After shooting Megan Thee Stallion, Tory Lanez cancels himself
Back in June, rapper and R&B singer Tory Lanez was freshly released from his label and experiencing unprecedented success with the Quarantine Radio show he performed on Instagram Live, his career at an all time high. As quickly as he rose, he sunk exponentially, when what started as an unclear altercation evolved into an unthinkable assault.
For over a month, the July 12 incident was left to mere speculation. Megan Thee Stallion, the other party involved, finally took to Instagram Live on Aug. 21, to explain her side of the story.
“Tory shot me,” Stallion said.
In the weeks leading up to her statement, Stallion was receiving a mix of sympathy and accusations, despite releasing the X-rays showing proof of the bullet wounds.
Lanez remained silent on the matter until releasing the album “DAYSTAR,” Sept. 25, only two days after Breonna Taylor’s killers were let off without justice. On the project, he persistently denies any wrongdoing regarding the incident and outright accuses of lying.
Lanez’s unabashed decision to capitalize from the situation, only providing his side of the story through a product, and his incessant claims of innocence ultimately detract from his credibility and have led many of his supporters to abandon him.
Heavily feeding into the backlash of supposed friends, Lanez fires shots at several rappers, singers and most viciously, Los Angeles Lakers’ small forward J.R. Smith. While entertaining, the “Me Against the World” approach leaves a bad aftertaste. Given the opportunity, Lanez consistently takes the low road, rather than owning up to any of his mistakes or at least acknowledging the severity of the situation.
Concerning the quality of “DAYSTAR,” the beat selection, various flows and word play are just as good as any other Tory Lanez album. The sonic range he displays between the two genres he occupies would normally be enough to satisfy the average listener, however, his fixation on the incident and the two-dimensional account he provides make it both agitating and boring to listen to entirely in one session.
Lanez fails to deliver any form of apology or explanation on the album for whatever occurred on the night of July 12. Instead, he calls Stallion’s account into question and implies he’s the one due an apology, using good production to punctuate his empty argument.
When it comes down to it, the album sounds quite good, so long as you’re not actually listening to the lyrics. Even then, the sting of the initial reaction wears with each play for those willing or perhaps careless enough to silently condone the behavior. Lanez challenges his haters, however, providing what would normally be received as a hit with “Just Got It Done” as well as an otherwise undeniable classic with “Care For You.”
The question is, can a hit record or even a potential classic save Lanez from sinking out of the spotlight? Or is the wound simply too raw for him to survive a tasteless response like this?
Experienced ceramics students are back in the lab this semester
Following a graceless transition to online learning in the spring, ceramics students are receiving a drastically improved experience this semester.
When the COVID-19 pandemic first went into effect, forcing students to finish the spring semester from home, ceramics students were among those who drew the shortest stick.
According to Ryan Hurst, who has been teaching ceramics at HSU for nine years, when classes were moved online, the hands-on experience that students signed up for was no longer possible. They were instead tasked with drawing up sketches, studying research and development and critiquing other artists’ works.
“It wasn’t ideal,” Hurst said.
This semester has been a continuous adjustment according to Hurst. Gaining access to the building as well as the proper equipment to record demonstrations over the summer was an uphill battle.
“I didn’t get either of those things until two weeks before it started up, so the plan kind of went out the window,” Hurst said. “I’d reformulated plans leading up to the end of the summer and some are working and some aren’t, but it’s a crazy adjustment.”
At the start of the fall semester, each student was given a kit to take home, including basic ceramics tools and the clay they would receive in a normal semester. Beginning ceramics students will be creating almost entirely from home this semester, because of the new lab capacity put in place by COVID-19 protocols. Meanwhile, intermediate and advanced level students are granted some access to the building, with portfolio development students receiving first priority.
“They have paid their dues and deserve the last moments of their academic career to do as much as time allotted them,” Hurst said.
Jenna Santangelo is a former student and now lab technician for the ceramics department. After six years of classes, this is Santangelo’s first year as a staff-member. According to her, the beginning students are able to accomplish almost all that’s required of them in a normal semester from the comfort of their homes, assuming they possess the space.
“Working at home is possible,” Santangelo said. “But it’s pretty messy and a lot of people don’t really have the space necessary for it.”
Melissa Martin is a graduate psychology major with an emphasis in academic research. She takes ceramics as a therapeutic ritual each time she’s nearing the end of a chapter in her education. This semester, she’s preparing to close the final chapter as she puts the polishing touches on her thesis. Taking the beginning ceramics course this semester and not having access to a lab has changed the way Martin approaches her projects.
“I think that you’re a little bit more restricted of how much work you can actually do,” Martin said. “I also was a very avid wheel thrower, so that’s also been a real big challenge. Now I’m doing a lot of hand building stuff so I really have to hone in on different skills.”
One thing not included in the kits the university handed out to ceramics students this semester was a proper kick wheel for throwing pottery.
“The kick wheels are, I think, like 400 pounds,” Santangelo said. “Which isn’t really feasible for most students to move.”
Despite the disappointments and also experiencing challenges with creating a comfortable workspace at home, Martin is remaining optimistic.
“We’re just learning how to be resilient in this world. We’re still trying to accommodate the best that we can,” Martin said. “But it is still a challenge and we’re still learning little bit by little bit, each time.”
Maximus Landon is brand new to the ceramics program this semester. Landon took the class in hopes it would help them enjoy school again. Unfortunately, the barriers introduced by the online format have taken away from some of the enjoyment.
“Because I’m really new to all of this, I’m not entirely sure what exactly I’m doing,” Landon said. “I’m not sure if I’m scoring things wrong and I’m not sure if I make this dent too large if it’s just going to have the entire side fall off, so it’s a lot of trial and error by myself and it’s not very fun for my anxiety.”
Likewise, Hurst has been very anxious this semester about the safety of his students and the quality of their education.
“It’s definitely not an ideal thing,” Hurst said. “But a lot of students have just been really happy to still be able to work with clay, even if it is at home.”
Captain of the University of Oregon police department, Jason Wade, puts his hat in the ring for UPD chief at HSU.
Following the retirement of former chief, Donn Peterson, in the end of May, the University Police Department has begun its official search for a new chief. Current captain of the University of Oregon Police Department, Jason Wade, is one of the two candidates currently in contention for the position.
Wade has more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement, working primarily for the University of Colorado, Boulder Police Department and for the past six years with the UOPD. In his time with the UOPD, Wade has served as an instructor and director for their cadet academy, developed their body camera program and served as the internal affairs investigator managing the background process for new employees.
In today’s atmosphere of nation-wide calls for radical change regarding the country’s law enforcement system, Wade believes that rather than defund police departments, we need to re-think them.
“The police in the past were seen as the catch all. You know, if you have a problem you call them,” Wade said. “And the expectation was that they were able to respond and serve equally no matter what.”
Wade is of the mind, not every call for service requires the response of a police officer and that many non-violent calls would be better handled by mental health professionals.
“The police still are responsible for enforcing the laws and keeping people safe but how can we better address those issues,” Wade said. “That’s one of the largest levels of police reform, is the calls for service and how we respond with what we respond with.”
According to Wade, the benefit of having a campus police department, in specific, is the collaboration with the university that wouldn’t take place with a city department.
“The campus police department can be brought forward to help the campus,” Wade said. “We can be trained. We can work with the campus to develop the department that the campus needs.”
Campus police departments can also be held to a higher level of accountability by the university. Given the job, Wade plans to implement the policy work groups system currently in place at the UOPD.
The system involves reading every new policy or change in policy at the UPD to a community panel made up of students, staff and faculty of the university who are given the opportunity to weigh in on each policy.
“At some level there has to be oversight that allows the community to see what occurs behind the walls of a department,” Wade said. “So, they know that if a complaint, an allegation of misconduct or something is going on inside the department, that it’s being handled and handled appropriately – and if there is misconduct, that we’re taking measures to not let it happen again.”
When Wade started as a young police officer, he said it was all about how many tickets he would write, how fast he could drive and the fancy gadgets he got to play with.
“That was the mindset back in the late 90’s,” Wade said. “There were problems then, but we didn’t address them. We didn’t have the concepts of implicit bias training or crisis intervention training. I’ve seen change occur, but we’re not there, where we need to be, yet.”
Ultimately, Wade believes, rather than acting in the interest of whoever is in power, a UPD has to hold the best interest of the entire community above all, in order to succeed in creating a safe learning environment for students.
“This should never be the ‘Jason Wade’ Police Department,” Wade said. “Because that will not be successful.”
Boasting sixteen solo mixtapes at 20 years old, YoungBoy is an artist who thrives on flooding the market with music. When it comes to releasing an album, however, YoungBoy has proven to follow a much more selective process.
With “Until Death Call My Name,” YoungBoy delivered infectious performances either vocally, lyrically or both on all 20 tracks of the deluxe version. Paired with flawless beat selection, the album is a strong candidate to someday be looked back on as a classic. Now, with “Top,” YoungBoy carries that same infectious performance and flawless beat selection throughout the 21 track album.
It’s clear on “Top” that YoungBoy has mastered the art of melodic rap. With two or three possible exceptions out of 21, YoungBoy delivers undeniably catchy hooks that often come off as effortless. With the tracks “Right Foot Creep” and “Big Bankroll,” YoungBoy doesn’t bother to establish a pattern and the hook still hits. The unique appeal of “Top,” however, is YoungBoy’s pairing of two, three or as many as four hooks on a single track, disguised as intros, outros, refrains or even within the verses – “Sticks With Me” being a prime example.
Unlike YoungBoy’s first album, where the goal was to create a record catering directly to a mainstream audience, “Top” is packaged with several songs made specifically for his street supporters. While the tone of the tracks are generally abrasive, YoungBoy frequently flip-flops flows in each song, consistently delivering multidimensional-tracks that maintain mainstream appeal.
Even on songs with less aggressive tones, like “House Arrest Tingz,” YoungBoy’s subject matter is focused in the streets and saturated with heavy themes of violence. While a deterrent for some people, there’s no question concerning the authenticity of the experiences YoungBoy raps about, barring occasional exaggeration. We’re made aware of just how dark that reality is on tracks like “All In,” where YoungBoy reveals his anxieties surrounding his health and safety, his dad’s questionable release from prison, and the threat of losing more loved ones to gang-related violence.
Consistently, drastically switching flows and tones on most tracks along with providing more than twice as many hooks as songs on the album, it’s like Drake rapped on “5AM In Toronto,” “that’s why every song sound like Drake featuring Drake,” except it’s YoungBoy featuring Never Broke Again. In the oversaturated state of music today, it’s records like “Top” that stay on the charts, because of their knack for staying stuck in your head.
Asynchronous classes allow students flexibility at the cost of self-discipline.
Following the disastrous transition to online learning, students returning this fall express concern about the quality of their college experience moving forward.
Matthew Moretti is a botany major at Humboldt State University. Moretti took spring semester off after a particularly challenging fall but decided to return because he felt it was his only option in the pandemic.
“If there’s any time to rush through the rest of college, I feel that online courses are in a way easier, even if they have their unique challenges to them,” Moretti said. “I think the asynchronous classes are particularly difficult and I need to have a lot more self-discipline than I think I have any other semester before.”
Moretti’s biggest gripe with online learning is missing out on the practical knowledge that comes with the hands-on experience of lab classes. He’s delaying as many labs as possible, in hopes they’ll be held in-person in the near future. Unfortunately, Moretti couldn’t avoid taking an online entomology, study of insects, lab this semester.
“We will not be able to collect or curate insects,” Moretti said. “Which I feel is a real disservice to really understanding the ins and outs of the insect properly. You lose a lot without being in person.”
Chris Bignery, HSU wildlife major, plans to become a herpetologist, working with amphibians and reptiles. His online lab means missing out on educational field trips and important labs with species samples, but he couldn’t risk losing his spot.
“It’s the class I’ve been waiting for, for three years,” Bignery said.
Bignery came down from Oregon to live on campus this semester because he loves Humboldt’s redwood forests, beaches and small cities. Although claiming the county has everything he needs, Bignery described his life on campus this semester much more bleakly.
“It’s like a prison,” Bignery said. “It’s very lonely.”
Sara White, environmental studies major, enrolled in two classes that were moved online at the last minute. Regardless, she’s carrying a positive attitude into the semester.
“Honestly, I’m really excited, I like all of my classes so far,” White said. “I mean, I wish that things were different obviously but I’m still happy to be here.”
White was attending community college last semester and like other students was forced to convert to online learning mid-semester. Her only concerns are the three asynchronous classes she’s signed up for.
“I feel like it’s a little bit harder to keep track of things,” White said. “I think that’s true of being online in general. It feels like things can get lost in the void.”
Drake Woosley, HSU mathematics major, believes asynchronous classes are much more efficient because he doesn’t have access to an internet connection at home, so he has to walk to campus every time he has class. He feels, generally speaking, there’s a lot less being covered this semester than in normal circumstances and the tuition should reflect that.
“It’s an online school, it shouldn’t be the same tuition. That’s kinda ridiculous,” Woosley said. “There’s almost nothing— no facilities are open. You’re not getting anything other than the accredited university online degree.”
HSU student shares their experience of sexual assault from a non-student member within their club.
Title IX is a federal law protecting students from facing discrimination within any federally funded academic institution. Title IX prioritizes the significance of equal treatment of students, however, flaws in the investigation process leave some students feeling abandoned.
David Hickcox is the Title IX coordinator at HSU. When the Title IX office conducts an investigation into a sexual assault, they’re required to remain impartial through the process.
“I think it’s human nature to want to assume that every person bringing a report is telling the truth,” Hickcox said. “In some cases, it’s pretty clear cut that the person accused is responsible for that behavior, but I can’t rush to judgment. I can’t start treating that person unfairly and not giving them access to advice.”
In a Title IX investigation, an investigator will be assigned to conduct interviews with the parties involved and witnesses willing to cooperate. They will also gather any relevant documentary evidence they can, including text messages, social media posts are collected. The investigator will then present the evidence to both parties, allowing for any questions, before writing up a report with their findings.
Prior to 2019, Title IX investigations were entirely done on paper by a single investigator. A CSU-wide policy change requires that all students be given access to a live-hearing, with the opportunity to question and respond to evidence used in the investigation before a finding is made.
In the case of non-students who participate in campus activities like rec-sports and clubs, the Title IX office has almost no jurisdiction as they’re only able to investigate students or staff members.
“I can’t compel a member of the community to come on the campus and talk to me and give me an interview statement,” Hickcox said. “I can with a student, because guess what, I can put a hold on your student account and you won’t be able to progress in your degree.”
An HSU student-member came forward, wishing to remain anonymous. They shared their experience of being sexually assaulted by a non-student club member and demanded accountability and reform within club policy to exclude non-student members from joining.
“I read through a couple of cases where it was pretty clear that the students had lost faith in the process, because it was taking so long.”
David Hickcox
Hickcox hasn’t found there to be a disproportionate number of sexual-misconduct cases coming from the clubs department, and doesn’t believe non-student members should be excluded.C
“I think that might be a bit like the sledgehammer on the fly,” Hickcox said. “But I think we could definitely target that behavior.”
Through auditing cases, Hickcox discovered the office wasn’t properly following through with several victims. He took his concerns to the HSU Chief of Staff.
“I read through a couple of cases where it was pretty clear that the students had lost faith in the process, because it was taking so long,” Hickcox said.
California State University executive order 1068 allows for non-students to become non-voting members of clubs on campus, provided they constitute less than 20 percent of each club.
Molly Kresl is the office of student life coordinator and oversees the clubs department. Kresel says this is a prevalent issue that’s been happening at the CSU level for a while now, claiming non-student members pose a higher risk.
“It is because of push back from student groups who rely on their alumni and community members to support their events and outreach that we permit the 20 percent max non-student membership,” Kresl said.
It’s ultimately up to each club to allow or not allow non-students to become members. Kresl works with clubs to put together plans of action to address problematic non-student members. Students can obtain a no-contact-order against another student or non-student.
Under CSU executive order 1095, all campuses are required to have a survivors advocate – a person to whom students can confidentially report sexual-assault, without any obligation to report to the University.
Rather than hire a single advocate to work from within HSU, the University has been contracting the local North Coast Rape Crisis Team. The NCRCT provides victims with a 24-hour hotline, one-on-one counseling and general advocacy.
Paula Arrowsmith-Jones is the community outreach coordinator of the NCRCT. Her job is to hear, believe and support victims of sexualized-violence.
“Our services are available to any person of any age or gender,” Arrowsmith-Jones said. “Who has ever in their lifetime been impacted by some form of sexualized-violence.”
HSU’s Title IX office has recently been granted two new full-time positions, tripling the size of their department and expanding their opportunities to stop, remedy and prevent sexual misconduct on campus.
“No one should ever have to go through the betrayal and violation that an assault invokes,” Anonymous said. “It’s not just physical – it’s also an overt psychological trespass that forces you to question the entire relationship you thought you had with the person who assaulted you. It’s a form of injustice on the interpersonal level, a trickle-down of our society’s attitude and response toward sexual assault, and it needs to be addressed.”
Humboldt Domestic Violence Services
24-hour crisis line: (707) 443-6042
North Coast Rape Crisis Team
24-hour crisis line – (707) 445-2881
Humboldt County Mental Health
720 Wood Street, Eureka, CA 24-hour crisis line – (707) 445-7715
Not the senior year I anticipated or signed up for.
For the previous three summers, it had been a tradition of mine to spend time in Colorado with my father’s half of the family. My first summer working 50 hours a week in the bow shop, without the time to explore and appreciate the nature of a mostly foreign land. It only took a few weeks before I began to grow homesick and impulsively withdrew my enrollment at San Diego State University and submitted a late application to Humboldt State University.
My first couple weeks at HSU were typical to that of any new school. New faces and new spaces took warming up to, but it was hardly a choice. Majoring in journalism, I found myself faced with the earth-shattering task of walking up to complete strangers and asking them personal questions in the first week of beginning reporting. This was quickly followed by photo assignments that required me to take pictures of strangers and ask for their names, for print publication. I found myself interviewing professionals in their field, on camera, for video production class.
First semester opened my eyes to a reality where most strangers are willing and eager to share their experiences with anyone willing to show interest. Those experiences became a newfound passion for sharing the stories of my community.
Unfortunately, for me especially, the semester was not without a few hiccups. Less than two months into classes, northern California’s largest power-supplier, Pacific Gas & Electric, was forced to shut off their customers’ electricity in efforts to reduce the risk of causing more wildfires. These blackouts not only interrupted HSU instruction and ultimately cost me learning opportunities with scrapped assignments, the first and only full day without power happened to be my 21st birthday. Instead of going out with my friends, having my first legal drink in a bar, I spent the night listening to Kid Cudi in the dark like I was thirteen again.
The pitfalls of my first semester at HSU didn’t stop there. In one of my rare random acts of kindness, I agreed to give a ride to a stranger. Unfortunately, in life, when you give some people an inch, they’ll take a mile. Non-confrontational by nature, my inability to tell others ‘no’ landed me 30 minutes later with the middle-aged man I’d picked up telling me to ‘hand over the keys.’
Believing my lack of cooperation would be met with violence and me losing the keys to my car, I complied with his demand. Although my car turned up a few weeks later, all of its contents stripped, I wasn’t able to enjoy winter break because my roommates moved out without notice. I spent most of my time scrambling to find a new place and my new roommate.
Despite the emotionally taxing events of the fall semester, everything seemed to fall into place for the spring. My first semester reporting for The Lumberjack. The first story I wrote about the HSU Bicycle Learning Center found its way into the hands of administration and the BLC budget was increased. I was immediately hooked.
By the time California reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic, cancelling in-person instruction at HSU and putting the shelter-in-place policy into effect, writing for The Lumberjack had become my only priority. When assignments in other classes were significantly shrunk and cancelled altogether, I wrote more articles to pass the time.
Over the summer, my annual Colorado trip to visit the family was cancelled by the pandemic. It’s been over a year now since I’ve seen my little sisters and my brother Travis. As I navigate my life in the pandemic, I’ve come to realize now more than ever, the power of family, the people standing by your side when you need them most. I’ve come to find a second family in the friends I’ve made in my short time with The Lumberjack and despite the disappointment of returning to online instruction in the fall, I’m grateful to be returning home.
It’s unique like a snowflake and it fits like a glove, it’s more important than arriving on time, it’s the defining aspect of our image — it’s hair. Whether we love it or hate it, it’s ours, and we do our best to maintain it.
With the state of social media in 2020, an overwhelming degree of how we perceive each other has become smothered by appearance. With many of us lacking excess money to afford material possessions like designer clothes and expensive jewelry, hair is the aspect of our appearance where we have the most control.
In 2015, a “no hair, don’t care” campaign was launched, with young women shaving their heads to get in touch with their true identities. Breaking gender norms, these women are able to grow confidence as they discover their inner beauty and channel it to the surface.
Whether we do it to stick out or to fit in, by wearing our hair the way we do each day, we communicate to others a glimpse into the possibilities of what could be our lives. An ordinary haircut often insinuates a more serious approach towards life, while unusually long hair on a man communicates a more laid back approach and unusually short hair on a woman creates the perception of authority. No matter which walks of life we choose, each comes with its own expectations that will soon shape our behaviors, eventually our personalities, and oftentimes, our hair.
Synonymous with her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series, Emma Watson famously cut off almost all of her hair as soon as the series wrapped. After spending a decade with the same style, she explained in a 2010 interview, she felt it was a necessary change to escape the character.
At certain times in our lives, we may find we’ve relinquished power to our hair, allowing it to influence our identities rather than the other way around. Whether it be a reluctance to give up the life we’ve grown so accustomed to, or perhaps fear of exploring the unknown that holds us back from moving forward, it is a certainty of life that we will encounter change. Even as we enter the later years of our lives, long after we’ve fallen into our respective routines, we will experience our first gray hairs or perhaps receding hairlines – and we are sure to feel betrayed by our bodies. Whether we’re ready or not, change is always on the way, and the best thing we can do is embrace it. Letting go of your old hair can be a therapeutic release, relieving weight from your shoulders with each severed follicle.
We love to play with it and we hate to part with it, but for some of us, the perceptions broadcast by our hairstyles don’t match the personalities that lie beneath. Especially now, in the midst of a pandemic as we find ourselves cut off from much of what we considered ordinary life, we should take the opportunity to step back and assess our core values. If for some reason we find ourselves in a place we no longer want to be, or where we feel we don’t belong, something as simple as a haircut can be the first step in a positive new direction.
As the late, great King of Pop Michael Jackson, put it in his song, “Man in the Mirror,” “if you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change.” You are only truly at your best when you feel that way inside and reflect it outwardly. Only then, can you make a difference.
For better or worse, Big Sean is likely gone for good.
After taking a three year hiatus, following luke-warm reception to his 2017 album “I Decided,” and an overwhelmingly negative response to the collaborative album he released later that year with Metro Boomin – ironically titled “Double or Nothing” – Big Sean’s new album “Detroit 2” marks a permanent step away from superstardom.
Sequel to the 2012 mixtape “Detroit,” part two – the album version – delivers a much different experience in almost every regard. Each project boasts features from some of the biggest artists in the game at the time and each project features interludes from three highly respected entertainers, however, the similarities end there.
Previously rapping about fame, fortune and the fast-life, with 2017’s “I Decided.” Sean took his music in a new direction of peace, positivity and personal growth. Doubling down on these new themes in “Detroit 2,” Sean delivers his second solo-album in a row without an undeniable hit-record like “I Don’t Fuck With You” or “Clique.”
Leading up to the release of “Detroit 2,” Sean set the tone releasing “Deep Reverence,” featuring the late Crenshaw king, Nipsey Hussle. On the track, Sean opens up about his overblown beef with Kendrick Lamar, the baby he lost and thoughts of suicide. Sean, only displays this level of vulnerability once more on the song “Lucky Me,” where he speaks to his public break-up with R&B singer and current girlfriend Jhené Aiko and having been diagnosed with heart disease at 19-years-old. These topics are all left at the surface level and unfortunately, we never get to hear directly how Sean feels about any of it – only that he’s gone through it.
After focusing an entire album around the theme of reflection with “I Decided,” Sean captures his life path and what it’s cost him with an effortless delivery, resembling conversation, on the track “Everything That’s Missing.” Along with “Guard Your Heart,” “Full Circle” and “Feed,” in which he focuses on the conflictions within fame. These are the songs where Sean is in his element.
On the flip side of things, time and time again on this project, Sean falls short of a hit-record – lacking the undeniable catchiness factor on the song “Harder Than My Demons,” not giving Post Malone the entire chorus of “Wolves” or letting Travis Scott give up half-way through the hook on “Lithuania.” For someone with as much experience as Sean, it’s as if he’s actively trying to avoid a hit.
Fortunately, Sean saves the best for last, ending the album on an extremely high note, beginning with the song “Don Life,” featuring a strong verse from Lil Wayne and sampling the legendary Michael Jackson’s classic song “Human Nature.”
For the next track, “Friday Night Cypher,” Sean recruits 10 fellow Detroit MCs to rap over eight different beats that mostly cater to each artist. Sean delivers two of his best performances of the album on these songs and the latter is a moment not soon to be forgotten by fans of hip-hop.
With “Detroit 2,” Sean delivers a project more honest and open than anything he’s released before but at the cost of the quality of his music. After three years off, Sean’s musical abilities remain unchanged and his concept of quality has suffered. Most songs are ruined by a bad flow here, a lazy hook, poor arrangements or overproduction that make them hard to listen to outside of the context of the album.
Regarded unanimously as one of the greatest rappers of all time and by many as having created the best hip-hop album to date with his 1994 debut, “Illmatic,” Nas has returned at the age of 46 with his studio album, “King’s Disease.”
More than eight years since his last full-length album, “Life is Good,” Nas has been more active than usual in the last few years. In June 2018, Nas released his seven-track “NASIR” album, executive produced by Kanye West, then followed it up with “The Lost Tapes 2” compilation album in July of 2019.
To set the tone for his new album, Nas released the lead single, “Ultra Black,” boasting the beauty of black life, a theme which is felt throughout the album and heavily featured on songs like “27 Summers,” “10 Points,” and the title track. In these songs, Nas lays down the definition of a true king: someone who is willing to work their way to the top, leave their baggage behind them and give back opportunities and knowledge to their people. In other words, a leader not a ruler.
Produced entirely by Hit-Boy, with occasional assists from other producers, “King’s Disease” features a mixture of old school beats on songs like “Full Circle” and “Car #85” and more modern instrumentals on tracks like “Til the War is Won” and “Spicy,” a New York anthem featuring hometown rappers Fivio Foreign and A$AP Ferg. To compliment the tone of the tracks, Nas recruits features for over half the songs on the album, including unlikely appearances from Travis Scott’s new artist Don Toliver and Big Sean on the track “Replace Me.” Nas also reunites his old group, The Firm, to please fans of the old-school, with nearly four minutes of uninterrupted bars, on the track “Full Circle.” The features that stand out the most, however, both in terms of their quality and the surprise of hearing their voice alongside Nas on a song are Lil Durk with “Till the War is Won” and Anderson.Paak with “All Bad.”
As Nas fans have come to expect, he delivers more of the signature story-telling style that caused hip-hop to fall in love with his music. He brings you into his world like no one else can with the songs “Blue Benz” and most especially “Car #85,” as Nas reminisces on life in the hood. Forever a part of him, mentions or allusions to the hood appear on the majority of the album, most powerfully on the track “Till the War is Over.” In this song Nas expresses his sympathies for single mothers and especially those who’ve had to bury a child, while Lil Durk provides the perspective of one of the children caught up in the streets.
Following the longest break between proper full-length albums in his career, Nas lays all his cards on the table, dedicating entire tracks on “King’s Disease” to addressing the ugly, prejudiced state of the world and reflecting back on his 27 summers in the game with “The Definition” and “The Cure.”
Around 7,500 people in the world can be considered one in a million with “King’s Disease,” Nas proves once again that he’s one of a kind.
The hip-hop community rallies behind the Black Lives Matter Movement
When footage of an unarmed black man named George Floyd being murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin was uploaded to the internet on May 25, Black Lives Matter protests began erupting across the country and throughout the world. Given the role hip-hop plays in the black community, it’s natural that protesters adopt anthems from the genre to fuel their cause.
In the weeks following Floyd’s death, several members of the hip-hop community took their frustrations to the studio and created new anthems to further fuel the protests, notably including FTP by YG, Other Side of America by Meek Mill and The Bigger Picture by Lil Baby, all of which are raw reflections of the artists’ real experiences as black men living in America.
An unlikely protest anthem came from the late Pop Smoke, who was gunned down in his Los Angeles residence earlier this year. Thousands of New Yorkers took to the streets of Manhattan during the initial protests, chanting the words to the former rapper’s hit song “Dior.”
To celebrate Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the abolition of slavery in the United States, Beyoncé released her own Black Lives Matter anthem, “Black Parade.” On July 31, she delivered an entire visual album titled “Black is King” celebrating the African race throughout history.
When the protests were at their height, another song from Beyoncé’s 2016 album “Lemonade” titled “Freedom,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, was also being played across the country. Along with Lamar’s own song, “Alright.” Another artist with a critically acclaimed album celebrating Black excellence in “To Pimp A Butterfly,” Lamar has remained suspiciously silent since the protests broke out, beside participating in the Compton Peace Walk.
Regarded alongside Lamar as one of the best and most progressive rap artists of the era, J.Cole chose a different path that landed both him and Lamar on the list of Twitter cancellation campaigns.
Afterwards, Cole admitted in a tweet, “[he hasn’t] done a lot of reading and [doesn’t] feel well equipped as a leader in these times.” Cole released a song on June 16 titled “Snow On Tha Bluff,” addressing both his own ignorance of the plight of his people, and the criticisms of an unnamed Black woman, quickly discovered to be Chicago rapper, Noname. On the track, Cole compels Noname to preach her knowledge rather than shame those unwilling to speak up and to share it with audiences outside of those that already have access. Cole’s “queen-tone” lyric, however, muddied the message with accusations of policing a Black woman’s tone and inspired a response track from Noname with “Song 33,” in which she questions how he could write about her in a time of such international tragedy.
As the Black Lives Matter movement carries into the fall, hip-hop continues to celebrate its roots, most recently with the release of the first official, full-length Nas album in over eight years, “King’s Disease,” preceded a week by his own Black Lives Matter anthem, lead single “Ultra Black.”
Drake drops surprise project, “Dark Lane Demo Tapes”
Nearly two years following the release of his last commercial project, “Scorpion,” Drake is back with more music than ever. Surprising fans April 30, Drake hopped on Instagram to announce his upcoming sixth studio album, set to be released this summer. He also announced a new mixtape, “Dark Lane Demo Tapes,” that dropped hours after.
Ashton Pomrehn is a Humboldt State University alumnus from the psychology department. His thoughts on Drake have dramatically changed over the course of Drake’s decade and a half long career.
“I love Drake,” Pomrehn said. “I tried to hate on Drake early in his career but he’s put so much good music out that I’m excited for anything he puts out.”
Kathleen Madrid is an environmental resources engineering major at HSU. She’s not the biggest Drake fan but she is heavily invested in the hip-hop genre and enjoys watching it evolve.
“I will say that I think he has been really influential,” Madrid said. “Drake really brought a different topic of discussion to hip-hop. Males are not traditionally encouraged to express their feelings and I think Drake gave young men that voice.”
Despite his undeniable contribution to the industry, Drake has received heavy criticism in the past over cultural appropriation of different regions’ music, beginning with his 2016 single “One Dance.” Despite featuring one the genre’s prominent artists, WizKid, Drake’s 10-minutes with afrobeats were seen by fans of the genre as a Hollywood actor taking the Broadway stage. The song was also a blend of Jamaican dancehall music – a style that Drake sprinkled throughout “Views” and his “More Life” playlist, without ever featuring an artist from the genre. Drake continued to catch flack for appropriation of UK Grime on “More Life,” however, the project features several guests from across the pond.
“There is a fine line between appropriation and appreciation. Paying homage or showing love may be necessary, but I think it’s more important to educate yourself before you participate in another culture’s genre.”
Kathleen Madrid
Drake set the tone for a possible new release in late Dec. 2019, with the track, “War,” taking the sound of the United Kingdom’s take on drill music and running with it. Similarly, on the song “Demons,” Drake hops on a New York drill beat, this time providing guest spots for the artists that popularized the genre. However, the missing presence of the recently-deceased leader of the movement, Pop Smoke, is heavily felt on the track.
Madrid acknowledges that Drake is in a tough position, but it’s ultimately his own decisions that repeatedly put him there.
“Cultural appropriation is a muddy concept,” Madrid said. “There is a fine line between appropriation and appreciation. Paying homage or showing love may be necessary, but I think it’s more important to educate yourself before you participate in another culture’s genre.”
In this new release, Drake pays his respects to some of the most prominent cities in modern hip-hop on “Dark Lane Demo Tapes,” with tracks like “From Florida With Love” and “Chicago Freestyle.” The later track was originally paired with the song “When To Say When” and released on Leap Day earlier this year as a music video. “When To Say When” samples one of Jay-Z’s most-famous tracks, “Song Cry,” and some of the footage from the video was shot outside the Marcy Projects where Jay-Z grew up.
Despite mixtapes almost always receiving significantly less care and budget than studio albums, when it comes to top-tier artists like Drake, fans still expect top-tier material. With features from Future, Young Thug and Chris Brown on the track list, fans will be let down to find out Young Thug only receives half a placement on the chorus of “D4L.” Chris Brown only provides a handful of background vocals on “Not You Too” and of Future’s two verses on the project, his better performance is significantly shorter. Despite consistently creating a dominant presence on songs where he is featured as the guest, including “Life Is Good,” “No Guidance” and “Going Bad,” Drake has proven unwilling to provide artists with a fraction of space on his own records.
With an entire album on the horizon, a number one record with “Toosie Slide” and a classic track with “Losses,” Drake fans have nothing to complain about – drill fans, however, are a whole other story.
Despite in-person instruction coming to a halt in the wake of COVID-19, student-run radio shows are still an option for KRFH students. For students not interested in going to great lengths to produce a weekly show, there is an alternative.
When Humboldt State University first transitioned to online instruction following spring-break, KRFH students were given the option to continue doing shows, as long as they comply with strict CDC regulations. This includes leaving three-hour gaps between shows, having only one student in the booth at a time and wiping down everything inside the booth before and after shows.
The new protocol lasted less than two full weeks before students were no longer allowed back in the booth. Instead, they were given the option to pre-record shows.
Ayrton Flaherty has a show with Debate Team coach, Aaron Donaldson, called “Debate and the News.” It was the first show at HSU to utilize Zoom while broadcasting live over the air-waves having Donaldson contribute from the safety of his home and Flaherty sit in the booth for their final live shows of the semester.
“It’s hard to do radio if you’re not in the station,” Flaherty said. “I guess cause we do a talk show, we’re able to get away with that. Because, rather than having music and occasionally talking, it’s talking and occasionally having music for us.”
Flaherty has found pre-recorded shows to be far more forgiving, with options to edit and re-take segments. However, they have created hours of post-production time that wouldn’t exist with live shows, in addition to hours they spend on pre-production. But, both Flaherty and Donaldson believe their show is worth the effort.
“I think all the DJs feel a little bit of a responsibility to stay involved, because otherwise there’s the chance that KRFH could get shut down if people aren’t showing interest.”
Shelley Magallanes
“This education is as important as ever,” Donaldson said. “The resources, as always, are very vulnerable and threatened, and students should get involved if they think it’s important.”
Shelley Magallanes hosts multiple shows on KRFH and they completely agree with Donaldson. Magallanes only intends to attend the class if it’s offered in-person next semester, although, they still might sign up if the program is in danger.
“I think all the DJs feel a little bit of a responsibility to stay involved, because otherwise there’s the chance that KRFH could get shut down if people aren’t showing interest,” Magallanes said.
They don’t think the course should be offered next semester if students can’t meet in person, unless that would put the future of the program in jeopardy.
“If we’re just doing it the way we’re doing it right now,” Magallanes said. “Then the main reason to hold onto the class is just to ensure that later semesters, it still gets put on.”
Anwaar-Khabir Muhammad is in his first semester with the radio and based on his experience, he doesn’t think the course should be offered next semester unless classes resume in-person and on campus.
“The radio station in and of itself is the learning experience,” Muhammad said. “I understand trying to maintain a sense of familiarity, but if that maintenance comes at the expense of the student’s overall learning experience, don’t do it!”
Alice Peterson won best show at KRFH last year with her program, “Ear Hugs.” The program mixes lighthearted discussion with relaxing tunes.
“Sending out your part and being a storyteller and providing that comfort and that service,” Peterson said. “It just makes you feel good.”
Since live shows have been taken away, Peterson forgets to attend her Zoom classes and turn in her alternative assignments, which are a five-minute weekly update that are aired on KRFH of students describing how they are navigating their lives through these stressful times.
“I kept forgetting to do my recording,” Peterson said. “Which was weird for me, because with the radio shows I never missed a show.”
As a result of missing classes, Peterson was unaware of the option to produce pre-recorded shows. As a senior without a graduation, she takes solace in the fact that she can at least put on a final show.
With administration still waiting to make an official decision about how classes will be conducted next semester, the future of KRFH remains uncertain and at risk.
Newly Elected Associated Student Board prepares from the 2020-21 school year
Former Associated Students, Student Affairs Vice President and AS Legislative Vice President Jeremiah Finley will be returning to Humboldt State University next year as the President of AS.
“We’re here to deliver some genuine change,” Finley said. “We’re in a place where we haven’t been before. But I’m optimistic and we should all be optimistic about the direction we’re about to head in.”
Over the summer Finley will be focusing on creating guidelines for allocation processes and beginning to tackle the four-point approach he campaigned on.
“It’s gonna take more than just one person to advocate that something happens,” Finley said. “My leadership style is not centralized. I’m very much a person who’s gonna take input from everybody.”
Finley acknowledges there are students on campus that didn’t vote for him, and not without reason.
“Ultimately, I know that 258 students voted for the runner-up. With that being said, I know 258 students still believe that those points that that candidate brought up were valid, so we want to recognize that.”
Unique to this year, the new AS board will be meeting several times through out the summer, to get a much needed head start.
“This platform allows me to be a voice for all students. I don’t take that for granted.”
Jeremiah Finley
“I think that the work needs to be done,” Finley said. “That way when we move into the actual academic year, we’re able to hit the ground running.”
AS Representative for the College of Art, Humanities and Social Sciences for the 2019-2020 academic year, Montel Floyd will be returning to the AS board next year to serve as an At-Large Representative. He chose to shift roles to gain access to the entire student body.
“This platform allows me to be a voice for all students,” Floyd said. “I don’t take that for granted.”
Malluli Cuellar, Social Justice Equity Officer for AS 2019-2020, is also moving into a new role as the Legislative Vice President-Elect. Cuellar chose to run for the new position largely due to her interest in chairing the Board of Directors.
“I hope to foster an inclusive and welcoming environment at each Board of Directors meeting,” Cuellar said. “While also making sure that Associated Students is running as best as it can internally, and that our codes and bylaws are setting up Associated Students to be the best it can be.”
Floyd intends to spend his next year with the board focusing on breaking down communication barriers between students and administration and ensuring student safety.
“I love advocating for students,” Floyd said. “Listening to their concerns and finding ways to solve the concerns as a collective is what I do best.”
Cuellar believes in the power of student advocacy and students’ collective ability to promote institutional change on campus.
“I want to push for Associated Students to continue to actively uplift the student voice and encourage our students to become involved in the governance of our campus by joining committees or writing resolutions.”
Malluli Cuellar
“The student advocacy that occurs within Associated Students is what inspired me to run for elected office for the very first time,” Cuellar said. “And it is what has kept me involved with Associated Students.”
One of Cuellar’s goals for the coming year is to build and foster an environment that is inclusive and provide a safe space for collaborative thinking and change.
“I want to push for Associated Students to continue to actively uplift the student voice and encourage our students to become involved in the governance of our campus by joining committees or writing resolutions.”
With only seven students elected to the AS board for 2020-21, there are still plenty of positions open for students interested in joining. Incoming AS President Finley advocates that all students take the opportunity to share their voice.
“I would recommend everybody to do it,” Finley said. “It’s empowering. You get the chance to show who you are and put your twist and your spin on what advocacy is and what it should look like, and you end up creating some really creative solutions to old problems.”
Based on projected enrollment, the Associated Students budget is expected to decrease 20% each year, for the next five years
The Associated Students Board finalized their proposed budget for the upcoming academic year, during the April 24 board meeting. The budget includes cutting the entire budgets of the Asian, Desi, Pacific Islander Center, the Eric Rofes Multicultural Queer Resource Center or ERC and the Women’s Resource Center, among other programs.
Jeremiah Finley was elected the incoming AS President for the 2020-21 academic year. He wants to assure students they won’t be losing their programs.
“The reality is that we want to support y’all so bad,” Finley said. “That we’re willing to go into our reserves almost $100,000 to be able to still support in some type of way.”
Budget Administrator of the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology Justin Hawkins was baffled by the budget decisions and spoke out during the meeting.
“How does the budget increase $14,000 and it’s going directly to the AS government in-between these recommended budgets, and yet, all of us are getting cut.”
Justin Hawkins
“It’s just tragic, honestly, to see these massive cuts to the ERC and the Women’s Resource Center,” Hawkins said. “I’m a male body person, I identify that way, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t empathize and really appreciate the services that are provided.”
Hawkins questioned the justification for the AS budget increase after having several thousand dollars of his own program cut.
“It’s really troubling what I see going on,” Hawkins said. “How does the budget increase $14,000 and it’s going directly to the AS government in-between these recommended budgets, and yet, all of us are getting cut.”
Despite losing one of their three staff positions, the AS general operations budget has increased over $15,000 for the upcoming academic-year. This comes as a result of general operations losing miscellaneous revenue, largely made up of compensation for the oversight of Instructionally Related Activities. Without the $35,000 miscellaneous revenue provided for the 2019-20 year, the general operations budget requires additional funds to function.
As a result of budget reductions, AS was forced to down-size their office administrator position. This sharp deadline made it impossible for AS to administer payroll for the upcoming year and as a result student-wages have been removed from AS and most of its funded-programs. Executive Director of AS, Jenessa Lund, said the current system isn’t working.
“Even with three employees,” Lund said. “When we have eight programs spread across campus, the oversight is impossible. It’s a huge liability!”
In order to compensate students for their time, AS has come up with several loopholes to get around the extra paperwork that comes with administering official wages. These include paid-internships and stipends for students, both of which have been allocated specific funds in the final budget.
These allocations include a $15,000 committee compensation package that increased the AS government budget. The package is specifically set aside for non-AS board members that are involved in AS committees.
“The optics on the final number of $111,000 looks bad,” Lund said. “But if you really look at what’s inside of it, it’s support to the students.”
The finalized proposal includes a significant increase to the clubs’ budget, with money that can be used for student-stipends and internships. Programs that didn’t receive any funding from AS have the option to transition their organization into a club and can apply for funding through AS and the clubs’ office. Programs that weren’t given a budget for the upcoming year have also been allocated specific funds.
“I don’t think that all of the clubs should have an equal opportunity for that funding.”
Alexia Siebuhr
Queer Coordinator for the MultiCultural Center, Alexia Siebuhr voiced her concerns about access to AS grants distributed through clubs, at a board meeting on May 8. Siebuhr pointed out a white supremacist club on campus, who promotes hateful behavior towards groups denied an AS budget, is competition for club funding.
“I don’t think that all of the clubs should have an equal opportunity for that funding,” Siebuhr said. “They have the equal opportunity to apply for those grants. That just rubs me a little bit the wrong way.”
President-Elect Finley addressed Siebuhr’s concerns, explaining the reasoning behind the allocation.
“Every fee-paying student has to be able to have access to these funds,” Finley said. “If we do not allow them to have access to these funds, then we are doing a dis-service to our students.”
Programs with a department and a state employee overseeing paperwork are the only ones able to maintain regular wages because their payroll doesn’t go through AS. For programs that didn’t receive a budget from AS, finding a department to adopt them and re-applying for funding is currently their only option.
AS is already in discussion with the Student Access Gallery, the Waste-Reduction and Resource Awareness Program, the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology and several departments about the possibility of adoption. Executive Director Lund believes this will be the most beneficial direction for the programs, moving into next year.
“We didn’t have enough time to do that for every program,” Lund said. “That would’ve been ideal.”
AS is prepared for the possibility of refunding fee-paying students for potentially cancelled events and other unspent student-fee funds. Ultimately, if they aren’t providing the services outlined by student-fees, they shouldn’t be charging them.
With Humboldt State University anticipating lower enrollment for the upcoming academic year, the athletics department has been preparing to make budget adjustments in alignment with the rest of the university. While the department is still waiting on official numbers from the administration to what the budget will look like next semester, Athletics Director Jane Teixeira has been actively working towards making changes with athletics.
“We are going to start going through program by program, looking at ways that we can reduce costs or maximize our benefits and resources,” Teixeira said. “We look at everything from corporate partnerships and how we can maximize those, to donations, to can we live without a second pair of tennis shoes if that’s something we were buying.”
Student enrollment is directly linked to the budget through the Instructionally Related Activities fee that every student pays each semester. The fee currently costs students $337 and covers coach salaries as well as operational expenses for athletics. The funds generated by the IRA fee are also split among the IRA Committee Fund, Jack Pass Fund and Humboldt Energy Independence. A large majority of the money goes to athletics. However, with the department receiving $3.3 million for the 2019-2020 academic year. There is no talk at this time of the fee being raised even if enrollment drops in the future.
The IRA Fee may not be changing, but faculty salary which applies to coaches and is determined with unions and includes automatic increases is at risk. Associated Students Executive Director Jenessa Lund points out that at a certain stage this model will simply stop working as salaries fall out of balance with the fee.
“Salary increases for positions paid by the state are included in the state allocation, as the state builds in a cost of living increase when funding for CSU’s,” Lund said. “When salaries are paid by a flat fee, eventually the salary increases will exceed the amount of fees.”
Newly elected Associated Students President Jeremiah Finley believes that students should not be having to pay for athletics faculty and instead should be paid with state-side funds.
“Ultimately I believe that the wages should be off the back of students. So I’ll advocate that it moves back to state-side.”
Jeremiah Finley
Moving faculty wages back to state-side funding is something the budget office has been looking into since Spring 2018 according to Lund. If this move is made then the money allocated by the CSU system would take rising salaries into consideration. While the current flat fee does not.
Athletics will certainly take a financial hit if enrollment drops as the university predicts. Teixeira was adamant that even though the department has been asked to make changes, the existing programs will not be going anywhere.
“There’s no talk of contracting on our sports,” Teixeira said. “I know there has been some thought from some individuals that were nervous about that because you’re starting to see that happen across the country.”
With enrollment down significantly in the Fall semester, athletics will be leaning more heavily on other sources of revenue; state-side, private donations and corporate sponsorships. Teixeira was unable to provide exact numbers on how much money comes from these sources, but did say that support from the community is especially important for athletics. However with the long term effects following COVID-19, donors contributions will potentially be affected.
“I appreciate the individuals who have given to us and hope we can continue to gather their support for that,” Teixeira said. “We’re going to need it as we move forward in this budgetary time. But we also are aware that this pandemic has affected people. It’s affected our neighbors and we have to be really smart about that.”
“Rec sports is a huge part of what HSU does for students. So it’s not just an athletic issue, this is a student issue.”
Athletics Director Jane Teixeira
If student enrollment takes the anticipated dip for the 2020-2021 school year, recreational sports would see a dip in funding, since they’re part of the athletics department. Teixeira said that recreational sports had already taken a reduction and needs support since it applies to so many students.
“Rec sports is a huge part of what HSU does for students,” Teixeira said. “So it’s not just an athletic issue, this is a student issue.”
The potential to use unspent money from this semester to bolster athletics is being explored as an option. While the final numbers haven’t been released, track and field, softball and rowing all had their seasons cancelled before completion. Meaning funds that are normally spent on travel and lodging are still available. This money could be used for other operations in the future.
Finley thinks that any athletic money not spent due to COVID-19 should be dispersed back into the program.
“Ultimately if that money is allocated, which it currently is, for our student athletes,” Finley said. “Then our student athletes should still benefit from that. I don’t know what that looks like, but that’s why we have different bodies in different pockets of excellence around campus to get that input.”
Without certainty from HSU’s administration, the athletic department continues to create scenarios for possible budget outcomes they will face going into the 2020-21 school year.
DaBaby releases his third album in 13 months, “BLAME IT ON BABY”
Capitalizing on a unique sound and unique circumstances, with COVID-19 providing more available listeners than ever before, DaBaby is flooding the market—a strategy that’s proven most useful to artists like Lil Wayne and Young Thug in the past. Coming less than seven months after his previous effort, “KIRK,” and only a year after his extremely successful debut, “Baby on Baby,” DaBaby has returned with his third album, “BLAME IT ON BABY.”
Since his introduction to mainstream hip-hop with his platinum-hit-record, “Suge,” DaBaby has kept his name relevant in the media with a string of negative headlines, most recently “accidentally” slapping a female fan. Despite the negative nature of these incidents, each headline only seems to contribute to his success.
A great deal of DaBaby’s launch into the mainstream can be credited to arguably the most impressive feature run from a rookie, landing himself a verse on songs with the likes of Chance the Rapper, J. Cole and Post Malone and playing a standout role on each of the associated albums. This earned DaBaby the attention of hip-hop fans everywhere.
“He’s just different from everybody else—his style, the way he goes about it. I just like him cause you can never tell what direction he’s gonna go with it.”
“BLAME IT ON BABY” is still mostly filled with the party music that we expect from DaBaby, with raw lyrics about guns, girls and guap laid over high-energy beats intended to be played at high volumes.
Jesus Ontiverof plans to transfer to Humboldt State University after completing the nursing program at College of the Redwoods. As a casual fan of DaBaby, Ontiverof enjoys all his music.
“He’s just different from everybody else—his style, the way he goes about it,” Ontiverof said. “I just like him cause you can never tell what direction he’s gonna go with it.”
“A lot of his music sounds the same, which is kind of a bummer. But I do like some of his shit when he mixes it up.”
Jay Coch, kinesiology major
HSU kinesiology major Jay Coch has a different view and experience with DaBaby’s music.
“A lot of his music sounds the same, which is kind of a bummer,” Coch said. “But I do like some of his shit when he mixes it up.”
Even though Coch wasn’t eagerly awaiting the new release, he can’t knock the hustle.
“For him, it seems like he’s being pretty successful putting out a lot of music,” Coch said. “A lot of people like that. They’re like ‘Drop more music, drop more music,’ but it would be cool [if] he took a little more time and really mixed it up and thought about his lyrics more, and actually put himself out there as a musician more than just a big name in the rap industry.”
Despite having its moments on the song “ROCKSTAR,” with a feature from the other hottest new name in rap, Roddy Ricch, and another feature on the song, “NASTY,” with DaBaby’s biggest featured guest to date, Ashanti, “BLAME IT ON BABY” is easily his most forgettable album yet.
Giovanni Guerrero makes his case for the Associated Students presidency
Born and raised in southern California, Giovanni Guerrero is an openly gay, first-generation Latinx student. Coming to the end of his junior year, this is Guerrero’s first time running for a position with Associated Students, and he’s aiming straight for the top—the presidency.
While Guerrero lacks a background with AS, he might make up for with a background working with the Federal Government. Last summer, he attended an internship with the Bureau of Land Management Eastern States division in Washington D.C. The division is an office of the BLM, a branch of the Department of the Interior. He spent time working with fellow interns in a geospatial segment of the Eastern States division—work that involved collaborating on several projects simultaneously.
As an environmental science major, Guerrero brings preservation into the discussion as the foundation of his platform.
“We have resources on this campus that help those students. And I think it’s very essential that we prioritize those resources and make sure that those resources aren’t seeing drastic reductions.”
Giovanni Guerrero
“We have some terrific resources on this campus, but over the next two years we’re gonna be facing $20 million in budget reductions, and that’s a big, scary number,” Guerrero said. “Those reductions will probably come in the form of student interests. So, it’s very important that we recognize the challenges that we’re gonna face, and we’re very vocal about it so that we can protect important resources.”
Humboldt State University is home to many students in need, including those facing housing and food insecurities, as well as mental health issues.
“We have resources on this campus that help those students,” Guerrero said. “And I think it’s very essential that we prioritize those resources and make sure that those resources aren’t seeing drastic reductions.”
Guerrero advocates for more energy to be spent on the promotion of these resources. One idea is to feature a ‘program of the week’ on the HSU homepage because the current navigation system does little to support them.
“I really wanna focus on promoting what Humboldt State has to offer,” Guerrero said. “Because our resources can’t serve the students that they’re meant to serve if they don’t know they exist.”
“I think he would be a great leader because he understands the complexities in debates, that sometimes we have to find productive ways to maintain arguments we can’t end, and because he is so eager to make HSU a better place for students who feel left out.”
Aaron Donaldson, debate team coach
As the only upcoming senior running for the position, Guerrero has the most respective experience on the HSU campus and the challenges faced by its students.
“I’ve been very fortunate to experience different areas around campus,” Guerrero said. “It’s really opened up my perception to how diligently students are working.”
As well as working for Recreation Sports on campus, Guerrero also worked at the J. He’s also involved in several student clubs including the running, climbing and debate clubs.
Aaron Donaldson, coach of the debate team, praised Guerrero as a genuine, sympathetic listener.
“I would describe Gio as thoughtful, careful as an advocate and a good student,” Donaldson said. “I think he would be a great leader because he understands the complexities in debates, that sometimes we have to find productive ways to maintain arguments we can’t end, and because he is so eager to make HSU a better place for students who feel left out.”
If elected president, Guerrero intends to improve HSU’s social media. That way students interested in attending the university will know what the campus has to offer. He advocated that all students take advantage of the opportunities at hand, especially clubs.
“His ability to anticipate, plan for and respond to issues in dynamic and creative ways makes him an asset to any group or team he chooses to be a part of.”
Katherine Earle, Recreation Sports
“Clubs have really helped me to connect with other people, and I think they’re really essential to building community on campus,” Guerrero said. “That leads to retention as well. If you feel connected to your campus and where you live and where you study, then you’re more likely to stay.”
One of Guerrero’s bosses at Recreation Sports, Katherine Earle, spoke highly of his performance.
“Gio has already proven himself to be an effective leader while working for Rec Sports at HSU,” Earle said. “His ability to anticipate, plan for and respond to issues in dynamic and creative ways makes him an asset to any group or team he chooses to be a part of.”
Another priority for Guerrero, as president, would be to ensure the security of student jobs.
“A lot of students depend on those jobs and I think the more opportunities we have on campus, the more attraction we will get at HSU, and more retention,” Guerrero said.
One of the biggest short-comings of AS, according to Guerrero, is active student engagement.
“You could probably go up to any student on this campus and ask them, ‘Do you know what an Associated Student does or who they are?’ And they’ll probably tell you ‘No, I have no idea.’”
Guerrero wants to create avenues to engage with the student body and inform them on what’s going on at an administrative level and within AS.
Guerrero said this will help prioritize what students want from AS. If he wins, Guerrero is aware he has his work cut out for him, and he said he’s up for the task.
“I’ve faced a lot of different barriers and a lot of different challenges, and just in general, it’s really helped me to be a resilient person,” Guerrero said. “And I think that’s the key to success. Cause you’re gonna face a lot of obstacles throughout life, and have to learn how to handle those obstacles.”
Associated Students Legislative Vice President Jeremiah Finley runs for the presidency
Former Vice President of Student Affairs and current Associated Students Legislative Vice President Jeremiah Finely has placed his hat in the race for the 2020-2021 AS presidency.
Majoring in political science, Finley’s passion for politics can be traced to the last presidential election.
“When I watched the 2016 race, I think something just awoke within me,” Finley said. “It got nasty, it got dirty, and that’s something that I don’t want to see happen ever again.”
“When he walked into our first meeting, I knew he was going to be a great leader then.”
Jourdan Lamar, Resident Hall Association president
A sophomore in high school at the time, Finley didn’t put his passion into practice until arriving at Humboldt State University. In his first semester, Finley became president of the Cypress Hill Council after attending the info session and receiving encouragement from the council to run. Current Residence Hall Association President Jourdan Lamar first met Finley when he joined the council.
“When he walked into our first meeting, I knew he was going to be a great leader then,” Lamar said. “He was advocating, asking questions, joining other organizations to learn more about HSU. Since then, I have had the opportunity to work alongside him in many organizations on campus, seeing him become a great student leader.”
From day one, despite the threat of consequences, Finley said he’s made it his number one priority to place students’ interests first.
“Due to this I have been penalized a lot, in various different ways,” Finley said. “Whether it be not getting the votes I needed to pass certain legislation, or not receiving the same type of social treatment. Ultimately, I bet on the students consistently. I think that all my students are worth it.”
Jeremiah is a super bright and motivated student leader, both in AS as the legislative VP and housing as an RA. On multiple occasions, he has combined those roles by educating his residents about current issues on campus as well as bringing his residents to campus events.”
Jenessa Lund, executive director of Associated Students
Finley began making regular visits to the AS office in his first semester on campus, familiarizing himself with the organization. He attempted to apply for the position of social justice and equity officer, but was turned down due to lack of a college GPA. He returned the following semester and was appointed to the position of student affairs VP in February of 2019.
Executive Director of AS Jenessa Lund has worked closely with Finley since he became a part of the board.
“Jeremiah is a super bright and motivated student leader, both in AS as the legislative VP and housing as an RA,” Lund said. “On multiple occasions, he has combined those roles by educating his residents about current issues on campus as well as bringing his residents to campus events.”
Finley’s favorite thing about being part of AS is watching students engage with one another and the various programs on campus.
“When I get the chance to see how my advocacy helped them along the way, those moments are my favorite moments,” Finley said. “I get to interact with folks, I get to hear about their passions, what they’re excited about, what they’re doing.”
“It’s been tough. It’s been really hard trying to navigate that, especially as a person of color in this predominantly white institution. It’s really difficult to make sure I can still be myself, but at the same time, be professional.”
Jeremiah Finley
Beyond the rewarding big-picture projects, Finley finds plenty to be proud of in his daily routine.
“My day-to-day experience is something special,” Finley said. “It’s always fast-paced, there’s always something new going on—so you have to really adapt quickly to the changing scenarios. One thing you hear in the morning could be totally different from what you hear in the afternoon. And it’s been tough. It’s been really hard trying to navigate that, especially as a person of color in this predominantly white institution. It’s really difficult to make sure I can still be myself, but at the same time, be professional.”
Despite everything HSU has to offer, including various programs and resources, a sense of community on campus and the attention paid to student voices, Finley sees endless room for improvement.
“I don’t think anything should really stay the same, and I mean that,” Finley said. “There’s just too much complacency and I think there’s a lot that needs to change.”
Finley intends to place more emphasis on incorporating student engagement within AS.
“Yeah, we have the AS board of directors, but that’s really geared towards AS and what AS wants to do,” Finley said. “But I feel like we don’t have a place where all students can come together to talk about what we all want to do and want to see happen. So, if we can make a central hub where we can talk and just listen to each other and hear what we want to do as a collective, then I think we can truly start generating some great ideas to change the way this campus runs.”
Finley said he understands the struggles college students face, whether it’s coming up with enough money to pay bills or buy groceries, providing for your family or setting aside time for schoolwork.
“But ultimately you just gotta keep going, you gotta keep fighting. And so I’ll keep fighting, I’ll keep going and I’ll keep being persistent, that way I can make sure I can advocate for students.”
Jeremiah Finley
“It’s just this balancing act and I think there’s a lot of things that can be easier for students, things that I currently have no direct control over,” Finley said. “So, if I can put myself in that position to really help, then that’s what I want to do.”
As legislative VP, Finley referred to his magnum opus, his great work, as the AS Constitution, Codes and Policies. He put together a full constitution revision packet over the course of the 2019-2020 school year, including new bylaws and revisions for out-of-date codes and policies. Presented to the board back in February, the revision wasn’t passed.
“It hurt,” Finley said. “It really did hurt when the board decided not to think carefully or listen carefully to what I was saying. I think from that moment I knew that if I wanted to bring the change that I want to see in HSU, and I think that we all deserve here, then I can’t continue in this role.”
Finley said he’s not only prepared, but is determined to take on bigger challenges and face greater consequences in the name of improving the lives of students.
“Some days are good, some days are better than others,” Finley said. “But ultimately you just gotta keep going, you gotta keep fighting. And so I’ll keep fighting, I’ll keep going and I’ll keep being persistent, that way I can make sure I can advocate for students. And come election time, I have faith that I’ll be elected for AS president for the next academic year.”
An account of one HSU surfer’s last breath of clean, fresh air
When Humboldt State University forestry major Gavin Schreiner set out on a 10-day surf trip over spring break, he had no clue what he would return to.
Planned months in advance, Schreiner wasn’t going to let a virus stand in the way of his vacation. Packing over 50 pounds of food and supplies, he and a friend hiked nine miles up the coast of California. Schreiner stopped along the way to admire otters, countless shells and of course, to surf.
“Surfing is obviously my favorite part and that’s the drive to go, but I love camping anyway,” Schreiner said. “I’m an avid backpacker. I’ve been through the Trinity Alps and definitely backpacked into SoCal a bunch.”
A territorial surfer, Schreiner requested the location not be named, especially after this trip. Between spring break and COVID-19, the waves were packed.
“It’s definitely my life path to surf until I die.”
Gavin Schreiner
“It was the most crowded anyone has ever seen that spot,” Schreiner said.
Fortunately for those adventurous enough, there are nine miles of coast to surf on the way.
“There’s the main surf spot out there, but there’s countless other waves along there,” Schreiner said. “It’s like a wave park. There’s so many different types of waves and different spots you can surf, and all offer different excitements.”
Time between surf sessions consists of eating, sleeping and battling the elements to stay comfortable.
“On the coast the weather changes super quick, so you have to be shedding layers, putting layers back on and also watching the waves 24/7 to make sure you get the best seshes [sessions] in,” Schreiner said.
This is the longest trip Schreiner has taken so far, but he wants to break the record.
“If we could spend a month, I would be in for that,” Schreiner said.
At 20 years old, Schreiner has been surfing over half his life.
“Surfing and the ocean is my number one priority,” Schreiner said. “It’s definitely my life path to surf until I die.”
When he returned from his 10-day trip, Schreiner was greeted by strangers wearing masks and businesses with closed doors. The virus was not a factor in the trip. Surfers treated each other with the same brotherly love and competition. Schreiner would’ve stayed longer if it weren’t for school.
“We kinda knew a little bit going into it that shit was going crazy,” Schreiner said. “The only thing we reconsidered was whether or not we could stay indefinitely and figure out a way to complete homework assignments out there.”
Now that he’s back home, he tries to surf every day to take advantage of the opportunity.
“I know a lot of my friends down south can’t surf because they’re closing the beaches, so I definitely feel super blessed to be up here right now,” Schreiner said. “I can follow social distancing and still go out every day.”
Associated Students prepare for massive budget cuts
Associated Students is anticipating a nearly 20% cut to the Instructionally Related Activities Committee budget.
As of April 7, the IRA Committee budget for the 2020-2021 academic year is predicted to be about $375,000, compared with around $520,000 approved for the 2019-2020 budget. This accounts for an anticipated loss of around $27,000 due to COVID-19.
As a condition of enrollment at Humboldt State University, each full-time student pays about $3,900 in student fees, around $2,900 of which is tuition. The remaining amount of about $1,000 is split between six student fees, including a $337 contribution the IRA.
From that $337 paid by each student, the IRA budget is divided into about $260 for athletics, $8 for the Humboldt Energy Independence Fund, about $17 for the Jack Pass and about $19 for the IRA Committee. Made up entirely of Associated Students board members, the IRA Committee votes on the allocation of their budget among instructionally related activities.
Executive Director of AS Jenessa Lund is heavily involved in the committee.
“It’s interesting that there is not a lot of money compared to the big budget, but what I’ve realized over the past couple of years is because they are so visible, people react to them very strongly,” Lund said. “IRA is less than $500,000, and compared to the campus budget that’s just drops in the bucket. But because it means whether or not a group of students can go compete, or do something, they feel it directly.”
“We had conflicting pieces of arguments that said, ‘You do this, but you don’t do that in these cases,’ which makes it very hard to evaluate who’s gonna be in and who’s gonna be out.”
Sandy Wieckowski
IRAs are limited to those that are disciplined, department-based and sponsored, and are integral to formal instructional offerings. They are intensive, structured activities that reflect active rather than passive student involvement. They are considered essential to the quality of an educational program and an important instructional experience, and they demonstrate skills derived from intensive coursework. They include everything from The Lumberjack newspaper to club sports, and almost everything in between.
Made up of majority student voters, the IRA Committee has been meeting to re-evaluate their funding guidelines, based on the Education Code, their current IRA funding guidelines and memos between the AS president and HSU president from the 2019-2020 academic year that outline the direction they were headed. Sandy Wieckowski is currently the longest-acting board member.
“This is the same thing we hit last year,” Wieckowski said. “We had conflicting pieces of arguments that said, ‘You do this, but you don’t do that in these cases,’ which makes it very hard to evaluate who’s gonna be in and who’s gonna be out.”
Lund blamed the rotating chairs for inconsistent goals.
“This current model has annual turnover,” Lund said. “It’s new faculty on this committee every year, and it’s often new student leaders every year.”
On top of HSU having new administration for the past three years, AS has had four presidents in three years. With administrations in a constant state of change, it’s much more difficult to accomplish progress.
“I’ve been on the committee four years and we’ve done it different every year,” Wieckowski said.
Board members were assigned budget applications from IRA groups to review in advance of their April 7 meeting. During the meeting, the board looked at each application and adjusted the proposed budgets where they saw fit. As Lund scrolled down the list of submissions, board members weighed in with their recommendations.
One significant impact looks to be the denial of a budget for the campus sexual assault prevention program, CHECK IT, as the “swag” the budget was requested to pay for wasn’t considered a priority.
Other impacts include The Lumberjack newspaper, which faces over $8,000 in cuts from a budget of around $28,000. Osprey magazine faces about $4,000 in cuts from a $10,000 budget, and the KRFH student radio station also faces a $5,000 cut from their budget of $10,000. AS Public Relations Officer Cassaundra Caudillo suggested the cuts.
“All of the publications on campus tend to over-print,” said Caudillo. “I think all of the publications could probably take a little bit of a cut because of that.”
Despite the budget crunch, the IRA committee managed to make room for programs that did not receive IRA funding in the 2019-2020 academic year, including $2,500 for the Youth Educational Services program, $5,000 for reserve library textbooks and $3,000 for the Society of American Foresters Quiz Bowl. The IRA budget recommendations have been finalized, but they currently have an open appeals period before the budget will be sent to HSU President Tom Jackson by April 30.
A potentially significant factor in next year’s budget is possible carry-over from money that didn’t get spent in the 2019-2020 academic year. That amount, for now, is yet to be known. However, the IRA Committee felt comfortable over-allocating about $25,000 they expect to gain in roll-over.
“We have all these potential expenses out there that we need to get covered and tidy up before we try and allocate that money to next year,” Lund said.
In the past, AS has put in place a contingency plan to allocate money based on a projected headcount in case there is money left over from the previous school year’s budget.
“If money were to roll forward and be available in addition to what we’re looking at today, then they gave three priorities, and that was already voted,” Lund said. “So, it made it a pretty clean process for us if there was funding there.”
Lizbeth Cano-Sanchez steps up to the Associated Students presidency
Lizbeth Cano-Sanchez is the first sophomore to serve as president of Associated Students at Humboldt State University since at least 1975.
Cano-Sanchez took over as president of AS following the previous president’s resignation in December 2019. Formerly the administrative vice president, Cano-Sanchez decided to run for HSU student government after serving as president of the Hill dorms and a member of the Resident Hall Association board in her freshman year.
“Sometimes in my life, and I thank God for it, things align and things happen, but I push for them, and I work for them,” Cano-Sanchez said.
AS Legislative Vice President Jeremiah Finley began working with Cano-Sanchez as a fellow dorm president on the RHA.
“During any transition period in any organization, things can get a little hectic and challenging as the new person comes to fill the role left behind,” Finley said. “That being said, after she became AS president, working with her has been the most valuable experience that I have had in my young professional life.”
“I don’t think I was intimidated. I was very excited. But I could feel a little bit of sadness within me, because I knew I had to make a choice between sacrificing more leisure time or self care time or I was going to be sacrificing running.”
LIzbeth Cano-Sanchez
Originally from Mexico, Cano-Sanchez was raised in Monterey Park, California. She currently has temporary residency in the U.S. and is making her way toward citizenship.
Cano-Sanchez initially came to Humboldt to be a part of the track and field team and the cross-country program. She’s taken part in both varsity sports since her freshman year at Schurr High School. She was the MVP for cross-country her freshman and senior years, and MVP of track and field her sophomore and junior years. She became captain of the cross-country team her sophomore year, and the track and field team her junior year. She also currently holds the 5K record at Schurr High.
Cano-Sanchez decided to step away from sports this spring to make much-needed room for her new role as AS president.
“I don’t think I was intimidated,” Cano-Sanchez said. “I was very excited. But I could feel a little bit of sadness within me, because I knew I had to make a choice between sacrificing more leisure time or self care time or I was going to be sacrificing running.”
Cano-Sanchez said her relationship with running also changed.
“I wasn’t setting goals for myself in that area anymore, and it was because I was trying to grow in other areas,” Cano-Sanchez said. “Now that I’m away from it I can see all of my errors, but I still have some growing to do before I go back.”
As a business major, Cano-Sanchez chose to run for the administrative vice president’s position during the 2019 spring elections because of its practical application to her major. She ran with a platform advocating for a stronger student union, having visited other universities with more efficient systems.
“We have a very lenient and flexible system at the moment,” Cano-Sanchez said. “It calls for innovation and creativity, and that’s a huge thing that I value. So, I’m not talking about making things more strict, not at all. I’m talking about having a more efficient system, within ourselves, in order to successfully serve our students.”
As the AS administrative vice president, Cano-Sanchez made efforts to centralize HSU’s funded programs. She also resurrected the AS Funded Programs Committee that’s been chaired by the AVP position in the past.
“Being AS president is very time consuming and Lizbeth has done a phenomenal job at doing what she can, but also delegating tasks and roles to other AS board members.”
Jenessa Lund, Executive Director of AS
“At first, only a few showed up,” Cano-Sanchez said. “Then the second meeting, more showed up and I felt very happy to see them getting involved and wanting to have their voice be represented. That was a hard one to let go of [the AS Funded Programs Committee] because I liked seeing how the money worked and how our students were being served through their student fees.”
As the fill-in president of AS, Cano-Sanchez has taken on the position as if she ran for it. She has weekly advising meetings with the AS professional staff, monthly meetings with HSU President Tom Jackson, and has created strong communication between the AS board.
Executive Director of AS Jenessa Lund has worked closely with Cano-Sanchez for the academic year.
“She has consistently demonstrated that she is willing and capable to prioritize her AS roles,” Lund said. “Being AS president is very time consuming and Lizbeth has done a phenomenal job at doing what she can, but also delegating tasks and roles to other AS board members.”
Cano-Sanchez admitted the position takes time.
“But it’s worth it,” Cano-Sanchez said. “Students need to know and my board needs to know in order to communicate it down.”
Cano-Sanchez’s main focuses with AS are improving the internal structure and raising awareness of AS resources that can help to meet student needs. Cano-Sanchez has also decided to run for AS president for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Juggling classes with a presidency is enough to stress out anyone, but Cano-Sanchez feels she was made for it.
“I think that I’m very much a natural born leader, ” Cano-Sanchez said. “I know that I am. I know that I can tell when things need to be fixed, and I have been fixing them.”
Grammy-nominated rapper Joyner Lucas shares his debut album, “ADHD,” with the world
Joyner Lucas, the 31-year-old rapper, first caught traction with his 2015 music video, “Ross Capicchioni.” In the video, Lucas reimagined the true story of a gang initiation gone wrong that nearly claimed the life of a high school student.
The video’s success can be attributed to the unique strategy Lucas chose, taking on both the perspective of the victim and the criminal. Lucas has managed to keep his name relevant over the years with a string of viral music videos, including the critically praised “I’m Not Racist” and the polarizing “Devil’s Work.”
Humboldt State University alumnus De’Aundray Gooden has been a fan of Lucas since “Ross Capicchioni.”
“I think he brings a lot of awareness to certain subjects people don’t feel comfortable talking about,” Gooden said.
Gooden’s favorite Joyner Lucas songs are “I’m Sorry” and “Devil’s Work.” The first track follows a suicide note as it’s being written into the hands of the victim’s brother or cousin. In the latter song, Lucas calls out to God, questioning his choices in the young men and women he’s chosen to take.
“We don’t pay attention to people until they die,” Gooden said. “We need to pay attention to the people who are alive, and appreciate them for what they’re doing now.”
Lucas also racked up hundreds of millions of views on YouTube over a short series of remixes, between 2016 and 2018, and eventually caught the attention of rap god Eminem. Lucas secured a spot on the highest performing song from 2018’s “Kamikaze,” “Lucky You.” The high-tier rapping ability that earned Lucas the legendary co-sign has also contributed to beef with platinum-selling rapper Logic and R&B singer Tory Lanez. The beefs have since been squashed, both resulting in gained exposure and new content, including the third single from “ADHD,” “ISIS,” featuring Logic.
HSU’s soccer goalkeeper, Tab Heinz, is a fan of old school hip-hop, and appreciated Lucas’ meaningful lyrics and authentic sound.
“I appreciate the older stuff a little bit more than the newer stuff,” Heinz said. “I like the older style of making music. He has a super cool flow and rhyme scheme. I like the way he doesn’t sound too mainstream. He kinda has more of the underground style.”
Lucas followed up “ISIS” with the rags to riches track, “Broke and Stupid.” The song paints a picture of all the hard work that has paid off for Lucas. With no chorus, it still competes for best song on the album. Apparently unready to release the project, Lucas proceeded to drop five more singles over the next nine months, at least three of which would’ve been better off left for the album.
Just two days before the release of “ADHD,” Lucas dropped his ninth single, “Will,” along with another viral music video paying homage to Will Smith. With four skits on the album, including voicemails from Chris Tucker and Kevin Hart, Lucas left fans with a total of five new songs out of 18 on the album.
Fans were given hope, with features from R&B legend, Chris Brown, industry favorite, Young Thug, and veteran-rapper, Fabolous, that “ADHD” would deliver. Unfortunately, out of the five new songs, only the “I Lied” intro track lives up to the hype. Brown and Thug’s features on “Finally” and “The War” are the most memorable moments of the remaining new tracks.
After two years of waiting, as Tucker points out in his skit, and with how much of the project we had already been teased leading up to the official release, the anticipation for “ADHD” worked to its detriment. Despite Lucas arguably not producing a bad single, anything less than greatness from all of his new efforts on the album would’ve been a letdown. With most of the new content generating nothing to write home about, fans will be disappointed. Those just now discovering Lucas are much more likely to enjoy what “ADHD” has to offer.
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