How To Make It In America Gone Too Soon

 

This past weekend marked 15 years since a hidden gem on HBO debuted How To Make It In America. The show was one of those very under the radar gritty type shows that catered to a specific audience, with the most famous cast members being the guy who bagged Stifler's Mom in American Pie in Eddie Kaye Thomas, Luis Guzman who is one of those actors you see in movies and go oh him. And lastly rapper Kid Cudi, and the funny thing is these actors all played supporting roles. Two guys you likely never heard of in Bryan Greenberg and Victor Rasuk led the cast.

Set in New York City the series followed Greenberg's character Ben who is one of those guys who can't get out of his own way, he's an artist and is floating through life. Then there's his buddy Cam played by Rasuk, who is another guy floating through life hopping from one hustle to another. After a series of events that lead them to realize things aren't going right, they decide to start a clothing line focusing on jeans inspired by the 1970's that they dubbed Crisp.

What followed in subsequent episodes was a story of friendship, entrepreneurship, drive, hope, and the hustle needed to be successful. It was a relevant commentary on life in the 2010's and the young millennial drive to bet oneself and make something happen. The main characters were ambitious and yet naive, and at times in over their heads but didn't quit. 

The story, the characters and the vibe of the show made you care, but after season 2 ended on a high not both for the characters and the show with things looking on the up and up. HBO decided to unceremoniously cancel the show. And just like that everything it built was gone.

Now 15 years later the show is still relevant, maybe more than ever. Fashion sense and style is probably more ingrained in pop culture more than ever. During the show's run facebook was the most active social media app, now we have instagram and tik tok and the rise of influencers. Social Media influencers have 3 traits the show touched on, entrepreneur spirit, creativity, and the hustle. Most people want to be influencers yet don't know about the hustle and the brand awareness you need to build on your own before getting to that status. They have found a new way to make it in America.

Since the series debut it truly has gotten harder to survive in America, let alone make it. So you need that inspiration to help you push forward when life seems like you're constantly hitting a wall. In just two short season's this hidden gem may have been ahead of it's time and yet has left a profound impact on anyone who has seen it. It truly was gone too soon. 

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Ten Black Celebrity Crushes Of All Time

One day my brother and I had a random conversation about celebrity crushes and the pinwheels started moving in my head. I started thinking about celebrity crushes that span generations, and since it's Black History Month and Valentine's Day is this week. I decided to write one on ten Black celebrities that were just about everyone's crush at one time or another. This list is based on several debates and discussions, and some social media research on who is still relevant. I'm ready for all kudos and backlash, so here we go.

Meagan Good

Meagan Good started her career in the 90's as a child actor with small appearances in films like Friday, and starring roles in Eve's Bayou and the television show Cousin Skeeter. In the early 2000's when she reached adulthood it didn't take long for many to realize just how attractive she is. In fact early 2000's Meagan Good started her run of being drop dead gorgeous and instantly becoming many men's celebrity crushes.

The 2012 film Think Like A Man solidified she is simply fine. She has held that title for 20 plus years now and the older she get's the finer she get's. Even today in her early forties she can still pass for a twentysomething and look's as beautiful as ever.

Pam Grier

                                                    

Some younger folks maybe asking Pam Grier? and I'm here to say damn right Pam Grier. In the 1970's she starred in Blaxploitation classics like Foxy Brown, Friday Foster and Coffy. Exuding a confident Black woman who oozed sex appeal and could also handle her own. My uncles told me she was their first celebrity crush back in those days. Her 80's and early 90's run she kind of flew under the radar until she made an appearance on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Playing an ex-girlfriend of Uncle Phil who seduces Will. Then came 1997's Jackie Brown, which at that point a new generation was asking about this forty something year old woman and going who is that?

In the almost 30 years since that film has released and thanks to the power of social media, Pam Grier is still a massive crush of many men amongst different generations. Just hashtag her name and social media and you will see endless posts dedicated to her and her beauty.

Stacey Dash

Stacey Dash has caught alot of ill will in recent years, for many believing she has gone off the deep end due to her political beliefs and just life in general. However, even if you feel that way now there is no denying once upon a time she was That LADY! Starting with her role in 1992's Mo' Money and a few years later her iconic role as Dionne in Clueless. Everyone was mesmerized by her flawless brown skin, smile, and those big engaging pretty eyes. Add in she was much older than she looked, she was the personification of the term Black Don't Crack playing a teenager in her late twenties-early thirties (she reprised the role of Dionne in the Clueless TV show).

Even today at almost 60 years old, she is still a very attractive woman. The kid's of today who weren't alive when she played her iconic roles, see her films and go damn who's that?

Vanessa Williams

I will admit when I discussed this blog topic, my brother was adamant about Vanessa Williams, and I kept asking Vanessa Williams? for all time? so I went down the rabbit hole of social media and damnit she apparently has been the crush of many men over the years. It's not hard to see why, she is gorgeous, has those striking blue eyes, was a model, singer and actress. She was the first Black woman to win Miss America in 1984. And she did a penthouse spread a  few years later, which honestly most of the crushes gained in the 80's came from.

She is what many may describe as a classical beauty, has never really aged and continued her career with grace. Even now in her early 60's she still has her fair share of men that would trip over themselves to have just an opportunity to stand next to her. 

Alysia Rogers

Speaking of kid's today asking "Damn who's that?", Alysia Rogers is a first time crush of many young men. She just happened to disappear from the public eye and have many asking whatever happened to her? She first appeared in the classic film Boyz N The Hood as Ricky's girlfriend and son's mother Shanice. She really turned heads a year later in 1992's Class Act as Damita. The pretty, sultry, and low key intelligent young lady smitten with Kid's character Duncan Penderhughes.

Then after turning head's she stopped working in Hollywood. Apparently she has a instagram account that show's she has aged very gracefully. And if you check social media today there are several threads dedicated to the beauty of one ms. Damita. And again Gen Z youth's are clamoring over this timeless beauty.

Aaliyah

If you know me, you know Aaliyah was one of my all time crushes ever. 14-15 year old me legit thought I was going to marry her someday. Well apparently so did a lot of other young men around my age. A natural beauty in the Hollywood and music industry, she stood out as she was gearing up to make a bigger impact in the business.

Her look's were versatile as she could be a tomboy or runway model and look just as beautiful either way. Her sad unfortunate death at the age of 22, has only made her legacy even bigger and in the weird way of teenage boys minds. Has made her an all time crush spread across generations.

Janet Jackson 

The youngest of the legendary Jackson sibling's, Janet Jackson has always had that quiet, sexy demeanor about her which intrigued many young men coming into their own. In the 80's with the Control and Rhythm Nation albums, she had young men saying "Ok Janet" while she was breaking hearts. Then when the 90's came Janet cranked her sex appeal all the way up and left tongues on the floor. While she broke even more hearts and crushed the record charts and music videos with her dance moves.

Janet is almost 60 now, still touring and moving across the stage like she is in her 20's. One thing's for sure from Gen X to Millennials and likely even some Gen Z. Janet Jackson adorned many walls and desktop wallpapers. For that she forever will be an all time crush.

Rihanna

Hailing from the island of Barbados, Rihanna exudes sex appeal and has a chill yet dominant personality. Hitting the music scene in 2005, folk's really started noticing Rihanna during her Good Girl Gone Bad era in 2007 and she hasn't lost any steam since. I have heard several men of all race's mention how attractive they think Rihanna is. Which mean's Rihanna has juice (old school reference for the kids). 

With twenty years in the public eye, she has went through several different era's and in each found her own style which makes her even more attractive. She's a bit of a maneater when you look at how many guys in the industry she has left crying for her to come back. Which honestly is attractive to many men, which is why so many have a crush on her.

Halle Berry

Halle Berry is one celebrity that is probably universally agreed upon she is drop dead gorgeous. Becoming the crush of many, many young men in the 90's and early 2000's. In fact Halle Berry was such a huge crush of many, it was damn near a event when she went topless for literally 2 seconds in 2001's SwordFish. I'm also positive that scene generated more ticket sales for the movie than the actual movie itself, being as though it really wasn't good. 

She came a long way from the girl next door in some early 90's role's like Boomerang and one of my favorites Strictly Business to a bonafide sex symbol. Aging gracefully as she approaches 60, Halle can still break many of the hearts that clamored for her to this day.

Nia Long

Nia Long, Nia Long! A true 90's "it" girl that has transcended that title through the years. Whether you saw her as Brandi in Boyz 'N The Hood, Lisa in Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Debbie in Friday or Bird in Soul Food. You fell in love with Nia Long at some point during the 90's and 2000's. And for many of us that has not gone anywhere as she graced our screens over the year. 

I have a perfect story on why Nia Long is still everyone's crush. One time several years ago we were playing charades and the word my brother had was "fine", legit all he said was "Nia Long" and my father yelled out "Fine!" and we got our point lol. A true real life testament to just how much everyone of several generations love some Nia Long.

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5 Date Movies To Watch For V-Day

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and love is in the air. For those who prefer a good date night in the house watching a good movie, this is the blog for you. I decided to emphasize on date's and date night's in this one. So here we are with 5 movies you may want to check out for V-Day.

 5. The Lovebirds

This 2020 Netflix film stars Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani as a couple on the fritz of breaking up. En route to a dinner party they accidentally run into a bicyclist. Little do they know that one moment cascades into the night as they get caught up in a web of chases, orgies, and a murderer on their tail. Which tests their love throughout the night. It's a mixed bag comedy, but just to put some popcorn in the microwave after dinner it is a serviceable film.

4. One Fine Day

One Fine Day is a 1996 film starring Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney that technically doesn't feature a date in the movie, but actually it does. The film covers the two as parent's who both have a rough morning causing their respective children to miss the school's field trip bus. They must band together to chaperone the kid's throughout the city as they navigate other responsibilities during the day. Causing the two to grow attracted to one another over the course of the day, and they have impromptu dates where they get to know one another better. 

3. Date Night

This 2010 film starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey I honestly did not appreciate when I first saw it, I felt it was just ok. I watched it maybe a year ago and thought the movie was hilarious and very relatable. The two play a couple who realize their marriage is in a bit of funk going through the motions. They decide to get a babysitter and spend a night in town. At a crowded restaurant, Carell's character Phil claims he is someone else who did not show up, by the end of the night he would regret that. 

2. Blind Date

This 1987 film starring Bruce Willis and Kim Basinger is HILARIOUS in my opinion. It stars Bruce Willis as a workaholic who needs a date for a big work dinner, and is set up with a blind date played by Kim Basinger. He's warned not to let her drink, but he forgets that rule and that leads to a wild night along with her jealous ex on their tail. In the process he learns to live a little and that he actually finds her attractive.

1. Southside With You

This 2016 film stars Tike Sumpter and Parker Sawyer as Michelle and Barack Obama on their very first date back in 1989. They visit museums, community meetings, see a classic movie and get some ice cream. Kicking off a love affair that is still occurring to this day. In the meantime you can see the ambition both have, and the foundation that led to Barack becoming the 44th president of the United States. It's a very inspiring movie that may make guys want to step their date games up.

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Wesley Snipes An Underrated 90's Action Hero

 

Wesley Snipes when you hear the name and think of roles, you think of Blade, Nino Brown (New Jack City), or Sidney Dean (White Men Can't Jump). He has had a long 40 year career that still is quite underrated, and he is also is one of the most underrated action stars ever. When you think of action stars particularly during the 90's Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Jean Claude Van damme, Bruce Willis  and Steven Seagal are probably the top names you think of. However Wesley Snipes was no slouch in the action genre, in fact he had a good quiet 6 year run as a action hero you may not remember. Let's take a trip down memory lane.

After a star making role as drug lord Nino Brown and then following up with the comedy classic White Men Can't Jump, Snipes showed he was a martial arts master with Passenger 57 in 1992. In the film he plays a former Secret Service agent who is a security consultant, and must save the day when a plane is hijacked in a ploy to release a notorious criminal. The film is probably known for one of his more famous lines. 

He followed up in '93 with Boiling Point and Rising Sun, starring alongside film legends Sean Connery and Dennis Hopper respectively. While those films were more thrillers than straight up action films, he did get to show off his action skills in both films. Then he took a turn in '93 playing one of my favorite film villains ever Simon Phoenix complete with a blonde fade in Demolition man facing off against Sylvester Stallone.

'94 he was back on the side of a hero in the oft-forgotten film Drop Zone as a U.S. Marshal who get's involved in the skydiving culture to catch some crooks. Then in '95 with Woody Harrelson and Jennifer Lopez he was a New York City transit cop caught up in the era of the Money Train. '97 he stepped into the D.C. political corruption and cover-up scene with Murder At 1600 alongside Diane Lane. 

The spring of '98 he starred in U.S. Marshals a sequel to The Fugitive, on the run from Tommy Lee Jone's character Sam Gerard and company. In the film Wesley's character Mark Sheridan show's off his action skills as he tries to clear his name within a government scandal. That film was just a teaser for fan's and what was to come in the summer of 1998 when Blade debuted in theaters. The half-human, half-vampire character essentially set Marvel up on the filmmaking trajectory that would kick off the MCU 10 years later with Iron Man.

With his trademark sunglasses, high powered guns, and katana Blade is arguably the role most synonymous with Wesley Snipes. Just look at how excited fans were when he appeared in Deadpool and Wolverine last summer. It also capped off his run of action films during the 90's and was not a bad way to end that decade. He spent the 2000's and 2010's in mostly B-movie action films, but for the 1990's he was one of the top action stars out there and should start getting his flowers for that. 

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Dont Throw Those DVDs Away So Fast

 

Last week Netflix announced a price hike in the continuing world of subscription based services hiking prices. News of the hike came after announcing a significant increase in subscribers. Likely thanks broadcasting boxing events, NFL games, and now carrying WWE's flagship program Monday night Raw. More importantly their crackdown on password sharing likely played a bigger role.

At this point though it seems like there are price hikes every couple weeks from some streaming service. And honestly for most services, what they are offering is starting not to match the price tag. Ya know the same trouble cable TV has ran into. There's only so many price hikes one can tolerate, especially spread across a handful of services who all carry the same programs minus a few brand exclusives.

With the high cost of living felt everywhere the tide is starting to turn a bit.

While it will take some time, the tide will eventually turn back towards physical media. Yes physical media does take up space, but when you're in a mood to watch a particular film you can grab it out the collection. If your collection is big enough you may have enough content to skip streaming services completely. Especially if you don't watch much TV and mainly use it as background noise.

Or maybe you have just enough to supplement a streaming service or two. Besides streaming fatigue, another factor that will revitalize physical media are the younger members of Generation Z. Who either never experienced using a DVD/Blu ray or were too young to remember. As they come of age a new interest in the "relic" will develop.

So you may get some money for your collection in the future. No matter how you slice it, I for one am still team physical media (I still own several VHS tapes and a dvd/vcr combo player). The medium will gain new life through various factors so hold on to what you can.

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5 Shows I Was Late To The Party On

 

In anticipation of the latest season of Amazon Prime's Reacher series, I finally watched the first two seasons. The series has been in my queue in what seems like forever, I just wasn't in a rush to get around to watching it until now. Once I finished season 2, I started thinking about other show's I took some time to watch. With that, here are 5 shows I was late to the party on.

5. Cold Case

Cop procedural's are a genre of television I really don't watch. I'll watch Law & Order SVU here and there, I enjoyed underrated shows like Shades Of Blue and Graceland. Other than New York Undercover, The Wire, and 9-1-1 (although I am a good 3 seasons behind at this point), most cop shows I just never tuned in and can't explain why. When Cold Case debuted in 2003 I was 17 years old, so I definitely wasn't watching it. 

Then around 2011-2012 when cable was still in it's juggernaut era, I caught some reruns and thought damn this show is good. I enjoyed the mystery aspect, along with the different era's and music represented for those era's. I fell off from the show and then during the height of the pandemic watched the show again....fell off again, and now that it is on Max I've been working my way through all 7 seasons.

4.Key and Peele

Key and Peele debuted in 2012 on Comedy Central and to be honest, I just watched and finished all 5 seasons of the series last fall. I've seen the clips online, knew the jokes, and seen the meme's I just never sat down and actually watched the show. Funny enough this Mike Tyson skit which was a play on this wild yet hilarious Mike Tyson video I somehow never saw before in my life until last year, convinced me to give the show a try.

I'm glad I did, the show was very funny clearly taking inspiration from shows like In Living Color, MadTV (where both got their start), and of course Chappelle Show. They perfectly captured that era of politics and pop culture, and actually had some very good commentary on where the world was headed at the time that came true. If you're like me and never saw the show, give it a chance.

3. A Million Little Things

A Million little things debuted in the fall of 2018 on ABC, at that time all my TV in my feelings viewing were reserved for the NBC drama This Is US. A couple of people I know said if I enjoyed that show, I would enjoy A Million little things as well. Then during the pandemic, new things to watch are getting thin so I gave the show a shot. I binged watched the first couple seasons of the show in anticipation of the third season finally being released in November of 2020.

Just like This Is Us, this show will hit you in the feels especially being around the same age as the characters in the show it got real. When it ended in 2023 someone was cutting onions as it ended. 

2. Animal Kingdom

                                                 

Heist films and TV shows are one of my favorite genres in that medium. So I'm not sure how I waited so damn long to finally start watching Animal Kingdom. Debuting in 2016 on TNT, the drama series followed a family that are criminal masterminds in the art of heists, all with their own issues and essentially controlled by their overbearing and ruthless mom/grandmom Smurf (Ellen Barkin). It was a high stakes, tense show with plenty of action and family drama.

My wife started watching the show soon as it aired, and kept telling me check it out and I was on a I'll get around to it mentality. Then probably 2019ish right before season 4 aired, I gave the first season a try and basically every chance I had to watch a episode I took it. That's how good the show was, running for six seasons it finished in 2022 and damn I miss that show.

1. Gotham

For Batman to be my favorite comic book character of all time, I absolutely took my sweet time watching this show. In my defense when it debuted on Fox in the fall of 2014, I was working two jobs preparing for a wedding and to buy my first house. So watching this wasn't a priority, in fact I think I watched a couple of episodes when I could but just fell off from it. A season or 2 later, my wife started watching the show and kept telling me I'm missing out. I wasn't in a rush to watch the show though.

It was always in the back of mind to watch, and I finally did last year thanks to tubi. Gotham is a interesting take on the Batman mythology, giving Batman, Jim Gordon and essentially his entire rogues gallery a origin story. It take's inspiration from the films and The Batman Animated Series in storylines, character presentation, and the city of Gotham itself which is a character in the series. Yet still provides it's own spin on the legendary character and associates. The last season kind of tailed off, but if you are a Batman fan check it out.

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Five Hidden Gem UPN Shows

 

January 16th marks 30 years since the little network that could UPN debuted. Known for hits like Moesha, Girlfriends and fellow Monday night comedies that were staples in Black households (which I wrote a blog about). It was the first home of WWF Smackdown during the height of the Attitude era in 1999 to 2006. It's most famous reality program is America's Next Top Model. Told Chris Rock's life story in Everybody Hate's Chris. Gave the world the teen sleuth classic Veronica Mars. And produced a couple of good Star Trek series for a new generation like Voyager and Enterprise.

Before merging with the CW in the fall of 2006, UPN produced a lot of series in an attempt to branch out their offerings. That were good series that flew under the radar, per usual I'm here to shed some light on those shows. Here are 5 hidden gem shows that aired on UPN.

5. Grown Ups

                                 

This 1999 sitcom was Jaleel White's return to TV after his successful role as Steve Urkel in Family Matters. I didn't realize it at the time, but the title of the show was likely a comment by Jaleel that he was grown now and far different than his Steve Urkel character. Besides that, the sitcom focused on Jaleel's character J. Calvin who goes by J alongside his best friend Gordon and Gordon's wife Shari navigating adulthood.

J deals with relationships, the workplace, and everything that comes with being a twenty something adult in this world. The show wasn't a laugh out loud sitcom by any means, but it had it's fair share of laughs and was in good company with shows like Moesha and The Parkers. So I never quite understood why it did not achieve the same success as other UPN comedies. 

It is available to watch on Tubi currently.

4. Jake 2.0

If Jake 2.0 aired today either on a network or streaming service, it would be a instant hit. That's how good and quite ahead of it's time the show was. Debuting in the fall of 2003, the drama series followed a NSA agent who is a computer wiz Jake Foley. One day Jake is accidentally implanted with nanobots, he suddenly has the ability to control all forms of technology. You know what happens next, there are folks on his tail wanting this human supercomputer and he also set's out to save the day on multiple occasions.

Sadly the series only lasted for 16 episodes with four being unaired. It had some elements of The Six Million-dollar Man, and laid the foundation for the more popular NBC comedy-drama Chuck which debuted a few years later. It's a shame that the show simply was ahead of its time.

3. Kevin Hill

Kevin Hill was a drama series that could be a little sappy, a tad overdramatic, but it had heart and a good story to tell. Looking back now it also was very relevant and shined a light on an often overlooked part of life, the surrogate father. Released in 2004 and starring Taye Diggs, the series followed Kevin Hill a successful and single lawyer enjoying his life as a young man in New York City. His world turns upside down when a cousin of his passes' and he becomes responsible for his 10 month old little cousin.

He soon must balance the responsibilities of being a parent and a working adult. With the help of his support system in the form of coworkers and friends, he does the best he can while learning parenting is not for the weak. Hailed as one of the best new dramas that year, for some reason it only lasted one season. I'm not sure if the ratings just weren't there, or there were other reasons for the show getting cancelled, but it should have lasted a lot longer.

2. Special Unit 2

Debuting in the spring of 2001, Special Unit 2 was a fun, imaginative, sci-fi drama that did not take itself too series. The show's creators also spent a great deal of time developing the world the series inhabited and it's lore before that really was a thing. Set in Chicago, the show followed a secret unit of the Chicago Police Department dubbed Special Unit 2. This group was responsible for policing the "link" population that exist in the city. "Links" were creatures derived from mythology and folk tales that walked amongst common people in plain sight, yet others are oblivious to them. They are called "links" for being the missing link between humans and apes.

This show did manage to last 2 seasons but was cancelled due to change in UPN's management and the desire to go in a different direction. There was so so much potential for more stories to be told and update mythologies for a new audience, and it was a original program not something that was adapted from another medium. It was a highlight of UPN's schedule during it's time on the air, and in today's world may have been a bigger hit. 

1. 7 Days

7 Days in my opinion was must see TV when it aired as it focused on one of my favorite Sci-Fi topics, time travel. This was another show that had a very well thought out plot and backstory, way more than it is given credit for. The series debuted in the fall of 1998 on UPN and follows a secret unit of the NSA who have reversed engineered a time travel device from alien technology found at Roswell. With this device called the Chronosphere aka Backstep sphere a person can go back in time 7 days to prevent a disaster. Due to limitations of the technology 7 days is the cutoff limit, I can't remember if it was explicitly explained why only 7 days, but hey make's for good drama.

The series managed to last 3 seasons on the network ending in the spring of 2001, and for a time aired on a few cable channels. It had it's flaw's but hindsight is always 20/20 and 25 plus years later you can see just how well produced the show was, despite limited budgets and time travel hiccups. However, any time travel story has some hiccups. This was one of the better shows on the network and was well worth it's time on the air.

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