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A Spoiler-Free Review of Black Panther With No Plot Points or Facts in Roughly 250 Words
I had the opportunity to see Black Panther on Tuesday afternoon. If you’ll remember, I don’t know shit about Black Panther. That all changed on Tuesday. I still don’t know as much as most folks who got backstories and histories, but now I know more. With this newfound knowledge and my excitement in tow, I…
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Perfect Music Moments in Black History: Nina Simone’s ‘4 Women’
For a certain segment out there, I imagine that Jay-Z’s song “The Story of O.J.” introduced them to Nina Simone (born Eunice Waymon). The song samples her famous 1966 song “Four Women,” released on the Wild Is the Wind album. For those who were introduced to her through Jay-Z, I’m both happy and sad: happy…
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Perfect Music Moments in Black History: Rick James and Smokey Robinson ‘Ebony Eyes’
I’m not saying that I embarrass my kids often, but I can’t lie; I rather enjoy the fact that I have a child who has already found it possible to be ashamed of things I do. One of those things that absolutely go Full-On Embarrassing Dad is singing Rick James and Smokey Robinson’s “Ebony Eyes”…
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Perfect Music Moments in Black History: Isaac Hayes ‘Hung Up on My Baby’
Isaac Hayes is a legend. This much is clear and evident. If you’re a fan of music, it’s impossible not to appreciate what Black Moses brought to the world as one of the leading musicians and creators behind Memphis, Tenn.’s Stax Records. He called himself Black Moses, for heaven’s sake, and gave us the soundtrack…
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10 Thoughts on Anna Holmes’ New York Times Op-Ed ‘Black With (Some) White Privilege’
Anna Holmes, the founder of Jezebel and editorial director at Topic.com, recently wrote an op-ed for the New York Times titled, “Black With (Some) White Privilege.” Full disclosure: I’m part of a currently running, very interesting and insightful documentary series she executive-produced called The Loving Generation, which explores the lives and identities of kids born…
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Perfect Music Moments in Black History: Groove Theory’s ‘Tell Me’
Music from the 1990s is largely regarded with rose-colored nostalgia. Hip-hop made the leap, R&B was blessed with several noteworthy groups that provided classic albums, and neo-soul showed up and made superstars out of folks like Erykah Badu and D’Angelo. New jack swing took a step out of the arena but gave way to artists…
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With Black Panther We Have a Black Movie and a Black Movie Soundtrack. It’s Like 1994 All Over Again
The soundtrack for Black Panther, the Top Dawg Entertainment-helmed Black Panther: The Album, dropped today. While Black Panther is a Marvel Cinematic Universe product, it’s still a black movie. From Ryan Coogler to Wakanda to kente cloth in videos to the two capital letters and the apostrophe in the lead character T’Challa’s name, there’s no…
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How in the Hell Are People Paying for Weddings?
Since I became engaged at the end of 2017, my household has been in constant wedding-planning mode. From creating guest lists—we possibly know way too many people—to seeking out and touring venues to general discussions about budgets, one thing has constantly kept coming up in our talks: Just how in the hell do people afford…
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Um, Cocaine Really Is a Hell of a Drug
Listen, I’ve never done cocaine in my life. I’ve never really felt compelled to do so, either. While I can’t pretend like those “This is your brain; this is your brain on drugs” commercials entirely deterred me from a life of occasional recreational drug use, cocaine—for me—has always just seemed like a bridge too far.…
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Pre-K Teacher Leigh Bishop Matching Her Student’s Hairstyle Has Me All Up in My Dad Feels
The story of Leigh Bishop (recent #WCW at The Glow Up), the pre-K teacher at Lakeview Elementary School in Sugar Land, Texas, who told her student August that she loved her hairstyle and then showed up the next day wearing it, actually brought a tear to my eye. But just one. OK, both. Maybe I…
