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Top 5 of All Time: Jay-Z Fatherhood Songs
The most anticipated baby of the year is here! Or it’s on its way. Or it has here been here for months and its birth was kept under wraps. Or there is no baby at all and we’ve all been duped by an impressive public relations team. I am, of course, referring to the progeny…
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From War on Drugs to War on Occupy
The photos and description of what took place at Occupy Chapel Hill, an Occupy Wall Street offshoot in North Carolina, resemble the second tenet of the so-called Powell Doctrine. As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Colin Powell said that “force, when used, should be overwhelming and…
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Young Blacks in MLK's Shadow
Martin Luther King Jr. is a towering historical figure. For some, he is the greatest American ever to live. Most people in this country, regardless of their political affiliation, consider him to be an inspiration. This respect and admiration is quite different from the opposition he faced while he was alive, but it’s this posthumous…
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Hip-Hop: Where's the Beef?
There was a time when “beef” among rappers captivated hip-hop fans. In 1986, when KRS-One released “The Bridge Is Over,” taking aim at his Queens, N.Y., rivals MC Shan and Marley Marl, it not only jump-started his career but also became a staple in any DJ’s repertoire. Other beefs, such as Roxanne Shante vs. UTFO,…
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Hip-Hop Father Figures?
A two-parent, mother-father, husband-wife model household is not necessary to raise healthy children. More than a “nuclear” family, children need the love and care of individuals dedicated to providing them with the best this world has to offer. Whether you refer to those people as mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle or any other familial…
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A Fair Trade on Drugs
The Wire is possibly the greatest television show of all time. It’s this century’s version of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace — an apt comparison, not just from an artistic standpoint, but because just as people claim to have read the Tolstoy classic but never have, The Wire is a critical darling that has largely…
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Critics Miss the Mark on Rihanna's Video
The music video for pop star Rihanna’s latest single starts off with a literal bang. In “Man Down,” a visibly distraught Rihanna is seen raising a small gun and killing a young man with a shot to the head in broad daylight on a crowded Jamaican street. We later learn that the young man had…
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Homophobic Slurs Are Always Meant to Offend
A few years ago, during an awkward attempt at father-son bonding, I found out my father was a homophobe. It was right after the Academy Awards, and there was a lot of discussion about the film Brokeback Mountain being snubbed for best picture. My father and I were watching television together, and he said to…
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Growing Pains of a Male Feminist
My introduction to any kind of feminist thought can be traced back to my freshman English class at Hampton University. The first day, I showed up late and sported a Malcolm X T-shirt. My professor was not impressed with my simultaneous embrace of black nationalist politics and CP time, and he took a special interest…
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Does Bill Maher's Racial Humor Get a Pass?
Not unlike many young people with access to HBO and an interest in progressive politics, I used to watch Real Time With Bill Maher religiously. It was one of the few places I could turn to that reflected the views I wasn’t getting from the 24-hour news channels. The direct and confrontational debate format left…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
