Hello motherfuckers, hey, hi, how you doing?
Welcome to the first official AARKIVE’D newsletter, technically this is the second one, but an intro doesn’t count does it? I mean, is a prologue not important to a story? So maybe an introduction is important. I think it is, so let’s revise. Welcome to the second installment of AARKIVE’D! So glad you came back! Will I always caps lock AARKIVE’D? I dunno but let’s move on.
So for the sake of transparency I will not have a specific format to this nor do I want one. This is intuitive, this is real, this is me.
HEAR: a music segment
Let’s talk music baybeeee! To be honest I didn’t want to talk music so soon since I’ve been stuck in a kpop-hole since June of 2021 and not that I am at all embarrassed, but I do feel that as an American society we look down on the industry for a lot of various TIREDT reasons, but if we actually look at it thru the lens of talent and skill, these artist are often delivering near perfect performances every single time. Why are we looking down on that? It’s entertainment, don’t we want to be entertained? Isn’t a fantasy more exciting than reality? To be perfectly honest, they are on a Beyoncé level of training and rehearsing with air tight aesthetics as well and I don’t see us hating Beyoncé for those attributes, so why do that with Kpop. The only difference between them and us, is that they didn’t fall into the mediocrity of being an American pop star. They can’t do the bare minimum and be successful… cough. Anyways, open your mind, open your ears, and stop being so serious.
To start you off I recommend Aurora by Ateez, a refreshing pop track that delivers a soft and comforting vibe with a hint of drama.
SEE: a visual segment
When I talk visual, I mean VISUAL. If you can see it, it’ll fall under this category. I can be art, design, fashion, or just musings from a day spent outdoors. For February, let’s talk fashion. Fashion weeks pick up this month and although there are hundreds of shows that happen, I want to talk about the revival happening at DIESEL. For years, Diesel cemented themselves as a provocative denim brand but up until this latest show they kinda fell into the Middle America Mall trap, but with their new lead, Glenn Marten, Diesel back. For context, Marten, is the eye behind many of Y/Project’s beloved grailed items. For me, I still yearn for the thigh-high Ugg’s Rihanna wore to Coachella. What Marten brought to the FW’22 show was ultra-mini belted skirts, oversized ripped denim coats, voluminous silhouettes and super slinky club dresses. It’s giving 90’s coked-out models and I’m taking it all in. I suggest downloading the Vogue Runway app and give the collection a look!
INHALE: a cannabis segment
Photo courtesy of Cornerstone Wellness
Without a doubt, Unquestionably OG has been my favorite thing I smoked this month. With it’s classic stoner vibe and uplifted mood, this strain is perfect for anytime. It was described to be as stupid, stoney, and giggly which caught my attention. I can attest to the first two, I was stupidly stoned and guess what! It only tests at 22%, which in this new cannabis age is considered low, but let me tel you something, THC percentage isn’t something you should be looking at. A lot of people are requesting percentages of 30%+ and because of that they’d skip over this strain. Percentage isn’t everything, find a strain that you love and look into the terpene profile. You might learn something new about your preferences. Anyways, I missed out on the giggles part, but thanks to my second favorite strain this month, DARK KARMA, I was fine. Dark Karma gave me a light-medium body high which is great, but the best thing about this strain was the euphoric, good mood I was put in + the ability to laugh at any fucking thing.
READ: a literary segment
Given that it’s Black History Month I wanted to read something from s black Author. Many would have taken the time to find a new and exciting black Author, but I’m lazy and stuck to who I knew and loved and that was James Baldwin. Pick anything by him and I know you’ll me mesmerized. What did I choose? GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN. This story takes you back in time to experience characters and their struggles in and out of church and their relationship with the “Big G” up “there.
PRETTY PRETTY: just something to look at
For a couple of years, I’ve been trying to redefine what my art aesthetic is and although I’m coming up short, I’ve been experimenting with my iPad and Procreate. Check out my latest doodle below, a self portrait.
