#WESEEIT DAILY: TUESDAY – 6.26.2018 MPW GOT ME THINKING, THE GOD MC ON NPR, MY RICHMOND ROUGHRIDERS DILEMMA, CREED 2 & VASEN BREWING

Well, we’re off to a good start, here is what is of interest to me today, Tuesday, June 26, 2018:

The God MC Rakim did an NPR Tiny Desk Concert and it’s amazing! One of the best MCs of all-time on any list. Enjoy.

Moving on: RTD columnist – community super-hero – and our first-ever live podcast guest, Michael Paul Williams weighs in on the Red Hen. He points out that this course of fighting bad actors by meeting them at their level will never foster a better outcome. His closing is powerful, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness. And exclusion will never foster inclusion.” His words give me a lot to think about. Like I wrote yesterday, I do struggle with the current climate, just as every decent person would, however, I struggle more with the actions of this administration and the appearance that there are absolutely zero consequences for their path of fostering division. I understand the best answer is to organize and vote them (midterms and 2020).

Moving On: Jay-Z is on the move again, first it was the surprise album with his wife Bey, The Carters, which debuted at No. 2 (they were behind 5 Seconds of Summer – who are they?). Then it was Puma naming him the Creative Director of Puma Basketball. Now, it’s been reported that he has launched a brand new venture firm. Marcy Venture Partners will be led by HOV, RocNation president Jay Brown, and Walden Venture Capital’s Larry Marcus. That’s another power move. #WESEEIT

Moving On:  Major news on the movie front, the trailer for Creed 2 starting Michael B. Jordan is out and it looks amazing. I’m sorry the Ryan Coogler is not involved but I have high hopes.

Also, The Hate U Give trailer is out. The movie is slated for an October release. Based on the New York Times bestseller of the same name, the story revolves around high-school student Starr Carter, who splits time between the poverty-stricken neighborhood she calls home and the affluent prep school she attends. The teen’s world is completely flipped upside down when her childhood friend, Khalil, is shot and killed by a police officer. The novel is written by Angie Thomas.

Moving On: The Richmond Roughriders, Richmond Championship Arena Football team, is heading back to the championship this Saturday night. The Roughriders (8-1) are taking on the Atlanta Havoc (8-1) at the Richmond Coliseum at 7 PM. I will be there cheering for the Roughriders, which means, I will be hoping that our star Defensive End, Greg Hardy, plays well. This has been a conflict in the back of my mind all season but it was pushed to the forefront as I read ESPN’s Jamele Hill article titled, Does Greg Hardy deserve a second chance?    Hardy was alleged by his then-girlfriend of horrible domestic violence. That and other bad behavior led to his exit from the NFL. Hardy is now a UFC MMA fighter, which is the subject of Hill’s article but the conflict still remains. Let me know what you think.

Last but not least, I spent some time at Vasen Brewing Company yesterday in Scott’s Addition. It was awesome. Vasen is planning a dope 1-year anniversary event in July and yours truly (me) has signed on to be the MC of that event. I haven’t even tried the beer yet, which I heard is really solid, but more important is their mission of supporting the community and environment. They have a mission to give back and I’m a fan of that type of community interaction.

#WESEEIT