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Is Beyoncé Taking Shots at Tiffany Haddish on ‘Top Off’?
A song called “Top Off,” featuring Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Future and DJ Khaled, dropped at 6 a.m. Along with encouraging Maybach owners to take the tops off of their cars, I think the only reason this song even exists is that Future probably felt really, really, really sad about that Jay-Z line from “Kill Jay-Z” (“In…
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10 Lies and Misconceptions About the Hood That We Need to Stop Spreading and Believing
Today, East Liberty—a neighborhood in Pittsburgh’s East End—is a hypergentrified concentration of boutique hotels, upscale retail, luxury lofts and “’90s-style hip-hop fried chicken” restaurants. The redevelopment has been so dramatic, the name of the neighborhood has changed. Some now call it Eastside—a colonizing portmanteau of East Liberty and the neighboring (and predominantly white) Shadyside. This…
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The Trump White House Is Love & Hip Hop for Terrible White People (and Ben Carson)
Remember way, way, way, way, way back when Love & Hip Hop: New York was centered on Peter Gunz and his revolving sister wives? And way, way, way, way, way back before then, when Erica Mena was still on the show and hurling wine flutes like ninja stars at Rich Dollaz’ neck? And way, way,…
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Is ‘Colonizer’ the Best Word for Problematic White People Ever?
The search for the perfect slur for white people has been relentless, exhausting and mostly fruitless. There are dozens of contenders, but none that have ever truly stuck. Basically, the search for the perfect slur for white people has been like the search for a really good fast-food fish sandwich. “Cracker” is perhaps the most…
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America Doesn’t Have a Gun Control Problem. We Have a White-People Problem
Last August, as my wife and I and two of our friends biked through the Great Allegheny Passage in McKeesport, Pa., a city 12 miles from Pittsburgh, I joked that we probably wouldn’t see any more black people until Maryland. I was wrong. In the 150 miles between Pittsburgh and Cumberland, Md., we saw four.…
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What’s the Biggest National Chain You’ve Never Actually Stepped Foot in Before?
Fifteen or so years ago, Oprah had a show where various celebrities offered their favorite sandwiches: what’s in them, where they’re sold, how often they eat one, etc. Chris Rock was featured in this segment, and described a shrimp-and-bacon club from the Cheesecake Factory. This memory has stuck in my mind because of two thoughts…
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Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s Drinking Chocolate Milk for ‘Diversity’ Is the Whitest Thing That Ever Happened This Week
The pervasive mindlessness of white people—a dynamic stemming from the perpetual withdrawing from humanity required to keep whiteness erect—is something we’re reminded of and endangered by every day. Sometimes, as with the reactions from the White House and its minions to the shooting in Parkland, Fla., it manifests as a craven cowardice where you sincerely…
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Is It Sterling K. Brown’s Personal Mission to Make Us Cry in Every Damn Role He Plays?
The most popular show on network television stars black people and is set in Pittsburgh, but I cannot bring myself to watch This Is Us. I’m sure it’s as compelling as everyone says it is. But the commentary attached to the show—which vacillates from “OMG THIS SHOW MAKES MY EYES SHALLOW PUDDLES OF SALT!” to…
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Pittsburgh Cop Shoots 3 Black People in Less Than a Year, Kills 1
On Feb. 11, 39-year-old Mark Daniels was shot and killed by Pittsburgh police officers after he allegedly shot at and ran from them when they attempted to approach him. The details, reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, are somewhat fishy. The police were called to the scene after being “alerted to an actor with a gun.”…
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A List of Things That Are Definitely Racist
1. Pittsburgh potholes (Related: On the way to see Black Panther Friday night, I hit a pothole and got a flat. Fortunately, I was a quarter mile away from a gas station, so I was able to drive there and park my car. From there I caught an Uber to the theater, watched the 2-hour-and-15-minute-long…
