to hop on the bandwagon of being unable to seal the deal. They had the Billy Goat cursed Cubs on the ropes, one more punch would have been the knockout blow. But 2016 showed that’s the hardest punch to give, and the Cubs came roaring back to create one of the best 7 game series seen in some time, in addition to a fairy tale ending that a team waiting 108 years for deserved.

World Champs

I just want to give a quick congratulations to the likes of Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Broncos, and Chicago Cubs, who all did what said teams above couldn’t, and sealed a deal. Each of you were champs in your respective sport and that’s no small feat. The fact that the Broncos aren’t even making the playoffs in the subsequent season shows just how hard it is to be dominant. Speaking of dominance, Alabama, my goodness. They won the National Championship in 2016, and they are by far the best team in this year’s college football playoff. Whether they win it this year or not is to be seen, but they have defined dominance these past years. So, just as any good fans of a sport do with a dominant team, it’s time to root against them and pray that the upset happens. Go Huskies!

Kevin Durant to the Warriors

      Kevin Durant showed his true colors this offseason when he traded in his Thunder Blue for Golden State (piss) yellow. Durant took the definition of “if you can’t beat them, join them” literally. Now, when Durant loses in the finals once again, he doesn’t have to fall into his mother’s arms crying…this time he can fall right into Curry’s lap sobbing. I’m not even talking about Stephen Curry, he’s crying into Riley’s when it’s all said and done. Westbrook, on the other hand, put his big boy pants on, signed an extension and is doing everything for his team to get them back to the top (Note: Everything for his team is not an understatement). It won’t be this year, but Westbrook gave Durant a middle finger and said “trust the process.” I hope the day comes where Westbrook can Instagram a picture of his ring and tag a ring less Durant, and it’ll happen, because Westbrook is the king of petty.

Dwyane Wade Leaves the Heat for Chicago Winters and Bulls

Probably more shocking that Durant joining the Warriors was Wade leaving the Miami Heat for his hometown Chicago Bulls. I never thought I’d see the day where a team name other than “Heat” was spelled across his chest. And to leave the warmth of Miami in the winter for those negative temperatures in Chicago, Wade must have felt strong in his decision. The whole Shaq retirement ceremony with the Heat even got a little awkward at times because of his departure. Felt like Shaq and Riley were doing everything in their power to not mention Wade, but they had to. It seemed as if Wade was an ex-girlfriend and Miami was trying to move on and any mention of his name would trigger them. At the same time, It’s nice to see Wade playing for Chicago, I assume it’s something childhood Wade always dreamed of. Not many people get to live out their childhood dream and he is.

Notable Deaths in Sports 2016
• Muhammed Ali
• Arnold Palmer
• Craig Sager
• Jose Fernandez
• Pat Summit
• Pearl Washington

Deion at the Movies

      Okay, so I didn't really watch a lot of movies this year. I'm sure I missed a lot but that's what Redbox and Netflix are for. One thing I did see that was movie related is the Oscars. I was a little disappointed to see Leonardo DiCaprio win Best Actor. Not because I don't think he deserved it, any man who lives inside a carcass for work related purposes deserves to win at least employee of the month and a company parking spot, I just wanted him to go on without having one. Anyways, what made the Oscars so great was the genius that is Chris Rock hosted it and there were no black nominees in any category. It couldn't have been a better situation for him to be in. In his opening monologue he addressed racial and gender equality in showbiz. One of the most interesting points he raised was there being a category for best actor and one for best actress when acting isn't and shouldn't be gender exclusive. It didn't best his hosting of the BET Awards in 2014, but it was still great stuff. 

J. Cole and False Prophets

      J. Cole’s got a brand new set of balls. Since revealing yesterday that he’ll be dropping another album on the 9^th, two singles with accompanying music videos were released. The songs “Everybody Dies” and “False Prophets (Be Like This)” were among the top 5 trending topics on Twitter since they came out this morning. “False Prophets (Be Like This)” was the most popular of the two due to speculation of the song addressing two rappers in particular.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNsgIBgpuGQ

      In the first verse Cole talks about a rapper who used to be his hero but he’s currently falling from grace and it’s hard to watch. This is no doubt about Kanye West who’s been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons lately. The lyrics point to it:

“Ego in charge of every move he’s a star”

“Falling apart, but we deny it/ Justifying the half-ass sh*t he dropped, we always buy it”

 “The world’s eggin him on, I’m beggin him to stop/ and playin his old sh*t knowing he won’t top it”

      We’re not going to get into the second verse which is supposedly aimed at Wale. I agree with pretty much everything Cole said in that. Let’s get to why J. Cole was dead wrong for that first verse.

      First of all, where does J. Cole get off by bad disrespecting the greatest artist of this generation? I get that he said Kanye was his hero and all, but he made Kanye out to be another phony in the industry that J. Cole has figured out. Strike 1... He said Kanye was falling apart. Strike 2... He called TLOP half assed...Strike 3... He called Ye out for having ghostwriters. There’s a difference between expressing concern and exposing somebody. J. Cole was trying to expose Kanye and I said “trying” because he revealed things that we already knew. We know Kanye has an ego; we know he has yes men around him and uses ghostwriters. This is nothing new. The tone and overall way these things were said is what makes it all so disrespectful. Regardless of whether what Cole said was the truth, the way he did it was inappropriate. You think J. Cole would say something like that about Nas? Remember how sheepishly he called him out for “You Owe Me” on “Let Nas Down” If he came at Nas the way he came at Kanye, do you think Nas would’ve responded with “Made Nas Proud” Hell no. 

      Respect your O.G.’s That goes for Drake too. I’m sorry for getting sidetracked, but I have to address this issue too. Drake is not and will not ever be in a position to exchange jabs with Jay-Z. Jay-Z is one of the greatest of all-time and Drake doesn’t even have a classic album. Jay did him a favor when he featured in “Light Up” and gave him advice on the industry. He blessed him again with that scene stealing feature on “Pound Cake.” Then Drake went and ran his mouth talking about how Jay can’t go a verse without mentioning his art collection? Then he wanted to pop off talking about some “I used to want to be on Roc-a-Fella then I turned into Jay.” Take it easy. He’s doing big numbers and all but the O.G.’s and the barbershop regulars don’t all respect him. This whole thing about idols becoming your rivals treads a thin line between confidence and disrespect. It’s one thing for the student to get to the point where he can challenge the master, but the respect must never be compromised. Now back to Cole.

      Check the resumes. Despite where Kanye is at right now, his career and impact in the world eclipses J. Cole’s by a whopping margin. J. Cole’s path was paved thanks to Kanye. There would’ve been no Come Up if it weren’t for College Dropout. The first time I and many of us even heard of J. Cole was in Kanye’s song “Looking for Trouble.” Cole even thanked Kanye on the credits of Cole World: The Sideline Story for allowing him to be featured on it.

      The bottom line is –If he is your O.G. and helped put you on, watch how you speak on his name. Unless you yourself were attacked, don’t say anything worthy of starting a beef.

      Now let’s talk about Kanye, people say he’s has fallen off. I think “fallen off” is a bit harsh. Has he gone off the handle? Yes, but this guy is going through something right now. The lengthy rants, which he called visionary streams of consciousness, are nothing new. They’re more aggressive than normal and the Sacramento walk out was bizarre and pretty terrible. I can’t defend what he did there. But keep in mind that he’s coming from a place of frustration and paranoia. His wife and kids could’ve been killed and he wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it. He’s blackballed by the same industries he’s influenced. He’s proven to be a genius yet few want to invest in him. He’s been considered a crazy egomaniac by millions for many years and the people he’s fought for don’t even support him. That’s gotta hurt the most. Imagine being willing to go to war for somebody but they won’t even pick you up when you’re wounded. I’m looking at you, Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Kid Cudi, his semi-protégé, called him out and that affected Kanye as well. And he’s dealt with all of this while on tour. It builds up. Nobody would be able handle these things and still be who they once were. As we can see from his admittance to the hospital this stuff if affecting Yes health so of course it’s going to affect his work. 

  

      I’m not mad at J. Cole for saying what he said in “False Prophets (Be Like This).” I just believe this is not what Kanye needs to hear and it’s not for someone like J. Cole to say. Instead of shaking our heads and saying that water is wet we should be encouraging someone who’s been a hero to many of us and lending a hand. 

Four Years of Mix, a Look Back

      On this day four years ago I published my first blog post and entered the blogisphere. I want to use this post to look at how far In the Mix has come. You know how sitcoms have clip episodes where the main characters reflect on events that happened in past episodes? Well, this is something like that. First things first I have to thank two people who have been very important to this blog: Dilia Suggs and Dario Phillippe. Without them we wouldn’t be here. If it weren’t for Dilia there would be no Mix. If it weren’t for Dario, the Mix would’ve stopped two years ago.

      I was a junior in high school when I started blogging. I met Dilia at this daycare where I volunteered. She knew I was an aspiring screenwriter and she flipped out on me for not having a blog. She said it was a good way for me to get my stuff out there and network. I had plenty of time on my hands so I figured why not. Dario saved my blog by telling me to keep writing when I was about to give up. This was around the time of the Farewell post. One of the last things Brother Dario spoke to me about was my blog. He said “That blog of yours… I want you to build it up. Build it up. Build it up.”  I told him I was on the verge of deleting the whole thing and he told me to keep at it. Something about that really stuck with me. He saw something in it that I couldn’t see. I saw it as a failed public diary with no fans. He saw potential. I don’t know if I’ve reached that potential yet or if I ever did but I’m glad I took his advice. 

      At first I treated my blog like a vlog and I wrote like I was talking to people who actually cared enough to leave comments and stuff. When I first started blogging I was on blog.com. My website there has been deleted ever since I moved to blogspot. My first post ever was White Girl Wonderland. Eddie and I were having a conversation about white girls and the question was raised about where in the U.S. are the finest ones. I was expecting an active comment section with people repping their home states. Did I get that? NOPE. But that didn’t stop me. My next post asked if there will ever be a black James Bond. I proposed Idris Elba play the role and have Olivia Wilde be the Bond Girl. This was before the reports of Elba possibly being the next Bond came out and when I saw that I felt like a prophet.  Actually, a lot of the things I predicted or wished for in my end of the year posts ended up happening. Kobe retired and Kate Upton found a man. It didn’t happen when I hoped for but it did eventually happen. And you best believe I sleep like a baby knowing Kobe’s finally retired now. Now if only the Lakers could stop playing on Christmas, that would be golden. I’m still waiting on that Friday movie with Chris Tucker and I would love to see a movie like Harlem Nights made for this generation. Kevin Hart, Chappelle, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock would definitely star it in. Maybe I could write the script for it one day.

      The end of the year wishlists were something I got from Nikbagtv. He used to have a vlog on YouTube where he ranted on mostly hip hop related topics. He would made bold predictions at the end of every year. I never enjoyed talk out of my you-know-what so I just wished for things instead. I like Year in Review articles and figured I should give my take on the events that have passed. I continued that trend and tried to make it more interesting with the 2015 Extravaganza. With that I also wanted to collaborate with friends. In my perfect world, blogging would be more of an actual community thing. like me, Eddie, Andre and Kali writing in a office with our on cubicles and whatnot, sharing ideas and bouncing off of each other. We’d have our own website. I guess that already does exist with the Buzzfeeds and Elite Daily’s of the world though. But still, I’d like to be a part of something like that.

      I really wanted to do something weekly for the readers to be able to look forward to. That’s why I did the Why I Love You Wednesdays. I also thought it would discipline me to write regularly. The reception was lukewarm and I sort of figured that I wouldn’t have enough interesting topics to express my love for every week. On the Why I Love You for GKMC I called Kendrick Lamar the Luke Skywalker of Hip Hop. I don’t know if that’s the best comparison but it got my point across. I can’t remember but I guess prior to 2013, I was growing tired of mainstream hip hop’s radio appeal. That’s why I said it was currently in hibernation. That was my first album review ever. I still have issues when talking about the music because I don’t know many musical terms hence the “bass hums” and “pimp whistle.” Just for kicks I might resurrect Why I Love You Wednesdays and dedicate them to Lemonade, Applebees and Chicken Tender Subs.

      I was the most active in 2013 by far. 46 posts? Jeez! That may not sound like a lot in 365 days, but compared to my numbers in the years since then, it is. Back then I didn’t care as much about making sure the post was perfect. I just said what I felt and hoped to bring out a discussion. I was like a trap rapper. I just created work and released it without even trying to perfect anything or consider timing. I didn’t even know I posted four blog posts in one day. On September 25^th I came back from hiatus and followed it with three posts as well as the Return post. My first hiatus was because I was getting tired of not getting any kind of traffic. Mostly because the comment section was weak (still is).  

      The 2K rants were one of the most fun to write. (It's actually funny that I thrashed 2K considering that I started out expressing my love for 2K in the first Why I Love You Wednesday.) The main reason being they were the easiest and were written the fastest. After getting cheated by the game, instead doing what I usually do which is throw the controller and swear, I calmly put the remote down and started typing. Writing those posts was like doing a scene or a monologue in one take. In less than 30 minutes I typed 1000 words expressing my frustration with the game. In all seriousness, 2K13-15 are really bad. Sometimes I wish I could play the game in front of the developers so they could see the stupidity that their consumers have to endure and maybe they’ll feel a little bad for making us pay $60 for broken games. Another favorite of mine had to be my rant on What a Time to be Alive. My friend Marco told me he was waiting for a blog post to see what I had to say about the mixtape. That was probably the first time I ever jumped out of whatever I was doing and started typing. It meant a lot to me that someone actually anticipated my response to something. Thanks, Marco.

      Thirst Responsibly is another favorite of mine, as I'm sure you all know. Deion's Got a Girlfriend, or as I like to call it, The Sunshine Post, will always have a special place in my heart (love you, babe. Happy birthday, Kyana!) In the four years that I have been bloggin I'm happy that I have written more things that make me smile when I re-read them than cringe. There are a number of cringe worthy posts I've written. There are also some things I had to take down because Mama Sainvil didn't approve. 

      This blog has given me an avenue to express myself and give my takes on pop culture phenomena that I may or may not agree with. I believe it’s also made me a better writer. That’s all I could ever ask. I didn’t start blogging with hopes of getting paid or becoming famous. I have enough pressure consistently updating this blog and writing for the school paper. What I'm most proud of and am humbled by is you guys. All of you who tell me about how you read my blog and the readers out there who I haven't met in person, you all motivate me to keep doing this. Thank you, Dilia, for telling me to blog. Thank you, Dario, for telling me to keep going. Thank you, Eddie, for being half of DudeFresh and creating great things. Thank you, Andre, for the continuing motivation and the laughs your blog bring me. Thank you, Kali, for showing me what success on blogs looks like and for collaborating on the extravaganza. Thank you, Mom, for always reading. Thank you, Sunshine, for reading every single post when we first started talking. The list goes on and on. To anyone who wasn't mentioned and feels offended, please don't take it personal. 

      Thank you to all who've inspired and motivated me. Here's to four years and more Mix to come!

DudeFresh looks back on Thirst Responsibly's Anniversary

Today marks the anniversary of “Thirst Responsibly: Finessing on Social Media in the21st Century with ThatDude” I still remember that night like it was yesterday.

I was in my apartment just waiting for the clock to strike midnight so that I could publish the post. I was on the phone with Eddie throughout the whole night. Minutes before it came out I called every friend I had who used Twitter and asked them for a favor. As part of a last second promotional idea I asked everyone to post a tweet with the following: a link to “Thirst Responsibly,” followed by a #HappyBirthdayTaleen, and finally a tag to Taleen herself. The plan was to get her followers to retweet this and do the same. Much to my surprise, it didn’t take long for Taleen to respond. She was confused at first as to why “an article was written about her” but I quickly clarified the situation so that Eddie and I didn’t look like creeps. The idea was a great success. She retweeted everyone but Eddie—much to his chagrin—and she tweeted about Thirst Responsibly telling everyone to read it. We got 300 views within the first hour and once I saw that I fell to the floor. “We did it!” That’s all I kept saying to Eddie over the phone. I felt like I won the NBA Finals, a Grammy and an Oscar all at once.

The inspiration for “Thirst Responsibly” came after I stumbled across a girl on Twitter. I’m sure most of you know the story by now, if not read the Dedication section. Anyway, what made Taleen the spark of all this was the fact that I was crushing on someone who didn’t know me and lived on the other side of the country and I wasn’t alone. She had a legion of fans whom she doesn’t follow back and we’re all okay with that. Some of them are grown men. The whole thing is sad and kind of funny. While is nothing necessarily wrong with following and admiring the Taleen’s of the world, there is a way one must conduct themselves in order to retain a sense of self-respect and respect for the one admired. That’s is the dogma of Thirst Responsibly. The title “Thirst Responsibly” came to us after days of conceptualizing. I wish I could tell you where and when it was first brought up but I honestly don’t remember.

I shouted out Andre’s blog post on Twitter in the beginning because I drew a lot of inspiration from it. To me, that is a perfect post. Not only does it get its point across eloquently its content is relevant to this day. That post is almost two years now and it still holds truth. After reading Andre’s blog numerous times I knew I wanted to create something that had a clear and elaborated message and can withstand the test of time.

Eddie and I put a lot of time into the making of “Thirst Responsibly.” We didn’t know how we were going to tackle the subject at first. We originally planned on doing a “Do’s and Don’ts” type article but what we had to say was too long for that kind of format. The Seven Deadly Sins of Thirsting was inspired by the movie, Se7en. I wanted to create something along the lines of the Ten Commandments for social media, but we couldn’t think of ten things. Plus, we figured doing a Ten Commandments was a bit sacrilegious. So Seven Sins it was!

We added all of those pictures to back up what we were saying. Otherwise you would’ve thought we were making it all up. It also wouldn’t make sense for us to have no evidence of something in which we actively participate in. I added my own follies to show you the realness of it all. We too have stumbled and committed these sins. Not all, but most. Eddie was behind editing most of the pictures. We accumulated a decent folder of screenshots and a week before the release I drove to Gainesville and we put the finishing touches on the post. It took nearly half the day to crop the pictures and add them to the post so that they complement the words and visually look appealing.

The day “Thirst Responsibly” came out was easily one of the greatest days of my life. There are few things I have done which I am as proud of as this. I wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again despite the trouble it got me in with Sunshine (love you, babe!). On behalf of DudeFresh, we thank you all for being a part of something special and hope that “Thirst Responsibly” still makes you smile when you read it. Here’s to one year and the many more to come. Keep spreading the word and educating the masses.

Much love,

Deion   

      ThatDude here,

      The release of “Thirst Responsibly” is one of the proudest moments of my 20 year career and will probably continue to be so for years. Even the birth of my first born son would stand second behind the release of this ground breaking article. I remember the day it was released and the mix of emotions that came with it. 

      When we first released it, I was excited, overflowing with anticipation.  Like my good friend Deion, I was asking each of my friends to tweet the article link, with #HappyBirthdayTaleen and tagging her in the post. Then, Deion called me saying that Taleen had responded. I was so sure that it was something positive, saying “Thank you guys” or something along those lines. Nah. It was “so there’s an article written about me…” or something along those lines. My excitement had done a 180 and become dreading and nervousness. Was she thinking that we were creeps? Was the article not going to be received as well as Deion and I thought it was going to be. My uneasiness then turned into suspicion. Did she even read the article? 

      For all of you that have read it, you’ll agree that it’s long. This isn’t something you skim on the bus on the way to work. This is something you put a robe on for, light a candle and sit in a LazyBoy type of reading. There’s no way she read the article in such a short amount of time, she probably saw the tweets and was confused…fairly enough too. Fortunately, Deion was able to clarify the real point of the article and she responded. WE GOT RETWEETS OF THE ARTICLE…SHE GAVE ALMOST EVERYONE A RETWEET. You get a retweet! You get a retweet! Everyone gets a retweet!!!! Everyone except…the co-author of the post who got nothing. I was (and still am) salty about that. I bring it up to Deion randomly to this day. I get it, I don’t use Twitter that often, and my 30 something followers is less than impressive, but dammit I co-wrote that so where was my retweet?! (Note: I could have gone onto my twitter to see how many followers I do have, but this better shows how little I use it.) So Taleen, if you’re reading this, a long overdue shout out to @Imthatdude1218 would be well appreciated. The first day was crazy, we got 300 hits within no time. If any of my other blog posts even gets to 200 within a lifetime, I’ll double click my heels in midair while doing a fist pump. Never have I slept so soundly on a college dormitory mattress until that day. This was a much greater experience than I could have imagined.

      The creation was a long process. I don’t think I’ve spent more time on a project than I have for “Thirst Responsibly.” It didn’t take hours, it didn’t take days, it didn’t take weeks, it didn’t even take fortnights (2 weeks). It took months, ladies and gentlemen. But like any good project, being able to put my name on the final product was well worth it. Even gathering photos was a time consuming process. Finding comments to screenshot was the easy part. The hard part and time consuming part was that there was so much thirst going on in the page, it was hard to pick just one and the right one. If I wanted to, I could have done a 100 picture slideshow of some of the comments that goes down in Instagram, alone, let alone with Twitter. It was during this search of pictures that I really understood why we were doing this. It gets aggressive in the comments section. If some of these people’s mommas saw what they put, they would drag them by the ear, take them to the nearest church, and bathe them in holy water. It doesn’t just cross the line sometimes. It spits on the line, stomps it, and laughs at its face. “Thirst Responsibly” was written for these people.

      “Thirst Responsibly” will be a ride that I’ll one day tell my grand kids all about as I pull it from my bookshelf with a Pulitzer Prize Award right next to it. Within a year, we got 1,000 hits with very limited advertising. We got the product out, and now it’s time to get it published. The journey of “Thirst Responsibly” has just begun.

Dude out.

I Got a Story to Tell

      So Tuesday was my friend Khan’s birthday. I’m not always good with birthday wishes, but I try to send them whenever I can. I was thinking of sending him a birthday wish through Facebook but I decided to make it a little more personal and send a text. I looked through my contacts and sent him this:

      Minutes later his brother texts me from the same number. Turns out Khan’s number changed. No problem. I forward my message to the number that the brother gave me and this is the response I received:

      Now, if you know Khan, you would think that he’s just messing around and pulling my leg. No, my friends and I don’t play fight over text. We don’t play fight at all. But Khan has a unique sense of humor and something like that wouldn’t be unusual coming from him. So, being the good sport that I am, I decide to play along. 

      Once he ended it with that message I grew suspicious that I was given the wrong number. I message Khan on Snapchat telling him I wasn’t sure if he was pulling a prank on me or not but I wish him a happy birthday anyways. He responds that he wasn’t pranking me and gave me his real number. 

Uh oh..

      So I text the wrong number and threatened him thinking it was all a ruse. “Okay, welp, that’s the end of that” I thought to myself. But I was still confused as to why this person responded to me like that. Why was he so hostile? A simple, I think you have the wrong number would’ve sufficed. Maybe that’s how they do it over there (both he and Khan’s numbers start with 402 which is a Nebraska area code). I just shrugged it off and thought the guy was strange and went about my business. In case you were wondering, Khan had a great birthday. 

      Yesterday I was chilling at my cousin’s house when I got a call from a random number. The person was calling me about an ad I posted on Craigslist. I told the person that she must have the wrong number because I never posted an ad on Craigslist. Seconds later I got another call for the same reason. I told that person the same thing and hung up. Right after that the first person called asking me if I was Khan and told me about the ad. I told her that it wasn’t me and ask her to send me a picture of the ad posted. 

      I may not watch a lot of detective dramas, but it doesn’t take a sleuth to figure out who the culprit is here. So I called buddy from yesterday and he didn’t answer. Instead he hits me with this:

      So now he’s pulling the soccer mom/defenseless elderly woman card. Now he’s playing the victim. How are you going to talk about beating my ass and then put your tail in between your legs when I talk about murking you? That doesn’t make any sense. The more I’m thinking about it, the more I’m starting to wonder if this guy has severe multiple personality disorder. 

      When he finally answered my phone calls he sounded like a petrified white guy who’s been pissing himself since the other day. I told him how it was all a big misunderstanding and he said he didn’t believe me and that I am being “very soft spoken now.” He also denied having anything to do with the Craigslist ad which pissed me off. It’s one thing to call me names (which I don’t take well), but don’t insult my intelligence and DO NOT make me out to be something that I am not. Our conversation didn’t go anywhere. He ended it by saying “Alright, tough guy, this conversation is over.”

      I immediately called the cops and they directed me to the non-emergency line because I guess if you’re not in distress at the moment, 911 doesn’t have time for you. Ladies and gentlemen, the only reason why I contacted the police instead of Craigslist was because I wanted to beat buddy to it just in case he really did contact them. Yeah, I may have “done more than the situation called for” but the way I saw it I was the one who sent the incriminating text message. I mean, the text is plain as day. If someone read that “murked” line, they would think it’s a serious threat. I might as well plead my case now before anyone gets the wrong impression, feel me? And also, how many of you grew up knowing about a non-emergency number for 911? I DIDN’T FREAKING KNOW. Sure, what I was going through wasn’t an emergency but it’s not like I called the cops to vent my frustrations with a complete stranger. Give me a break. 

      Mind you, I was going through all of this B.S. on an empty stomach. It was like 10:38 when my cousin and I went to McDonald’s. I asked for a Southern Chicken Biscuit and I couldn’t get it. They told me they’re serving lunch now. Yo, McDonald’s, why is it that I can get a chicken breast with mayo and lettuce on that weird bread you use but I can’t get it plain on a biscuit? You serve Hot Cakes all day but a brother can’t get a McChicken on a biscuit?!

Anyways…

      After constant re-directions and being put on hold for people with real emergencies I was finally able to tell a cop my story. While this was taking place, I had the people texting me all day about the ad flag the post. 

Deion, that would’ve solved the problem right there. You could’ve done that all along without getting the police involved. I mean, did you REALLY think that guy was serious about calling the cops? You did too much. What did you think they were going to do about it? 

      I dunno, find out where the guy lives and burn him at the stake… maybe line him up in front of a firing squad, TP his house, break into his home in the middle of the night and put a plastic cover over his toilet seat so that when he takes a leak it bounces back in his face. I don’t freaking know! All I know is this guy ruined my morning and got off scot-free. It’s injustice, I tell ya!

      The officer called the guy and he said that he’s fine and he knows that no harm was meant to be done. He only wishes to be left alone. I asked the officer if anything was gonna happen to the guy for disturbing my peace and she said that they can’t do anything because there’s no real evidence of him being involved with the ad even though the dots line up perfectly. I asked her if I could at least write about this and she said I could but advised me not to. She told me that it’s over and I should just let it die. Sorry officer, but I don’t play that. 

      Maybe it’s all the Kodak I’ve been listening to lately but if that guy were local I would’ve pulled up to his address for a friendly hello. And I would’ve had some friendly chaps with me. We’d do a lot of talking and at the end of it all, we’d reach a good understanding. Then we can part ways and never speak to each other again. 

      But in all seriousness (because I don’t know if the Feds are reading this and I can’t afford to possibly incriminate myself for the second time), to the fellow I had the pleasure of texting and talking on the phone with, I wish you well. Maybe one day we’ll cross paths. I’ll be doing a book signing and you’ll be in the magazine section suspiciously taking pictures of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition spreads on your flip phone. I won’t know it’s you until we accidentally bump into each other and I say sorry and you’ll timidly say “Just leave me alone” at that point I’ll pause for a moment and ask you to say “you’re very soft spoken right now” after you say it I’ll light up and say “Shane? Craigslist, Playing the Victim Shane from Nebraska, is that you?!”

      Afterwards we’ll catch up and have lunch at Applebee’s. Sunshine would’ve come, but she thinks you’re creepy. I won’t pay for you, but at least we’ll enjoy the lemonade if not each other’s company. I’ll ask you what you’re doing for a living and you’ll tell me you’ve been unemployed for four years and have been trying to find work in marketing. Suits you best because that Craigslist ad sure had the people flocking! You might ask me for a job and I’ll pretend to consider. I might even go as far as to giving you a fake number before dropping you off at a street corner nearest to the local homeless shelter. Gotta beat that line! Early bird gets the worm, eh?   

But until then, Shane, I hope you stub your pinky toe today.  

Connor Towne on Durant's Departure

This week marks the six year anniversary of The Decision. It was a move that had the sports world going bonkers and the hate for LeBron James grew exponentially overnight. It’s been less than a week since Kevin Durant’s decision to join the Golden State Warriors and there isn't nearly half as much anarchy over this. I call bull.

I’m not seeing enough KD scorn and jerseys being burned. This guy is one of the best players on the planet and we just let him slide with everything he does. If he’s wrong he might get a slap on the wrist. Meanwhile, if LeBron James passed gas in an empty elevator people would lose their minds. People are so blind in their hate for LeBron that they have the nerve to compare KD’s move to LeBron going to Miami. Apples and oranges.

This guy has the mental toughness of a sea sponge and people wanna call out LeBron for not having a killer instinct? I always thought KD was soft. I knew he was the moment he cried on his mom’s shoulders after losing in the Finals. Since then every little hissy fit he had with the media reinforced my belief.

The bottom line is Kevin Durant always gets a pass. He always does and I guess he always will. July 4^th was a dark day for the NBA. I believe Jusuf Nurkic put it best:

But enough about what Jusuf and I think. Here’s what my good friend and loyal Thunder fan Connor Towne has to say about it:

      The thought really crossed my mind. This jersey that I cherished, the gift my girlfriend just recently purchased for me last Christmas, the symbol of my once favorite player lost its meaning. It's July 4th and I didn't hold back the thoughts of tying this jersey to a firework and setting it off. 

      The second I saw Kevin Durant post his Player's Tribune article to his Twitter, I yelled out a select few words my mother wouldn't be proud of. I didn't even have to open up the article. I actually didn't read it until several hours later. I knew KD's decision because of a tweet right above @KDTrey5's. It read "Ohh man! OKC fans are about to explode!" and that is all I needed to read. My girlfriend laid next to me in bed as I shuttered in disbelief. She asked me, "Did Kevin Durant leave?" She had known that his decision was consuming my every moment whenever there was a new update. I told her that he did, but then she asked, "Where to?" I didn't even have to respond. She just looked at me in the same disbelief knowing that he had left to go to Golden State.

      I have been an Oklahoma City fan since their move from Seattle. No, I was not a SuperSonics fan before the relocation, which is understandable (if you find a Seattle fan who stayed loyal to the Thunder then please let me know). I have been called a bandwagon fan many times before, but that's simply not true. I was a fan of this team when they were 23-59 in their first year in the Midwest and I am still a fan now, even after Kevin Durant ditched us. No, I am not from Oklahoma City or anywhere near. I am from Orlando and I grew up in Central Florida, but that does not mean I can't grow to love a franchise somewhere a thousand miles away. 

      The way Kevin Durant played with the Thunder reeled me in. Sure, he was in his second season by the time he played in the Orange and Blue, but the way he carried himself was special. He was not the typical superstar basketball player. He was the nice guy and he carried that persona around for many years, until recently. I feel as if my last great memory of Kevin Durant was when I watched the live stream on my phone of his 2014 MVP speech. 

      KD used to be the family friendly face of the NBA. I don't know what happened with that image, but it faded after that speech. Next thing I knew, KD was becoming offended by every meme of him that scrolled across the computer screen. Then he's replying to every Stephen A. critique and Skip Bayless insult. It was at this moment that I realized that KD really was as weak-minded as a 16 year old girl who just set up a new ask.fm account & that idea was only confirmed when I saw his Player's Tribune article posted on July 4th.

      I must have spent a good hour watching "expert" reaction videos right after the news broke. My personal favorite was Stephen A. Smith's reaction. Throw a solid handful of large vocabulary words in to my rants and all of the sudden Stephen A. & I are the same person. Other experts were trying to remain professional about the situation. They didn't want to take it too far. Stephen A. kept it real and he was right. It was the weakest move by an NBA Superstar that we have ever seen.

      KD supporters, what's your argument? How is it a "strong" move? Even you can't tell me that. You'll tell me, "He wanted a ring and he wasn't getting one in Oklahoma."... And right there you reinforce it being the weakest move by an NBA superstar. Kevin would have gotten that ring. If you disagree then you probably spend more time watching Soccer & the Premier League than you do watching the NBA. You're under the impression that only big market teams will win and that's how it will always be. With that, I'll send a belated "Thank You!" to Jamie Vardy and the rest of Leicester City. Any team can win at any given point and I can GUARANTEE that Oklahoma City had better odds to win the 2017 NBA Finals than Leicester did winning the 2016 Premier League.

      I'm not too angry that Kevin Durant left the Thunder. I have grown to become a bigger Russell Westbrook fan over the years so as long as he is on the team then I'm still content. But that's all that I am; content. The Thunder really would have won that championship and they still would have had a great opportunity to contend without KD, if Kevin chose to go to Boston, Miami, or even his hometown in the capital of this great country. Durant didn't even give the Wizards a look though. They weren't shiny enough for him. They didn't win a championship recently, but most importantly, they weren't the team that came back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat his team. Had the Wizards done that, they would have their hometown hero back in D.C. 

Durant gave good years to Oklahoma. It's understandable if he chose to leave because he almost spent a whole decade in OKC. That's not the issue here. He could have gone to Boston. Spent some good years with Al Horford, Isaiah Thomas, and upcoming coaching genius Brad Stevens. The constant Slim Reaper vs. King James headlines would have been great for the league. He could have gone to Miami. Dwyane Wade would have stayed put and we wouldn't have Miami fans whining as if it's 70 degrees outside and they can't find their jackets. There would have been an even better storyline asking if Pat Riley found LeBron's replacement. The NBA would have been in a state of euphoria and everything would have been hunky-dory. That won't happen though, unfortunately. Because he went to the Bay. Newsflash KD, the Warriors didn't need you. Even more so, they didn't need to give you a max deal either. That max deal wasn't spent to get you on their team. That max deal was spent to get you OFF the Thunder. Jerry West even told you that they didn't NEED you there. He just told you that it would be nice having you. What a sales pitch, huh? Good choice, Kevin. I can see how they really swooned you.

      KD has never been held to the high standard as he should, and I'll say the same about Steph Curry. These guys are league MVP's. I might be acting too harsh on this because for the foreseeable past, most MVP's have been given to LeBron. I like holding MVP's to that standard, but KD gets a pass by everyone. I gave him this pass too, until now. I was wrong for it, obviously just because I was a blinded fan of the Thunder but it's not okay. LeBron is consistently chastised about his every move even if they really aren't that bad. "The Decision"? Yeah, he raised a lot of money for the Boys and Girls Club of America at the same time. That argument is invalid. Stop vilifying LeBron if you're going to embrace Kevin Durant.

      To bring up another point that I find myself debating about too many times, many fans put too much value on winning championships or getting rings. Rings DO NOT define greatness. There's a long list of legendary sport figures who have never won a ring. For instance, Reggie Miller never won a championship. What he did do was spend his entire career with the Indiana Pacers building a legacy that Pacers fans and NBA fans alike will never forget. In my opinion, what Reggie did is greater than winning a single ring. He left behind a legacy and a whole lot of history, even some moments that made for a damn good 30-for-30 almost 2 decades later. 

      Kevin Durant could have done that. In fact, he could have still won that championship while doing what Reggie did in the 90's. He could have been the Kobe Bryant of Oklahoma City. These are all things he left behind. His legacy will never be the same and it won't ever be able to recover. The Thunder was his team. Oklahoma City was his kingdom, but he wanted to do his own thing. He isn't Reggie Miller and he will never be Kobe Bryant. So brace yourselves for the biggest team bust in NBA history. I thought I was happy seeing the Mavericks take down the 2011 Miami Heat, but I can guarantee you that I will be jumping off the walls when the Warriors aren't champions. I will love every moment seeing Kevin Durant reminisce on what could have been if he hadn't taken the easy road. I've been called a hater before. That's fine with me. I'm a passionate Oklahoma City Thunder fan and I will ride with my team till the end, unlike Kevin Durant.