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nj.com •

Is ‘Dopamine Land’ the cure for the common scroll? We checked it out.

In the late ‘90s, there were five Discovery Zone locations in New Jersey where rambunctious and energetic kids could go, celebrate birthdays, and play in the enormous ball pit.The tagline was “Where I can cut loose and be on my own.” Flash forward to 2025 and its lack of third spaces — places outside the home and work, like parks and playgrounds — where kids can visit for hours and just have fun. In many ways, that physical aspect has been replaced by screens. Where does anybody play these days?...
nj.com •

At the Prudential Center, Katt Williams spilts time between jokes and viral aftermath

Katt Williams wanted to leave the aftershocks of his 2024 three-hour “Club Shay Shay” podcast with former NFL superstar Shannon Sharpe behind in 2024. At least, at first he did. “In 2025, I’m only talking about me,” said the comedian, 53, to the nearly sold-out crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, holding for a brief pause. “But I already wrote this.”The 50-minute set during a Newark stop on Williams’s ‘Heaven Or Earth" tour included comedic greats such as Tommy Davidson, Marc Curry, and Me...
nj.com •

10 years of ‘Emo Night’: How millennial nostalgia bled into Gen-Z one mosh pit at a time

For music lovers, there’s an existential fear when the songs they have clung to through various life markers become “old.” “Could what I love ever be deemed ‘classic,’” we wonder to ourselves. You never think it will happen to you, but then a couple of tracks end up on a “nostalgic era” playlist on Spotify. Soon enough, you’re reminiscing about the days of MTV, VH1, and music video premieres — and the younger generation has no clue what you’re talking about. The day we thought was reserved for m...
nj.com •

How Nina Simone’s grandson brought Black music back to Asbury Park

For Alexander Simone, legacy is walking down the road created by two iconic Black women while paving his own. As the grandson of jazz and soul legend Nina Simone and the son of singer and actress Lisa Simone, the artist has left no stone unturned in exploring his gifts. He is a singer, songwriter, composer, activist and teacher. He’s also the leader of the Whodat? Live Crew, a musical collective and mainstay of Asbury Park’s vibrant music scene for more than a decade. They have shared the stage...
nj.com •

Ada’s Gojjo boasts the perfect mix of heart and cultures coming together

Ada’s Gojjo is a product of hard work, determination and the importance of family customs.An expertly prepared (if not unlikely) menu of Ethiopian and Dominican cuisines lives under one roof, stashed at Asbury Park’s less bustling north end. Since its 2018 opening, Ada’s Gojjo has been so well received that a second restaurant will open downtown on Cookman Avenue this summer, serving vegan Ethiopian food. Owner Adanech Asghedom’s love for cooking stems from growing up in a small village in Ethio...
Capitalize the B. •

I Talked Sports With One of the Meta AI Profiles. It Went the Way You'd Expect.

The Meta AI profiles aren't going to take over the world anytime soon, but they may gunk up the social media space.

I like interacting with humans. I couldn't imagine talking to a computer program in a way I would my best friends. There are nuisances to discussions/debates that require thought machines cannot duplicate (as of yet). I've also seen enough sci-fi films and seasons of 'Black Mirror,' ' The Outer Limits,' and 'The Twilight Zone' to know things can get terrible when you willingly giv...
Capitalize the B. •

America Needs Way Less 'Whiplash' Based Aspirations

Before I begin, I have a bone to pick with the Netflix/ESPN miniseries "The Last Dance." It's not because the series wasn't phenomenal (although more sports biopics since have tried to emulate it with little success); it's because of one of the most pivotal moments of the docuseries and what people took away from it.

In the final moments of episode seven, the greatest NBA player of all time, Michael Jordan, breaks down as he explains why he approached the game of basketball the way he did. His...
Capitalize the B. •

Did We Forget the Way To Sesame Street?

Three classic PBS theme songs have always stuck with me: "Reading Rainbow," "Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?" and "Sesame Street." (As a quick aside, I remember how funny it must have been hearing a kid trying to mimic the baritone part of the Carmen Sandiego theme song.)

Now that I look back at it, maybe I took all that for granted.

It might be hard to believe there was readily accessible programming where a vampire could teach how to count numbers, and you could learn how to be a dete...
nj.com •

N.J.'s Donna Missal lived in her car to keep dream alive. Her homecoming show was a triumph.

Los Angeles spells promise for many musicians, and New Jersey’s Donna Missal was no exception.The singer-songwriter from Somerset was on the upswing: Her 2016 self-released “Keep Lying” demo premiered on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 radio show and reached the top of Spotify’s Viral charts with streams exceeding 1.5 million.Missal was lauded for her explosive, smoky voice, and emotionally raw perspective. As a new artist, she was more seasoned than most, honing her craft through childhood at her father’s...
nj.com •

‘Can I tell my story?’ Previously incarcerated people find their voice on stage in new program

“Archomen!”The small audience shouted the word, Greek for “we begin,” in unison as they sat around tables inside Newark’s Black Box Theater earlier this month.The 100 or so attendees were there to support their friends or family members, for whom a new beginning is a profound gift: seven previously incarcerated men, who stood on the stage and channeled their stories of struggle and re-assimilation into an art form that moved the room.The performers were enrolled in Ritual4Return, a Newark-based...
Substream Magazine •

Wherefore Art Thou '28 Days Later'? - Substream Magazine

A rather phenomenal trailer for ‘28 Years Later’ was released on Tuesday. It marks the return of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland working together and Boyle returning to the director’s chair after a six-year gap. The trailer does exactly what it’s supposed to: inspire intrigue about the story without giving much away, with a haunting undercut of actor Taylor Holmes reciting Rudyard Kipling’s 1903 poem, “Boots.” If humility lives on, so does the rage virus. Before June 20th, 2025, I naturally wanted...
Substream Magazine •

'The Girl With The Needle Review: Post-World War Devastation

I don’t even know if calling Magnus von Horn’s ‘The Girl With The Needle’ grim is the proper adjective to describe this film—perhaps a few would suffice: gloomy, dismal, and even horrifying. The black-and-white film’s dour but strikingly beautiful cinematography of Michal Dymek highlights the direness of post-World War I Copenhagen when paired with Frederikke Hoffmeier’s subtle, arresting score. This “fairy tale for adults” takes parts of a true story and centers around one woman who finds herse...
Substream Magazine •

'Werewolves' Can't Quite Find The Right Moon To Howl At - Substream Magazine

Vampires seem to get most of the shine in horror films lately, so let’s briefly go over Werewolf 101 – at least in Hollywood terms. Getting bit or scratched by a Werewolf is bad. If either of those scenarios happens to you, a full moon will bestow a painful and animalistic transformation upon you. A silver bullet (or any silver) will do the trick to take them out. Director Steven C. Miller deviates from the script with a combination of inspirations in ‘Werewolves.’ In this story, the causes of t...
Substream Magazine •

Star Wars Doubles Down On Nostalgic Adventure In First Two 'Skeleton Key' Episodes

Kids have it hard in the Star Wars universe. Take Anakin Skywalker, for example. He was born into slavery and later has to leave his mom because he’s at the center of some fate-of-the-world prophecy. If you’re a Jedi youngling studying at the temple, you barely have time to be a kid and must learn to suppress emotions we’d associate with that age. With the vast amount of planets in these galaxies, there must be a place with a healthy sense of fun and innocence paired with adventure. The first tw...
Substream Magazine •

Chris Nash On 'In A Violent Nature' and Minimalism

Have you watched a slasher film and wondered how a lumbering, slow-walking villain just happens to always catch up to the victim? If they aren’t tripping over something or hiding behind a tree, they are running full speed in another direction. It just so happens someone like Jason Vorhees catches up to them anyway. Writer/director Chris Nash took that premise and built it out in the film experience with ‘In A Violent Nature.’ It’s a slasher in the classic sense with all its drawn inspirations, b...
Substream Magazine •

In 'Wicked' and Social Media Reactions, No One Mourns The Quiet

At what point does a shared community space become too far gone with fissures of differing opinions on what a social contract should be? Is a blanket social contract possible in a society that has grown to be both individualistic and easily persuaded by trends? The big screens of movie theaters are in direct competition with the small ones inside our pockets – and, by proxy, the platforms that give us a sense of community through posts and disappearing stories. Hell, the preview warnings of “don...
Substream Magazine •

'Gladiator II' Has Trouble Living Beyond Its Maximus Past

There are a myriad of ways you can approach a sequel, but most fall in the line of an extension of the previous story with multiple justifications as to why it exists. It becomes trickier as the length of time between films grows longer. It’s been 24 years since 2000’s ‘Gladiator,’ a story of a warrior bent on revenge against a tyrannical ruler in hopes of a better Rome for everyone. But there’s the issue of Russell Crowe’s Maximus dying in the end – a would be a natural conclusion to this story...
Substream Magazine •

'Wicked' Review: Acting Magic Does Enough To Defy Gravity

Did you hear the story about a great and powerful wizard who lives in Emerald City that might grant you a wish? Well, of course, because 1939’s ‘The Wizard of Oz’ is one of the most enduring musical fantasy stories of all time. Gregory Maguire’s 1993 novel, the long-running Broadway show by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, and now John M. Chu’s big screen adaptation ‘Wicked,’ brings us back to the time before the Yellow Brick Road. What if it just happened that the wicked witch of the West w...
Substream Magazine •

'A Real Pain' Is An Exquisitely Constructed Session In Empathy

What’s most impressive about Jesse Eisenberg’s ‘A Real Pain’ is that it weaves through so many genres of story without ever losing its emotional center. It’s a road trip film, a source of historical events, and even a family drama between two cousins who live vastly different lives. I’d even argue that these elements only help to strengthen how emotionally engrossing this film is. The title in itself is a double entendre, both honing into a particular character and hinting at different sources o...
Substream Magazine •

'Don't Move' Review: Netflix's Thriller Is Intriguing, But Forgettable - Substream Magazine

Don’t talk to strangers – especially when you’re in the vulnerable position of staring off the side of a huge cliff. Netflix’s thriller ‘Don’t Move’ taps into the classic sequences of someone manically running away from a serial killer and tweaks the formula slightly. What would a person do if, throughout a defined time, they lost control of their bodily functions? Talking, movement, fighting back – all gone. Well, you would assume all hope is lost, but co-directors Adam Schindler and Brian Nett...
Substream Magazine •

'Time Cut' Arrived Late The Time Travel Slasher Party

Given Netflix’s own ‘Fear Street’ series, 2023’s ‘Totally Killer,’ and the success of the ‘Happy Death Day’ films, business has been booming for slasher mixed with time travel sub-genre. You can see why this has been a relatively successful pairing – everybody loves a good slasher, and they also love nostalgia. But with any formula, there comes a point when you go back to the well too many times, and it ends up dry. ‘Time Cut’ suffers because it’s being released at a point where almost every ang...
Substream Magazine •

'MadS' One Take Formula Gives Zombie Horror A Fresh Layer

“MadS” opening shot focuses on a painting of someone screaming—almost as if it’s giving away the game about the frantic, adrenaline-filled ride you are about to take. But, it begins with a little bit of debaucherous drug use. A young 18-year-old Romain (Milton Riche) visits his drug dealer in hopes of getting some spoils for him, his girlfriend, and his friends to enjoy a night on the town. He takes his dad’s Mustang out for a little joyride and accidentally drops his joint on one of the pristin...
Substream Magazine •

'Venom: The Last Dance' Hopes That A Finale Reversal Is In Order

“Venom: The Last Dance” has all the silliness you’d come to expect within this trilogy of films. If anything, that quality stands out as a saving grace. But the film has a particular problem doubling as a finale to a man and his alien companion and looking into the future where said duo will probably be needed. It’s not that I have any qualms with comic book movies essentially giving us a peak behind the curtain of the next installment. As “Deadpool & Wolverine” showed us earlier this year, Robe...
Substream Magazine •

'Smile 2' Review: This Is Going To Ruin The Comeback Tour

The music industry is (for some) a pathway to talents maximized and dreams fulfilled. There’s the other side to all the parties, sold-out shows, and glamour. The stories of Britney Spears and Chappell Roans exist where I don’t have to reiterate that all that shimmers isn’t exactly gold. Although (thankfully), there has been more of an emphasis on the delicate dance of mental health and fame. But if the endless demands of tours, meet and greets, and commitments aren’t enough, imagine if you had a...
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About Me

Journalist, Self-published author of five books, podcast host, and photographer since 2014, Murjani Rawls has been stretching the capabilities of his creativity and passions. Rawls has as a portfolio spanning through many mediums including music, television, movies, and more. Operating out of the New York area, Rawls has photographed over 200+ artists spanning many genres, written over 800 articles, and a Rotten Tomatoes approved critic. His career aspirations continue to develop as his years in media continue.