culture

It was a summer box office weekend of sequels, and Think Like a Man Too led the pack with a solid $30 million, reports the Hollywood Reporter. The top three films were all follow-ups that moved into the big box office summer arena after the surprise-hit originals were released during the spring, according to New…

Imagine going to the barbershop to get a tight fade and coming out with a clean bill of health. Thanks to an $8.5 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to Cedars-Sinai, that could soon be a reality. Some 20 Los Angeles black barbershop employees will be trained to check patrons for…

Jeremy Ray Meeks—aka #prisonbae, as he is known on Twitter—was arrested on June 18 along with four other men during a gang sweep. Meeks was sent to California’s San Joaquin County Jail. Last week his mug shot was posted on a police department’s Facebook page. The women of the Internets went nuts. On Friday Meeks…

Former Baylor star Isaiah Austin was projected to be a late first-round pick in the NBA draft later this week, but a routine physical at a scheduled combine revealed a serious medical condition that has halted his pursuit of a career playing professional basketball. According to ESPN, early test results showed that Austin had an…

After my father died, I no longer recognized myself. From 2006 to 2012 I lived with an anxiety disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Some nights I would lie in bed awake, thinking, until the sun came up. Panic attacks gripped my body like bear hugs, and I couldn’t control them. I didn’t discuss it…

The wrongful convictions of five black and Latino men who have become known as the Central Park Five represent a pattern of racial inequity in the nation’s criminal justice system that is almost as old as the country itself. So great is the problem that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder recently announced plans to tackle the…

Nearly a week after Dave Chappelle sang the praises of Kanye West, the multiplatinum rapper made an unscheduled appearance Friday at the comedian’s nine-night stand-up engagement at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, the Huffington Post reports. West’s performance included “New Slaves,” “Gold Digger” and “Jesus Walks,” the site says. During an appearance on…

Jeremy Meeks became an Internet sensation last week after his mugshot went viral after it was posted on the Stockton, Calif., Police Department’s Facebook page. But the 30-year-old convicted felon is a working man who is not affiliated with gangs, according to a woman identifying herself as his mother, Katherine Angier, who set up a…

A mom has filed a lawsuit against a day care center in Michigan City, Ind., that allegedly after her 5-year-old son was found hanging from a jump rope at the playground, NBC Chicago reports. The suit says the center has a history of violations. Anita Laflore charges in the suit against Tricia’s Playhouse that on…

Getting a record deal used to be the marker of success for any up-and-coming rapper—but there’s a new crop of experimental artists who are bending the rules of hip-hop. Without the help of major record labels, these up-and-coming rappers and producers are forging their own path into the limelight. Many of today’s biggest stars have…