culture
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Lil Wayne Is an Underappreciated Rap Legend
Seventeen years ago this week, Juvenile released “Back That Azz Up” (or “Back That Thang Up,” if you were a baby trying to make babies on the dance floor of a high school gymnasium). The descending chords in the intro cause an immediate Pavlovian response. Men crane their necks like gazelles hearing a rustle in…
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‘The Academy Is Biased’: Flawed Voting, Stiff Rules Cause Blacks to Miss Out on Nominations
The outcry surrounding the lack of diversity at the Oscars is almost as old as the Oscars itself. Before the most recent videos of Jada Pinkett Smith and the Twitter hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, there was Sacheen Littlefeather. She spoke out about the mistreatment of Native Americans when she appeared on the Academy Awards stage, standing in for…
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6 Steps Black Folks Need to Take to Drop the Pounds
It’s now late February, which means the folks who “resolutely” started clogging the gym after Jan. 1 have long since bailed, freeing up the machines for us regulars. It’s also a great time to spread the brass tacks all over the damn floor. America is, in the medical parlance of a close gastroenterologist friend of…
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There’s Nothing More Adorable Than a Little-Known Black-History Lesson With This Father-Daughter Duo
During Black History Month, we’ve been proudly sharing stories that you more than likely never heard about in school. We call these untold stories Hidden History. One of those stories was about Spotswood Rice, a slave-turned-soldier who was separated from his family and fought tooth and nail to get them back. We wanted to do more…
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The People v. O.J. Simpson Recap: It’s a Black Thing
The John Singleton-directed episode of The People v. O.J. Simpson begins with O.J. in jail, reminiscing about being at the club, which included Soul Train lines, excessive pelvis thrusting and lots of coke. Across town at O.J. lawyer Robert Shapiro’s office, the attorneys are eating lox and whitefish on O.J.’s dime. Shapiro starts the meeting…
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Ava DuVernay, Ryan Coogler, Janelle Monáe, Jesse Williams to Host Free Event in Flint, Mich., Oscar Night
Looks like a good smattering of black Hollywood’s best and brightest will not be in Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium come Oscar night, but instead will be fellowshipping with the residents of Flint, Mich., to raise money and awareness for the beleaguered city struggling through an odious water crisis. Director Ava DuVernay, singer Janelle Monáe, actor Jesse…
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Learn to Trust Yourself
Disclaimer: The following words do not work if you are allergic to common sense or if Kanye West is your spirit animal. They work only if you have pledged allegiance to good decision-making. Until I saw the movie Brown Sugar in the early aughts, I’d never heard the term “trust yourself.” That might sound crazy,…
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9 Thoughts on Rihanna’s ‘Work’ Videos
A few weeks after the clusterf—k that was the Anti release (shoutout to the newly unemployed Tidal team member who tripped and hit the big red button hours before he or she was supposed to), Rih Rih decided to bless us with some choice visuals for her first single, “Work,” and she did not disappoint…
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Courtney B. Vance Shows Out as Legal Legend Johnnie Cochran
For those who have been faithfully watching FX’s ratings juggernaut, The People v. O.J. Simpson, and keeping up with recaps on The Root, waiting for Johnnie Cochran has been an exercise in patience. Well, the wait is over. Courtney B. Vance took a few minutes out of his promotional schedule to chat with The Root about…