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Dear Taco Bell, You're Getting Rid of the Mexican Pizza? Really? Not Cool, Bro. Not Cool at All
Dear Taco Bell, you a rude motherfucker, yo. How you gonna just go and drop the Mexican Pizza from your menu? HOW, SWAY? For why? According to CNN, which I’m pretty sure also enjoys a solid Mexican Pizza, here are the facts: Taco Bell is eliminating five more menu items, marking the second time in…
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In Ghana, I Experienced an Interaction With the Police Unlike Any I'd Expect in America
All I could say after “it” concluded—and after I picked my face and bowels up off the floor of the car—was, “it is amazing what is possible when racism isn’t central to interactions with the authorities.” I may have fainted after that; I’ll ask my wife. The “it” in question was an interaction with police…
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The Root Jams Weekly (8/28/2020): 'Walkout'
It’s been a week in America. After another shooting of a Black person at the hands of police—7 times in the back, no less—everybody reached a new level of over it. Athletes in several of the major sports either postponed, cancelled or walked out of games or contests. It’s the kind of week when the…
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I Took My Kids to Visit Theodore Roosevelt Island Outside of Washington, D.C. I Had No Idea It Was a Former Plantation
I live in Washington, D.C., and much like most of the parents in the area—the whole country, really—my wife and I have looked for mostly outdoor activities to do with our kids since the beginning of the pandemic. Washington, D.C., and its surrounding suburbs, are home to tons of museums and monuments; there’s always somewhere…
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8 Reasons Why The Five Heartbeats Are the Best Fictional Black Movie Music Group of All Time
The Five Heartbeats, the 1991 movie written and directed by—and also starring—Robert Townsend (Keenan Ivory Wayans was a co-writer) is easily one of my favorite movies of all time. For my money, The Five Heartbeats is the greatest fictional Black music group of all time, and that is indisputable. Sure, there are other fictional groups…
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A Line-By-Line(s) Breakdown of Alleged Foolywang Jam, Donnell Jones' 'Where I Wanna Be'
In October 1999, singer/songwriter/producer Donnell Jones released his second album, platinum-selling Where I Wanna Be. The first single featuring Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes was a hit—his highest-charting hit, in fact—landing inside the top 10 of Billboard’s pop charts. Interestingly, the first record I remember hearing from the album was “Shorty (Got Her Eyes On Me),”…
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If an Album Isn't Streaming Online, Does It Really Exist? A Theoretical Discussion
I did something recently that I haven’t done in probably 10 years—I made two compact disc (CD) purchases. That’s right, in the year of our lord 2020, I purchased Adriana Evans 1997 self-titled debut album and De La Soul’s Five-Mic classic, 1991’s De La Soul Is Dead. I spent $21 and $25, respectively, of my…
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The Root Jams Weekly (8/14/2020): 'Wet Ass Playlist'
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion set the internet on fire with their song and video, “WAP,” which stands for “wet ass p***y.” Well, after probably a million formal and informal takes on the song, the staff at The Root decided to curate a playlist of Raunch-jams for your listening pleasure(s). Shouts out to Cardi…
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7 Quick Thoughts About Nas' New Blackness Jam, 'Ultra Black'
God-level MC, hip-hop mainstay and legend, Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones—aka Nas aka Nasty Nas aka Esco aka “N-A-S are the letters that spell, Nas Nas Nas”—released a new Hit-Boy produced record, “Ultra Black,” (and announced a new album, King’s Disease) for our listening pleasure on all streaming platforms. I have 7 thoughts to share. This…
