Nigeria turns 55 today. Africa’s most populous nation gained its independence from the United Kingdom Oct. 1, 1960. Nigerians on Twitter commemorated their independence day with a variety of celebratory tweets and insightful comments about how far the nation has come.  The country has produced some of the world’s richest oil entrepreneurs.  https://twitter.com/AfricaFactsZone/status/649664918585802753 Despite its…

The theatrics that Devar Hurd—the man convicted of stalking Ashanti in 2009—displayed in a New York City courtroom Wednesday are one for the history books, the New York Daily News reports.  Hurd served a two-year bid for stalking Ashanti, but after his release, Ashanti claims, he went back to his stalker ways. Hurd is now…

If Beyoncé made a cameo appearance on Scandal, I could see her playing a sly villain—but a duplicitous one who appears sweet but who tries to fool Olivia Pope and actually gets away with her mischief. That episode of Scandal would break the Internet.  If Kerry Washington has her way, that casting will happen sooner rather than later.…

The war between the music-streaming services wages on. Apple Music was up one when it released that commercial featuring Mary J. Blige, Taraji P. Henson and Kerry Washington that played during the Emmy Awards. It was a clear sign that the streaming service was trying to get in with the African-American consumer base. It had me…

Australian officials want Chris Brown to give them a good reason why they should grant him a visa to enter their country to perform a concert, ABC News reports. They reportedly still have an issue with that 2009 assault of Rihanna. “People to whom these notices are issued have 28 days to present material as…

Nicki Minaj’s Trinidadian-American upbringing is reportedly coming to a TV screen very soon.  According to Deadline, the rapper will executive-produce and star in an ABC Family comedy series about her childhood in Queens, N.Y. Minaj’s parents were Trinidadian immigrants to the U.S.—making Minaj a first-generation black American who is probably equipped with a boatload of…

During his interview Friday on The Wendy Williams Show, Tyrese Gibson revealed that we’ll be seeing him on this new season of Empire. However, the R&B singer and actor made it very clear that his intentions regarding the show are about more than just booking another acting gig. He’s missing his favorite TV girl: Taraji P.…

I hope you didn’t think that #DuragHistoryWeek was a fluke, or a one-time commemoration that black Twitter wouldn’t remember to celebrate again. Du-rags have played too critical a role in the upkeep of black hairstyles for us to let its week fall by the wayside. Last year’s commemoration was hilarious, and this year is proving…

The thing that struck Drake the most about his beef with Meek Mill this summer is the thing that a lot of people found odd: the fact that Meek started it, but didn’t seem to have any diss records on deck with which to wage the rap battle. Drake opened up about all of this in a…

Shonda Rhimes sure is making everyone else in the world seem like slackers. The woman has three kids; is the mastermind, executive producer or showrunner behind three hit shows on ABC (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder); and just sold another show to ABC, according to the Hollywood Reporter.  The show…