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My Daughter Is In A Hip-Hop Dance Class. I Want Her Blackness To Make Her Better Than Everybody Else.
I’m a dance dad. While I’m not standing outside the studio yelling at my daughter to get in formation or tighten up those pirouettes, I do find myself at dance class at least once a week and, on special occasions, twice a week. See, my daughter has been taking dance lessons since, I believe, she…
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My Daughter Is Not the Best Dancer in Hip-Hop Class and I Feel a Way About It
I’m a dance dad. While I’m not standing outside the studio yelling at my daughter to get in formation or tighten up those pirouettes, I do find myself at dance class at least once a week and, on special occasions, twice a week. See, my daughter has been taking dance lessons since, I believe, she…
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An Interview With Dr. Kinitra Brooks, Who Teaches A Class On Beyoncé
A few weeks ago, I saw on Facebook that somebody was teaching a class on Beyoncé and specifically Lemonade at the University of Texas-San Antonio. I thought to myself, that’s pretty cool. Well, as luck would have it, a friend of hers who reads VSB reached out and said that the professor was both an…
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Panama and Shamira Discuss Solange's "A Seat At The Table"
Panama: So, Solange dropped an album recently that has the internet’s buzzing: A Seat At The Table. Let Facebook tell it, it’s the best, Blackest album that’s been released in quite some time. I’m not sure I’m in that camp, though I can understand why folks love it so much. But I don’t think it’s nearly…
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If Mos Def’s Black On Both Sides Came Out Today, It Might Be Considered The Blackest Album of All Time
On September 30, Solange released her third album, A Seat At The Table, to remarkably favorable reviews. Social media lit up like the Empire State Building at Christmas with folks proclaiming how woke and Black the album is. Interspersed with interludes speaking to the Black experience from her mother, father, and Master P, the album…
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On Kid Cudi And Trying To Save Your Own Life
I’m a Kid Cudi fan. In fact, to know me and speak to me about music, you will likely hear me say, at some point during our musical relationship, that Kid Cudi is the best accessory artist in music. In fact, I contend that ALL songs are made better by the addition of Kid Cudi or…
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10 Thoughts About "The Birth Of A Nation"
[***If you’ve read any articles about this movie, there are no spoilers. Also, Nat Turner dies at the end. That is also not a spoiler.***] Last night, I saw The Birth Of A Nation (BOAN), the story of slave revot leader Nat Turner, helmed in every part by Nate Parker of Peak Fuckboy fame. For…
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The National Museum of African American History and Culture Is The Blackest Thing I’ve Ever Seen This Week…and Ever
I’ve been to the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) twice so far – yes, that was a stunt – and it is easily the second Blackest place I’ve ever been in life. The Blackest? I’m glad you asked. That would be in the southeastern quadrant of Washington, DC, where…
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The Wash, Rinse, and Repeat of Being Black In America Today
My daily morning routine (unfortunately) currently feels a lot like Groundhog Day. I wake up and peruse Facebook and without fail, nearly every day I’m met with another story of some Black person meeting their demise at the hands of law enforcement. I’m then generally moved to saying some sort of muffled profanity as to…
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An Ode To My Favorite Outkast Album, ATLiens, Which Is Now 20 Years Old
Outkast’s sophomore album, ATLiens, turned 20 years old on August 27, 2016. I would like to talk about it. For as long as I live, I will never forget where I was the moment I heard “Elevators (Me & U)” for the first time. I was on my way to pick up my boy E.…
