‘SOUL & SURVEILLANCE' (D’Angelo x VERZUZ, Bobby Shmurda Is Free, Vanessa Bryant Vs Meek Mill, Rina Sawayama x British Citizenship)

Welcome back to Don’t Alert the Stans! After a nearly four-month hiatus, the boys of DATSPOD are back get you through this bleak time in history called 2021. Season 6 is finally here, kicking off with a jam-packed episode with just Nic and Sope. Proceedings begin with optimistic news of institutional progression. British-Japanese pop maverick Rina Sawayama has successfully prompted the BRIT Awards and Mercury Prize to change their eligibility criteria to have all UK residents acknowledged, even if they’re not British citizens (39:38). Meek Mill is once again made a social pariah following the backlash he received after his appearance on a leaked track. His verse features inappropriate lyrics about the death of Kobe Bryant, which resulted in his widow Vanessa Bryant addressing him on social media (48:49). D’Angelo who is one of Sope’s all-time favourite and beloved artists this past week made a rare public appearance to do a solo edition of VERZUS. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a very underwhelming and disappointing showing (01:05:05). Rounding out the show is the news that after 7 years of being incarcerated, Bobby Shmurda was released from prison. Wanting to discuss the context around what led to Bobby’s stint in prison, Nic decides to not focus on the prospect of new music but dive into the wider socio-political implications that led to Bobby’s initial arrest. Provoking a dialogue on the criminalisation and surveillance of drill music and Hip-Hop here in the UK as well as New York (01:24:15). Not one to miss! Sope’s Listens for the Week: Jamila Woods - LEGACY! LEGACY! Kirk Franklin - Brighter Day Corinne Bailey Rae - Corinne Bailey      Rae Janet Jackson - janet. Remixed Nic’s Listens for the Week: Mariah The Scientist - MASTER ShaSimone - Supersize Eden’s Listens for the Week: N/A Remember to RATE, REVIEW AND SUBSCRIBE! Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intro Music by: @Jmzofficial Artwork designed by: @_manlikemike Episode audio edited by: @TonySupremeuk ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get involved! Don't forget to tweet us your thoughts on the episode at #DATSPOD! Rate and review us on Soundcloud, Apple Music, Spotify and Anchor Follow us on: Twitter - @datspod Instagram - @datspod Anchor – @datspodcast Hashtag - #DATSPOD