Trap God Art Exhibition BY CAM KIRK

By: Aryan Javan
Photos by: Aryan Javan

May 30th, 2015, was a hot Saturday afternoon in a local East Atlanta neighborhood. This is where photographer, Cam Kirk, opened the doors of an abandoned church to display the first ever "Trap God Art Exhibit." The event was dedicated to the presently-incarcerated rapper, Gucci Mane. Cam Kirk renovated an abandoned church in Gucci's stomping grounds of Zone 6, East Atlanta. The line stretched out the door as fans of all types waited to see an array of Gucci Mane photos, exclusively taken by Cam Kirk.

The church was an homage to the Trap God and his music. The event boasted fake cocaine, bricks, shooters, purple drank and much of everything that Gucci raps about in his music. Cam Kirk created an environment that essentially felt like going into a trap house. Members of Gucci's team had applied fake tattoos of ice cream cones on their face to commemorate him. (Young Thug actually did tattoo an ice cream cone on his face later that night via hotnewhiphop.com) Track after track of Gucci Mane and his 1017 affiliates bumped the church to add to the ambiance.

The event lasted from 2 PM to 8 PM, and was free to the hundreds of fans whom made the journey to East Atlanta. The event was very well organized and it was interesting to see the legendary photos taken by Cam Kirk. Various pictures of Gucci lined the walls of the church/trap house. Each piece of work was named after a Gucci Mane song. Overall, it was a very creative and unique way to relay art to Gucci's fans.

Trinidad James, Metro Boomin, Young Thug and Sonny Digital, were a couple of notable mentions that stopped by to view the exhibit.

Radric Davis (aka Gucci Mane) is currently set to be released from prison sometime in late 2015 or in 2016. It was a shame the Trap God himself could not be there to witness the exhibit dedicated to him.

 

#FreeGuwop #FreeGucci

Photo of Cam Kirk (artist/photographer) and myself

Eastern Conference Finals Preview

By: Aryan Javan

CLE

LeBron James 26.5 PPG

LeBron James 10.2 RPG

LeBron James 7.9 APG

Offensive Numbers

99.6 PPG

43.2 FG%

Defensive Numbers

92.6 Points Allowed

40.8 Opponent FG %

ATL

DeMarre Carroll 17.1 PPG

Al Horford 9.9 RPG

Jeff Teague 7.4 APG

Offensive Numbers

99.8 PPG

43.4 FG %

Defensive Numbers

95.7 Points Allowed

42.5 Opponent FG %

Ladies and gentlemen, the pinnacle of the NBA season is upon us. The playoff field has been whittled down to just four teams, and an NBA title is on everyone's mind.

In the Eastern Conference, we have the Atlanta Hawks versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. Atlanta has fought and clawed its way to this position through pesky opponents (the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets). Cleveland took care of business in round one, sweeping the young Boston Celtics side, and came out on top against Chicago in a tough, hard-nosed series. The two are interesting opponents when we take a closer look. The Hawks are a model of what the NBA is turning into, more team-orientated basketball, with the ability to go 11 or 12 players deep and relying on perimeter shots. LeBron and the Cavs are the more traditional business model. A team has to get a superstar player and fill the void with capable role players. 

LeBron James looks poised to lead this young Cavaliers side to its first NBA Finals appearance since 2007. But a worrisome thought for Cleveland is that they are banged up at a bad time. Irving should be a go for Game 1, but who knows how is knee and hamstring hold up. Irving knows he has to play in what is going to be another hard fought series. In Game 6 of the Chicago series, there was a point in the game where LeBron was clearly bothered by his back. Obviously the elephant in the room, Kevin Love is still out for the postseason. For the most part, I think Cleveland will be ok. LeBron is looking to make his fifth finals appearance in a row! That is a truly extraordinary feat. He will need his whole cast of mates with him to defeat a tough Atlanta side.

As for the Hawks, they have been playing like...the Hawks. Frustrating their fans in the first two rounds with inconsistent play, but this year something was different, real different. They were actually able to advance past the second round. Something that the Hawks as a franchise have not been able to do since 1970, before the Conference Finals were formed. Led by a lethal starting five the Hawks have been able to get down and dirty with the Wizards and Nets and emerged victorious in both bouts. To even be in this spot seems like a huge monkey off Atlanta's back. But for the Hawks this means they need to believe themselves, and that they can actually win this whole damn thing. 

With Budenholzer at the helm, the Hawks most take to the mentality of a team such as, San Antonio (Budenholzer's former team, assistant coach). The Conference Finals is not enough. To get this far and lose would be even more painful and devastating. The Hawks have a perfect chance to knock off a partially healthy Cleveland side. Yes, LeBron James will get his, but cut his resources off. Five guys will beat 1 or 2 any day (i.e. San Antonio in the 2014 NBA Finals Spurs Starting Five versus James and barely Wade and Bosh from Miami). The Hawks must play the most perfect series. To knock off a once in a generation talent like LeBron James, it will take the effort of maybe 10 or 11 people from this Hawks team. Guys like Muscula, Scott, Mack, Schroeder, or Bazemore. Everyone who steps on the floor must make an impact for Atlanta

Prediction

The Hawks caught Cleveland at the right time. Atlanta is due for a good shooting series. They have been subpar most of the playoffs. The defense is there for both clubs, but in my opinion, the deciding factor will be the offensive side. If both offenses are clicking I think the advantage goes to Atlanta. Their team ways will overcome the one-man-show of LeBron James and ATL will play the best series of basketball that this team is capable of to defeat the Cavaliers in seven games. Home court will be huge factor. 

The Syrian Conflict: A Human Interest Piece

The Syrian conflict has been ongoing for a little over four years now. 11 million people have been displaced from their homes, which has lead to a huge humanitarian crisis.

-Syria's refugees

-Syrian Conflict Story

SYRIAN CONFLICT

by: Aryan Javan

Introduction

Since 2011, Syria has been in a constant state of civil war, between President Bashar al-Assad's government regime and rebel Syrian forces. The rebels have now been replaced by extremist group ISIS. The Free Syrian Army Moderates (FSAM) are stuck in the middle and are the only ones left to fight for a free, democratic Syria. The FSAM is currently fighting both the Assad-led forces and ISIS.

The entire conflict was sparked after teenagers in the Syrian town, Dar'
a, were arrested and tortured for painting revolutionary slogans on a school wall. The city protested the atrocities only to be senselessly slaughtered by Syrian government troops. This spread civil unrest throughout the country.

As per BBC, by 2013 over 90 thousand Syrians were killed and that number was nearly doubled to 191 thousand in 2014 (the current death toll has reached 220 thousand as of March 2015)! Both sides are accused of horrible crimes, such as: murder, rape, torture and civil suffering (blocking access to water, food and health services). Assad and his regime have been caught using chemical weapons against civilians. Optimism during the "Arab Spring" movement showed the world Assad's atrocities and horrible treatment of his citizens.

Four out of five Syrians are now considered to be living below the poverty line. More than 11 million Syrians have been displaced from their homes. Another 4 million Syrians have left as refugees to other countries (Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon). This marks one of the largest exoduses in recent history. There are around 5.6 million children in need of humanitarian assistance.

The Difference

FSAM supporter and American-born Syrian activist, Aladdin Kanawati, works with an organization known as Peacebuilding Solutions. He has been able to travel this region and details some of his work with refugees in Amman, Jordan.

Photo of Aladdin Kanawati and Syrian refugee boy [Picture taken by: Will Moran]

The conflict seems not so much who is loyal to Assad anymore, it is now turned to a Shi'a Muslim versus Sunni Muslim conflict. The Assad regime is gaining support from Hezbollah and Iran (a predominately Shi'a Muslim nation) and the rebel forces have been replaced by the Islamic extremist group ISIS. Kanawati details that the FSAM are now caught in the middle.

"Basically, we go house-to-house, to people with no money, no food or barely anything from the international organizations, and listen to their stories," explained Kanawati, "we hear horrible things that have happened to these people and offer them free therapeutic/psychiatric care for their mental health."

"I know guys that one day are fighting against the forces of Assad," states Kanawati, "and the next day they are running away from ISIS."

Kanawati works with the Syrian refugees in the capital city of Jordan, Amman. Him and his mother were helping traumatized refugees receive proper mental care and rehabilitation (this project was shut down eventually due to lack of funds). Kanawati works with the Syrian American Medical Society while staying in Amman.

Final Words

The Free Syrian Army Moderates want neither ISIS or Assad to stay in power. They fight for an independent and democratic Syria of the future. The entire Middle-East may of  been prone to less conflict if the political boundaries were drawn correctly by the Western powers in the 1920's. Just like Africa (when Europe and the world partitioned Africa like a pizza), the boundaries put ethnic groups that did not like each other in the same place. It was a foundation set up to fail from the get go.

"I know this is not practical, but we need to gather all the leaders of these countries and literally redraw the boundaries of each nation, pleasing the Shi'a's, Sunni's, and Kurd's," said Kanawati, " maybe eventually leading to a Middle-Eastern Union one day, much like they have in Europe."

This information was provided by BBC News

Rodgers, L., Gritten, D., Offer, J., & Asare, P. (2015, March 12). Syria: The story of the conflict. Retrieved April 23, 2015, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868

How to Help the Syrians

by: Aryan Javan

A dear friend of mine, Aladdin Kanawati, an American-born-Syrian, voluntarily works with Syrian and Middle Eastern refugees in Jordan. Kanawati is a supporter of the Free Syria Army Moderates, which is not in favor of the ISIS group or Assad backed regime. They fight for a free, independent, and democratic Syrian nation. He details how the nations of the Middle-East must get past their religious and ethnic differences to unite as one.

Aladdin works with the organization, Peacebuilding Solutions. Peacebuilding Solutions helps refugees, disaster stricken populations and other people in need of asistance. There efforts have mainly begun in refugee camps in many different nations. Kanawati works with Syrian refugees that have been displaced in Jordan.

"For all the negativity to cease, the people must look at each either and realize they are all just humans," states Kanawati.

The tension of the Syrian conflict has really very intense and very real for the people who live that nation. To help the cause and learn about the Peacebuilding Solutions campaign visit their website!

To read the full story on Syria and their regime click here.

The Barter 6: Young Thug

By: Aryan Javan

Young Thug released his highly anticipated debut-album The Barter 6 on Thursday. The album boasts features from T.I., Boosie, Young Dolph and of course Birdman.

The Barter 6 has been highly controversial due to its name (formerly known as The Carter 6). Thugger was thinking the album would be looked at as a commemorative piece of work to his favorite rapper and idle, Lil Wayne, but instead Wayne took offense to the copycat title. So instead of paying homage to his favorite rapper, it in turn started beef with his favorite rapper.

Anyone who follows rap knows the ongoing feud between Wayne and Birdman. It now seems Thug has been caught in the nets. Thug originally planned to carry on Wayne's Carter series by doing Carter's 6-10, but criticism and harsh words by Wayne made him change the title. Wayne's The Carter V has still yet to be released due to ongoing legal issues.

The reason why Thug changed it the Barter is because in the Blood Gang culture it is common for words that begin with the letter "C" to be changed to the letter "B," thus The Barter 6. Anything that starts with "C" is seen as being involved with the rival Crip Gang.

Thug is seen as Birdman's new prodigy, and Wayne is the old dog with no new tricks. The sound of Thugger has taken the rap game by storm. Even though I love Wayne, he even tried to emulate Thug's style a bit in Sorry for the Wait 2. Never the less, it will be interesting to see what the reaction to the album is in a couple weeks time.

Do you think Young Thug should have changed the name? Do you think Lil Wayne should be angry? What's your take on The Barter 6?

UPDATE: As of yesterday, The Barter 6, is officially being released as a mixtape and not Young Thug's debut-album. According to 300 president Lyor Cohen, August 28th is now the scheduled release date of Thug's debut-album, Hy!£UN35. 

FREE GUCCI MANE PETITION

Click here to be sent to the page of a petition to release rapper Gucci Mane aka Radric Davis early from prison.

Lets bring Guwop home!!