culture
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Unsung: How After 7 Made Grown Folks’ Music in the New Jack Swing Era
It was the summer of 1989 when the R&B trio After 7 dropped their infectious eponymous debut album with the lead single, “In the Heat of the Moment,” a mischievous dance tune about the wonders of lust. Even though that album went platinum and the following two went gold, After 7 disappeared from the scene.…
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Being Mary Jane Recap: Niecy, It’s Time to Grow Up
Mary Jane still isn’t settled into New York City, and we’re still not settled with the splitting between Mary Jane’s and her Atlanta family’s storylines, which added some of the best moments in the past season. It is great to see the family back in this episode of Being Mary Jane, even if Niecy hasn’t…
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Yale University and the Curious Craze of ‘White-Peopleing’
When I was a little kid, my mother forbade me and my sisters to hit each other. Sometimes, however, when we were really mad, we would push each other into a corner, start swinging our arms wildly and scream, “I was doing this first.” We’d inform the person in the corner that they were free…
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My Black History: The Case for Black Art in an Anti-Presidential Era
Editor’s note: During Black History Month, the focus is usually on historical figures who loomed larger than life, paving the way for the progress we experience today. But black history isn’t just about telling stories of our past. History is being made every day and has been made throughout our lives; it’s not just in…
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Outside the House: How 1 Documentary Sheds Light on Mental Health in the Black Community
There’s a saying in the black community that what goes on inside the house shouldn’t be taken outside the house, and mental health has always been the secret many black people didn’t take outside. In Darnell Lamont Walker’s documentary Outside the House, he’s breaking down the barriers and stigmas when it comes to black people…
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Carlos Santana Says Beyoncé Is Not a Singer; That’s Why She Lost Album of the Year
I love Carlos Santana, especially his shoe line, but he may need a second or third listen to Beyoncé’s music before saying that she’s not a singer. On the heels of Beyoncé losing Album of the Year at the Grammys, Santana weighed in on why Adele won and Beyoncé didn’t. And it had to do…
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Jeremy ‘Prison Bae’ Meeks Makes NYFW Runway Debut
Momma, he’s made it! Jeremy Meeks, the man dubbed #PrisonBae after his mug shot went viral, made his New York Fashion Week runway debut in Phillipp Plein’s show Monday. In 2014, Meeks caught the world’s attention after he was arrested in Stockton, Calif., and taken into custody and booked on five felony weapons charges and…
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Watch: James Baldwin, in Our Words and His
James Baldwin is unequivocally one of the most prolific writers of his time. A queer black man, he brought life to the African-American experience through his novels, essays, debates and public lectures. And now a new generation is getting to experience the power of those words in the Oscar-nominated documentary I Am Not Your Negro.…
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David Duke Doesn’t Like Chris Evans Posing in Photos With Black Women
Jesus Christ, David Duke is still a thing. And, apparently, he’s not too pleased with Captain America’s dating habits. It seems as though Duke was being a total fan boy of Chris Evans and perusing Google Images when he came across—gasp!—photos of Evans with women in various shades of brown! So next obvious step? Duke…