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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