20 24s for 2024
It’s Thursday, Dec. 26 as I sit to write this final thing to be posted for the year *In Fraser T. Smith’s voice from Psychodrama*. It’s been an amazing year for culture and pop culture as a whole that if I don’t set some rules, this entire thing might turn into a focused commentary on Kendrick’s incomparable year, something my friend JG AKA Rashad Nadal will dub as “glazing”. So as I recount the year, I will tell you about a lot of things but they will embody Kobe’s energy, God rest his soul!
Before I started typing, I was thinking about ways to keep Kendrick’s success for the year alive without talking too much about Kendrick. This led me to remembering this interview Brandon “Jinx” Jenkins did for Complexcon in 2017 with Kobe and Kendrick Lamar. In the interview, Jinx talks about “arriving” (Arrived is EVERYTHING! *Doechii voice) and redefining one’s self.
Kobe shares a bit about establishing yourself and also how to elevate people around you. Kobe says, and I’m paraphrasing here, we don’t get 24 without 8’s disregard for his peers. But in that disregard lies respect. It reminded me of the Redeem Team story of the final game and Kobe running through Pau’s chest to set the tone. That’s how you compete. Without overanalyzing GNX and Kendrick’s year, we don’t get all the features on the album without him being YNW Melly.
But back to the piece for the year, with all the Kobe and Kendrick thinking, I arrived (*laughs*) at the idea of 20 24s. I will share in total 20 things I loved this year that had the energy of 24; the ability to do right and kill everything (not in a 2024 Aubrey way) BUT more importantly, know where your spots are and focus on achieving success. In my list of 20 things, I will share TV, films, music I didn’t see anyone write about, amazing moments and traveling I experienced this year, and round up with my hopes and dreams for ‘25.
Let’s start with TV. I love TV, it’s an amazing medium to convey ideas but it seems more difficult than film (I say this with absolutely no experience in trying to write TV). It’s quite impressive when a show picks a central idea, sticks to it and makes a focused string of episodes to cover and convey it holistically. Shōgun does an amazing job of this. Not only was it some of the best acting on TV (Anna Sawai and Tadanobu Asano *chefs kiss*), the set design was impeccable and the directing was elite. To me, that’s easily the best show on TV. The memes alone were worth everything.
Industry falls into 2nd place. Mickey and Konrad are doing things with TV that are mindblowing. The bow on the Yas and Robert wrapped gift of chaos and uncertainty really rocketed the show into a pantheon of greatness few can achieve. Let’s talk about The Penguin, what a disgusting fuck of a human! Victor didn’t deserve that at all! I’m still hurt about this! But Colin Farrel, you brilliant man. Mr. & Mrs. Smith made me think new tricks can be taught to an old dog who has been hibernating for a long time. What Maya Erskine and Donald Glover did to this IP piece was nothing short of inspirational and a lot of fun. The episode where they ski was just spot on because I, too, will only go skiing for the fits. My 5th and final pick for TV is One Day…whew! Talking about this might ruin my keyboard since it’s an electronic product that’s not water resistant. I highly recommend this show if you’ve not seen it. Also Ambika Mod…wow!
Now let’s get to film. I loved a lot of films this year. I reviewed over 50 movies this year, which is amazing but out of all of that, I want to pick 5. For those 5, I will share my LetterBoxd (@kwakunaly on there) review.
- Sing Sing: “As I sat through this film, I kept thinking about how much art and artists get trapped in systems that aren’t conducive for growth or even mere expression. Greg and team, this is a beautiful film. Congratulations. Also this film introduced me to a new model of collaboration and for that alone, it gets 5 stars”
- All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt: “A film by a photographer for sure. The images are held so long that you feel like you’re in the lens. Such beautiful imagery and poetry about the fullness of Black life and love.”
- We Grown Now: “The best acting performance I’ve seen all year (as of 11/8) was in this film by Blake Cameron James. What a film. Perfectly encapsulates the complexity and beauty of childhood and how friendships work. I cried at the end. I was overwhelmed. Minhal’s a star and I can’t wait to see what else she makes”
- Didi（弟弟): “Saw this 18 hours ago and haven’t stopped thinking about it. Sean Wang takes moments that could feel mundane or not dramatic and adds cinematic value to them. This film made me want to call my mum even more than I do now. A beautiful portrayal of the stresses of teenage years, staying cool and finding yourself. Can’t wait to see more work from Sean!”
- Origin: “A punch to your throat that’ll have you with a pit in your stomach through this journey of self-discovery and larger conversation about the systems of oppression we, humans, have built. Highly recommend. Btw, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor DESERVED a nom at least!”
There are many other films I saw this year that were amazing (Exhibiting Forgiveness, We Live in Time, Dune 2, Monkey Man, Challengers, etc) but the 5 above are the 5 that left an indelible mark on me.
Music maketh man? Maybe. I remember this interview I saw with Quincy Jones, God rest his soul, with Kendrick where he said “the last thing to leave this planet is water and music…people can’t live without music, man” and ever since, I have agreed more and more. I mean depending on what you believe in, religiously, angels sing in Heaven. And since as it is above, so it is on earth, music will be around forever.
Anyway that was a tangent that just popped up to me before I read my outline. With respect to the rules I set in the beginning, here are 5 albums that perfectly show the energy of 24 that I didn’t hear anyone mention in their year end lists. First we have my favorite album of the year, Sonido Cósmico by Hermanos Gutiérrez. I never knew about this band until I went to an intimate listening for Tyler The Creator’s Chromakopia at Shibuya HiFi here in Seattle. The sounds and soul on this cannot be replicated. I, sometimes, nerd out about jam sessions. I truly believe the best music comes out of jam sessions and you can tell these men spend a lot of time jamming out. They made a big fan out of me.
The second album I have for you is A Forsaken Lover’s Plea by Chuck Strangers. This is your favorite rapper’s rap album. I promise! Joey Bada$$ on Polish Jazz is crazy!
We also got For Someone Somewhere Who Isn’t Us by Samm Henshaw. I love Samm.
What a gentleman! I got the opportunity to photograph him for his stop here in Seattle and it was such an honor. He was an absolute gem of a showman and had the crowd captivated! It added so much to the album in ways I didn’t even anticipate. Also The Café…wow. Another moment for connection in ways you cannot explain. Also check out Samm’s film!
My other 2 albums are SWEET AFROSEXY SUMMERS. by Lesléy and DAMN BOY YOU GOT SOME SUN by Julius Tunstall.
I know Lesléy personally so I might have some bias here but I highly recommend this album. It’s the kinda music that should live on all your outside-related playlist. Julius, I know through Writing Boys, a group of very talented Black men writers who don’t shy away from their vulnerability in fear of being dubbed “glazers” but rather use that as a foundation for meaningful analysis and interrogation of self, each other and culture. I’ve been a fan of Julius and look forward to connecting in person soon. When I heard his new album dropped, I put it on as soon as I could and man, Grave…wow! That’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard all year. I hope you check out both of their albums, I promise they’re worth your time.
Last things I wanna add to my list of 20 are the moments that truly held me down this year! First, the second annual group portraits with Matt and Jordan. This has turned into some sort of tradition that I truly love and admire. It really makes me happy to see these guys, create with them and check in. Honored to call them my friends.
Turkey and Mexico City travels were such moments that I wrote about those two trips in this post.
About 4 months ago, I made a short film based on a poem called “What Is, What Is, Who Is, Who Is, What Is?”. This film was a culmination of ideas and research that haunted me for a while.
But in making this, I made a true friend in Daniel, who has since become one of my close collaborators. This film then went on to premiere at Arrived’s show in Oakland titled “Saved You A Spot”, our best work yet. That moment would have never been possible without the artists, our board of directors and the leadership team of extremely talented and brilliant thinkers. I am so honored to call these people my peers.
So here we are, at the everyone-on-stage-after-an-SNL-episode part of this piece. The Note To Self (Jermaine Lamarr Cole, what a year), if you will. I wanna thank all my friends, loved ones and family for a very interesting and loving year. PUSHA T, I love you! Thank you for being the best partner a man can ever ask for! I had a lot of ups and downs but y’all stuck with me and I truly appreciate it. I can’t wait to see what ’25 has in store for me, hopefully not a Ben Simmons kind of year! Protect your mentals, protect your chicken, trust your instincts and self, hug your peopledem and most importantly, hold on to hope!
We Gon’ Be Alright!
See you soon
