hip hop
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The Bizarre Case of Meek Mill’s Incarceration, Explained
Let me make this clear: I’m not team #FreeMeekMill, but I am team #FreeRobertRihmeekWilliams. There is a difference. Meek Mill is a highly touted street dude-turned-rapper from Philly. Robert Rihmeek Williams is a Philadelphia man who many believe has been wrongly incarcerated by an overzealous judge who is using her influence and judicial power to…
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Like Father, Like Daughter: 20 Years After His Death, Biggie’s Legacy Launches a Clothing Line
T’yanna Wallace was only 3 years old when her father, Christopher—the rapper the world recognized as the Notorious B.I.G., or Biggie Smalls—was brutally killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. I was 22 and a college senior, living across the street from his mother, Voletta Wallace, on St. James Place in Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Clinton…
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‘Bodak Yellow’ Continues to Win and Is Coming for Taylor Swift’s Record
Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” continues to do what it do. And it be winning. The catchy rap diddy, released by the Bronx, N.Y.-bred rapper born Belcalis Almanzar, first made waves after surging to Billboard’s No. 1 spot in September, a feat not seen by a female rapper since Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” in…
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What the Hell Happened to The Breaks?
As a hip-hop head who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, I pretty much consume all things related to the time period. If there’s a documentary about hip-hop, I’m watching it. I devoured Netflix’s bank-busting The Get Down and loved the first half so much that I implored everybody to get down with The…
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Cardi B Explains Her NYPD Choke Hold Allegation With the Most Beautiful, Ghetto-Fabulous Story of All Time
The national treasure of beauty and philosophical guru-level, wisdom-filled ghetto-fabulousness known as Cardi B recently revealed how she was reportedly put in a choke hold by a New York City police officer in one of the greatest, most hood-tastic stories ever told. Black America’s crazy cousin from the Bronx tweeted a story last week (now…
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Jay-Z Speaks on Trump ‘With All Disrespect’
“I’m not fearful. I believe that we are resilient, especially us as black people and especially the culture—we’ve been through so much more than this guy.” That’s what Jay-Z had to say about raising his children in the age of Donald Trump. Although Jay-Z has quietly kept busy in the arena of activism and philanthropy,…
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10 Songs for Your Black-Ass Playlist for Days You’re Feeling Particularly Black
I love the movie Cool Runnings. Peace be the journey and all that jazz. I especially love the part where Doug E. Doug—playing the role of Sanka Coffie, the movie’s comic relief and spiritual center—says to other bobsledders on top of the hill, “I’m feeling very Olympic today!” I try to work that into lots…
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Is ‘Anything’ From Kingdom Come Really Jay-Z’s Worst Song?
Recently, Vulture dropped an article that’s been making the rounds among hip-hop heads, enthusiasts, regular joes and coffee shop denizens alike. Vulture writer John Kennedy did the Lord’s work and ranked Jay-Z’s songs from worst to best. Of course, most people scrolled right to the bottom—the longest scroll ever; it was like a Ta-Nehisi Coates-article…
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‘Bodak Yellow’ Is Trash, and if You Like It, Your Taste in Music Is Trash
I love Cardi B. I love everything about her. I love that she is aggressively real. I love that she is aggressively beautiful. I love that she is aggressively Cardi. I had a sister who was killed a few years ago. She was Cardi B before Cardi B was Cardi B. Her name was Robin,…
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8 Hip-Hop 1-Hit Wonders You Flat-Out Forgot About
I’m calling it right now: “Bodak Yellow” will make Cardi B a one-hit wonder (Editor’s Note: I disagree with this wholeheartedly—P.J.). I’ve tried to bump “Bodak Yellow” more than once, and I’ve determined that dragging a metal rake across a chalkboard in a classroom full of preschoolers who are all simultaneously screaming about a “boo-boo”…