Major spoilers ahead!

To recap, Captain Flint’s desire for the war that will bring freedom to the pirate island of Nassau started from the grief and rage over losing the man he loved, Thomas Hamilton. Trusted friend John Silver’s desire to see his captured love Madi free and safe overwhelms his own desire for the war that Flint so desperately needs and the friendship he feels for him, no matter that Madi wants the war for her people just as much as Flint does. Their battle against Billy Bones and Governor Woodes Rogers, one driven by the betrayal of his pirate brethren, the other by the loss of his wife by his own ambitions, rages on after Rogers destroys the Walrus and murders most of the crew on board with Billy’s help. Silver and Flint’s own battle for the treasure is put on hold as they rush to help their crew.

The episode starts out with one of Silver’s men interrogating the owner of a prison farm about the unwanted people sent there by their wealthy English relatives. Silver’s man is looking for a very specific person, but we do not yet hear the name of him. Meanwhile, Silver and Flint rush to save as many as they can and receive unexpected help in the form of Jack Rackham, there to try and get the treasure for himself and to kill Flint to appease the grandmother of the late Eleanor Guthrie/Rogers in order to receive her help to take over Nassau for themselves. However, he agrees to engage against Rogers in a final altercation.

The battle that ensues takes place on all levels of the ship, Flint fighting Bones among the rigging, Rackham with his men against the redcoats on the deck, and Silver fighting his way to Madi down below. Flint sends Bones down into the ocean then helps Rackham finally defeat Rogers. Silver, after meeting the cook in a nice bit of cyclical writing, discovers that Madi is still alive and frees her in an emotional reunion. All that is left to retrieve the treasure from where Flint had buried it.

As Flint and Silver go to dig it up, Flint knows that things are not going as they should. Silver reveals that he had made arrangements earlier so that there would be no war and no more danger for the woman he loves. He returns to Madi’s island without the treasure, and without Flint. Rackham goes back to the colonies where he and Max negotiate with Lady Guthrie for the control of Nassau. Max still refuses to take a husband because of her feelings for Anne Bonny, but puts in her own people instead to become the controlling power, while Rackham dictates the story of humiliation that Rogers will face.

Madi and Silver fight about the fate of the war and Flint. She hates that he gave the war up for her as she was fighting for the memory and the future of current and former slaves such as herself, and she hates that she believes that he killed Flint. Silver then tells her that he did not kill Flint, he “unmade him”, took the rage from him by giving him back what he had lost. Thomas Hamilton was alive and at the prison farm he had sent his man to investigate and Flint was reunited with his lost love. Madi still cannot forgive him, so Silver says he will wait.

The final scenes of the show, surprisingly, focus on Rackham as he tells new recruit “Mark” Read about what had happened with Long John Silver and those connected with him. We see Billy Bones washed ashore on Skeleton Island, alone for what he’d done, Silver still waiting for Madi’s forgiveness, and Mrs. Hudson finally back with her children. Rackham and Anne are running their own totally-not-a-pirate ship (because there are no more pirates) under the blessing of new rulers of Nassau, Featherstone and Idelle and through them Max, and they unveil Rackham’s long desired legacy in the Jolly Roger flag.

The show itself is 4 seasons of great storytelling and compelling writing. As a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson‘s Treasure Island, the writers of Black Sails did a superb job in writing a story about a war that all those familiar with the novel know would end up being a failure. That being said, they did not make the story a completely tragic one. The changed Flint’s narrative from being a failed dead man to someone who retired into obscurity to live with the peace that had long eluded him. Nassau did not get the revolution so many wanted, but it thrives under the veneer of British civilisation without the amount of bloodshed the war would have cost. Silver himself is the most tragic person in this tale: he brought about his own end, but also the end to those closest to him. He ensured he would never see Flint again, and he broke the trust between himself and Madi in denying her the war she wanted for her people and doing so much behind her back in a massive betrayal.

While definitely intended for mature audiences due to sexual and violent themes, there is something for everyone in this show. There is an excess of action and adventure and everything you would expect from it being a pirate show, romance and drama, and a lot of great costumes and weaponry that come with it being a period piece. There is an underlying theme of the greyscale of morality and how different perspectives can shape different peoples worldviews, and how those views can change over time. There are many bi/pan, interracial, and polyamorous relationships that are not villified nor even really questioned about by the “good” guys, and is never made out to be the point of the show or the characters, simply an unquestioned part of it. All in all, Black Sails is a well rounded show that stretched the imagination many times and the plot only sometimes with believable characters insofar as the universe exists.

Episodes of Black Sails can be found through Starz.

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Starz, who recently extending their contract with 50, will air “Tomorrow, Today” on September 18th. The series is  based on a screenplay  50 wrote about a mad prison doctor doing an experiment on a falsely imprisoned veteran from the south side of Chicago. The plan was to turn the veteran in to create some sort of super villain that’s trained to kill. Unfortunately, doc’s the experiment back fired and the villain turned into a savior who used his power for the betterment of mankind.

Starz and 50 are both excited about the new series. In press release 50 said, “I am looking forward to continuing my relationship with my Starz family, we have had great success together on ‘Power’ and I am excited to get going on all of our upcoming projects together. I knew Starz would be the perfect home for Tomorrow, Today. This project is very personal to me…creating it, writing it, finding the best team for it and I will continue to be involved every step of the way,” said Jackson.

“We’re excited to develop this series with Curtis to showcase his producing skills with this unique storyline,” added Carmi Zlotnik, managing director of Starz.

Power has already received record breaking success as episode one of Power Season 3 was Starz’s most watched original series in network history. Premiere viewership increased by a mind-blowing 58% over Season 2, and 389% from Season 1. Both parties are looking for that same success with Tomorrow, Today.”

With the addition to “Tomorrow, Today,” 50 took it to Instagram to share another series that’s in the works called “Black Mafia Family.”

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The post 50 Cent Gets New Television Series On Starz Called “Tomorrow, Today” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Starz has dropped the first teaser trailer for the upcoming third season of the hit show, Power.

The upcoming third season will comprise of a total of 10 full episodes. Although no exact date has been released at this time, the hit drama series is expected to premiere in July and not the usual June premiere.

All of your favorite key players are expected to return including Omari Hardwick as Ghost, Naturi Naughton as Tasha St. Patrick, Lela Loren as Angela Valdes as well as the rest of the cast we’ve gotten to know over the course of the show.

The dynamic trailer showcases Ghost, who seems to be at odds with everyone, including former partner Tommy Egan. The words “Ghost Must Die” appears towards the end.

According to Indiewire, the second season premiered on Saturday, June 6, 2015, drawing 1.427 million viewers. Not only were those numbers a series high, they were the highest ratings ever for an episode of a Starz original drama, the cable TV network said at the time.

From Executive Producer, Curtis Jackson and show creator and Executive Producer, Courtney Kemp Agboh, Power season 3 picks up right where season 2 left off with a little more oomph:

“I really want to blow people’s minds,” says showrunner Kemp of the season ahead in an interview with EW published this morning. “I really want to pump more octane in to season 3. More things will happen and there’s more stimuli. It’s not that you can’t have quiet moments, but I want people to have this adrenaline-fueled experience at home. We have that in movies all the time, but I want to reach in and make you have a reaction.”

Peep the trailer below.

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The post Starz Has Finally Dropped a Power Teaser [WATCH] appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

BE GREAT

“I believe greatness is an evolutionary process that changes and evolves era to era.” – Michael Jordan

20 years ago Outkast stood on a stage at Madison Square Garden, and got booed after receiving the Source Award for Best New Rap Group. Being the birthplace of hip-hop, a vast majority of New York City natives were quite territorial back then, and not as open to receiving other areas representing the culture artistically. Plus, the amped-up east coast/west coast feud being elevated throughout the evening’s ceremony didn’t help. But little did we know at the time, that awkward experience ultimately turned into a milestone moment in hip-hop, after ‘Kast member Andre ‘Dre’ Benjamin stepped up to the mic and made it clear that “The South got something to say.” Not only did that rejection fuel the Atlanta duo to work harder to get better at their craft, but it also ignited a movement for every other aspiring rap act outside of New York to not only be themselves but to also be okay with not trying to sound like, be like or be accepted by anyone resistant to the change that was coming.

The cool thing about hip-hop in that era was the fact that it wasn’t cool to sound like someone else. Although it’s natural to be influenced and inspired by heroes and peers, what makes artists great is the ability to master the existing skills that best fit one’s personality, and to creatively make it their own. LBJ started off wanting to be like Mike, but now LeBron James has a great legacy of his own. Somehow we’ve arrived at a place, musically, where a lot of what’s being played on the radio and in the clubs is sounding the same. Based on those existing playlists, it’ll be hard not to credit Future and Mike WiLL Made-It for initiating the current trend. For only the second time ever, the two brilliant minds sat down for an interview together to share their perspective on why they continue to win, and how they’re continuing move the culture forward, which is the centerpiece for this issue’s theme on inspiring greatness.

Within the last 20 years, a lot of the great music that has helped reshape the way that the culture has been received has made it’s way through Patchwerk Recording Studios in Atlanta. From T.I. to Young Jeezy, Missy Elliott to Beyoncé, Nas to Kendrick Lamar, a lot of history has happened inside those walls. Across town, K Camp has quietly been kicking down doors and making a name for himself by being himself. Ice Cube has been relevant since 1987, when his controversial, sociopolitical organization disguised itself as the gangsta rap group N.W.A. The west coast legend’s new biopic Straight Outta Compton exposes a lot of new information regarding the methods behind their madness.

Years ago I had a talent and production deal with Starz, so it’s great to see my former team doing big TV numbers with Power and Survivor’s Remorse. We wish continued success to 50 Cent, Naturi Naughton, LeBron and RonReaco Lee. Not enough can be said to express our appreciation for our outstanding POV line up, Kyle Christy and Todd Spoth. Dig deeper, learn more and please join us at respect-mag.com for more digital coverage on this issue’s participants. Much love goes out to Greg Street, Jason Jeter, A3C, Courtney Lowery, Yvette Gayle, B. Write, Tony Draper, Robert Redd, Talitha Watkins, Joy Phillips, Curtis Daniel, April Love, Zaytoven, and Tony Gervino, our super-dope RESPECT. editor whom I missed in my last letter. Until next time…

#FocusOrFold

Adell Henderson

Editor-In-Chief
Issue Inspiration: Eric Thomas, “The Combat Jack Show,” 1 Goal 1 Passion, and the victims, families and friends of the Charleston shooting for inspiring the #RespectPlanDemand initiative. Stay tuned—more to come.

The post Future & Mike WiLL Made-It COVER: Issue #23 Editor’s Letter appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.