‘State of the Culture’ is the show you turn on to hear unfiltered, unapologetic, gritty opinions in regards to topics within hip hop culture — whether you agree with what’s being said or not. Joe Budden, Remy Ma, Jinx, and Scottie Beam aren’t here to hold your hand in their debates and sugarcoat their words. They’re here to say what everyone else is afraid of saying, and do so with no hesitation. From talking about music, politics, sports and everything in between; the hosts are always with the shits. Welcome to ‘State of the Culture.’
“The set may have changed, but we sure have not.” No better words can sum up the fresh new start that is season two of “State Of The Culture.” The most polarizing show around is back for another round of shenanigans and we must say, those few months off have done our panelists some good. Remy Ma’s summer is just getting started. Jinx has been rocking parties all over N.Y.C., and you know it was lit since he was able to get Joe Budden out of the house. Joe’s been the same old Joe…and has had time to shop more more hats.
See below for the nine gems from the season two premiere of “State Of The Culture.”
‘State Of The Culture’ | “State of Reformation” (Full Episode)
1. Remy’s coming with a new fashion collab
Yes, you may have seen Remy Ma out in these streets with an ankle monitor, but she is taking it all in stride. In fact, she and Daniels Leathers are designing their own functional fur purses (you’re welcome ladies and gents!)
2. “Drink Champs” is taking over
N.O.R.E’s popular podcast “Drink Champs” is spreading its wings, as it’s now available on TIDAL and Mass Appeal. The rapper is someone Joe considered a trailblazer as an artist’s personality, and he feels N.O.R.E’s deal is setting the tone for newfound accessibility. “This deal is setting the tone for a new way of doing things moving forward,” Joe says. “It’s highlighting that some people inside the ecosystem actually know how it runs.”
3. Drake’s new mixtape was a major boss move
Drake is having a busy summer. The 6 God is now part owner of Lebron James’ UNINTERRUPTED media company. On top of that, he’s just released his new mixtape Care Package – a collection of tracks that never made his official albums, but became SoundCloud and YouTube favorites. Horrible artwork aside (Jinx and Joe’s words), Jinx thinks re-packaging throwback tracks into one solid project was a smart move on Drizzy’s part, saying, “Drake meets his fans where they want him to be.” He continues, “Fans have been asking for it for years. He’s clearly taking care of his business more than ever now.”
4. Kanye West doesn’t seem to know the definition of affordable
Yeezy’s at it again! The producer and visionary is moving full steam ahead with his plans to make an affordable living complex in his neighborhood of Calabasas. As our panel reminds us, Kanye has made these sorts of promises in the past, saying, “He told us his sneakers would be affordable. He told us his apparel would be affordable. His concert tickets…I’m tired of that pitch.” Though our SOTC folks aren’t against the concept, we’re going to need to see how this move plays out.
5. Gucci is restructuring. Luxury fashion beware
After catching the heaviest of L’s with a very racist sweater, Gucci is straightening themselves out to make sure a messy situation like that never happens again. In their efforts to do so, the brand has hired a black woman as the global head of diversity, equity, and inclusion. But, Jinx thinks it’s going to take more from them to fix the issue. He says, “We don’t need a mascot, we need an infrastructure change. Shout out to them if this is the first in a series of dominoes to fall. But Gucci makes their bread off of us.” Moreover, Jinx thinks the few other luxury fashion brands that haven’t caught an L yet better get ahead of the fuckery and get woke before it’s too late.
6. SOTC hopes A$AP Rocky’s trial brought him some newfound clarity on race
A$AP Rocky has been allowed to return home to the U.S. pending the verdict from his assault case in Sweden. The whole ordeal serves as a reminder to the rapper about how to move when traveling to foreign countries. “It’s really important for young, black, wealthy entrepreneurs to remember where we come from, it’s a natural reaction to be there when it pops off,” Joe says. “Unfortunately, that changes when you hire security. We have to go out of our way to remember that it’s their job now.” Remy feels that while Rocky isn’t absolved from the role he played in the situation, his celebrity status certainly had an impact, saying, “When it’s dealing with my freedom in the court of law, treat me like Shaniqua Jones. Don’t treat me any different.”
7. Mario Lopez made controversial comments about trans kids and that wasn’t even his first mistake
The “Extra” TV host is in hot water this week for some comments he made on-air about parents supporting their young children coming out as transgender. Before we even get into the content of his statement, Jinx says his grave mistake was agreeing to a Candace Owens interview, saying, “Even the lighting was bad!” Remy testifies that as a parent, you can’t make those types of blanket statements.
8. Lil Nas X makes history, but was it just a case of perfect timing?
The “Old Town Road” rapper broke Mariah Carey’s Billboard record after his breakout hit spent 17 consecutive weeks at number one. Joe wonders if Lil Nas initially being shunned out of the Country genre had something to do with his success. “We don’t know if it was even confirmed what white people thought about it, but that was all we needed to hear. That started the uproar and the momentum. Hip hop started rebellious, so all we needed was something to rebel against. When people make it in hip hop, it has so much to do with timing,” he says.
9. Don’t Be Fooled. Prison Reform will not be a celebrity-won victory
“Orange Is The New Black” creator Jenji Leslie Kohan is leading the charge to help enact prison reform. As someone who has experienced the prison system from the inside, Remy Ma stresses the fact that non-celebrities really have more power to make the change. “There are way more ‘normal people’ than there is celebrities,” she explains. “Those are the numbers we need.”
Watch “State of the Culture” on TV on Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT and on digital on Mondays at 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT! Check out where you can watch the REVOLT TV channel here.
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