frankfurt germany
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I Am Still a Part of the Rhythm Nation 30 Years Later and That's Alright With Me
I recently saw a Billboard article that ranked every song on Janet Jackson’s fourth studio album, 1989’s Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 (we’ll just call it Rhythm Nation from here on out)—though I’m sure most folks think it’s her second album after her landmark album, 1986’s Control—and thought to myself that I could never do…
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Sabrina Setlur, One of Germany's Biggest Ever Hip-Hop Stars, Was One of My Babysitters Growing Up
The internet can take you down very strange rabbit holes, but sometimes those rabbit holes remind you of good times past. Such was the case recently as I perused Facebook looking to see what shenanigans the people I follow were up to. Somebody posted the music video for “Bist du down?” a 2017 single with…
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As a Kid, I Thought Huntsville, Ala., Sucked. As an Adult, It Looks Pretty Alright
In the summer of 1993, my family relocated from the major international metropolis of Frankfurt (really Bad Homburg), Germany, to the not-a-major-international-metropolis of Huntsville (really Madison), Ala. My father was in the Army at the time and was stationed at Ft. Campbell, Ky. Since my dad had a year left until his military retirement, my…
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An Ode to My Big Sister, Who Might Not Know That She Put Me On to Hip-Hop
Since June is Black Music Month (or, more formally, African-American Music Appreciation Month), I figure that one of the best ways to celebrate is to talk about my own love for black music. There’s no talking about my love for black music without discussing hip-hop because it is now and has been the most prominent…
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Am I Actually a Southerner? An Examination
I was recently profiled for AL.com, the digital outlet for three of Alabama’s largest newspapers: the Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times and Mobile’s Press-Register. During the course of the interview, Roy Johnson, the story’s author, noted that it was interesting that I identified as a Southerner, considering my transient background: It’s intriguing that Jackson so…