Music
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LL Cool J's "Rock The Bells" Expands Into a Web Destination Celebrating Hip-Hop's Trailblazers
LL Cool J’s longtime brand Rock The Bells is expanding itself as a website dedicated to celebrating the icons and trailblazers in hip-hop culture. The site will provide visitors and fans with “content, commerce and experiences” through a series of articles, podcasts, products and more. According to a press release for the site obtained by…
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Teyana Taylor Features Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill on The Album, Which Arrives on Juneteenth
Teyana Taylor’s third studio LP will arrive at the end of this week. With its straightforward title, The Album drops Juneteenth (June 19) and is expected to feature a slew of big names as musical guests. The native Harlemite announced on Instagram that the project will feature 23 different songs split into five “studios,” each…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 16: 2Pac featuring Dr. Dre, 'California Love'
June 16 is Tupac Amaru Shakur’s birthday. Today—June 16, 2020—he’d be 49 years old. Since it’s Tupac’s birthday and one of his singles— “California Love”—happens to feature one of the most iconic hip hop videos of all time, it only makes sense to include him here. The video for “California Love,” which was directed by…
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Gucci Mane May Leave Atlantic Records After Claiming They're 'Polite Racist'
Will Gucci Mane be parting ways with his record label Atlantic Records due to racism? In a now-deleted tweet sent over the weekend, the Atlanta rapper claimed that the people who work there are “polite racist,” and encouraged other artists in the industry to follow suit. According to his tweet, he plans on making July…
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Drake, Megan Thee Stallion, Roddy Ricch Lead 2020 BET Award Nominations; Show To Broadcast On CBS Too
Musicians Drake, Roddy Ricch, and Megan Thee Stallion lead the nomination pack for the 2020 BET Awards, which is set to air live across ViacomCBS networks including BET, BET HER, and CBS on June 28 at 8 p.m. ET. Drake is up for wins in six categories, including Male Hip-Hop Artist and Video of the…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 15: Cameo, 'Word Up!'
One day, Cameo will get the documentary they truly deserve. One trip through their video archives makes want to know everything about the group possible. Sure, Larry Blackmon is the most recognizable because he was the front-man and lead vocalist (I struggled with putting singer here), but the whole band was really out there. Seriously,…
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Alicia Keys and John Legend Team Up for Juneteenth Verzuz
If you’ve been hankering for a new Verzuz battle, look no further. This Friday June 19, Alicia Keys and John Legend will be taking to Instagram Live for a special Juneteenth edition of the music match-up that grew out of COVID-19 quarantine. So far, Verzuz matchups have included Erykah Badu and Jill Scott; Kirk Franklin…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 14: The Roots 'What They Do'
The mid-to-late 90s ushered in an era of opulence in hip hop. While Sean “Puffy” Combs gets most of the credit for taking hip hop into the “Shiny Suit” era, he was far from the only artist making music and videos that exhibited lifestyle goals more than lifestyle. And just as there was no shortage…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 13: Michael Jackson, 'Thriller'
I mean, I couldn’t “well duh” think of a video any harder than this one. “Thriller” is probably the most iconic music video of all time. Of ever. And will probably be forever. And forever is a mighty long time. It’s so iconic it’s that I guarantee you can do at least one part of…
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The Root Jams Weekly (6/12/2020): 'A Roller Skating Jam Named Blackness'
Its Black Music Month, and summer is on the way. One of the funnest old school summer night activities was going to the skating rink. Roller rinks always had the best jams, so we’re putting together our list of Roller Skating Jams. Break out the skates! And don’t forget to bounce, rock then skate and…