You ever hear a song and think to yourself, wait a minute, that sounds like a beat I’ve heard before? That’s how Philly native Tre Prada started his afternoon.

Here are his thoughts on the new Cardi B song “Up” which dropped at midnight on Friday morning.

When you listen to it his song “Goonies”, a song that dropped back in October of 2020, the notes and the beat seem to be remarkably similar. We’re gonna drop the videos here. In this case, hearing is believing.

Now let’s compare that to Cardi B’s brand new, 13 hours old video.

We want to know what you think about this. Do you hear a similar beat? Do you think the songs are different enough? Do they sound like any other songs you know? Let us know on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram what you hear and what you think about this situation. We’re here to talk about it and other issues in the music industry.

Lisa Forrest was already the first black woman promoted to captain in the fire department’s history in 2013, and now in 2020, she becomes the first to be made fire battalion chief. 

ELIZABETH ROBERTSON / PHOTOGRAPHER

Throughout the Philadelphia fire department, there are 70 battalion chiefs, and now 3 of them are women. Forrest has been defying numbers for a long time, with her authority far outpacing her 4-foot 10-inch frame. When asked about how she was able to overcome some of the physical challenges on the job and in the fire academy she stated “Men rely on strength, but women, we rely on technique,”. It is her unique perspective that will be one of the qualities she brings to her new position. Most recently she was the captain of Ladder 24. 

ELIZABETH ROBERTSON / PHOTOGRAPHER

The Mount Airy native was a year into a Penn State nursing program when she left to join the Army. After an honorable discharge due to injury after six months of service, she returned to Philadelphia. She then sat for the firefighter’s test a month after the events of September 11th. 

Forrest has preserved thanks to hard work and determination. We are excited to watch her continue to break barriers and blaze a path for the civil servants of tomorrow to follow. 

by Rochelle Bilal

As a lifelong resident and Democratic voter in Philadelphia, I felt the call to serve – to restart my many years of activism, leadership and management skills – by entering the 2019 Philadelphia Sheriff’s race. 

I am a new candidate for this office – but I am not new to public service.

Upon retirement as a 27-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, serving in the roles of patrol and in the special victims unit, where I stood for victims and with their families during unbearable hardship, I thought I would finally take a break from public service and focus on retirement: paint some fruit, play some golf, and do some traveling. Well, I was wrong. My passion for effective government wouldn’t allow me to just relax – I knew I could make a difference in the lives of residents across this city. And so, I put my name on the ballot, knowing full well the pitfalls and politics that would come with that announcement.

The Sheriff’s Office focuses on three critical areas: protection of courts and city officials; transport of prisoners; and, of course, the sheriff sales. These three areas and the budget/leadership that corresponds to their needs are the basis of why many groups and individuals believe it’s time for the office to be dismantled.

This is a bad idea. The Sheriff’s Office’s main function is to remove property from residents, either for delinquent taxes or mortgage defaults. Property ownership is carefully regulated. It’s one of the fundamental rights protected by our Founding Fathers in the Bill of Rights, written and signed in this very city. The Fourth Amendment protects people’s rights against an unreasonable government search and seizure of property.

If that power were to be abused, or recklessly applied, imagine the consequences. Imagine people whose properties are unfairly taken or policies that make it impossible for them to fight back. What would happen then? People deserve to have someone who can be held accountable. Someone who – if residents feel is unfairly or illegally applying their power or acting in a way that is disrespectful to the citizens they are supposed to be serving – can be removed from office by vote. Elections ensure that the sheriff does not have unchecked and unregulated power. That is why we need this to be an elected position.

As sheriff, my first priority will be assessing how the current fiscal year $26M budget is allocated – and where we can exercise better programming and practices to be a more cost-effective office. The first step will be to take a deep dive into the books. We will check for any misuse of public funds and determine the best practices to safeguard taxpayer dollars.

Since starting on the campaign trail, I’ve had the opportunity to listen to citizens’ frustration toward the office as it relates to serving residents. If entrusted by those citizens with the responsibility to lead the Sheriff’s Office, I will act on those concerns and restore the integrity and effectiveness of the office.

We have to do better. If I am elected, we will.