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Mic Drop: Aye, Must Be the Money
Ah, yes…money. It’s what makes the world go round, right? The secret to any good come-up song—or anything come-up related—is the connection to money and how money can make most things better. Dollar-dollar bills are always on someone’s brain at some point or another, but the ugly sides to wealth aren’t as often discussed, making…
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PageTurners: How Trauma and Love Converge at a Literary Point
How does trauma affect the way we live our day-to-day lives? Is inherited or intergenerational trauma more significant than a trauma—or traumas—experienced firsthand? There are perspectives and arguments to consider for each side: Dealing with inherited trauma is multilayered, convening in a complex web of emotions. Being exposed to or experiencing an immense trauma can…
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The Funk Boutique: Celebrating Successful Black Women, Sustainability, and Sneakers
Everything’s coming up American fashion! The first Monday in May has always been known as “Met Gala Day,” when the most elite of the elite come out dressed to impress and preview the exquisite annual costume exhibit hosted by Anna Wintour and Andrew Bolton, curator of the Costume Institute of Metropolitan Museum of Art. This…
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Mic Drop: Welcome to the Party
Where the party at? Clearly, it’s in this week’s new releases because each is a lyrical, melodic and funky bop that gives us a lively look into the artist’s creative capacity. Of course, these parties are primarily still taking place in our living rooms and blasting through our headphones, but it’s a party nonetheless. Music…
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PageTurners: Black Magic, in This World and Others
Magic. What is it exactly? Some will debate wholeheartedly that the confines of magic exist in fantasy novels and movies and television shows—you know, fictionally. I’m not going to lie; I agree with this, but I think it’s deeper. I think magic can exist within a very real world and still have all the impact,…
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PageTurners: The Lyrical, the Literal and the Literary Worlds of Black Performance
Performance occurs in a myriad of ways, from spoken and written poetry to taking the stage, to playing a game of spades. In fictional universes, particularly in fantastical worlds, a character’s performance can range from their abilities to their descriptions. This week, the intricate tapestry of Black performance is explored through many different lenses in…
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The Funk Boutique: Icons Served Us All Black HerStory Month
On April 6, W Magazine’s Volume 2 of the Directors’ Issue hits the stands, offering a trio of covers directed by the industry’s finest. In one of the three covers, Academy Award-winning actor and director Regina King directs a photo essay titled “Black in Americana: A Photo Essay on Love and Pain.” The essay features…
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Mic Drop: Acid, Lucid, Fever and Aspiring, These Musicians Are Dreaming
The music and accompanying videos released this week all have one thing in common: they all follow some form of expression and aspiration. Music has always been a way for people–artists and listeners alike–to express and identify with themselves while still inspiring listeners to follow their dreams. Those dreams can be more “acid trippy,” leaving…
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PageTurners: Fighting With Fact and Fiction
It seems as though authors this week are gearing us up for some sort of fight. Whether it be of the fictional kind or a nonfiction account of something or someone who inspires us to be or do better, these authors are coming in hot, armed with books that will leave you saying, “Fuck yeah,…
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Mic Drop: Music for the Eyes and Ears
Have you ever listened to a song and been so moved that it played on repeat for days or even weeks? I have, and the only thing better than that feeling is finding out the music video for that song is even more mind-blowing than the song itself. We understand things with all five senses,…