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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 1: Flying Lotus, 'Never Catch Me'
It’s June 2020, and while I imagine this year looks nothing like anybody assumed it might—and as time keeps on slippin’ into the future—I hope that we somehow come out better on the other side of it than we started. That’s a very, very reserved optimism, by the way. Be that as it may, June…
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The Root Jams Weekly (5/29/2020): 'Protest Music'
This week, month, and year have been exhausting for Black America. There’s always a battle raging somewhere against power structures that prey and pray for our downfall. Gathered here are a collection of staff-curated songs that embody the spirit of protest. #RIPGeorgeFloyd “Protest Music” (5/29/2020) Playlist Tonja Stidhum Billie Holiday “Strange Fruit” The Beatles “Come…
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Just Don't Forget That Black Pain Isn't All We Have
I don’t know exactly when I decided to stop writing about whiteness and focus purely on blackness. What I do know is that for the past few years I specifically made a decision to write about the celebration of blackness and black culture and whatever comes with it. No more writing about black trauma and…
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10 Thoughts About the Jagged Edge x 112 Verzuz With the Struggle Sound
1. Coming off of the high that was the Bounty Killer versus Beenie Man Verzuz Dance Party Jam Session No Social Distance In Sight, I personally thought the Jagged Edge (JE) versus 112 joint was going to end up being somewhat underwhelming. That Saturday night Verzuz was so lit and so live, it was the…
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The Root Jams Weekly (5/22/2020): 'What a Bam Bam'
In honor of the upcoming Verzuz battle between legends Bounty Killer and Beenie Man on IG Live, The Root is bringing you a playlist full of the staff’s favorite West Indian island jams. “What A Bam Bam” (5/22/2020) J’na Jefferson Terror Fabulous “Action” Beres Hammond “Last War” Tenor Saw “Ring the Alarm” Tonja Stidhum Beenie…
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The 10 Blackest Shoes That I Own
While I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a sneakerhead—perhaps that’s some sort of reluctant denial; my wife is absolutely tired of my sneaker deliveries—I spend more than a little bit of time perusing sneaker websites and videos from people named Foamer Simpson, Jacques Slade and Seth Fowler, watching sneaker unboxing videos of shoes that I try…
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A Line-by-Line (ish) Defense of Jagged Edge's 'Let's Get Married'
Ever since the first Verzuz “battle” popped off, the social medias have been aflutter with discussions of which artists would make for a good head-to-head battle. Suggestions, both good and terrible, seem to be what social media was built to amplify. Well, after the last “battle” between Ludacris, Nelly and Nelly’s WiFi connection, Swizz Beatz…
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Eryn Allen Kane's Song 'Fragile' Is One of The Most Beautifullest Things In This World
I don’t know what I was doing awake on the Saturday before Easter (April 12), at midnight, but whatever it was, I Shazam’d a song at 12:05 A.M. My best guess is that, per usual, I was watching a movie, or some television show and heard a snippet of a song that tickled my fancy.…
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Ice Cube's AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted Is 30 and I Pretty Much Had No Business Listening to This as an 11-Year-Old in 1990
According to historical records, Wikipedia and Instagram, Ice Cube’s debut, solo album, the indisputable classic, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, turns 30-years-old on May 16, 2020. For those of us (you) less mathematically inclined individuals, that means that the album was released on May 16, 1990. On the heels of his departure from N.W.A. and without the…
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The Root Jams Weekly (5/15/2020): 'A Long Walk'
This week’s playlist is both in honor of Jilly from Philly and E. Badu’s Verzuz battle from last weekend, but also because in our current climate, a long walk is what many of us rely on for a bit of peace. “A Long Walk” (5/15/2020) J’Na Jefferson India.Arie “Can I Walk With You” Frank Ocean…
