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Popeyes Signature Sauces, Ranked
I’m Black. I love Popeyes. My Black love for Popeyes is further proven by the fact that I want to put an apostrophe in Popeyes (ya know, like Popeye’s) so badly and I keep having to erase it. Every. Single. Time. Apostrophes were unnecessary? That’s Black love. Anyway, I love Popeye’s—fuck it, the apostrophe stays—and…
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Black Music Groups With 3-Letter* Names, Ranked
I started thinking about SWV. And then I started thinking about TLC.
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Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol. 1 Just Turned 20. Let's Talk About the Go-Go Jam, 'It's Love'
If I ever write a memoir about my life, an entire chapter would be dedicated to Washington, D.C., and the influence the city has had in my life. When I got to a pre-freshman program at Morehouse in the summer of 1997, my knowledge of the city, aside from knowing it was the nation’s capital,…
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The Root Jams Weekly (7/17/2020): 'Entanglements'
I mean, do we even need to intro this one? Shouts out to Will, Jada and unfortunately, August Alsina; that Red Table Talk launched a thousand memes. “Entanglements” (7/17/2020) Danielle Belton Dave Hollister “My Favorite Girl” Gerald Levert “Thinkin’ Bout It” Jocelyn Brown “Somebody Else’s Guy” J’Na Jefferson Usher “Confessions Part II” Destiny’s Child “Say…
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The Worst Day of My Life and the 20 Years of Trauma That Followed
Twenty years ago, my life changed forever. When I woke up on July 16, 2000, I never could have predicted how different my life would be by midnight. But it was. And I was. And still am, if I’m being honest. As I was scrolling my social media feeds this morning, I noticed that my…
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A Reminder To Me and You, Your Mama and Your Cousin, Too, That You Miss 100 Percent of The Shots You Don't Take
I spend a lot of time listening to podcasts, especially those that feature Black artists. My favorite (and one I’ve written about before) is Questlove Supreme because it’s a show where they somehow book many of my favorite artists and I also feel like I could be part of the team. Questlove and the rest…
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Is T.I.'s Rap Career On The Same Level as Jay Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne? A Discussion
On the heels of a social media back and forth between T.I. and 50 Cent about who would win in a Verzuz battle—probably a more even matchup than either of them wants to admit; neither has made much music worth listening to in the past decade—T.I. went on Big Boy’s L.A.-based radio show and proclaimed,…
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The Root Jams Weekly (7/10/2020): 'My Headphones'
We usually pick a theme to reflect the current state of affairs or a sentiment. Today, we decided to share what we’re actually listening to at the moment. What are you listening to? “My Headphones” (7/3/2020) Damon Young James Blake “I’ll Come Too” Fiona Apple “Rack of His” Kota the Friend “Chicago Diner” Kids See…
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Because of COVID-19, I Haven't Hugged My Daughter in Months
I haven’t hugged my daughter in months. Before COVID-19 hit (well, impacted the way we live our lives), my family was impacted by health concerns. In what should have been my daughter’s last semester of 5th grade, and before she made the transition to being a middle schooler, her year was cut short over a…
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Dear Stan Smith(s), I Owe You an Apology
I don’t know exactly when my disdain for adidas Originals Stan Smith shoes started. I’m guessing it was somewhere in my 20s, a time culturally defined as grown-and-sexy that featured the coolest of the cool jettisoning super baggy clothing and jerseys in favor of button-ups and lifestyle tennis shoes to match said button-ups—thanks Jay-Z. The…
