13 | February | 2025 | Plaid Line + PRIZM + Scottie News

By: Hermekay Dehaney

The Grammys, held on February 2, is an annual award show created by The Recording Academy and is held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. The Grammys highlight singers, songwriters, and producers who have had major success in the past year.

The night had some important messages, big wins, and amazing performances, so here are some of the highlights of the ‘25 Grammys.

This year’s Grammys not only highlighted musical talents but also served as a fundraiser where they raised about 9 million dollars for the victims of the recent Los Angeles wildfires that took place just weeks prior.

Trevor Noah, who has been the host for the fifth consecutive time, kicked off the program with a message saying, “Tens of thousands of people have lost their homes. Entire neighborhoods have been erased. Schools, local businesses, and entire communities have burned to the ground. Thankfully, due to the heroic efforts of firefighters, the fires have now been contained.”

The segment opened with a tribute song performed by John Legend, Taylor Goldsmith, Griffin Goldsmith, Cheryl Crow, Brad Paisley, Brittney Howard, and St. Vincent to a performance of Randy Newman’s ballad to the City of Angels ‘I Love L.A,’ honoring the victims as well as the survivors.

During the ceremony, they had the Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Anthony C. Marrone and other members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department speak onstage during the Grammys.

The Grammys had some Historic wins.

Beyonce had a very big night; she led the nominees with 11 nominations and secured 3 wins, finally winning Album of the Year, Country Album of the Year, and Best Country Duo/Group Performance for ‘Cowboy Carter.’

Beyoncé had words of encouragement when accepting her Country Album of the Year by saying, “I think sometimes genre is a cold word to keep us in our place as artists,” she then continued, “And I just want to encourage people to do what they’re passionate about and stay persistent.”

This would come a year after Jay Z got on stage at last year’s Grammys and said, “I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year,” he continued, ”So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that. The Most Grammys never won Album of the Year. That doesn’t work.” She had been nominated for this award 4 times before.

Someone who also had a big night was Kendrick Lamar who led the night with 5 wins for “Not Like Us”. He won Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, and Best Music Video.

Doechii won Best Rap Album for ‘Alligator Bites Never Heal.’ Making her the 3rd woman to ever achieve this award, following Lauryn Hill in ‘97, and Cardi B in 2019.

Chappell Roan won Best New Artist. In her acceptance speech, she called out music labels for not providing new artists with livable wages and healthcare, she added: “It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and so dehumanized to not have help.”

The ceremony also had very diverse performances.

The nominees for Best New Artist had a chance to perform, which is a perfect opportunity for the artists to showcase their talent, and to connect with a wider audience. The performances included: Benson Boone, Doechii, Shaboozey, Sabrina Carpenter, Rayé, Teddy Swims, and Chappell Roan. They all had very versatile and unique performances.

Tributes

The ceremony featured many tributes including a homage to Quincy Jones, a famous producer who died on November 3rd, 2024 due to pancreatic cancer. Artists such as Janelle Monae, Cynthia Erivo, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Jacob Collier, and Lainey Wilson all did various performances, including “Fly Me to the Moon”, “Bluesette”, and “We Are the World”.

In the ‘In Memoriam’ segment of the ceremony, they also paid a tribute to the former One Direction member Liam Payne, who passed away unexpectedly last October. They showcased a video montage as well as a tribute song with Chris Martin singing “All My Love” which honored other artists who tragically died including Kris Kristofferson and Toby Keith.

Overall, this year’s Grammys was one my favorite and the most notable.

By: Hoaseng Thao

Much has changed since the First Continentals War (1948-1956). The dawn of the new millennium marked a new and haunting era for the world; a cold war began as soon as the time ticked to January 1, 2000, and the contenders were the Vaserian Federation and the Democratic Union of Kavara. Both nations wield the divine powers of Arcerium warheads, the same design of weapon used to end the First Continentals War.

“Vaserian Federation flag (left) and the Democratic Union of Kavara flag (right)”

Vaseria and Kavara began to amass their military might and collect new allies to compete for world dominance, and it all came to a head when Kavaran ally, Alakis, invaded the Vaserian ally, Krinia in 2023, marking the beginning of the Second Continentals War. It was a relatively short war that ended in a ceasefire, not because one side was faltering but because of an event so devastating it would change the course of the entire world.

The event was known as the Arcerium Rising.

On October 5th, arcerium fields within the Arcerian continent erupted abruptly across the entire continent, contaminating it with arcerium and arsoulium. The damage done was severe enough that two warring superpowers chose to end hostilities and clean up the disaster. All events following Arcerium Rising would shape the future of the world, whether it be for the best or worst.

The year is 2049, and this is the state of the world.

NOTABLE FACTIONS

It is clear that for a nation to survive in this new world, they would need more than just an army, they would need the help of other nations not only for security but to turn a bark into a roar on the international stage.

PATO (POLARIS ALLIANCE TREATY ORGANIZATION)

PATO is a global organization led by the Vaserian Federation, their goal is to keep the Kavaran threat at bay while guaranteeing the security of the free world whether it be through peaceful means or by intervention. Some call them an alliance of self-righteous bullies.

CDP (CROATOKE DEFENSE PACT)

The CDP is a pact formed, and led by, Kavara, mainly to secure as many allied states around the world; its goal is to expand the influence of its member states by any means necessary. Despite having the word defense in its name, the alliance has been responsible for starting many conflicts including the Second Continentals War.

ON (ORGANIZATION OF NATIONS)

The ON is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to maintain international peace and security by all means possible. But if peace cannot be achieved peacefully, they can always rely on their peacekeepers who tend to keep the peace by force and force only.

ISAO (INDEPENDENT STATES OF ARCERIA ORGANIZATION)

When the Arcasian Civil War broke out following the Arcerium Rising event, an alliance of Arcasian states began to fight a war for independence. To many, they are terrorists taking advantage of a terrible situation, but to many, they are freedom fighters reclaiming lost land.

CONFLICTS IN MOTION

ARCASIAN CIVIL WAR (2023-present)

The Arcasian Civil War is the deadliest war to have ever occurred, when the Arcerium Rising event began, it sent the already unstable Federal States of Arcasia into turmoil, and the states within sought independence.

“The flag of the Federal States of Arcasia”

Not wanting to face embarrassment from the international community, the Arcasian government kept everything under wraps, isolating itself from the world and keeping the war and their failures to contain arcerium a secret until 2034, when they finally asked for international intervention.

“Actors involved in the Arcasian Civil War, red = fight, blue = support, grey = some support”

What happened in those 11 years remains a mystery, but what is known is that a billion people used to live in what is now the Arcerium Rising Exclusion Zone, and their whereabouts remain a mystery. What is happening now in Arcasia is complicated, but what is certain is that this war is not going to end any time soon.

ORBESJKAN CIVIL WAR (2030-present)

The Orbesjkan Civil War began when the government allowed some states autonomy over their regions before they could declare independence. This was done so that some regions could transition into independent nations peacefully, but only a few selected states were given this treatment.

“The national flag of the United Principalities of Orbesjka”

In 2030, states in the northern regions, feeling neglected by the government, declared independence with the support of the CDP, and began a war to free other states in the south, beginning the Orbesjkan Civil War.

HOSHIRAN CIVIL WAR (2046-present)

The Hoshiran Civil War began when the Suineng hydroelectric dam broke apart and killed nearly fifty thousand people. The dam was known to be in a dire state and yet the government refused to do anything about it. Fed up with the government, the citizenry began to revolt against the government and formed warlord states to solve what they believed were the issues that plague their kingdom.

EPREAU-INDO WAR (2043-present)

“Flags of Republic of Indoshia (left) and the Republic of Epreau (right)”

The Epreau-Indo War is a conflict between the Republic of Epreau and Republic of Indoshia that began after border clashes led to the deaths of several border troops from each side, which then spurred an all out war between the two nations. As of 2049, the war has hit a stalemate.

DRONGO-ZEHERA WAR (2048-present)

“Zeheran Union flag (left) and the flag of the Republic of Drongo (right)”

In their attempt to regain lost territories, The Republic of Drongo, alongside their CDP allies, declared war on the Zehera Union. Although Zehera was no match for the full might of the CDP, the failures of the Drongon army in the first few weeks of their invasion saw the CDP pull out of the conflict and to merely advise the Drongon’s into “winning” the war.

WHAT LIES AHEAD

The future of this world hinges on the cool steady minds of its inhabitants, one fatal error could send every living being to have ever lived to their maker. If the world ignites in total war again as it did so long ago in Koldr and in Krinia, there will be no winners or losers, only survivors.

War is human nature, and we are doomed to repeat it.