hip hop
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 17: Queen Latifah, 'Ladies First'
Queen Latifah’s video for her single, “Ladies First,” has stayed with me since the first time I saw it, probably sometime in late 1989 or early 1990. The imagery in the song was so striking to me that even as a 10- or 11-year-old, I remember being mesmerized. The video clips, the way Queen Latifah…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 16: 2Pac featuring Dr. Dre, 'California Love'
June 16 is Tupac Amaru Shakur’s birthday. Today—June 16, 2020—he’d be 49 years old. Since it’s Tupac’s birthday and one of his singles— “California Love”—happens to feature one of the most iconic hip hop videos of all time, it only makes sense to include him here. The video for “California Love,” which was directed by…
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30 Days of Iconic Music Video Blackness With VSB, Day 14: The Roots 'What They Do'
The mid-to-late 90s ushered in an era of opulence in hip hop. While Sean “Puffy” Combs gets most of the credit for taking hip hop into the “Shiny Suit” era, he was far from the only artist making music and videos that exhibited lifestyle goals more than lifestyle. And just as there was no shortage…
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André 3000 Discusses His New Protest T-Shirt Line and His 'Hope' for Anti-Racism Marches in Rare Interview
André 3000 has become an enigmatic figure in hip-hop, rarely giving interviews or discussing what’s next for his music career. (But if you ask me, he’s earned a break away from the game.) However, he has been a bit more vocal than usual given the recent events unfolding around the country regarding anti-racist protests stemming…
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This Is Her: Writer Jas ‘JasFly’ Waters Dies at 39; Hollywood and Hip-Hop Insiders Celebrate Her Life
On Wednesday afternoon, a dark cloud covered the Black Twitter timeline as news was released that Jas “JasFly” Waters (NBC’s This Is Us, Showtime’s Kidding) had died. The official This Is Us writers’ room account confirmed the tragic news in a tweet. “The entire #ThisIsUs family was devastated to learn of Jas Waters passing,” the…
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YG Reportedly Shoots Music Video During L.A. Protest
A lot of people are upset with YG, who received top billing on the flyer for Los Angeles’ Black Lives Matter protest held over the weekend. The California rapper is being chastised for reportedly shooting a music video during the event. Per social media evidence from Instagram and Twitter, the video was being shot on…
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Viral Sensations Young T & Bugsey Don't Plan on Rushing Their Journey to the Top
If you’re a fan of trying to keep up with what’s hot on social media right now, odds are you know about TikTok. The video-creation app has been all the rage for the past few months, and during quarantine, dance and comedy videos have been keeping many people busy and entertained. One of the most…
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Fed Up but Hopeful: Streams of Childish Gambino's 'This Is America' and Kendrick Lamar's 'Alright' Skyrocket Amid Protests
It appears the people of the United States have chosen Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” as their protest songs of choice. According to Forbes, Gambino’s song, which debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 in May 2018, jumped from No. 97 to No. 2 on the U.S. Spotify chart this week, amassing…
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Replay, Revisit, Reject: This Was a Rough Weekend, but Did New Music Help?
We get it: With everything going on in the world, it can be difficult to carve out time to discover new music. Industry-pushed tunes that you may not even bang with like that could also get in the way of you finding something that tingles your consumer taste buds. While new tunes are usually released…
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Universal Music Group Announces Launch of Def Jam Africa
Monday was Africa Day, the annual commemoration of the formation of the Organisation of African Unity. So it’s incredibly fitting that Universal Music Group, the world’s leading music company in over 60 countries, announced the launch of Def Jam Africa, which is dedicated to “supporting the best in African hip-hop talent and culture across the…