What you are about to read is an excerpt from a short story titled “The Apprentice” (No relation to Pres. Trump) . This story will be featured in my book Terrorbytes coming fall 2017.
I got my first shot at the big time at seventeen, that was when the opportunity of a lifetime walked right into my life. I ain’t never have no brothers or sisters but when I met Jacob at that YMCA it was like finding out I had a long lost one all along. We had so much in common; just like me both his parents were dead, or junkies, I think, nevertheless nobody even noticed he left his foster home. Of course he looked up to me as an older brother, so understandably I took him under my wing. He stayed with me for about a week and it was a week I will always treasure, I grew so much and learned a lot about myself too.
One beautiful day we took a shortcut home through a junkyard I used to play in as a kid. As soon as we got over the gate we darted off, nearly losing each other running around seeing who could find the coolest thing.
I was mesmerized by the way the sun shine gave this day a glow, it almost felt like a dream. That’s when I saw it, like a sign from GOD. There was a machete jetting from a dog in a rusted through car trunk. It’s almost as if I were chosen, pulling Excalibur from the stone. I turned around and Jacob was trying to build a pyramid out of mufflers. I watched for a while as he made amazing progress. It was magnificent, the sight of him as he dug holes to level it out, finding mufflers the same size, cross stacking them, it was a thing of beauty.
He didn’t even see it coming, I ain’t have a steady hand yet so I kinda missed my target. I was goin for his head, instead I went down more into his torso. Shit, either way, it was quick. And I did let him finish his pyramid, so there’s that. Twelve years later and they still ain’t found him buried next to it.
You know what? Lookin back at it I think that might have been me who left that machete there.
“What makes a man a hero? The question has been asked millions of ways with millions of answers. Some only consider soldiers heroes. Firefighters, police officers, and doctors have their place on the list. My personal heroes are teachers, a long LONG string of them helped me achieve what I thought I could not. But what about the heroes standing right in front of us? What about the heroes that sit in our blind spots? Doing all they can to make sure we have a place to sleep at night. Those that provide for providers. Where on the list of heroes does a man that gives housing to people seemingly cast from society belong? Is a man a hero if he takes 85 acres builds housing, restaurants, even parks and recreation specifically for people that would otherwise be derelict? No what makes that man a hero is doing all of these things while never asking for thanks, always fulfilling desires and never expressing any wants of his own. It’s time for us to redefine our definition of a hero, and understand that there’s a hero within each and every one of us. That is all your honor.”
“After listening to the closing statements, considering all the evidence, I have decided to rule in favor of the defense Chip Hawkthorne and Hawkeye realty.”
Jack Wagner is the best attorney at his firm, he hasn’t lost a case in nearly 10 years. This has been is biggest win and most controversial case yet. Chip Hawkthorne was accused of inhumane business practices. His tenants claimed his buildings were poorly constructed. His building managers were said to be from suburban areas vastly different from the neighborhood the apartments were in. They took advantage of desperate tenants, forcing women to have sex, even beating those that said no.
Once, Chip raised the rent in an attempt to drive out people that complained about the gang activity. Those people were evicted, however a single mother with 4 sons were also evicted.
Getting out of the the courthouse was a nightmare. A labyrinth of media, social justice warriors, with the final level being the tenants of Hawkthorn Towers.
“I hope you burn in hell for getting that slumlord off”
“If not me then someone else would represent him. The facts were presented, I didn’t make the ruling the judge did.”
“you’re a real piece of shit Wagner, your whole career has been spent rescuing crooked businessmen and over privileged trust fund rapists from what they deserve”
“These people that you speak so lovingly of got exactly what they deserve. It’s not up to me nor you to judge them, we leave it to the impartial and they gave each and every one of these people exactly what they deserve.”
“One day you’re gonna get what you deserve”
“I already got it.”
Jack, being superstitious, celebrates every victory big and small in his same reserved booth at Ruth’s Chris, he has a Porterhouse with a side of asparagus, a glass of Johnnie Walker black label and a Cuban cigar. After this particular win he had a woman accompany him.
“congratulations Wagner, you know even tho Hawkthorne was a pig I’m really proud of you. Well more impressed, I didn’t think you stood a chance defending that guy.”
“Thanks for the compliment I think, you know I don’t choose these cases they’re given to me.”
“Whatever helps you get to sleep at night.”
“you know me, do you really think I would go out of my way to get a case like this?”
“I mean you could always say no right? You’ve got so many great qualities sometimes I wonder if you have some integrity in there.”
“You wanna question my integrity? You’re the face of a makeup line created by a total bigot, when he finally gets sued for racial discrimination I’ll tell him no.”
“glad to see there’s some sort of line that you won’t cross.”
“just because I’m good at my job doesn’t mean I like any of these people. Chip Hawkthorne was a complete idiot, he could barely read the court documents, he probably didn’t even know what he was being sued for.”
“well this has been fun but I think it’s time for me to go home, congrats again on defending such a great guy.”
After sitting alone finishing his meal with a full bottle of Johnnie Walker, Jack staggers to the valet and waits for his car. Determined to finish his night off right he texts his old sexual conquests hoping for a happy ending. After being repeatedly being turned down a car pulls up and a voice calls out for him.
“Mr. Wagner, your ride is here.”
“Gotta love Uber.”
Jack slumps in the back seat in a haze
“home James, ooh actually Wendy’s James my stomach just got it’s second wind.”
Riding for a long while, Jack begins to notice the city growing darker. An unfamiliar smell permeates through the air that begins to make him sick.
“dude where the hell are we?”
“You said you wanted Wendy’s right? We’re about to pull in the drive thru now.”
“good, baconator, spicy chicken nuggets and a frosty. Get something for yourself too.”
Jack soon falls asleep. When he awakens he peers out the window seeing street signs he doesn’t recognize.
“hey what the fuck is going on?”
The car comes to a screeching halt, the driver turns and tases Jack. The last thing he sees before the blindfold went on was the Hawkthorne towers sign.
Wagner wakes up still blindfolded tied up on his knees. The sound of gunshots rang out, and a mysterious burning smell tinged his nostrils. He can hear people talking and setting something metal up.
“please don’t do this! I…I have money and you can have it all of you just let me go.”
The blindfold is snatched off, Jack soon discovers he is on the roof of Hawkthorne towers. There’s nothing but graffiti and broken glass in front of him. Jack glances back to see a jagged blade rising to the top of a guillotine.
“OH FUUUUCK, FUCK ME, PLEASE PLEEEASE LET ME GO I’ll do whatever you want.
“Too late for that nigga”
Two men force Jack to his feet. Knees trembling Jack continues begging for mercy. A small meek woman steps out of the crowd. She strokes Jack softly on the cheek. She spoke with the softest voice.
“Hello there Mr. Wagner, you may not know me but I think you know my son, he brought you here. The man you defended victoriously today did all he could to put a group of people on the streets a few years ago people facing the threat of death daily. All these people wanted was fair living conditions and Mr. Hawkthorne found this unreasonable. Those people were not all that was made vagrant.”
“I’m so sorry I had nothing to do with that, all I did was my job.”
“and you did your job very well, now it’s time for us to do our job.”
“I’m begging you, please don’t put me in that thing.”
“ Oh, of course not, this is for our guest of honor”
Chip Hawkthorne is dragged screaming out of the building. Hundreds of glass shards embedded in is flesh, he’s strapped to the guillotine.
“it’s a pleasure to finally meet you Mr. Hawkthorne, I’m so sorry it had to be under these conditions.”
Jack’s bowels evacuate as a masked executioner pulls the lever. He watches the blade drop, plunging into Chip’s neck. The first try doesn’t decapitate him completely so the executioner finishes the job with bare hands. Once it was detached the head was put on a pike on display for the cheering tenants below. Silence soon filled the air, Jack begins to sob as the men on the roof dump the body into an incinerator.
“my family was kicked out with the other people. After that my youngest son turned to the gang that runs these towers. A rival crew saw him at a store and chased him, hounding him all the way here. My son was murdered in front of the only home he has ever had.”
Jack is cut free before he crumples into the ground. He scans the roof trying to figure out his fate. All he can see now is a crowd of men and women loading pistols and checking rifles.
“now my other sons are about to provide you with more than their brother got.”
She signals for her son to come over. Her son stoops down to look Jack in the eyes.
“whats up Jack I’m Marcus , I’m not as well spoken as my mother, but me and my people, we got honor and integrity. We ain’t gonna just slaughter you like this swine, you get a fighting chance.”
“I don’t want to fight you, I don’t think I can.”
Marcus rolls a flashlight over to Jack.
“Oh you don’t have to worry about that. You got 40 floors under you, no elevators and a bunch of pissed off people. They’re mostly harmless tho, the real threat is behind you.”
“but…but”
“Don’t worry Jack, you get a five minute head start.”
this is my first horror story post to Tumblr. My stories often involve mystery, murder and people reaping what they sow. Please read, I hope you enjoy
“What makes a man a hero? The question has been asked millions of ways with millions of answers. Some only consider soldiers heroes. Firefighters, police officers, and doctors have their place on the list. My personal heroes are teachers, a long LONG string of them helped me achieve what I thought I could not. But what about the heroes standing right in front of us? What about the heroes that sit in our blind spots? Doing all they can to make sure we have a place to sleep at night. Those that provide for providers. Where on the list of heroes does a man that gives housing to people seemingly cast from society belong? Is a man a hero if he takes 85 acres builds housing, restaurants, even parks and recreation specifically for people that would otherwise be derelict? No what makes that man a hero is doing all of these things while never asking for thanks, always fulfilling desires and never expressing any wants of his own. It’s time for us to redefine our definition of a hero, and understand that there’s a hero within each and every one of us. That is all your honor.”
“After listening to the closing statements, considering all the evidence, I have decided to rule in favor of the defense Chip Hawkthorne and Hawkeye realty.”
Jack Wagner is the best attorney at his firm, he hasn’t lost a case in nearly 10 years. This has been is biggest win and most controversial case yet. Chip Hawkthorne was accused of inhumane business practices. His tenants claimed his buildings were poorly constructed. His building managers were said to be from suburban areas vastly different from the neighborhood the apartments were in. They took advantage of desperate tenants, forcing women to have sex, even beating those that said no.
Once, Chip raised the rent in an attempt to drive out people that complained about the gang activity. Those people were evicted, however a single mother with 4 sons were also evicted.
Getting out of the the courthouse was a nightmare. A labyrinth of media, social justice warriors, with the final level being the tenants of Hawkthorn Towers.
“I hope you burn in hell for getting that slumlord off”
“If not me then someone else would represent him. The facts were presented, I didn’t make the ruling the judge did.”
“you’re a real piece of shit Wagner, your whole career has been spent rescuing crooked businessmen and over privileged trust fund rapists from what they deserve”
“These people that you speak so lovingly of got exactly what they deserve. It’s not up to me nor you to judge them, we leave it to the impartial and they gave each and every one of these people exactly what they deserve.”
“One day you’re gonna get what you deserve”
“I already got it.”
Jack, being superstitious, celebrates every victory big and small in his same reserved booth at Ruth’s Chris, he has a Porterhouse with a side of asparagus, a glass of Johnnie Walker black label and a Cuban cigar. After this particular win he had a woman accompany him.
“congratulations Wagner, you know even tho Hawkthorne was a pig I’m really proud of you. Well more impressed, I didn’t think you stood a chance defending that guy.”
“Thanks for the compliment I think, you know I don’t choose these cases they’re given to me.”
“Whatever helps you get to sleep at night.”
“you know me, do you really think I would go out of my way to get a case like this?”
“I mean you could always say no right? You’ve got so many great qualities sometimes I wonder if you have some integrity in there.”
“You wanna question my integrity? You’re the face of a makeup line created by a total bigot, when he finally gets sued for racial discrimination I’ll tell him no.”
“glad to see there’s some sort of line that you won’t cross.”
“just because I’m good at my job doesn’t mean I like any of these people. Chip Hawkthorne was a complete idiot, he could barely read the court documents, he probably didn’t even know what he was being sued for.”
“well this has been fun but I think it’s time for me to go home, congrats again on defending such a great guy.”
After sitting alone finishing his meal with a full bottle of Johnnie Walker, Jack staggers to the valet and waits for his car. Determined to finish his night off right he texts his old sexual conquests hoping for a happy ending. After being repeatedly being turned down a car pulls up and a voice calls out for him.
“Mr. Wagner, your ride is here.”
“Gotta love Uber.”
Jack slumps in the back seat in a haze
“home James, ooh actually Wendy’s James my stomach just got it’s second wind.”
Riding for a long while, Jack begins to notice the city growing darker. An unfamiliar smell permeates through the air that begins to make him sick.
“dude where the hell are we?”
“You said you wanted Wendy’s right? We’re about to pull in the drive thru now.”
“good, baconator, spicy chicken nuggets and a frosty. Get something for yourself too.”
Jack soon falls asleep. When he awakens he peers out the window seeing street signs he doesn’t recognize.
“hey what the fuck is going on?”
The car comes to a screeching halt, the driver turns and tases Jack. The last thing he sees before the blindfold went on was the Hawkthorne towers sign.
Wagner wakes up still blindfolded tied up on his knees. The sound of gunshots rang out, and a mysterious burning smell tinged his nostrils. He can hear people talking and setting something metal up.
“please don’t do this! I…I have money and you can have it all of you just let me go.”
The blindfold is snatched off, Jack soon discovers he is on the roof of Hawkthorne towers. There’s nothing but graffiti and broken glass in front of him. Jack glances back to see a jagged blade rising to the top of a guillotine.
“OH FUUUUCK, FUCK ME, PLEASE PLEEEASE LET ME GO I’ll do whatever you want.
“Too late for that nigga”
Two men force Jack to his feet. Knees trembling Jack continues begging for mercy. A small meek woman steps out of the crowd. She strokes Jack softly on the cheek. She spoke with the softest voice.
“Hello there Mr. Wagner, you may not know me but I think you know my son, he brought you here. The man you defended victoriously today did all he could to put a group of people on the streets a few years ago people facing the threat of death daily. All these people wanted was fair living conditions and Mr. Hawkthorne found this unreasonable. Those people were not all that was made vagrant.”
“I’m so sorry I had nothing to do with that, all I did was my job.”
“and you did your job very well, now it’s time for us to do our job.”
“I’m begging you, please don’t put me in that thing.”
“ Oh, of course not, this is for our guest of honor”
Chip Hawkthorne is dragged screaming out of the building. Hundreds of glass shards embedded in is flesh, he’s strapped to the guillotine.
“it’s a pleasure to finally meet you Mr. Hawkthorne, I’m so sorry it had to be under these conditions.”
Jack’s bowels evacuate as a masked executioner pulls the lever. He watches the blade drop, plunging into Chip’s neck. The first try doesn’t decapitate him completely so the executioner finishes the job with bare hands. Once it was detached the head was put on a pike on display for the cheering tenants below. Silence soon filled the air, Jack begins to sob as the men on the roof dump the body into an incinerator.
“my family was kicked out with the other people. After that my youngest son turned to the gang that runs these towers. A rival crew saw him at a store and chased him, hounding him all the way here. My son was murdered in front of the only home he has ever had.”
Jack is cut free before he crumples into the ground. He scans the roof trying to figure out his fate. All he can see now is a crowd of men and women loading pistols and checking rifles.
“now my other sons are about to provide you with more than their brother got.”
She signals for her son to come over. Her son stoops down to look Jack in the eyes.
“whats up Jack I’m Marcus , I’m not as well spoken as my mother, but me and my people, we got honor and integrity. We ain’t gonna just slaughter you like this swine, you get a fighting chance.”
“I don’t want to fight you, I don’t think I can.”
Marcus rolls a flashlight over to Jack.
“Oh you don’t have to worry about that. You got 40 floors under you, no elevators and a bunch of pissed off people. They’re mostly harmless tho, the real threat is behind you.”
“but…but”
“Don’t worry Jack, you get a five minute head start.”
“What makes a man a hero? The question has been asked millions of ways with millions of answers. Some only consider soldiers heroes. Firefighters, police officers, and doctors have their place on the list. My personal heroes are teachers, a long LONG string of them helped me achieve what I thought I could not. But what about the heroes standing right in front of us? What about the heroes that sit in our blind spots? Doing all they can to make sure we have a place to sleep at night. Those that provide for providers. Where on the list of heroes does a man that gives housing to people seemingly cast from society belong? Is a man a hero if he takes 85 acres builds housing, restaurants, even parks and recreation specifically for people that would otherwise be derelict? No what makes that man a hero is doing all of these things while never asking for thanks, always fulfilling desires and never expressing any wants of his own. It’s time for us to redefine our definition of a hero, and understand that there’s a hero within each and every one of us. That is all your honor.”
“After listening to the closing statements, considering all the evidence, I have decided to rule in favor of the defense Chip Hawkthorne and Hawkeye realty.”
Jack Wagner is the best attorney at his firm, he hasn’t lost a case in nearly 10 years. This has been is biggest win and most controversial case yet. Chip Hawkthorne was accused of inhumane business practices. His tenants claimed his buildings were poorly constructed. His building managers were said to be from suburban areas vastly different from the neighborhood the apartments were in. They took advantage of desperate tenants, forcing women to have sex, even beating those that said no.
Once, Chip raised the rent in an attempt to drive out people that complained about the gang activity. Those people were evicted, however a single mother with 4 sons were also evicted.
Getting out of the the courthouse was a nightmare. A labyrinth of media, social justice warriors, with the final level being the tenants of Hawkthorn Towers.
“I hope you burn in hell for getting that slumlord off”
“If not me then someone else would represent him. The facts were presented, I didn’t make the ruling the judge did.”
“you’re a real piece of shit Wagner, your whole career has been spent rescuing crooked businessmen and over privileged trust fund rapists from what they deserve”
“These people that you speak so lovingly of got exactly what they deserve. It’s not up to me nor you to judge them, we leave it to the impartial and they gave each and every one of these people exactly what they deserve.”
“One day you’re gonna get what you deserve”
“I already got it.”
Jack, being superstitious, celebrates every victory big and small in his same reserved booth at Ruth’s Chris, he has a Porterhouse with a side of asparagus, a glass of Johnnie Walker black label and a Cuban cigar. After this particular win he had a woman accompany him.
“congratulations Wagner, you know even tho Hawkthorne was a pig I’m really proud of you. Well more impressed, I didn’t think you stood a chance defending that guy.”
“Thanks for the compliment I think, you know I don’t choose these cases they’re given to me.”
“Whatever helps you get to sleep at night.”
“you know me, do you really think I would go out of my way to get a case like this?”
“I mean you could always say no right? You’ve got so many great qualities sometimes I wonder if you have some integrity in there.”
“You wanna question my integrity? You’re the face of a makeup line created by a total bigot, when he finally gets sued for racial discrimination I’ll tell him no.”
“glad to see there’s some sort of line that you won’t cross.”
“just because I’m good at my job doesn’t mean I like any of these people. Chip Hawkthorne was a complete idiot, he could barely read the court documents, he probably didn’t even know what he was being sued for.”
“well this has been fun but I think it’s time for me to go home, congrats again on defending such a great guy.”
After sitting alone finishing his meal with a full bottle of Johnnie Walker, Jack staggers to the valet and waits for his car. Determined to finish his night off right he texts his old sexual conquests hoping for a happy ending. After being repeatedly being turned down a car pulls up and a voice calls out for him.
“Mr. Wagner, your ride is here.”
“Gotta love Uber.”
Jack slumps in the back seat in a haze
“home James, ooh actually Wendy’s James my stomach just got it’s second wind.”
Riding for a long while, Jack begins to notice the city growing darker. An unfamiliar smell permeates through the air that begins to make him sick.
“dude where the hell are we?”
“You said you wanted Wendy’s right? We’re about to pull in the drive thru now.”
“good, baconator, spicy chicken nuggets and a frosty. Get something for yourself too.”
Jack soon falls asleep. When he awakens he peers out the window seeing street signs he doesn’t recognize.
“hey what the fuck is going on?”
The car comes to a screeching halt, the driver turns and tases Jack. The last thing he sees before the blindfold went on was the Hawkthorne towers sign.
Wagner wakes up still blindfolded tied up on his knees. The sound of gunshots rang out, and a mysterious burning smell tinged his nostrils. He can hear people talking and setting something metal up.
“please don’t do this! I…I have money and you can have it all of you just let me go.”
The blindfold is snatched off, Jack soon discovers he is on the roof of Hawkthorne towers. There’s nothing but graffiti and broken glass in front of him. Jack glances back to see a jagged blade rising to the top of a guillotine.
“OH FUUUUCK, FUCK ME, PLEASE PLEEEASE LET ME GO I’ll do whatever you want.
“Too late for that nigga”
Two men force Jack to his feet. Knees trembling Jack continues begging for mercy. A small meek woman steps out of the crowd. She strokes Jack softly on the cheek. She spoke with the softest voice.
“Hello there Mr. Wagner, you may not know me but I think you know my son, he brought you here. The man you defended victoriously today did all he could to put a group of people on the streets a few years ago people facing the threat of death daily. All these people wanted was fair living conditions and Mr. Hawkthorne found this unreasonable. Those people were not all that was made vagrant.”
“I’m so sorry I had nothing to do with that, all I did was my job.”
“and you did your job very well, now it’s time for us to do our job.”
“I’m begging you, please don’t put me in that thing.”
“ Oh, of course not, this is for our guest of honor”
Chip Hawkthorne is dragged screaming out of the building. Hundreds of glass shards embedded in is flesh, he’s strapped to the guillotine.
“it’s a pleasure to finally meet you Mr. Hawkthorne, I’m so sorry it had to be under these conditions.”
Jack’s bowels evacuate as a masked executioner pulls the lever. He watches the blade drop, plunging into Chip’s neck. The first try doesn’t decapitate him completely so the executioner finishes the job with bare hands. Once it was detached the head was put on a pike on display for the cheering tenants below. Silence soon filled the air, Jack begins to sob as the men on the roof dump the body into an incinerator.
“my family was kicked out with the other people. After that my youngest son turned to the gang that runs these towers. A rival crew saw him at a store and chased him, hounding him all the way here. My son was murdered in front of the only home he has ever had.”
Jack is cut free before he crumples into the ground. He scans the roof trying to figure out his fate. All he can see now is a crowd of men and women loading pistols and checking rifles.
“now my other sons are about to provide you with more than their brother got.”
She signals for her son to come over. Her son stoops down to look Jack in the eyes.
“whats up Jack I’m Marcus , I’m not as well spoken as my mother, but me and my people, we got honor and integrity. We ain’t gonna just slaughter you like this swine, you get a fighting chance.”
“I don’t want to fight you, I don’t think I can.”
Marcus rolls a flashlight over to Jack.
“Oh you don’t have to worry about that. You got 40 floors under you, no elevators and a bunch of pissed off people. They’re mostly harmless tho, the real threat is behind you.”
“but…but”
“Don’t worry Jack, you get a five minute head start.”
In the light of the many racial issues that have already struck in the short four weeks of 2016, I have decided to make a position statement, considering there are so many positions to take. To begin with I would like to start with something that has begun to weigh heavy on my mind as I try to ignore it.
The recent and continuing saga of controversy that surrounds cam newton. I won’t dig too deep into his college exploits because that should be common knowledge now. What I will choose to discuss is the current issues facing the young NFL superstar. The Carolina Panthers have been having an astonishing year, and it seems as they flourish there is more and more done to hinder their quarterback. Before he even had the chance to make his debut Cam Newton was dubbed the “worst NFL draft pick ever”, a statement that has been proven far from true. Even as he has led the Panthers to the Super Bowl this year he faced scrutiny over some of the most trivial things like wearing a towel on his head, things have gone as far as fining Cam 25k for “dabbing” which is a popular attributed to marijuana “dabs”. The NFL mistook this popular dance for gang signs and fined him. he has gone through the ringer for his child that was conceived out of wedlock. I feel like it’s time for the media to let it go; the guy is gonna win a super bowl and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.
The next subject I bring up reluctantly, so I will do this as painlessly as possible. The recent feuds surrounding the Oscars has gotten so far out of hand people are renouncing their race. The most recent and most prolific case has to be Stacey Dash v. The Black Community. Stacey Dash alleges that in order for black people to be fully integrated into white society we should do away with the BET channel and the BET awards, as well as end black history month. Stepping over the obvious potholes in her logic, Stacey Dash is most wrong for thinking that not acknowledging history is a good idea regardless of race. Honestly we shouldn’t be mad at her for her opinion, Stacey Dash is simply a confused woman. She feels that if we continue to vote the same and behave the same we will have the same results and the cycle will continue. Her logic is to take the opposite side of what the black community generally believes instead of examining the system as a whole.
One of the more prominent trending feuds that actually happened was one of astronomic proportions. Atlanta rapper B.O.B recently took to twitter to prove to the world once and for all that the world is flat. This rant took a life of its own and became a full blown beef with acclaimed astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson that eventually led to legitimate diss tracks . What I hate about this situation and all of these recent spats is the fact that these disputes had the potential to become a platform for the people in them to actually learn something and teach other people that follow their mindset. As the way of our modern society most of these situations devolved into twitter spats and trash talk.
I would like to end on a good note, and wash myself clean of the Oscar crap by talking about the Sundance film festival and their embracing of black films. Most notably of the sundance winners was Nate Parker with his film The Birth of a Nation which netted him a $17 million distribution deal from Fox Searchlight. Other films that are worth notable mention is How to Tell You Are a Douchbag, and Beasts of No Nation which has been nominated for and won a slew of awards. Of course I am perturbed by Straight Outta Compton not getting nominated for an Academy Award, but that should be overshadowed by N.W.A being inducted into the Rock n Roll hall of fame. In turbulent times like these it seems a better use of energy to celebrate our success and stop highlighting our shortcomings.
Sunday night I attended the Stalley’s From Me to You tour at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights Ohio and despite a few bumps it was still a great experience. As all hip hop began with the DJ, this show had a great DJ (DJNuERA) keeping the crowd entertained with professionally crafted blend of old and new hip hop, R&B, and reggae with while we waited to performers to get ready. The merch booth overran with demos, t-shirts, and other merchandise for the artists that performed. The crowd at the show consisted mostly of the usual Coventry suspects with a sprinkling of Ohioans from further reaches coming to see their family and friends open the show.
The first opening acts of the night were Youngstown artists G Huf and Vice Electric. Although their performance was somewhat dated G Huf and Vice Electric had a energized performance over top of a medley of beats with a old school vibe and feel. The next performer was my personal favorite, a regular at the grog shop R the Czar lit up the stage with his uplifting lyrics and powerful message over dynamic compelling beats that magnetized the crowd towards the stage. The following act I’m sad to say was extremely lackluster which makes me feel so torn, the meaning behind Stalley’s tour is to support local artistry, and I want to say something positive about this guy, but I really can’t so we’ll just consider this constructive criticism. Honestly I nor anyone else at the show can’t remember this artists name, he had pretty decent showmanship, yet his wordplay was weak and his subject matter was non existent. Before one of his final songs he pulled a woman on stage that was clearly uncomfortable, he then performed his song while she awkwardly stood and danced on stage. The final opening act got the show back on track, Detroit rapper M.C. city JR took us down the ratchet rabbit hole with songs dedicated to flexing on exes and destroying haters lives.
The main event began very promptly, Stalley took the stage as the intro to The Page rumbled and animated the zealous horde, the bass hit and turned all the way up from there. before continuing with new music from his latest mixtape Saving Yusuf, he took his fans through his catalog, cleverly titled ITM (intelligent trunk music). He did an awesome recap of all of his most beloved hits while taking time to show sentiment to his fans and explaining the meaning of his tour. On a side note I have to speak on another concert goer that nearly ruined my experience. The middle aged woman next to me was way to drunk and belligerent, she danced wildly and you could feel the anger from the surrounding crowd. Her portion of the show ended with her removing her shirt finally making her friend pay attention and take action.
All of that aside the show finished great, Stalley brought Cleveland hip hop celeb Ray Cash to perform their song Came a Long Way. He closed the show with one of his biggest hits Swangin’ and showed the entire crowd how to work the wheel. All in all I had a great time and can’t wait to get to the next show at the grog shop. If you want to stay on the scene, be sure to check out the Cleveland Scene magazineand make your way to some of the best shows in Ohio.
Recently the twitter world has been ablaze with the ongoing dispute between rapper B.O.B and acclaimed astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson revolving around the flat earth theory that has become popular again among some people. B.O.B along with many other People believe that the secret lies at the poles. The argument is that NASA has security for the borders to control travel and keep people from exploring too far and going over the edge.
At my core I am a dreamer, but what drives me is my passion to create. I work in films, and I am building content every day in radio. I produce a podcast on soundcloud.com, and engineer a radio show on northcoastunderground.com. Education is something that matters to me; which is why I have continued my search for knowledge at Ohio Media School. Through my studies I have Advanced my knowledge of audio and video production. Through writing films, acting, crew work, webisodes, film competitions I have made contacts from an array of diverse cultures that have assisted me in attaining position for success. One of the best aspects of working in radio and film is the people, I have come across some of the most interesting characters that influence my art. My goals as far a film are to create cinematic beauty, I want to also create thought provoking material that will stand the test of time. Outside of working I frequent events at museums, local clubs, and bars. I have a lot of interest in the art that surrounds me here in Cleveland because there is so much that goes unobserved. In a world that seems to always be on the brink of insanity I am driven to create and seek creativity to be exposed to the beauty of the world.
I woke up this morning inspired, so I decided to write a post about it. Before I could finish I had to take my girlfriend to work. That’s when I encountered something so quaint, so subtle, yet so bizzare that I felt more compelled to post something about it. Before I took my girlfriend to work we stopped at a market to get some food. While leaving as we sat in the car waiting for it to get warm when we saw a man walking across the parking lot carrying a clipboard wearing a ski mask with everything but his eyes covered. As far as first impressions go that one had me freaked out. Then he raised the creepy level higher when he passed our car examined the next car and marked the tire with an orange peice of chalk. I already know what you’re thinking because I thought it too and the car was very regular. Now I don’t drive an extravagent car but this car was a 07 08 Toyota camry, it was a regular car. In fact most of the cars in the lot were plain regular cars too, which makes me ponder even more what that guys motives were. I have never seen anything like that anywhere ever, and I just can’t seem to let it go. Why was this guy marking these cars? We will probably never know.
Skip McDougle 