Eye on the Triangle

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The views and opinions expressed during Eye on the Triangle do not represent WKNC or NC State. Student Media,

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Good morning everyone. Hope you're enjoying your day. My name is Emilia Rivadeneira, host of Eye on the Triangle. And with further ado, let's get into some news. You

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Hi everyone. Welcome back to the Nubian Minute. Your go to podcast to break down the black and minority student experience here at NC State and around the world. My name is Senait Richmond. I'm the Nubian message social media manager.

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I'm Jonathan Lee. I'm a writing and photography correspondent for The newbie message. I'm

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Adriana Hernandez. I'm a

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staff writer for the newbie message. And I'm Aiyanna Moore. I'm a writer correspondent for The newbie a message.

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So first up, we have the most pressing topic we just had the Super Bowl last week, and what are your thoughts on it? Jonathan, I know you had a lot to comment on.

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First off, the chief. Scott Wolk, so I'm gonna say this proudly. Any chiefs can't at me, but they deserve the loss. You know, Go Eagles for real. And then the other thing about it was the halftime show. I really liked the halftime show. A lot of people didn't really like it, didn't like the energy of it, but I like the symbols that were used in it, so it was cool to me.

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What symbolism really like stood out to you the most. I

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like the Uncle Sam symbolism. I think using Samuel Jackson, I remember him for his role in Django, so him coming back as Uncle Sam was kind of like a full circle type thing, and I like that.

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Did you think that it left the mark that Kendrick wanted on people?

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I don't know. One reason I always appreciated Kendrick was because most of his songs are towards his audience. He hasn't really worried about mainstream a lot. So I think the same thing kind of happened with the halftime show is dedicated to a specific audience, not necessarily the masses.

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And what about the underlying message?

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I don't really know. I mean, I think the Uncle Sam reference is kind of doubled with this impact because of the President. And I saw somewhere Donald Trump wanted to be the first president to the Super Bowl. I think it for the time that we're in, the message is really powerful. What

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do you guys think about it?

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I I thought it was cool. I had to watch it a couple times, actually, to pick up what Uncle Sam was saying, and I noticed that the songs aligned with what he was saying. So in the beginning, you know, it was hype, and Uncle Sam was saying, No, that's too loud, that's too ghetto. And then when he sang, I think it was Luther, I believe. And then Uncle Sam was like, Yeah, that's what America loves. You know, it's cooler, it's calmer. And that paired with the red, white and blue, which I think is the American flag, Eric flag, yes, I liked it. I do. I don't know. I kind of think it could have been maybe more direct. I don't know, because I still kind of get lost in with the overlying messages, or how or No, no, maybe more so how impactful it could have been. I think could have been more powerful, in my opinion, but I really do like it.

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Um, yeah, I watched it this morning because I I was driving home from production night instead of watching the Super Bowl. But I will say, like when I watched it this morning, I was really excited for it, and I can see where the criticism comes from. But personally, for me, I really did appreciate it. I'm not like a huge kind. DJed fan in the sense of, like, I don't listen to all of his music, but I definitely respect the art form, and I respect what he had to say.

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Yeah, and like you said, I think Kendrick does a beautiful job of not necessarily needing to always be in the media, always needing to show off his music or subscribe to what the industry wants. He's always really been in touch with the black community and in touch with, like, his personal message that he wants to share. And I think that really ties to your article that you wrote about Southern hip hop, and just like the evolution of it, and seeing how it's changed in ways that I think Kendrick has stayed authentic to even old school hip hop and not needing to conform. Because I think a lot of artists like once, they hit a certain point in their career, you see how much the industry has impacted their music, and they're just not they're not making they're making hits. They're not making really intentional music that has a deeper message.

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I look you feel like maybe Tik Tok kind of has something to do with it, and like the dance challenges and how people want their songs to be such a hit, versus actually being authentic to what specifically hip hop and rap is. And, you know, it was officially made as a form of protest to speak out, and I feel like that meaning kind of just got lost with time. Yeah. But I like, I like how Kendrick and other rappers as well, but especially Kendrick, kind of does stay true to that. Like you said, Yeah,

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I agree. I think now music is like kind of what we call short form content, like with tick tock. Usually there's a snippet that goes viral, and a lot of people know 15 seconds of the song, but no, no the rest. So somebody like Kendrick is kind of a little bit of authenticity in an industry that's kind of full of just snippets.

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Yeah, what do you think?

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Um, I I think I'm I, I'm of the opinion that I think there's a place for both like storytelling and just like fun, like club music, music. And I, I do agree with you that, like, Kendrick really does stay true to, like, telling a story and keeping, like, the depth of his lyrics, and that is something that is missing. But I feel like there's, there's, like, a resurgence, like for me with doci Especially, I mean, I there's just not enough that can, like, truly, like, encapsulate like, she, she's like, one of a kind. Like, there's just no one like her right now. And, yeah, this album

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is amazing, and I really like her art style. She's very unique, and she's not afraid to just completely try things that even like the tape around the eyes I saw, like most people do that, and they hide it behind their hair, but she made it like a fashion statement, and she's very bold about about everything that she does. And it's very refreshing to see someone who's so unique in the art industry and in the music industry. So

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everything's done so intentionally, like her music video, deny was a river, yeah. I mean, everything was just like she the sitcom vibe, showing like, the progression of like her life throughout like each year of her career. And then intentionally, like, switching the camera to show, like, the audience looking in at her, and kind of like the reality of it all, and then everything burning like, I mean, it was, it was a masterpiece that that music video.

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And I really like the connected breeds, like, there's just so many things that she does is so iconic, and it's also how she's giving like dark skinned women a platform. And when you look back at the music industry, it really is a lot of light skin black women who get to be like the whole face of black women everywhere. So we're seeing more diversity. And she's just so un authentically or unapologetically herself, and I love it, and would you like to tie that into your article? So

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my article for our newest issue is going over like the history and origins of southern hip hop, aka the dirty Sal. Yeah, basically it goes into kind of major events and groups of artists between, like, I cover four hubs of southern hip hop, including Atlanta, Houston, Memphis and Miami. So kind of just, I know we talked about, like, present day, like a lack of, like, depth and lyricism. And I would say that like Southern hip hop, not only does it have the lyricism, but it also told a story, even with, like, maybe the music that you didn't expect it to the Miami club scene, especially known for its Miami base, with the group, two, two life crew. They were known for making, like, very sexually explicit content, and the more backlash they got, like, the the raunchy or they got to the point where they released an album that had, like, legal repercussions. So they were taken to federal court. Their album was the first record and only record ever to be deemed obscene, and not only, regardless, like with that federal charge, they were barred from playing their music, playing that album, and people who had the album or were selling the album could be arrested for it. So in spite of this, their founder, like Uncle Luke, continued to, like, push for their right to say what they want to say, regardless of what it is, and he ultimately got that revoked. And I mean, without him, Southern like hip hop in general, would be more censored than it is today. Like he really pushed the boundaries to allow for artists past, like, just him and his hip hop group to be able to say anything. And, yeah, I mean, you can see the impacts of that present day. Yeah,

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that's amazing. I think I was even thinking about it with Kendrick's halftime performance when, remember, it was the the news reporter, I think, on Fox, said something that he used as the the intro of his song. It was something about the police. I know, I know it, but he, like, didn't say it at the Super Bowl. And I thought it was interesting that he didn't say, I think it was, Oh, that's it, but it's just like, something with a Popo and then the but he didn't say it, and I don't know if it was because he needed to take a breath, or if they were censoring that that like and I just wonder how things would get more censored as things when the country just become more intense, Like getting rid of dei and getting rid of more ways of saying that, I guess, like classifying words as like. How can you make something like dei censored the same way? How can you make something like woke censored like? How do you make things that talk about the black experience, something that we can't talk about.

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It's It's very weird, because it seems like every so often, maybe like every few years, they latch on to a new word, and this year specifically, has been Dei, and then, well, recently, the UNC system has removed dei now as a graduation requirement for colleges. And I really hate that, because I feel like with the push for STEM recently, we already lose a lot of like the humanities, or, yeah, like the humanity side, and seeing each other as people, and learning to develop empathy, which is what a lot of dei classes can really teach you, teach you about other people's experiences with how they experience life, the things that they go through. And I hate that it's not a graduation requirement. I really hate it honestly. I feel like it should be pushed even more honestly,

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one of the things that I felt like impacted me most, like even just through high school, was the ability to in like my literature classes pick up like novels regarding like, civil rights, slavery, indigenous people. And it like, truly broadens, like, your perspective on, like, What the what your peers around you are going through. And, I mean, it's so important to, like, educate yourself on, like, the history of everything, and removal of dei classes like that leaves people ignorant of. The issues that are going on for for their peers, like, like sinat said a bit earlier in the day, like, it leaves them blissfully ignorant, like, and it allows for them to just go about their days not having a care in the world for maybe other people who could benefit from their support.

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I hate even more how the words have been politicized, because I feel like a lot of things that can just be considered culture in general are being labeled as dei like, going back to the southern hip hop. Hip Hop is a form of expression, and in the south, we have a very deep history, very complicated history. So that's why the expression in a lot of southern hip hop is kind of abrasive to some people's ears, is different. So how can you remove culture? How can you take away expression? You know,

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yeah, and I think even on the topic of black history in general, because it's Black History Month, I saw someone say that, how come we classify slavery and everything that's been happening or happened in justly to black people as black history and not white history, because is it not white history as like what they did? And I just think the way that they they phrase it makes it seem like that's your problem, your history, but those are the actions of your ancestors, and they also have negative repercussions on your children, because it's allowing them to think that they can live in this mindset of thinking other people are inferior, thinking that there are no like moral boundaries To to how to treat people. It seems, seems so simple and basic, but if you don't, if you don't address those things, and other people get seen, see other children, other people get treated unfairly, then they think that that's normal. That also affects how they grow up, and it allows them to have like confirmation bias and just live a life in their little bubble. So it has generational impacts, regardless. And it should not be just classified as black history. It should be just history in general. So as much as I love black history that who knows how much longer we'll have it, but I think we really could go without it, if it could be created just in history in general. So with that, you should go listen to or pick up our latest issue for the Nubian message. It's our black history issue. We have a really dope photo shoot in there, In the gallery.

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And thank you for listening. Bye. Hi,

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this has been your host. Emilia Rivadeneira, thanks for listening to "Eye on the Triangle." For back episodes of the show go to wknc.org/podcasts. Music in today's episode is "Krakatoa" by Noah Stark, licensed under Creative Commons.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai