On March 28th Broad City aired their final episode, tying a bow around the 5-season Comedy Central hit show. The show invited us into the lives of two women in their mid-twenties, Ilana and Abbi, experiencing what can only be described as a series of shenanigans. It thoughtfully illustrated what’s its like to wobble your way through life during the years when you feel trapped in the middle of youth on one side, and adult responsibilities on the other. At the epicenter of the show is the two women’s incredible bond. Broad City’s evolution from a YouTube series to a show on Comedy Central, gave us more room to witness their friendship grow. We see the seemingly opposite women: the bold, voyeuristic and political Ilana and the somewhat levelheaded, artsy and clumsy Abbi forge a friendship that is the embodiment of 'for better or for worse'. What is particularly refreshing about this friendship duo, unlike other TV faves (like Issa and Molly from Insecure) is that both women consistently did not have their shit together. They were reckless, vulgar, sexually liberated and in Ilana’s case downright gross. Decisions were made on a whim, and fun was always prioritised. For most of the show, Ilana did not have clear career ambitions and got fired at about every job she had. Abbi worked as a cleaner at Soultice for a whole season despite being qualified to be a trainer all along. It's not that they did not have ambitions, they were just so terrible at working towards them. And sometimes they were just met with sheer bad luck. Kind of like being really excited to perform at your high school talent show, only to forget all the lyrics to the song you practiced as soon as you get on stage. But in this way they were relatable. The fuck-ups, most times hilarious and other times heartbreaking, displayed a fresh outlook on femininity, one that we have only started to see on TV fairly recently (think Tracey from Chewing Gum or Rebecca from Crazy Ex Girlfriend). More importantly is the fact that the two women were not characterised by these failures and it never stopped us from appreciating the breadth of their personalities. Our continued awareness of their greatness despite the shenanigans should probably serve as a subtle reminder to treat ourselves the same way as we work through our personal failures. Perhaps the lack of success in other facets of their life made it abundantly clear just how successful their friendship was. Where Ilana lacked in focus, Abbi made up for in non-judgmental reality checks and where Abbi lacked in courage, Ilana made up for in brazenness. By the end of the show, it's clear how they have helped each other grow, with Abbi bravely moving states to an Art program and with Ilana going back to school to study Psychology. Through its brilliant storytelling, the show allows the city it's set in to double as a backdrop as well as a third main character. The city comes alive; displaying the style and vibe that is truly unique to New York, as it informs the characters’ style and personality just as much as their daily endeavours in the five seasons. The last season, in particular, saw the pair explore the bits of New York they cherished the most, (S5EP1 for Abbi’s birthday and S5E10 for Abbi’s last bacon, egg and cheese sandwich) cementing the city’s place in their friendship’s bloodline. Broad City provided us with great quality comedy for five seasons, centring women and their relationship with one another. The show reminded us that female protagonists on TV did not need to have to have it all. They could be completely directionless and still be funny, smart and totally cool. It also reminded us that friends can be soulmates too; and that sort of relationship could the most fulfilling, life altering relationship of your life. I for one am grateful for Abbi and Ilana (on the show and in real life) for their hearts and minds, and for reminding me to fall in love with my friends and myself a little harder every day.

Amidst Spike Lee's Oscars nominations, it's time to discuss the cinematic elephant in the room. The Atlanta native is up for three awards: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, but has he been put forward on the strength of BlackKklansman or is it based on precedent? When the Oscar nominations were first announced, films such as Black Panther and Green Book took centre stage whilst BBC News named "diversity as a theme" for this year's candidates. Fitting right in with the 'cultural trend', BlackKklansman was hailed as Spike Lee's "return to form". Well, I beg to differ. That isn't to say there aren't strong points throughout Lee's crime biopic but the way it was directed is typical and expecting from him. Spike Lee prioritises social commentary over cinematic entertainment. This isn't a secret- he has been highlighting racial tensions since Do The Right Thing and Crooklyn. His earlier projects are deemed as classics because of how well he struck the balance (or imbalance in some cases) between trivial social issues and hard-hitting topics like sexuality. It almost seems as if he has a formula to directing. My problem isn't with his formula, it is the dogmatic approach he takes when applying it. Lee's most famous works stretched from the late 80s to the mid 90s, but a common critique of his later films was based on the overemphasis of the social issue. In other words, his inability to adapt is what hindered him. When you look at the remake of She's Gotta Have It, there are outdated aspects that don't fit with today's climate. From the language used to the clothes (Mars' hat), it alienated me to the point where I struggled to keep watching. BlackKklansman was guilty of the same crimes. It brought to light the nostalgic element Spike Lee loves to add to his works. He definitely prefers to look back rather than forward but doesn't link or relate it to the present day well. This was my exact reason for questioning its place on the Oscars shortlist. I could gage how the comedy in the script was supposed to be subtle, but it came across inconsistent and forced, especially as the severity of the film increased. With that being said, the cinematography stood out and arguably carried the picture. The switch between the plot and real footage from the Civil Rights Movement was powerful, with the most memorable scene being the separate meetings of the black students and the Klan. Excluding this year's nominations, Spike Lee has been nominated for three Academy Awards and won only one (with 4 Little Girls). Given the so-called theme of the 2019 Oscars, are the nominations deserved? Despite my opinions, BlackKklansman is critically acclaimed, with 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. If the nominations are subjectively based on his work overall, I can understand and support the notion. However, if it is purely objective and constructed around BlackKklansman as a movie, then he has slim chances of winning. Although the cinematography is beautifully depicted, his interpretation of the script doesn't compare.

It's fair to say that there are far too many narratives that centralise black suffering. Hollywood in particular has been heavily criticised for capitalising on this, with many of the critically acclaimed films that have come out in recent years, still revolving around the subjugation of black people. Coupled with the fact that there aren’t many acclaimed black movies, to begin with, it seems as though institutions will only hail art with specific black storylines: those underpinned by subjugation. Not only is it traumatic to have to witness distress inflicted on black bodies over, and over again, it also reiterates the already echoed message that blackness is synonymous to misery or distress. It is also concerning because of the possibility that it creates an invisible barrier for black creators, trapping them into feeling the need to ascribe to only telling these kinds of stories in order to legitimise their work. It encourages the implicit sentiment that as long as you are black and you occupy a space within the creative industry, then you are burdened by the responsibility to put forward black injustices in your work. As suffering is a natural part of human existence, it’s not feasible to be opposed to black creators using it as a reference for their content. But surely there are ways to portray us interacting with suffering without retelling the singular narrative we have seen far too many times. One such black creator who explores this in his work is Arinzé Kene. His play, Misty, whose success transferred it to the West End’s Trafalgar studios (making it only the second by a black British playwright) is a lively and lyrical take on a young black man navigating London. While that storyline unfolds, the play cleverly introduces an adjacent storyline featuring a playwright, Arinzé, who struggles to write the former storyline whilst battling others’ expectations and opinions of him as a writer. The most pressing one vehemently expressed by his friends, is that he is writing “a nigger play,” yet another depiction of a poor young black man from inner city London whose life resembles a series of (systematic) unfortunate events. Throughout the production the playwright maintains that this is an unfair judgment by his friends and those who share this sentiment. In this way, for most of the play Misty offers the following challenges: it is hard enough to be a writer let alone a black writer, where your blackness seems to invite people to openly comment on what you should or should not write about; that whether they perpetuate a narrative some would rather not see, these “nigger plays” illustrate a lot of people’s realities and these stories deserve to be told as much as other stories. These challenges highlight the aforementioned thought; that it might be as stifling to demand that black creators completely stray from the themes of suffering in their work, especially considering how entangled these are into our realities. So how do black creators decide what narratives are ok to put forward? In the end of the play, it is revealed that the young black man from the former storyline was elaborately conjured by the playwright’s mind so he did not actually exist. This plot twist reveals a more middle ground solution to the dilemma. It is apparent that there will always be consequences to consider with any narrative put forward and while this is a peril all creators have to conquer, black ones have to come to terms with the fact that theirs are arguably more pertinent. This is because they are likely to inform the way blackness will be perceived. So the warning by the friends in the play, although harsh, is not inaccurate. Especially as it focuses on a very specific portrayal of suffering in the first storyline, which we have deter- mined is truly overdone and detrimental. Black audiences are more than ready for new, fresh, insightful ways of chronicling black experiences, which either don’t have suffering at their epicenter or that portray us interacting with suffering without retelling the detrimental singular narrative. We need to allow blackness the chance to be further explored as the truly multilayered and intricate experience it is through visual art. And it would be remiss not to existing works that do this brilliantly: the afore- mentioned Misty is an example itself. Also, the contemporary TV shows: Insecure, Atlanta, and Chewing Gum; the oldie Set it Off and the more recent films Moonlight and Been So Long. Its absolutely imperative that black creators feel more encouraged to create more complex narratives and to experiment as well as push boundaries while they do so.

10 Freaky Girls by 21 Savage and Metro Boomin off of Not All Heroes Wear Capes, has been on repeat all day. As the chorus swoops in with “hanging off my earlobes is a rock” I thought to myself, wow, what a sensational collaborative album. The key word here being 'collaborative'. A collaborative album is defined as an album by two or more artists or an artist and a producer. Over the past decade we’ve been blessed with an abundance of them. There’s the classics, What A Time To Be Alive by Future and Drake and Watch the Throne by JAY-Z and Kanye West . Then we have the modern sensations, Everything Is Love by The Carters and Without Warning by Offset, 21 savage and Metro Boomin. Watch the Throne. Need I say more? No. But I will anyway. This iconic album by JAY-Z and Kanye West has become the pillar of all collab albums with Ye’s creative flow complementing Hov’s classic style of rap. Both rappers seem to have pushed the boundaries to excel in new musical territory, creating music that we wouldn’t typically find on their solo tapes. This is especially evident on songs such as Otis, which highlights both rapper’s distinctive styles while simultaneously creating a fresh new sound. Niggas In Paris, one of (if not the) most popular song from the album combines the best elements of the pair with clever punchlines such as, "Prince William ain’t do it right if you ask me / if I was him I woulda married Kate and Ashley”. Other notable songs such as No Church In The Wild feature crazy production combined with thought-provoking and clever lyrics. Are you beginning to understand why this collab album is considered one of the greatest? Let’s take this a step further, spin your heads a little more by delving into another classic. What A Time To Be Alive by Drake and Future. Now this was a collab that really rocked the culture, Drizzy and Fewtch are two very different artists with their own unique traits. Despite that, this project is everything you wished it would be and more. The production alone was enough to make you fall in love. Diamonds Dancing features a heavy, yet consistent beat with slight melodic undertones. Accompanied by Future’s raspy vocals and Drake’s smooth tones, they create an exquisite sound. Another fan favourite is Scholarships which although has nothing to do with the title, is still a song that can be vibed to in the clubs giving it that ‘versatile’ feel. It could be argued that unlike Watch The Throne, neither artist pushed their musical boundaries, staying in their comfort zones while still giving us music they knew would be a hit. Did they break new ground? my answer is no but this does not take away from the simple fact that this was a great body of work. Fast forward 3 years and we’re onto our modern sensations. Everything Is Love by The Carters dropped this year and in true Beyoncé and JAY-Z fashion. There was no promotion or fore- warning and as usual, the fans ate it up. The biggest record from the album, Apeshit, was a rap banger featuring the power couple speaking about how far they’ve come and their position in the music industry. The beat is a Migos-inspired featuring ad-libs like “skrrt skrrt” from Quavo and Offset. It’s great to hear Beyoncé out of her R&B element with rap, that being said I’m not completely convinced they complement each other seamlessly on this collaborative project. Then again, with songs such as Nice and Friends, how can we say no? Last but not the least, Without Warning by Offset, 21 Savage and Metro Boomin. This is definitely one of my favourite collab albums to come out in recent times. 21 Savage’s immaculate flow, coupled with Offset’s clever lyricism and speed combined with Metro Boomin beats? Incredible. Songs such as Ric Flair Drip became a phenomenon taking over the charts with its captivating melody. Other classics off the album include Rap Saved Me, which talks about how Rap has been the saving grace for many young men who grew up in rough neighbourhoods. This is highlighted with lines such as “I’m from the gutter, rap saved me”. The fact that they were able to make audiences listening feel like they could relate while simultaneously bopping along only confirms how sensational it is. So there you have it, 4 incredible projects that give us an inkling into why collaborative albums have become more popular and why, more often than not, they turn out to be massive successes. Collaborative albums highlight the best of both artists and often push the artistic boundaries, resulting in musical magic. Long story short, collaborative albums are here to stay and we’re not mad about that.