culture
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Where’s the Media Sympathy for Lamar Odom?
Of course you’ve heard that two-time NBA champion Lamar Odom was found unresponsive in Las Vegas on Tuesday. He was taken to a local hospital, where he remains in critical condition. This has caused a major media frenzy, a circus. I guess it’s to be expected because Odom is a celebrity. He became a familiar…
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Review: The Game’s The Documentary 2 Is the Album I Wish Kendrick Lamar Had Released
If you’re a hip-hop fan, then you are as familiar with the trajectory of the Game as any other artist out there. Game hit the scene in 2005 with his debut album, The Documentary, which is easy to call a classic for its incredible beats and top-shelf lyricism and the effect of the 50 Cent/G-Unit juggernaut…
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Empire Recap: Into the Woods
Jamal can’t give an interview in peace. Cookie burst into the last one to rant and rave; now he’s pulled away from an interview for a Rolling Stone cover story. FBI agents have raided the Empire headquarters and ransacked Lucious’ office. At the little Lyon Dynasty studio, Hakeem is determined to rebuild a girl group…
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Lamar Odom’s Suspected Overdose Is Not an Episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians
Basketball fans around the world are anxiously awaiting more information about the condition of beloved former Los Angeles Laker Lamar Odom, who reportedly overdosed Tuesday afternoon at Love Ranch, a legal brothel in Nevada. But all mainstream media seem to be concerned with, when not busy making the story as tawdry and sensationalistic as possible, are…
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A Mother’s Nurturing Love Shines Brightly in Ordinary Light
She left us at night,” writes Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Tracy K. Smith in the opening of her new memoir, Ordinary Light, which was just nominated for the National Book Award in nonfiction. “She’d been lifting her hand to signal for relief, a code we’d concocted once it became too much effort for her to speak and…
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White Privilege Explained: ‘Bacon-Jalapeño Mac and Cheese’ Lover Luke Gatti Says He’s Sorry
Who is Luke Gatti? Luke Gatti is a 19-year-old student at the University of Connecticut. Do you know anything else about him? He’s quite possibly the biggest bacon-jalapeño mac and cheese enthusiast in the country. You do not love anything—your kids, your parents, your spouse, Serge Ibaka, etc.—more than Luke Gatti loves bacon-jalapeño mac and…
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On This Day in 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. Was Announced as the Nobel Peace Prize Winner
On Oct. 14, 1964, it was announced that Martin Luther King Jr. was the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. This was only four years before he met his horrific fate. Neither King’s life nor his dream has been in vain, however. Even as we continue to fight for racial equality in 2015, we’re reminded…
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Don’t Blame BET for Your Unrealistic Expectations
When I was younger, I wanted my older cousin to be like Denise Huxtable. I wanted to talk to her about boys and clothes and go to the mall with her. However, she was a bit more like Daria Morgendorffer, the snarky, sarcastic loner on MTV’s animated ’90s series Daria and Beavis and Butt-head. When…
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My Man Wants to Use Extra-Large Condoms, but He Doesn’t Really Measure Up
Me and my guy were out to have sex for the first time. He pulls out a Magnum condom. Not to sound “thotty,” but I’ve seen big ones before, and he’s not a gold member … at all. I asked if he had a regular-sized one and he seemed upset. My reasoning was for safety.…
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Social Activism That Makes a Difference and Makes Money
Harriette Cole is the author of the book of meditations 108 Stitches: Words We Live By and a contributing editor at The Root. Follow her on Twitter.