Blake Holmes

Nike: Equality


"Here, within these lines, on this concrete court, this patch of turf, here, you are defined by your actions. Not your looks or beliefs. Equality should have no boundaries. The bonds we find here (the court/field) should run pass these lines. Opportunity should not discriminate. The ball should bounce the same for everyone. Worth should outshine color. If we can be equals here, we can be equals everywhere."

These are the words of actor Michael B. Jordan, as he narrated a commercial last February for Nike. A commercial that featured LeBron James, Serena Williams, Kevin Durant, former NFL wide receiver Victor Cruz, Olympic champion Gabby Douglas, soccer star and LGBT activist Megan Rapinoe, and Olympic hurdler Dalilah Muhammad. 

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Jeff Bezos: Billion Dollar Bezos

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, the world’s largest online shopping retailer, is worth $105.1 billion dollars, according to Bloomberg Technology. That is more than Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft whose net worth sits at $93.2 billion dollars. Not so long ago, in 1999 Bezos’ work space consisted of just a basic computer, a phone, and a desk that he built from a door, stabilized by two-by-fours in his garage. The visionary spray painted the words: AMAZON.COM on the wall of his work area, breathing life into his dream way before the world took notice. Now, he holds the title as the richest person in the world.

Bezos said, you have to be resourceful and self-reliant. He firmly believes that those traits helped him propel his startup company from his garage, into a $100 billion dollar corporation.
Bezos, who just celebrated his 54th birthday on January 12th, was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He credits his first job with his grandfather as the source for honing in on the aforementioned traits. Bezos spent his summers with his grandfather working on his South Texas ranch. Bezos was born to a teenage mother and a father who worked as a circus performer whom he didn't know growing up. When Bezos was four-years-old, his mother told his biological father to stay out of their lives, and he obliged. His biological father was unaware of the success he encounter as an adult until the book "The Everything Store" about Jeff's life was being written, and the author reached out to him for an interview.

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Tim Rees: Rees’ Pieces

For many people, finding a place that's peaceful and serene is the goal. They want to live in a place where the fast paced, often chaotic city life is distant. There will probably be a bit of a culture shock that comes with the move depending on how you've lived, but for peace of mind it's worth it. As an artist, sometimes your peace is the best thing for you and it will reflect through your work. Tim Rees is a painter who is originally from Arizona, but found his peace in a unique place.

Rees currently lives outside of the U.S. in Pembrokeshire, which is located in the southwest part of Wales. He dwells inside of a yurt, which are tent like houses traditionally used to house nomads for the convenience of being able to get up and go. Not the most conventional home in 2018, but judging by the way he continued on about his home away from home, you get the sense that he loves it in Pembrokeshire. 

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Fabolous & Jadakiss: Friday Night on Elm Street

New York has returned to it's rightful place, at the forefront of hip-hop lately. The resurgence, is a much needed one. In the era of hot beats, repetitive hooks, and mumble rap, lyricism tends to get lost in the shuffle. Subject matter still exists, but they are usually pretty basic. I don't want to sound like a hip-hop purist, and I know that party and "turn up" music has its place in the culture. It just seems like it's taken over, and due to this some of the best artist and their work gets overlooked. Even in the somewhat absence of New York rap artists, a few "Kings of New York," have remained relevant in their own right. From Hov, to Cam and even Ma$e, it's been a real blast from the past. Not to mention Dave East bringing the heat for the new school.

Recently, a pair of kings decided to join forces for an album. Fabolous and Jadakiss, finally got it done after a year and a half of anticipation. The microwave era is responsible for the nullification of the phrase "highly anticipated" when it comes to music. They expect artists to put out new material way more frequently than the generations prior. This puts so much pressure on artists to put out albums, EP's, and mixtapes sooner than they would like, when they should really let the pot simmer for a bit. Well Jadakiss and Fabolous have had this joint project boiling for quite a while. I know the microwave generation expected it to happen as quick as the Future and Drake collab, but trust, the wait was worth every minute!

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