Cruising Through Forest Hills Drive

I would like to begin with the disclaimer that J. Cole's album is quite explicit so keep that in mind while reading this.


2014 Forest Hills Drive by J. Cole is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kBRdjM9CmI.
In terms of rap music, J. Cole establishes a perfect balance between provocative rap music and thought-provoking rap music. His ability to use his life story to relate to his listeners was incredible and the instrumental tracks were key to gain a large audience.
The concept of time with music varies and even though it is 2015, this album released in December, 2014 is a timeless album that can be played over and over again. As an avid listener to music, I enjoyed the album so much that I had it on repeat for a two-hour car ride and it was entertaining the whole way. The lyrics are relatable to an older audience who has experienced tough times and is reflecting on life and being in college, the struggle gets real and I could completely understand J. Cole in these albums and his past reflections on life. '03 Adolescence (Track 4) is a song about graduating and thinking about how to progress through life and current struggles and it's a concept that most people can relate to. Apparently (Track 11) is a song that gives a personal acknowledgement to his mother and the acknowledgement can be interchangeable between any person the listener thinks is always there for him or her. The song that usually connects to the generation is No Role Modelz (Track 9). This song presents a rebellious, aggressive lyrical usage with a nice beat to connect with an audience who knows the struggle of feeling alone and doing things by yourself. Even though I grew up as a kid from the suburbs with parents who were always there to support me I'd be lying in saying that I didn't feel a connection to this song. Everyone feels weight on their shoulders at one point and this song keys in on that feeling.
Listening to J. Cole's album like:

This gif is a literal representation of how I was listening to the lyrics of J. Cole's album.
The album as a whole is a masterpiece. There is no other way to describe the album because it is a genius work of art that J. Cole created as a memoir of his life and as he gets older, only better things will come with his new experiences in the music industry. If you haven't heard the album, it's worth listening to even though you're basically living under a rock because it's a year and you're late.
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Heroes Give Hope

Whether a person looks up to an athlete, comic book character, writer or any person, there isn't an age limit on when he or she stops appreciating that person. Focusing on the comic books and animated series, characters in that genre represent hopes, dreams and ambitions. In a created world, there are no limits to the things that characters can do. Writers and animators can change facts and manipulate variables in order to mold the world into whatever he or she wants and it shows people that there are endless possibilities to what they can do.

Okay, maybe not endless possibilities.
Iron Man embodied the concept of endless potential to me while growing up. To a kid, an extraordinarily intelligent, witty guy who owns a suit that shoots missiles and lasers is the basic definition of a role model. Look up examples of role models in the dictionary and you'll most likely see this picture of Tony Stark.

At a later age around 14 or 15, I learned that Iron Man was a man who had shrapnel in his chest and kept himself alive with the arc reactor that he built himself. This fact alone made me question what I was doing with my life. Imagine a 14-year-old kid reading an article on Iron Man while eating a bowl of soup. Imagine that kid reading the fact about the shrapnel and then being so stunned that he drops his spoon into the soup. The kid then realizes that a guy survived with shrapnel in his chest and that if Tony Stark can accomplish that feat, he can surely grab his spoon out the soup. Needless to say, I was that kid with first-degree burns on my hands and I haven't looked back.
The moral of the story is that heroes give hope. Heroes shed light on the fact that people can do anything if they set their mind to it and pursue their goals firmly. Regardless of how many times Iron Man's suit was destroyed by the Mandarin in Iron Man 3 (great movie), he continually finds ways until he can defeat his enemies and I believe that is the message that animated heroes send to their audiences.
The second moral of the story is that Iron Man is cool and I got to meet a cool imitation of him on the street and now you're slightly jealous.

Iron Man by Christopher Allen Mayuga is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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There's very little chance Iron Man will follow you if you follow me.

Panoramic on American Football

#FOOTBALLSUNDAY baby!!!!! pic.twitter.com/NSb94Dgc7l

— Josh Hern (@mr_joshhern) September 13, 2015

With the 2015 NFL season underway, it only felt appropriate that it be the first thing discussed on an entertainment based blog.
I should begin by stating that football has made a huge contribution in my life from both my physical, mental and social well-being. Whether people play or watch football, the sport is a communal activity and allows for social interaction between multiple members of that audience. It is a stress reliever from every day life and gives people a moment to focus on something else in order to take a minute and step back from reality. Unfortunately, if you live in a city that has had it's moments of depression like Jacksonville, sometimes focusing on your real life instead of football isn't so bad. Did I say "moments of depression"? I meant to say seasons. Pretty unfortunate... Anyways, football gives a community a common point of discussion and healthy rivalry between one another.

Jaguars fans pic.twitter.com/9kvZhslWgP

— CAR Panthers News (@CarPanthersNews) September 13, 2015

Sometimes competition gets the better of us...Sad game.
Football brings people together just like any form of entertainment. Regardless of who watches the game, people will view it differently and people will be able to debate it openly which opens up perfect discussion topics between individuals.
The sport is actually so popular that it took competition a step pass just the game and team rivalry and has moved to Fantasy Football where people choose individual players and draft from there. It creates healthy competition between people and goes into more depth on the sport creating more things to discuss on the topic. For some, it even becomes life.



I'm not proud of it, but I'm pretty sure I would get the "traitor" tag. Can you really blame me though? I think the Jaguars will forgive me once they know that the Carolina Panthers Defense earned 22 points for me.
All in all, football, like all entertainment, gives a healthy distraction from reality that a person can't really put a value on unlike Carson Palmer, who had 25 points for my fantasy team. As the season progresses, check out my disappointment via my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook all linked down below.
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