TwoCents | BHM - by Queensley Okon

Not to worry, I'm writing in cursive(as SZA fans would say), you know, tapping into my Gen Z or whatever mode it fits But hey, who cares, we are here for a good time and not a long time right, so why bother writing out anything? I'm kidding, I do enjoy writing things out so let me put your mind at ease BHM is BLACK HISTORY MONTH!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!! Are you as excited as the exclamations in my previous sentences? No? I guess not But yeah, February has always been reminiscent for Black Americans as a month to celebrate their ethnicity and values and culture and how far they have come from conquering slavery and I guess what the future holds. And this February has not been left out as it has been quite extraordinary due to the feats already achieved in the space of two weeks Wanna know more? Keep reading and you will First of all, this month began with Beyonce fans getting excited as she finally announced her world tour, after performing in Dubai for a grand opening of a hotel for a whooping sum of 24 million dollars. Yeah you heard that right, 24 million!!! Of course there were mixed reactions as some people thought that was just ridiculous for an hour's performance while others were proud or would I say so meshed in their emotions, they continued the worship of Beyonce and how she is not to be messed with, noting that as a black woman, this was historic. I mean the Arab money is not to be messed with, they got bank but for an hour's performance, I think not but go on girl, you have supposedly earned it Of course the alphabet community was not left out as they pointed out the hypocrisy in her performing for people who are against their "charming" lifestyle. Some even promised to withdraw support but I knew it was only comical because those tour waiting lines say different. Yes, a million people in line for the Renaissance tour is not as withdrawn as I would have pictured, so maybe their memory is as short as I don't know, a Kevin Hart or Kim Kardashian's 72-hour engagement 😎😎😎 That's up to them, I really do not care And still on Beyonce, last Sunday, she made history by being the most awarded artiste in Grammy history with 32 wins Now I'm not one to belittle achievements so I would say that is a beautiful one and congratulations are in order but I think at this point they just give her Grammies for giving sake or because she is Beyonce. That album was not Grammy worthy but hey, a win is a win, right? And you should note that despite this grand achievement, her entitled fans felt the need to hound the Grammies and Harry Styles because his album won over hers for "Album of the year". Now I have not listened to his album so I cannot really say if he did an amazing job on it but the guy had been carrying crowds all year 2022 and really doing his thing and his album was well received by a lot of people. The Renaissance album was not worth the hype in my opinion, in fact, it had to be forced on people and TikTok played a part in pushing two of the songs that gained popularity.. I remember when it came out, and the same people complaining called it trash or mid, so I find it odd that now they are angry it did not win Album of the year. It definitely was not Album of the year but entitlement wins I guess. Enough of Beyonce, let us go to other noteworthy acts Tems, a very talented singer became the first Nigerian female since Sade(check your history if you don't know her, she is a legend) to win a Grammy and damn, I am so proud of her. I remember when I saw her live in 2019 Palm Wine Fest, and she sang two of her jams then, Try Me and Mr Rebel. When I say this girl is talented, I would really be understating it. She sounded no different from the tracks. Beautiful voice and she brought something different to the table. In a few years, she has gone from that calm upcoming singer to a writer for Beyonce and Rihanna and a Grammy winner. Now that is cool 😎😎😎😎Speaking of Rihanna, she is about to headline the SuperBowl!!!!! She hasn't performed or recorded music in 6 years so this would be one to watch. The promo has been off the hook and I just really want to see what she brings.And please Rihanna haters, aka Beyhive, stay in your lane. I'm sure your fave announced her tour this year so she can take her shine. She always tends to come when RihRih doing something, like when Rih announced she was preggers and here comes Bey with some clothing line announcement, or when Rih was receiving her Video Vanguard and of course they scheduled Beyonce to also perform. It's like, okay we get it, quit with it already, we know you want the attention on you so bad but be calm 🙄🙄Oh, by the way, these thoughts are just what we see, thanks to stan Twitter and blog comments, they are not necessarily my thoughts. May be true, may not be true but it gets you wondering though. We cannot forget the men as Lebron James became the all time top scorer in the NBA. For those of you who love Basketball, you would agree that James is one of the greats and this is something beautiful to celebrate as he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabber's record. I know a lot of people don't like him or the way he lies but when someone puts in the work, you have to give credit where it is due and oga has paid it in full. I mean, do you know what it means to play about seven or eight fathers and sons? That's legendary and you gotta put some respeck on his name ( in my birdman voice)Let's not forget this was the 50th anniversary of the existence of the Hip Hop genre and let me just say, the generational flow of the genre evolution was great but missed out on the 2010s because tell me why you are bringing one hit wonders like Glorilla to the stage? Even Lil Baby's set was real quiet and that should tell you a lot. If you want to touch on the new generation, you should have focused on those who put in the work like Dababy, Roddy Rich, Flo Milli, or to help yourself, just ended with the 2010s honestly because the new generation hasn't put in enough work to be included. They could have been shown as highlights but not performers unless they were performing hits of older generations.The "God Did" performance was a waste of food in my opinion but at least they made up for something.And yes, to me Wayne had the best verse😎😎🌚🌚Jay Z fanboys can suck it.  And finally, Billboard and VIBE dropped its list of 50 Greatest rappers of all time and in the top ten, we had Jay Z as number 1, Kendrick 2nd, Nas 3rd, Tupac 4th, Eminem 5th, Biggie 6th, Wayne 7th, Drake 8th, Snoop Dogg 9th and Nicki Minaj 10th. Now this is a solid list or looks solid until you realize Kanye and Cole are missing in the top ten. I mean, even Jadakiss raps better than a lot of these dudes and I mean that in the best way possible. Snoop Dogg and Drake are way too high on this list(in my opinion) and Wayne is way too low. And if we are keeping it a buck, Nicki has already gone toe to toe with most men on this list so she is way too low for me. And Eminem is only put in that position because a white man cannot be seen as number one in the genre but that's okay. As a friend of mine said to me, whatever list of rapper rankings comes out, not everyone would agree with it and I concur. He also noted that everyone here has done exceptionally well with their influence and deserve to be there and I agree. One thing he said that stood out to me was rap fans always putting Biggie and Pac way too high on the rankings because they did not live long enough to fail as the others have done and because of that, they seem like martyrs and with martryship comes an inexplicable respect. People just want to keep them on that pedestal and if I'm being honest, I agree. But at the same time, for them to still be brought up despite being dead over ten years is something to be marveled at. Whatever the case, I respect what these people have brought to the genre and I maintain my stance on some. You don't have to agree🌚🌚 And yes Jay Z should not be number one and a lot of people agree with me(Jay fanboys would come for me but I don't care)🤣🤣🤣 Anyway, Happy Black History Month!!!!!

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