SLA Media

SLAMedia is a publication of the news for the Science Leadership Academy community. Writers come from the student body in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. We work in unison to create a functioning paper with biweekly postings on a variety of events.

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2017 XXL Freshman Cover Prediction

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Avi Cantor

Staff Writer

2017 XXL Freshman Cover Predictions
2017 XXL Freshman Cover Predictions

Every year since 2007, XXL Magazine publishes an edition of their magazine that highlights the year’s most prominent emerging artists in Rap and Hip/Hop. XXL helps young artists expose their music to the broader public and celebrates their accomplishments that exceed their peers. The XXL cover has been widely regarded for the last ten years as a platform that artists can aspire to be a part of.

This article explains who I think will be the members of the XXL cover for 2017. Readers should know that this list has less to do with my opinion, and more to do with numbers.

I’ve divided this list into two sections. The first highlights the people in ten freshman spots, three of which I have dubbed ‘All-Stars’ for achieving more than their fellow candidates. One thing to note about this section is that I haven’t included the people who the artists have collaborated with who are XXL candidates. XXL makes it clear that high profile collaborators rank higher in their decision making process than collaborations with the artists’ peers. In the second, I have included a list of people I think barely didn’t make the cut for the cover and could make the cover in years to come.

Probables for the cover:

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (All-Star)

Notable Collaborators: Kodak Black, Lil Bibby, Kehlani, DJ Spinking (producer) and more.

Noteworthy Accomplishments:  

  • 5 songs above 30 million streams on Soundcloud
  • Record My Sh*t is RIAA gold certified
  • A-Boogie’s mixtape TBA peaked at number 63 on the US Billboard 200 chart and made an appearance on Rolling Stone magazine’s 40 Best Rap Albums of 2016 list

What makes A Boogie an All-Star: A Boogie has been pumping out hit after hit this past year, a feat that most of the artists on this list have not done. Sure, other artists have put out one, two, maybe three true hit songs, but A Boogie has put out at least seven hit songs that have gotten radio play on mainstream stations and have caught nationwide (and even worldwide) attention.

XXXTentacion (pronounced EX-EX-EX-TEN-TA-SYONE)

Notable Collaborations: Denzel Curry, Ronny J (Producer), Diplo (producer) and more.

Noteworthy Points:

  • Song ‘Look At Me’ peaked at No. 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Rap Chart
  • Songs ‘YuNg BrAtZ’, ‘R.I.P. ROAST “EAST SIDE SOUJA”’, and ‘ILOVEITWHENYOURUN’, have over 22 million streams on SoundCloud,
  • Song ‘I don’t wanna do this anymore’ has over 33 million streams on SoundCloud
  • Performed at the Rolling Loud Festival in Miami

Kyle aka Super Duper Kyle

Notable Collaborators: Kehlani, G-Eazy, Chance the Rapper, Carnage (producer), Lil Yachty and more.

Noteworthy accomplishments:

  • Toured with Cousin Stizz (32 shows) on Kyle’s ‘Super Tour’,
  • Connected to; All Def Digital, INgrooves (imprint of Atlantic)
  • Song ‘ISpy’ featuring Lil Yachty peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 Rap and R&B charts, and has nearly 75 million streams and over 1 million likes on Soundcloud

MadeinTYO (pronounced MAY-D IHN TO-KEE-YOH)

Notable Collaborations: Travis Scott, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Metro Boomin (producer), Lil Yachty, Offset, and more.

Noteworthy accomplishments:

  • Opened for Big Sean’s ‘I Decided’ Tour (22 shows)
  • Hit ‘Uber Everywhere’ has over 52 million views on Youtube, was certified RIAA platinum and was later remixed by Travis Scott
  • Hit ‘Skateboard P’ has almost 55 million streams on SoundCloud and later remixed by Big Sean
  • Hit ‘I want’ has almost 10 million views on Youtube and was later remixed by 2 Chainz

Montana of 300

Notable Collaborations: Talley of 300 and more.

Noteworthy accomplishments:

  • Album ‘Fire in the Church’ went No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Rap Chart
  • Signed to Fly Guy Entertainment (FGE).
  • His song ‘Ice Cream Truck’ has over 27 million views on Youtube
  • His song ‘Chiraq (Remix)’ has nearly 18.5 million views on Youtube

*Side note: Even though Montana of 300 hasn’t put out a ton of music since his album was released, in my opinion, he’s been overdue for a spot on the XXL freshman cover for at least 3 years.

Nav aka Beats By Nav (All-Star)

Notable Collaborations: Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Belly, Metro Boomin (producer), Kodak Black, Drake, Lil Uzi Vert and more.

Noteworthy accomplishments:

  • Song with Travis Scott titled ‘biebs in the trap’ has nearly 47 million views on Youtube and is RIAA Certified Gold
  • His self titled mixtape peaked at the No. 9 spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 Rap category and No. 4 on the Canadian Billboard Hot 100 Rap category
  • Performed at the 2017 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

What makes Nav an All-Star: Nav has collaborated with several A list artists not only as an artist, but also as a producer. The fact that he has seen just as much success producing songs like ‘Back To Back’ by Drake as he has with his own songs is a feat that you never see in any genre of music.

PnB Rock (All-Star)

Notable Collaborations: Kodak Black, Quavo, Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla Sign, Fetty Wap, Lil Yachty, Kevin Hart, Young Thug, 2 Chainz and more.

Noteworthy accomplishments:

  • Song ‘Selfish’ has over 15.5 million views on Youtube, is RIAA Certified Gold, and has over 52 million streams on SoundCloud
  • Album ‘Going Thru The Motions (GTTM)’ went No. 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Rap Chart
  • Featured in two songs in the movie ‘Fate of the Furious’
  • Song with Kodak Black titled ‘Too Many Years’ has over 15 million views on Youtube and nearly 55 million streams on SoundCloud

What makes PnB Rock an All-Star: PnB Rock is an All-Star because of his consistency and his connections. He has pumped out a couple hits and a well reviewed mixtape. But the biggest thing that makes him an All-Star is that he was featured in two songs in the movie ‘The Fate of the Furious’, a feat that nobody who has been considered for a XXL freshman spot has done before making it on the XXL cover. As for his collaborations, he has worked with several A list artists and even comedian Kevin Hart for his movie/documentary ‘Kevin Hart: What Now?’.

Playboi Carti (pronounced PLAY-BOY CAR-TEE)

Notable Collaborators: A$AP Rocky, Don Cannon (Producer), Lil Uzi Vert, Travis Scott, Kodak Black, Gucci Mane, Tyler, The Creator and more.

Noteworthy accomplishments:

  • Song ‘wokeuplikethis*’ featuring Lil Uzi Vert has 30 million streams on Soundcloud
  • Song ‘Broke Boi’ has over 24.5 million streams on SoundCloud
  • Starred as the lead model of OVO’s 2016 Lookbook
  • His self titled mixtape peaked at No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Rap Chart

Ugly God

Notable Collaborations: Trill Sammy, Lil Yachty, Carnage (producer) and more.

Noteworthy Accomplishments:

  • Song ‘Water’ has over 85 million streams on SoundCloud and over 25 million views on Youtube
  • Song ‘B***h!’ has over 18 million streams on SoundCloud
  • Song ‘RARI’ that was produced by Carnage and featured Lil Yachty and Famous Dex has over 18.5 million streams on SoundCloud

Young MA (pronounced YUH-NG EM-AY)

Notable Collaborations: Smiff-N-Wessun, Young Thug, Project Pat, Uncle Murda, Jadakiss and more.

Noteworthy Accomplishments:

  • Hit song ‘OOOUUU’ has over 204 million views on Youtube, has over 12,000 radio spins, peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Rap Chart
  • Freestyled at the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards infamous segment ‘The Cypher’ and performed her song ‘OOOUUU’ while there
  • Song ‘Quiet Storm’ has over 18 million views on Youtube,

Possibles:

Aminé: Aminé’s hit song ‘Caroline’ did go double platinum and received a slew of other awards, but I don’t believe he is worthy of having a spot on this cover due to having only one hit song. XXL isn’t really a fan of ‘one hit wonders’ and Aminé hasn’t done much else to put him in the conversation of being on the Freshman list.

Estimated Time To Get on the Cover: Unclear. Personally, I don’t think he’ll top ‘Caroline’.

Dae Dae: Dae Dae has a similar problem to Aminé in that he’s only had one song that took off. ‘What You Need (Family To Feed)’ has over 43 million plays on Youtube. But other than that, his catalogue of well known music is short.

Estimated Time To Get on the Cover: 1-3 years.

Lil Pump: Complex News calls 16 year old rapper, Lil Pump, “one of the most colorful and bizarre rappers coming out of South Florida”. His “weird but catchy” trap music is making waves with teenage crowds. I think that if there were an 11th spot on the freshman list, he would make it hands down. The only thing that truly sets him back is the fact that he hasn’t really had a chart topping hit yet.

Estimated Time To Get on the Cover: Next year.

Rob $tone: Same thing as Aminé and Kent Jones. His hit ‘Chill Bill’ was certified Platinum but his mixtape was a flop to say the least. Since Chill Bill, he hasn’t dropped any music that reached a million streams on SoundCloud or views Youtube.

Estimated Time To Get on the Cover: Unclear. I don’t think he’ll top ‘Chill Bill’.

Ski Mask The Slump God: Ski Mask The Slump God is so close to making it to the XXL Freshman cover, I just think that he hasn’t released his best work yet. He has one song on SoundCloud with frequent collaborator and XXL Freshman candidate XXXTentacion called ‘TAKE A STEP BACK’ that has over 20 million streams and a song with Lil Pump called ‘WHERE’S THE B**W’ that has over 10 million streams on SoundCloud, but other than that, he hasn’t had a ton of work that has really taken off. However, I am a fan of Ski Mask and I would be very surprised if he didn’t make the 2018 cover.

Estimated Time To Get on the Cover: 1 year most likely, 2 at most.

Album Review: Harry Styles

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Lauren Nicolella

Staff Writer

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Harry Styles released a self-titled album on May 12th that’s made its way up high on the iTunes charts right after being released. It contains 10 tracks, each telling its own story while introducing a more rock sound into mainstream music.

Admittedly, this is a bit of a biased review because I am an ongoing fan of One Direction. I am here to support each individual’s solo career and music because they are truly my favorite band of all time.

Those who did not previously enjoy Harry while he was singing in One Direction found themselves listening to his solo album and thoroughly enjoying certain songs. Sophomore Lucien Hearn had those exact feelings, “The vocals really shine through even though I haven’t liked them in previous years.”

Meet Me in the Hallway

The beginning of this song is mellow, with very soft and almost gloomy vocals that lead into a louder chorus. There is something about the first 20 seconds of the song that makes me feel so pleasant and want to look out of a car window dramatically. I can’t picture another song to open up the album because it is the perfect sound in preparation for the upcoming tracks that portray different styles.

Sign of the Times

I already did a review of this song on SLA media, check it out here!

Carolina

My only words I have to say about this song: what a bop. After having slower and sadder songs to begin with, Carolina is the perfect upbeat song to sing and dance to. An interesting story is being told, about a girl who moved to the west coast after living in Carolina. Every time it comes on shuffle, I want to get up and shout out the lyrics because the chorus is so fun and catchy.

Two Ghosts

I imagined this to be a super sad song based on the title, but instead it sounds a bit more upbeat. Although, the lyrics talk about how two people, who were possibly friends or in a relationship, are “not who they used to be”, making listeners face the reality that they can relate to what is being sung.

Sweet Creature

When I first heard this song, I did not like it. I don’t know what I had against it because after listening to it a few more times it eventually grew on me. It is a very sweet song, it makes me want to drink lemonade on a nice summer day while sitting on a porch or something.

Only Angel

The beginning of this song has an incredible gospel harmony, mixing in the piano from Sign of the Times. It sounds like you are floating up to heaven, ready to enter the gates. Then suddenly it stops and rock music intrudes. Harry screams a “hey, hey!” grabbing my attention instantly, and that’s when I claimed this to be my favorite song off of this album. To have that buildup and have the song completely change was super unexpected, but also the greatest thing ever. I imagine this to be a song that Harry opens his concert with, or hopefully mixes it into his performance of Sign of the Times.

Kiwi

I was hoping that Harry would make a song like this and I am completely satisfied with it. When I previously mentioned how Harry is bringing rock back into mainstream music this is exactly the song I am talking about that is doing so. When you have a line like “I’m having your baby, it’s none of your business” how can you not be intrigued to take a quick listen? I love listening to older rock songs and imagine that I am magically able to play the guitar, which is exactly what I do with this song because I get those old rock sounds.

Ever Since New York

I heard this song when Harry performed on Saturday Night Live a few weeks before his album was released and I could not stop watching. I do prefer it live rather than the studio version. The chorus is insanely catchy with its repetitive “Oh, tell me something I don’t already know”. Seeing Harry play the guitar made me want to scream (in a good way, of course), because he is truly becoming a rock legend whether people like it or not.

Woman

One thing I noticed about this album by the time I reached the eighth track: there are some great bass lines throughout these songs. This was one of those songs where I could hear the heavy rock influence, because the guitar solo at the end had me feeling major Pink Floyd vibes. There is a sound made by Harry that replicates the quacking of a duck, and I absolutely love it; it makes the song a bit more unique, in my opinion.

From the Dining Table

If you have access to headphones, I am asking you to please wear them while listening to this song. It sounds like Harry is right at your ear. This slow song sadly ends the album, explaining how “comfortable silence is overrated”. The harmonies and very light strums of an acoustic guitar set the perfect tone for a dramatic rainy day scene.

 

Overall Album Rating: 9/10

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I strongly encourage everyone to take a listen to this album, Harry should not be ignored since he is apart of a boyband. He was talented while being in One Direction, and is pursuing his own personal music taste, still having a large amount of talent. Sophomore Meymey Seng expressed her feelings towards that statement. “I hope that people will gain an appreciation for his voice when One Direction comes off of their hiatus and start producing new songs, because it is still his voice no matter what the song is.”

The Challenge of Finding Baseball Fields in Philadelphia

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Benjamin Simon

Staff Writer

 

When you first step on the baseball field at Vare Recreation Center, it’s clear that the space needs some work. Whether it’s the dirt bike tracks ripping the outfield or the stunningly short right field fence, the field is not ideal by any means.

But Vare is the home of the SLA Rockets’ baseball team, where they take the 20 minute ride on the 7 bus almost everyday of the week. It’s where the seniors on the team have been since their freshman season. Over those four years, the team has compiled back-to-back undefeated regular season records, earning them a chance to compete in the A division during the 2016-17 season. Their home games at Mt. Airy Playground on Germantown Avenue equate to a 30 minute drive.

This long commute is the reality of public school baseball, especially at SLA, where the school has no athletic facilities attached to the building. Finding suitable space has been a constant struggle.

At first it was the job of Athletic Director Matt Kay to find these facilities for sports teams. But about “4 or 5 years ago,” Kay decided that it would be best for coaches to find the fields themselves.

Head baseball coach, Doug Herman, was responsible for the search to find a field at the beginning of the program.

“When we officially formed our team in 2009 the Public League didn’t provide us with a field,” he said. “When I asked they said it was our responsibility to find one. I politely pushed back on that and the PIAA Baseball Chair at the time secured us a field.”

That field, located in Northeast Philly, was almost an hour and a half away during afternoon traffic. There was no way to check if the field would be playable or not after a night of rain. Without any way to check the condition of the field, Herman had to pass on the offer and for the first four years of the program, SLA was field-less for games and practices.

The public league holds around 45 baseball teams and almost one new team joins each year, making the need for fields is abundant. Still, 6 of the 13 teams in the Public League’s top division, the Independence Division, do not have fields at their school. The number just lessens as you descend upon the divisions, where it is even tougher to secure a field without a historic program.

Barry Strube, the District 12 Baseball Chair, commented on the rules for securing facilities, saying, “Neither PIAA nor [Philadelphia Public League] has anything to do with finding fields. The PPL provides supplies to assist in maintaining and lining fields but getting them is up to each individual school.” However, he did add that, “the school district and Philadelphia Department of Recreation have a partnership where each allows the other to use their facilities without charge.”

So, as a result, in the subsequent years, the team practiced at multiple locations, trying to find any patch of grass they could use to get the proper amount of work in. The third year called for celebration, as Herman finally earned a permit to use the Von Colln Field at 22nd and Parkway from the Fairmount Park Association baseball league.

Unfortunately, when the season started, Herman and the baseball team were met with anger. The Hallahan softball team had been using the fields.

“They claimed our permit wasn’t valid because we were a new team,” Herman said, “and that any team that had used the field prior has ‘right of first refusal.’”

Herman and the Rockets were denied the right to the use field and as a result, were field-less for the first four years of the program. In the meantime, they would sometimes use fields in South Philadelphia like Smith Playground and Marconi Plaza, until Herman crossed paths with Dan Winterstein, a retired high school teacher and baseball coach. In addition to agreeing to be the JV coach, Winterstein offered allowance to the use Mt. Airy baseball fields on occasion. Those fields have now become the home field for the Rockets.

With a home field secured, Herman turned to the issue of where to practice. Through connections, Herman scratched up the South Philadelphia field at 26th and Morris. While the baseball program has significantly improved resources since 2009, it still not at the place that compares to other top teams.

The question is, with more and more schools being founded, how can enough resources be provided for teams like SLA for the future?   

Kay recognizes that athletic facilities have not caught up with the trend of smaller schools.

“How it’s set up now worked fine in an era of big neighborhood schools. All of them were self contained with their own fields and gyms,” Kay said. “But [not] with all of the SLA’s, Constitution’s, and the 4 billion charter schools that are in office buildings. You no longer have 4,000 kid schools, [which] were built to give kids all of the things they need.”

Kay dreams of a world where the school district would create more athletic “supersites.” There are a couple in the city, including the Gratz Supersite and the South Philadelphia Supersite, where the Rockets played in their Final Four game two years ago.

“I think we could put 2 or 3 of them in the city, especially when I think about the stimulus money and other money that was wasted on other stuff,” said Kay. “That’s now gone and there’s no results and you played staffing and and then you have to fire those people with temporary money, it was all stupid. If we would have used that stimulus money and any other money to build two or three Competitive Edge style supersites where three or four schools could have home gyms there.”

In the meantime, Herman hopes that the baseball team can secure some of the fields of local college baseball teams when they aren’t playing. He cited Temple, Penn, and Drexel as possible landing spots specifically, as Temple destroyed their baseball program a few years ago and Penn and Drexel are a less than 15 minute walk from SLA.

It may not be right in the school’s backyard, but it’s more than a big improvement from not having a field just 5 years ago.

 

Photo courtesy of Doug Herman

Holding Off on the Capstones

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Aidan Williams

Staff Writer

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“I always procrastinate. I would rather have fun in the moment and put my responsibilities off for another time.” Griffin Gallagher told me. “But, nine out of ten times, procrastination will bite you in the ass.”

I was asking Griffin about his Capstone Project: A Philadelphia School District graduation requirement. However, being a project based school, our school is more inclined to place more stock in it, and SLA seniors are given the entire year to come up with the best project they can. However, just as with most school projects, many students will procrastinate.

“[My work] was inconsistent.” Aaron Watson-Sharer told me. “Until the last month I really didn’t do much. I knew I had to get it done, but for most of the year my time wasn’t really focused on the capstone. I was more focused on sports and classes.”

With so much schoolwork on top of applying for college, it’s no wonder that many students have a hard time finding the motivation to work on this project, especially when the deadline seems so far away. However, it creeps up ever-so-slowly, until it’s only a week away.

I sat down with Mr. Best, the Capstone coordinator this year, and asked him about the best and worst of the Capstone project.

“It’s independant work. Students learn about something they’re interested in, something that’s helpful to others.” Mr. Best advised. “Do something more than volunteer. Spin off a program. Do real work.”

I asked Mr. Best to think of less-advisable Capstone projects. “The first year, no one really knew how to do it. This one kid who really didn’t know how to do it basically stood up and did his Capstone on how not to do a Capstone.

“Everyone runs into challenges. You’ve got this great idea of what you want to do, but you run into road-blocks. Capstones change as the year goes on. A lot of it is what the student makes out of the hand they’re given.”

“D is for Diploma,” Mr. Best joked, but, ultimately, it’s true. The Capstone project is something that can be completed with any degree of the students’ capacity, and a bad Capstone project due to procrastination is still a Capstone project. However, I’d imagine colleges probably don’t want to see a Capstone project on how not to do a Capstone project. So, if there’s any takeaway, it would be this: Don’t wait until the last moment to do your capstone. Save yourself the trouble.

Poetry Showcase and Finals

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Lauren Nicolella

Staff Writer

Poster made by 9th grader Maren Lamb
Poster made by 9th grader Maren Lamb

On Thursday, May 25th, the SLA Poetry Club finally hosted their annual Poetry Showcase.

The original slam, scheduled for February,  got postponed multiple times due to weather and half days.

The problem with the planned showcase earlier in the year was the lack of poems the club had prepared, and a lack of a steady amount of people. Now, there are a lot of pieces ready and more to come, in preparation for the PYPM slam league finals.

Some of these poems were performed for the first time at the showcase for future slams, others had already been performed at competitions. Sophomore Kimberly Gucciardi-Kriegh was able to give information about some of the pieces.

“We are going to be competing in the PYPM finals, and all of the poems we’re going to be putting up for finals, are also going to be in the showcase. We get to test out these poems on a real audience and see what they react to and what they like.”

With the news of there being a newly planned poetry showcase, it excited those who did not get the chance to go last year or in February. One of those students was Sophomore Miguel Rivera. He explained how this one is at a more convenient time of the year, and how excited he is to see his friends perform.

“I really like poems, and my best friend Kimberly is going to be there, so I have to support her. I went last year and it was interesting.”

The hosts of this year’s event were sophomores Afi Koffi, Jowon Dorbor, and Nzinga Bey, along with Kyianna Thomas as the DJ. Afi and Jowon themselves opened up the show with their “Finesse Poem,” explaining the works of Snapchat and capturing the perfect selfie to send to your streaks.

There were multiple poems performed by students of all grades, speaking on topics like politics to using cats and mice as metaphors. Mr. Kay himself closed the event by performing a heart-wrenching short piece about his trip to Cambodia.

The money that was raised at the showcase will go towards a trip that the Poetry Club will take together.

After a rocky start to the season, the SLA poetry club has improved as a whole since February, and the showcase has the team ready for their appearance in the finals.

The final competition takes place on Friday, June 2nd at Gershman Y on Broad Street.

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