The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com 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