A&E

Brendan Hall

Staff Writer

On May 10, 2018, a major music streaming service, Spotify, made a controversial decision to remove artists XXXTentacion and R. Kelly from the staff made playlists. To clarify, Staff that worked at Spotify would arrange playlists on the platform that would be promoted on their site. Furthermore, those playlists created exposure for artists to reach new fans they previously may not have reached.    

Despite R. Kelly and XXXTentacion not being entirely banned from Spotify it still was able to ruffle some feathers within the music industry. One notable protester of the ban was 50 Cent who tweeted, “Spotify is wrong for what they’re doing to artist like R Kelly and XXXtentacion. There not even convicted of anything.”XXXTentacion’s management also responded in an email by questioning what other artists would be held accountable for their legal troubles. Artists that came into question included a wide range from Chris Brown to Gene Simmons of Kiss who was accused of sexual misconduct.

The response from the general public in this decision was not entirely in favor of the decision. Most people seemed to have mixed towards the situation. While they appreciated the fact Spotify was showing sympathy towards victims it also came across as hypocritical since there have been many artists accused or convicted of abuse that have yet to be punished. When interviewing Messele Asfaw he stated, “It should be all or nothing, Spotify shouldn’t just pick and choose who they like and don’t like. Because there are artists who have been convicted of things they were accused of and nothing has been done.”

As for the artists involved they were affected in surprisingly opposite ways after the decision. R. Kelly actually had a slight increase in weekly streams after the Spotify playlist ban. The streams went up from 6,584,000 weekly streams to 6,676,000 within that time. While R. Kelly experienced an unexpected success XXXTentacion was losing close to 20% of his original streams per day. It was reported that if a loss this severe were to continue he would lose about $60,000 per year. The loss XXXTentacion received is likely due to him having to rely on Spotify exposing him to a new audience since he is much more inexperienced than someone like R. Kelly.

While the decision to exclude these artists may have been noble in the intention it may have been also inefficient. R. Kelly and XXXTentacion are both accused of gruesome and violent actions, however it is difficult to make moral judgements based solely off accusations. It could possibly lead to other artist’s career being ruined by false accusations. For instance, iconic rapper Snoop Dogg was on trial for murder that was proven to be false in 1996. If Spotify were to use the same logic for him as R. Kelly and XXXTentacion they would ban him as well, despite the fact there is no evidence Snoop ever committed these crimes. This attempt to exclude problematic people may seemed to be wholesome, but it ultimately creates career’s to be put on the line over “he said she said” situations.

Taylor Green

Staff Writer

Little Alchemy is a simple, yet addictive computer app that was released in 2010. The premise behind Little Alchemy is to be able to make the entire world just from the four basic elements that you are given, — air, fire, earth, and water —by dragging and dropping these elements to make inane combinations so you can create over 500 objects.

Recently, playing Little Alchemy has become a big trend in the SLA community. With people playing in their free time or even in class, it sure has sparked a big craze over the student body.

For some students, Little Alchemy has been their favorite game for a long time. One of these students is Junior Ameer Johnson.

“I started playing Little Alchemy a few years ago, back in freshman year. I’ve had it on my computer for a while because I haven’t completed the game yet,” Johnson explained.

Many can say that Johnson is the reason why they started playing as well, including Junior Kimberly Gucciardi-Kreigh.

The game has also gained popularity among many friend groups, starting friendly competition between friends to see who can make a world first.

“It takes up some of my time because I play with my friends a lot, and we try to beat each other’s scores. If we’re ever really stuck, we give each other new combinations,” Gucciardi-Kreigh shares.

There are 580 items in total to make, so it’s pretty common for people to have creations that their friends haven’t even thought of.

Although Little Alchemy is fun and silly, it does tend to get difficult.

“I feel really engaged when I play Little Alchemy, but as you progress more and more and create around 400 things, it gets difficult. You run out of things to think about combining,” Gucciardi-Kreigh says.

However, some people like the challenging aspect of it.

“It’s mainly about experimenting and more importantly, having patience to experiment. It only gets difficult if you aren’t trying to come up with wacky combinations,” Johnson explains.

Little Alchemy has been so popular that it has forums dedicated to the game and it even has a sequel. Little Alchemy 2 starts off with the same four elements as the original game and even offers a tutorial. Players can now review their stats, receive hints in the game and search through all the items that you have.

In Little Alchemy 2 there are over 700 items to create, giving players more inane combinations to discover and explore.

“As soon as I beat the first game, I’m definitely going to play the second one,” Gucciardi-Kreigh says.

Although the sequel has more to offer, the original Little Alchemy will always hold a special place in the heart of some players.

“I’ll always go back to Little Alchemy as a way to pass time when I’m bored. My highest score is 125,” Johnson says.

Overall, Little Alchemy is a fun and enjoyable app. It allows people to test their creativity in a challenging way. If you want to check it out here https://littlealchemy.com/

Brendan Hall

Staff Writer

On November 6, 2017, Philadelphia native Robert “Meek Mill” Williams was sentenced to 2-4 years in state prison for a probation violation. Throughout the last decade, Williams has been on probation for a charge he received at the age of 19 on drug and gun possession. His judge, Genece Brinkley, refused to release him from prison due to him popping a wheelie in New York.

The latest arrest warranted a massive response, on both a local and national level, from those who wanted a criminal justice reform due to the unfairness of his treatment. Due to the possibility of landing in jail for 4 years over what was perceived as a minor incident, he received support from multiple of his peers in hip-hop. The most notable of who was Jay-Z, who shouted him out in a track titled “Top Off” alongside Beyonce and Dj Khaled. Jay-z said, “Free my n*gga Meek Mill, n*ggas can’t wheelie in this free world,”. Aside from support from the music industry he was also supported by comedian Kevin Hart who visited him while in prison.

However, one of the most memorable moments came from The Philadelphia Eagles. During Meek’s incarceration, the Eagles played his song “Dreams and Nightmares” during the warm-up for their NFC Championship game against the Minnesota Vikings. Two weeks later, the Eagles played the same track as the entrance for the Super Bowl. This became one of the most iconic moments in Meek Mill’s career, despite the fact that he was in prison at the time.

Fast forward to April 16, 2018, there was a rally on 1301 Filbert Street to support Meek’s case. Shortly thereafter, the court ordered a retrial to decide the fate of his freedom, and Philadephia District Attorney Larry Krasner called for his release. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf supported Krasner’s call for release said, “. Our criminal justice system is in need of repair. That’s why my admin has made efforts to invest in programs that divert individuals from the system, improve public safety, and promote fairness.”  

Eight days later, Meek Mill was released from prison on bail after the retrial was announced. He made headlines again by appearing at the Sixers playoff game the same night of his release. At the game, he rang the ceremonial bell before the national anthem and was greeted by several players on the Sixers team, most notably Joel Embiid.

Since his release, Mill has stated that he  wants to “To be a voice for the voiceless in the criminal justice reform.” This is a reference to the many people who are facing harsh sentences overall parole violations that are minor offenses such as popping a wheelie. Meek also desires to be a role model to the youth of Philadelphia, and this message has resonated with SLA students. Junior Tyreek Speedwell spoke on Meek Mill’s influence by stating, “I think he creates an inspiring image for the youth. He gives them a reason to make it from nothing. I feel like I could relate to him and his story of coming up from struggles in a city that hasn’t always been great since I’m also from it too.”

Meek Mill’s relationship with his native city Philadelphia has been proven as powerful since his most recent stint in prison. There were billboards throughout the city advocating for his freedom during the time of his incarceration. He also made statements about those who are in similar situations as him in the criminal system. Meek showed empathy to them as many of those individuals stating that he was only granted freedom in large part due to his wealthy financial status.

Amelia Benamara

Staff Writer

On April 20, 2018, Ariana Grande, released her first single, No Tears Left to Cry, since her last interaction with music over a year ago.

Ariana Grande’s come back single, No Tears Left to Cry, contains a lot of lyrics that fans think connect to her unfortunate experience in Manchester where a suicide attack took place at Grande’s concert where 22 people died on May 22nd, 2017.

Memes abounded online — of her cryptic, upside-down tweets, her low-slung ponytail. She rolled out a preview of her voice in an echo chamber of melisma, where fans enthusiastically responded:

“I’M NOT READY,” says @milaftgay on twitter. Another fan, @fordanqerous, left an overly excited comment, “oK OH NY HOLYYYYYY I CANT WAJTTT MY EARS R SO READY JDSDFGHJKLL.”

Recently on May 2, 2018, Ariana Grande aired on The Night Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where she did best not to reveal much about her upcoming album — however slightly failed since fans can now anticipate the 2018 summer release of “Sweetener.”

“I’ve been away for so long, I want to say everything!” Grande expresses her excitement referring to the Manchester shooting one year ago.

Following the bombarding that occurred amid her Manchester show in May 2017, Grande facilitated the “One Adore Manchester” advantage show to pay tribute to the casualties. She along these lines discharged her song, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” with all proceeds heading off to those burdened by the catastrophe. She also recently performed at the Walk for Our Lives rally.

Fallon asked Ariana Grande why she chose to name her album “Sweetener” which she responds to with, “It’s about bringing light to a situation or to someone’s life, or just sweetening the situation.”

The people Grande collaborated with many artists including Pharrell Williams. Grande couldn’t help but spill the names of a few of the songs featured within the album through Twitter and recent interviews: The Light is Coming, God is a Woman that I Love, Raindrops, Tonight, Yes Hunty, and I Love U.

On the interview, Ariana admitted to having an emotional attachment to a couple of the songs, “With the song Raindrops, it actually gives me goosebumps, it’s so crazy… it’s  a cover of ‘An Angel Cried’ in the fifties and it turns out my grandfather’s best friend who I grew up with in Boca, Charlie Colello, wrote it with Bob Gaudio from the four seasons.”  

Looking at her tweets and her previews of the song lyrics, Sweetener will be different from her past albums, where this one is much more personal after her experience in the past year. Sweetener album is the sign of Grande moving forward, her private grief turning into catharsis to be blasted through new music.