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28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 1: Al Green I'm Still In Love With You (1972)
It’s February again, and you know what that means—it’s Black History Month. Well, here at VSB, we like to celebrate Blackness with various monthlong series. We’ve done 28 Days of Literary Blackness (2019), 30 Days of Musical Blackness (2019) and 30 Days of Music Video Blackness (2020). This year—2021—we’re bringing you more celebration in the…
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To Washington, D.C. With Love: The Commes Des Garcons x Nike Foamposite 1 Collaboration Might As Well Come With Mambo Sauce
My first experience with the Nike Air Foamposite One, released in 1997—we called them Penny Hardaways or Penny’s, for short—was on the campus of Spelman College during the summer before my freshman year of college. I watched a dude in one of the summer programs we had running (I was in a program for science,…
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Jazmine Sullivan's Heaux Tales Album Is Amazing AF. Here Are 10 Thoughts About It
On January 8, 2021, powerhouse singer/songwriter Jazmine Sullivan released her fourth project—at a little over 32 minutes in length it’s an extended play that really is a fully realized concept album—Heaux Tales. When I first saw it pop up on my Spotify new releases, I hopped right over it. I like Jazmine Sullivan; she’s easily…
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The Case For and Against Rocking Gear From a College You Didn't Graduate From (Or Attend)
I’m an HBCU (historically Black college or university) enthusiast. There was a time in my life that whenever I went to a city with an HBCU, I tried to get to the bookstore to buy a t-shirt from the institution. My collection of HBCU shits was top notch. And I’d go out and wear them,…
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I Sat on Hold for Almost An Hour and 40 Minutes Only to Be Told The Call Could Not Be Completed And I'm Hoppin' Mad
Have you ever gotten one of those notices from the IRS that says something like, “You owe us $10,000 but maybe you don’t. Fill out this paperwork and tell us why or why not. Kthxbi.”? I didn’t exactly get one of those—I don’t actually owe the IRS anything, much less $10,000; it’s complicated—but something in…
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Joe and Kamala, I’m Gon’ Let You Finish, But Nikolas Ajagu Rocking Jordan 1 Diors to Inauguration Brought a Joyous Tear to My Eye
The husband of Meena Harris, Kamala’s niece, had social media buzzing after he was seen wearing some of the most sought after kicks at the inauguration.
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On a Scale of 1 to 'Marvin Gaye and Jesse Jackson Playing Pickup Basketball,' How Black is My In-Home Workspace?
For Christmas, I told my wife that I wanted a workspace in our home. I have the good fortune to work from home on a regular occasion but that has largely meant that my laptop goes wherever I go as I’ve not had a stationary, consistent, comfortable workspace in the house. I told her what…
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A Discussion About The Term 'SpelHouse,' Ownership, Business and Culture Vultures
I don’t remember the first time I ever heard the term “SpelHouse,” the portmanteau of Spelman College and Morehouse College—two prominent historically Black colleges situated across the street from one another in Atlanta, Ga. It was probably very early into my college experience; I almost feel like the term itself kind of wafts into your…
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Richard 'Dimples' Fields' 10 Simple Rules for Successful Living 'Straight from the Dimples' Mouth
I’d bet good money that it’s been quite some time since you’ve heard the name Richard “Dimples” Fields if you know who he is at all. That isn’t to say he isn’t a somebody; he had a few hits back in the ‘80s and the albums with those hits aren’t available on streaming services. But…
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9 Artists I Cannot Be Objective About Because All They Make Is Beautiful Music (and Things)
On December 17, 2020, Scott Mescudi, professionally known to the world as Kid Cudi, dropped a sneaker collabo with shoe and apparel brand Adidas called the Vadawam 326, so named after his daughter, Vada—the 326 is a reference to her birthday, March 26. Cudi’s shoe looked like it could have EASILY been a Yeezy shoe…
