EDITORIAL
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Swarm, the new Amazon Prime series from Janine Nabers and Donald Glover, inspired a flurry of conversations around so-called “stan culture,” parasocial relationships, and the obsessive nature of some music fans. While the series doesn’t necessarily hide from running parallel to the fandom that surrounds a certain Houston, Texas superstar, the program actually serves as an examination of the deeper and often dark side of obsession.
With the promise that this piece will remain spoiler-free as possible, Swarm, which stars the excellent Dominique Fishback in the role of Andrea “Dre” Greene, is at times a very uncomfortable watch.
The opening episode, “Stung,” was directed by Glover and written by Nabers and the director. There exists heavy-handed “wink wink nudge nudge” references to Beyoncé and the BeyHive, but it becomes more about the singular mission of Dre to get next to the show’s fictional pop star, Ni’Jah, a powerhouse artist and performer who commands the so-called “Swarm” — a collection of fans who will ride on anyone who dares the critique their fave.
Naturally, the satirical sendup of fandoms seen within the series mirrors much of what plays out on social media with mega-popular stars. Names on social media that reference the stars the users revere, devoted fans draped in merchandise from the artist, and an abject willingness to defend the honor of the celebrities by verbally attacking critics with ferocity. As most are discovering, Dre handles the enemies of Ni’Jah with murderous intent which highlights the show’s brutal horror elements.
Since the show’s March 17 air date, much has been made of Glover’s intentions with the program including some believing Swarm is a subtle, if unfounded, continuation of his hatred for Black women. Yes, Glover did express some interesting thoughts about what he expected of Fishback in the role of Dre in a Vulture feature story with Fishback, which asked her to channel an animalistic quality. But does that mean he harbors hatred for Black women? It isn’t for us to say.
Other observers noted that Glover seemingly depicted Black women in a bad light or lacking complexity in the hit series Atlanta, and then there is the fact that Glover isn’t married to a Black woman. This isn’t meant to be a defense against the claims of hate but certainly detracts from the fact Glover largely got out of the way after the first episode and let his team handle the rest.
The decision by some to criticize and center Glover instead of Nabers, a talented playwright, and producer in her own right, steals some of the thunder away from the writing room, Fishback, and the dozens of actors and crew members who worked on the show. That same light is also taken from the efforts of established Black women writers on the show such as Karen Joseph Adcock, fledgling writers like Malia Obama, and rising writers such as Kara Brown along with Chloe Bailey and her performance.
Is Swarm perfect? Perhaps not. At its core, the series could simply stand as an indictment of “stan culture” and perhaps also that of the seedy underbelly of social media overall. In addition, it displays a Black woman completely disheveled and in need of loving care
It is heartbreaking at times to see how loss and the lack of others not leaning in to surround Dre with love and understanding affects her mental well-being. What we can say overall is that there is nothing on television quite like Swarm at the moment and it deserves a watch even if just for the sake of satisfying one’s curiosity.
Swarm is currently airing on the Amazon Prime streaming service.
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Photo: Amazon Prime Video
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On Saturday night (March 18), the New York City stop of Key Glock’s Glockoma 32-city tour celebrated the February release of his highly anticipated Glockcoma 2 album, but it wasn’t without flaws. Pain-staking patience was required to enjoy the show at the the Knockdown Center in Queens as the crew battled massive wait times switching between show openers Tia Corine, Jay Fizzle, Kenny Muney, and the headliner.
However, it wasn’t enough to ruin the overall experience. Each artist dazzled fans with high-energy performances, showcasing why they were handpicked to join the late, great Young Dolph’s independent label Paper Route Empire.
First up to hit the stage was Jay Fizzle, a cousin to the late Dolph, who appeared 40 minutes earlier than expected from the promoted 8:00 pm showtime. Those interested in watching the performance saw the ski-mask-wearing rapper perform “Standin On Top Of Sh*t” and “Hood Rich.”
By this point, plumes of weed smoke filled the air as the crowd waited 30 minutes for Kenny Muney to arrive. Dressed in a purple puffer, the rapper kicked off his set with “Ashtray” before flinging a wad of cash into the air during “Big Muney Sh*t.” He took off his coat to jump in the crowd for a more intimate performance of “Lowkey.”
Tia Corine also performed while fashionably dressed in a gothic outfit with a blonde mullet. Her set started with the hit single “FreakyT,” a fan favorite. Her voice energetically bellowed through the speakers with “FYK” until her DJ ruined her set on “Dipset.” By this time, she was noticeably annoyed but powered through during “Boogie,” “Pancake,” and “Lotto.” The set wrapped with an encore of her opener.
Key Glock’s set was a painful 40-minute wait that involved a complicated stage breakdown as a hypeman repeatedly promised he was “on his way” to the show. Just as the complaints of leg pain echoed across the crowd, the houselights dimmed, and stage lights suddenly turned on, when a focused Glizzock emerged. It was showtime.
His performance formula is simple: don’t talk too much and just let the music do all the work. To say it was a clever strategy is an understatement.
Glockoma 2’s “Chromosomes” opened the show, the first of 20 songs carefully selected from his vast catalog while cleverly themed video graphics flashed in the background. The crowd remained invested as he performed “Work,” “Bottom of the Pot,” and “On My Soul,” but pure fandom erupted when “Jigsaw” dropped. The crowd pushed closer to the stage as a giant white head darted laser beams out of its eyes with smoke. At this point, the audience joined in tandem with Key Glock as both rapped in the chorus for the remainder of his show, including on standouts “I’m Just Sayin,” “Like Key,” “Juicemane,” and “Dough.”
To hear these songs and not see Young Dolph beside him to recite his parts left a void that was felt all night. This cued Glock to take a well-timed break to pay homage to his mentor with “Get Paid,” “Preach” and “Water on Water on Water.” It was the closest anyone could get to experiencing the fallen rapper live on stage again. The crowd celebrated to pay their respects.
Finally, the show was nearing its end as “Mr. Glock” and “White Russian” whiplashed the audience back to high-energy mode, before wrapping with a closer from “Frozone” by the late Big Scarr. The crowd was pleased, proving that Paper Route Empire remains dedicated to upholding Young Dolph’s legacy by delivering high-quality performances. And they did just that.
Written By D.L. Chandler , Senior Editor Posted 3 mins ago @dlchandler123 D.L. Chandler is a veteran of the Washington D.C. metro writing scene, working as a journalist, reporter, and culture critic. Initially freelancing at iOne Digital in 2010, he officially joined the iOne team in 2017 where he currently works as a Senior Editor […]
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Ben Stiller publicly defended his Tropic Thunder movie recently, which garnered controversy over Robert Downey Jr. appearing in blackface in the film among other issues.
The actor and writer was mentioned in a tweet about the film last Tuesday by a Trump supporter who goes by “Benny Sings.” The individual wrote: “Please stop apologizing for doing this movie. It was and still is funny AF… Even funnier now with cancel culture the way it is. It’s a MOVIE. Ya’ll can just get over it. I was DYING laughing when I first saw it back in the day and so was everyone else.”
In an included text statement, the user noted that the Wayans Bros didn’t apologize for White Chicks in which they appeared as two white women. Stiller would respond afterward, writing: “I make no apologies for ‘Tropic Thunder.’ Don’t know who told you that. It’s always been a controversial movie since when we opened. Proud of it and the work everyone did on it.”
The 2008 comedy movie, which features Stiller and Downey Jr. along with Jack Black, drew a swarm of backlash on its release mainly for Stiller’s role as Tugg Speedman, who played a character in the fictional film-within-the-film Simple Jack that disability advocates felt mocked them. They pointed to the usage of the R-slur in particular in their criticisms.
Downey Jr. would also face some backlash for his role as Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus, who opts to darken his skin to play a Black soldier. The Iron Man actor did express his reservations about taking the role while appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast in 2019, which would wind up earning him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor the following year. “Sometimes, you just have to go, ‘Yeah I effed up,’” he said.
Stiller appeared to apologize for that or claimed to in another tweet in 2018 prompted by Olympic medalist Shaun White appearing as Simple Jack for a Halloween costume. “Actually Tropic Thunder was boycotted 10 years ago when it came out, and I apologized then. It was always meant to make fun of actors trying to do anything to win awards. I stand by my apology, the movie, Shaun White, And the great people and work of the @SpecialOlympics,” he wrote.
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FOX News is all but confirmed as an alleged propaganda network. Not that anyone should be surprised, but recently revealed court documents show that the network’s anchors knew guests like Rudy Giuliani were spreading lies, and they continued to hand them megaphones anyway.
The documents (actually texts) are thanks to Dominion’s lawsuit against the network. In texts shared between racist FOX talking heads Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, they confirm that they’re clearly aware the guests they have on their shows are right-wing “lunatics.”
Reports CNN:
The most prominent stars and highest-ranking executives at Fox News privately ridiculed claims of election fraud in the 2020 election, despite the right-wing channel allowing lies about the presidential contest to be promoted on its air, damning messages contained in a Thursday court filing revealed.
The messages, included in a legal filing as part of Dominion Voting System’s $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News, showed that Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham brutally mocked lies being pushed by former President Donald Trump’s camp asserting that the election was rigged.
In one set of messages revealed in the court filing, Carlson texted Ingraham, saying that Sidney Powell, an attorney who was representing the Trump campaign, was “lying” and that he had “caught her” doing so. Ingraham responded, “Sidney is a complete nut. No one will work with her. Ditto with Rudy [Giuliani].”
Also in the docs were references to a source who claimed to know of election fraud due to “time travel.” Nah, we’re not kidding—that is their source.
While MAGA Twitter is doing all types of gymnastics to try to dismiss these latest revelations, FOX News is trending for all the wrong reasons. Like seriously, why is that network still getting press credentials?
Peep some of the more potent Sly Fox News slander and observations of the elite hypocrisy in the gallery.
1. Standards?
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The Rev. Al Sharpton led a protest in Florida on Wednesday (Feb. 15) aimed at criticizing the state’s racist erasure of Black history from its educational system, led by the efforts of Gov. Ron DeSantis. As noted during a speech delivered by Sharpton, DeSantis ordered the removal of a high school Black history course, which sparked concerns among several Black leaders nationwide.
The Miami Herald published a pair of reports regarding the march, centering on Rev. Al Sharpton and his efforts to bring attention to Gov. DeSantis’ decision to have the course removed and hopefully staving off a national movement among conservative elected officials who wish to do away with the looming specter of Black history subjects many on that side incorrectly view as negative in nature.
From the Miami Herald:
“Our children need to know the whole story. Not to not only know how bad you were, but to know how strong they are,” Sharpton told the crowd, adding, “If you would study history, governor, you would have known to mess with us and education always ends in your defeat.”
At the root of the protest was DeSantis striking down an Advanced Placement Black studies course aimed at high schoolers and the reason for the removal of the course was that the state believed it wouldn’t add “educational value” among other points.
DeSantis joins a growing list of GOP representatives who have an irrational fear of Critical Race Theory, using it as some manner of dog whistle among the base to stoke fears of some massive “woke” agenda sweeping the nation. When challenged, those against this so-called agenda can never fully explain what they are fighting against and it simply comes across as “don’t let the Blacks learn too much or else.”
We’ll share some videos of the protest led by Rev. Al Sharpton below. A scan of his Twitter feed goes even more into detail regarding this latest effort.
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Photo: The Washington Post / Getty
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Kanye West, also known as Ye, made heads turn after declaring his embrace of antisemitic tropes and expressing love for Nazis. Via a new report, it appears that Ye’s stances have caused an uptick in hate crimes against members of the Jewish community and raised several alarms in the process.
Kanye West has been keeping a lower profile than he normally does these days but according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League, the Chicago superstar’s influence in stoking antisemitic sentiment reigns supreme. Centering on a so-called #YeIsRight movement, the ADL says that if found that the hashtag was seen by around 6 million users on Twitter alone since last October.
More from the ADL’s report:
Ye’s October 2022 antisemitic comments coincided with Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, at which time the ADL noted an increase in both antisemitic content on the platform and a decrease in the moderation of antisemitic posts.
Since October 1, 2022, there have been more than 10,000 Twitter mentions using or referencing the “Ye is Right” slogan. These posts have reached at least six million users on Twitter, garnering more than 22,000 likes and more than 5,000 retweets.
The report says the hashtag movement began at the top of the year via the Groypers white supremacist organization, using the slogan “Ye Is Right, Change My Mind” to coincide with Ye’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Other findings include an uptick in antisemitic vandalism at schools, college campuses, and Jewish institutions among other locations across the nation. Reports of harassment against members of the Jewish community are also on the rise along with the establishment of white supremacist groups.
Kanye West remains largely mum after cutting business ties with adidas and other brand partners in the wake of his comments against Jews, although last month he found himself in legal hot water after a woman filed a battery charge against him for snatching and throwing her phone.
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Written By D.L. Chandler , Senior Editor Posted 5 mins ago @dlchandler123 D.L. Chandler is a veteran of the Washington D.C. metro writing scene, working as a journalist, reporter, and culture critic. Initially freelancing at iOne Digital in 2010, he officially joined the iOne team in 2017 where he currently works as a Senior Editor […]
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Maxine Waters, a battle-tested member of Congress, has long been a fierce champion for the American people while representing California and other members of the Democratic Party. During a House Rules Committee hearing, Waters handled the false accusations from Republican Party opponents that she embraces socialism, doing so with expert ease.
Rep. Maxine Waters of California was present at the Tuesday (Jan. 31) hearing for a debate to sign a resolution against socialism, a long-running crusade for conservative members of Congress still worshipping at the feet of McCarthyism and threats of the “Red Scare.”
Waters, who sits as a ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, pushed back at the charges of socialism levied against her by Rep. Nick Langworthy of New York, after the congressman asked Waters to address a 2019 declaration issued by former President Doandl Trump that America will never fall under socialist rule.
“One of the problems I have with this resolution is, I don’t know everything that you’re talking about when you talk about socialism,” Water fired back. “There are things that you embrace that fall within that so-called socialism definition.”
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania then went on a half-baked attack against Waters in demanding she condemns socialism, but it failed spectacularly.
“The American public is going to wonder why Republicans are wasting our time today with this divisive resolution instead of focusing on the real threats to our economy and democracy,” Waters said. “What is this all about? Is it about saying you want to cut Social Security? You want to cut Medicare? You don’t care about the debt ceiling? Please.”
Rep. Reschenthaler then stepped in a steaming pile of horse puckey of his party’s own doing.
“You can’t condemn socialism?” Reschenthaler asked. “In your opening remarks, you were talking about Putin, Kim Jong Un and Xi. You know what they all have in common, right?”
Waters simply fired back, “Trump.”
Classic Auntie Maxine.
Check out some of the reactions of Rep. Maxine Waters expertly PWNING the GOP MAGA Cultist Crew below from Twitter.
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On Friday evening (Jan. 27), the Memphis police department shared the footage of Tyre Nichols being beaten so badly by its former police officers that the 29-year-old eventually succumbed to his injuries.
The five Black cops who beat Nichols to death have been arrested and indicted for charges including murder and kidnapping, and after much salivation for it by mainstream media, the footage is now out in the world. NewsOne reported on what can be seen (be warned the footage is graphic and disturbing, and you are under no obligation to watch):
The video, which was released on the city of Memphis’ Vimeo account, comes just a day after five Memphis police officers responsible for the beating death of the 29-year-old were charged with second-degree murder.
If you would like to watch the videos click here. The videos contain graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.
Ahead of the release, Nichols’ mother RowVaughn Wells gave an emotional speech at a news conference Friday, where she said she was still processing the tragic death of her son.
Four videos were released in total. In the first clip, Nichols can be heard saying “I didn’t do anything” and complying with the seemingly aggressive officers. He can also be heard saying “I’m just trying to go home.”
The incident occurred on Jan. 7 when Nicholes was stopped on suspicion of reckless driving. So far, there is no evidence of reckless driving. He died several days later and an autopsy, ordered by his family, said the cause of death was due to internal bleeding.
Protests have already begun. If only the same energy being used to urge people to protest peacefully was used to urge cops not to kill people.
Pray for Trye Nichols and his family. May he rest in power and may justice be served.