black music
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The Roots Announce Live Performances, Behind-the-Scenes Stories to Deliver Us All From Cabin Fever
Much like everyone else at the moment, The Roots have a lot of time on their hands. But even with no shows to book and NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon shifting to an at-home operation due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the band is refusing to allow their tremendous talent to go to…
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Ain't No Sunshine: Bill Withers Dead at 81
This one hurts. Bill Withers, whose soul-stirring catalog provided the soundtrack to generations of black households, has died from heart complications. He was 81. In a heartfelt statement, his family expressed their grief at his loss. “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved, devoted husband and father. A solitary man with a heart-driven…
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Let's Argue! Teddy Riley Versus Babyface Is Happening. Here Are the 20 Songs I'd Choose for Each
The one really fun and entertaining thing about this COVID-19 shut-in situation is the emergence of beat/song/hit “battles” between so many of our faves. While somebody has to lose in these instances (Mannie Fresh, I see you whoadie), the legacies of the artists are set in stone, so it’s more fun and games than true…
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I'm Not Crying, You're Crying: Frank Ocean Returns With Two New Singles Guaranteed to Put You in Your Feelings
There are two things I can never get enough of: crab legs and new Frank Ocean music. And while I always make it a point to partake in my favorite crustacean, the gracious soul who blessed us all with Channel Orange has been shortchanging our eardrums for a while now. Thankfully, Frank has re-emerged from…
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Legendary Jazz Pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr. Dead at 85
Ellis Marsalis Jr., legendary jazz musician, educator and patriarch of the Marsalis family, has died at the age of 85. After being admitted to the hospital over the weekend with symptoms of pneumonia, the New York Times reports that the cause of death was from complications associated with the coronavirus. On her Twitter account, New…
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You Wanna See a Dead Body? Scott Storch Destroys Mannie Fresh in Epic Instagram Live Battle
With a global pandemic keeping us trapped in our homes for the foreseeable future, Instagram Live has become the premier destination for music aficionados to get their much-needed fix. And outside of DJ D-Nice’s legendary #ClubQuarantine parties, super producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland have spearheaded the effort to give the people what they want—while social…
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In What Has To Be the Dumbest April Fools' Day Prank in Recent Memory, Public Enemy Admits Their Breakup Was a Hoax
I hate April Fools’ Day. Each year, friend and foe alike go to ridiculous lengths to deceive and delude the general public for the sole purpose of raising our blood pressure—as if black folks don’t have enough shit to worry about it. But clearly that’s beside the point since now we have rap legends Chuck…
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Questlove's 7-Hour Stevie Wonder Set Featured B-Sides, Rarities, and a Phone Call from Mr. 'Very Superstitious' Himself
Like most black men and women of a certain age, I’m obsessed with Stevie Wonder—which means spreading the gospel of Stevland Hardaway Morris at every given opportunity and catching the Holy Ghost at the countless “Wonder-Full” tribute parties that DJ Spinna throws throughout the country. For those who have yet to experience the unspeakable joy…
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DJ Shadow's Endtroducing….. Is the Album That Changed the Way I Listened to Hip-Hop
Like a lot of black men who grew up in the ’90s, hip-hop is the soundtrack for my life and has been for as long as I can remember. I can remember “borrowing” cassette tapes from my older sister—she had a new music plug in high school—dubbing them, and sneaking them back into her room…
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Ari Lennox Returns With 'Shea Butta Baby' Remix EP
We don’t deserve Ari Lennox, but we’ll happily take her anyway. After blessing us all with her critically-acclaimed debut album, Shea Butta Baby—“New Apartment” is the perfect ode to domestic autonomy—the D.C. native has returned with its successor: a remix EP. Boasting production by J.Cole and contributions from Doja Cat, Smino, and Durand Bernarr—whose recent…