Video Review: Chynna, "The Conversation"

Chynna Rogers is the up and coming girl mc in the asap mob and now presents us with a music video of distinctive cinematic taste. "The Conversation" is her adaptation of Albert Hitchcock 60's film "The Birds". Having  aligned with director Tanner Jarman the video feels like an extended trailer for an indie film that would be shown at Sundance Festival. In that regards it is a visually adept and striking work that captures wide telephoto-like frames of forest scenery. The views of nature are framed beautifully as the opening scene depicts the tracking of a vehicle making its way through an eerily quiet mountain pass. Along the way we see houses accompanied by some b-roll footage of landscapes and crows flocking. The video progresses into a dark dramatization of the fatal events that went on prior to Chynna arriving on the scene. An unexplained car crash & dead people laying waste in the nearby town, suddenly shaky flashbacks of the intercept as the viewer is quickly put in first-person mode; while quick cuts to a crow suggests it was the Avian. Seemingly an isolated incident.

The video in conjunction with the track creates a mood of suspense and brooding malicious intent. The track itself compliments the video and it feels like the producer sampled the score from Hitchcock's movie and re-purposed it to fit a lofi dark trap beat. Chynnas disjointed monotone flow and at times somber lyrics bless the track wonderfully to create a melodramatic tone for the video. Toward the end things turn to pure cinematography as Chynaa enters a dark chinese temple; she stands as the light behind a strange vale while enveloped by pitch black. In final, Chynnas excellent taste in cinema combined with jarmas solid Videography makes "The Conversation" an intriguing watch that will draw the viewer in like you were watching the begging of a modern thriller.

Video Review: Post Malone, "Boy Bandz"

Opening scene. Projected on Post Malone are embers of the fireplace as he is made to be the light in a dark space. The singer-rapper-songwriter embodies his self proclaimed "White Iverson" baller persona to the fullest; sporting a heavy bezel of glistening gold chains, several rings & Los Angeles as his backdrop. Alternating between 3 different scenes in what i presume to be a luxury hotel overlooking the Cali sunset; Director John Rawlins does well to create a day-dream like state as we follow post clearly feeling himself. Rawlins rich videography compliments the skillfully minimal editing. Simple in-out tracking shots alternating between slow motion effects makes the video an easy watch. Upon first view of post's "Boy Bandz" Music video I was left with no lasting impressions, however my deep understanding of hip-hop stunt culture afforded me the luxury of interpreting bandz as riches. The intoxicating auto-tuned track is a melodic anthem to stunt to, but in relation to the visuals it is a hazy narrative with no real storyline. Coming in at almost 3 minutes the video is not memorable but it does more visually than 40% percent of rappers who are still doing videos in the club or beside an expensive car they don't own. In final, the "Boy Bandz" video is minimal, rich, and well assembled whether in the case of post showing off in the restroom mirror or silouhetted tastefully against the sunset.

Video Review: Lil B, "BasedGod"

A cultural icon, social media god, and the rawest rapper alive, Lil b's new video entitled "BasedGod" has arrived off of his long awaited Thugged Out Pissed Off mixtape. The tape itself is rumored to be delivered at the top of the new year 2016, however the basedgod himself has not alluded to anything as he releases a string of viral singles. From "Flexing Maury Povich" to "4 Tha Record" Lil b, though inconsistent has been dropping gems  for his ever grateful fan-base. The rapper is in his late 20's and still able to maintain relevance through catchy half-thought out rhymes, celebrity slander, and a pretty-boy persona that only boosts his image on social media. 

Lil b music video from 2 years ago

For those new to Lil b videos i can testify that as a long time viewer once you've seen one you've seen them all; which is exactly the case for "BasedGod" wich is essentialy an ode to drakes "Jumpman". Since the start of his solo career Lil b has redefined the mix-tape game for the better half of the 2010's by taking hit songs and bringing them to basedworld; doing this all in exceptionally rare form. In the video Lil b is seen sporting, tight pants, the famous white vans & his signature pink bandana wich made it's first appearance in the " I cook" video nearly 4 years ago. The very first scene is a close up of his face; the instrumental has already been filled with the classic Lil b adlibs that we love and as the verse begins the camera man reveals the personage of Lil b. In an instant i am hooked by the consistent bars that Lil b delivers over the dark trap beat that contain enough quotables to keep twitter fans hailing him for months to come. 

recent lil b music videos

However, after almost 5 years of being consistent Lil b's video's have not improved. Lil b has reached a creative cieling from wich he cannot breakthrough and while i understand the strategy is to keep his fans happy, as an artist who's music constantly pushes the cultural boundaries; he lacks creative vision. I am getting extremely bored of the BasedGod's camera man and his unapollagetically diy approach to video-making. The video can be interpeted as too minimalistic & lackluster in style because it only frames Lil b in a tasteless extended longshot; offering nothing more than eye candy to all the bitches he will undoubtedly fuck. Die hard Lil b fans will still get enjoyment out of listening to the songs of Lil b, but he only thing the video can offer at this point is a front row to legendary style tips. In final, the "BasedGod" video is not worth watching the whole way through and instead you should use the time to scroll down and read the YouTube comments, because it does more for the imagination than Lil b who has seemingly ran out of ideas.

ian connor vs. asspizza now asspizza vs ian connor

The internet has been buzzing ever since a certain 17 year old Austin butts aka Asspizza posted a response video to curator extraordinaire Ian Connor. Now for the readers who aren't aware, this video is of great importance among each parties followers respectively and part of me is writing this for them, wether you care or not. In short i am writing this article because in every argument there are two sides to a story; the truth is usually in the middle of both and i also whole-heartedly take interest in this disussion.If you hate reading, i pity you why are you here? if you can stand it, continue on this platform as It is my intention to present the facts in the most straightforward & objective way possible.

To call this a beef feels very dated, because up until now it has primarily been a one sided battle over paid dues or rather unpaid dues. It has been almost a year now since Ian Connor's tweets defaming Asspizza went out following the upward trajectory of Asspizza; from exposure of his Asspizza face cap being worn by celebrity's like Wiz Khalifa & Makonnen to a highly anticipated rolling stones interview. now enter Ian Connor because you must be wondering how a 16 year old introverted yet stylish individual as Asspizza garnered such a following; obviously it was because of Ian Connor. I will write a whole different article about Ian Connor (if you haven't heard already) but all you need to know is that he's the 23 year old success story of asap mob & online style guru for "the youth" who follow his every tweet as life inspiration. Ian is big to who his subjective audience of teens & anyone that has followed the Ian Connor timeline will tell you that when he chooses you to be next up, you've got something special; the vision. Asspizza had the vision. 

Ian Connor was introduced to Asspizza 2 years ago in New York and after posting the picture below to Instagram, Asspizza, at 15  became an online sensation for the blogs & twitter-sphere seemingly overnight. from a reportedly 32 followers on Instagram & being unknown on twitter to a staggering 15 thousand followers on twitter in just under a month thanks in large part to Ian Connors cosign. Ian saw the vision in Asspizza and the phenomenon was born; both in personality & style Asspizza was strange but in a cool way. 

Fader interviewed Asspizza and reportedly the experience was best summarized as "I couldn't tell if he was just fucking with me" a true sentiment to the Asspizza brand; i'm sure. I have a feeling that the Asspizza you see is the Asspizza you get and my first impression was a edgy youth who could've easily been the school shooter if he hadn't met the right people in life. Asspizza's embodies a give a fuck less attitude towards life even claiming that everything is like a joke and boasting on twitter how nothing should be taken seriously; including himself. 

There are many Ian Connor fans & stans to this day that surely think to themselves why did Ian choose him? however as time went on it became clear why & how. In a span of 6 months Asspizza instinctively leveraged his online presence to become a youth icon. Propelled into internet stardom by association, Asspizza became arguably the new favorite internet kid on the block; second only to Ian Connor. But how was Asspizza receiving this.. did it all go to his head? Ian seems to think so!

Note*: In an effort to maintain objectivity i cannot validate what Asspizza was thinking, being that i'm as much a spectator as the thousands of followers were when everything happened. Trying to psychoanalyze this situation based solely off of tweets would be in one word. stupid. I am NOT a psychologist and i can only speak about what has been presented to me. Continue..

I don't know all the details of either party, Ian Connor or Asspizza, but if i were to frame this discussion in the larger global perspective, it's really just an internet quarrel. Keep that in mind because the fact that it has been such a story is laughable, if not for the fact ian connor's name carries so much weight on & offline.

Tensions between the two began after Ian cautioned asspizza over a fader interview, who then made unfavorable remarks in response. Asspizza apparently didn't pay Ian any homage for his first big look, an unforgivable act in Ian's eyes. For Ian who owes his position as an internet celeb due to people putting him on, homage is a big deal as it should be, however in his own defense asspizza correctly sighted that, the interviewer never posed questions geared towards his upcoming in social media. Finally it was the rolling stone interview that set the tone for the rest of 2014 concerning the dispute.

Everything seemed to be looking up for Asspizza & there was even tweets about an Addidas collab in the works; then it came..a fury of hate filled tweets back & forth. The comments were through the roof riddled with instigators; thus the fire of Ian Connor was ignited & Asspizza rather Austin Butts was like the cigarette burning, but it was a slow burn. 

The twitter duel was short and within a day everything that needed to be expressed had been; it was now known by each inner-circle, Ian didn't fuck with Asspizza & Asspizza didn't fuck with Ian. It was clear as crystal. Still everything in the real world & twitter world hadn't changed all that much, Ian was still tweeting emotions & continually proving the underdog can win while Asspizza remained in his own world, showing out with Influencer sporting Gucci goggles & tattoos.

Over the next few months there was no dialogue between Ian or Asspizza & finally, fed up with social media Asspizza, 16 terminated all his accounts. leaving no trace behind. Things were quiet but the air was still salty and around this time John Ross, 14 who is Ian Connor's adopted son who became relevant first modeling in Gianni Mora 2014 spring summer collection and later was taken on as Ian Connor's protege. John Ross surfaced insights about Marcel Zago  i.e. a fake designer brand headed by none other than Asspizza, several tweets in and it became john's prerogative to expose Asspizza's treacherous deeds. Asspizza responded swiftly to john with a brutal text message  that poked fun at Ian & john's sensationalized father son relationship. this is what Ian had to say: 

Asspizza disappeared again only to pop up on youtube with a few videos explaining recent events i.e. from social media. Now 17 years old asspizza recently posted an apology to Ian connor in a suprisingly matured and straightforward manner, also providing several facts that led up to the fallout with ian. this latter part of the video Asspizza proposes a challenge to fight Ian Connor in hopes of finally "settling things", Ian has yet to respond seriously even after directly tweeting to Ian. from the time i am composing this article the video will be 3 days old. it is unclear where the tide of battle will go from here however, in my opinion this is a very exciting and entertaining for the fans and should very well go down (as they say). 

Why Speeding Bullet to Heaven Is for the Real Cudi Fans

note: In the process of writing this post i was also deep into the process of losing my mind to Speedin Bullet To Heaven or SBTH as we die hard cudi fans refer to it as. Continuing on..

The genius behind Speeding Bullet to Heaven is apparent upon first listen. The Kid Cudi displayed here is inherently the same cudi from man on the moon, he's always had the rock-star attitude but only now is he bringing it to full fledged sleeze-mode. Everything from the heavy use of grunge metal guitars mixed with intensely loathing lyrics signify's a small shift from the guy who made alternative rock-influenced pop rap to a punk rocker who suffers and STILL maintains the melodies we love. The mood and vocal tone of the album is extremely varying yet provides a cohesive sonic painting of the mindstate cudi had when making this album. Introverted, extroverted, dark, charismatic, loud, soft, punk, folk.. these are all items that can only scratch the surface when trying to describe this album in it's totality. 

Anyone attempting to categorize SBTH is like trying to categorize kid cudi who has always been in his own lane musically and in my opinion the extremely annoying beavis & butthead skits are akin to the voices of the haters and false fans that get confused when they try to label him. All it takes is a few tracks in and you start to think.. ok cudders has officially snapped! he is not mentally stable and could be a danger to himself and those around him; you want to save him from that dark room he's in. Congruently it's not often that you get to see an artist be so candid & express themselves in such a free spirited mode that is jarring lyrically but inspiring with the energy he brings.

I totally disagree with skeptics who waste words giving dissenting opinions on the genre of SBTH because they are fundamentally uncultured and don't understand one thing; kid cudi was never a rapper to begin with. i feel that many listeners of the man on the moon series approached SBTH expecting a similar sound, but have only exposed themselves foolishly when it was something totally unexpected. It is inconceievable (if you've been listening) to label the spectrum of cudi's work simply as rap and if you truly call your self a fan it shows badly (of you) when you can't grow with the music. 

note: look at cudi, how many rappers (aside from young thug) would wear a cut off top like that? this is (actual) rockstar shit.

I can understand how some fans of his earlier work misconstrued kid cudi as a rapper, due to a demo tape called rap hard or even  his debut being made on a primarily hip hop label i.e good music; however if you've been paying attention cudi has bever made anything that sounds close to rap. 

Kid cudi is indefinite, his sound is varying and to put him in a box labeled rapper is a grave mistake as many "fans" are beggining to realize with SBTH. This behavior among a sect of hip hop fans doesn't suprises me because primarily hip hop listeners never leave their nest & attack everything that doesnt fall within a trap or conscious category. 

My theory on these hip hop "fans" of kid cudi is that when he first debued with kanye, on good music they associated him more as part of the hip hop community, but never really understood what they were listening to in the solo work. This theory against hip hop fans can be supported by the controversy surrounding cudi's 2012 release entitled WZRD wich was inherently a rock album; however WZRD wasn't recieved well by critics or "fans" as if a precursor to recent events. Kid cudi aka scott mescudi aka king wzrd has definitely always been a rockstar yet no one cares to remember this & only focus on the surface level collaborations.

why i want to be a venture capitalist

the life of a venture capitalist is extremely alluring to me not because of the money but because it is modern day slavery and the vc's are the overseer with a great payoff at the end. The way that i understand the venture capital industry is it's all about vision and curating human capital to make a company succesful. The title of venture capitalist is one that no one really knows about and people fear them because..well they just don't know. I love that venture capital is all about investing in an idea and having enough mental fortitude to continue; it's the ultimate exercise in calculated risk that really get's my adrenaline going! I am probably sensationalizing things a bit, because i know for a fact that venture capital firms and the syndicates of general & limited partners within them are extremely high-talking and calculated people.

The infrastructure of the venture capital machine really begins with limited partner i.e. a wealthy investor group, angel investor, high net-worth individuals and then down the line are the general partners (vc's) they trust to have the vision to magnify they're money in a promising start-up; see infographic 2.There is a certain ring to saying venture capitalist,(it just sounds so mysterious and cool) maybe because of the venture that alludes to ad-venture which is defined as a journey a great experience into the unknown. When  a venture capitalist decides to aid an entrepreneurs start up company they are basically taking it from point a to point z with only a few valuation increasing milestones (vim) to gauge how a business is progressing along the journey; it is very much an unknown while you're in it.

info 1.

I could never be an entrepreneur because i have no focus for anything (except everything) and i have to many interest to stay developing only one idea, but i do enjoy learning and outputing interesting ideas/products as a generalist, even if it isn't my idea/product. I am the type of person who brainstorms, I can't come with the first good idea to save my life but i can take someone else's idea, add on and stretch that idea in several different tangents. It is my long-held belief that everything that can be attained in this world to reach success is attributed to who you know and the same is especially true at a grander (more risky) scale in the world of venture capital. I say that to say this. The success of vc's is really based off the variety of people they have at their disposal to contribute their experience in various fields when building up a business to it's best & biggest potential.

finally the biggest reason i want to be a vc is because it is like being the ultimate judge for what is cool and what's not. venture capitalists are the foremost curators in today's economy because they bring businesses that have potential to spotlight and control the direction within a business's infrastructure; essentially they're the middle man you can't get rid of because every entrepreneur will hit a wall where a large sum of money to startup is critical to take the business to the next stage. It is not my intention to make the venture capitalist sound like a vulture capitalist and cynic, however the underlying purpose of this post is to explore the type of person i am and validate that i can be suited to do something well in this world. I will save the existential topic for another post but for now i will leave you with this diagram of how a venture capital firm works & aquires funds:

info 2.