January
Migos drops Culture and becomes the biggest rap group in the world
When “Bad and Boujee” popped off the way it did after the rain drop line becoming a meme and Donald Glover’s shoutout during the Golden Globes, it was only a matter of time before the trio became a household name. This year Quavo and Offset have been two names that we’ve heard a lot lately. Which is great because before people were like “what’s a Quavo?” and now it’s like “Quavo should sing the National Anthem!”
I’m not from Atlanta, nor have I ever lived there, but I can imagine Culture’s success did something for the city. Given Atlanta’s chokehold on hip hop and pop culture, it only made sense for the Falcons to have a spectacular season as well.
February
The Falcons choke
I saw the whole think unfold and it was truly a sad sight to see. I was rooting for the Dirty Birds but towards the end I felt that they deserved to hold that L simply for allowing the Pats to comeback like that. That game added another story to the legend of Tom Brady in a season that saw him serve a four-game suspension for Deflategate.
If the Falcons won the Super Bowl and dominated the sports world, after all that Atlanta had already dominated at that point, oh man, that would’ve been special.
Future releases Future
If there’s any fanbase that shouldn’t complain it’s the Future Hive. This year Future released two albums in two weeks as well as a collab project with Young Thug. It was a busy year for the FreeBand Bandit to say the least. The highlight of it was “Mask Off,” Future’s biggest record to date. With all the bangers Future has in his catalog, who would’ve thought that his highest charting single would feature flutes and Future saying two drugs repeatedly.
March
Fun fact for those who care: Sunshine’s favorite number is 11, and last year, I had the idea of getting us matching Brice Johnson jerseys since he’s pretty much the only #11 in basketball who I care for.
Kennedy stepped up especially after scrubbing it up in last year’s game. All those guys, it was great to see their journey. When I was in high school I would talk to my friends about the incoming prospects coming into our respective teams and I remember giving scouting reports on Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks and Luke Maye. I remember seeing Joel Berry play Grayson Allen when they were both in high school. It was crazy seeing the team win the Natty after everything we’ve went through together. That was the first time I reveled in the victory of a team I support as opposed to a player. When it comes to sports I’m usually a fan of a select few athletes and not teams, UNC and
FSU are the exception.
FSU also got far in the tournament, well let me rephrase, they got to the tournament which is farther than we’ve been in the past 5 or so years. We beat FGCU in the first round and got spanked by Xavier in the round of 32 much to my disappointment. This season I predict the Noles will go to the Sweet Sixteen. It’s a bold prediction but here me out: we have the talent, the depth and most importantly, the attitude. There are no superstar, NBA draft lottery bound players on our team which means, everyone is fully invested in this season right in front of them. Everyone on the team knows their role and acts on it well, nobody is going to try an be a hero by themselves. That is the recipe for a team to get far in tournament.
More Life comes out and Drake takes a break
1. Drake with the bars: “Free Smoke,” “Can’t Have Everything,” and “Do Not Disturb”
2. Pandering to the ladies Drake: “Madiba Riddim,” “Blem,” and “Since Way Back.”
3. Easy listening Drake: “Passionfruit” and “Get It Together”
4. Drake who makes us cringe, squint and say “why?”: “No Long Talk,” “Teenage Fever,” and “KMT.”
In 2014 my cousin’s friend said that we know what to expect from his stand-up specials now. He’s going to talk about his kids, fame and being short. For the most part she’s right. The same can be said about Drake. There’s no layer beyond the Four Drakes and we’ve accepted that because he delivers, and his stats are hard to compete with.
The thing about Kevin Hart which is also all too similar to Drake is that when a comedian like Dave Chappelle comes back in the mix, people quickly discredit Kevin as if he’s a sellout who isn’t true to the game. Drake’s Dave Chappelle is Kendrick Lamar, someone who may not have the numbers Drake has, but will always have the support of the hip hop community because of his growth, artistry and integrity.
During this year for the first time since like the 2000s Drake wasn’t on the Billboard Hot 100. I’m sure he’ll be back next year; he said so in “Do Not Disturb.” At least we have these 22 tracks to hold us over.
My basketball career takes a(nother) crushing blow
Every time I get badly injured when playing basketball, it’s during a play when I act like I’m an NBA superstar. In this case I thought I was Russell Westbrook. It happened during an IM game and Sunshine was in attendance, so I had to ball out. Before I went down I had a light 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists. My team came through in the end and we won the game but ultimately forfeited the rest of the season. It sucks because we were supposed to do a Hard Knocks documentary following our journey throughout the season. I’m back on the court now after months of being sidelined and some physical therapy. What sucks the most is that I got injured days before I was supposed to sign a contract to play overseas. I was going to be in Lithuania, the same team that the Ball Brothers will play for. If I didn’t get banged up the three of us would’ve taken Lithuania by storm. But I guess tai neturėjo būti.
Sunshine and I celebrate our anniversary
I don't want to get too mushy, but this relationship has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. It's been a great honor to be her boyfriend and I am grateful for her being in my life. She is the sunshine of my life, word to Stevie Wonder.
Kendrick goes for the jugular with “The Heart Part 4”
The main topic of conversation with “Heart Part 4” is the alleged beef between Kendrick and Big Sean. I still have a hard time believing it’s true, but I’ve become more convinced. I was really hoping the shots were aimed at Drake and I wanted it so bad that I went on Drake’s Instagram and spammed his most recent picture at the time with “IV” to do my part. Big Sean beefing with Kendrick reminds me of the time I tried racing my Corolla with a Camaro on the highway. It was something I had no business getting myself into for various reasons and a battle that I wasn’t capable of fighting. What makes matters worse for Big Sean is the L’s he took this year with I Decided. and that project he had with Metro Boomin.
That song and the mention of April 7th at the end meant one thing: Kendrick Season was upon us.
April
So, it turned out that April 7th was the preorder for Kendrick’s album, and not the actual release date. This was pretty disappointing, but we were still gifted with Joey’s Bada$$’s All-Amerikkkan Bada$$. AABA is interesting because when I first heard it I was like “this is perfect!” and then a week later I never came back to it. I feel like that’s pretty much how everyone else responded to his album if they heard it all. I don’t get what it was about this album that didn’t give it much staying power. It’s great, but forgettable. Makes me wonder what his legacy will be and what he’ll have to do in his next album to make it a bonafide classic.
The Kung Fu Kenny era is in full swing with DAMN
I heard DAMN. for the first time when I was driving home from a closing shift and I was on “Element” by the time I got to my apartment. After the first verse in “Yah” I was like “this is a classic, hands down.” And the feeling remains. “Love” “Lust” and “God” were easily my least favorite songs at first, but only “Love” remains hard for me to sit through.
One of the things that made DAMN. so special was the conversation it fostered. I can’t remember a rap album that spawned so many think pieces and conspiracy theories such as this. The wildest one was about how Kendrick is releasing another album on Easter because DAMN. was released on Good Friday, symbolizing Kendrick dying on the Cross, and the upcoming album will be his resurrection.
For me, DAMN. showed how deep one can go in hip hop while still having a mainstream appeal. Honestly, despite this not being my favorite album of Kendrick’s, DAMN. should beat 4:44 for Best rap Album and Album of the Year at the Grammy’s. But then again, the Grammy’s don’t know hip hop, so it won’t mean much.
Last thing I want to say about Kendrick is he is without a doubt the greatest rapper alive and one of the best ever. What pisses me off the most is when people say it’s too soon to consider Kendrick the GOAT. This is ridiculous because Biggie is always one of the first names to come out of people’s mouths and he only had two albums, so I don’t know how that album nonsense holds any weight to this argument. We’re not going to get another Kendrick. The same way there will never be another Pac, Biggie or Rakim. Take this in while you can.
May
Sunshine graduated
On the night of May 5th I was able to say that I am dating a college graduate. Seeing her walk across the stage was a big moment. It was inspiring and moving. The feeling I had when UNC won the championship was felt ten times stronger in that moment because Sunshine and I were really in the trenches together. So, seeing her make it and come out on top was a big deal and I appreciate her setting the example. When my time comes, I’ll have her to look to as a role model for how to adjust and handle the transition.
June
I’ve made my thoughts on KD going to the Warriors public before. His shot in Game 3 didn’t seem like that big of a deal to me given my attitude going into the series. That shot would’ve meant a lot more if he did it while he was in OKC. But instead, Kevin Durant bowled a 300 game with the bumpers put up. And he has it in his delusional mind that that was some sort of torch passing moment that solidified his place with the legends and yada yada yada. Bottom line is Kevin Durant took the easy way out and whoever truly believes that what he did was no worse than LeBron going to Miami should keep their head in the sand.
Pretty Girls like Trap Music
We can’t sit here and act like this isn’t 2 Chainz’s best album. Like this didn’t make Waffle House poppin for a minute. Like this didn’t inspire people to go and order a patty melt with the hashbrowns. Like this didn’t make a legit pink trap house a social media phenomenon with free HIV testing. Like this didn’t influence people to caption their pictures with “it’s a vibe.” Like this didn’t spawn a tour that had Chainz performing in a wheelchair, getting wheeled out by bad nurses.
Nah, we can’t act like those things didn’t happen this year. Somebody give 2 Chainz a medal or something. The Library of Congress needs to preserve this. In 20, 50, 200 years, when people ask what Trap music was, they could pull this up and learn some things.
July
I retried from my first job
For those who don’t know, for four years, about a fifth of my life, I worked at a grocery store. It was a good job with it’s own ups and downs. I could’ve left earlier, but I stuck with it. Throughout this year I told myself that I was going to retire in 2018 after I graduated and got a big boy job. But life has never gone the way in which I planned. I was going to write a blog about this, and I still might. The main idea of it is, one of my customer service managers was hating on your boy and she didn’t want to see me winning. So instead of fighting a system that I believed automatically favored her side, I bowed out and resigned. It was a tough decision, one that still kind of stings because less than a month later I found out that the manager actually quit. Hearing about that ticked me off because shorty really effed up my cash flow this summer. Last summer I made about $700-800, this summer I lost $300. Shout out to all my baggers and bakery clerks. Keep your head up and make sure nobody ever disrupts your steady income.
I start watching Power
Sunshine and I will write a post about the show in the near future, so I’ll elaborate more on it there.
August
I become editor of my section
After writing for the school paper for nearly three years, I get promoted to editor of the Arts and Culture section. So far it's been a great time, my staff is deep and multi-talented and it's been an honor working with them. I nicknamed our staff the Wu-Tang Clan because we originally had 9 members. The OG members have their own Wu Tang, nicknames. I'm the RZA and everytime I am addressed as such it's the coolest thing ever.
September
Insecure and it’s hella good (I couldn’t resist)
October
It’s simple. Rather than simply saying she’s not pregnant, Kris Jenner saw that it would best keep our attention by not saying a word. We’re letting a 62-year-old and a 20-year-old keep us at the edge of our seat for nine months. I didn’t believe this for one minute. There is no way that Kylie’s pregnancy could be held under wraps. In an age where iCloud services can ruin your life and everybody records everything, do you really think someone with 100 million Instagram followers and publications like the Daily Mail reporting every minute detail of her public outings can conceal a pregnancy? A pregnancy with a rapper who, while elusive, hasn’t been asked about this or revealed anything to a chatty friend? No freaking way.
Kanye might be working on something
After a very loud 2016, Kanye West took this year to get some much needed rest and work on his craft. Teyanna Taylor and CyHi tha Prynce stated that Ye is back in the lab. Rumor has it he spent some time in Wyoming, working on an album. This is the best news of the third quarter and it was followed by a stellar verse from Ye on CyHi's "Dat Side." It's honestly one of the best Kanye features of the past 5 years. Hopefully in 2018 we get another album and fingers crossed that it's more focused than TLOP.
Caesar returns with Crank EP
This year I spent a lot of time listening to local rappers like Koly P and J Dola. One of my personal favorite newcomers from Broward County is Caesar. Caesar's first project, Trap Care came out in 2016 and featured the single "Fuego." Since then he's been relatively quiet and he reappeared out of nowhere, dropping the Crank EP on Halloween. Crank features a lot of vibes with songs like "A Stain" "Peephole" and "Shot Call." He just recently dropped another mixtape called Trap Ties which features the single, "Trippy." Be on the lookout for Caesar because he's shown no signs of slowing down in 2018.
November
I got a shout out on a podcast.
My good friend Eddie put me on to this podcast called The Book of Ye. I was sold after hearing the first episode. I praised Rob Haze and Chris Daniels on Twitter and then wrote an article about the podcast and they've shouted me out twice on the show. It was pretty exciting knowing that thousands of people heard my Twitter handle, but it was more gratifying knowing that me writing about them meant a lot. Real recognizes real and art should appreciate art. I've been a Kanye fan for 10 years now and in 2017 I became a "Ye sayer." We'll see what 2018 holds for my Kanye fandom.
December
People turned their backs on Eminem
Eminem released his ninth album, Revival and people hated it for some reason. Maybe I’m listening to a different album because I thought it wasn’t bad at all. If people drown out the consensus and actually listen to the music and give it a chance, they might not be so harsh.
For those who didn’t like this because it’s tame or not as aggressive as the Eminem of the Slim Shady era, where have you been for the past seven years? Eminem hasn’t been Shady since Relapse. and people loved Recovery, so what are these expectations based on?
Seriously, the next time I see a sh*tstorm on Twitter about an album or mixtape I’m going to ask folks what they were expecting. People are hating because it’s what everyone else is doing. I can't help but feel bad for Eminem. I'm not his biggest fan, but he's done too much for rap and he's too talented for people to act like he's washed.
I'm on a timecrunch here and I know there are a lot of things that I left out. If you haven't had enough of my rambling, feel free to comment or let me know what stood out to you in 2017. It's been a good year, maybe not so much for this blog, but we'll do better in 2018.
Happy New Years and thanks for rocking with me after all this time.
From,
Deion
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