culture
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Building Without Tools: 4:44 and the Power of Vulnerability, Part 2
What I thought when I met my dad was, “Oh, I’m free to love now.” But it’s like, how are you gonna do it? … You’ve never done this before; no one informed you how to do this. You don’t even have the tools to do it … “Will 4:44 be for black men the…
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Didn’t We Almost Have It All, Joseline Hernandez?
Five years ago, a woman dressed like Sensational Queen Sherri from the pro-wrestling world was introduced to me as Joseline Hernandez, the self-professed Puerto Rican Princess and then-sidepiece of the legendary producer Stevie J. Joseline had dreams of becoming a rap star, and while she was one of the biggest messes I had ever seen…
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We Fact-Checked Umar Johnson’s Hotep Tantrum With Roland Martin Because Someone Had To
While everyone is grabbing the popcorn for the Blac Chyna-Rob Kardashian beef, the real donnybrook was happening Monday on TV One’s News One Now, when host Roland Martin had ankh-right leader Umar Abdullah-Johnson on his morning show. Everything seemed cool in the Great Ascot vs. Daishiki War, and then everything exploded. Johnson called a panelist…
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Brunch Is the Most Important Meal of the Gay?
According to Twitter, brunch makes you gay. Yup. In 2017, the year of our Lord and Savior, having an affinity for bacon and pancakes is a telltale sign of your homosexuality. Over the weekend, a series of tweets erupted stating that men who enjoy brunch must be gay. I was thoroughly confused. Unless there is…
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Counterpoint: Oh, C’mon! Spider-Man: Homecoming (and Its Diversity) Were Just Great, Jason
Jason Johnson, our political editor at The Root and an in-real-life close and personal friend of mine, wrote this last Friday about the new Spider-Man movie: Spider-Man: Homecoming is a fun movie, but not one that will stick with you for long. It’s significantly better on the diversity front than whitewashed Doctor Strange, or the…
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The Real Housewives of Potomac’s High-Siddity Cast Delivered on the Reunion
It’s been a long road for me and The Real Housewives of Potomac. As someone with an aversion to both bougie black folks and color-struck Negroes, I found the inaugural season of this show exhausting, with its cast members’ collective habits of clinging too much to pretension, as well as being high yellow with green…
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Is Wyclef Jean Really Unsung? There’s More to His Story Than You Know
For ’90s hip-hop heads, Wyclef Jean will always be known as one-third of the legendary group the Fugees. And anyone paying attention over the last few decades probably thinks he or she knows everything about Jean: how he became a sought-after producer, his near-presidential run in his home country and his starring role in a…
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Nelsan Ellis, True Blood’s Lafayette, Dies at 39
Nelsan Ellis, who played the outspoken and gay short-order cook Lafayette Reynolds on HBO’s True Blood, has died after complications due to heart failure. He was 39. According to the Hollywood Reporter, his manager, Emily Gerson Saines, delivered the news. “He was a great talent, and his words and presence will be forever missed,” she…
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I Love Starz’s Power, but I Hate All of These Characters
Very few shows can entice me to spend more money on what already feels like an oppressive cable bill. However, when the press connect does not come through, I will circle back to Showtime in order to get my Homeland fix. But honestly (truly), no show really makes me hit “order” as fast as Starz’s…
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These Blackface-Wearing, N-Word-Spewing Culture Vultures Would Like to Teach Your Kids About Hip-Hop
Please pardon me while I take a deep breath and decide how I want to tell you this story. It has so many layers, and I want to get it right. Maybe I should tell you about the lady who wants to pull a Kylie and Kendall by taking ’90s-era hip-hop artists, putting her name…