Music
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A Dozen+ Songs Touched by Teddy Riley, and You Ain’t Even Know
Best believe if you love hip-hop, R&B, soul, gospel, or any form of black music, you have quite a few of Teddy’s jams on your music app or iPhone. From Big Daddy Kane to Jay-Z, Michael Jackson to SWV, Teddy Riley was the man behind the boards of some of pop’s greatest hits; and some…
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Did Patti LaBelle Just Cordially Invite Ariana Grande to the Cookout?
Ariana Grande has had a rough couple of years. In 2017, there was a suicide bombing at her Manchester, England concert that killed 22 people and injured hundreds of others. And this year, she not only broke off her engagement with comedian-actor Pete Davidson, but her ex-boyfriend, rapper Mac Miller, died as a result of…
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Lauryn Hill Becomes Eligible for Presidential Medal of Freedom After Only Taking 20 Minutes for Her Chakras to Align
Because we live in a world in which Lauryn Hill has spent the last two decades being late for everything but her paycheck, the fact that she was only 20 minutes late for her December 3 concert at London’s 02 Arena is legit headline news. “‘She’s on time!’ A ripple of excitement has just gone through…
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Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthin' ta F' Wit? The Creators of Shaolin Jazz Disagree
To call the Wu-Tang Clan one of the most influential musical acts of all-time isn’t hyperbole. When they burst onto the scene in 1993 as a gritty and grimey Staten Island, N.Y., counterpoint to the Dr. Dre-helmed polish of Los Angeles G-funk, music shifted, too. In the decades since, the Wu footprint has shown up…
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Hell-Bent on Playing With Our Emotions, Kid Cudi Teases New 'Asterisk Collective' Project
On Sunday, the skies parted and unspeakable joy descended from the heavens as rapper Kid Cudi took to Twitter to tease a new project. “This is not the world we want. We’re rewriting the script because these rules don’t apply,” he says in the mysterious video. “We’ll be showing up with real people, in real…
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Did He or Did He Not Take A Shot At Kanye on Meek Mill's New Album? Jay-Z Clarifies
By now I’m sure you’ve heard “What’s Free”—the blistering standout from Meek Mill’s latest release “Champions” that just so happens to feature some guys named Rick Ross and Jay-Z. Which of course means you’ve heard the Roc Nation ringleader make his bid for verse of the year with blistering lines like: “Since most of my…
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A Line-by-Line Breakdown of Jay-Z's Verse on Meek Mill's Song 'What's Free?'
Meek Mill’s latest album, Championships, dropped today. While I’m not the biggest fan of the Philadelphia yellsmith, I can acknowledge that because of everything that’s transpired in the past, say 18 months of his life, this album release is an event. From a very public feud with Drake (they’re cool now; Drake’s even featured on…
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New Documentary to Shed Light on Why Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta F' Wit
Cinematographer Hans Charles wanted to visually frame the Wu-Tang Clan and all of their personas in a way that celebrated each of them as thriving black men in America. Likewise, director Sacha Jenkins understood that the real story in their four-hour documentary on Wu-Tang’s music and legacy is really about “black men who knew each…
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In a New Interview, Smokey Robinson Says He Regrets Not Recording With Friend Aretha Franklin
They knew each other almost all their lives, but in the many decades that Smokey Robinson and Aretha Franklin shared a friendship and mutual admiration, they never made it into the studio to record. Anyone who heard the two briefly duet on The Miracles’ “Ooh, Baby, Baby” (penned by Smokey) on a 1979 episode of…
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Country Music Recognizes Its Roots as 2 Black Artists Hit No. 1
“If someone asked me two years ago if I thought that this would be my life today—that I’d be on the red carpet at the CMAs or my song would be the No. 1 song on country radio, I would have honestly said no,” country singer Jimmie Allen said in a press release following the…