Pop Culture Chronicles

What is up everyone, I know it has been a while since I last posted, but I hope everyone is excited for the Halloween season. Lately, I've been listening to some old school jams, some new jack swing r/b jams. I  was jamming out and came across a classic one, Rub You The Right Way By Johnny Gill.  For those of you who know Johnny Gill, he was a apart of New Edition in the later years, once Bobby Brown left the group for a solo career. Gill, an accomplished solo artist before joining the group, just added and carried the group to the next level.  With Rub You The Right Way, Gill shows off his slick moves and range as an artist. Enjoy and do that new jack swing!  You can also check out the original music video on Vimeo.

What's up everyone! I know it has been awhile since I have last posted but I want to share my thoughts on the upcoming NBA season. There was a lot of free agency and trade movement this past offseason, since the Golden State Warriors won the title under Kevin Durant. However, this caused some movements in the league, such as Kyrie Irving demanding a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers  and LeBron James, who went to the finals the past three years, facing Golden State. The trade was for the NBA's mighty little man, Isaiah Thomas of the Celtics , Jae Crowder and a draft pick.  In the western conference, Paul Geroge and Carmelo Anthony were traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the reigning MVP Russell Westbrook. In addition, Chris Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets and joining James Harden.  Another surprise trade, was Jimmy Butler being traded on draft night from Chicago to the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he joins rising stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. Mi

Yo everybody I wanted to put you guys on to an an emerging recording artist, Goldlink. Goldlink from Washington. D.C. has made waves this past year with his hit song " Crew" and has put other jams such as "Meditation" and " Herside Story". The rapper has an infectious flow and seems to have a smooth pocket in terms of rhyming.  Below are a couple hits of his and you should definitely check him out on Spotify or Apple Music or Youtube. Enjoy and let me know what you all think. Also, follow my twitter @ PopCulture514 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhNqbe6QENY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtBRp2Dd9FE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-OqT5Po8KQ

Hey everyone, I'm back and in a nostalgic mood. The video that I want to share with you all is a throwback to the 80s and the r/b and pop scene back then. The content creator Saint -Laurent, remixed the summer classic " I Feel It Coming" by the Weeknd feat. Daft Punk and made it into a groovy slow jam. I haven't been able to not stop listening to this version for the past couple of days and I'm a big r/b and pop fan, especially 80s and 90s pop and r/b.  Check out the video and get your video and get your groove on.  Check out the links below Enjoy! https://youtu.be/pem3Dc6EvlQ Also here is the orginal version to compare: https://youtu.be/qFLhGq0060w

Hey everyone, I got into a smooth r/b mood today and wanted to share an old clip of rapper/actor Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino, covering the classic r/b song So Into You by Tamia.  The video is 2 years old but still holds up due to Gambino's performance. If you haven't heard the original song, then I suggest you look it up, it's pretty good and it is a song that really is the anthem of Tamia's career. It's nice to see artists paying tribute to older artists and doing the song justice. I expected nothing less but excellence from Mr. Gambino and he comes through again. Check out the video! 

Reggie Watts is a great actor, comedian, and musician. You can find him now on televison late night on the Late Late Show with James Corden on CBS. Before that, he was on shows like Comedy Bang Bang on IFC, which displayed his musical and talk show and comedic skills.  To show you all what I'm talking about, I shall leave you all with a couple of his musical and comedic performances. He's a truly talented and funny guy and be sure to check him out on the Late Late Show on CBS.      

Growing up with a latino family and parties and celebrations, representing your heritage and culture,  one is surrounded and influenced by a myriad of songs and musical sytlings.  Here are a couple songs that are cheesy in terms of video production and style, most of which are telling of the time period, such as the 80s and 90s, but, nevertheless, get you in a funky groove that will last a lifetime.  First up, El Jardinero-Wilfrido Vargas This upbeat and groovy love song is about a metaphorical "gardener" that showers his love with flowers for seduction and pleasure. My fave part of the video is the middle when the backup dancers, form a nice groove line and sing the " Ah-beep- beep"chorus.   Sopa De Caracol - Banda Blanca  This song is a party starter! The literal translation means shell or snail in zoological context. The elad singer is quite chipper and is surrounded by dancing attractive women by the pool. He busts out the hip thrusts an

Ayoooooooo mi gente, what's up everybody?!  I got a new movie review for you guys!! Spiderman: Homecoming was a pretty decent movie. Originally I was against this movie and felt like another Spiderman movie would be gabarge, considering  the Amazing Spiderman franchise starring Andrew Garfield was dookie. Plus, I grew up on the Tobey Maguire Spiderman. Those were pretty good, except the last one, Spiderman 3 RIP. As for this one, Spidey goes back to highschool in Queens,NY  at this top-notch magnet school. Spidey ( Tom Holland) gets the help of Tony Stark, Mr. Iron Man himself and he upgrades his suit and tries to mentor him as a new superhero. However, 15 year old Peter Parker has a ways to go in learning how to be a hero and causes some unnecessary enemies that he might not be able to handle. This mentor-ship is viewed as an "internship" with Stark Enterprises for school. However, new villains arise with Vulture( Michael Keaton) as he builds an underground alien weapon

There are those timeless and hilarious movies that everyone of us watches.  One of those movies for me, is Dodgeball (2004) , starring Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn and special cameos from celebs such as Chuck Norris and David Hasslehoff. For those of you who don't remember this comedic classic, it is a flick about a group of misfits led by struggling owner, Peter LeFluer. Pete has a month to come up with 50,000 dollars or his gym will be shut down and be essentially bankrupt. But, his buds come up with a plan to enter in a dodge ball contest for 50K. However, it isn't an easy road, Pete and the Average Joes have to go through a series of foes and the arch nemesis, White Goodman and the Globogym Purple Cobras. White Goodman is thriving in the gym biz and Pete's neighbor. His cocky attitude and brash personality threatens Average Joes and he attempts to buy his place and expand his business. He and his squad enter as well and dominate in the competition. Pete needs help and h

Since summer officially starts next week, one classic song comes to mind, Summertime by Fresh Prince ( Will Smith) and DJ Jazzy Jeff . The early 90s song is a classic anthem and ode to the joys of summer. Fresh Prince ( Smith) rhymes smoothly as he describes the vibes during summer. Whether its chillin' at a cookout, checking out fly girls, playing basketball with the boys, riding around in your neighborhood and getting that fresh wash from the car wash. Jazzy Jeff lays down the funky bass beat and it booms and reverberates throughout the whole song. The song is still a classic today and over 25 years later, especially around summertime, it's still being played. Check out the iconic video and reminisce on the summer groove. Hopefully the song can give you some great summer vibes this year!! Peace and love, and long live summer!

Hey everyone, its summer time and everyone wants to head out to shows, concerns, restuarants, etc. It is also a great time to listen to some great music and have a an awesome dance party. Below, I will provide some great merengue canciones que ustedes pueden bailiar y bailar con. For those of you that don't speak Spanish, here's a good way for you to learn and dance to some great music. Luna Llena- Elvis Crespo, this a great song and great tempo and rythym for you and a dance partner. Disfruten esta cancion con gusto.   Tu Sonrisa by Elvis Crespo is another hit and rich tune filled with high tempo and rumba.   La duena del swing by Los Hermanos Rosario is a classic merengue hit and immediately gets you off of your feet and moves your body. Awesome song for a dance partner or a special someone.  Bomba- Los Hermanos Rosario Another classic jam by the Domincian group and is explosive.   Mi Reina- La Makina  Now this one is a firestarter. If you real

The past two games of the NBA Finals have gotten a lot of attention due to the fact that, it is the third consecutive year in a row that the Warriors and Cavaliers are facing off for the NBA title. In addition, Kevin Durant's joining of the Warriors in the off season and now his dominance in the first two games of the Finals have gotten him and the Warriors praise. However,  even though the Cavs are down 0-2, the series heads back to Cleveland tomorrow night and Friday. The Cavs were down 0-2 last year in the Finals and came back from a 3-1 deficit in the series to claim Cleveland's fist title in franchise history. By the way, there's this guy named LeBron James, the best player in the game, and I wouldn't count him out. He's averaging a triple double in these finals with 28pts. 13 rebs, and 11assts.  This is a pretty amazing feat since this is his 7th straight finals and his age at 32.  The problem with the Cavs isn't LeBron, it the role players and Kyrie Irvi

Hola mi gente, como estan hoy? What's up everybody. I've recently been to some old salsa, merengue and cumbia jams. These jams bring me back to house parties of my childhood. Para mis hispanohablates como yo, ustedes conoceran estas canciones.  Here are some of my favorite salsa merengue, and cumbia hits. Disfruten! Alugas de mis favoritas! El baile del sua sua- Kinito Mendez La Suavecita- Sonora Dinamita   Tu me vuelves loco- Frankie Ruiz    Tu Sonrisa- Elvis Crespo  Pegame tu vicio- Eddy Herrera   Charanga- Los Hermanos Flores 

I was jamming on some old Michael Jackson songs and I listen to at least a couple MJ songs a dady, whether it be from his time from the Jackson 5 with his brothers, or his solo career. I came across with song, Push Me Away from the Jacksons and their Destiny album, which was released in 1978. This was a year before Michael, released his solo and amazing debut album, Off the Wall in 1979. Below, is a video, of Jackson's solo performance of the song on Soul Train with the late great Don Cornelius. MJ speaks about his acting on the film, The Wiz, with Diana Ross, the Destiny album and inklings of his future with the Jacksons and his own future.  Songs like this, remind me of how great of a singer Michael really was. We as fans can get caught up in his spectacular performances, his popular hits and even his controversies as a celebrity. But this song, reminds of how special of a talent Michael Jackson was. I  cannot believe it has almost been 8 years since his passing and I remember w

Well folks, it's spring time and that means new beginnings, new romance, nice weather and everyone is in a more jovial spirit. However, its 2017 and the pop music scene, especially the r/b scene isn't the same as it was in the 80s and 90s. There were a lot of slow jams and groovy beats to accompany the spring time weather. I've decided to put together a list of some good throwback old school r/b for you all to check out and reminisce. Maybe hopefully slow jams will come around in 2017. You Are My Lady - Freddie Jackson (1985) Although this was a decade before my birth, I was introduced to this classic song through family. This is was definitely a wedding song and a song that you can slow wind with your loved one on the dance-floor. Tonight- Ready for the World ( 1985) Now this song doesn't have many soulful lyrics, but it has that soulful mood and I love the base guitar on this song. The song is definitely sensual and defentiely want to play this one on

This past week, I had the opportunity to relive old childhood memories with a friend and watch the all-new Power Rangers movie, Starring Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Banks and Bill Hader. As I expected, it was not a success. That isn't saying much , considering the previous movies in the 90s and 2000s were cheesy but this one is rotten cheese. The plot is based on a group of teens in a Midwest highschool who are a bunch of outsiders in some respect. The classic movie archetype of a band of misfits, which you see in films, such as the Breakfast Club, where a a nerd, pretty girl, jock, class clown, toublemaker and misunderstood girl come together.  the group encounters some radicoative stones found in their local mine and discover their powers and new headquaters with alien activity, Cranston plays Zordon, former red ranger and leader millions of years ago. He helps train and cultivate the new rangers powers to potential defeat rogue ranger and villain, Rita Repulsa, ( Banks). Rita land

Well musics fans, Drake has come back with new ammunition and his new album, More Life. More Life debuted today on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon.  More Life marks the Canadian rapper's 8 album and it is an absolute banger. . He's come a long way from So Far Gone back in 2008. My rating for this album is an 9/10. Coming off from Views, last spring, I thought it would be hard for the artist to out do himself, but he did and Drake continues to amaze us fans. More Life and more music for the 6 GOD! Go check it out now!! You wont be disappointed!

For all you NBA fans out there, it one crazy season. There have been numerous surprise teams like the Houston Rockets and my hometown Washington Wizards who have made dramatic leaps from last season and teams that have disappointed, such as the  Los Angeles Lakers and the Charlotte Hornets. With about 20 games left in the season, standings are crucial for the playoffs.  Here are my picks and Finals Prediction. Eastern Conference 1. Cleveland Cavaliers,  55-27 2. Washington Wizards, 52-30 3. Boston Celtics. 50-32 4. Atlanta Hawks, 46-36 5. Toronto Raptors 44-38 6. Indiana Pacers  42-40 7. Detroit Pistons 41-41 8. Miami Heat 40-42 Western Conference 1. Golden State Warriors 63-19 2. San Antonio Spurs 62-20 3. Houston Rockets  56-26 4. Utah Jazz 52-30 5. Los Angeles Clippers 50-32 6. Oklahoma City Thunder 47-35 7. Memphis Grizzlies 44-38 8. Denver Nuggets 40-42 Matchups Eastern Conference Cavaliers vs Heat , Cavs win series, 4-1 in 1st round 2. Wizards vs 7

I fell in "love" with this show last year. Love, starring Paul Rust, Gillian Jacobs( Community) and created by Judd Apatow and Paul Rust, centers around a 30-yr old dorky Gus. Gus  ( Rust) is a geeky guy from South Dakota, who's lived for LA for a while and works a teacher for child actors on Hollywood sets. He goes through a breakup and feels down for a while, until he meets Mickey ( Jacobs), who is the complete opposite of him. She's brash, careless, wild, an avid party-goer,boozer, drug user, and sex addict. She meets Gus and finds an interesting  liking to him. Along the way, they get to know each other and try to form a new friendship or potential romance. They learn to pick each other up and navigate crazy LA. Also, they learn how to push each other's buttons based on their polar opposite personalities. The show is witty, sharp, addicting  and real. Be warned, you will binge watch this show and want more.  Seasons 1 and 2 are available now on Netflix.  Go wa

Now that the 89th Academy Awards have ended, there were a couple of films this past year that lacked proper recognition. One of the films, is Paterson ( 2016) , starring Adam Driver, ( Girls, Star Wars: The Force Awakens). Drivers plays a young man by the name of Paterson, a bus driver in ironically, Paterson, New Jersey.  Paterson is a simple man who drives his bus, on his daily route, typical 9-5 job. But, he contains a hidden gift of poetry. He writes daily before he starts his morning route, at the park, and any place where he feels inspired. His wife, Laura,( Golshifteh Farahani) always prods him to show his wonderful work to the world. Yet, Paterson refuses. He just wants to write for fun, i guess and not live up to those expectations and have unwanted pressure. However, as each day passes, he begins to realize that his poetry is a vital part of his life and he must share his gift to the world, regardless of what others may think. In addition, Paterson is a well-known local, sin