culture
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Can Big Girls Get in ‘Formation’ With Beyoncé’s Ivy Park?
During one of the many industry downturns that have plagued me, us and everyone in media since the advent of the Internet, I took a job folding clothes at a Macy’s in North St. Louis County, Mo. It did not pay anywhere near as much as my long-lost job as a newspaper reporter in Bakersfield,…
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How Rio’s Olympics Destroyed a Favela, but Not the Spirit of a Candomblé Priestess
Two years ago, a simple Candomblé religious rite revealed to Heloisa Helena Costa Berto her future in Rio de Janeiro. When the mãe de santo (mother of the spirit) threw her cowrie shells onto a table, Berto saw a vision of her house through the formation of the shells. It didn’t look good. “I saw that…
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I Know It’s Hard to Accept, but Beyoncé Is Smarter Than You, or Much Smarter Than You Think She Is
Why do some people act as if Beyoncé eats with her feet? I read Beyoncé’s recent and increasingly rare interview with Elle magazine, in which she discussed her new Ivy Park activewear collection in addition to answering questions about feminism, race and police brutality. I found it rather standard for Beyoncé, or any celebrity of…
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Lauryn Hill Headlines Diaspora Calling! and She’s Still Got It
If you were ever one to doubt Lauryn Hill—her relevancy as a musician and whether or not, well, she’s still got it—the Friday-into-Saturday-morning performance at Diaspora Calling! (Hill took the stage just before 1 a.m.) would indicate that now’s the time to take a seat. Actually, 12 seats might suffice. Diaspora Calling!, the three-day music and…
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Watch: Wendell Pierce Explains How He Prepared for the Role of Justice Clarence Thomas
On Saturday, April 16, HBO will air Confirmation, a film that retells the story of Clarence Thomas’ 1991 Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Justice Thomas is being played by Wendell Pierce, who stopped by The Root’s offices to chat about the film. Pierce told The Root, “We’re retelling this story 25 years later because there’s a…
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Stevie J Was Once a Super Producer; Now He’s Just a Cheating, Ex-Stripper-Loving, Homophobic Dad
What comes to mind when you think of Stevie J? To be kind, I’ll start off with “musician.” After all, he did work on the legendary Mariah Carey’s Butterfly album. OK, enough of that. Thanks to Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, when I think of Stevie J, I primarily think, “man with penis that suffers…
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Rock ’n’ Roll Isn’t a ‘Nonblack’ Thing: How Racial Stereotypes Almost Ruined My Good Time
I love rock music, especially heavy metal. I blast it as I drive down the road and I mosh in concert pits. Rock ‘n’ roll is not a “nonblack” thing. Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, Lenny Kravitz, Little Richard … hellooooo. So when my friend Ish asked if I liked Ozzy Osbourne, I replied, “Hellz yeah.”…
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Modern Renaissance Man: Hyundai’s Newest Executive, Erwin Raphael
Erwin Raphael, the new U.S. general manager for Hyundai’s luxury brand, Genesis, specializes in challenges, whether in manufacturing, sales, math—or handling lions. “It’s a lot easier to train a lion than give life to a lamb,” Raphael says, quoting one of his many mentors. He’s talking about dealing with an employee he describes as being “on…
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Why Underground’s Rosalee and Noah Have the Best Black Relationship on TV
After Wednesday night’s episode of WGN’s new hit show Underground, I am obsessed with TV’s hottest new pairing, Rosalee (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Noah (Aldis Hodge), two enslaved Americans from the fictional Macon Plantation in Georgia who have escaped bondage and are currently on a North-bound run. They have the best relationship on TV, even if,…
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4 Things I Learned as a Man on a New Natural-Hair Journey
Late last year I wrote a piece (“The Nappyheaded Black Male Revolution Is On”) about changing my hair for the first time in over a decade, connecting my decision to get a fade and allow it to grow out to the creative hair decisions being made by black males (young and old) around the country.…