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Arts
Friday, November 3, 2017 — 5A

ARTIST IN PROFILE

ATLANTIC

Who is A. Boogie?
‘No Questions About Lil 
B’: In conversation with 
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie

I’ve been obsessing over A. 

Boogie Wit Da Hoodie for quite 
some time now. His trademarked 
sound (a natural yet unexpected 
blend of post-Drake era harmonies 
with gritty horror-core subject 
matter) has made him a fixture 
within 
hip 
hop’s 
emergent 

generation — the rare youngster 
who’s neither wholly resistant 
to nor blindly acceptant of old 
school practices. For this reason, 
I 
employed 
the 
Bronx-raised 

crooner as a centerpiece in my ode 
to New York hip hop last winter, 
and in February, I drove all the way 
to Columbus, OH for his concert 
(which turned out to be a lousy 
club walkthrough). I even eagerly 
anticipated the late September 
release of his debut album, The 
Bigger Artist, which enhanced 
production value and earned the 
number one spot on Billboard’s hip 
hop/R&B chart.

However, last week, when news 

began circulating that A. Boogie 
had physically attacked Lil B “THE 
BASED GOD” at Rolling Loud 
Music Festival, I consequently 
unfollowed him on multiple social 
media under an assumption that I 
would no longer be able to root for 
his success.

So, what was I to do when, on 

Sunday evening, I got offered a 
10 minute phone conversation 
with A. Boogie in promotion of 
his upcoming concert in Detroit? 
I 
instinctively 
accepted 
then 

constructed a mental strategy in 
which I expected to transition 
from casual small talk to a more 
combative discussion about the 
BASED GOD. (“Shouts out to a 
boogie,” Lil B wrote on Twitter, 
publicly diffusing tensions after the 
altercation; “Is it really all love?” I 
imagined myself inquiring.)

This plan almost actualized 

too, until exactly two minutes 
prior to my Tuesday conversation 
with A. Boogie, when I received 
a confirmation from his team 
bearing exactly one condition: 
“Heads up has been given and no 
questions about LIL B,” the email 
read.

Immediately, I found myself 

navigating a journalistic semi-
crisis, weighing the pros and cons 
of agitating a newly-platinum 
rapper who’s bragged of having 
“shooters beside (him).” Even 
whilst speaking with A. Boogie, I 
remained undecided on the issue 
and suppressant of my intrinsic 
desire to surge for the story. I was 

finally convinced not to, though, 
by A. Boogie’s genuine likability: 
Throughout 
our 
conversation, 

he displayed both a focused 
work-ethic and passionate belief 
in 
loyalty; 
he 
simultaneously 

presented 
the 
unapologetic 

attitude of a street-raised business 
bull (think Jay Z, one of his idols) 
aside the softer, calmer tone of a 
sweetheart big brother.

Who is A. Boogie? That remains 

up for interpretation (much like 
the circumstances that led to his 
controversy with Lil B). What’s 
known for certain, though, is that 
he won’t allow himself to be boxed 
in — not by his geographically, 
generationally or even by the 
“BASED GOD.”

***

You’ve had a wildly exciting 

year: Between the birth of your 
daughter in February to the 
recent release of your debut 
album, a lot of milestones have 
been crossed. How do you 
manage to stay grounded amidst 
such consistent growth?

I just keep positive people 

around me, I keep the same, same 
day ones around me, you feel me? 
And I just keep doing what I’m 
doing plus more. As long as you 
keep doing what you’re doing plus 
more, you always gonna succeed 
and be successful.

How did it feel to have The 

Bigger Artist debut as the number 
one album on Billboard’s R&B 
/ Hip-Hop charts? Was that 
something you were striving 
for?

Yeah, man, that’s something 

I feel like, I checked it off my 
checklist and I’m on to the next 
one. Now, I’m trying to win a 
Grammy, feel me?

One of the album’s most deep-

cutting songs is its introduction, 
“No Promises,” on which you 
rap: 
“Lifestyle 
getting 
out 

of 
control, 
lifestyle 
getting 

ludicrous / I made a mili in less 
than a year and I blew that on 
stupid shit.” What were some of 
the first things that you splurged 
on 
after 
initially 
becoming 

successful?

Man, some of the first things I 

bought, I went right to Avianne, 
copped mad ice, got my mom a crib, 
gave my mom some bread, I gave a 
lot of love to a lot of family when I 
first got money.

What’s different about being 

in New York City now, as a 
celebrity, versus being there 
before as a regular kid from the 
Bronx?

Man, being from New York City, 

first of all it’s hard coming out of 

NYC, making it though. So, I’m 
just, I feel like I could do a lot, just 
‘cause I did that. It’s a blessing, you 
feel me, and I feel like I got that 
prince, I feel like I’m in that prince 
spot right now.

You 
told 
Complex 
that 

growing up, you rarely traveled 
out of Highbridge because: “The 
Bronx really don’t get along like 
that.” Is it all love everywhere 
when you go back now?

Yeah, 
I 
feel 
like 
that’s 

everywhere though. Like, when 
you go to Brooklyn, people in 
Brooklyn don’t get along with 
Brooklyn people, Bronx don’t get 
along with Bronx people, just cause 
like, you’re all too close to each 
other and everything I feel like 
though. It’s different.

As you head out on this world 

tour, headlining concerts in 
Europe and different countries, 
what are you most excited to see 
or do for the first time?

Um, I don’t really know, I’m just 

looking forward to learning new 
things and seeing new things, and 
knowing what the whole overseas 
thing is about. Everywhere you go 
is always different, so you never 
know what to expect … I’m excited 
to perform in London. I sold out in 
London.

Are we ever going to get 

those collab projects with Don 
Q or PnB Rock that you’ve been 
teasing?

Man, I’m good at those, but … I 

got everybody’s songs. I’m gonna 
release a whole bunch of music out 
of nowhere, so …

How did it feel to be a part of 

the XXL Freshman Class? Do 
you feel connected to that new 
wave in hip hop that’s emerging, 
or are you kind of like an old 
head within that crowd?

Nah, I still fuck with the 

old heads, but I fuck with my 
generation too. I’m learning. Like, 
my generation is still new to me, so 
I’m still learning new things about 
hip hop these days. That XXL part 
right there was just like, man … 
I’m glad I did that ‘cause my whole 
teenage life was just looking at the 
XXL (and) who was on it on the 
next year, on the next year … So, me 
being on it for last year was just a 
blessing bro.

You told Billboard that you’re 

considering 
going 
back 
to 

school. Would you ever consider 
coming here, to the University of 
Michigan? I can give you a tour if 
you need.

Who knows? Who knows where 

I end up man, you’ll probably catch 
me somewhere in the cut with a 
hoodie.

SALVATORE DIGIOIA

Daily Arts Writer

MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW

Across her various phases, Tay-
lor Swift’s music has garnered 
a wide-ranging set of opinions. 
Despite this, she has consis-
tently released fantastic music 
videos; case and point is the first 
single from her forthcoming LP 
Reputation, “Look What You 
Made Me Do” and its accom-
panying video. The song was 
polarizing, yet the video was 
an impressively complex and 
well-thought-out spectacle. Her 
streak of excellent music videos 
just ended. The latest addition 
to her repertoire — the visual 
accompaniment to new single 
“...Ready For It?” — is unchar-
acteristically bad, despite being 
the strongest track we’ve heard 
off of Reputation thus far.
The sci-fi-inspired “...Ready 
For It?” video unsuccessfully 
attempts a cliché narrative, 

pitting a Taylor Swift dressed 
in S&M inspired black with 
a Taylor in a skin-colored 
bodysuit that makes her look 
nude. Clearly, we are leagues 
past “Teardrops On My Guitar.” 
The bodysuit itself, an apparent 
reference to the garb worn by 
the protagonist of the “Ghost in 
the Shell” franchise, generated a 
Twitter eruption and seemed to 
be one of the few things worth 
commenting on from the entire 
video.
Otherwise, we have a poorly 
developed storyline that 
attempts to paint nude-bodysuit 
Taylor (who eventually morphs 
into white-bodysuit Taylor) 
as a sympathetic character 
trapped in a glass box, who 
ultimately escapes by defeat-
ing black-hooded Taylor. In the 
process we discover the latter 

is actually a robot. How can 
Swift expect the public to buy 
into her latest bad girl persona 
when it’s the white-clad Taylor 
who is destroying the villainous 
Taylor? Given the size of her 
PR team, one would expect this 
new phase to be significantly 
more refined than it is.
The only redeeming quality of 
the video is the visual editing. 
It seems like Swift and direc-
tor Joseph Kahn wanted to 
hit every button on the effects 
dashboard, resulting in an 
incredible menage of lightning 
bolts, armored horses, mechani-
cal eyeballs, glowing orbs and 
robotic spiders — the video is 
certainly a spectacle. However, 
it sacrifices content and story-
line in the name of effects and 
ultimately falls flat as a result.

— JESS ZEISLOFT

FX

‘American Horror Story’ is currently on its seventh season
It’s time to break up with 
‘American Horror Story’

One writer’s look at the slow decline of the popular FX show

Before the co-creators of “Glee” 

Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk 
debuted their anthology series 
“American Horror Story” back in 
2011, the television world had no 
idea what it was in for. With the 
help of some ambiguous, visually-
enticing trailers, the creators left 
prospective viewers with more 
questions than answers on what 
to expect — effectively creating a 
widespread buzz before the show’s 
premiere. A genius marketing 
technique could have been enough 
alone to launch lesser shows, but 
the Murphy and Falchuk had so 
many more tricks up their sleeves.

When I first heard the creators 

of “Glee” were making a horror 
show, I scoffed. I thought: Haven’t 
they done enough damage to the 
realm of TV with their tacky, 
musical contribution? So imagine 
my surprise when I found myself 
tuning in for their new show every 
week, counting down the days 
to each new episode. “American 
Horror Story” was like nothing I 
had ever seen before, and being 
someone 
with 
a 
DNA-deep 

aversion to scary things, it spoke 
to the show’s quality that even I 
could withstand the spooks.

Season one of “AHS” was 

everything I could ask for from a 
TV show. It was cinemagraphic, 
well-written, sexy, suspenseful, 
compelling and the list goes on. 
Amidst all the sexual and horror-
driven thrills, season one, “Murder 
House,” had a cohesive plot and a 
knockout concept. The idea of a 
victorian age home holding all the 
spirits who had ever come to pass 
within its walls made for a wide 
playing field for the writers — and 
they used it wisely. The addition 
of 
backstories 
of 
tangential 

characters being added slowly 
to the greater story line of the 

Harmon family gave encapturing 
tidbits of these surrounding spirits, 
intercutting 
between 
different 

periods of time, all without 
detracting from the story arc.

Aside from the consistency 

in directorial style and strength 
in the base concept, just about 
everything great about season 
one would come to slowly fall 
away in those following. Many 
cite the beginning of the end with 
season three, “Coven,” — which 
did undeniably suck — but to me 
the issues that would become the 
all out downfall of “AHS” were 
birthed in season two.

The idea of a horror story in 

a 1960s asylum was by far the 
theme that resonated with me 
the most. It felt, however, as 
though the creators lost all sense 
of restraint from this season 
forward — perhaps on the high of 
a wild success in their first season. 
The addition of Adam Levine 
(“The Voice”) and Jenna Dewan 
Tatum (“Step Up”) to the cast 
highlighted what would continue 
to be a pointless piece of the “AHS” 
rhetoric: 
Irrelevant 
celebrities 

being added on for the sake of 
star power. Cough, cough — I love 
you, Stevie Nicks, but you had no 
business coming on this supposed 
horror show. 

Season two, like every season 

of “AHS,” was incredible in its 
concept, but rather than letting 
the strength of that stand on its 
own, the creators stuffed each 
episode full of every bit of shock 
value they could get their hands 
on. Adding in alien probings, 
flesh-eating 
creatures 
and 
a 

polyamorous ending for Evan 
Peters (“X-Men: Apocalypse”), the 
season just ended on a sour note 
for me, which was indicative of 
what was to come. While horror 
is about making a viewer squirm 
and jump, the show became less 
about beautifully built-up tragic 
or terrifying storylines that made 

it what it was and more about 
pushing the “Did they really just 
do that?” feeling. 

By season four, “Freak Show,” 

it felt as though Murphy and 
Falchuk were just drunk off the 
power of this empire they had 
created, feeling they could do no 
wrong. Again, while this season 
had things that worked, they 
continued trying to squish in every 
star, every OMG moment, every 
grotesque sex scene they possibly 
could. To add insult to injury, 
the creators let their true colors 
seep through with the addition 
of terribly tacky and pointless 
musical numbers. I could have 
gone the rest of my life without 
hearing Evan Peters perform 
Nirvana, or without hearing Sarah 
Paulson (“American Gothic”) do 
the ugliest cry known to mankind 
throughout every season, for that 
matter.

While nothing can take away 

the majesty of season one, the 
steady decline of “AHS” ’s quality 
has just desecrated the good name 
it once made for itself. Mind you, 
many of the flaws were forgivable 
enough, considering I made it 
through season seven, “Roanoke.” 
But that was more out of a morbid 
curiosity of how much worse 
the show could have possibly 
gotten and what jaw-dropping 
boundaries they would be pushing 
this season.

Where I draw the line, however, 

is the most recent season, “Cult.” 
It took about under 10 minutes 
for me to recognize that all I had 
once loved about the show had 
vanished, and in its place was just 
an obnoxious soap box for social 
commentary, hidden under the 
thin veil of a shitty plot. I really 
never wanted to lose faith in you, 
“AHS” (I really tried), but it’s just 
gone too far. I wish I could say the 
creators should quit while they’re 
ahead, but that chance already 
came and went. 

TV NOTEBOOK

SOFIA LYNCH

For the Daily

