Tee Grizzley Encourages Rappers To Get Life Insurance

While the world is already under stress, Tee Grizzley brought up a conversation on his social media that needed to be heard. The “First Day Out” rapper encouraged fellow rappers in the industry to get life insurance and write a will.

“So look, right. As rappers, as successful Black men from the trenches, bro. We are the number one target and we are the least prepared, you feel me? So, I feel like everybody should have life insurance. I need everybody to go get life insurance if you ain’t got it. If you got kids, I need you to get a will set up, bro, for your kids, bro,” he stated.

While Tee Grizzley said “God forbid anything happens,” the rapper continued to educate his peers on leaving behind something for their loved ones. “You know what I’m saying? We the number one target and the least prepared. I need us to get on top of this sh*t. We need to get life insurance. We need to get our wills right, so the next generation doesn’t have to go as hard as we did and have to go through everything we did, you feel me.”

This message comes after the release of his album Built For Whatever. Grizzly went on to explain the meaning of the title of the album. 

“The title of this album is my whole life in one sentence. The songs on the album and the things I refer to lyrically on each track reflect pieces of my real life. The name of this album is exactly what I am- built for whatever.”

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Skye Shanklin Tops iTunes Chart With "Joy"

California-based singer-songwriter Skye Shanklin has created hype all over the world with her wondrous soundscape. Hailing from Playa Del Rey, CA, she started singing at the age of seven along with her coach. She loves making new music and mixing different sounds to create her original melodies. Skye also loves all kinds of music, but holds a strong preference for old sounds as she believes they have a story to tell.

She released an incredible music video at age 9 called, ‘All This’. The video features her unparalleled artistic craftsmanship. The song gained more than 29k views in just 3 weeks. She is now 11 and the singing diva is still winning hearts on the internet with her stunning talent. She had time to share her brilliance with us and some interesting information about her music and herself.

The singer has mastered the art of melodious singing and her voice sounds much ahead of her time. Filled with simplicity yet laced with the perfect authority, the singer demonstrates her skills to offer good vibes. Her music celebrates her innocence, her style, and bright perspective towards life.

Q: What is your legal name and age?

A: Skye Shanklin, I'm 11 years old

Q: Where are you from?

A: I'm from Playa Del Rey, California

Q: Why did you first start making music?

A: I don't know I seemed to love it. My mom said I would beat on all of her pots and pans with a rhythm not at random so she bought me a drum set for my first birthday. Then I was recorded at about 18 months old singing "All of Me" by John Legend, although I didn't say all of the words correctly I had the melody down. 

Q: What’s your latest release?

A: February 28th Stop, Look, and Listen is the cut we expect great things so check back.

Q: Who influenced you most throughout your career?

A: My mom- because she never stops believing in my dreams and supporting me and encouraging me when I feel stuck or anything. maybe because she's a therapist she knows how to listen but she's the best and I'm glad she's my mom.

Q: What’s your best advice for handling criticism?

A: Check the source, and if credible take it as a way to grow and continue to develop into the best me, or put it into my library of info if needed but if it doesn't apply let it fly. 

Using her magnificent voice to whisper through songs that flip the expectations set by the genre with tempo and gorgeousness, singer Skye Shanklin is making a worthwhile entry into the industry. The young singer has a soulful and catchy voice that she uses to the best of her abilities to strike a chord with the audience. Her deep thought process coupled with her artistic perspective is sure to pave her way towards a bright future.

Follow her movement on Apple Music, Spotify, Soundcloud, Instagram, & Facebook.

Is Democracy Still Struggling To Meet The Great America Test?

Yes, above Lincoln or Kennedy or Roosevelt above any of the presidents; above the titans of industry or culture or science or sport. Above them all, Martin L. King is the one who spoke to, and whose words continue to speak to, the broken heart of America — the promise and the lie, the dreams and the nightmares of America.

He held America to account to its creed of equality; told America that the bombs it was dropping in Vietnam would explode at home; went to the mountaintop and glimpsed a promised land and still on the day of his murder was planning a sermon asking if America would go to hell.

In his lifetime, King was not the revered figure he is today. He was jailed. He was tracked by the FBI. He had the dogs set upon him. He was not popular. Before his death, a poll of Americans showed King had a 75 per cent disapproval rate. Even among other black Americans he was not universally loved. A young generation was impatient with his message of non-violence and love. King himself wondered if they were not right. In the decades since his image has been molded and softened. Rather than the firebrand reverend, we get the apostle for peace. Yet both things were true.

The post-American world is upon us

White liberals love to quote his famous speech that we should be judged by the content of our character, not the colour of our skin, to tell us — black people or people of colour — that we should put aside the politics of race. They don't realise that he was talking to them too. He was telling white people not to judge the rest of us by the colour of their white skin.

Of course, King championed a glorious and incurable colour blindness. He believed in the universality and Christian peoplehood of all, but never lost sight of the struggle for black rights. Black philosopher Cornel West reminds us that for King, "the black freedom struggle requires a cross to bear", not a "flag to wave".

King's bible was used at Obama's swearing in ceremony in 2009.(Public Domain)

West challenged the idea that Barack Obama's election as the first black president was the fulfilment of King's dream. King's bible was used at Obama's swearing-in ceremony. But West worried about the celebrations of the black elite who "became Obama-like flag wavers rather than Martin King-like cross bearers". West believed King would shed tears from the grave at the capture of Obama by Wall Street and American imperialism.

King set American democracy a test it is still struggling to meet. America is a troubled, exhausted, divided and racially striven nation. This can no longer be called the American century. In many ways the post-American world is upon us. China is the biggest engine of economic growth and soon to be the single biggest economy in the world.

America boasts the most powerful military but it has spent decades bogged down in foreign wars, it has tens of thousands of troops stationed around the world, it is burdened and ended its single longest war by fleeing Afghanistan and leaving it to the Taliban.

Race is central

Yet America — more than China, more than the rich nations of Europe — will still likely determine the fate of our world. If it is to have a future, democracy — in retreat and crumbling within — must meet the test of America. Post-Cold War liberal triumphalism does not answer the questions of 21st century America. The idea of America is contested every day. It is a nation of different races and faiths and cultures and creeds all crammed in and making it up as they go along.

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Sade Set To Release Album

R&B legend Sade might have new music in the works. The singer — born Helen Folsade Adu — reportedly visited Brad Pitt’s Miraval Studios in Correns, France to work on a new project.

The facility is co-owned by actor Bradd Pitt and music producer, Damien Quintard. Miraval Studios is a part of the Château Miraval, a lush winery and estate that Pitt bought with his former spouse Angelina Jolie in 2012. Last year, Pitt hired Quintard to help rebuild the studio and in an interview with Billboard, he said their goal was to “make a sanctuary for artists to come in and do their thing”.

So far the studio has welcomed Till Lindemann from the German band Rammstein, and, Sade, who was the first artist to use the space. “You could feel the love that she and the band had for this place,” said Quintard. “When we talked to musicians who came here previously, they all have this special connection with Miraval that can’t really be explained,” he continued. “It’s a dream come true to see this place activate again.”

Sade has yet to confirm if and when her band will release new music, but Miraval certainly seems like a good place to whip up something magical. Located nearly eight hours south of France, the private studio is in a secluded area where artists can work in peace.

The singer rose to fame in the 80s after forming the band Sade and releasing their first album, Diamond Life. Over the next two decades their songs “Smooth Operator,” “No Ordinary Love,” and “Your Love is King,” grew immensely popular. Sade, though known as an R&B group, is largely credited with using jazz music to inspire a new sound that influenced the R&B we listen to today. Their last album Soldier of Love was released in 2010.

Since then Sade has remained relatively quiet — aside from the singles “Flower of the Universe” for Ava DuVernay’s Wrinkle in Time soundtrack and “The Big Unknown,” for Steve McQueen’s film, Widows. However, in 2018 Sade member Stuart Matthewman said they had written “a bunch of songs” for an upcoming album. As reported by Pitchfork, Matthewman said, “[Sade’s] not interested in the fame or any of that stuff. She likes to put out art. So when it’s ready it will come out.”

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Year of the Slap: Best Pop Culture Moments in 2022

Taylor Swift was up. Elon Musk was in, out, and in. Tom Cruise was back. BTS stepped aside, and so did Serena Williams, and Tom Brady too — oops, scratch that.

But the slap? The slap was everywhere.

Ok, so maybe it wasn’t on the level of a moon landing, or selection of a pope. But henceforth all you need say is “the slap” and people will know what you mean — that moment Will Smith smacked Chris Rock at the Oscars and a global audience said, “Wait, did that happen?” Even in the room itself — maybe especially in the room itself — there was a sense that everyone had imagined it, which helps explain why things went on as normal, for a bit.

The pandemic was over in 2022, phew! Well, of course it wasn’t. But live entertainment pushed forward, with mask mandates dropping, and people rushing to buy things like, oh, Taylor Swift tickets!

We’ll take any segue to mention Swift, who already had a big year in 2021, but just got bigger — heck, she broke Billboard records and then she broke Ticketmaster. (No word if she got her scarf back).

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