Check our my piece on political hypocrisy and Kendrick Lamar’s song “The Blacker The Berry”: https://dailygerm.com/2020/02/26/political-hypocrisy-kendrick-lamars-the-blacker-the-berry-five-years-later/
Published Review of ‘Modus Vivendi’ by 070 Shake
Check out my first published album review for Toronto magazine Exclaim!: https://exclaim.ca/music/article/070_shake-modus_vivendi Here's an excerpt: "Nevertheless, Modus pulsates with an infectious vibrancy and scintillates with bittersweet sentimentalism. It's superproducer Mike Dean and former Canadian rock band the Stills member Dave Hamelin who provide Shake with the lush sonic canvas for lyrical catharsis."
Kendrick Lamar delivers a damning warning to humanity on “Untitled 01”
(Please listen to the song and/or read its lyrics before reading this) If we look at the news today, what do we see? On October 18, 2019, a bombing occurred in a mosque in the province of Nangarhar in Afghanistan resulting in over 90 casualties. In Sudan, tensions continue to rise between civilians and... Continue Reading →
Featured in New York Post!
Honored to be featured in NY Post’s Friday editorial! I consider myself a political centrist with liberal tendencies so I do not necessarily agree with some of the other writing in this editorial but I'm still incredibly grateful to be recognized for my analysis of Kanye West! Link below: https://nypost.com/2019/12/13/hard-leftism-loses-in-the-uk-and-other-commentary/
Kanye v. Cancel Culture
Hey guys, Just published an article on Kanye West in City Journal---the official publication of the Manhattan Institute. Before you check out my piece, here are links to some of my favorite recent reads in the City Journal that are incredibly insightful (highly recommend you check out the first one): https://www.city-journal.org/html/myth-criminal-justice-racism-10231.html https://www.city-journal.org/how-to-be-an-antiracist https://www.city-journal.org/html/misreading-minimum-wage-and-race-16127.html ... Continue Reading →
Dissecting “Water” by Kanye West
A rigorous analysis of Kanye's transcendent composition "Water."
Speculating themes in Earl Sweatshirt’s new record releasing tonight: Title, Expressionism, Track-list, Album Cover
Earl Sweatshirt just announced a musical Halloween surprise: a new album dropping tonight. As I tweeted out earlier today, after listening and paying close attention to Earl Sweatshirt's past work, Earl always reminds me of the following: https://twitter.com/Ravarora1/status/1190004417321259008 His last record Some Rap Songs was an emotive and jarring portrayal of his struggles with mental health, familial... Continue Reading →
Initial thoughts on ‘JESUS IS KING’ narrative structure
Alright guys, JESUS IS KING has been out now for over two days, which has given me ample time to formulate my initial analysis of the narrative structure of the album. Keep in mind, this is only my initial thoughts. Interpreting Kanye albums is always like finding your way through a conceptual maze so it... Continue Reading →
Kanye West’s profound allusion to “Amazing Grace” on “Selah”
Kanye's Jesus Is King is out and that means it's time to dissect every living element in the album. As I was reading into the track second song in the record, "Selah" ("Every Hour" is the prologue), I was intrigued by Kanye's following lyric: "He saved a wretch like me" Sound familiar? This line is an... Continue Reading →
The Laughing Phenomenon in French Class
How the notorious 'Gigglepuss' species was discovered Whenever my friend Kieran disfigured any French word out loud in front of the class, it would make me want to laugh uproariously. “Want” is the key word here. The problem with wanting to laugh uproariously in class is that it is obviously very embarrassing and nonsensical. When... Continue Reading →