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Marcus Smart Recalls Being Called The N-Word By Celtics Fan

Marcus Smart has been very forthcoming about his experiences in the NBA, especially throughout the NBA bubble experiment in Orlando. During this time, players were fighting against racial inequality, and Smart was one of the biggest voices leading the way. Now that the season is over, Smart is reflecting on what he’s been through over the past few years. In fact, Smart recently published an essay in The Players’ Tribune called “This Article Is Not About Basketball,” where he detailed his experiences with racism.

Perhaps the most harrowing story in the article came while he was leaving the arena after a home game in Boston. In the excerpt below, Smart says he recalls trying to help a Celtics fan as they were in the middle of traffic. Out of nowhere, however, the fan yelled racially charged language at him, which left the Celtics star confused, and upset.

Marcus Smart

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Per Smart:

“I was pulling out of the arena parking lot when I saw a white woman with her five- or six-year-old son crossing against the light right as the cars were starting to come at them. I had my windows down and realized something bad was about to happen, so I yelled to her, politely, that she needed to hurry and get out of the street so the two of them wouldn’t get hurt.
The woman was wearing an Isaiah Thomas number 4 Celts jersey. And there were all these other Celtics fans around who were at the game. I figured she’d be cool.
Nope.
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She swung her head around and it was….
‘F*** you, you f***ing n-word!!!!’”

Smart went on to describe various other stories of racism he has had to endure. While the Black Lives Matter movement has made various strides, it’s clear there is still a lot of work left to do, and Smart is committed to continuing that fight.

[Via]

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Kyle Ashen’s sun-drenched recollection with new release “That Local Girl”

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“That Local Girl” is filled with imagery that quickly takes the listener into a world they can walk right into. You got a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl on a boardwalk street by the ocean, a souped-up truck driving through town, neon lights reflecting off the ocean breeze, and the electric innocence of young love burning in the background.

But under all that cutesy trapping is something more than that, longing. Some people, some places that leave permanent marks on Kyle Ashen and us know that. What’s so brilliant about this song is that it marries those two ideas, making love and hometown memory feel beautifully inseparable. Sometimes you miss a person. And with that person, you miss an entire version of life. “That Local Girl” is more than a country love song from Kyle Ashen. He is a living postcard from the past, sun-faded, bittersweet, and glowing with feeling. A reminder that summers pass by, but some memories stay with us forever.

Connect with Kyle Ashen on Spotify || Instagram || Facebook || Youtube

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ECHOFLIP inspires faith and fire with triumphant anthem on “Kingdom Rise”

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“Kingdom Rise” is street realism meets kingdom vision at its heart. It’s got grit in its pulse but grace in its message as well. Each bar rings with resilience with ECHOFLIP, a record that embodies struggle, perseverance, and steadfast faith in the face of adversity. The result is music that is rooted in reality while reaching for something much larger.

What makes the single particularly compelling is how seamlessly it combines high-energy Christian trap with uplifting spiritual themes. The hard-hitting production has edge and urgency, and its faith-centered focus gives it soul. It’s motivational without being pushy. Worshipful without momentum loss, without losing authenticity. Ideal for trap gospel, inspirational rap, and urban playlists that aim to uplift as much as energize, “Kingdom Rise” delivers on all fronts. It moves the body, it sharpens the mind, it stirs the soul.

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