hip hop
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I’ll Always Love Big Poppa: How Biggie Smalls Helped Me Understand My Parents’ Deaths
On March 9, 1997, rapper Biggie Smalls, born Christopher Wallace, had his life taken way too early. He was 24 years old. He was gunned down after leaving an industry party in Los Angeles, six months after the death of rapper Tupac Shakur. Being from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and seeing how this entire New York City…
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A Beyoncé and Jay-Z Joint Tour Is Almost Definitely Going to Happen
On Monday—after recovering from their huge Oscars after-party organized in honor of Mary J. Blige at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles—Beyoncé and Jay-Z accidentally teased a joint tour. Bey’s Facebook and Ticketmaster pages revealed a concert date for a previously unannounced stadium stint: Monday, July 30, at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. Press caught it,…
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Beyoncé and Jay-Z Announced a Joint On the Run 2 Tour Date … Then Took It Back
When is Beyoncé not playing with our hearts? Early Monday, March 5, Queen B’s Facebook and Ticketmaster pages revealed a concert date for a previously unannounced tour featuring Beyoncé’s husband, Jay-Z: Monday, July 30, at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. The posting was quickly deleted, but Complex has the receipts, via screenshot: Was it a mistake?…
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Jay-Z Passes Diddy on Forbes List of Wealthiest Hip-Hop Artists. Soulja Boy Snubbed Again
Boosted by his ownership stake in Roc Nation, Tidal, and Champagne and cognac that neither you nor I can afford, hip-hop artist and mogul Jay-Z has leapfrogged entrepreneur and white-suit aficionado Sean “Puffy, Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy, Brother Love” Combs to claim the top spot on Forbes magazine’s list of the wealthiest people in…
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Last Night, a DJ Dressed My Life: Inside the Dope Double Life of Sophia Hyacinthe
“I think one thing that’s really important with me is I have no shame,” Sophia Hyacinthe says. She has nothing to be ashamed of. Hyacinthe is one of the hardest-hustling creatives in New York City, crafting a hybrid career out of her two greatest passions: music and fashion. By day, the stylist and CEO of…
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Missing Your Mojo? Elle Magazine’s The Movement Series Might Be All the Motivation You Need
We’re almost a full week into 2018, and despite my best efforts and intentions, it feels like something’s missing. I’ve been eating better, eschewing bad habits and getting more organized—I even started the year with a deep housecleaning. But I’ve still been feeling a little … stuck. Then I stumbled upon a video from Elle…
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#ThrowbackThursday: Last Night, Cardi B and Bruno Mars Gave Us Our Entire Lives—in Living Color
It feels so good to be us. For those old enough to remember (*cough* me), In Living Color was the sketch-comedy hallmark of our adolescence—in fact, its run spanned my entire high school career. The (elder) Wayans-brothers vehicle was a revolutionary counterpoint to Saturday Night Live, remixing comedy for the hip-hop generation—replacing the blues of…
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Rheumatoid Negroitis: The 10 Worst Dancers in Black Music
Even before researchers named the rare malady that afflicts hundreds of black people across the world (my unofficial research on YouTube shows that 99.99 percent of us are unafflicted), we all knew someone who suffered from one of the most tragic diseases known to man. It has been overlooked for too long, but it’s time…
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Why Does the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Keep Snubbing LL Cool J?
Perhaps there are bigger fish to fry. Racism is still alive; they just be concealing it, after all. Or more likely, I’m dazed by the fact that Alabama did the unthinkable, entirely thanks to black people, so I’m feeling greedy. Yo no sé. But the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recently announced its 2018…
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What Song Best Represents the ‘Bad Boy’ Era? Take That, Take That
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad Booooooooooooooooy! When Puffy hit the scene with Bad Boy in 1994 and Craig Mack’s “Flava in Ya Ear,” everything changed. For the rest of the decade, backed by seminal releases and singles from Biggie, Puff, the Lox, 112, Faith, Mase and even peripheral acts like Lil’ Kim (only because she wasn’t on Bad Boy)…