-
The Funk Boutique: Building Legacies in Fashion and Beauty
Well before she became a world-renowned actress, something was taken from the woman we’ve long known as “Thandie Newton”––the “W” in her name. It started when she was in school and continued when her name was misprinted in the credits of her debut role, Flirtation; now, she’s reclaimed it. “That’s my name. It’s always been…
-
Mic Drop: Hip-Hop, House and Where We Hail From
It’s a new month, and you know what they say about April—how it brings showers and all that. Well, this week’s artists have showered us in house, hip hop and dancehall tracks. House is just one of those genres that you can’t help but dance to and while traditional beats are incorporated across different genres,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
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,…
-
PageTurners: Finding Historical Perspective In Literary Work
Here’s my take: books that are about history—fiction or nonfiction—guide us in the decisions we make about setting and breaking boundaries. Reading fictional works that feature an inspiring hero or heroine doing something extreme or overcoming a major obstacle can be very influential when it comes to making difficult decisions of our own. Reading a…
-
The Funk Boutique: Defining and Redefining Black Fashion History
A Slim Aarons-inspired photoshoot had us swooning over Zendaya, John David Washington and reimagined 1950s glamour this week. The bold colors, the smizing, the effortlessly sexy ways in which these two actors work together? You can’t tear your eyes away. This is clearly what Zendaya wanted when she came up with the idea for a…
-
Mic Drop: Throw Open Your Doors and Windows, Spring Bangers Are Here
Spring has sprung, and so have a bunch of artists who have been fairly “hush-hush” during the last year. I guess we can give them a pass since we were in a global panorama, but now that the weather is getting warmer and the clothing layers are lessening, artists are coming out with a bang.…
