https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UJyDeybNoALBZ6OWHaJzKewP88NWFKiBB1N2G9Kicfw/edit?usp=sharing

Recently Roddy Ricch has been breaking records with his hit single “The Box”. It has been the number 1 single in the Billboard 100 for 5 straight weeks. This his single was part of his newest album “Sorry for being Anti-Social” that was released in December. Overall the album has been doing pretty well as several of the songs on it have hit 50 million plays on Spotify.

The album consists of 16 songs that in total has a runtime of 43 minutes. I will be reviewing what I think are the top three songs in the album. The first song “Intro” of the album sets the tone exquisitely. Really smooth contrast made between his life now and what his life used to be. It has a nice flow that is really soothing to the ear. He tells the listener a little bit about the backstory about Roddy, from his humble beginnings having a .45 at all times and his brother in jail. To switch from handcuffs to Rolexes and now he counts all his millions daily. 

 To compare my opinions I’m going to use the youtube channel the Needle Drop that has over 2 million youtube and consistently uploads reviews of different albums. In his opinion “Intro”, “Appreciated the piano and the lyrics that highlighted Roddy’s traumatic experiences with death. Flow is really unique as well as the autotune effect” (theneedledrop). For the most part, we have a similar opinion and he goes more in-depth as he knows music much better than I do. After going over this review you can really listen to the piano in the background of the song and it indicates how essential it is.

Next up is the “The Box this” has been the biggest hit from the album and it is clear why. Very catchy chorus and the beat behind the song helps solidify this song as a hit. The uniqueness of this song starts from the very start with the EEE OOO. Almost as if someone was washing a window and captivates the audience and makes one wonder where it will go from here. In terms of content, there’s a lot to learn from Roddy as it goes into his past encounters with police and his arrests and his use of Codeine making him lazy. This dark time in his life where he paid for sexual favors but assures the listener he will never sell his soul to the devil. The Needle Drop also agrees with most of what I said but doesn’t go as in-depth. Instead, he begins to compare Roddy to some artists that are very similar. “Elastic vocal performance in this song. The EEE OOO adds so much to the track. Roddy has become kind of a vocal chameleon in the way that he sounds very similar to other rappers such as Young Thug” (theneedledrop). In this case, I would have to agree that Roddy at times is very close in sound to Young Thug, but is also very distinguishable.

Lastly “Peta” featuring Meek Mill is one of my favorite tracks by Roddy Rich. This is another song with a really unique beat as it involves some sort of flute and the delivery from both Meek mill and Roddy Rich is quite good. While the meaning of the song is a bit disappointing to those who are in favor of animal rights. Roddy and Meek basically are showing off their designer clothing and their animal fur. The main line of the chorus being how they have beef with PETA. Even though it’s not the best message these days, this is a very common theme with rappers and flexing their belongings. The needle drop had a few things to say about this song. To him, it was the best feature on the tracklist by far, as it highlights how good of chemistry both the artists have. Overall I have very similar opinions to his in terms of the album in general. I would agree with him that there are many stellar tracks, but the middle of the album is very bland and repetitive. If I had to rate this album it would be a 7.2 out of 10.

theneedledrop. “Roddy Ricch – Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial ALBUM REVIEW.” YouTube, YouTube, 29 Jan. 2020, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ous6t-Mu-3Q.

During last year’s SuperBowl, the NFL showed one of the more memorable commercials for the league’s 100th season. They incorporated many of the legends and current superstars that popularized the game. As a consensus, people enjoyed this mix of past and present. Somehow for this year’s SuperBowl, they were able to top that commercial using the same overall theme to celebrate the next 100 years of the NFL.

This commercial was one of the first ones shown and led into the kickoff for the game. To start this commercial they have a couple of kids playing football in a park. One of the kids begins to run and just doesn’t stop, thus beginning his journey across the US. One of the first guest appearances hits home, especially for Syracuse alumni. It’s former Syracuse and Browns legend Jim Brown sitting on a bench, telling the boy to “Take it to the house kid”. This phrase will continue to be repeated by several current and former NFL players. 

The meaning of this saying is to encourage the kid to continue on his journey to get a touchdown. This kid runs through several cities and has several obstacles that are put in his way. A couple of NFL players help him get through as he is getting chased by the kids which he was playing originally in that park. One of the obstacles the kid had to get through was through a Mardi Gras parade, and fittingly some of the players from the New Orleans Saints helped him get past. This scene in particular works two angles, one is the football aspect, the other is cultural. It shows the whole world how exciting this festival in New Orleans is. This commercial does an excellent job of giving the viewers a blast from the past while sprinkling in some of the more famous current NFL stars. As a viewer, it leads to thinking what if these players had played in the same era how would their careers have turned out differently.

As the kid finally reaches Miami, the city hosting the Super Bowl, he walks through the tunnel of the stadium where several Hall of Famers are applauding him after his long journey. The most impressive moment of the commercial was yet to come. As he walks out of the tunnel it cuts to a live shot at the stadium. This seamless transition gives the impression as if the commercial was all a live shot but, of course, it isn’t. This was a very innovative idea as it made every spectator I was watching the Super Bowl with, say “Woah”. Lastly, the kid gives the ball he had been carrying throughout the commercial to the referee since it was going to be used as the game ball. It ends with the kids dancing around the field with the rest of the other kids that chased him from that start. This commercial was a very ingenious way to start the game as not only did it incorporate a new type of live transition, but it made everyone kind of have a “feel good” moment before the start of the most exciting game of the year. For it’s probably the commercial that has grabbed my attention the most through these past Super Bowls.

1917

Over the past few years, I haven’t really made many trips out to the movie theatre. The other day I was convinced by a couple of friends to go and see the new movie 1917. Going into the movie I was clueless to what it would entail. The only thing that I expected was the time period to be 1917. This was probably the first time I have ever gone to a movie without knowing what the plot would turn out to be. Normally I need to know everything like the actors, what critics are rating the movie, and other things. 

I have to say I was very impressed. I’m not a big war movie buff, but this movie really peaked my interest from start to finish. It was the perfect mix of action and storyline at the right times. There wasn’t really a long period of time without any fights or encounters. This kept my eyes glued to the screen and made me not want to lose one second of it. I didn’t even want to leave to get my free refill of popcorn. 

My favorite movie genre has always been horror, and jump scares are the main reason why. This movie made me feel right at home as there were several points in the movie that made you almost jump out of your seat. As per usual, some habits are hard to get rid of. After not going to the movies in a while. I still was able to finish a large popcorn before the movie even began. This was a huge mistake as it would have been nice to have popcorn throughout the movie.

One thing that made me appreciate this movie, even more, was the very simple plot. After the movie had ended I was not too keen on this easy-going plot. As time progressed I began to appreciate the storyline more. With all the action that occurs throughout the film, it is easy to catch up to the movie if you zone out at any point in the movie. As the main mission of the protagonist remains constant as the movie develops. 

1917 also provided me with an image of what life during those days was like in Europe. How without any technology to deliver messages between different troops, most orders had to be hand-delivered. Which made me come to the realization of how much different war in today’s world would be compared to 1917. The continuous shot made the movie flow very well and added a different dynamic to the movie. It was really unique and probably the first time I have watched something of that sort.

Hopefully, this pleasant movie experience will encourage me to make the trip out to the movies more often. As 1917 is truly a movie worth watching if you have a few hours to spare. Even if you aren’t a fan of war movies this movie is still money well spent. As this film completely surpassed my expectations as initially I didn’t even want to go see 1917. 

This year I was supposed to be living in a south campus apartment. At face value south campus doesn’t seem that bad, you get a pretty good-sized apartment. You get to have the luxury of your own kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. What isn’t announced is the isolation south campus creates. Last semester I was talking to someone who had just transferred to Syracuse and was placed on south. He said he was having a hard time making friends because he was just so out of place in those apartments. Having to take a bus frequently can really affect your schedule. If you have an early class such as an 8 a.m. you better hope you make in time for the bus or you will miss your class. Say after a long day of classes you decide to take the bus home, and your friends make plans to have dinner in 30 minutes. You either hope that there’s a bus during this time or you will have to take an uber. Speaking to several people that have resided on south campus, they added that the uber bills really start adding up after a couple of weeks. Although I may not live on south campus, I really feel for those who do. I would have thought with all the money that comes into the university that the students should have a place on campus. I’m not saying the south apartments are completely bad, some people really enjoy living there, but most the feedback I’ve received isn’t too optimistic