Music & Film – Page 3 – The Double Scoop

BARBERSHOP 3 Review

Author: Amy Nicole

It’s hard to believe that the first two Barbershop movies came out over 12 years ago! When I heard there would be another sequel added to the series I was definitely excited. I was curious to see how much the character’s lives had changed over the years.

Although Barbershop 3 focuses on the good times of catching up with old family and friends, it also addresses some serious issues such as the rampant gun violence in Chicago. In the film Calvin’s son Jalen is now a teenager and Calvin and his wife Jennifer struggle with protecting him from gang life. The barbershop also faces financial challenges and its location puts the business at risk for crime.

Over the years the barbershop and characters have gone through quite a bit of changes. The shop has now combined with a beauty salon owned by Angie(Regina Hall). This merger introduces fans to some new characters most notably Draya played by Nicki Minaj. It also ignites quite a few hilarious scenes in the movie as the men face off against the women.

Terri(Eve) is now married to Rashad(Common) who is also a new barber in the shop. She also has a baby and a stepson. Jimmy is now an established politician and JD (Anthony Anderson) owns a successful food truck business called Gansta Grubs which employs former gang members. Eddie’s character for the most part remains the same. His blunt, sarcastic and unpredictable humor will definitely keep you laughing throughout the movie. Most of the ladies will be disappointed that Michael Ealy will not be reprising his role as pretty boy Ricky….. sigh…..

Overall the movie was pretty good. I don’t think it was as good as the first two but most sequels rarely top the original. The film ignites conversations about topics such as the black lives matter movement and double standards among men and women. What I loved most about the film was the positive relationship portrayed between Calvin and his son Jalen. There is a stereotype that black men are not good fathers so it was nice to see a contradiction to that stigma in the film.

Photo Credit: Slash Film

IN MY MIND

Author: Amy Nicole

I’m going to admit that I have really been sleeping on BJ The Chicago Kid! When he released the single Church a while back I thought it was a cool club song but other than that I didn’t know much about the artist. I recently listened to his album In My Mind and I completely fell in love with his music. I usually don’t listen to albums the whole way through but I enjoyed every song. Looking at BJ’s appearance you would think he was a rapper but when he opens his mouth you can’t help but to take notice of his vocals. His voice is very soulful. If you mix the sounds of Usher, Luke James, and D’Angelo blended with a little gospel you get BJ The Chicago Kid.

After researching BJ, I learned he has been in the music industry for a while but mostly behind the scenes. He started off singing backup for Mary Mary and has written for other gospel artists which would explain his soulful sound. He has also worked with other artists like Kanye West, School Boy Q, and Big Krit. In My Mind is BJ’s second studio album but it’s his first album release from Motown Records. Each song on the album tells a unique and different story.

When I initially heard the first released single from his album Church, I thought it was making a mockery of the church but after listening to an interview from BJ he explained that the song was about conflict between the flesh versus being righteous. The song is definitely a clever way of describing temptation from a man’s point of view. In the hook BJ sings:

She say she wanna drink, do drugs and have sex tonight
But I got church in the mornin’, church in the mornin’

I had a lot of favorite songs on the album but my top five would have to be Heart Crush, Falling On My Face, Woman’s World, Wait To The Morning, and Love Inside.

In the song Heart Crush BJ sings about falling out of love and the pain of letting go.

And that fire we had girl just couldn’t survive the rain
Heard the weather man telling us that it was gonna shower some pain

One of the most beautiful songs off of the album in my opinion is Falling On My Face. In the song BJ sings about the imperfections of a man and how as humans we all make mistakes and fall short of where we want to be in life. In one verse of the song he sings:

Cuz I can’t erase all my mistakes
I’m just a man who falls on his face
Servants and kings have all felt this way
By now I should be sick of falling on my face

In Woman’s World which is actually a remixed rendition of James Browns’ It’s A Man’s World, BJ soulfully pays homage to the woman.

Let’s talk about the power
The power of a woman
Tell me who can give life to a baby boy and turn him in to a man

Wait To The Morning is reminiscent of Usher’s 2004 single “Confessions”. In the song BJ pleads with his wife’s friend who has caught him cheating to wait until the morning to tell her about his infidelity.

Could we just hold this off and wait till the morning
I know I did her wrong
But you tryna cut us off
Can we just hold this off
And wait till the morning

I think my favorite song off the entire album is Love Inside. It is a sexy love song in which BJ sings about making love to not just a woman’s body but to her soul, to the point where she can literally feel the love inside of her. (Or maybe I’m over-analyzing the lyrics and he’s just seductively saying he wants to smash LOL!)

I want you to feel the love I have inside me
Inside you tonight
I want you to feel the love I have inside me
Inside you tonight

Although In My Mind is primarily R&B, BJ also mixes elements of hip hop with songs like “Man Down” and “The Resume” which features Big Krit.

I absolutely loved this album and BJ The Chicago Kid has now become one of my new favorite R&B artist! If you’re a real R&B lover In My Mind definitely needs to be in your music collection!

Artistic Depression

Authors: The Double Scoop

People always complain about the demise of real music, but REAL music is alive and well in the underground. Ray “Kincaid” is an underground artist that puts his heart and soul into the music he creates. We got a chance to hear him for the first time last year at the 3^rd Eye Music Festival and his nostalgic and unique sound is what caught our attention. The Jackson, Mississippi artist took a leap of faith by quitting his job and pursuing music full time. He’s been rapping since he was in the 7^th grade and has been pursuing music professionally for about 3 years.

Ray recently dropped his EP Artistic Depression and we were able to listen to an exclusive un-mastered version. His sound is very reminiscent of smooth 80’s and 90’s hip hop and you can hear it in his flow and delivery and even in the soundbites and samples he uses throughout the album.

Ray told us about his love for ole school music:

“I feel like the 90s….was the last great decade of soul touching music….with the 70s being the foundation of great black music. …now in the 2000s we had a few golden pieces like L.Hill, Jill Scott, Lupe, Kanye and etc….but the 90s gave us so much greatness. Anita Baker dropped Rapture in the 90s. I think Nas came with Illmatic, Tribe blessed us with Low End Theory. ..80s gave us the king Michael Jackson (my favorite artist of all time) .70s….gave us Marvin Gaye….so these are the time periods I draw most of my inspirations from.”

Artistic Depression touches on diverse topics like the difficulty of being a black man in society today, pursuing dreams, the male ego, and personal topics like depression and suicide.

Some of our favorite tracks off the EP are The Shameful Turn Up, The Handshake, In Search of Good Vibes, The Rope and Radio Theory and Dreams of the Otaku.

The album opened with The Shameful Turn Up featuring Cymone, another talented artist from Mississippi. We all can relate to indulging in bad habits to take our minds off of our problems.

“Suicidal……trying to find my salvation in this bottle……”

The Handshake is a more radical track speaking on what it’s like to be a young black man in America today.

“I know America hate it……. A young black man self-aware and educated…”

“With this pain in my brain it’s hard to maintain a humble mind frame because every time I turn on my tv screen I see a dead body that looks like me……”

The Rope and Radio Theory speaks on depression and how most of the mainstream music is doing nothing to help ease the silent suffering many people are feeling.

“Fuck feeding you knowledge…….I’m trying to feed my wallet….”

“Fuck you going to college…..I’d rather put you in a coffin…”

Ray opened up to us about how has suffered from depression since he was 13:

“Creating art seems to be the best medicine. ….it really helps me cope with it…..that and the love from my family and friends. …without them I have no idea where I’d be. I hope that one day God will bless me with the ability to get rid of depression and also help me help others who also suffer from it. People take depression so lightly. ..but its real…very real.”

Dreams of the Otaku is a very relatable track. So many of us are groomed to go to college by our parents so that we can live the American dream which for most of us, it’s working a job that we hate. It almost feels like a prison sentence.

Ray talked more about quitting his job and pursuing his passion:

“I really don’t want to settle working a job that I hate. I quit my job and it was one of the scariest things I have ever done because I always followed the rules, but as I sat down at that desk wearing that suit and tie a piece of my soul just vanished. Every time I punched that time in. Now with the help of my friends and family I’m here following my dreams.”

Check out Artistic Depression here.

Nick Grant 88

Authors: The Double Scoop

If you’re a fan of rap especially old school hip hop, than you’ve probably noticed the sound and feel of that genre of music has changed over the years. With the exception of a few rappers like J Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Big Krit just to name a few, most rappers today don’t have much lyrical substance. Most of us like to listen to ratchet music every once in a while but it’s also nice to hear songs that can stimulate the mind.

At the end of last year we got a chance to catch Big Krit’s final show off of his Kritically Acclaimed tour in Atlanta. Neither of us are big fans of local opening acts but one young mc stood out at the show. He was a South Carolina artist by the name of Nick Grant and as soon as he got on stage he looked into the crowd and told us that his job was to make us remember his name, and that he did.

After the show we had to know more about Nick so we researched him and discovered he had been making music for a minute. We were just blown away by his lyricism. He released his mixtape 88 at the beginning of last month and the buzz since its release still hasn’t let up. He named the album after the year he was born (1988) and because that year was considered the “golden era” of hip hop.

His sound is reminiscent of the late 90s and early 2000s but at the same time still current. Although he is from the south his sound is very northern. He reminds you of rappers like Nas, Common and Jadakiss. There were a lot of dope songs on the mixtape; some of our faves were Black Sinatra, Gold Chains, Contradiction, Royalty, and The Jungle.

Black Sinatra has a Jay Z/The Blue Print feel to it and is loaded with metaphoric lyricism over a smooth beat.

Gold Chains speaks on how people have become mentally enslaved to material things.

“Niggas dying for Gold Chains
Niggas dying for Gold Chains
Nigga we mentally enslaved
Buy Gold Chains do anything to drive a Range nigga

Contradiction was another one of our favorites. It’s the love song that talks about what many women are afraid to hear; the guy who loves you but just can’t commit.

She said love don’t cost a thing
Won’t expose her heart to pain
I said love done came and went
It packed up and caught the train

And of course as avid Big Krit fans we were definitely loving the Royalty remix which also featured Killer Mike. Grant is definitely not afraid to speak out on relevant issues that are taking place in society but like he said in Window Seat, another song off of the mixtape, “don’t call him gangster or conscious, he’s just being real and honest.”

88 will definitely appease the appetites of hungry hip hop fans.

Interludes

Revelations turn to revolution..but sh*t somebody gotta start the f*ucking movement…….

Author: Ashley E.

South Carolina native and artist Bowtye dropped his 14 track EP Interludes at the end of last year. I finally got a chance to hear the album in full a few days ago and it gave me eargasms for lack of a better word. Bowtye who is also a song writer and producer created the perfect blend of music genres on this EP; elements of hip hop and rhythm & blues collide with intergalactic and futuristic sounds. Interludes is definitely a smooth listen, I didn’t skip a track.

I love an artist that can take you on a journey and isn’t afraid to explore diverse topics. He touches on the subject of love in tracks like Time and Dreaming and in the same instance he subliminally drops knowledge in tracks like Hello and Black Creative that makes you tap into your consciousness.

“I don’t wear chains…it’s sad enough that n#ggas that do don’t even share names”

If you like the sounds of Pharell, Ryan Leslie and Kid Cudi then you can definitely vibe to Bowtye. Interludes will elevate and stimulate your mind.

Listen to more sounds by the artist here.

Tough Love

In case you haven’t noticed, web series seem to be taking over the internet. With many people complaining about the lack of quality content on television, several aspiring writers, directors and producers are taking matters into their own hands by creating content that most viewers want to see. With a small budget and a small team Caleb Davis, Roni Simpson, Brian Scott and Will Rosati came together to create a new web series called Tough Love.

The show premiered on the web last month and it already has a pretty large following of viewers. Tough Love centers around the lives of six young professionals who are all friends living in New York City. The show takes viewers on a journey through each individual’s life as they deal with the challenges that come along with relationships, dating and being in love. It also focuses on the dynamics of real friendships and people just living their everyday lives which makes the show very relatable. Throughout the show the friends secretly agree to visit a therapist named Sydney who interviews them to get their input on the statistics of heterosexual dating and relationships. In exchange for seeing the therapist they get paid for their opinions. They each get very personal with Sydney as they open up about their secrets and experiences with one another.

The main characters of the show are Quincy, Alicia, Jackson, Jordan, Monica and Darius.

Quincy and Alicia are the long term couple that have been together since their college days. They’ve had their ups and downs over the years but the love they have for each other keeps them going strong. They may seem to be perfect from the outside looking in but like most couples they have their fair share of problems and secrets.

Jordan is the epitome of an independent single woman. She doesn’t want a man and lets it be known she doesn’t need a man unless it’s just to have fun. Due to her being hurt in the past she puts a wall up and makes it almost impossible for any man to get close to her.

Monica is the sweet, intelligent and sometimes naïve young woman who falls victim to giving her all to a man who is only giving her half because he is too busy juggling multiple woman and can’t fully commit to her.

Darius is Monica’s weakness. He is the guy that can’t commit because he loves running through women. He unexpectedly falls for Monica but even though his feelings for her are strong, his desire for other women is stronger.

Jackson is the bachelor that has it all: looks, success and charm. He has no desire to settle down because he has so many options of women to choose from. He also doesn’t have a problem letting the women involved with him know they are disposable. He goes through many women until he meets his match and she is more than what he bargained for.

The first episode didn’t completely draw me in but after the second episode I was intrigued and wanted to know more about these characters and how their stories would unfold. The show is very relatable and I think most people can find pieces of themselves within each character. I look forward to what’s to come and the possible drama of what would happen if their shared experiences with the therapist got out to the public or each other. It’s definitely a show worth watching and supporting.

Check out the trailer below and learn more about the team and cast of the show here.

THE FALL OF EMPIRE

Although Empire is still the most watched show on Fox there is no denying the drastic drop in ratings. Season one was engaging and suspenseful and kept viewers looking forward to a new episode each week. In season 2 it seems as though the director and writers are folding under pressure to maintain the same level of success. With the excessive use of celebrity appearances and unnecessary, explicit sex scenes it seems as though the show is more focused on shock value rather than quality content.

Despite the criticism of the show I was a fan of season one but I can’t say the same about this season. The music of the show is still dope but there isn’t enough creative content to keep me engaged. At times it even feels like I’m watching a bad urban soap opera. The writers also seem confused about which direction they want to take the characters. One character in particular is Anika. In season one Anika was beautiful, independent and headstrong. This season after cutting ties with Empire she engages in a sexual relationship with Lucious’ youngest son Hakeem which causes her to become overly obsessed with him. The show even reveals that she is pregnant by him. In my opinion this character change just doesn’t quite flow well with the show.

I will say that the winter finale did do a great job with leaving viewers in a state of suspense. When the show ended Andre’s pregnant wife Rhonda is pushed down the stairs and Luscious loses his Empire estate.

Empire resumes March 30 , 2016. Will you be tuning in?

Photo Credit: Vulture

THE SINGLE LIFE

Most single women 25 or older can relate to the overwhelming pressure by society to find a husband or settle down. In the web series “The Single Life” written and directed by Atlanta native Qulanda R. Moore, three young women approaching 30 try to navigate the dating scene in Atlanta Georgia.

The series is hilarious and relatable and definitely reveals many of the scenarios that most single women go through. The show centers around three friends; Angela, Tisha and Raven who are all involved in different types of relationships. Raven is involved in a purely sex driven relationship with an ex-boyfriend who she obviously still has feelings for. Tisha is involved in an interracial relationship with her live in boyfriend but struggles with trusting him and believes that he is getting wife privileges with a boyfriend status. Then you have Angela who seems to be a bit on the naïve side and falls too quickly for guys who seem to only want her goods.

Although the show is comedic it also touches on some very serious storylines that many single women can relate to including the tendency to settle for men who we know aren’t good for us due to the need for companionship.

If you haven’t seen the series yet you are definitely missing out on a great show! Season 2 of the “The Single Life” is currently in post production and the cast and crew are now seeking contributions through Indiegogo Crowd Funding to help wrap the project.

Check out season one here.

Creed Is A Knock Out

Author: The Double Scoop

We got a chance to see the highly anticipated movie Creed during the Thanksgiving holiday. The cast alone was enough to make most people run to see the movie even if they had no idea who the boxing legend known as “Rocky Balboa” was. The very handsome Michael B. Jordan, the beautiful Tessa Thompson, and Sylvester Stallone reprising his role as Rocky came together to create magic on the big screen.

Director Ryan Coogler and screen writer Aaron Convington did an amazing job creating a continuation of the Rocky movie series. (Coogler and Jordan previously worked together on the 2013 hit film Fruitvale Station). For those including us who vaguely remember the original Rocky film, the movie was able to give a quick refresher without taking too much time away from the film.

Michael B. Jordan plays (Adonis Johnson) son of Apollo Creed, a former opponent turned friend of Rocky Balboa. In the original Rocky film there is no mention of Apollo having a son named Adonis, but in Creed it is revealed that Adonis is a product of an affair which was a very creative way of tying Jordan’s character into the movie. Apollo’s widow Mary Anne played by the ever so graceful and timeless beauty Phylicia Rashad takes it upon herself to take a young and troubled Adonis under her wing and raise him.

The film starts off a little slow but gradually builds momentum. Adonis is a troubled kid who loves to fight which eventually leads him to pursuing a career in boxing. He tracks down Balboa about training him which he initially turns down but later agrees to it. Both Mary Anne and Balboa are skeptical about Adonis’ pursuit of a career in boxing because they don’t want him to have the same fate as his father Apollo who died in the ring years ago.

Adonis wants to make a name for himself as a boxer without people knowing about his famous father, but the news is eventually leaked which results in Adonis being approached to fight world light heavyweight champion “Pretty” Ricky Conlan.

Rocky, despite receiving news about ailing health agrees to train Adonis for the fight.

Adonis survived all rounds with Conlan but eventually loses the fight. Although he didn’t win he still garnered respect from Conlan and fans as the amateur boxer who put up a mighty fight. The main fighting scene was intense, excruciating and exhilarating all at once.

Overall Creed was a good movie and it definitely gave an updated and modern twist to the classic Rocky film without taking away the shine from the original. Kudos to Ryan Coogler and Aaron Convington for the amazing writing and directing!

Source: Time

The Perfect Guy Was Far From A Perfect Movie

Author: The Double Scoop

I know we’re really late with this review but we finally got around to seeing The Perfect Guy last weekend. The movie definitely didn’t live up to the hype portrayed in the film’s trailers. We set our expectations too high and were highly disappointed.

When the movie trailer for “The Perfect Guy” dropped four months ago we like most other women were raging with anticipation to see the forthcoming thriller which would star two of Hollywood’s most handsome black, leading men and the beautiful Sanaa Lathan. Blinded by the sexiness of Michael Ealy and Morris Chestnut most of us overlooked the predictability in the trailer which showed the typical fatal attraction scenario.

Usually the first ten minutes of a film sets the tone of whether you will love or hate a movie so 10 minutes into watching The Perfect Guy we became a little worried that the film might fall into our dislike category.

The elevator background music along with the cringe worthy, corny dialogue made us feel as though we were watching a Lifetime movie. In one particular scene Lathan’s character (Leah) was being harassed at a bar by a guy who approached her with the line, “give me 3 good reasons why I shouldn’t buy you a drink.” Who says that? Definitely not a realistic or charming pick up line!

The main focus of the movie was on Ealy’s character(Carter), who is supposedly the ideal perfect man. Although very attractive, Ealy’s character didn’t deliver much charisma. We actually found his character to be boring, a little creepy and robotic. We also felt that there wasn’t authentic chemistry between Leah and Carter to make them fall so hard for each other the way that they did. The rushed romance wasn’t believable. Although not very personable, Ealy’s character did however have the role of deranged stalker down packed with his piercing eyes, and emotionless murders.

We felt the way the police handled Leah’s initial stalker complaint was also unrealistic (or it could be us not being familiar with police protocols); the cops basically told her they couldn’t help her unless she was in the act of being killed!

Though most of the film was predictable the death of Leah’s boyfriend Dave definitely caught us off guard. We were hoping that Leah would at least be left with some type of happiness. After all her neighbor was murdered and a sex video of her was emailed to hundreds of people associated with the company she worked for causing her to get suspended from her job.

The best part of the movie was the eye candy, other than that The Perfect Guy was definitely not the perfect movie.