Music
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Why Boyz II Men’s Christmas Interpretations Is the Best Christmas Album of the Last 50 Years
Boyz II Men’s second album, Christmas Interpretations, is the best, most complete, Christmas album of the modern era—and it’s not even close. Sure, there have been great songs—Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” comes to mind (more on that later)— but as for a flawless and seamless album, you don’t need to…
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The Bronx’s Universal Hip Hop Museum Awarded $3.75 Million From New York State
On Thursday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a state grant of $3.75 million to be awarded to help the formation of The Universal Hip Hop Museum, which is planned to be completed in 2023. According to CNN, the venue—co-founded by music executive Rocky Bucano, rap music legend Kurtis Blow and trailblazing deejay Grand Wizzard…
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Nick Cannon Drops Third Diss Track
Tonight millions of film-goers around the world will bear witness to the conclusion of the 40-year-old Skywalker saga. Fear not though, for as one saga concludes another has continued. I’m speaking of course about actor/game show host/Louis Vuitton Sub-Zero, Nick Cannon and his one sided beef with Eminem. On Friday, TMZ reported that Nick Cannon…
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Jay-Z's 'Year-End Picks' Playlist Proves He Loves DaBaby, Solange and Drake Like the Rest of Us
With 2019 drawing to a close, not only are we being blessed with a wide assortment of lists celebrating the decade that was, but we are also recognizing a year filled with worthwhile contributions of its own. Looking to revisit some of his own favorites is the ever-elusive Jay-Z, who compiled 40 songs from the…
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Is Kanye Cancel-Proof? A Look Back at His Controversial Decade
Kanye West had himself a decade. While he started out on a musical tear that had car speakers and arenas rocking, he ended it as a Donald Trump, MAGA-hat wearing, gospel-ish artist. The one consistency is that when he started out 2010, he thought he was God’s gift to the planet—and he pretty much ended…
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Digital Bootleg Men Indicted in Federal Court
If you’re of a certain age you may remember the bootleg man being the staple of many a black barbershop. Typically running a four-for-$20 deal, he’d allow you to see all the latest movies for the price of a ticket and some popcorn. In recent years the services of the bootleg man have been rendered…
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All I Want For Christmas Is…the Bag: Mariah Carey's Holiday Staple Hits No. 1 on Billboard for First Time, New Music Video to Come
There’s longevity, then there’s Mariah Carey. Carey’s singular seasonal bop, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” has been playing on loudspeakers in grocery stores, company holiday parties, recreation centers, karaoke bars and mall kiosks around the world for 25 years—but just this past week, the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for…
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Land, Draft & Heat Did a Tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire, but They Forgot the Words
On Sunday night, Earth, Wind & Fire (EWF) was honored at the 42nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors ceremony held at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C. The iconic group made history becoming the first black group and first R&B group period inducted into the Kennedy Center Honors. They deserve the utmost respect for…
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Beyoncé’s Lemonade Named the Best Album of the Decade
Lemonade is the sweetest of them all. The Associated Press has named their Top 15 albums of the decade and Beyoncé’s 2016 opus Lemonade is number one. According to the international news agency’s music editor Mesfin Fekadu, the international global icon was riding the wave of success for much of the earlier part of the…
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Still Looking for the Path to World Peace? We Found It in DaBaby’s Energy and Smile
Iylana Vanzant once told Karreuche Tran to lie her “crying head” on her bosom. Vanzant then took the young ex-girlfriend of Chris Brown and comforted her with the softness of a maternal unit cooing at her baby. There is another “baby” I would like to highlight who I also believe must be protected at all…