Music
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28 Days of Album Cover Blackness with VSB, Day 2: A Taste of Honey A Taste of Honey (1978)
If you listen to Black music and disco (or either/or, really) you know A Taste of Honey. They had a monster hit with “Boogie Oogie Oogie,” a song whose hook you can probably sing in your sleep (which I don’t recommend; people freak out over stuff like that). But this album cover for their platinum-selling…
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Sounds of Blackness: Apple Music, ASCAP, Spotify and TikTok Celebrate Black History Month With an Array of Curated Playlists, Specials and Programming
Welp, it’s official! Black History Month is finally here, and I for one couldn’t be happier. Though I’m Black 24/7/365 and don’t ever need a set date to bask in that glorious fact—there’s something about the first day of February that makes me wanna pick out my fro, put salt (NEVER sugar) on my grits,…
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Mic Drop: A Melodious Start to Black History Month
It’s officially Black History Month, and all I can say is that this month’s music is starting us off with a bang. The diversity of music produced and released is always astounding, and this week is no exception. Bringing us their A-game are artists who I wished I’d heard of sooner, artists I’ve been obsessed…
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28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 1: Al Green I'm Still In Love With You (1972)
It’s February again, and you know what that means—it’s Black History Month. Well, here at VSB, we like to celebrate Blackness with various monthlong series. We’ve done 28 Days of Literary Blackness (2019), 30 Days of Musical Blackness (2019) and 30 Days of Music Video Blackness (2020). This year—2021—we’re bringing you more celebration in the…
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Mic Drop: Are We on the Come-Up?
We all know music can be a useful outlet for all of the pent-up shit we deal with, whether we’re simply listening to it or actually making it—and on the subject of “making it,” this week’s music releases all had a major “come-up” vibe to them. For instance, I was really excited when I saw…
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Philadelphia International Records Celebrates 50 Years With the Help of Legacy Recordings and Warner Chappell Music
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the historic music label Philadelphia International Records. In an effort to commemorate the momentous occasion, on Monday, legendary labels Legacy Recordings and Warner Chappell Music teamed up to announce a yearlong campaign to highlight the history and legacy of the iconic label. A press release sent to The…
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Jazmine Sullivan's Heaux Tales Album Is Amazing AF. Here Are 10 Thoughts About It
On January 8, 2021, powerhouse singer/songwriter Jazmine Sullivan released her fourth project—at a little over 32 minutes in length it’s an extended play that really is a fully realized concept album—Heaux Tales. When I first saw it pop up on my Spotify new releases, I hopped right over it. I like Jazmine Sullivan; she’s easily…
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Mic Drop: Music for Every Mood
This week, fire-ass artists were coming out of the woodwork. Some released music videos that had me scratching my head and saying, “aren’t we in a global panorama?” While others released chill EPs and albums that had me laying on my floor and staring at the ceiling for a bit, contemplating the universe and also…
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Now or Never: D-Nice and Issa Rae's Raedio Collab on the Official Inauguration Playlist Featuring Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige and More
We still don’t know many details on next Wednesday’s inauguration (nor should we, given the current spate of domestic terrorism in our fair country) but we do know the soundtrack: On Thursday, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) released a 46-track playlist to commemorate the upcoming inauguration of the 46th president’s upcoming…
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Exclusive: Rhino Records to Release Iconic Classics on Limited Edition Colored Vinyl Throughout Black History Month
Black History Month is on the horizon and there are many ways to celebrate the unmatched contributions the Black community has gifted the world. Today, we’re going to focus on one of the best—music! Despite the mainstream industry’s constant attempt at erasure and appropriation, there is no doubt that Black folks are the architects and…