2018
http://www.afronerd.com/2018/12/daryll-bs-latest-blog-dropping-inner.html
I been loving and dreading this moment for years. It is Thursday 7:45 am and I’m standing out here in a light rain waiting for the doors to open. Work comes for me at 2pm but I’m not thinking about that. All I am thinking about is Spider-Nikes.
Wait. What?
I suppose I should start at the beginning. Before Daryll B became a “villain” truly. Before I met a lot of folks who would change how I act and behave in this literary world, I was a punk. Never had ran from this truth. Not proud of it now. But there were several factors that opened my mind and changed me for the better.
One was Miles Morales. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli for this Ultimate Universe line, Miles was the “replacement” for a fallen Peter Parker. With a Earth without a Spider-Man, he was going to be the universe’s gap filler.
He was Afro-Latino.
And I hated it.
I thought this was just going to be checking off boxes. Filling in a quota for minorities and not going to be anywhere as important to me as I wanted…as I hoped. So I thought, I trust Bendis from Powers and Spidey so far, I’ll give it an arc and then that it…
I was WRONG. I am so, SO GLAD I was wrong.
From jump, this was personally relatable on a lot of levels for me. Here’s Miles who sees his hero die literally feet away from him, knowing he had the power to help but paralyzed by fear to act. Then is eaten up with guilt and that spurs him to action. Man if that isn’t a referendum on my life, I don’t know what is. So me being me, I was eager after 10 issues while being in the comic shop to talk with a friend about it.
His response: Yeah but how long before they put him in Spider-Nikes? This just a money grab…
Not the retort I thought I was going to get. I thought that the quality representation was going to be reciprocated but this actually forced me to look at myself. And how I was acting towards other fans. It was literally a broken mirror to myself at that time.
Which brings me to now.
I’m standing in front of my AMC Theater looking at the Into The SpiderVerse poster about to enter and looking at his feet as he is caught mid-flip. Well what do you know? He’s wearing Spider-Nikes. Where did I hear that before?
*Deep Breath As I Enter* Please Don’t Suck….
*Exiting the theatre* OMIGAWD THIS WAS AWESOME!!!!
Firstly, the movie capitalized on the biggest deficiency of the comics: if you say Miles is Afro-Latino, have elements of both cultures. Sorry Brían, but you really didn’t take advantage of the Latino side of Miles. The movie did several times and man, I can only imagine how young Latinx felt during that early scene of Miles going to school.
Wait. I don’t have to because all through this I felt seen. I felt like: damn Junior High me been captured on film. From the trepidation to the validation, if I ever got powers, this encapsulated it all. On top of it all, the creators got my weakness for alternate universes and “What If” stories. That is the essence of SpiderVerse, whether comic or movie, What If the circumstances were just a bit different..? Credit to Ramsey, Lord & Miller for not only making this a thinking question but an access point for new viewers/readers.
I have often said that Batman: Mask of The Phantasm was my all time favorite comic book movie but yo…! It has to move over for this! This black kid in a man’s body has to give it up for SONY Animation for this.
(Taking things that I don’t think Daryll would ever say for 1000)
Yes. I said it. From beginning to end, I felt this movie…I LIVED THROUGH this movie. I’m the dude that has the infamous Paul Jenkins/Mark Buckingham “Black Spider-Man” pic as his lock screen. I have always said that ANYONE could be a hero under the mask. This movie was wish fulfillment for me on several levels.
Black Kid-
Loving Family-
Fun Hijinks-
What if? premise-
Cartoon taking full advantage of its medium a la Looney Tunes-
Closest thing to the perfect Daryll movie. Biggest compliment I could give any movie actually. Great job to everyone involved.
I been loving and dreading this moment for years. It is Thursday 7:45 am and I’m standing out here in a light rain waiting for the doors to open. Work comes for me at 2pm but I’m not thinking about that. All I am thinking about is Spider-Nikes.
Wait. What?
I suppose I should start at the beginning. Before Daryll B became a “villain” truly. Before I met a lot of folks who would change how I act and behave in this literary world, I was a punk. Never had ran from this truth. Not proud of it now. But there were several factors that opened my mind and changed me for the better.
One was Miles Morales. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli for this Ultimate Universe line, Miles was the “replacement” for a fallen Peter Parker. With a Earth without a Spider-Man, he was going to be the universe’s gap filler.
He was Afro-Latino.
And I hated it.
I thought this was just going to be checking off boxes. Filling in a quota for minorities and not going to be anywhere as important to me as I wanted...as I hoped. So I thought, I trust Bendis from Powers and Spidey so far, I’ll give it an arc and then that it...
I was WRONG. I am so, SO GLAD I was wrong.
From jump, this was personally relatable on a lot of levels for me. Here’s Miles who sees his hero die literally feet away from him, knowing he had the power to help but paralyzed by fear to act. Then is eaten up with guilt and that spurs him to action. Man if that isn’t a referendum on my life, I don’t know what is. So me being me, I was eager after 10 issues while being in the comic shop to talk with a friend about it.
His response: Yeah but how long before they put him in Spider-Nikes? This just a money grab...
Not the retort I thought I was going to get. I thought that the quality representation was going to be reciprocated but this actually forced me to look at myself. And how I was acting towards other fans. It was literally a broken mirror to myself at that time.
Which brings me to now.
I’m standing in front of my AMC Theater looking at the Into The SpiderVerse poster about to enter and looking at his feet as he is caught mid-flip. Well what do you know? He’s wearing Spider-Nikes. Where did I hear that before?
*Deep Breath As I Enter* Please Don’t Suck....
*Exiting the theatre* OMIGAWD THIS WAS AWESOME!!!!
Firstly, the movie capitalized on the biggest deficiency of the comics: if you say Miles is Afro-Latino, have elements of both cultures. Sorry Brían, but you really didn’t take advantage of the Latino side of Miles. The movie did several times and man, I can only imagine how young Latinx felt during that early scene of Miles going to school.
Wait. I don’t have to because all through this I felt seen. I felt like: damn Junior High me been captured on film. From the trepidation to the validation, if I ever got powers, this encapsulated it all. On top of it all, the creators got my weakness for alternate universes and “What If” stories. That is the essence of SpiderVerse, whether comic or movie, What If the circumstances were just a bit different..? Credit to Ramsey, Lord & Miller for not only making this a thinking question but an access point for new viewers/readers.
I have often said that Batman: Mask of The Phantasm was my all time favorite comic book movie but yo...! It has to move over for this! This black kid in a man’s body has to give it up for SONY Animation for this.
(Taking things that I don’t think Daryll would ever say for 1000)
Yes. I said it. From beginning to end, I felt this movie...I LIVED THROUGH this movie. I’m the dude that has the infamous Paul Jenkins/Mark Buckingham “Black Spider-Man” pic as his lock screen. I have always said that ANYONE could be a hero under the mask. This movie was wish fulfillment for me on several levels.
Black Kid-
Loving Family-
Fun Hijinks-
What if? premise-
Cartoon taking full advantage of its medium a la Looney Tunes-
Closest thing to the perfect Daryll movie. Biggest compliment I could give any movie actually. Great job to everyone involved.
Cardi B just flexed and I think the whole world flinched
Bish is bad AF! Look I am a Bronx transplant. Been here for over 10 years now, I rep that ish – those who know me know this. Cardi is BRONX through and through and her flex is something I will always stand behind cuz she only flexes in the X. This video is a masterpiece, I’m talking cinematography, choreography, costume. Every beat hit hard and delicate at the same time. This was a show of money, power, and respect if I ever seen one.
Let me get it straight when this song came out I was not the biggest fan, that’s the truth. For me, Cardi can do no wrong, and I say that meaning she does a lot wrong and she gives less than any fux so – hey she is doing her and that is ALLLL right. When the song dropped, I was like ok, dirty beat as always, flow is nice, we talkin’ bout money of course, but I was not blasting that in my car like Bodak Yellow. Mind you, it grew on me fast, the amount of videos people posted just killing choreography, I was like okrrr. She Bad. I assumed there was already a music video – NAW yesterday this dropped, my jaw hit the floor and I matrix-style learned how to twerk.
Cardi B a Golden Goose shi$$ing Golden bricks on us from on high.
This girl didn’t just only flex herself, she rolled out deep with women just posted in power poses in every which way, shape, and form. She said free the nipple, girls in their full beauty, boss bish garb and attitude. AND a video with little to no men, passing the Bechdel test in oh so many ways. This is the kind of video that makes me feel like Laura Dern in Jurassic Park.
Then I did the thing we all need to do – I got critical and looked for the bad moments. Some people are pulling out all the references to other women rappers and the odes that they feel may be copying rather than odes – naw naw naw, she knows who came before her and I believe and best believe it was intentional. Cardi is BX all day and disrespect is something we do not do. Remember how I said this was a show of Money, Power, Respect? Cardi of course went to the gram to make sure ya’ll heard.
I know someone out there is looking to find what is wrong with it and will make things wrong with it, but I couldn’t. Even her not so dope line ” I will black on your ass….Wakanda forever” didn’t bother me as it should – I was like alright shout out to Black Panther why not, I shout that out whenever, wherever for… WHATEVER. She even says she loves dark men, shout out to my black brothers. This video was like a…”Hey, I been working out. Look at my steez”. And If someone comes out saying nonsense about sex symbols and women and respectability politics I am going to make a reenactment of this video just to join the I can be sexy however I effing like movement.
“You shake it real fast, you get a little more”
This video gave me the vapors I do declare. As someone who identifies as a woman, being sexy is something I revere, something I hold so dear and the naked body is one of my most beautiful prized possessions and mastering my body’s ability is a journey I strive on. Cardi has achieved those things and more in her life thus far. This video said “it’s my time let me show you who I am” and I never seen her more clearly than I do now. She not only depicted what her life has shown her but juxtaposed that with her future financial goals and her dedication as a mommy. A soft strong vulnerability making me duck the shots of pride fired. Her sitting at the piano bare then looking at you like WHAT! I was like, girl, I recognize. Don’t worry.
STUNTIN’
I can’t bring all this up without bringing up the visionary behind this and many of Cardi’s looks and imagery. Director Jora Frantzis is killing it!!! Jora’s eye for greatness is something to marvel at in this. The ability of a director to use their style wholeheartedly to embody, embolden, and emphasize an artist’s brand, ability, and swag is ultimate goals – and also a match made in heaven. Frantzis is also responsible for Cardi’s “Invasion of Privacy” album looks, her “Careful” images and Cardi’s pregnancy photo shoot. They were all just *mwah* *mwah* magnifique! She has been able to elevate Cardi’s style to new heights like stuntin’ on a pole strength.
That is another thing! Pole is so hard and we begin the video like this!!
Not only do we see a talented woman doing moves that I can’t fathom even trying, but we get multiple women showing this feat AND Cardi herself flossing the skills. I am in awe of our multitude of powers and abilities as women. Who woulda thunk Cardi’s music video would have me floored and contemplating our full potential? But I was, I am! This video is going to be hard to top for Cardi, but she has plenty of time to grow and evolve to places we cannot predict. For now, we can just bask in her golden glory. Yes Girrl! OKRRRRRR! AAAAAOOOOWWW.
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The post Cardi B’s Money Video Was Born to Flex appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.