#presumably for bringing up the Grammys history that I did

[jikooklaundryroom]

Dry Pancakes

Gather around folks. It’s time to have an open and honest conversation about – yep you guessed it – Jimin and Jungkook and the behavior that mystifies the entire fandom.  And notice I say Jimin and Jungkook, not Kookmin or Jikook, because this talk is less about them as a couple and more about them as individuals.  A fair warning to everyone, only grown, competent adults are invited to this conversation.  If you are a twelve-year old who wants to scream about top/bottom sex positions and Omega slick and Jeonlous tongue thing – please move on.  This conversation is not for you.  Adults will be talking here.

In this essay, I will NOT discuss Jimin and Jungkook as an intimate- romantic couple, or as boyfriends, or as domestic partners, or as husbands.  In fact, those topics are so complex, that they will definitely need to be saved for another day.  Lastly, the only time Tae will be mentioned is in this sentence because I plan to write a full separate tribute to this precious man so that I can properly call out how poorly he is treated and perceived because of shipping wars.  Again, I give you fair warning, if this ain’t for you, move on because I can’t help you. OK?  I am going to give you my honest opinion here and I won’t be nice about it.  Pancakers, you should also be warned, you may be offended as well.  I leave no stone unturned.  Now that we have a proper filter in place, let’s get it.

The month of May gave us nauseating amounts of Jimin and Jungkook being seen together occupying each other’s space.  For those of you have been living under a rock, I will do a quick break down of some of their time together:  stage moments of laughing and teasing, stage moments of them comforting each other through difficult emotions (aka: the infamous ear sucking confusion), stage moments of them holding hands, sudden VLIVE, the two of them sharing a car, the two of them presumably sharing a hotel room, each one watching the other during rehearsals, the two of them watching fireworks, the elusive selca, the hand jockeying during the unboxing video and last but not least, the full day of sight-seeing they did with their friends in London.  And of course, for every moment they DO spend together there is a sea of people who only care about the moments that they DON’T spend together.  I’ll address both sides.  Within this flurry of activity/inactivty, comes a flurry of narratives from different factions within the fandom attempting to define what is happening, attempting to brain wash the neutral observer into taking their side over others.  These folks are literally and figuratively battling across social media to reign supreme in the war of narratives that explain Jimin and Jungkook.

Let’s break down some of these narratives and discuss why they are ALL bullshit shall we?

Narrative #1 -The “Bighit is forcing them to be together for publicity” crowd –  This group thinks that everything that Jimin and Jungkook do is strictly for the sake of bringing publicity/attention to Bangtan.  This shit has never made sense to me.  Exactly what additional publicity does Bighit and Bangtan need?  They just reached 20.2 million followers on twitter. They just won TWO Billboard music awards in America despite singing in only Korean.  They’ve been announced as members of the Grammy Recording Academy, they received the Order of Cultural Merit award in South Korea, they spoke at the United Nations.  They are the biggest boy band in the history of the world and if I am not mistaken they are currently on a sold-out stadium tour that has sold out over 600,000 seats in just ten shows.  SO, tell me, what bitch doesn’t know who Bangtan is?  Let’s pretend for a moment that Bangtan needed more publicity.  What additional publicity would be achieved by insinuating a homosexual relationship between two members?  Especially when you consider the vitriol that explodes when these two particular members are together.  Do you really think that forcing Jimin and Jungkook into a touchy-feely spree will help Bangtan sell more CDs or get more YouTube views?  If we consider how many homophones exist within the fandom, do you really think that highlighting the intimacy between Jimin and Jungkook would be viewed as positive and promote deeper engagement with the group?  Absolutely not.  Bighit is not encouraging Jimin and Jungkook to be fake gays for publicity. So again, I ask you, what additional publicity does Bangtan need? The answer is NONE; I think they’re good bro.

Narrative #2 - The “This is just fan service to satisfy the shipping culture” crowd – No other “ship” makes the fan more unhappy than Jikook. In fact, SNS explodes with negativity almost every single time that Jimin and Jungkook even breath near each other. Fans get extremely upset OR they ignore and refuse to acknowledge the interaction.  So how can it be fan service if it pisses off the majority of the fans?  Isn’t fan service supposed to make fans happy?  I would go even further to say that Bangtan, Jimin and Jungkook in particular know full well how polarizing their interactions are for the fandom. Seems to me like they don’t give a fuck though.  Fan service is to service the fans and give them what they want.  They don’t seem to want Jimin and Jungkook as unit.  And for those of you who think their relationship is manufactured to feed the pancakers out there, you’re mistaken and here’s why: Jimin and JK work very hard to avoid being caught or showing us too much.  It is pretty common knowledge that most of their most intimate interactions are done AWAY from the cameras – a fact that we would never know if they didn’t accidently tell us.  (“I go to Jungkook’s room at night when I can’t sleep because he also stays up late.” - Jimin) Often times, pancakers are VERY unhappy with the amount of interaction we get between Jimin and Jungkook and we are quick to yell foul if we aren’t “fed”.  This once again proves my point, it is not fan service if it doesn’t please the fans.

Narrative #3 – The “We just don’t understand Korean culture “ crowd - Uuum what? Talk to K-Army and even they will tell you that the intimacy and togetherness between Jimin and Jungkook goes far beyond typical “fan service” or “cultural norm” that would be expected from the Korean culture. It also extends beyond typical friendly male behavior given their closeness.  Westerners often get accused of “oversexualizing” Jimin and Jungkook or claiming something as homosexual because we “don’t understand” how Koreans interact.  BULLSHIT, BULLSHIT, BULLSHIT.  We know what we see.  We know what K-ARMY has explained to us.  We have taken the time to study the culture in Korea and talk with our fellow ARMY about Jimin and Jungkook.  The conclusion is always the same; there is an entire relationship being played out in front of us and it is consistent, predicable and progressive.  These interactions are not just fortuitous bits of circumstance by two friends. It is not just Korean culture.

Narrative #4 - The “Bighit is forcing them to be apart because they are too loud” crowd – Sorry Pancakes, but shut up.  This has become a ready-made excuse for us pancakers whenever we don’t receive the interactions that we expect (demand, crave, obsess over). Do you realize how much influence Jimin and Jungkook have over their own choices?  They are not mindless dummies who are mind controlled by their management. I will concede the fact that both of them are thoughtful and considerate of the feelings of the other members and they are also respectful of the wishes of management.  So if either of the two entities gives them advice with regard to watching their proximity then YES, this could affect their natural behavior’s. You have that concession from me. But that is NOT WHY THERE ARE LULLS IN THEIR INTERACTIONS.  Bighit management and Bangtan members are not playing some sadistic game of RED LIGHT – GREEN LIGHT with Jimin and Jungkook’s emotions.  Think about how ridiculous this sounds to say to grown men, “Ohh well you two were too intimate and too loud and you could expose yourself so you better repress your natural instincts as best friends and then pretend that the other doesn’t exist.” And then conversely, “You two have behaved and been good boys, so now you are allowed to interact and act like you’re in love again.”  If Bighit was trying to hide anything, they would shut it down completely, permanently - NOT IN RANDOM SPURTS.  The two of them would be threatened beyond belief and I guarantee there would be contractual implications.

It is simply ridiculous, not to mention reductive to attempt to exercise that level of control over two rich, popular and very grown individuals.  Guess what?  It’s also impossible.  Have you ever noticed that neither Jimin nor Jungkook are very good at following directions? If they are being told to stay away from each other, how come they never seem to do it?  At best, they manage to tone things down for short periods, but inevitably they always go back to just being them. My fellow pancakers have even gone so far as to develop a theory that Bighit was keeping Jimin and Jungkook from ever doing VLIVES together.  But just recently, we saw them splash tension all over the screen in a VLIVE between the two of them.  If they were restricted from doing VLIVES, then why did they do one all of a sudden after a 2-year hiatus?  Did Bighit suddenly change their mind and allow it?  Of course not.  There is a much simpler explanation and I will explain later.

Narrative #5 - The “They are just brothers, nothing they do is a big deal or any different from the rest of the members” crowd – Guess what? I actually agree with you, sorta’. So much of what Jimin and Jungkook do is the result of them being very close and loving friends who have been together forever. Even some of the gentler physical contact between the two is not exclusive to just them when compared to the other members.  But the situation is not quite that simple is it?  Brothers (not blood brothers) is just ONE of the many layers of the Jimin and Jungkook dynamic.  There’s more, a lot more.  I will come back to this one.  

Hm.  So if none of the prevalent theories above define the incongruent public intimacy of Jimin and Jungkook, then WHAT IS THE ANSWER?  Simple.  It’s called FREE WILL!  No one, especially Pancakes with butter and syrup, want to ever admit that Jimin and Jungkook do exactly what they want to do. The reason they interact and the reason they don’t is because it’s what they want to do at that moment.  They are exercising their FREE WILL.  If Jimin and Jungkook don’t speak, it’s because they don’t want to.  If Jimin and Jungkook don’t post on twitter, it’s because they don’t want to.  If Jimin and Jungkook don’t post a selca, it’s because they don’t want to.  If Jimin and Jungkook don’t do a VLIVE for two years, it’s because THEY DON’T WANT TO!  There could be months that go by where they CHOSE not to let us into their private lives and we as Jimin and Jungkook supporters have to be accepting of that choice.  Allow them to exercise their free will.  In most cases, their free will is to self-manage their own interactions.  Think about it this way – is everyday a good day for you?  Probably not. Some of us have really good days and some of us have really bad ones.  Our moods can be dictated by so many things such as: hunger, bad news, fatigue, negativity, irritation, anger, jealousy, illness, depression – so many things can affect how we feel and how we project our energy. These two men are no different.  They are not immune to the emotions that plague the rest of us mere mortals. Travel with me for a moment as we reflect on just how much Jimin and Jungkook are together,

Sharing a car during transport to and from the airport

Sitting next to each other on the plane

Spending time outside of business schedules to attend personal events (movies, dinner, tours)

Visiting each other’s parents

Presumably living together

Presumably sharing hotel rooms when they travel

Working together

Practicing together

Filming together

Presumably engaging in intimacy together

Together- Together -Together –Together- Baam  

That’s a lot of freaking togetherness.  When we see them keep their distance, why are we surprised?  It is clear that they are using their free will to be together MOST of the time and that is a sign of a very solid symbiotic relationship.  So why can’t it be conversely true that they are also using their free will when they are apart?  We pancakes are so quick to blame external forces when Jungkook and Jimin aren’t stuck to each other as opposed to blaming Jimin and Jungkook themselves.  Personal growth can only occur when you broaden your horizons and experience new things, new environments, new opinions and new people.  YES NEW PEOPLE.  It is an exercise in self-care for them to be apart from time to time.  We can’t and shouldn’t expect them to be together 24/7. It just isn’t healthy.  I would say they live a well-rounded life when they can be happy apart but still prefer to be together.  It’s beautiful.  It you are truly a part of the Jimin and Jungkook nation, then your attitudes and opinions toward the strength of them individually or as a couple should NOT be predicated solely on what they do together and how often.  Do I need to repeat that last sentence for the 14YOs who read this post even though I tried to filter you out?  Just because the two of them don’t show us blatant interactions does not meant that is an indictment or indicator that the friendship/relationship/companionship/brotherhood is dead.  Please stop posting fatalistic admonishments because their interactions are not timed according to your schedule.  Let them live.  Yes, I am saying that when we go through a pancake drought, it is because Jimin and Jungkook themselves want it to be that way.  Not because they are being forced to do so.

Now let’s talk about the nature of their interactions by using myself as an example.  I love my husband with all of my heart.  He is truly my soul mate and we get along very well. Our relationship is so complex and has so many layers.  We are friends, lovers, parents, mates, partners, business owners, even at times like siblings.  So, when he and I interact, the definition of that interaction could fall within any of the categories that I just listed.  It could be a friendly touch, or a sexual touch or a business partner touch – understand what I mean?  The same is true with Jimin and Jungkook.  Their interactions are highly conditional and must be reviewed within the context of the moment.  Which means, when they are in friend mode and they hug, they honestly are just hugging as friends.  Over hyping meaningless moments without placing it within proper context, makes pancakes look petty and delusional.  Another example, when one is sucking the other’s ear – aww shit – I have no idea what category to put that in – but it ain’t friends – we need to hype the shit out of that one.   That was a bad example.  But you get my point.  Moving on…

Let me make this really clear.  Do you remember when you first fell in love with Bangtan?  We fell so hard right?  The music, the dancing, the talent, the fashion, the creativity, the visuals – we fell hook line and sinker.  But there was more wasn’t it?  Think back.  There was soo much more.  Yes my pancakes, we fell in love with their hearts.  We fell in love with them as people.  Above all, we fell in love with their AUTHENTICITY.  You see, Bangtan was never fake.   Bangtan never presented a closed-off image to us.  They provided as much transparency and honesty as they possibly could, which was a HUGE change from what we were accustomed to seeing from KPOP artists (any artist really).  They allowed us to have a real-world peak into their emotions, vulnerabilities and personalities.  Bangtan’s authenticity is why we love them most and why we continue to love them. So when we see the love that exists between all seven of them, we know it’s real.  Accordingly, there is an extreme affinity that Jimin and Jungkook have towards each other that cannot be faked.  Even if they were being forced for publicity purposes to spend time together, they could not do it successfully unless there was already an underlying desire to be together.  Furthermore, forcing someone to be together when they don’t want to be is paramount to torture and that would greatly affect the overall happiness and chemistry of the entire group.  Imagine being forced to spend that much time with someone you don’t like.  It also explains why we don’t see other couplings “forced” upon the members because it’s not natural.  None of the members have a strong ability to vacate authenticity.  They all truly exercise their free will.  

And for my very last point, I want to talk a little tiny bit about the VLIVE (again).  I have insisted throughout this rant that Jimin and Jungkook were never prohibited by Bighit from doing a VLIVE together. So why the 2-year hiatus?  I think the explanation is pretty simple.  As we saw, it is very difficult for the two of them to maintain “composure” when they are together.  They show us so much when they fully intend to show us nothing.  They are acutely aware of how they appear on camera – which is why I argue that their two-year hiatus was self-imposed.  Think about how hard it must be in that intimate setting, sitting that close, talking that freely to repress their natural instincts to touch, or call each other pet names or possibly even kiss.  It’s like freaking impossible.  So why risk it?  It is so much easier to just keep themselves out of that situation and instead watch each other do the VLIVES from off camera.  As we know, even when one of them is off camera, they still freaking flirt.  Imagine if they were both in front of the camera on a consistent basis.  This goes back to my theory on free will.  I honestly believe that these two are being very smart to exercise their free will to stay away from Jikook VLIVES.

I have probably not changed anyone’s mind and you will likely continue to incessantly spew your narrative, whatever it is.  But for those of you who are a bit more open-minded, I hope you found some insight as well as clarity in my words.  Here’s to loving our seven boys and obsessing over two of them.

So in conclusion, I have concluded.  Thank you. Love you Pancakes – don’t be mad, k?

#laundryroommusings #jikook #kookmin #PancakeQueenRamblings

[biggerthan-fear]

Pop Culture Critique

Western society was built on a system of inequality. Even before slavery became popularized in Europe, the use of indentured servants― people of lower social castes who worked for aristocrats in order to pay off debts―was a popular practice. When Europeans discovered Africa, they found a people with which they could replicate the indentured servant system, but without the need to compensate the workers. With the discovery of this “inferior” society, those who originally would have been consigned to indentured servitude had a way to make a fortune and rise up from the bottom of the social food chain. However, as the indentured servants grew in social standing, the slaves were shackled firmly to the servants’ previous place at the bottom of polite society. But, unlike indentured servants, slaves were unpaid, uneducated, and given zero protections. The poor treatment of slaves escalated into dehumanization and eventually became so widespread that it began to pervade the thinking of common society, creating prejudices and ideas of superiority so pervasive that they invaded our government and created a systematic disenfranchisement of those peoples that persists to this day.

When a specific group of people is targeted like people of color have been in this country, specifically African-Americans, it can become very difficult to disentangle prejudice from the institutions that, wittingly or not, may contribute to the problem. In the case of Beyonce at the Grammys, the issue at hand is not so much whether the Grammys blatantly ignores the art and achievements of black artists; rather, the problem is that the superiority complex that started with slavery has become so ingrained in members of today’s society that, even if they strive to be as fair as possible, those prejudices can still manifest themselves in ways that may not even be noticed, and cause members of an institution to award one work because it is “safe” or “conventional” rather than rewarding one that was “inflammatory” and has brought about controversy in the past. On a conscious level, the Recording Academy may genuinely have disregarded the artists’ races when giving awards. That is not to say, however, that the adjectives that they used to describe Beyonce’s work were not rooted in a subconscious prejudice against people of color who dare to complain about their lot in life (see: angry black woman stereotype).

As much as the older generation likes to criticize millennials as “special snowflakes” who use words like “microaggressions” and “implicit bias” to justify their sensitivity, there is a reason that those words exist. Racism does not look like what it did fifty years ago, and fifty years from now, it might look entirely different from what it does today. Slavery and racism are such a huge part of Western history that it is going to take much more than a singular Civil Rights Movement to correct its effects. In the first Civil Rights Movement, we as a society managed to do away with blatant prejudices; in today’s society, you would be hard pressed to find a community where people are legally allowed to discriminate based on the color of one’s skin. However, today’s Civil Rights Movement tackles a much more elusive opponent―the subconscious prejudices, ones that people remain unaware of in their everyday lives.

I do think that Beyonce should have won the Grammy for Record of the Year, but I also think that reducing the question of racial prejudice in the Grammy Awards to whether or not Beyonce lost because the Recording Academy is racist is an oversimplification of the true issue at hand. Formation was a revolutionary call to action against so many pertinent issues in today’s society, and it is ironic that a record highlighting the struggles of black life in America was so blatantly snubbed for the award. Part of the prejudice against black women, specifically, is rooted in the angry black woman trope in which black women are seen as overly aggressive and troublesome, sometimes even ignorant in their crusades, and I am not naive enough to presume that part of that stereotype did not in some way negatively influence the public’s view of Formation as a work of art.

On the other hand, I also believe that there are reasons unrelated to race that she may have been passed over for the honor, not the least of which being that awarding Formation with Record of the Year would undoubtedly have cast an unwelcome spotlight on the Grammys. Had Formation won, the award would likely have been received as a political statement, and it is not a stretch to believe that in today’s political climate, the Recording Academy would try to avoid making such statements as much as possible. Super Bowl 50 sparked some controversy after Beyonce’s guest appearance, where she performed Formation, was criticized for bringing symbols of the black power movement onto the national stage and overall just being too political, and I would imagine that the Recording Academy would try to avoid the same type of negative conversation. By comparison, Adele’s Hello was the safe choice, and I think that is the main reason that it was chosen. However, the Academy made that choice at the expense of a popular, talented black artist, and I think they made the mistake of underestimating the power of the implications of such an act, if they even considered the implications at all.

Ultimately, entertainment is undoubtedly influenced by current events and issues. While I cannot say for certain that race did not play a role in the Grammy Awards this year (in fact, on some level, I am sure that it did), I can say that it definitely was not the only factor, and to present it as such is simply fueling an already heated political climate. While Beyonce’s loss was unfair, to paint the Grammys an inherently racist institution is a mistake when so many other factors were at play. Those who choose to include only a small part of the picture while excluding the whole only contribute to the divisive lines that have been drawn in today’s society and ultimately bring us further away from reaching a solution.

[shontaviajesq]

#PopCultureClass: ShETHER Lesson #1: Just Because You're Down Doesn't Mean You're Out

So, you already know that over the weekend Remy Ma released, ShETHER, a Nicki Minaj diss track. If for some reason you missed it, and/or the backstory, head over to my earlier blog post for the summary.  

ShETHER is lyrically ridiculous and had the internet ablaze on the last weekend of Black History Month 2017. Remy basically had the entire internet looking like this on Saturday:

SheETHER is also equally brilliant for multiple other reasons. For those of us who like to learn from the things happening around us, ShETHER provides enough material for a month long workshop on.....just about everything. I've put together some lessons I took from the song, because if this ain't a #PopCultureClass I don't know what is. This is the first in a series of at least four of the main lessons I took from Professor Ma. 

Lesson #1: Just Because You're Down Doesn't Mean You're Out. 

So...this song's very existence should have us taking notes from now until #BHM2018. For those of you new to Remy, her backstory makes ShETHER's release that much more incredible. Remy was convicted in 2008 of assault (and maybe some other things, but I don't have the energy to find the actual conviction) and served almost seven years in prison for it. She was released on August 1, 2014.

If we do the math, that means Remy has been of prison for about 2.5 years. Two. Point. Five. Years. In this short period of time, she's become one of the most popular faces on VH1, established herself and her husband as #relationshipgoals for many fans, released an album, and come to reclaim her throne as the Queen of Rap with ShETHER. ICYMI, most people have been working on just doing one of these things for their entire lives.    

Re. the prison stint, Remy's side of the story is one of when keeping it real goes wrong. According to Remy, she had an entourage who used her fame to eat good, live good, and promote their own projects. Remy believed that Makeda Barnes Joseph, one of the former friends/entourage members, stole about $3,000 from her (all while living on Remy's dime). When Remy confronted Makeda, she says her gun accidentally went off and Makeda shot. Makeda, of course, has a completely different side of what happened. She says Remy shot her on purpose.

I'm not here to pass judgment on who is telling the truth. The point is that Remy is one of tens of millions of people in the U.S. who have been formerly incarcerated. Coming out and doing the things she's done in a short amount of time is incredible, regardless of who she is and what is in her past. 

Why is this incredible to me? Former inmates face significant difficulties once they've been released from prison (not to mention the actual prison experience, which I'll save for another day). Check out these stats:

The psychological impact of prison is incredibly traumatic, even for short term confinement, and can actually be psychologically debilitating for many people.

Formerly incarcerated people are often not allowed to vote. In 34 states, you lose your right to vote for some period of time. In 10 of those 34 states, you can lose your right to vote for ever. 

Many employers won't hire people who have been in jail. Between 60 and 75 percent of the formerly incarcerated remain unemployed up to a year after their release. Even among those who find work, they often remain under-employed for years.

Once you've been to prison, it can be almost impossible to get an education because you can't get federal grants. 

Landlords don't want to rent to those who have been formerly incarcerated.

Yes, Remy was a celebrity when she went into prison and had some financial resources (her net worth has been disputed, but it was probably a few hundred thousand dollars when she went in). Maybe Remy is a good person. Maybe she's not. Who knows. Either way, that doesn't eliminate the trauma or impact of the prison experience.

Remy actually opened up last year about experiencing many of the difficulties I mentioned above in an interview with The Huffington Post:

In The Prison Community, Donald Clemmer called incarceration one of the more degrading experiences a human could endure. Given the traumatic nature of prison, I am amazed by Remy's recent two and half years. Imagine being taken from your spouse and young child (she had a son who was eight years old then) for any period of time, let alone seven years. Imagine not being able to work, shower, sleep, eat, or get dressed except when someone tells you to. Imagine being referred to as a number and not a name. This would be hard for any human.     

Which is why Lesson #1 for me is that being down doesn't mean being out. Remy seemingly lost a lot during the period revolving around the incident and her incarceration. But, she kept it moving. And over the weekend she created one of the most talked about stories of 2017 and perhaps one of the most impactful diss records of our lifetimes.

To Remy's credit, she seems like a natural-born hustler. While she was in prison, she studied and got an associate degree in Sociology. In addition, according to some reports, her net worth actually continued to rise while she was in prison. This means that Remy created projects, presumably her music and writings, that would bring her income even if she wasn't actually clocking in and out of a studio or other location. And even if she was in prison for almost seven years. That is the quintessential definition of passive income. 

She also stayed married to her husband, when research shows that the divorce rate for people in prison is 80% for men and nearly 100% for women. Remy has defied one odd after another. I don't care what you think about her personally, all of this is impressive. At least to me. 

And so is the circumstance revolving around ShETHER. Given the likelihood that incarceration will actually kill a person's self confidence and self worth, Remy came out seemingly more confident in her skills and proudly proclaimed that she was the best. Better than everybody in the game. Including Nicki Minaj. 

In an industry dominated by men, there is a dearth of rappers who are also women. One recent report indicated that the number of women rappers dropped from 40 in the 1980s and 1990s to 3 in 2010. Even MC Lyte, the first woman to have a solo rap album with a major label, thinks its bad, noting in 2014 that:

"We've gone backwards . . . . This is pretty much what it was like when women weren't able to get major recording and release opportunities."

In fact, usually only one name comes to mind in many discussions these days: Nicki Minaj. While of course there are other women rappers, Nicki is probably the most publicly popular by any number of indicators. 

Last year alone, Nicki was named one of the World's Highest-Paid Women In Music by Forbes and one of Hip-Hop's Highest Earning Acts (the only woman on the list). She's also won the BET Award for Best Female Hip Hop Artist for the past six years straight and been nominated and/or won a bunch of awards, including several Grammys. There's literally a (very long) Wikipedia page dedicated to the awards she's been nominated for or received.

So for Remy to come at her, especially right now, takes a lot of cojones. 

And come at her she did. Though my later articles will delve into the lyrics, the fact that this song exists at all is a testament to Remy's strength, mental toughness, and the skills stemming from the gifts innately in her. I write often about the power of knowing your value (check out some older posts here and here) and not allowing others to devalue that. If we haven't learned anything else from Remy, it is that self-worth can bring you #AllTheWayUp from your lowest points.

Remy Ma is letting everyone know she's back. Though we've yet to get a response track from Nicki, I imagine it may not matter to Remy. It doesn't seem like anything can stop her.   

**

If you're curious about other issues associated with the American commercial prison system, please watch Ava DuVernay's documentary film, 13th, which you can find on Netflix. Check out the trailer below.

#Music