Music
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 30: Kendrick Lamar and SZA, 'All The Stars'
Today is the last day of Black Music Month so I decided to go with one of the Blackest videos in recent memory—which unsurprisingly was the lead single from the one of the (if not the) Blackest moments of the 2010s, Marvel’s The Black Panther—Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “All The Stars.” In fact, the only…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 29: Erykah Badu, 'Other Side of The Game'
I had to check when this song and video came out because I associate it so heavily with college. Except, this was a single from Baduizm, which was released in February of 1997 when I was a senior in high school. The video for “Other Side of The Game” came out in the summer of…
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The Root Jams Weekly (6/26/2020): 'The Definitive Summer Jams'
It’s hot AF, it’s summer AF and it’s still Black Music Month…AF. Sometimes you just need that perfect summertime, summer jam playlist to be the backdrop for or the reminder of the moments created during Sundress SZN. This list hopes to be that. It will be BlackAF. “The Definitive Summer Jams” (6/26/2020) Panama Jackson DJ…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 26: Force MDs, 'Tender Love'
Force MDs “Tender Love” is a jam, you hear me? It’s as good today as it was in 1985, a nod I give to just how good GOAT writers and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are at song creation. The video, though, is awesome in a different way. Be clear, I love this video…
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Aloe Blacc Releases New Song, Announces Next Album All Love Everything
Grammy-nominated musician Aloe Blacc returns to the music scene with his latest song, “My Way,” which will be featured on his forthcoming album All Love Everything. The LP is slated to drop on October 2. Blacc’s first full-length project in seven years will find him detailing his experiences and journey as a father, as well…
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The Music Industry’s Utter Disrespect of Black Women Feels Like Constant White Noise
There is a phenomenon that occurs when you’re going about your day and can’t get a particular song out of your head. We refer to that song as an “earworm.” Well, a constant buzzing in the back of my head has recently gotten louder and louder: I refer to this song as an ear parasite—specifically,…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 24: Jodeci, 'Stay'
Jodeci and SWV are my favorite 90s groups. Their music, to me, is so superbly good that you shouldn’t have anything negative to say about it. Jodeci is still, today, a gold standard group, which is amazing considering that they only have three albums, all released between 1991 and 1995 that are worth talking about.…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 23: Kriss Kross, 'Jump'
At first glance, there’s not really much to the video for Kriss Kross’ “Jump,” though it’s a song and video that changed their lives, along with their producer, Jermaine Dupri. Famously, the royalty check Dupri received from Ruffhouse/Columbia Records (the label Kriss Kross was signed to) for “Jump”—the single itself sold over 4 million copies—enabled…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 22: Jill Scott , 'Gettin' In The Way'
From the moment Jill Scott hit the scene nationally in 2000, she was a force. While she got dropped into the earthy-crunchy, neo-soul bucket of the late 90s and early aughts—I think being both from Philly, the epicenter of the movement if it had one, and the “sound” of her music helped this categorization—Jill to…