What I Watch To Remember That One Day I'll Triumph Over My Enemies

This week, I'm reflecting on Drake's 2010 interview for a Jewish lifestyle magazine.

You're reading a reSEARCH excerpt from Incoming, BuzzFeed News’ morning newsletter written by yours truly. If you're interested in reading Incoming in full, sign up here.

So you're looking for inspiration to triumph over your enemies, huh? I get it. Not an ounce of judgment coming from me.

When I was putting together this week's reSEARCH, I didn't explicitly have vendettas on my mind. But in retrospect, these recommendations have all earnestly reminded me at some point in time that moving past your demons requires patience and time and hard work. Whether your enemies are external beings or internal regrets, overcoming them starts with knowing that you are capable of making the changes you need in your life. You can do it. You will.

These are the things Incoming readers and I have been using to recharge this week. Hope you enjoy it.

A youthful drake raps onstage in a black t shirt

Revisiting

My Dinner With Drake” by Amos Barshad. Published in 2018, Barshad reflected on that time he interviewed the then-up-and-coming rapper Drake for Heeb, which he described as a “spiky publication that imagined itself as the home for discerning, self-effacing Jewish hipsters.”

"I recently dug up my original pitch, and it. Is. Atrocious," Bashad writes. “'Don’t know if you’ve heard of this guy Drake, but he’s probably the most buzzed about young rapper these days,' my young, foolish, plucky self wrote." 

Drake: The Heeb Interview” by Amos Barshad. Published in 2010, Barshad recounted his night out interviewing Drake, who at the time was gaining traction for his mixtape So Far Gone. "Drake tucks his 6’2″ frame, decked out unassumingly in baggy jeans and a black hoodie, inside the restaurant’s low-slung alcove," Bashad writes. “The hostess tells Drake she’ll send over a specific waiter — 'Angelo’s your favorite, right?'”

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YouTube

Obsessing

The Voice auditions. A YouTube rabbit hole I frequent is watching auditions for The Voice. These auditions may seem to be about evaluating amateur singers, but for me it is much greater than that. When we watch someone audition for the show, we experience secondhand all the vulnerability, hope, disappointment, and pride that comes with believing in oneself.

We observe friends or family watching the performance, nervously hoping that John Legend will hear potential in the voice of someone they love; we see the way contestants represent their identities through their song choice and style; after they're finished singing we see them emote triumph, disappointment, and the catharsis that comes from giving yourself a real chance, even if it seemed like a silly idea once. These videos remind me that being true to ourselves and having people to love you through it all is imperative and fundamentally human. —Maddie

Streaming

You” by Gold Panda. “You” is the Rorschach test of songs. On a good day, its wordless, trilling melody feels fit to close out a coming-of-age movie, one where the protagonists speed down the freeway with the car windows down, drunk on optimism and possibility. On not-so-good days, its gritty drumline will remind you that you’ll eventually say goodbye to everyone you love, one way or another. Choose your own adventure!

P.S. If you haven’t already, check out Charli XCX’s “You (Ha Ha Ha),” wherein Charli has the audacity to sample “You,” a track mainly composed of pulsating beeps, and have it turn out incredibly.

Wow, you read the whole thing! Thanks for that. If you have a favorite corner of the internet that you’d like to share, send it my way at hellomobile@buzzfeed.com with the subject line “reSEARCH.” We may feature it in a future newsletter.


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