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What Would Rap Look Like If B.I.G. Had Lived?
March 9, 2012, marks the 15th anniversary of the death of one of rap’s most heralded figures, Christopher “the Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, who was gunned down in Los Angeles at the age of 24. Each year around this time, people honor the man who many agree changed the face of hip-hop. Wallace’s magic was his…
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Why Are We Hung Up on Our Mixed Roots?
The latest controversy in Beyoncé Knowles news may be her breast-feeding Blue Ivy in public, but I’m still shaking my head about the recent fuss over her True Match commercial for L’Oréal, which highlights the singer’s mixed-race heritage. In the ad the star says, “There’s a story behind my skin. It’s a mosaic of all…
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Black Celebs: Plastic Surgery Gone Awry
A recent Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that black women are heavier and happier with their bodies than white women are. It is common knowledge in the Diaspora that women with a “little meat on their bones” are desirable and considered sexy. The findings of the survey aren’t that earth-shattering for black…
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Oscars Forget Dick Anthony Williams
Each year during the Academy Awards televised show, there is a section of the broadcast where fellow members of the film community are remembered. Sunday night the event honored a myriad of talents, including Jane Russell, Whitney Houston, Elizabeth Taylor, Cliff Robertson and quite possibly my all-time favorite film director, Sidney Lumet. Amid the remembrances,…
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Isn't Easy Being Brown: Black Men Demonized
It seems that the mainstream media are at it again: demonizing black men, and this time the targets are Bobby Brown and Chris Brown. Bobby Brown is a complicated figure who has admittedly earned the criticism he has gotten over the years for being the “bad boy” of R&B. With the recent death Brown’s ex-wife,…
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Ava DuVernay: Win at Sundance 'a Big Hug'
What do you do when you become the first African-American woman to win the best director award at the Sundance Film Festival? You keep working, says independent filmmaker Ava DuVernay, who is hell-bent on not letting the hype take her off her game. DuVernay won the coveted award for her film Middle of Nowhere, which…
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Black Love: 9 Films You Should Know
I must say that it has been a lot of fun watching people express their love for one another this week. Although Valentine’s Day is clearly a commercial “holiday,” it actually gets people thinking about ways to demonstrate their love to their partners. Many believe that couples should demonstrate their love throughout the year, but…
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Minaj at Grammys: Contrived, Not Controversial
As a child, I used to live for the Grammy Awards, waiting for performances by some of my favorites, like Michael Jackson, the Police, Tears for Fears, Janet Jackson and, of course, Whitney Houston. I remember once getting into trouble with my parents, and my punishment was that I could not watch the Grammys. Michael…
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Whitney Houston's Death: Some Respect, Please
Can I just say that I am truly saddened by the death of Whitney Houston? It has been two days and I am still shocked, numb and wondering why someone with such an extraordinary gift would be taken away so soon. I sat down to write this piece on Saturday but couldn’t manage to get…
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Black History Month Tough on Black Folks
Once a year, Black History Month rolls around and debate ensues about whether we still need to observe it. In my mind, this debate is frivolous because the reasons that historian Carter G. Woodson, a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Chicago, worked diligently to establish Negro History Month in 1926 still exist…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
