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Rest In Power, Neighborhood Nip
Like everybody else, I was hit with and then devastated by the news that Grammy-nominated rapper, entrepreneur, wealth- and community-builder Nipsey Hussle, aka Neighborhood Nip, aka Ermias Asghedom, was gunned down in front of his own store yesterday in Los Angeles. At 33 years old, no matter what the circumstances, he was too young to…
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10 Unbiased, Impartial and Very Good Reasons Why You Should Buy Damon's Memoir, What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker
If you follow VSB on any social media platforms, you know that Damon is currently in week one of his national tour for his debut book, a memoir-in-essays titled What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker, released on Tuesday and published by ECCO Books. The release of this book is the culmination of a book…
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Oprah Came Through Apple’s Press Event and Crushed the Buildings
After running out a lineup of Steven Spielberg, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and J.J. Abrams to talk about their upcoming series for Apple, the tech juggernaut went for the Moneyball and brought out Oprah Winfrey to talk more about her relationship with Apple and how she’s going to bring more of what she does best…
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10 True Facts About the Various Armchair Analyses of Jordan Peele's Us
This past weekend, Jordan Peele’s Us hit theaters, and it looks like we all went to see it. This is great for his bottom line and shows that after 2017’s Get Out, Peele is not experiencing a sophomore slump. Thing is, this movie is polarizing as fuck. One stroll through the social media shows you…
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Are You Watching Boomerang on BET? Because You Should Be Watching Boomerang on BET
Admittedly, when BET dropped the news that a Boomerang reboot, of sorts, was in the works, I was absolutely against it. Why go trying to reinvent a wheel that worked just fine in the era in which it was crafted? And on BET no less. No shade, but all of the shots fired. And while…
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A Spoiler-Free, Plot-Free Recap of Last Night's Episode of This Is Us in 600 Words or Less
Last night’s episode of This Is Us (Season 3, episode 16) had me in my Drake feelings, like when he wondered if Keke loved him. I still don’t know if he ever got an answer, but on this show, I think we may get them. It’s been an emotional roller coaster that only Vivian Green…
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Please Make Sure Your Aunties and Uncles Know It’s Caesar Salad Dressing and Other Stuff to Keep the Rest of Us Alive
I’d like to tell you a brief story. Buckle up, Buttercup, because like Bandersnatch, this story could have (had) multiple endings. On a recent mundane Friday in March, I found myself hungry. I’d planned to avail myself of the brand spanking new (and finally open) Busboys & Poets that recently opened its doors in the…
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My Black Ass Deck of Playing Cards Is Better and Blacker Than Yours (Unless You Also Own a Black Ass Deck, Too)
I try to support black businesses as much as possible, and not just because some white brand fucks up. I buy my books from black-owned bookstores (for the most part; sometimes you can’t beat 50 percent off on a signed copy of a book that costs $34.99 at Barnes & Noble). If you’re a black-owned…
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They May Have Finessed the College Admissions Process, But I’m Sure They Just Want What’s Best for Their Kids, Right?
When news broke of the college admissions scam that rocked America, a pretty large segment of us were neither shocked nor surprised. For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, privileged-kid college enrollment fixer William “Rick” Singer founded a for-profit counseling and college prep business, The Key, that helped students gain admission to…
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28 Days of Literary Blackness with VSB, Day 28: What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker by Damon Young
Publisher Synopsis: From the cofounder of VerySmartBrothas.com, and one of the most read writers on race and culture at work today, a provocative and humorous memoir-in-essays that explores the ever-shifting definitions of what it means to be Black (and male) in America. For Damon Young, existing while Black is an extreme sport. The act of…
