culture
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Beyoncé Enlisted Poet Warsan Shire to Write Her Pregnancy-Announcement Poem and Dropped a Photo Album
Beyoncé is going all out when it comes to announcing the upcoming birth of her twin babies. On the first day of Black History Month, the Houston singer broke the internet when she announced that she was pregnant with twins by posting a photo on Instagram; but this morning the Beyhive woke up not only…
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For Wypipo Who Have Considered Interrupting When Listening Is Enuf
There are invaluable life lessons passed down through generations of black people like invisible family heirlooms. Some are instilled by parents, experience or society, but the most critical ones are learned through a mysterious black osmosis. The first time I heard “soul clapping,” I knew exactly what it meant and how to do it. When…
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Watch: In Focus With Director Steven Caple Jr., Who’s Set to Write HBO’s Emmett Till Miniseries
Editor’s note: In Focus is a video series showcasing the new wave of black filmmakers. Steven Caple Jr. is the writer and director of The Land, a coming-of-age tale set in Cleveland that tells the stories of four teens who aspire to be professional skateboarders. It is Caple’s first feature and stars The Wire’s Michael…
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A Prayer, Because I’m Just [Censored] Tired
Dear 175-pound, carpenter god-God, Afro-pick-utilizing, banned-from-the-USA Jesus, I’m tired. My feet are weary even though you’ve allegedly been carrying me whenever I go to the beach. Though, I’m saying, they don’t look like Birkenstocks in the sand, is all I’m saying. Royal heathen Kevin Gates is not tired despite having six jobs, but I’ll bet…
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BET Orders Pilot Based on Nas’ Life
Fresh off the success of The New Edition Story, BET has announced yet another miniseries based on the life of one of the top five, dead or alive (OK, maybe top 10), rappers of all time. Of course, I’m talking about Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones. According to Deadline, BET has ordered a pilot for…
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Tamron Hall Is Leaving NBC and MSNBC
Tamron Hall just gave NBC and MSNBC the “peace” sign and will not be renewing her contract, even though it’s alleged that the network offered her millions to stay, according to People magazine. Last week it was announced that she-devil Megyn Kelly was joining NBC and replacing Hall and Al Roker in a morning slot.…
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BET’s The Quad Out to Prove Why HBCUs Matter
It’s been 30 years since we saw Denise Huxtable go to Hillman College, a fictional HBCU in Virginia, where she would meet Dwayne Wayne and the prissy Whitley Gilbert in The Cosby Show spin-off A Different World. BET’s new show The Quad takes us on the campus of the historically black Georgia A&M University, home…
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Class Is in Session With BET’s Madiba, Starring Laurence Fishburne as the South African Icon
The New Edition Story may have signaled that BET is in the original-content game for real. But the truth is, the network has been slowly working at this for years. And history, not music, has been the main driver when it comes to the miniseries that air on the network. Reportedly, great viewer reception to…
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Being Mary Jane Recap: Snatching Wigs With Cardi B
Mary Jane is in a quandary. How much of that is her own doing or that of a very cunning Ronda Sales? There’s room for debate here. Mary Jane’s little brother, Paul Jr., appears in New York City as a real estate agent lounging in a $15 million apartment and suited like a dashing grown…
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Don’t Let Trump’s America Shame You From Ordering the Fried-Chicken Taco
My sister called me once from her car parked right outside a company picnic. “Stevie,” she said, exasperated. “I almost ate watermelon in front of my co-workers.” She need say no more. My sister is the one in the family who got in trouble for eating a white-bread sandwich on the front porch. My mother…