xosimone

[xosimone]

I love the additional caveat in the edit acknowledging the history of these hip-hop figures and ensuring that they are not exempt from the harm they have done while still being pivotal in the genre. Many things can exist at once.

Kendrick doesn't just hate Drake as a person. He hates the very idea of Drake.

Hip-Hop is rooted in revolution. In defiance. These are the songs of an oppressed group of people, and decades upon decades people have hated it. Accused of being meaningless and invalid. Media outlets took steps to belittle hip-hop and make sure it isn't recognized as an art form and as a means to fight back.

2Pac spoke of wealth disparity and inequality. Tupac was literally a member of a communist organization when he was younger and never stopped speaking against capitalism.

Lauryn Hill spoke of the struggles a woman faces. Not just women, but black women. Salt-N-Peppa. Queen Latifah. MISSY FUCKING ELLIOT.

N.W.A made sure people knew about police brutality and violence against the Black community.

And now, in this day and age, we're also experiencing an explosion of Queer Hip-Hop. Lil Nas X is at the forefront of this. Lil Uzi Vert came out as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, even when they knew that a lot of their fans would never use it or even respect them for it. Auntie Diaries, a song about a young man who grew up in a transphobic environment and bought into those beliefs, but could never fully do it because his Uncle loved him so much and taught him a lot of life lessons, and that wisdom translated to him accepting his cousin as a woman as well.

Drake is none of that.

He's the perfect representation of what people think hip-hop is. Flexing. Posturing. Objectifying women. A fucker so insecure he bought 2Pac's ring just to feel like he's part of the black community. Rejected by Rihanna publicly. Tried to groom Millie Bobby Brown. Kissed and inappropriately touched an underage girl during his concert. His songs have inspired so many young boys to treat girls like shit. His belief that the amount of rings and chains and cars he has is the true meaning of success.

Additional Edit: This is my fault. If this post gains more views, then it would be remiss of me not to add to this. It was my fault to begin with, not stating this beforehand because while I did know, I got lost in celebrating Hip-Hop in a place that doesn't usually do so, and rightfully so.

2Pac did fight for wealth equality and better social living for the black community. He also has a long, long history of battery, domestic abuse, and sexual harassment against women. Specifically against women of color. He made a song to celebrate his own mother, but outright refused to give the same show of respect to other women in his life. His hypocritical nature was brushed off in later decades, just the way I did now.

N.W.A is the same. Sexual assault charges, violence—they spoke of Police reform, but refuses to give the same treatment back towards the women in their lives.

50 cent refuses to backtrack on any of his misogynistic lyrics.

Modern rappers of today, such as the dead XXXtentacion. 6ix9ine. Kodak Black.

I do love Hip-Hop. I love rap. And the music itself has always been anti-authoritarian at its core, because those are its roots. And I was happy that circles that did not normally know of it or enjoy it were getting into it, even for one thing like this rap feud.

Lil Nas X, Little Simz, Childish Gambino, Missy Elliot, Queen Latifah, Lauryn Hill—rappers who have at the very least consistently tried to put their money where their mouth is. Who have tried to act in accordance to what they rap and write and sing for.

@shehungthemoon @ohsugarsims finnthehumanmp3 were the ones who rightfully clarified in the comments. I know an apology won't correct my hypocrisy or my stupidity. I should have added all of this before making this post, but I wanted so badly to celebrate a genre of music but failed to do my due diligence in showing a better, holistic view of it. If anyone felt triggered, offended, troubled, frustrated or any other intense negative emotions surrounding this, please do block me. I'm sorry.

[xosimone]

I've already elaborated on the ethical considerations behind incorporating allegations into a diss track, suggesting that such a tactic might serve to amplify the accusations and pressure authorities into action. While my critique encompassed Kendrick Lamar, it was not exclusive to him; rather, it pertained to the broader dynamics of discourse surrounding this particular rap beef because it has taken an incredibly unique turn. This rap feud transcends the typical exchanges of braggadocio or critiques of lyrical prowess (i.e. sleeping with the other’s partner, body-shaming, bad lyricism, etc). It has evolved into a discussion that delves deeply into the psychological and potentially criminal aspects of the involved parties. If individuals are willing to engage in such discourse, then it stands to reason that examining the complexities of this feud is a natural progression. In Kendrick's case, his intellectual depth suggests that delving into these deeper conversations, however challenging, is unlikely to shake his world. Kendrick’s introspective nature and intellectual capacity make him more than equipped to navigate the complexities of this evolving discourse moving forward if these nuances have hit his radar.

I posed a broader question to both artists (and to us as witnesses) regarding whether these discussions would have surfaced without the backdrop of a feud, a question that holds merit; the current conversation extends to all, urging us to consider the implications of when and why we choose to disclose others' transgressions.

It seems you're primarily defending Kendrick Lamar, which is understandable if he's one of your favorite artists. However, the scope of this conversation transcends the contents of his and even Drake's discographies. It delves into the complex realm of disclosing crimes, requiring a layered approach and some deeper critical thinking. This discourse sheds light on how our discussions around exposing individuals can impact the victims involved— especially if we have been sitting on this information for awhile. The current rap beef serves as a timely and relevant example due to how much attention is on it.

On "Meet the Grahams" and the Moral Turn That Happened During This Beef

I know that I am on hiatus right now, but there is a lot on my chest regarding the rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake that is really making me feel uneasy.

I am a Kendrick Lamar fan, I have been a Kendrick Lamar fan since the 6th grade after hearing "Swimming Pools" so much on the radio that it just became a song stuck in my head. Kendrick is an excellent lyricist, performer, artist, and writer. And while Kendrick is all of these things, he is not the pinnacle of a moral high ground.

The moment that the rap beef between Drake and Kendrick turned into a battle of morals, it dawned on me that we absolutely missed the plot. The point is, neither Drake nor Kendrick are good people, and neither one of them are associated with upstanding people either. It gets incredibly weird to see specific arguments they make about each other when they have either done the thing they have criticized the other over or are affiliated with someone that has.

Neither one of them actually care about what they are accusing the other of doing because if they did, the authorities would have been called by now.

Drake in "Family Matters" alleged that Kendrick has put his hands on his wife, Dave Free fathered one of Whitney's children, Kendrick doesn't care for black women, etc.

Kendrick said in "Meet the Grahams" that Drake has hypersexualized black women, he is a deadbeat father, he is a sex trafficker only comparable to Harvey Weinstein and Diddy, he is a pervert, and he is a substance abuser.

Drake brings up Whitney being allegedly abused, but he has sex traffickers in his circle. An example is Baka, a member of his inner circle, who got shouted out ("I'll declare it a holiday as soon as Baka get back on the road") for sexual abuse crimes after forcing a 22 year old in prostitution and went to jail. Upon his release in 2017, he was signed onto OVO sound. Why bring up a woman's trauma when you are aligning yourself with someone who has also traumatized women?

Kendrick brings up the hypersexualization of black women but has also had women scantily clad in his "Loyalty" music video. Kendrick brings up Drake's substance abuse as if he has not also abused substances. Kendrick brings up being a deadbeat father as if he did not hop on a track that blew this beef up with Future, who is notorious for fathering a bunch of children and practically being a deadbeat. He also discusses Drake's perversion as if Kodak Black, who faced charges of sexual assault, was not featured on Mr. Morale, which Kendrick himself slated as his "therapy album."

I feel like all of these moral flaw arguments are incredibly disingenuous because none of this would have been brought up had they not beefed with each other in the first place.

It feels a little icky? Like yes we should protect women, children, and people in general, but that conversation doesn't get to start because you guys are fighting. If anything, it should have started awhile ago.

[xosimone]

I’ll also say this:

Maybe Kendrick Lamar put these allegations in his diss track because he knew people would listen and hoped that this would get enough attention to get Drake investigated and taken down. Maybe Drake felt the same way.

Maybe the goal was music being the gateway to some very necessary arrests.

But I still wonder that if this beef was not happening, would these skeletons still be in the closet or would either party still be willing to speak out about the domestic violence and sex trafficking they knew about? Is these exposés only reserved for when you have been wronged and you’re willing to release everyone’s darkest secrets, including the ones that involve violence and sexual abuse to minors?

On "Meet the Grahams" and the Moral Turn That Happened During This Beef

I know that I am on hiatus right now, but there is a lot on my chest regarding the rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake that is really making me feel uneasy.

I am a Kendrick Lamar fan, I have been a Kendrick Lamar fan since the 6th grade after hearing "Swimming Pools" so much on the radio that it just became a song stuck in my head. Kendrick is an excellent lyricist, performer, artist, and writer. And while Kendrick is all of these things, he is not the pinnacle of a moral high ground.

The moment that the rap beef between Drake and Kendrick turned into a battle of morals, it dawned on me that we absolutely missed the plot. The point is, neither Drake nor Kendrick are good people, and neither one of them are associated with upstanding people either. It gets incredibly weird to see specific arguments they make about each other when they have either done the thing they have criticized the other over or are affiliated with someone that has.

Neither one of them actually care about what they are accusing the other of doing because if they did, the authorities would have been called by now.

Drake in "Family Matters" alleged that Kendrick has put his hands on his wife, Dave Free fathered one of Whitney's children, Kendrick doesn't care for black women, etc.

Kendrick said in "Meet the Grahams" that Drake has hypersexualized black women, he is a deadbeat father, he is a sex trafficker only comparable to Harvey Weinstein and Diddy, he is a pervert, and he is a substance abuser.

Drake brings up Whitney being allegedly abused, but he has sex traffickers in his circle. An example is Baka, a member of his inner circle, who got shouted out ("I'll declare it a holiday as soon as Baka get back on the road") for sexual abuse crimes after forcing a 22 year old in prostitution and went to jail. Upon his release in 2017, he was signed onto OVO sound. Why bring up a woman's trauma when you are aligning yourself with someone who has also traumatized women?

Kendrick brings up the hypersexualization of black women but has also had women scantily clad in his "Loyalty" music video. Kendrick brings up Drake's substance abuse as if he has not also abused substances. Kendrick brings up being a deadbeat father as if he did not hop on a track that blew this beef up with Future, who is notorious for fathering a bunch of children and practically being a deadbeat. He also discusses Drake's perversion as if Kodak Black, who faced charges of sexual assault, was not featured on Mr. Morale, which Kendrick himself slated as his "therapy album."

I feel like all of these moral flaw arguments are incredibly disingenuous because none of this would have been brought up had they not beefed with each other in the first place.

It feels a little icky? Like yes we should protect women, children, and people in general, but that conversation doesn't get to start because you guys are fighting. If anything, it should have started awhile ago.

[xosimone]

The main point of what I was saying is the fact that both Drake and Kendrick are using incredibly dark and criminal allegations for a diss track, and if these things were important enough to be “gotcha moments” for a record, they should have been enough to be reported. I’m not understanding why you are making that an incredibly negative thing to say. I am understanding that this is the United States, but two things can be true at once.

We can both acknowledge that the American justice system needs serious reformation especially regarding crimes again women, and we can acknowledge that it is also really gross to use women’s trauma as a *gotcha* in lieu of alerting the authorities. If we are not capable of acknowledging both of these valid discussions then there is something seriously wrong there.

The issue at hand, for me at least, is that we have a culture of very clearly seeing crimes being committed or very clearly see people getting harmed and we turn their pain and trauma into content— especially to be seen as a morally upstanding person. You do not witness nor hear about someone causing harm on someone else and then go, “Yeah it’s time to make a song/post, and this be the first time this has ever come out of your mouth. You do not reveal the skeletons of someone’s closet that involve actual victims because you’re beefing with them— that is incredibly weird; it doesn’t make you the good, moral one either. If anything it makes you a bystander.

And quite honestly it is a little weird to not go to the authorities as a witness either. With legal conversations of assault, having witness reports is incredibly important. I would 100% understand why victims would not alert authorities— that is a very traumatizing conversation to have especially when the burden of proof being an incredibly difficult thing to navigate. But let’s not get confused— Drake is not a victim in the allegation that Kendrick beat Whitney. Drake would either be a witness or know a witness if it were factual. If Drake knew that this was incredibly heinous, why was his first course of action be “yeah this is great in a diss,” other than hoping it would shut down Kendrick Lamar? That is using someone else’s trauma as content, and that is really messed up. Aside from that, Drake didn’t put it out because he suddenly cares about women. There is someone in Drake’s camp who was in jail for forcing a woman into prostitution, and Drake was shouting him out while he was serving time for the aforementioned crime. Kendrick Lamar was not a victim of Drake being allegedly predatory to young women nor was he a victim of those children who Drake allegedly abandoned. Obviously, abandoning kids isn’t necessarily a crime and merely a terrible thing to do, but being predatory to minors is. At what point was Kendrick going to take it there? He alluded in his diss that everything was friendly and he had no intention to take it this far, but did as a result of Drake talking about his family. So that begs the question of, “how long did he know of Drake’s behavior before saying something in his diss?” Also, if he knew this information and Drake didn’t bring Kendrick’s family into it, was he going to stay silent and let Drake continue? Why is it that Kendrick used the incredibly serious crimes Drake is accused of for content rather than take it to the authorities if it is serious enough to turn into two diss records, and then by extension making himself this beacon of morals. Especially considering that Kodak Black, who was convicted for sexual assault, was on his latest album? Especially after he threatened to take his music off streaming platforms when Spotify opted to deplatform R. Kelly, who is now in jail for the sexual abuse he did to women and teenagers. Are we to automatically assume that his mind changed fully and he is absolutely against things like sexual assault and he is simply not being a whistleblower to the industry because he hates Drake?

I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt slightly and say that people grow up and understand that nefarious acts are disgusting and they should do all they can to end crimes such as domestic violence, sexual assault, pedophilia, and statutory rape especially in the industry. However, it is not lost on me, nor it should be lost on anyone to acknowledge that people will be very aware of the crimes their peers and inner circle do and will only decide to speak on it as a form of revenge because they did something to slide them and then position themselves as morally superior. And that isn’t a good thing to do to anyone. Especially to the victims who now become the center of these conversations because of the content created about their trauma.

Regardless of how we feel about Drake and Kendrick Lamar, it does not take away from the importance of these conversations. It does not take away from the fact that if they waited until it was time to expose the other they remained a bystander during the pain inflicted on someone else (if all allegations are true), and that is something that needs to be reformed because collectively this is something we make okay.

It is not, nor has it ever been okay to be witnesses or hear about the crimes someone else has committed and choose to say nothing about it until you are angry at them. Wrong is wrong and has a right to be reported upon hearing about it, and if we continue to accept behavior like this we are making the healing process harder for those who are victims of these things and that is not fair to them.

I do not care what you have to say about my take on the discourse, but that does not take away from the fact that the aforementioned action is wrong.

I love a good rap beef.

I love a good diss track.

If rappers want to go bar for bar about ghostwriting and lack of lyricism and getting plastic surgery and acting like it was gym gains, sure.

But I do raise a brow when rappers start discussing morals when also looking at their track record and the company they keep. Once you start taking a look at that, you do wonder what their point was in bringing this up— advocacy or revenge? Protection or a gotcha?

And you especially think of that when you think about the magnitude of these traumas on the alleged victims who now have their trauma put on display— and with the way that the internet works, within hours there will be thousands of people analyzing every public appearance these victims have and trying to speculate and create a timeline to pry into trauma that they weren’t privy to in the first place, and that is really intrusive.

We have already seen this happen with the young actress online that people are saying is Drake’s daughter allegedly. Within hours a child’s Instagram account was put online with her pictures on display and there isn’t confirmation if that little girl is even Drake’s child. And yet because of the content being created and the breadcrumbs in a song, we are publicizing a child’s information who can be a random kid for all we know. And abandoning an 11 year old and being a bad dad isn’t s crime, other things that were mentioned are. And it is just important to be mindful of the implications of these things at the very least.

You can boo me and call me boring or whatever else you’d like, but I am pointing out a lot of realities that still have room to exist.

On "Meet the Grahams" and the Moral Turn That Happened During This Beef

I know that I am on hiatus right now, but there is a lot on my chest regarding the rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake that is really making me feel uneasy.

I am a Kendrick Lamar fan, I have been a Kendrick Lamar fan since the 6th grade after hearing "Swimming Pools" so much on the radio that it just became a song stuck in my head. Kendrick is an excellent lyricist, performer, artist, and writer. And while Kendrick is all of these things, he is not the pinnacle of a moral high ground.

The moment that the rap beef between Drake and Kendrick turned into a battle of morals, it dawned on me that we absolutely missed the plot. The point is, neither Drake nor Kendrick are good people, and neither one of them are associated with upstanding people either. It gets incredibly weird to see specific arguments they make about each other when they have either done the thing they have criticized the other over or are affiliated with someone that has.

Neither one of them actually care about what they are accusing the other of doing because if they did, the authorities would have been called by now.

Drake in "Family Matters" alleged that Kendrick has put his hands on his wife, Dave Free fathered one of Whitney's children, Kendrick doesn't care for black women, etc.

Kendrick said in "Meet the Grahams" that Drake has hypersexualized black women, he is a deadbeat father, he is a sex trafficker only comparable to Harvey Weinstein and Diddy, he is a pervert, and he is a substance abuser.

Drake brings up Whitney being allegedly abused, but he has sex traffickers in his circle. An example is Baka, a member of his inner circle, who got shouted out ("I'll declare it a holiday as soon as Baka get back on the road") for sexual abuse crimes after forcing a 22 year old in prostitution and went to jail. Upon his release in 2017, he was signed onto OVO sound. Why bring up a woman's trauma when you are aligning yourself with someone who has also traumatized women?

Kendrick brings up the hypersexualization of black women but has also had women scantily clad in his "Loyalty" music video. Kendrick brings up Drake's substance abuse as if he has not also abused substances. Kendrick brings up being a deadbeat father as if he did not hop on a track that blew this beef up with Future, who is notorious for fathering a bunch of children and practically being a deadbeat. He also discusses Drake's perversion as if Kodak Black, who faced charges of sexual assault, was not featured on Mr. Morale, which Kendrick himself slated as his "therapy album."

I feel like all of these moral flaw arguments are incredibly disingenuous because none of this would have been brought up had they not beefed with each other in the first place.

It feels a little icky? Like yes we should protect women, children, and people in general, but that conversation doesn't get to start because you guys are fighting. If anything, it should have started awhile ago.

[xosimone]

See?

If we were to take this first interpretation of “They not like us,” that would be really disingenuous because the people Kendrick has collaborated and by definition aligned himself with HAVE done things that he is accusing Drake and OVO of doing.

I don’t even know of anyone in the rap game that would have the authority to discuss this in an effective way because everyone has dangerous skeletons in their closet.

On "Meet the Grahams" and the Moral Turn That Happened During This Beef

I know that I am on hiatus right now, but there is a lot on my chest regarding the rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake that is really making me feel uneasy.

I am a Kendrick Lamar fan, I have been a Kendrick Lamar fan since the 6th grade after hearing "Swimming Pools" so much on the radio that it just became a song stuck in my head. Kendrick is an excellent lyricist, performer, artist, and writer. And while Kendrick is all of these things, he is not the pinnacle of a moral high ground.

The moment that the rap beef between Drake and Kendrick turned into a battle of morals, it dawned on me that we absolutely missed the plot. The point is, neither Drake nor Kendrick are good people, and neither one of them are associated with upstanding people either. It gets incredibly weird to see specific arguments they make about each other when they have either done the thing they have criticized the other over or are affiliated with someone that has.

Neither one of them actually care about what they are accusing the other of doing because if they did, the authorities would have been called by now.

Drake in "Family Matters" alleged that Kendrick has put his hands on his wife, Dave Free fathered one of Whitney's children, Kendrick doesn't care for black women, etc.

Kendrick said in "Meet the Grahams" that Drake has hypersexualized black women, he is a deadbeat father, he is a sex trafficker only comparable to Harvey Weinstein and Diddy, he is a pervert, and he is a substance abuser.

Drake brings up Whitney being allegedly abused, but he has sex traffickers in his circle. An example is Baka, a member of his inner circle, who got shouted out ("I'll declare it a holiday as soon as Baka get back on the road") for sexual abuse crimes after forcing a 22 year old in prostitution and went to jail. Upon his release in 2017, he was signed onto OVO sound. Why bring up a woman's trauma when you are aligning yourself with someone who has also traumatized women?

Kendrick brings up the hypersexualization of black women but has also had women scantily clad in his "Loyalty" music video. Kendrick brings up Drake's substance abuse as if he has not also abused substances. Kendrick brings up being a deadbeat father as if he did not hop on a track that blew this beef up with Future, who is notorious for fathering a bunch of children and practically being a deadbeat. He also discusses Drake's perversion as if Kodak Black, who faced charges of sexual assault, was not featured on Mr. Morale, which Kendrick himself slated as his "therapy album."

I feel like all of these moral flaw arguments are incredibly disingenuous because none of this would have been brought up had they not beefed with each other in the first place.

It feels a little icky? Like yes we should protect women, children, and people in general, but that conversation doesn't get to start because you guys are fighting. If anything, it should have started awhile ago.

[xosimone]

Jesus Christ, Kendrick has dropped another diss, and he also noted the case with Baka.

But regardless my point still stands. I have so many more thoughts, but I'm gonna give them a moment to marinate before I revisit my thesis.

On "Meet the Grahams" and the Moral Turn That Happened During This Beef

I know that I am on hiatus right now, but there is a lot on my chest regarding the rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake that is really making me feel uneasy.

I am a Kendrick Lamar fan, I have been a Kendrick Lamar fan since the 6th grade after hearing "Swimming Pools" so much on the radio that it just became a song stuck in my head. Kendrick is an excellent lyricist, performer, artist, and writer. And while Kendrick is all of these things, he is not the pinnacle of a moral high ground.

The moment that the rap beef between Drake and Kendrick turned into a battle of morals, it dawned on me that we absolutely missed the plot. The point is, neither Drake nor Kendrick are good people, and neither one of them are associated with upstanding people either. It gets incredibly weird to see specific arguments they make about each other when they have either done the thing they have criticized the other over or are affiliated with someone that has.

Neither one of them actually care about what they are accusing the other of doing because if they did, the authorities would have been called by now.

Drake in "Family Matters" alleged that Kendrick has put his hands on his wife, Dave Free fathered one of Whitney's children, Kendrick doesn't care for black women, etc.

Kendrick said in "Meet the Grahams" that Drake has hypersexualized black women, he is a deadbeat father, he is a sex trafficker only comparable to Harvey Weinstein and Diddy, he is a pervert, and he is a substance abuser.

Drake brings up Whitney being allegedly abused, but he has sex traffickers in his circle. An example is Baka, a member of his inner circle, who got shouted out ("I'll declare it a holiday as soon as Baka get back on the road") for sexual abuse crimes after forcing a 22 year old in prostitution and went to jail. Upon his release in 2017, he was signed onto OVO sound. Why bring up a woman's trauma when you are aligning yourself with someone who has also traumatized women?

Kendrick brings up the hypersexualization of black women but has also had women scantily clad in his "Loyalty" music video. Kendrick brings up Drake's substance abuse as if he has not also abused substances. Kendrick brings up being a deadbeat father as if he did not hop on a track that blew this beef up with Future, who is notorious for fathering a bunch of children and practically being a deadbeat. He also discusses Drake's perversion as if Kodak Black, who faced charges of sexual assault, was not featured on Mr. Morale, which Kendrick himself slated as his "therapy album."

I feel like all of these moral flaw arguments are incredibly disingenuous because none of this would have been brought up had they not beefed with each other in the first place.

It feels a little icky? Like yes we should protect women, children, and people in general, but that conversation doesn't get to start because you guys are fighting. If anything, it should have started awhile ago.

[xosimone]

On "Meet the Grahams" and the Moral Turn That Happened During This Beef

I know that I am on hiatus right now, but there is a lot on my chest regarding the rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake that is really making me feel uneasy.

I am a Kendrick Lamar fan, I have been a Kendrick Lamar fan since the 6th grade after hearing "Swimming Pools" so much on the radio that it just became a song stuck in my head. Kendrick is an excellent lyricist, performer, artist, and writer. And while Kendrick is all of these things, he is not the pinnacle of a moral high ground.

The moment that the rap beef between Drake and Kendrick turned into a battle of morals, it dawned on me that we absolutely missed the plot. The point is, neither Drake nor Kendrick are good people, and neither one of them are associated with upstanding people either. It gets incredibly weird to see specific arguments they make about each other when they have either done the thing they have criticized the other over or are affiliated with someone that has.

Neither one of them actually care about what they are accusing the other of doing because if they did, the authorities would have been called by now.

Drake in "Family Matters" alleged that Kendrick has put his hands on his wife, Dave Free fathered one of Whitney's children, Kendrick doesn't care for black women, etc.

Kendrick said in "Meet the Grahams" that Drake has hypersexualized black women, he is a deadbeat father, he is a sex trafficker only comparable to Harvey Weinstein and Diddy, he is a pervert, and he is a substance abuser.

Drake brings up Whitney being allegedly abused, but he has sex traffickers in his circle. An example is Baka, a member of his inner circle, who got shouted out ("I'll declare it a holiday as soon as Baka get back on the road") for sexual abuse crimes after forcing a 22 year old in prostitution and went to jail. Upon his release in 2017, he was signed onto OVO sound. Why bring up a woman's trauma when you are aligning yourself with someone who has also traumatized women?

Kendrick brings up the hypersexualization of black women but has also had women scantily clad in his "Loyalty" music video. Kendrick brings up Drake's substance abuse as if he has not also abused substances. Kendrick brings up being a deadbeat father as if he did not hop on a track that blew this beef up with Future, who is notorious for fathering a bunch of children and practically being a deadbeat. He also discusses Drake's perversion as if Kodak Black, who faced charges of sexual assault, was not featured on Mr. Morale, which Kendrick himself slated as his "therapy album."

I feel like all of these moral flaw arguments are incredibly disingenuous because none of this would have been brought up had they not beefed with each other in the first place.

It feels a little icky? Like yes we should protect women, children, and people in general, but that conversation doesn't get to start because you guys are fighting. If anything, it should have started awhile ago.

[xosimone]

I know, I know, the entire month of April has passed, and I have not put together a K-Drama list. Please forgive me, but I have had a lot of important things to do regarding my platform.

When I first posted about my aunt’s spreadsheet, I had no idea that it was going to get the attention it did. Though unexpected, it provided me with a beautiful community full of lovers of K-Dramas! It has even connected me to a few Korean brands (coming soon) and allowed me to introduce others to K-Dramas as well!

I am incredibly grateful for that.

I am incredibly grateful for my community, too!

With social media growth and a growing platform, though, comes the emergence of parasocial relationships. It is incredibly weird for someone having 1.3K followers on TikTok and essentially 0 followers on Tumblr to discuss parasocial relationships, but I have noticed a level of comfort with me that should not be there. I love having people who are comfortable enough to share their stories and opinions with me, but I do not love people comfortable enough to reach out to me on my business email for dates. I do not love people comfortable enough to come into my livestreams and treat it like a dating app. I do not love people comfortable enough to racially sexualize me and suggest pornographic content for me to do— especially when I do not create pornographic content. I do not feel comfortable enough for people to discuss their genital health in the comments of my streams either.

I am also concerned with the few members of my community who creating fandoms for my relatives who you have only heard mentioned in a few anecdotes and who none of you have ever seen or met. I do not think any of this is malintentioned, but it really should be understood that I chose to have a public platform and my family did not. My family members are not going to join TikTok, send you emails of what K-Dramas they enjoy, or will appear in my content— they are not comfortable on social media; I respect that, and I need you all to respect that as well.

The last thing I am concerned about is how members of my community interact with each other. In a recent video, I responded to a very disappointing and disrespectful comment and those coming to my defense started to say some very harmful things to this person— specifically death threats and telling that user to end their life. Regardless of what rude comments I get, that is not grounds to threaten the commenter’s life. I appreciate having a community that loves me enough to defend me against my critics, but regardless of what criticism I receive it is never, ever okay to send a death threat or tell them to end their life. We do not know what is going on behind the screen, and it is not appropriate to encourage a drastic measure such as suicide. Suicide is a devastating thing, and its encouragement has no place on my platform.

If I do not address this now, I will potentially create a dangerous space for myself, my family, and my community.

As my TikTok grows, I am getting access to new features, and I really need to take a moment to learn how everything works. Aside from that, I need to create some boundaries within my platform to ensure that those interacting with my content are always safe. I pray that my platform grows and grows, but I do not want to wait until my platform is filled with thousands of members before addressing safety. With the platform I have, I am responsible for who is in it, and your importance doesn’t start when there are a million of you— it started the moment you followed me.

With that being said, I am taking a break from all platforms— Twitter, TikTok, and Tumblr until I come up with some concrete plans and boundaries to make sure I keep myself and you all safe. I hope that this serves as a reminder that regardless of how much you love creators, you truly do not know them personally, and sometimes social media gives a false sense of personal relationships with others online. We forget that boundaries exist and in our desire to connect with others we compromise our safety.

Anyway, that is it.

I’ll see you soon!

XO, Simone

[xosimone]

Physical media is still very important.

In 2021, I deactivated all of my social media. I had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and I found myself constantly triggered all of the time. I had been off of it for about two years, and when I finally returned, I saw so many updates from my friends, mutual friends, acquaintances, family, etc. that I had NO clue about— they were engaged, in new relationships, married, moved to new cities, graduated, having babies, and were in so many new eras that I had no clue about. They had my number, so they could have told me, and it really sucked that I didn’t get to see those exciting things in their life.

That stuck with me, and I started thinking about my family that was not on social media, namely my grandmother, who’s 91 years old, and how she may not see what is happening in the lives of her kids and grandchildren who do not live near her.

I call her often, and she used to always ask about my boyfriend and my cat and she wanted to see photos. I would send them to my aunt, and I would ask for her to show her, and sometimes she’s forget. That made me so sad that my grandma can be so disconnected from us.

So, I decided to get a camera and start taking as many photos as I could and mail them to her. I show her everything— my plants, maybe a meal I made, my cat, me while being very sleep deprived, etc.

I think she deserves to see what my life looks like, and I have fun showing her! This brings me to the point that physical media is important to have records of what life looks like for you.

Physical media is important to continue to expand the access that others have to you. I think this is relevant especially because we get so used to the prevalence of digital media and social media and we think it is connecting ourselves to the world, and to an extent it really is! But it does isolate those who aren’t on social media whether they prefer not to be on it, whether they do not have social media access due to censorship, whether they do not have social media access because they cannot afford the tools to have it, whether they do not have social media access because they cannot have access to media period (i.e. military duties), whether they do not have access to social media because it is beyond their time.

If we really think about it, we really push older people from access to us and the world in favor of something more technologically advanced, and I think that is unfair too. Accessibility means everyone can and should access it (to me at least).

Anyway, I hope this serves as a reminder or at least inspiration to continue to add physical media to how you share your lives— whether that is through journaling, letters, or even printed imagery that you can mail out.

In the meantime, I’m going to mail these to my grandmother so she can see my pretty plants, my pretty cat, and my pretty life.

[xosimone]

Another update on my container garden seedlings! The lettuce is still going strong (even though one is meeting its unfortunate demise after the plunging temperatures in this weird April season), green onions are popping up and out, and I’m seeing my parsley and cilantro starting to make its grand arrival! They are growing SO fast, and I literally am so excited to see what is next.

[xosimone]

Something to make sleeping on the floor a lot more interesting

[xosimone]

A little orzo, steamed asparagus, salmon, & shrimp for dinner last night. I’m SO proud of how it came out!

[xosimone]

So, I started a little veggie & herb container garden on my balcony a few weeks ago. We’re seeing some spouts coming from my lettuce & green onion which is SO exciting. The only issue is that lately it has been so cloudy, generally this only happens in March & May and does not extend into April, but I guess I’m used to abnormal weather patterns here. Anyway, my grow lights have been a saving grace to ensure everything stays on track (thank God!)

[xosimone]

Hey friends!

March really flew by, hasn't it.

Here is month #2 of the Drama Den Watchlist as ranked by my aunt.

I'll say out of all of these, Business Proposal is my absolute favorite one! I was swooning over Kang Tae Moo and Cha Sung Hoon (lowkey they are two of the finest fictional characters out).

I hope you guys enjoy this month's watchlist!

Love you, love you!

XO, Simone <3

[xosimone]

Here is February's K-Drama watchlist according to the rankings by my aunt! Thank you so, so much for all the love and kindness you have given my aunt and I, and I'm excited to share the newest pics for March next month!

Love you, love you! <3

xo, Simone

[xosimone]

Oh, to be a cat resting in a flower bed

Little windowsill kitty 🌿🪻