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Nostalgia-palooza: Paramount+ Is Rebooting Behind the Music, Yo! MTV Raps and Unplugged
Remember when music videos used to play on television? Of course you do, because nostalgic internet users talk about it all the time, often with wistful sighs. Recently, a graphic floated around on Twitter showing the programming slate for MTV’s current television shows. Which show dominated damn near every damn broadcast time slot? Ridiculousness, a TV…
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'I Wants Us to Feel Seen So Bad': Amber Ruffin to Air on NBC, Making Her the Only Black Woman With a Network Late-Night Show
Since the very start of late night television talk/variety shows (Broadway Open House was the first to air in a late night slot in 1950 on NBC), we’ve all become accustomed to watching a succession of white men sitting at a desk and interviewing famous folks—after warming us up with a relevant monologue, of course.…
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You Get Some Black Joy! And You Get Some Black Joy! Everybody Black Gets Some Black Joy! Love, The Root
Black joy is unmatched. We’re near the end of Black History Month, but you know we’re poppin’ the other 11 months of the year, too. So, a joyful trio of The Root staff members Danielle Belton (editor-in-chief), Michael Harriot (senior writer) and I, Tonja Renée Stidhum (staff entertainment writer) decided to spread some joy to…
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The Devil Has a New Blue Dress to Wear—Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins Books Are Being Adapted for TV
The leading character of the 1995 neo-noir mystery Devil in a Blue Dress, Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins is getting his own TV series. Originally portrayed in the feature film by Denzel Washington, Rawlins is a character created by author Walter Mosley and is featured in his bestselling books. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Amblin Television is…
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TikTok Launches Incubator Program Featuring 100 Black Creators Up for the Challenge
If you’re immersed in the TikTok world, you are intimately familiar with challenges. Whether your challenge is being a savage or a renegade, throwing it down to bussit or even swaying sexily to a silhouette, a TikTok user is always down to create trendy content. Hell, y’all are so good at it, we have a…
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Bobby Shmurda Is Free and Yes, We're All Waiting for the Fitted Cap He Flung Into the Air to Return to His Head
It seemed like a combination of “about a week ago” and forever ago that Bobby Shmurda had us all doing the Shmoney dance in the club to his hit song. Hell, it seems like forever ago that we’ve been in a club (those of us following COVID-19 protocols, anyway). That song, “Hot Nigga” (or “Hot…
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That Warm Dr. Hibbert Chuckle We All Know From The Simpsons Will Finally Be a Black Man's Voice
If you’re a fan of The Simpsons, you know the laugh. It’s the laugh of Springfield’s local medical professional, Dr. Hibbert, who always has the propensity to make a warm-hearted pun in the midst of chaos. For over 30 years, that chuckle has come from the voice of actor Harry Shearer. Just in case you…
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'This Lacks Respect and Tact': Vanessa Bryant Calls Out Meek Mill for His Kobe Lyric
Vanessa Bryant has spoken out against Meek Mill’s lyric referencing the late Kobe Bryant, which she believes was “disrespectful.” The widow of the late NBA legend, who also lost their daughter, Gianna, in the tragic helicopter crash last January took to Instagram to directly call out the “Dreams and Nightmares” rapper, expressing her disappointment with…
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28 Days of Black Joy: Nicknames That Cancel Out the Need for Government Names
They used to call me “Cheekie.” They still do. It all started during the AOL chat room days and I was a huge fan of Mr. Cheeks’ “Lights, Camera, Action!” Since I had always been known for my pinchable cheeks (on my face most of my life and…um, the other ones blossomed during my pre-teen…
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Jay-Z Shares His 'Empire State of Mind' With LVMH, Forms Partnership With Moët Hennessy
Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter is hellbent on journalists referencing his “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man” lyric in the article’s lede with every money move he makes, isn’t he? Oh look, I did it again. Here’s the news—LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) has acquired a 50 percent stake in Jay’s champagne brand Armand de…
