by Lee Deltoro
Which is more important: The earthquake that recently devastated Nepal, leaving thousands dead and countless more traumatized, or the trailer for San Andreas, the new earthquake thriller starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson? Any decent-hearted adult knows it's Nepal. But which has come up in conversation with my college-educated friends over the past week? Yes, San Andreas. So for someone who is looking to engage with us, The Rock is a better bet. And I am positive that for a large number of us, there are apt comparisons. Does this mean we are all soulless sociopaths? No, we have just adjusted our value system to the world around us.
With each new cultural phenomenon comes a change in value systems. We are in the midst of such a change today. Tidal waves of ideas and images are constantly reshaping the keystones of culture. With these quickly eroding, where do we find guidance? Previously, each of us had a relatively consistent set of examples by which we judged ourselves and others within our immediate circle. Today, our cultural ecosystem has transformed from a savannah to a rainforest. There are more expressions of individual life experiences entering your space than ever before. Through online interaction, we bear witness to a kaleidoscope of characters, imperceptible to generations before us.
by J. Brown
Confession: I really like T-Pain. Having attending college from 2004-2008, Mr. Pain was an integral part of my party-going experiences. It could even be argued that other than Lil' Wayne, T-Pain was the biggest hip-hop artist during that time period. In addition to having his own smash singles, like "Buy U a Drank", he was also featured on A LOT of other people's singles. Just look at this list of singles that he was featured on; his 2007 was insane.
Graduating college should have put T-Pain in a strictly nostalgic place for me, somewhere along with Bacardi Limon, fake IDs and Ramen noodles. That hasn't happened. I still enjoy his music, and could probably spend an unnecessary amount of time spouting the merits of Thr33 Ringz. So the other day, I was listening to his latest album while mopping the floors in my house. (I'm still an adult, after all.) On the first song, he used a phrase that's overused in hip-hop, but for some reason, it made me think. Yes, I said it: T-Pain's music made me think. In the first verse - which is mostly just about being a baller and gettin' these hoes - T-Pain claims that he does it "for my hood." Though I've heard rappers say this countless times on records, for some reason, I really thought to myself, 'What does that actually mean?' How exactly does one "do it for their hood"?
