black music month
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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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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…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 21: Will Smith, 'Just the Two of Us'
Today—June 21, 2020—is Father’s Day. My goal on today was to feature an iconic music video about black fathers and fatherhood. And you know what feels like damn near an impossible task? Finding a music video for a song celebrating black fathers and black fatherhood. In fact, there were so few videos in this particular…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 20: Stepanie Mills, '(You're Puttin') A Rush On Me'
I cannot tell you how much I love Stephanie Mills’ video for “(You’re Puttin’) A Rush On Me” so I won’t even try. I love it a lot lot, though. What I will attempt to explain is why I love this video so much. For starters, I’d be willing to bet good money that a…