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15 Artists You Should Already Be Listening To
While soul singer Blacc is hardly under the radar, his smooth style, reminiscent of Al Green’s, deserves extra attention. The 31-year-old crooner began his music career as part of the Los Angeles rap duo Emanon. Blacc found success in Europe with his second album, Good Things, and its inaugural single, “I Need a Dollar.” Blacc…
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The Root Recommends: 'Artificial Afrika'
Living Colour’s Vernon Reid and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art have teamed up to celebrate Black Music Month with a performance of Reid’s multimedia performance project Artificial Afrika at the National Portrait Gallery. Artificial Afrika combines scored music, a live performance, and computer-generated art made by Reid himself. The exhibit’s visual elements are…
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Most Memorable BET Awards Moments
Every year, BET brings an excited fan on stage to present the viewer’s choice award. At the 2011 awards, Tiffany Green’s dream turned into a nightmare when she announced Chris Brown’s name, then quickly backtracked and gave the award to Rihanna. As it turned out, Brown was the actual winner. Oops! It was exciting enough…
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Top One-Hit Wonders of the 1990s
R&B crooner Shanice may have had only one hit, but “I Love Your Smile” is arguably one of the catchiest — and most memorable — R&B tunes of the ’90s. Really, who could forget a song whose chorus is “Do do do do do/do do do”? Complete with a brilliant saxophone solo by Branford Marsalis,…
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The Root Recommends: Beyoncé's '4'
In the shadows of her 2008 sensation I Am … Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé proves she’s not afraid of a little experimentation with her newest album. 4. Inspired by past and present R&B wonders, such as DeBarge, Earth, Wind & Fire and Teena Marie, Beyoncé adds a little boost of ’80s soul to her characteristic pop-urban…
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The Root Recommends: 'Tha Carter 4'
Recently released from prison, Lil Wayne is pulling out all the stops with his newest album, Tha Carter IV. Weezy continues to infuse new musical elements into his rap numbers, teaming up with indie folk band Bon Iver for one of the album’s tracks. The album’s first single, “6 Foot 7 Foot,” peaked at No.…
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New York's Black History
From 1838 to near the end of the 19th century, the African-American community of Weeksville thrived in the Brooklyn neighborhood that is now Bedford-Stuyvesant. Captions by Linda Villarosa Read on, then check out our “Not Your Typical Guide to Black New York.” The community of about 500 residents at its height had its own baseball…
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Real Dads, Real Style: Reader Photos
Submitted by Carolyn Gray: Her dad, Leonard Gray, she writes, “was not overly concerned about dress. He had the Obama conservative cool style.” The father of 13, grandfather of 25 and great-grandfather of 26 was a deacon and a Sunday-school teacher, but Carolyn tells us that before he got saved, he was a “pretty good…
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The Root Recommends: 'Kicking Ass and Saving Souls'
David Matthews’ biography of humanitarian, and childhood friend, R. Stefan Templeton, Kicking Ass and Saving Souls: A True Story of a Life Over the Line, is a rousing true story of the Norwegian-American founder of the SPEAR Project. The biography chronicles Templeton’s rough-and-tumble youth living with his African-American journalist father on Baltimore’s decaying west side.…
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The Root Recommends: 'The Kid'
Sapphire’s long-awaited sequel to Push, The Kid, details the dynamic journey of Precious’ son, Abdul Jones. The character that inspired the Academy Award-winning movie Precious is absent from The Kid, which begins with Precious’ sudden death and funeral. Abdul’s trek takes him from a Catholic orphanage to a downtown loft — and many places in…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
