calebdevelleksu

[calebdevelleksu]

• The Notorious Connor Mcgregor and Other UFC Fighters

I am going to do another sports blog today, and I am going to talk about mixed martial arts fights and fighters. Fair warning, this blog is yet another blog in which I almost obsessively and compulsively fanboy over some sports figures like I did in my previous basketball blog. I got into mixed martial arts when I was younger, but I never committed to the sport. I lost interest in it early on, but then regained love for it after witnessing one of the greatest fighters to have ever walked this Earth: Connor Mcgregor. I began watching fights from the UFC, because one of my best friends always had the pay-per-view fights on at his place. I had no idea how important it was that ‘The Notorious’ Connor Mcgregor had a rematch with the infamous ‘Nate Diaz’, and the fight was one of the biggest fights in UFC history. I knew nothing at all about the UFC and the fighters in them, so I was beyond excited to watch my first full fight. My friend began showing me Connor’s previous fights, press conferences, and highlights of him trash talking everybody and anybody. I instantly became a fan of him. I could tell that he was different from the rest of the guys who never sounded so sure of themselves before a fight. Connor started all the way at the bottom of the mixed martial arts food chain when he began his fighting career overseas outside of the UFC (which is the worlds largest organized combative and MMA organization in the world). From the start, Connor was hungry and determined to make it to the big stage. He beat every opponent in that platform and gained the attention of American fans and fighters. This attention eventually reached the likes of UFC president Dana White, who invited him to contend in the world’s biggest fight contest. From there, Connor talked and fought his way up the rankings. This ultimately led to him earning himself a championship in two different weight classes which is an impressive feat. The way he carried himself. He was so confident and sure of himself even when other fighters tried to get into his head. This was one way Connor separated himself from the rest of the bunch, since he was always talking down on everyone who tried to bash him. He got into his opponents head outside of the ring (in the UFC it is technically an octagon and not a ring) which is one reason I believe he was so successful in his fights. His trash talk was funny to his fans and annoying to his haters. He made a name for himself simply by backing up all his talk. He loved the fight business, and he made the UFC what it is today. After I watched the rematch between him and Nate Diaz, I was a full-time Connor fan defending him at every end. A lot of time has passed since then, and Mcgregor has taken different steps in his career. He gained a significant increase in fame and fortune after marketing himself towards fighting boxing phenom Floyd Mayweather. This fight was probably one of the most well-known fights in history by both boxing and MMA fans. Connor has gone on to fight more, but his most recent fights have led to disappointing outcomes, however I will always remain a loyal fan of his. Some new fighters that have gained my personal attention would be ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley and ‘The Stylebender’ Israel Adesanya. These guys are now what I consider to be the superstars of the UFC now.

[calebdevelleksu]

Ball Is Life: Why I Started Watching NBA Games

My last few posts have been about music, but I have been playing a lot of basketball lately. I feel like it is time to diversify my blog topics, and what do I love just as much as music? Sports. I love all sports, but my personal favorite is definitely basketball. I am almost literally obsessed with the game. I enjoy watching the sport just as much. You know it’s an addiction when I watch a game or a highlight video, and it makes me want to go pick up a basketball. I started watching professional basketball in middle school during the Summer time of 2012, and Lebron James was on the Miami Heat playing against the Oklahoma City Thunder. At the time, I had no idea how monumental of a matchup game this truly was. Figuratively speaking, it was like a clash of the titans. Miami had Lebron, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. They were considered to be the “Big 3″ at the time, and that is what everyone in the sports community referred to them as. On the other team though, there was another big three: Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook. I knew I was witnessing something special. I had no idea at the time what that matchup meant though especially in the years following. It was a great time to get into basketball. Lebron James was looking for his first championship with his Miami team, and the years after would drastically alter the course of the NBA forever. Stepping away from Lebron’s story, the Thunder’s big three split up after losing to Lebron’s Heat team that year. James Harden was the first to leave, and he went to the Rockets the following year. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were still teammates on the Thunder. What made these guys so special is that they are all MVP-worthy players. Literally, all three of them went on to win the MVP award. This is an insane thing to think about. Three MVP players were all once on the same team, yet they could not win a championship together. It is hard to believe, but this storyline was what really got me into basketball. Coming back to Lebron, his legacy has also been the other main reason for my interest in this sport. He is looking to win championships, and he has won 4 in total so far after last year’s pandemic-era championship win in the finals against his old team Miami. This has been Lebron’s main mission ever since he first left the Cleveland Cavaliers; he wants to win championships to set his legacy in stone as the greatest basketball players of all time. Every basketball fan has their own opinion, but the question of who is the greatest basketball player of all time might be the most controversial question ever. It usually leads to fans arguing amongst themselves. There are only three guys who are eligible for debate here: Lebron, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan. People who defend Lebron, like me, know that his greatness is otherworldly. I love the other two, but I have to say Lebron is simply different. He is one of the most famous athletes in the world, and his stat line is astonishing. The one thing people hold against Lebron is the fact that he only has four rings. The other two have more than him which is why some Lebron haters do not consider him as the greatest. The other two guys are great, but I grew up watching him which probably has had some sort of bias effect on me. After watching him for all these years though, I am firm in my belief that he is the greatest. He has inspired so many people like myself to always make time for basketball. For me, I have found that life tends to get in the way when playing sports recreationally. I try to make time for it, because just like music, this game is a great release from reality for me. 

[calebdevelleksu]

Classical Rock Favorites

Before I was ever into rap/hip-hop, I fell in love with rock music. This was a little over ten years ago. I was around eight years old, and the only songs I was able to listen to were the ones from my parents’ apple music library. I suppose the appropriate name for it back then was iTunes. Nonetheless, this is where my journey into the world of rock music began. Some names that instantly come to mind are Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, etc. I especially fell in love with Guns N’ Roses’ music. Their lead guitarist Slash was the coolest dude I have ever seen at the time. He was the reason I wanted to learn guitar, but I never did unfortunately. The outfit Slash wore with the top hat is so iconic. The whole band was at the time. They were big during the mid and late 80′s which is probably one of the best eras of all time in my opinion (the entire 80′s). Anyway, I can see why so many people want to learn how to play guitar after growing up in any of those times where classic rock was played. Aside from Slash, there was Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin whose riffs and solos on songs were so ethereal. Eddie Van Halen was also very skilled and Jimi Hendrix. All these guys come to mind when I think of guitarists. There is something about rock music that separates it from the rest. Maybe it is the vibe behind a rock song, band, or concert. The puffy hair and the masses of crowds in the stadium screaming for an encore. I am not sure what it truly was that got me into it, but I did not always like rap. I never even listened to rap music back then. I still remember one embarrassing time where my brother’s friend asked me who my favorite rapper was. My panicked answer being, “Uhh Chris Brown...?” I was 6 or 7 years old. Give me a break. My dad is a huge Journey fan (Don’t Stop Believing being one of his favorite songs of all time) and I also really like their music too. I sometimes think that because my parents had deep roots from some of the best decades in human history, that my love for this genre was already inside of me. My brother is also responsible for most of my passion towards this style of music. He was very big into Nirvana, and he taught himself to play a lot of their songs on guitar. I used to burrow his iPod Nano which I thought was the coolest thing ever at the time. My parents used to have iPod shuffles that I would also take from their room. I would then have a whole rock concert by myself in my room. Some other bands that I was into were The Foo Fighters, System of a Down, The Rolling Stones, The Smashing Pumpkins, and others. This music really changed my life at the time. I was a dreamer back then, and I was constantly imagining myself as a rockstar shredding the guitar with long-curly-puffy hair while a group of girls drool over me. I shouldn’t have given up on that dream, but middle school was rough. Eventually I grew up and grew out of this style of music. My friends introduced me to rap in middle school, and later in high school I got into country music. I also listen to some pop songs, but I would rather call it club music than pop. From my perspective, all these rock bands are now to be considered as classics and placed in the classical rock category. They are all classics in my eyes.

[calebdevelleksu]

Yo, Pass the Aux! Tiering the Most Influential  R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the 2010′s

What’s poppin everyone? For those of you who are new to this genre of music, that was a very well placed Jack Harlow reference (Jack Harlow is a rapper whose hit song “What’s Poppin” quickly reached legendary status)  Okay, okay, enough about Jack Harlow. We’re going to talk about a lot of heavy hitters in this blog post. Before I do that, I would like to take a moment to appreciate the fact that I have found a fun topic to write about. I can honestly say that I am enjoying myself now that I have found a platform to write and think freely. This blog will now be a safe space for anyone who loves music and is just as passionate about it as I am. Please, feel free to respond to any of my posts. I love the feedback, and I want to hear other people’s opinions. Alright, I am done with the introductory stuff. Let’s get into it. Imagine you and I are in a car with a luxury set of bass-boosted speakers. You pass me the auxiliary cord (which is a gesture that I hold very near and dear to my heart) and you tell me to play tracks from some of the most iconic and popular musicians of the past decade. Obviously, and I apologize in advance, I am going to play Drake first. I mentioned how much of a fanboy I am of him in my first post, so I am eliminating my very blatant bias early. He is definitely grade-A, and I can’t stress enough about how much his presence in this industry has been felt by music listeners everywhere. He has remained dominant over these years, and I believe it is his unique ability to rap and sing that has made him stand out over these years. Our second artist, who I am placing in the same tier as Drake, is none other than Drake’s very own mentor. He goes by many names, but for the sake of any rap rookies reading this post, I will call him by his stage name: Lil Wayne. Honestly, I wouldn’t believe a person if they were to tell me they have never heard of either of these two very distinguished gentleman. Wayne’s legacy speaks for itself. The reason I believe everyone knows this guy, is due to the very simple fact that “Weezy” has the second most features on other people’s songs (2nd to Snoop Dog, a name you are also probably familiar with). It is outstanding the work Lil Wayne has accomplished over the years, and any honest rap fan would tell you that he has easily earned a top-tier position for this era. Those two dudes have always been my favorites, since they were the very reason I got into rap. Some names that I must also give top-tier to, are Kayne West, Eminem, Jcole, Kendrick Lamar, Future, and Nicki Minaj. Instead of giving you my reasoning for those guys, I am going to list some honorable mentions before I bring this post to a close. As far as influence goes, I have to recognize guys & gals like A$AP Rocky, Migos, Chief Keef, Travis Scott, Lil’ Uzi Vert, XXXtentacion, JuiceWRLD,  Post Malone,  Cardi B, and Playboi Carti. I have solid reasoning to defend each of my honorable mentions, as all of them have been able to produce billboard worthy songs, and generate loyal fanbases during this time. I am going to place Mac Miller in his own category, because he is special to me. I am sure others would agree. JuiceWRLD and XXXtentacion can be labeled as “sad rappers”, since their music was filled with pain and sorrow. Both are still very talented. I love them both. Their deaths caused many to grieve, and they will be missed. Playboi Carti has caused controversy within the rap community, since his music is one of the reasons the phrase “Mumple rapping” was coined. I left out so many others, but all of these guys are responsible for shifting the sound in one way or another. I did leave out a lot of my personal favorites, but those can wait for another time. 

[calebdevelleksu]

Blog Post #1 MKTG 4520

For my first blog post, I was unsure of what topic I should cover.  When I was younger, I used to think blogging was for people who wanted to rant about anything and everything. Now that I am older, I know that is what Twitter is for. I used to think I had a knack for writing and typing papers, but nowadays I sometimes find myself with writer’s block. I also tend to digress when conversating, so I will try to make all points relevant. Anyway, I was going to write about sports, since I could easily talk about that all day, but I would like to talk about music instead. I feel like I have always had a unique appreciation for music. I haven’t met a single person who has said they do not like music, so I believe we all have some sort of connection and appreciation for it. I began reading, playing, and learning about music in middle school. My older brother was in band in high school, so I grew up watching him perform in concerts and in marching band. He also played guitar outside of school which I always thought was cool. The stereotype is real about people who play guitars. It definitely makes you 10% cooler. I wanted to learn about music, but I did not want to play anything other than the drums. My band director in middle school gave us tryouts to see what instrument we would be best suited for. I tried out for percussion and made it. I believe I made it in percussion, because I was literally   unable to produce a decent sound from any other instrument during tryouts. With that being said, I knew I was not some sort of musically gifted prodigy, but I wanted to learn. I was excited about it. One of the first things they told me once class started, is that percussion is not all about drums. They taught me how to read music, and I began to learn fast. I credit most of my knowledge to my friend Vincent Glover. He is a true music prodigy, and that is no exaggeration. He was in percussion with me, and he taught me so many things. Outside of school, he played piano for his church during services. He had been doing so before middle school. I thought that was the coolest thing ever at the time. I used to imagine myself on stage at church playing the drums during every service. Vincent and I became close thanks to band, and I have always considered him a friend. I believe Vincent was offered a scholarship in high school to attend UGA’s band program. I digress, but shoutout to Vincent for helping me through band. Fast forward through all of the embarrassing middle school band practices and concerts. Overtime, I learned that music is simply just another language. I believe that is my biggest takeaway from it all. I did band in high school my freshman year, but after the marching band season was over I quit. I know what you must be thinking. If you love music so much, then why did you quit? There were a couple of reasons for it. I had not been studying music in my free time. I lost interest at the time, because I wanted to focus on other things like sports and my social life. Marching band was super fun, but once that was over, concert season began. I was not interested in concert band. The practice was for it was too demanding, and at the time I was not trying to give it any effort. Soon thereafter, I chose to leave. Looking back, I should have gave that decision to leave more thought. I felt like I burned a bridge between me and a lot of those people I met during that time. I remember Vincent trying to convince me to stay, but I was stubborn. I always have been when it comes to commitments like that. One thing that will always remain solid is my respect for band kids in grade school. They do receive a lot of hate from the outside. I hate to admit that was one of my reasons for leaving. I used to let other people get in my head so easily, but as I am getting older I care less and less about what others think of me. I wrote about music today, because I have rekindled the flame I once had for it. I felt really corny typing that last sentence, but it is so true. Music is therapeutic. It is a way to escape, express, and communicate. I like to teach myself songs on the piano, although I do not play piano at an expert level. It is still a fun past time for me. Obviously, I love listening to music, and analyzing song patterns and lyrics is one of my favorite things to do. If I had the time and the clout, I would start a podcast of some kind for music. One where anyone could join in and everyone have a discussion about music. I love different genres of music like rap/hip-hop, country, pop, etc. My favorite is rap music. I love to listen to a lot of different rap artists. Rap has changed over time, but there were great artists from every era. My favorite is Drake, although some people like to hate and say Drake isn’t a rapper. I don’t even argue with those people anymore. He won artist of the decade for the 2010s. If that stat alone does not put him in people’s list of greatest artists of all time, then I’m not sure if those people were ever being serious. I believe rap has had a tremendous impact in today’s music industry and culture. I did not realize I went way over the word count for this assignment, but as you can tell my passion for music is very much alive. I got into this post without giving myself a break, but that is one thing I love about writing as well. In conclusion, music is about freedom, and it brings people together. I wanted to have a good closing statement without going over the limit anymore.