So Far The year is only halfway over, but these rap songs have already gone the extra mile.

2018, like all other years that came before it, has been a polarizing one for the music industry. A lot of drama has gone done in the industry in the past couple months alone, and great music has come from it. The good new is, we even have more to look forward to for the rest of the year, such as Wiz Khalifa’s just-released album, Young Thug’s “Slime Language,” Nicki Minaj’s “Queen” and Childish Gambino’s final album.But for now, here are the top 10 songs of 2018 — at least the ones I’ve been listening to avidly over the past six-and-a-half months.

10. “Shoota” by Playboi Carti (featuring Lil Uzi Vert)

Carti starts his verse asking, “Woke up with my toolie, what it do?” Damn, this morning I woke up, ate a bowl of cereal, watched some “First Take” and mumbled along to this for nearly 35 minutes.

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9. “Brotha Man” by A$AP Rocky (featuring French Montana and Frank Ocean)

It doesn’t get much better than A$AP Rocky throwing numerous letters and numbers into his lines. He does not disappoint, and this delicately lush cut off his relatively disappointing album hits the mark.

8. “March 14” by Drake

 really, REALLY wanted to choose “Emotionless” for this spot, but he raps about Instagram way too much on there. That, and “March 14” is also a far more important song in terms of how Drake’s 2018 has gone down so far.

As you all know by now, the guy has a child, and this is the only cut on the album that addresses it in full. He lets his fans in on the night he got the news (“Got the news in Miami that now we all got ones that we raisin’) and talks to his son about his father (“You haven’t met your grandfather yet, that n—- a trip”). And the coolest thing of all, the coincidence that is Adonis’ birth month (“October baby for irony’s sake, of course”).

Premier Lyric: “Hopefully by the time you hear this / Me and your mother will have come around / Instead of always cuttin’ each other down”

7. “Nice for What” by Drake

This, somehow, still doesn’t seem as overplayed as “In My Feelings,” and it’s been out for three months longer. Having said that, this is still the best song that Drake released in all of 2018. And it’s also really f—— good.

As an ode to bounce music and its Bayou-based origins, “Nice for What” even pays homage to his Cash Money mentors (read lyric above, and pay some yourself if you weren’t aware).

Premier Lyric: “Everybody get yo mothaf—–’ roll on / I know shawty and she doesn’t want no slow song”

6. “When I Think About It” by Future

Maybe it’s because of the way he says, “Popcorn, movie, n—- snap a pic!” with such bravado that it convinces me to place this somewhere on this list. What am I saying? That’s exactly why I put this here.

Future has never sounded so generous and hopeful, and he is so open-minded and positive on this song! Let’s go Soup Fetch (Super Future)! He dreams of his children’s future (“All these cars my kids inheritin’ when I think about it”), which showcases that there’s simply no reason you can’t love this guy.

Premier Lyric: “Got a million dollars in jewelry when I think about it / Got more guns than a terrorist when I think about it”

5. “Captain Crunch” by Czarface and MF Doom

MF Doom starts the song by eating Captain Crunch for lunch, so I absolutely had to give it a spot on the list. In one of the most intricately worded rap albums you might ever hear, the two stupefying lyricists go back and forth. And this one is as good as it gets.

Premier Lyric: “Don’t deal with the devil on a deep level / They see metal and sound off like a tea kettle”

4. “King’s Dead” by Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Future

In one of the most ubiquitous flows in the history of 2018, “King’s Dead” led to a memethat was hard to miss. And on top of that, the entire song is genuinely great.

Yeah, Jay Rock had a cool verse, and Kendrick rapped a mean hook, but holy sh*t, Future took the entire thing left field and made it one of the biggest rap songs of the year.

Premier Lyric: “LA-DI-DA-DI-DA……”

3. “Nights (DEMO)” by Frank Ocean

Although it was not an official release, the leaked demo from Ocean’s 2016 masterpiece, “Blonde,” came to light at the beginning of the summer, and it has been on loop in my routine ever since.

The two verses that did not appear on the album version are witty and, as for the first one, dense in entendres. Ocean’s rapping ability has showcased on social media constantly thanks to that one “Oldie” verse that’s always popping up everywhere. But in terms of what was already one of the album’s most transcendent songs, a couple more stanzas certainly don’t hurt.

Premier Lyric: “Phone drown on the concrete in the summer blaze”

2. “Offshore” by Swae Lee (featuring Young Thug)

Although this is one of three songs that I actually listened to on this album, I couldn’t be any more glad that I did. Being the noble Young Thug stan that I am, there was no way in hell I was going to skip this.

1)Juice WRLD – Lucid Dreams (Dir. by @_ColeBennett_)

A lucid dream is a dream during which the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming. During a lucid dream, the dreamer may gain some amount of control over the dream characters, narrative, and environment; however, this is not actually necessary for a dream to be described as lucid.

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RIP XXXTENTACION

The International Olympic Committee and the Global Association of International Sports Federations recently hosted an e-sports forum to explore shared similarities, possible partnership and the looming question of whether video gaming could be recognized as an Olympic event.

Ever since the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris first expressed interest of possibly adding electronic sports to the Olympic Games program, we’ve seen a growing interest by the IOC in e-sports — traditionally defined as any “organized video game competitions.”

Recognizing the growing interest in e-sports, the organizing committee of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris said: “The youth are interested, let’s meet them.”

As an Olympian and former world class high jumper, I struggle with the notion of e-sports becoming an Olympic sport. I am not alone. Conversations I’ve had with other Olympians reveal concerns about comparing the physical skill and demands of traditional athletic competition with e-sports.

Given the IOC’s advocacy role for physical activity, e-sports seems to be a conflict with its push for an active society.

In an interview with Inside the Games, Sarah Walker, an IOC Athletes’ Commission member and three-time world champion in BMX, explained her opposition.

“If I want to practise any Olympic discipline, if I wanted to try one of them, I actually have to go out and do it. I have to be active. Where gaming is right now, if I was inspired to be a gamer, my first step is to go home and sit on the couch.”

Most Olympians recognize that those who participate in e-sports spend a great deal of time training — even working with nutritionists and sport psychologists to improve their prowess. But is that is that enough to join the Olympic Games family?

$1 billion market

Given the growth in popularity, it’s understandable why the IOC would want to partner with e-sports. The IOC generates more than 90 per cent of its revenue from broadcast and sponsorship. Partnering with e-sports, where revenue is generated mostly through sponsorship but where more money is coming from broadcasting, could be complementary and attractive.

The marketing firm Newzoo estimated last year that with brand investment growing by 48 per cent, the global e-sports economy will reach almost $1 billion in 2018.

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ESPN provides in-depth analysis and coverage with a digital verticalplatform on e-sports and the network recently announced an exclusive multi-year agreement with Blizzard Entertainment for live television coverage of the professional e-sport Overwatch League, with the finals airing in prime time.

Is e-sport a sport?

Still, the question remains, is e-sports — “organized video game competitions” — actually a sport?

To answer this question, perhaps we need to revisit the academic definition of sport. While differences may exist in their granular descriptions of sport, researchers appear to converge on three central attributes: The sport involves a physical component, it is competitive, and it is institutionalized, meaning a governing body establishes the rules of performance.

While e-sports can be argued to be competitive and institutionalized, the first criteria of physicality is where it falls short.

Some have argued the fine motor movements that are required with the hand-held controller by e-sport players fulfils this criterion. However, the same could be said about various table top games.

A 2016 study in Quest, the journal of the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education, used the block-building game Jenga to illustrate this point. Jenga requires precision and dexterity as each player must to remove one block from the bottom and delicately place the block on top without disturbing the structure. There is even a Jenga World Championship. Perhaps then Jenga should also be considered an Olympic sport.

Since the modern Olympics were first held in 1896, the number of participating sports has grown over the years. The first Games had just nine sports — athletics (track and field), cycling, fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, a total of 28 sports were contested. Five more will be added for 2020 Games in Tokyo Games.

The first step for a sport to be included in the Olympic Games program requires being recognized by the IOC. In this process, the sport must have overarching international federation (IF) that will govern the sport — enforcing the rules and regulations of the Olympic Movement, which includes drug testing. (It is also possible for a sport to be recognized as an Olympic sport and never participate in the Games, as is the case for chess, bowling and powerboating.)

Once recognized, the sport’s IF can apply for admittance into the Olympic program as a sport, a discipline or an event. For example, the women’s steeplechase was added to the 2008 Olympic Games as an event within the sport of athletics.

More sports added

An Organising Committee of an Olympic Games (OCOG) can also propose the inclusion of an event. Most recently, the IOC allowed the addition of karate, surfing, sports climbing and baseball/softball to the Olympic program in Tokyo 2020.

Paris 2024 had indicated an interest in including e-sports on its program, but the IOC has said it won’t be eligible by the time the schedule is set in 2020. Still, IOC President Thomas Bach said at the recent e-sports forum that the meeting was a “first step of a long journey” to what could lead to Olympic recognition.

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A male-dominated activity

Central to the Olympic Movement and nestled within the criteria of accepting a new sport is gender equality. Interestingly, this has been an area in which e-sports has been heavily criticized.

A study that reviewed gender and gaming determined that even though there are approximately equal numbers of males and females who play video games, most professional gamers are male. Moreover, female players who achieve some level of success are marginalized. Researchers concluded the “video game culture is actively hostile towards women in the private as well as the professional spheres.”Thirteen minutes of sexual harassment on Cross Assault in e-sports for Miranda Pakozdi.

Within the gaming community, it is not a surprise for female players to be harassed.

One notable case involved Miranda Pakozdi, who was sexually harassed for 13 minutes on the live internet program “Cross Assault.” The portrayal of females in e-sports should also concern the IOC. Women are usually depicted as highly sexually and as victims instead of heroines.

Many Olympians, including me, feel it’s inevitable that e-sports will one day join the Olympic family. Still, one can only wonder if Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Games, would question whether the values of the Olympic Movement are being compromised for the financial enticements that e-sports promise.

Galaxies in our universe seem to be achieving an impossible feat. They are rotating with such speed that the gravity generated by their observable matter could not possibly hold them together; they should have torn themselves apart long ago. The same is true of galaxies in clusters, which leads scientists to believe that something we cannot see is at work. They think something we have yet to detect directly is giving these galaxies extra mass, generating the extra gravity they need to stay intact. This strange and unknown matter was called “dark matter” since it is not visible.

Dark matter

Unlike normal matter, dark matter does not interact with the electromagnetic force. This means it does not absorb, reflect or emit light, making it extremely hard to spot. In fact, researchers have been able to infer the existence of dark matter only from the gravitational effect it seems to have on visible matter. Dark matter seems to outweigh visible matter roughly six to one, making up about 27% of the universe. Here’s a sobering fact: The matter we know and that makes up all stars and galaxies only accounts for 5% of the content of the universe! But what is dark matter? One idea is that it could contain “supersymmetric particles” – hypothesized particles that are partners to those already known in the Standard Model. Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) may provide more direct clues about dark matter.

Many theories say the dark matter particles would be light enough to be produced at the LHC. If they were created at the LHC, they would escape through the detectors unnoticed. However, they would carry away energy and momentum, so physicists could infer their existence from the amount of energy and momentum “missing” after a collision. Dark matter candidates arise frequently in theories that suggest physics beyond the Standard Model, such as supersymmetry and extra dimensions. One theory suggests the existence of a “Hidden Valley”, a parallel world made of dark matter having very little in common with matter we know. If one of these theories proved to be true, it could help scientists gain a better understanding of the composition of our universe and, in particular, how galaxies hold together.

Dark energy

Dark energy makes up approximately 68% of the universe and appears to be associated with the vacuum in space. It is distributed evenly throughout the universe, not only in space but also in time – in other words, its effect is not diluted as the universe expands. The even distribution means that dark energy does not have any local gravitational effects, but rather a global effect on the universe as a whole. This leads to a repulsive force, which tends to accelerate the expansion of the universe. The rate of expansion and its acceleration can be measured by observations based on the Hubble law. These measurements, together with other scientific data, have confirmed the existence of dark energy and provide an estimate of just how much of this mysterious substance exists.

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