Welcome to the eighty-third installation of The Q : your one-stop weekly newsletter of culture recommendations.
Album
2 Alivë by Yeat
Yeat’s rise through hip-hop perfectly encapsulates what the music industry has become since the start of the pandemic. In the span of about six months, he went from entirely unknown to a music industry influencer.
Film
Emergency directed by Carey Williams
In the 12-minute short, a few college guys prepare for a regular night out. When they enter their house, they see a random white girl passed out on their living room floor. At first, she is presumed to be dead, but then she starts coughing and throwing up. One of the character’s intuitive responses is to call 911. The problem? They’re a trio of Black and Latino kids who have no explanation for how a white girl ended up in their house; how would calling the cops compromise their own safety?
Book
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor Lavalle
The Ballad of Black Tom follows Charles Thomas Tester, a 20-year-old hustler and amateur musician, as life pulls him into the realistic horrors of police brutality in 1920s Harlem and the cosmic ones of inscrutable alphabets, sinister gods, and a Cthulhu-worshipping cult. After losing his father, Tommy falls in with Robert Suydam and the cultists of Red Hook as they plot to awaken the sleeping god. He finds greater power than he ever expected, but it comes at the cost of his soul and of the world he knows.
Playlist
Teresa’s February ‘22 features Kanye West, Mitski, and Pusha T
Teresa’s favorite track: “Diet Coke” by Pusha T
Description: Mostly Kanye West…
Podcast
Episode #77: Milkis and an Interview with Cities Aviv
On this week's episode of Two Virgins, Sam and Teresa interview Cities Aviv (Gavin Mays) over a can of Milkis. Cities Aviv is a rapper and record producer from Memphis known for his wide-ranging production and rapping style, which is influenced by genres cutting across hip-hop, soul, and rock. In February 2022, Cities Aviv released his newest album MAN PLAYS THE HORN. Cities Aviv talks to Teresa and Sam about choosing vocal samples, playing the album loudly, and reflecting on his discography.