arts // no. & A real eye-opener » ‘Trigger Warning with Killer Mike’ TV show review Roshni Riar Staff Writer Hz been a fan of Killer Mike’s for years, I was really excited to hear about the release of Trigger Warning with Killer Mike—his very own Netflix docuseries— earlier this year. Besides rapping as one half of the rap duo Run the Jewels, Killer Mike has become increasingly known for his activism within the African-American community and his vocal criticism of the treatment of Black people everywhere. Trigger Warning is the result of his years of activism. Throughout the docuseries he explores issues that directly impact the Black community such as religion, economic struggle, lack of community, drugs, and gangs. Focusing ona single issue each episode, Killer Mike comes up with somewhat outlandish but potentially effective and thought-provoking strategies to tackle the struggles at hand. In my favourite episode, “White Gang Privilege,’ Mike looks at the unbalanced treatment of gangs across America. He points out that certain—predominantly white—gangs have the privilege of expanding beyond their criminal enterprises to build legitimate businesses that gain support and recognition from society. He wonders why groups like Hells Angels can have T-shirts and merchandise, but not the Bloods and the Crips. After some hilarious brainstorming with a group of neighbourhood Crips, Mike and his new team decide to create a Crips-themed soda called Crip-A-Cola. What I really appreciated about the episode was that they actually show the process of building a product: From the cola production, to the designing of the logo, to a super awkward but amusing meeting at a local bank to try—and fail at—getting a loan to kickstart the business. The episode goes on to explore the misconceptions and judgement that members of gangs like the Crips often face. It’s really eye-opening to see that experience from a completely different perspective. In “Living Black,” the first episode of the docuseries, Mike tries to literally live Black—his goal is to only spend money within the Black economy for 72 hours. As Mike and his team delve into what seems like a potentially straightforward task, they realize how very little is truly “Black” in its existence. If a restaurant is Black- owned, but their produce isn’t grown by Black farmers, then for the purpose of the experiment it isn’t considered truly Black. Mike can barely use anything in his own home or, much to his own chagrin, smoke weed because the growers were white. The night before a concert, he ends up sleeping ona bench because there are no Black- owned hotels for him to check into. The docuseries shares some startling facts about the way different communities operate across America. For example, the Asian community can keep a dollar within their community for 28 days before it’s spent elsewhere and released, whereas the African-American community can only keep a dollar within their community for six hours. While the show is certainly entertaining and purposely produced to theotherpress.ca be so, its main goal of acting as a social commentary really shines through. At the end of each episode I was left contemplating my own place in my own community as a person of colour and reflecting on how fortunate I am to be relatively free to do or try whatever I choose. Killer Mike is an incredibly smart, deep-thinking individual, and this series really does feel like a manifestation of his own personal mantras and beliefs. I’m happy to see the amount of traction the docuseries has received since its release. I would highly recommend anyone give Trigger Warning a watch—if not for the entertainment value and laughs, then at least to gain a perspective that perhaps you never considered beforehand. ‘Trigger Warning' still via Civilized. life Still from 'Butterflies' music video Still from 'DDU-DU DDU-DU' music video Still from ‘| Want to Say That | Like It' music video Still from 'God's Plan' music video YouTube music video classics: New and relevant hits » Music mirroring current events Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist usic today is still great, though it seems to me that there is not a lot of hype for it in the case of US music. Also, K-Pop appears to be finally going mainstream in North America with the boy band BTS. Their fans, called the BTS Army, are even louder than Justin Bieber’s fans. The Grammy Awards this year showed that a lot of diverse music is being recognized. Childish Gambino released This Is America last year and won Best Record, which made it a very historic night in music history. Music videos are important to the industry because they get us excited about music. The following videos are related to current events and trends in the music world. Kacey Musgraves - Butterflies I was surprised that Kacey Musgraves’ recent album Golden Hour won Best Album in the Grammy Awards this year because it isa hidden gem of a record. I like Musgraves because she has the sound of old country. The music video of one of the hit singles from the album, “Butterflies,” involves Musgraves seeing a mysterious man during a night at a bar while seeing symbols of butterflies. One of the themes of Golden Hour is the LGBTQ+ community, which is referenced in the footage that is seen in this song’s music video, the lyrics of the song, and the sensuality of the video. “Butterflies” has a whimsical style, especially during the scenes where Musgraves walks in the street. BlackPink - DDU-DU DDU-DU I first heard this song when it was performed on Produce 48 last summer. During that time, it was one of the biggest songs not only in South Korea, but also in Japan. Unexpectedly, BlackPink performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Good Morning America last month, announced a world tour, and “DDU-DU DDU- DU?” is now one of the biggest songs out there. In some ways it is a typical K-Pop music video, except it is one of those types of videos that goes to the extreme, which matches the group's style. It is extreme in how one of the members is riding a tank, my favourite member in the group Rosé swings on a chandelier, and the group makes shooting gestures when they sing, “DDU-DU DDU-DU’” IZ*ONE - I Want to Say That I Like It So far, IZ*ONE’s career is off to a great start after the success of their debut EP COLOR*IZ and after winning awards. Unlike other K-Pop groups when they go to Japan, IZ*ONE’s next hit single and first Japanese single showcases the J-Pop style with a bit of K-Pop. Half of the music video has the usual choreography in K-Pop and we see Sakura, Nako, and Hitomi doing moves they did not usually do in their former group AKB48. I like this song better than “La Vie en Rose,” another song from this group, because the Japanese members are showcased more. The evening scenes in this video remind me of E-girls (the female version of the famous Japanese group Exile), a group which is also influenced by K-Pop. Drake - God’s Plan This year’s Juno Awards will take place this month on St. Patrick’s Day. One of the albums that could win awards this year is the Toronto rapper's recent album Scorpion, which includes this song. Throughout the music video for “God’s Plan,” we see Drake donating at least $900,000 toa lot of people in Miami through deeds like buying people their groceries and giving out oversized cheques. The music video is like a promotional video for a charity. Also, there are moments where we see more of Drake dancing, like in his previous videos.