Tariq Nasheed: Stay Woke

Cultural awareness is something that many black people are deprived of. It's always been a touchy subject, and a tough one to explain the answers to all of the who's, how's, and why's. Questions like: How did things get like this? Who's responsible for allowing these things to continue to happen? What are some plausible solutions to ending this systematic oppression? Since 2011, Tariq Nasheed has assembled a team of esteemed scholars and historians to breakdown nearly every imaginable facet of life in which the system has been designed to create the conditions that many of us either see on a daily basis or grew up seeing.

Tariq wasn't always the conscious brother that we know him to be presently. There was a progression of learning experiences that happened over time that woke him up. Tariq was born in Detroit, Mich., before moving to Alabama where he remained until the age of 17. Growing up in the south was a bit slow, so he started traveling the world and studying other cultures and customs, specifically how people interacted in relationships. What better place to get a good feel for multicultural studies than Los Angeles?

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Chris Classic: The Original Classic Man

Often times hip-hop purists talk about how much the music has changed. How it's watered down, or it's too vulgar, and all that other "get off my lawn" talk that the old heads always inform the younger generation about. I myself have been and still am guilty of not taking a liking to most of the new hip-hop music that’s on rotation today. I'm pretty sure a ton of my contacts have gone ahead and put the old, light skinned man emoji next to my name in their phones; and I've accepted it. But it really got me to thinking, what exactly is missing from today's hip-hop scene? One of the major differences I've noticed is that the traditional New York lyricists are at an all-time low. Chris Classic, who hails from Brooklyn, is one of the rappers whose name indicates he's bringing back that "classic" New York feel. The artists addresses the routine of attaching labels to rap artists and the tunnel vision of a lot of music lovers in his song "Rudy."

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Art begets more art. As we connect with a piece emotionally, or hear the melodic sounds of a song, it stirs a feeling or idea within the walls of our skin and lets us explore the hidden meaning of life, or deep and unanswered questions. Art moves us all.

No one understands this notion better than Canadian born, but well traveled, technical art illustrator and fashion designer Tara Dougans. She graces the world with her interpretations of life on the regular.

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Warped Tour 2016

Summer festivals are shitshows. The food is expensive, people are under the influence of possibly multiple substances, and it’s hotter than the seventh circle of hell.

Or maybe I’m getting too old to appreciate them.

Regardless, I’ll never pass on seeing the Warped Tour. Warped 2008 popped my cherry and it was a religious experience. I saw Mayday Parade just before they got big (which I believe happened because of Warped Tour), I saw local favorites Family Force 5 (who rock the hardest live), and I allowed Tom DeLonge to break my heart as I stood and watched him play in Angels and Airwaves instead of blink.

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