JP Morgan Commercial – “The Green Grass Grows All Around” Singer and More!

I never actually thought a commercial from JPMorgan Chase would catch my attention by the music they used but it’s 2024 and I guess anything is possible. The ad has been out for a couple of months but I just saw it for the first time yesterday and wondered to myself who the singer is. It’s an original song but the bluegrass instrumentation and the woman’s voice drew me right in. Take a look then scroll down for all the info and if you’d like to make a small, custom donation to help keep these posts coming daily at 1pm, click the link below…

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The Singer. The voice and music lent to this ad is from folk singer Rhiannon Giddens. So when there’s talent like this out there from a black woman in country/folk music, why are the powers that be promoting so hard this performer, who apparently can’t get over the hurdle of becoming an A-List performer? I don’t get it.

I love this pleasant performance of “The Green Grass Grows All Around.” There’s a high probability it will be stuck in my head for the foreseeable future and to be sure it stays in your head, too, here are a few other performances of the song!

Jewel…

Melissa Etheridge…

Barney…

-Out of the Wilderness

“Came Out A Beast” All the Name Drops – Lil Wayne

I was surprised how palatable this song was in regards to curse words, a pleasant surprise in today’s rap music landscape. It could be that Flau’jae is keeping her image neat and tidy since she’s clearly representing LSU basketball in the video, as well as protecting her image for a future in the WNBA. Lil Wayne doesn’t have either of those things to worry about so there are a handful of muted words in his verse of the song. Even if it’s literally untrue, the pair drop lines about how they’ve been amazing since day 1. The also name-drop a lot of stars. Watch the video and see if you can catch all the famous people they reference, then scroll down for the answers!

How many did you come up with? If you guessed 8, you would be correct! They start with the most famous LSU alumni in the basketball world (and he’s a rapper, too), Shaquille O’Neal. After that, they move on to Kobe Bryant. The rest of the list is as follows:

Deion Sanders

Elon Musk

Angel Reese

Joe Burrow x2

Cristiano Ronaldo

Coach Kim Mulkey

Two interesting things about the people they chose to include in the lyrics. Elon Musk, who’s generally shunned by the more liberal-leaning folks in society. Kind of like Donald Trump being name-dropped (and guest appearing on popular TV shows) up until he was President. Joe Burrow, currently LSU’s most famous football alumni, is mentioned not once, but twice– each of the rappers using him to rhyme in the lyrics.

What do you think about the song? Is there anyone else you would’ve liked to be included in the name-dropping lyrics?

-Out of the Wilderness

The Publix Sunday Dinner Commercial – Rice, Beans, and a Left-Handed Cook

Walking in the front door, it was the scent of roast, potatoes, and carrots that wafted through the house that had become one of my favorite aromas. This was the family tradition for my entire childhood every Sunday. Church. Roast. Miami Dolphins football. I’ll never be able to disassociate that scent with that memory. Publix captures that idea in one of their recent commercials they’re calling “Sunday Dinner,” which if you’re in the south means lunch. Here’s how it breaks down:

Dinner = Lunch.

Supper = Dinner.

Take a look at the sweet ad then scroll down for more info…

The narrator of the story (the guy cooking rice and beans) is left-handed, proven when he is writing the recipe in the ad.

But there’s something peculiar about this south paw. He writes with his left hand AND wears his watch on his left wrist. This is very uncommon (see: How to tell if someone is left-handed)! Take a look at people around you to notice that most righties wear their watch on the left wrist, left-handed people wear it on the right. For the guy in the ad, this anomaly is probably because he has a beaded bracelet on his right wrist and wearing the watch there too will be too cumbersome or bulky. But there is NO WAY wearing a watch on the wrist you’re writing with is comfortable! Unless this guy knows something I don’t (I’m a lefty).

-Out of the Wilderness

Eminem “Somebody Save Me” – A Spiritual Journey In the Making

If Eminem isn’t the most talented rapper to ever exist, he’s at least in the top 3 (1. Me, 2. My brother, 3. Eminem) because his rhyming, cadence, and lyrics are usually breathtakingly beautiful. Obviously, he’s been known for his more light-hearted rap songs but I think I’m a fan of his slower tempo, deeply introspective stuff more. I’m thinking of “Headlights” by Eminem & Nate Ruess and “Like Toy Soldiers.”

He’s now released another slower tempo song featuring the vocals of Jelly Roll. It’s called “Somebody Save Me,” and it’s very good. I can’t speak about Eminem’s personal life but it appears as though he’s on a human journey, sure, but also a spiritual one. As I listened to this song, I couldn’t help but yearn that he keeps going with his thoughts. The guilt, regret, the epiphanies he’s having might in fact lead him to Christianity. From what I know, it’s the only religion that has a solution for the black hole a lot of us feel in our hearts. It’s like if life were just a series of problems without solutions, God (through Jesus alone), offers a reconciliation no other religion can. I think every other religion (the helpful ones, at least) is designed to make life better and that’s its main purpose. Christianity, on the other hand, is not that way. It’s about making things right between us and God. A byproduct might be that life gets better, so that’s a nice touch… but not the main purpose of the faith.

Jesus is the reason I’m a non-atheist.

Eminem might be on the right track with the feelings revealed in this song. Certainly it should help in reconciling his relationships with his kids and those close to him. I hope he keeps pushing and maybe one day he’ll knock and the door will be opened.

-Out of the Wilderness

Donald Trump Tries To Take Home From Black Family

If he’s not busy taking women back to the 19th century*, he’s out there putting black people back in chains**. I can’t believe he was ever elected President of the United States, especially after he almost moved into a California home owned by a black man, where this black man lived with his family and his nephew from Philly.

Have you ever seen such an arrogant, racist person? In fact, he’s so cocky that he once said to a black man that if black people aren’t voting for him, they aren’t really black***. And now we, the American people, are supposed to just fall in line and vote for the party he represents… AGAIN?

*The time he told a woman to shush, as if it’s 1856 and women are only to be seen, not heard.

**When he said to black folks: “…put y’all back in chains.”

***in his appearance on The Breakfast Club.

-Out of the Wilderness