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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.…
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Some Lessons For Aspiring Writers Everywhere
Last week, I set my momma up for the fall. Not on purpose, of course, but the end result was the same nonetheless. I took an assumption – my mother MIGHT vote for Trump – and couched it in two stories that without context (and for some people, even with context) painted my mother in…
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Hey Y’all, I Think My Mother Is Voting For Donald Trump
First things first, I PJ, would like to state up front that I can talk about my mama, but the rest of you people cannot. Cool? Cool. Also, I am lucky enough to have two mothers: this piece speaks of my mother in Michigan, who is originally from France. And white. And awesome so put…
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Dear People Who Created The Prisma App, You're The Real MVP.
You may not know this about me, but in my soul, I’m an artist. At my core, I’m a musician, a photographer, a painter, a writer, a poet, etc. I’m all of the arts. Ain’t no art that I ain’t attempted to art. A thug even tried to scrapbook once until I realized that thugs don’t…
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So, Let's Talk About This Frank Ocean "Blonde/Blond" Album.
Pigs flew and hell froze over for a weekend as Frank Ocean finally dropped not one, but two projects with his long form video “Endless” and his looooooooooong anticipated follow up to Channel Orange, Blonde, which is stylized as Blond according to every musical publication. Thing is, if it’s labeled as Blond on the cover, why…
