Spark It Up

In this MLK day episode, we discuss what Martin Luther King and other Civil Rights activists would think of society today if they were still alive, why we never taught about incidents such as Black Wall Street when we were in school and what other information is still being kept from us, and the 30 year anniversary of film Juice and what it meant to an up and coming Tupac's career. 

This special episode features an in depth interview with co-host El Rachmani. Focused predominately on his high school years, he discusses the ups and downs of being a twin brother, the things that helped him find his own lane separate from that, as well as what it was like being a target for both the other students and the administration during those years. 

In the first episode of the new year, we discuss the ups and downs of 2021 as it pertains to re-entering the daily grind following the shutdowns, how the shutdowns made people less willing to take jobs where they're underpaid and underappreciated, and the one year anniversary of the capitol riots and all the aftermath that resulted from it (surprisingly and unsurprisingly).

In this episode, we discuss the 20 year anniversary of the classic album Stillmatic from Nas and what made it so memorable, COVID spreading once again, as well as Joe Biden's student loan decision and the notion that the president is more of a mascot than an actual leader.

In this heavy movie themed episode, we get into the overwhelming feeling one gets when they see a great movie for the first time and the qualities that make one, how it's harder to find the good in commercial Hollywood movies compared to commercial pop music, and how movies such as "Bad Education" reveal the reality of how corrupted and dishonest those in power can be. 

In this episode, we get into the most recent vaccine mandates and how often everything surrounding them keeps changing, the fact that the pandemic is on the verge of reaching two years, how in many ways it's brought out the worst in people (on all sides), as well as how other aspects of proper health should be pushed that aren't COVID related. 

In this episode, we discuss the mixed reaction from students to Dave Chappelle visiting his old high school, the ignorance associated with grouping people together in a box without even knowing them, as well as the pressure and corruption people experience by trying to be included in the popular crowd. 

In this episode, we discuss the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict and the debate on if he acted in self defense, whether or not the verdict would've been different if he was black,  how the case serves as another example of keeping people divided, and why it's sometimes necessary to unfriend/disassociate with certain people on social media as well as how distracting it can be from real life. 

In this special edition of "Spark It Up," we do an in depth profile on 1989 edition of Batman starring Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton. We discuss the long process of how the movie was put together including odd casting considerations, the heavy criticism it received from fans before it was even released, the best aspects of the film as well as those that didn't age well,  and how it opened the door for the big business comic book movies do today. 

In this week's episode, we get into the definition of the word "woke" and our first introductions to it, how some people use it to act like they're better than everyone else, as well as how important it is to live by "woke" ideals as opposed to just preaching them.