lauryn hill
-
Why the Sister Act 2 Soundtrack Was a Major Milestone of My Black-Ass Childhood
This week at VSB, we’re running a series called Albums That Changed My Life in which different writers let you in on the music that helped shape and mold them into the people they are now. Today we hear from Alex Hardy as he explains how Whoopi ’nem affected his life with the Sister Act…
-
It’s Funny How 1 Title Can Fuck Up the Game: Thoughts on the Response to Damon’s Piece About Black Men
1. I didn’t love the title, either. The substance of the piece itself was perfectly fine—to argue and debate that would be stupid (more on this later). It’s no different from conversations many of us have in any number of spaces we congregate when sober, perhaps not wrapped up in as neat a bow as…
-
Hip-Hop Has a Woman Problem
Let’s go down memory lane for a bit. Twenty-eight years ago marked the release of MC Lyte’s seminal debut album, Lyte as a Rock. It was hip-hop’s first meaningful album from a female emcee. Twenty years ago marked the release of Bahamadia’s Kollage, the best hip-hop album ever from a female rapper. With the help…
-
Yeah, What Lauryn Hill Did Was Wack, But Artists Are ALWAYS Late To Concerts
I’ve been to more concerts in my lifetime than I can remember. But I can tell you which were distinctly the best and worst that I’ve attended. The best was in early 1999, during my senior year of high school. I went to see The Roots at the State Theatre (Now The Fillmore) in Detroit.…
-
How Hotep Thinking Like Erykah Badu's Robs Black Children Of Their Childhoods
My childhood before the age of 10 had some big milestones. I moved to the US and learned English. I adopted Harlem as my hometown. I got my first self-purchased cassette—Sisqo’s underrated but absolutely flames Unleash the Dragon. I had also seen and touched and touched an adult man’s penis, on multiple occasions, by the…
-
The Miseducation is Overrated: A Wakeup Call to my Teenage Self
Sometime last year I went through a gut-wrenching breakup. Not because anybody cheated or invited me to therapy to let me know they were gay in front of 25 cameras and a boom mic or anything. Just a regular ole’ “I think we just broke up and I don’t know how to function without my…
-
I Was There For Lauryn Hill In London. Here's What I Saw
7:51pm London, Brixton – a district of South London, once more known for its two infamous riots (1981, and 1995 respectively), than its vibrant music scene, has come a long way in the last couple of decades. Known in some circles as “London’s Harlem”, Brixton has done wonders rebranding itself, now boasting a cultural and…