Hey Mofos!

I met saxophonist Adrian Crutchfield at a Will Downing concert. I was sitting backstage with his mom and aunt watching him perform. Once they started telling me about his amazing body of work, I had to know more about how he ended up working with Prince! 

Watch here: 

This interview was recorded in March--just days before my grandfather passed away, so it's weird to watch myself push through this knowing I was on edge waiting to hear of any news of his progress. Luckily, I got to spend some time with him before he passed so anyhoo-- sorry for taking so long to post this interview. 

Make sure you subscribe to the YouTube channel! 

~Meik

 Hey Mofos! 

First, please forgive me for missing ALLLLL of Black Music Month on the blog. BUT, here I am at the tail end and well, at least I had SOME content on "Check the Rhymes TV."

I had the pleasure of chatting with Angie Stone about her 10th studio album "Love Language," and she even answered fan questions! 

Check it out here: 

What's your favorite Angie Stone song?

~Meik

 Hey Mofos!

I had the chance to get a sneak preview of the new film "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" before it comes out on June 9. 

Chile, I will be the first to admit, that I have only seen ONE Transformers movie, and that's "Bumblebee." I just saw it last weekend. Other than that, I only recall Optimus Prime from my days at preschool watching it on television waiting on my mama to come pick me up. Judge ya mammy not me. 

Anyway, I was glad to see ole Optimus Prime in all his rusted glory is still out here battling the other evil bots, making ridiculous decisions, and acting like he's leading something like Tyrese in the new "Fast X" film. Also, why does Optimus drive so darn slow? Let me focus. 

I absolutely love me some Bumblebee and now I love Mirage (played by Pete Davidson)! They have the smart mouths I live for! The two human characters, Noah Diaz and Elena played by Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, were all of us if we stumbled upon a war between Transformers of all varieties, nerves shooketh. They were brave as hell, cuz I would have been like BYE ROBOT ALIENS.  I loved seeing a Black woman interested in history and art, but the story was all too familiar, without getting into spoilers, of a white woman taking credit for her discoveries. That stressed me out since I've been there dealing with that same micro-agression and there's nothing you can do. But my girl got her recognition and that's all I'm gonna say. 

Catch a preview of the trailer:

I loved the introduction of the robotic beasts and hearing their backstory, but some of those characters didn't get enough shine for me, like the Lion. Some of those beasts looked downright creepy to me honestly. 

I loved the relationship with Noah and his little brother. It's not often you see the depth of the emotional bond between brothers especially with that age gap. They encouraged and uplifted each other and it reminded me to do the same with my sister even when she tears my nerves up. 

My favorite part of the film? THE SOUNDTRACK! The film is set in 1994 when Tupac and Biggie were still with us. Anyhoo, I was getting my life thinking I was back in high school crushing over.. never mind. Noah's sidekick with the Acura and Twizzlers is so freaking hilarious--more of these two and their antics please!

Overall, there's a lot of explosions, fighting, bots, bad bots, bad ass cars, and lessons. 

The biggest one I took away, was DO NOT GIVE UP. KEEP FIGHTING! Also, can somebody get Optimus Prime some oil?

But seriously, it was nice seeing two heroes of color on the screen, and if you like any Transformers films--I think you'll like this one. 

I can't wait to see more of Mirage in future films. He's hilarious! 

Let me know if you go see the film and what you think! I'll be busy going back to watch all of the Transformers films now!