Named after Rakim from Eric B. & Rakim, the Rakim cut was a box with a part going from the front of the head to the back. It was a very popular hairstyle in 1989, a fact I remember quite vividly because I had one, too. By sixth grade, I’d cut the Rakim off and just had…

At the moment, the New England Patriots, partially fueled by a gaggle of sociopathic self-righteousness after being “vindicated” in Deflategate, are undefeated and would seem to be the early favorites to win the Super Bowl. This information should come as no surprise to anyone who’s even a casual fan of the NFL. Because that exact-same thing…

While on Meet the Press Sunday, unintentionally ironic former neurosurgeon Ben Carson compared abortion to slavery, stating, “During slavery, a lot of the slave owners thought that they had the right to do whatever they wanted to that slave. Anything that they chose to do. And what if the abolitionists had said, ‘I don’t believe…

Who is Beyoncé? Beyoncé is an introverted Houstonian known best for being allergic to seats—like, literally every seat she’s ever seen makes her sneeze—and for inventing “surfborting.” Surfborting? Yes. Surfborting. She’s the world’s first—and probably the world’s only—professional surfborter. Is she known for anything else? Well, for approximately 171 million Americans and 1.4 billion people…

Last weekend, I took my dad to see Sicario—Denis Villeneuve’s gripping and graphic (very, very, very graphic) depiction of the drug war. Now, while Sicario has done well at the box office, it wasn’t exactly a blockbuster—nor was it intended to be—so with that in mind, plus the fact that we went to a 10…

“If it’s a lie, then we fight on that lie.” —Slim Charles One of the best things about The Wire is that, even almost a decade after the last episode aired, you can still incorporate lines from the show to describe everyday situations. Order cream of chicken with wild rice at Panera Bread, and it comes…

Who is Drake? Drake is a Jewish-Canadian Instagram model who’s known for dating Serena Williams and other women so thick that everyone else in the room is so uncomfortable. He also records and releases songs about Toronto and Spanx, apparently. One question in and you’re hating already! Why couldn’t you just say, “Drake is a…

Yesterday Ebony magazine debuted the cover of its November issue. It features a picture of the Huxtables from The Cosby Show behind shattered glass, with the glass’s most prominent crack directly over Bill Cosby’s face. Naturally, this explosive cover sparked another round of conversation about “the Cosby legacy”—something The Root’s Senior Writer Kirsten West Savali examined in a…

Who is Luke Gatti? Luke Gatti is a 19-year-old student at the University of Connecticut. Do you know anything else about him? He’s quite possibly the biggest bacon-jalapeño mac and cheese enthusiast in the country. You do not love anything—your kids, your parents, your spouse, Serge Ibaka, etc.—more than Luke Gatti loves bacon-jalapeño mac and…

Columbus Day—our annual recognition for and celebration of the man who discovered our amazing country—is finally here today. And I couldn’t be happier. Because no other holiday—not Christmas, not Thanksgiving, not even Arbor Day—is as fun to celebrate. Because while you probably can’t celebrate Easter like Jesus, you can actually celebrate Columbus Day like Christopher…