Closer to My Dreams: Creating a Classic Drake Album

This is an article I wrote for the paper that got published exactly a year ago.

Is it safe to come out yet? Has the Views hype died down some?

It’s been two weeks since Drake’s highly anticipated album has been released, and as expected, folks are still in the honeymoon phase with it. I’ve heard the noise and seen the headlines. I know Views is on a colossal and historical reign of terror on the Billboard charts and set a record for the amount of times it’s been streamed.

Despite the praise, the critical consensus says Views is nice but not necessarily Drake’s best work. I have to agree. A while back I asked why Drake’s name isn’t mentioned with the greats. I believe he’s one of the G.O.A.Ts but his content and lack of a classic album make that hard to justify. One of former editors, Zach Verbit, said it best in his Views review by comparing Drake to Taylor Swift in the sense that they’re both bonafide hit makers who make superficial and inoffensive songs about exes amongst other things, and because of this, their music has little staying power.

In a nutshell, Drake is a Hip Pop artist. Not all of the time. He has plenty of songs that are straight bars but one can’t help but question his sincerity. When he’s actually rapping is it for the art of Hip Hop or is he following the formula and releasing a song for the streets before dropping something for the ladies? Even his softest songs aren’t that vulnerable and revealing. It feels gimmicky at times. At the end of my blog post I suggested that Views will be the classic that Drake needs in order to be included in the G.O.A.T. talks. Well, it was wishful thinking. I don’t think he’s figured it out yet.

Views isn’t a classic because it does nothing special. A classic album makes a statement. That’s how it’s remembered. It does something that others haven’t done or haven’t done as well and becomes the seminal title in a genre. It has to be widely acclaimed and playable from start to finish. That goes for diehard fans and people who aren‘t the biggest fans of the genre or the artist. It has to stand the test of time and take you back to the first time you heard it.

Take Care is probably the closest thing Drake has to a classic. Of all the albums in his catalog, that’s the one that encapsulates his sound the most. Once you hear Take Care all the way through, no song outside of it should come as a surprise. That’s sort of a back handed compliment. It’s a compliment in saying that Drake created his own sound, but it also says that he doesn’t push the envelope and stray from what works. Every so often he'll go through some phase where he assumes a new identity. Right now he's Jamaican, or as some folks say, Jafakin. Still, the essence of his sound remains the same. I believe years down the road when there’s a new generation of rap fans who aren’t familiar with Drake, Take Care would be the quintessential album.

Views is only two weeks old so those last points aren’t fair expectations. With that being said, I’ll keep it out of what I’m about to do. Drake has been in the game for 10 years now and he has songs that I believe will stand the test of time whether it be in a Pop sense or Hip Hop sense. Since I don’t believe he has an undisputed classic album I made one myself. I called it Closer to My Dreams.

(Yes, I named it after the song. To be honest I didn’t know that song existed until I heard “30 for 30.”)

This isn’t my version of a Drake’s greatest hits album. This is me putting together what I believe would be a classic album. Let’s say Drake is on the come up and hasn’t blown up yet. Pretend we’re dealing with mixtape Drake and this is his studio debut. It would be amazing for an up and coming artist to make an album prophesizing his entire career. This album consists of four phases: The Come Up, Troubles in Tinseltown, On Top of the World and Untouchable.

Closer to My Dreams, Full Tracklist

Part I: The Come Up

• Successful
• Uptown
• Fancy
• Forever
• Fear
• Light Up

Part II: Troubles in Tinseltown

• Miss Me
• Paris Morton Music
• Marvin’s Room
• Take Care
• Headlines
• Versace interlude

Part III: On Top of the World

• Lord Knows
• 5AM in Toronto
• The Motto
• Worst Behavior

Part IV: Untouchable

• Legend
• The Ride
• Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2
• Hidden Track: You and the 6

Composing the tracklist for Closer to My Dreams wasn’t as easy and wasn’t hard as I thought it would be. I only chose songs that I know very well and would fit the concept. My apologies to those who are bewildered at “Trust Issues” and “Dreams Money Can Buy” not making the cut. I wanted to create an album with a narrative. Think The College Dropout, or better yet, think 2014 Forest Hills Drive because I couldn’t help but think of that album while writing this. The parallels are present in the beginning in both albums start off with a hungry and innocent voice before entering the industry that proves to be quite a monster. The similarities pretty much end there because 2014 Forest Hills Drive concludes on the importance of love while Closer to My Dreams ends with a voice of dominant self-awareness.

Imagine you just got off work. It’s 9 o’clock on a Saturday night. You didn’t have a long shift so you’re down to paint the town red tonight. You clock out, get in your car and pull out your physical copy of Closer to My Dreams. You put the CD in and your car hums with the beginning of “Successful” as you drive home fantasizing about the money, cars and clothes Trey Songz wants so bad. You start to feel ambitious. You think to yourself “This job is only temporary. I’m going to move on to bigger and better things and I’m not going to look back!” As the song continues into the fifth minute you might wonder to yourself “how much time is this guy spending on the intro?!” But as soon as Wayne’s verse ends your bass starts bumping as “Uptown” plays.

I started with “Successful” because it’s a grand opening. It’s an ambitious song for an ambitious album. Sometimes it’s best to just come in and let your intentions known. Imagine how different Ready to Die would be if “Juicy” was the first song. “Uptown” gave you something to bump to. After hearing all of that “I’m going to be the best” jazz, it’s good to hear something as dumb as “I drive two black cars I named ‘em Malcolm X and Martin Luther.” “Fancy” is a great song for the ladies and it gives us a break from all the ambition and boasting. I had to decide between this song and “Best I Ever Had.” The third verse in “Fancy” was what got it on the final cut. “Fancy” and “Best I Ever Had” both have radio appeal and explore the same themes, but “Fancy” does a better job of showcasing Drake’s rap skills and his ability to use that and appeal to women. Think about it, you’re better off running up to a girl at a bar with lines from “Fancy” than lines from “Best I Ever Had.”

While your head’s nodding you transition to “Fancy.” By this time you should be getting home and now and the switch up in the song has you in the mood to spend the night with someone of the opposite sex. You call up your friends to see what’s the move for the night. They’re hitting the club and will start pre-gaming in a few. You hop in the shower and “Forever” has you flexing and rapping into your loofah. After the shower it’s time to get fresh. “Fear” plays in the background as you search your closet for the best outfit that says “I’m here and I’m going to make myself comfortable whether you like it or not.” On your way to and during the pre-game “Light Up” plays and you’re feeling a little loose. 

“Forever” gets back to business and shows Drake not losing focus on his goal. “Fear,” like I said in the scenario, does an excellent job of saying “I’m hear and I’m going to make myself comfortable whether you like it or not.” It’s kind of like when Humpty Dance said “Hey world, I hope you’re ready for me!” in “The Humpty Dance” or when Eddie Murphy said “There’s a new sheriff in town” in 48 Hrs. “Fear” is the perfect transition to “Light Up” because Drake still sounds wide eyed and happy to be here.

“Light Up” is to Closer to My Dreams as “St. Tropez” is to 2014 Forest Hills Drive. “Welcome to Hollywood, don’t let this town ruin you.” He’s entering the industry. This isn’t necessarily the point of no return, he’ll be able to visit his old stomping grounds but when he does he’ll soon see that nothing was the same. “Fear” is Drake on his way there and “Light Up” is him parking the car and hopping out. The fact that he admirably mentions Jay-Z in one song and then Jay features on the next track to offer advice shows that Drake is right where he belongs.

You step inside the club and to quote Destiny’s Child, “It’s 11:30 and the club is jumpin, jumpin.” As usual there isn’t enough room to break dance but you have plenty of space to two step and grind. “Miss Me” is one of the songs in the DJ’s rotation. He’s got a pretty good mix, every song has people singing along and remembering the first time they heard the song. As time goes by you take a look around and notice all of the couples. Or maybe you’re going through a dry spell on this particular night. This is when “Paris Morton Music” comes in. You order a drink as you push back thoughts of your ex. It seems like the alcohol is only encouraging them. Now everything is moving slow and you are in a love sick stupor. You decide to go back out there and try to nab a one night stand. Or you go through your contacts to see which one of your sliders are down to run it one time. You get lucky and spend the night with someone. You don’t go to your place because you forgot where you live. Your friends give you a thumbs up and approving nod as they see the two of you head out. “Take Care” plays on the way there and throughout your licentious romp. It seemed like your partner was implicitly saying what Rihanna said in the hook. 

The trio of “Paris Morton Music” “Marvin’s Room” and “Take Care” serve to show how the pressures of the industry are affecting Drake’s personal life. And, to take the cliché route, these songs about broken relationships can also be interpreted as a metaphor for Drake’s feelings towards the rap game. It’s a stretch, I know, but I’m not the only one thinking it. “Miss Me” is in front of all them because it’s like the happy moments in a slasher film before everyone starts to be disemboweled. He’s name dropping clubs and strippers and professes his love for an industry chick, Nicki Minaj. He just arrived and everything looks great. He’s at his lowest during the somber trio, and “Take Care” sort of him getting back on his feet and “Headlines” is him getting back in the booth.

After the fun, you wake up and see that it’s time to go. You pass on breakfast and exchange numbers before going home. You get home at noon and you start work at 2 p.m.. For some reason your place is a mess so you do a little cleaning, watch some TV and study before work. During that time “Headlines," “Versace interlude” and “Lord Knows” play. “Lord Knows” hits you the most so you replay it a few times and try to rap the lyrics in the shower. While a hot shower doesn’t compare to being in a sauna with Jews, you close your eyes and feel like the red bottom boss himself. 

“Versace Interlude” is just Drake’s verse, not the complete song. It starts with Drake and ends with Quavo’s “yah yahs.” Think of this in the same light as something like “Beach is Better.” It comes out of nowhere and has your head and your speakers banging and then it’s gone too soon. It leaves you wondering if there’s a completed version or if that was really it. It’s a quick minute of braggadocio and ends abruptly. The interlude serves as a great transition to the On Top of the World phase of the album.

“Lord Knows” unintentionally shows Drake coming off his heartbroken state. He openly admits that he doesn’t “trust these hoes” as a result of him paying attention to what he’s seen and ben through. Despite this we still have probably the best produced track on the album and maybe even the best guest verse. “Lord Knows” is dramatic, opera-like and exciting. Which makes it weird that it’s followed by a calmer “5A.M. in Toronto.” Let me explain. “Lord Knows” brings the noise and the bars; “5A.M. in Toronto” brings the bars.

“5A.M. in Toronto” blasts through speakers en route to work. The bass in “The Motto” has you dancing in the parking lot. You bump “Worst Behavior” throughout your break because your boss and these customers have pissed you off the moment you walked in. You have a closing shift so once the store is closed you and your co-workers put your headphones in and carry on with your chores. “Legend” has you feeling like the King of Retail or whatever field of work your job falls under. 

There isn’t a booming beat to distract you from hearing the points Drake is making. The Sinatra double entendre, the Drake featuring Drake bit, they’re all poignant and quotable rewind moments. I put “Lord Knows” ahead because it’s the loudest and most chest pounding song so anything poppy or not as hard hitting would be an awkward follow-up. “The Motto” comes in on an even calmer note than “5A.M. in Toronto” but that’s okay because the bass is bumping. It still follows the On Top of the World theme with the opening line.

"Worst Behavior" brings back the ruckus and shows how good Drake has gotten at making hits. He’s gotten to the point where he can repeatedly shout the same three things and still make it a banging hook. What makes it better is, it’s not a throwaway song. There’s a story that comes along with all of it but you have to wait until the third verse to hear it. Regardless of if you’re listening to hear his Degrassi Tales or his scrubbing J’s with a toothbrush, “Worst Behavior” is a great bump in the whip song and is a good intro to Drake’s Untouchable phase.

As you drive home with “The Ride” and “Pound Cake” playing you start to think about this weekend and the future. Graduation isn’t too far off but you have no clear idea of what you’re gonna do afterwards. All you know is you still have time to figure it out and you’ll be on to better things. You pull into your driveway and the first verse of “You and the 6” just ended. Which reminds you, you should give Mom a call after class tomorrow.

“The Ride” and “Legend” wind things down leaving us feeling a bit tired but more than satisfied with the journey. “The Ride” further examines Drake’s regular occurrences and “Legend” sums it all up. If this album and a few features where all we had of Drake, he’d go down as an all-time great. Yeah, people would wish they had more, but he would still be worthy of hall of fame status like MJ when he first retired.

I chose “Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2” as a closer mainly because it sounds like a closer and it parallels the beginning of the album. “Pound Cake” and “Successful” both feature Drake’s father, Dennis Graham. In “Successful” Graham is giving advice and in “Pound Cake” he’s reminiscing. Having his father give advice in the beginning and then reminiscing about his own career in the end shows how things have come full circle. Like he said in “Worst Behavior,” the Boy is the Man. It shows how Drake’s father has always been there for guidance and support. It’s also fun to compare Drake’s performance in “Light Up” which features Jay-Z to his performance in “Pound Cake” with Jay.

“You and the 6” makes for a good hidden track because it has a tone unlike any of the other tracks. Drake is talking to his mother about his lifestyle and paranoia with the industry in an honest and revealing way. He isn’t sticking his chest out when he says “Maybe one day but even one day with us is the time of her life” and he’s not being Mr. Tough Guy when he  said “I take the knife out my back and I cut they throat with it.”

At this point he’s worn down and frustrated. He’s venting to someone who doesn’t understand what he’s going through but knows him enough to see the effect it’s had on him. It’s a nice little break from all the machismo and sappiness. We’re seeing how Drake is when he’s not in the studio, in front of cameras or around his boys. We’re hearing Aubrey the human and not Drake the rapper. “You and the 6” leaves us knowing that with all of the fame and glamour, Drake is still just like us. And no matter how successful he is, like all of us, he’s at his humblest when he’s with his mom.

A Letter from the Editor

Hello all,

I apologize for my absence; I was too busy crawling to the finish line of the worst semester of my life. I am battered, bruised and more than happy to be home enjoying some much-needed time off.

It’s been a grueling spring to say the least but it wasn’t all bad, Sunshine graduated and that was a very inspiring thing to witness and be a part of. I also got promoted twice in my position at the paper so I am looking forward to that. Also, I completed my first pilot script and submitted it in a contest. Yeah, there were plenty of sunshiny days that slipped through the cracks of the perpetual storm.

A few thank you’s are in order for those who continued to support me and this blog in my absence. Despite my last post being on Valentine’s Day, there has still been some steady traffic on my site and that really means a lot to me. I appreciate all of you who have stumbled upon my blog, checked on it to see if I wrote anything new, or shared my blog with others.

Thank you to Sunshine, DJ Northecide aka plvyerone, Maria Trajano, Mateo Holguin and the one follower who I still have (I can’t figure out who you are right now, but once I do, I’ll update it to include your name). If I didn’t mention anybody I’m sorry, you are appreciated just the same and I love you all.

Although I haven’t been blogging I didn’t stop writing altogether. 80% of my non-academic work has gone to my school’s paper. Most of the articles can work here as well so I will be reposting previous works with edits here and there and I will also be publishing original content. It’s going to be a great summer and I’m happy to have you all be a part of it.

Stay Fresh,

Deion 

P.S. My friend DJ is a producer who goes by the name plvyerone (pronounced "Player one") Check out his Soundcloud; he's got some great beats: https://soundcloud.com/plvyerone

Maria Trajano is also a fellow blogger who has her name on many sites. Here's the link to her main blog: https://thedivadiariesx.wordpress.com/

Valentine's Day 2017

Heart shaped everything, bouquets of flowers, public displays of affection, salty, cynical singles, these are the sights of Valentine’s Day. Whether you call it that, Galentine’s Day or Single Awareness Day, today is the day for endearment.

I used to compare my experience with Valentine’s Day to that of a Jewish kid during Christmastime. Everyone was looking forward to celebrate something I took no part in. Because I didn’t celebrate, I couldn’t understand the culture. The songs made no sense to me, I couldn’t fully enjoy the rom-coms, I was pretty much looking in from the other side of the fence. I’m happy to say that this year, I’ll be on the inside. Oh, I’m gonna flex this year. I have to; this is the first Valentine’s Day that actually means something to me.

I never had any ill, cynical thoughts about Valentine’s Day (although Sunshine will tell you otherwise.) The Hopeless Romantic in me always loved the concept of a day dedicated to love. It’s a nice sight, the giant teddy bears (which I’ve grown to despise due to a bad experience), the flowers, the chocolates, it’s all beautiful. A good friend of mine once told me that when he hears Valentine’s Day, the first thing he thinks about is spending money. I’ll be a little more optimistic than that.
My favorite non-romantic Valentine’s Day memory is getting nachos at Moe’s with my friend because it was nacho Friday. $5.30 for a Billy Barou, clutch. That was a Springs thing. That Moe’s was located in the Coral Square mall and it was the only Moe’s in the city that had that special. It’s gone now, it got replaced by a spaghetti joint. The sting of being home on Friday and not anticipating five dollar nachos stings more than a heartbreak, I’m pretty sure.

It’s crazy because at this time last year I was very unsure if anything was going to happen between me and my current girlfriend. We were still in the “talking stage” and haven’t went on our first date yet. I remember asking her how her Valentine’s Day was to spark up conversation, but I was really making sure she didn’t have any Valentine’s whose names weren’t Deion A. Sainvil. This year it’s safe to say, we’ll both have a better Valentine’s Day this year. That is, if I don’t do anything stupid…

(Barely) keeping my head above water

             Hey all, I feel really bad for not posting as consistently as I would like. It's been a little rough for me school-wise. Everything else is going well. Sunshine and I are doing well, I call home semi-regularly and I still have my jobs. Life is good, school is just kicking my butt. I often sit in class wondering why I didn't play travel basketball when I had the chance. I could've went somewhere with it. I'm not saying I'd go to the league, but I might've went D1. With proper training and lots of prayer I could've developed a jump shot and sick handles. I should've made the bowling team my sophomore year. If only I knew bumpers weren't used in competitive bowling. If I knew what I know now I would tell myself to consider being a dentist. Think about it, they have it easy. Nobody dies on their hands, they work great hours and have you ever seen a stressed out dentist? Remember that movie Snow Dogs?Cuba Gooding Jr was a dentist in that movie and he had a pretty nice car. Last thing I'll say about dentists is this, Chris Rock has a joke where he talks about there being only four black people in his neighborhood. In his neighborhood there's him, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige and Eddie Murphy. The white guy who lives next door to him is a dentist. Being a dentist can lead to me being neighbors with Chris Rock and Jay-Z; I see no negatives here. Realistically I couldn't convince myself to go to school for dentistry. Here's how the conversation would've went:

Current me: Hey, you know what you should do? You should go to school to be a dentist!

11th grade me: A dentist? Why would I do that?

Current me: Because it's easy and it pays well.

11th grade me: But wouldn't I have to go to school for like 10 years?

Current me: I don't really know, didn't research that. All I know is you can live next door to Chris Rock and/or drive a nice car in Miami. 

11th grade me: No way, man. I'm going to apply to the film school!

Current me: We'll still write, just major in something that makes money!

11th grade me: Thanks for the advice, but I have to follow my dreams. This writing thing is meant to be.

Current me: *Sigh... Welp, have fun taking Teachers and Technology 

11th grade me: Teachers and Tech, what? Wait! Before you go, how many more championships will LeBron win?

Current me: Can't say. Don't want the butterfly effect to screw things up. Just know, when the Warriors have a 3-1 lead, bet against them. 

End Scene

             I've been stressing and thinking about all the things I could've done lately because I'm going through a mid college life crisis and it sucks. There’s something about junior year that makes you stop and think. It’s like wow, I’m really halfway done with undergrad. It’s crazy looking back on freshman year and realizing that was two years ago. So much has changed since then, you’re probably not the same person. Suddenly you see the high schoolers visit campus and feel more distant from them. You can spot a freshman from a mile away or within minutes of talking to one. There’s so much to look back on and a lot to look forward to. But don’t get too caught up, because you probably have an exam to study for this week. Back in high school, being a junior was celebrated. During senior sendoffs, juniors would get crowns to symbolize the passing of the throne. If juniors receive crowns towards the end of the year, sophomores should get strait jackets because junior year is enough to make anyone go crazy.  

             Looking back on all of those college movies and TV shows, I wonder if they accurately depicted the stress of junior year. Suddenly every day is a deadline and there’s always something you forgot was due until it’s time to turn it in. It’s like when you’re in a gunfight in Call of Duty then another enemy shows up and starts shooting you, then an airstrike comes by and you step near a bouncing betty. In the killcam you your corpse is getting teabagged and a shrill voice comes on your mic to tell you that you suck and says disrespectful things about your mom. That’s how it is. Everything comes at you like some kind of symphony from Hell. The end result is a composition of anxiety induced panic attacks, sleepless nights and lingering existentialism. Eddie said it best with this anecdote: “My semester has been like this: I fall behind in this class, I work to catch up. Now I’m behind in this class, I get back up. I try to get ahead in this class, now I’m behind in all my classes.”

This year more than ever has taught me a great lesson about time management. Eddie has another great quote about this: “I’m taking half the classes [that I took in high school] and I’m still wondering where to find the time!” If I had known how quickly an hour can pass by sifting through social media apps I might’ve asked my parents to downgrade me to a Jitterbug phone.  To the people who go out pretty much every night and still manage to make the Dean’s List (have a GPA at or above 3.5), I salute you. I had friends who did that during freshman year and there was nothing you could tell them. Those days have been long gone.

Around this time, you may be getting into or already in your major. This is a good and bad thing. It means no more liberal studies courses but it also means play time is over. Getting into your major can be exciting and irritating. You might sit in class happy about what you’re learning or you might look like Gob from Arrested Development and realize you’ve made a huge mistake. The scariest part of it all might not be graduating on time, but figuring out what you’re doing after graduation. Everywhere you go, people are going to ask what’s next. Family gatherings, cocktail parties, work… Saying “I don’t know” multiple times can not only get annoying, it can also be frightening and discouraging. Lately I’ve been worrying about whether or not I’ve done enough. Is my resume on point? Do I know anybody who can help me land a job, can they write good references? In the words of the great Kanye West "This the real world, homie, school finished" that's about to be my reality soon. 

Junior year in high school was like “Oh, shoot! I gotta take the SAT and ACT and start applying for college!” Junior year in college is like “Oh, shoot! I gotta make sure I graduate on time and take this exam for my major which costs hundreds of dollars out of pocket and look into some grad school applications and get an internship and eat!”

I was at a friend’s birthday party this Fall. I met a senior and asked him if he had any advice to give me. Without hesitation he looked at me and said “Turn the f*ck up!” That’s it. That’s all he had to tell me. The only regret he had in his time in college is that he didn’t party hard enough because he spent his first two years in a relationship. Since he already has a profitable job lined up for him after graduation, I can’t fault him for saying what he did. But as an Education major with dreams of being a screenwriter, turn the f*ck up won’t do much for me.

           For all the soon to be juniors out there I advise you to have fun during your time here. Don’t graduate with any regrets but at the same time, plan for the future. Life comes at you fast and it won’t slow down for you. Neither will college. If you didn’t know that already you will definitely know come junior year. To all my fellow juniors, it’s almost over. By the end of the finals week, we can make a toast to our survival at a local bar.  

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!