This week’s episode of The Flash “Magenta”, showed us even more consequences of Barry’s altering of the timeline. In the previous episode (episode 2), Barry realizes that the world he is now living in is still different and that nothing will ever be exactly the same again. Flash from Earth 2 explained to Barry, after he ripped him from the speedforce, that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, a separate but similar timeline was created. One where Cisco can control his powers and where Caitlin is developing Killer Frost’s powers. The changes even rippled across the arrowverse. Diggle now has a son and Oliver has sleeves again.

Meta’s from the Flashpoint are also being given their powers back by none other than Dr. Alchemy. First it was The Rival, Edward Clarss and now Frankie Kane aka Magenta. Magenta has the ability to control and bend metal at her will. Kind of like a female Magneto. Magenta is a second personality of Frankie who is out to kill her foster father John James for abusing her. Unfortunately Barry cannot take on Magenta alone. Luckily for him a breach is opened at the lab and Wells and his daughter Jesse come through.

Jesse is now a speedster, which bums Wally out as they were both hit by the dark matter and only Jesse has powers. Well’s brought her back to in hopes to convince her not to become a superhero. That doesn’t go as planned as Jesse ends up being the one to help Barry; she creates a figure-8 while running to propel the tanker Magenta is trying to drop on the hospital in order to kill her adopted father. While Jesse is keeping the tanker in the air, Barry is trying to reach Frankie and get Magenta to stop. He is successful and is able to learn how Dr. Alchemy is getting the Metas to come to him; Dr. Alchemy reaches out to them in dreams. First the dreams are at night only, then all the time and they slowly become more painful until they Metas finally hear Dr. Alchemy’s voice calling to them.

We then learn that Wally has also had dreams about being Kid Flash. Will he go to Alchemy in order to get his powers back?

After saving the day, Barry gets Magenta into a good home and makes sure she is alright and Jesse gets a suit and a new name Jesse Quick. Iris and Barry then try going on a second date but once again Barry has to leave and go to the station. At the station Joe shows Barry Clarss getting killed by Dr. Alchemy. Sidebar: how is Iris getting back?

Next Week

We meet a Bonnie and Clyde couple of sorts. One of which is a Meta that can travel through mirrors and traps Barry inside one.

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Arrow Season 5 Premiere Recap: “Legacy” *SPOILERS*

The post ‘The Flash’ Recap: “Magenta” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Photo by Sagan Lockhart

When Earl Sweatshirt returned form Samoa, the hip-hop community accepted him with open arms. As the young emcee has gotten back into the swing of things by making and releasing new music, some of those arms have started to take up arms, frequently firing shots at Earl for his alleged fall from grace. In true Odd Future fashion, Earl eventually took to the internet and responded with a sardonic tweet:

This nigga earl fell off bruh. This nigga boof.

— Earl Sweatshirt (@earlxsweat) July 21, 2012

It seems silly to debate whether or not Earl has fallen off– whatever that really even means. After all, he’s only released one song (“Home“). Other than that, all he has released is guest verses. Yet for some reason, Earl’s detractors see those verses as evidence of an imminent decline. Because these detractors can’t seem to shut up on their own, it’s time for an intervention.

First, it’s important to remember that Earl rose to prominence when he was not currently making music, kind of like an artist becoming popular after death or incarceration. Because Earl was neither making music nor able to talk about the music he made, the existing music and everything it embodied eclipsed him. In other words, because Earl was the dominant image of Earl and that image had nothing standing beside it, in fans’ minds, Earl is Earl. That image of Earl stands at odds with his experiences in Samoa and with Earl’s plans for the future. As expressed in Jon Caramanica’s article and more recent tweets Earl is done with Earl.

I hope i lose you as a fan if you only fuck with me cause i rapped about raping girls when i was 15.

— Earl Sweatshirt (@earlxsweat) August 12, 2012

That being said, the accusations being leveled against Earl aren’t necessarily about his content. According to the murmurs, post-Samoa Earl just isn’t as technically proficient as Earl. That doesn’t hold up. “Home,” Earl’s aptly named first released song upon his return, makes this apparent: “Mouth deliver poop, it’s spouting mucus from its stupid tongue/Alpha male, got the chickens looser than his cruising trucks/Losers get a Kuma Punch, I’m moving like a puma’s lunch.” The internal rhymes, the brash, impudent lyrics and the stunted delivery  that Earl is known for are all there. The only noticeable difference is a deeper voice and less undulation in Earl’s tone, products of physical maturation. In Syd the Kyd’s own words, Earl’s matured, but he hasn’t changed.

On his guest verses, Earl is just as vibrant as he is on “Home.” Domo Genesis’ “Elimination Chamber” and Frank Ocean’s “Super Rich Kids” feature an Earl that fits right in with the tone and concepts of the songs. Perhaps that’s the issue. While Earl was away, he stood out. Youthful, rebellious and absent in person, yet present in the music– the Earl we get on Earl is an iconoclast, an anomaly and an enigma. Now that he’s back, his tweets, his guest verses and video appearances constantly remind us that he is just like any other rapper. Put simply, now that Earl’s mystique is gone, the man himself stands in its wake.

In the end, the murmurs of a sophomore slump are nonsense. Earl hasn’t even started his next semester yet. So far, all he’s done is summer coursework. For fans who have always been more enthralled by the music than by the mystique, the former has been and will be the determining factor for any evaluations of Earl’s status. For those who are still in love with the mystique, that’s fine, but your relationship is a lie.

The post disRESPECT. To All The Earl Haters: He Hasn’t Fallen Off, Your Relationship Was Just A Lie appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.