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'The Cosby Show' Had the Best Music of Any Sitcom Ever
The Huxtables loved jazz, rhythm and blues, classical, Latin funk and hip-hop. Cliff was a jazzhead. Clair sang along with Stevie Wonder. Rudy lip-synced Ray Charles’ “Night Time is the Right Time.” Theo, with his friend Cockroach, stepped up to the mic, as they spit a couple lines on Julius Caesar. Vanessa filled the house…
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What Ever Happened to Kid 'n Play?
As if we needed any reassurance that times are hard, watch this video of one of our favorite early ‘90s stars. None other than Christopher “Kid” Reid, 45, peddling custom suits at what looks like a knockoff K&G fashion warehouse, SW Suits. And I thought his cameos on Sister, Sister were bad. According to wiki,…
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Cleveland Brown's White Voice
You know how you hear a person’s voice and can instantly tell that it’s a black person? Not because of what they say, but how they say it, all about the tone and inflection. Well, after reading a recent New York Times piece on FOX’s The Cleveland Show, a new cartoon centered on Cleveland Brown,…
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Why I'll Miss Tiny & Toya
No, I’m not joking. The show’s finale will air tonight on BET. And it will usher in the hot mess that is to be Frankie & Neffe, a reality show featuring Keyshia Cole’s mother and sister. Now, I know you’re probably thinking, “you watched Tiny & Toya, girl, stop!” And you might just be right.…
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Tweet Me 911
ABOUT ERIN EVANS I’m a reality TV junkie. Yes, the good, the bad and the “wow, I can’t believe you watch that.” At 12, I was hooked into the original reality show, The Real World. And over a decade later, I can’t believe it’s still on and that they are taping in D.C. as we speak. I…
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Damon Weaver Interviews President Barack Obama
When I ran into Damon Weaver in the Marriott lobby, standing tall, he looked me directly in the eye and shook my hand. His composure and professionalism outshined teenagers and college students whom I know. And before he jetted back to Florida on Friday, Damon sat down with The Root for an exclusive interview. Watch.…
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More Than Rum and Relaxation
Plantation, sugar cane fields, chattel house. These words evoke powerful images of slavery and antebellum America, and even now they are laced with unpleasant racial sensitivities. However, in a recent trip to Barbados, these loaded words were part of my daily itinerary. On the small island are plantation houses surrounded by acre upon acre of…
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Henry Louis Gates Jr.: A Reaction Roundup
“My hope is that as a consequence of this event, this ends up being what’s called ‘a teachable moment’ where all of us, instead of pumping up the volume, spend a little more time listening to each other,” he said. —President Obama, in a White House briefing today Read the full statement here. “You can’t…
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Remembering Michael Jackson
He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.” — Quincy Jones Here he is at 13 in 1972, singing at home in Encino, Calif. I can’t stop crying over the sad news.…
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Is Black Music Worth Celebrating?
Imagine a music world without Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and Billie Holliday. It’s a scary thought. Now turn on the radio. Hurts, doesn’t it? Thirty years ago, when President Jimmy Carter first designated June “Black Music Month,” it was intended for all Americans to appreciate black music and its place in the nation’s blended musical landscape.…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
