The new Netflix show - Ugly Delicious is getting a Michelin 3-star rating from me right now. Hosted by world-renowned foodie and chef David Chang, the show's 8 episodes spotlight a food or type of food that we all have come to love worldwide - pizza, tacos, home-cooking, shrimp and crawfish, BBQ, fried chicken, fried rice, and stuffed pasta/wonton ... detailing how each came about, the cultural and regional divide of each, the stereotyping in regards to race and food, and how each is perceived around the world. It's literally the good, the bad and the UGLY on each one of these DELICIOUS foods.
Dave's style is laid back. Yet, his passion for whatever questions he seeks answers to, set the pace for great TV. He includes other chefs, food critics/experts, and celebrities while hopping from place to place in no particular order. There are stories shared and palates challenged.
One particular anecdote is about when Dave tried Nashville hot chicken for the first time. The story is animated perfectly to the narration as Dave describes having an out of body experience from the spicy heat of the chicken.
This show is truly unique. Ensure you have a lot of time on your hands (you'll want to binge) and easy access to food delivery (you'll get hungry!)
When people speak for God, fundamentalists usually call them prophets. Doesn't God talk to us all? I'm an agnostic but I can appreciate that sentiment.
Raury, as raw as he is - really strips to the core for this one. He accompanies this with Devil's Whisper on this album. I highly recommend checking the lot!
These past several months might be the toughest I've seen in a long time. My health has progressively gotten worse. You see, I turned 44 this year and all these years of eating what I wanted, not exercising and partying too much, have caught up to me. High blood pressure, psoriasis and gout are the biggest culprits. Then about a month ago, I lost my job. Depression set in, and along with the physical pain - I had almost given up. Fortunately, my pain gave way to hope again and I decided I needed to really treat myself. So, I booked a 90 minute session for float tank therapy at FLO2S (pronounced Floatus) in the Little 5 Points neighborhood of Atlanta.
Now, if you aren't familiar with what this is - maybe you saw Stranger Things, where Eleven floats in a tube with a helmet and then also at the high school gym in a pool filled with saltwater. Simply put, you float in saltwater bouyant enough to keep you from sinking. The water is body temperature and if you float in the dark you start to have sensory deprivation.
I arrived at FLO2S about 15 minutes before my appointment. Since it was my first time there, I had to sign a waiver and watch a short video. After that, the receptionist led me to the tank chamber. FLO2S has 3 tanks in all - a smaller tank constructed of plastic with no lights inside, and two tank chambers that are larger and also have L.E.D. Lighting inside, should you choose to use it. The latter is what I chose. Inside is a room with a shower and changing area and the door into the tank chamber.
Once I put in the provided wax earplugs and showered - I immediately went into the tank. The water temperature was perfect as I lay on my back and adjusted to the space. It was about 7.5 feet by 5.5 feet with plenty of space to move around and get adjusted. Saltwater initially will burn places you have cuts or abrasions on your skin - but eventually, it subsides. I lay there with what must have been 10 minutes getting adjusted before turning off the lights.
Once you adjust to the darkness - things become different. I could only hear my heartbeat It's an absolute shortcut to meditation as there are no external stimuli - no Facebook, or TV or any other person to disrupt you. You can't help but reflect on your life. It was at that point I vowed to change my habits and attitude for the better.
The tank is big enough to stretch out every muscle in your body and just relax. There's no pressure on your body anywhere. You can literally sleep in there as it is almost impossible to roll over without trying. I know that tonight ... I'm going to sleep like a baby.
It seemed like 90 minutes might be too long but before I knew it music piped into the tank to tell me my time was up.
I showered and got dressed to return to the lobby. It was there, that I met Alex - one of the co-owners. He told me that the business had been there about 4 1/2 years and they were doing very well. He showed me the other 2 tanks and then we started talking about time in the tank. He assured me that if you can push it to about 3 hours in the tank - you can go much deeper into a meditative state.
I plan to go again soon and would love to go with someone else who has never experienced it. If that sounds good to you - let me know and we can schedule a time when they have 2 tanks available.
They also have massage, infrared therapy, and aromatherapy available.
Known for rowdy shows and catchy rock songs, Turf War started in 2008 as a bedroom solo project for lead singer John Robinson and quickly turned into a full band with Brian McGrath filling in on drums and backup vocals, Cecil Moss on Guitar, and Bradley Morris on bass. Later bringing in Ian McDonald. The had a successful album and tour and then John left the group to do solo work. Cheers to the Years is an homage to debauchery and keeping it punk. - No Boats
ILLUMINAT :: Raury - Forbidden Knowledge (Audio) ft. Big K.R.I.T.
Incredible track from Stone Mountain, Georgia native Raury. True gold from the Conscious Science and Hip Hop - Conscious Hip Hop. This is the kind of music you hear on Atlanta College Radio. The Message on WRAS 88.5 Georgia Tech radio, DJ Cam on the gear.
As a recent transplant to Atlanta, I've been really eager to hear some local music. One night, I was out with my room mate and literally got finished saying that I couldn't wait to get my first Atlanta mixtape, when we were approached by someone on the street."Do you like hip hop? Don't worry, I'm not trying to sell you anything ... I just want to give you my mixtape." - he said. We took them and went our way. It was a CD in a cardboard sleeve ... very professionally done. I couldn't wait to hear it.
The first time I played Legend - Somewhere, I was floored by how good it was. I went to the website to find out more. I sent in a request to do an interview and received an email from Legend's manager - TeCori, the man that had actually gave me the CD. They agreed to do the interview and decided to meet up somewhere to do it. I picked a coffee shop thinking it would be quiet enough. Unfortunately, I was wrong, so what was supposed to be a video interview, turn into the transcript below:
Today, we are here at a coffee shop in Inman Park / East Atlanta talking to Legend. How's it going?
How's it going?
So we are here today because a few weeks back I was given your "mixtape" on the street, and it's been in my car repeatedly on playback. So I wanted to share that with our readers and get a short interview with you. Thanks for taking the time to come out tonight.
No problem.
Now, you're originally from St. Louis, aren't you?
Yes
What brought you to Atlanta?
A change in life.
I feel you. I just recently moved here myself and I can tell that there's some real good hip-hop going on in Atlanta. It's a great place to get a career going. So you created the mixtape here, yes?
Yeah, I produced it here in my home studio in my apartment.
What part of Atlanta do you live?
DeKalb
Let's talk about the mixtape - "Somewhere", for a little bit. To me the quality and production on the whole thing was excellent, and I noticed that you had different producers for each track. How was that to work with different producers?
I got beats off sites like Soundclick and Youtube. There's only one song on there that's from a face to face interaction with a producer. But, shout out to all the producers on there. I appreciate it.
I got you. The flow is excellent as well. It starts off and then peaks at track 6 - "Somebody or Nobody", my favorite on the thing ... and it steadily comes down from there. On track 1, you are talking to someone on the phone and getting their advice about getting in this game. Their comments were to put your DNA on this, to put your mark on this - to make it your own thing. Can you tell us who this was?
An older dude I know named Marvin, who's like an uncle/mentor to me. He taught me a lot about hip-hop and its essence. We have a lot of conversations about music and just life in general. He's a funny guy and jokes a lot, but still intelligent at the same time, as you can tell from the intro.
I love the fact that he says - when you take something from hip-hop, you have to give it back ...
Of course.
I definitely believe that. Let's talk about some of the other tracks. I notice there are a lot of tracks that seem personal to you ... relationships, your family, your mother and trying to be successful for your kids. I definitely respect that. What's next for you ... are you going to get out there and do shows?
Yes, to do shows and keep putting music out there, the same way you got it. Really just touching the people.
Social media is a great way to do it too.
Yeah, definitely.
Getting out and doing shows if a valid way to do it.Now, the video for "Somebody or Nobody" - I love that you use the sample from American Gangster. Was that what inspired you to make the song?
Yeah, I think I was watching the movie one day and later on found that beat on YouTube. Things just kind of flowed from there.
There's a line in there, I can't remember the exact words ... but something like "from one cent, like Mr. Lincoln, I'm never changing." That one stuck with me. Is that your seminal track off this in terms of promotion?
I feel like it's the most attention grabbing out of all of the songs. It's like the peak of the tape, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's my favorite.
Well, what is your favorite track?
Probably "Play This For My Mama", if I had to pick one.
So, let me ask about that one. From what I gathered on the track, you weren't raised by your mother.
No.
And she's not in your life?
Not really.
Well, that's a nice dedication to her.Some of the other tracks talk about police brutality ... and that's topical because there's been a turning point of late in the eyes of white people and a lot are waking up. It speaks to me that you say in that track, I'm just trying to live my life - don't shoot me. Did you have a personal experience that inspired that?
Well, most of the people that grew up in the inner city and impoverished areas have experiences with police, and learn how to deal with cops. When I was making that song it just came real natural and I pretty much did it in one take.
Now, you're from St. Louis of course and Ferguson was right there.
I'm originally from Ferguson.
Oh, you are from Ferguson?
Yeah, yeah ... my family is still there.
Were you living there when the marches happened?
No, I was here already.
Well, that was definitely a turning point, with the Black Lives Matter group and other good things coming out of there today.Can you tell about the production?
I mixed and recorded everything myself. The beats were pretty much already mixed when I bought them, I just mixed all of the vocals and got them to mesh well together. It's all software based.
Well, you definitely fooled me, because it sounds studio quality. How have you utilized social media?
I haven't really utilized social media, in terms of myself speaking out. I let the music speak for itself. I like for people to hear it and know me for the music. Just use that to connect to people. But, I do understand the importance of social media and plan on utilizing it more.
I think that's a true sign of a great artist. Well, music is art and passion, and it's great when it can speak for you. Do you have any artists that have influenced you?
Kanye is a big influence. I really like Starlito ... Future. A lot of R & B, new and old.
I noticed you don't use the vocal effects all over. You use them, but sparingly.
Yeah, I had an engineer who told me to leave my vocals as natural as possible, to give the listener more of a raw feel and experience. But I'm not against vocal manipulation. Sometimes, it can bring a different feel to a song that's necessary.
Now, I'm showing my age here … I don't know how old you are, but in terms of production, it reminds me of the album "The Main Ingredient" by Pete Rock and CL Smooth. Are you familiar with those guys?
No, but I know the name. I'm only 23.
Yeah, this was early 90's.Anything else, you would like to say?
I'm really appreciative and thankful for you listening to the music and taking the time out to interview me. I just want everybody out there to check out the music and let me know what they think through social media and when they see me.
Hurt Everybody - Slept All Day (ft. Saba) [prod. Mulatto Beats]
For those who don't know, I recently transplanted to Atlanta aka A-Town aka the ATL aka HOTlanta (possibly due to the summers or Freak-nik, or both). I love it here, all the conveniences and activities of a big city and yet in the bosom of the polite south. What Atlanta is mostly know for, other than great southern cooking is music ... hip-hop to be true and I've experienced it's influence so much since I moved in. It was after a week of working, that I decided to hit the Korean spa in the near suburbs and turned the dial to what is the NPR / Georgia Tech radio. Now late night is always chock full of great hip-hop and even instrumentals for your freestyle parties. On this night, they happened to play this tune, which for me set itself apart because of a) the melody and b) the honesty of the singer, who I found out later was Supa Bwe. A little more research, and I discovered that these guys were not from Brooklyn or Atlanta's little 5 points but from Chicago's Westside - Hurt Everybody. So there ya go, it always comes back full circle and for me it was clear that from my days in Chicago to now my future in Atlanta - there was a connection.
![Barrel~dEM Hurt Everybody - Slept All Day (ft. Saba) [prod. Mulatto Beats]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEC7rM1RGH-RzT-XK49DmuechpChJ9oqxSCtR8cvbdREj7rHYHIAWfMgSNoFMwJQReSCWDkaNBkweUtuJda0G6IoyWEY1edQ7FWQx3OZlM7gYl3NWA-NLpsK6Er-5cPriJJPTWZYdzXJY/s1600/Supa-Sushi.png "Hurt Everybody - Slept All Day (ft. Saba) [prod. Mulatto Beats]")
