Everything that happened Summer 2018

Let's raise our glasses to the summer of 2018 because it was grand. Whether your summer involved roaming through the bustling smoky clubs of Lagos while screaming to Burna Boy’s Ye or A$ap Rocky and Skepta’s Praise the Lord track , laying under the sun of a scenic beach, binging watching tv shows or actually being productive by taking a summer job or class, one thing that’s undeniable is how 2018’s summer has been eventful for music and pop culture. Yes the FIFA World Cup in Russia was this year and it was an eventful one aside from bars and alcohol involved in the viewership and the rush of patriotism in the air. France took home the cup which was a victory for many African countries since the team was made of up of mainly Africans. We needed a win somehow and it was long awaited.

With that aside and focusing on the rest of summer, if we connect the dots with everything that has happened in the world of music and pop culture almost all roads lead to Kanye West. Pre- the start of summer Kanye West made headlines from an interview on TMZ about his comments on slavery and his support of Donald Trump which received much backlash on social media from fans, trolls and other celebrities. Despite the current age of everyone getting cancelled quickly for not following the centralised ideal or actions, his much anticipated album 'Ye' was a success, debuting No. 1 on the billboard 200 chart. It didn't stop there, he also worked with other artists such as Teyana Taylor, Nas, Pusha T and Kid Cudi to produce their albums. Pusha T's album, Daytona created the biggest jab and exposure of the summer as it was revealed that Drake had son he was hiding from the world. The ripple effect that spread in Drake's 'Scorpion' album fashioned the diss on dead beat dads when Drake rapped on his 'Emotionless' track explaining, " I wasn't hiding my kid from the world, I was hiding the world from my kid". Because that's surely a valid reason for not being an active parent. Take note this is not me hating on Drake because I've been an active subscriber and fan of his art and existence since the release of his mixtape, So Far Gone, which I title the year I fell in love with Drake. Consider it a small commentary on the diluted version of the story we all received. The albums also gave us the summer jam, In my Feelings, with the shiggy dance that made its way all over social media with celebrities and the mass displaying their unique versions of the dance. We do not even need to delve into the whole Nicki Minaj and Travis Scott feud because that can be a whole write up on its own and somehow baby Stormi was dragged in to the whole mess.

If you were vigilant in keeping track of music and all the feuds that happened this summer, you would have certainly thought, what a time to be alive (pun very much intended). In pop culture we were swept with a wave of celebrities getting engaged leaving us with slightly dropped jaws wondering what the hell is going on. The biggest celebrity engagements that had us freeze in shock were Ariana Grande & Pete Davidson, Justin Bieber & Hailey Baldwin, and Nick Jonas & Priyanka Chopra mostly on the account that they happened so quickly. For the likes of Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, they had not so long ago been in different relationships and it has us wondering if they were mentally equipped to embark on this new relationship status in addition to their superior financial assets. For me, the celebrity engagements that I couldn't be happier about are Chance the Rapper & Kristen Corley and Tiraji p. Henson & Kelvin Hayden because honestly, it was about time. I mean I like to think we've all been waiting for Chance to propose since he's release of Coloring Book in 2016, when he rapped on the All We got tracking saying, "Tryna turn my baby mama to my fiancée". We definitely saw it coming and as for Tiraji I'm just always happy for all her accomplishments and decisions (emphasising that marriage is a decision not an accomplishment).

Sadly we've had a number of losses this summer with the passing of Aretha Franklin, Mac Miller, Kate Spade, Anthony Bourdain, Stephen Hawking, XXXtentation, Joe Jackson, Winnie Mandela and Senator John McCain. The work and input of these trailblazers and ballbusters in society were significantly instrumental to the lives of so many in spite of their various controversies. Their influence and controversies raised many questions on what we regard as our morals and values that we may continue to analyse and contextualise. May their souls rest in peace.

To summer of 2018.