marvin gaye
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On Marvin Gaye's 80th Birthday, His Commemorative U.S. Postage Stamp Is Here, My Dear
It’s time to send your snail mail with the most soulful stamps in these United States of America. I heard it through the grapevine. Today, April 2, 2019, marks the 80th birthday of the incomparable Marvin Gaye, born on this day in 1939. As reported by The Root in November, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)…
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Marvin Gaye Is Here to Make Your Mail Grown and Sexy
So, boom. You just splurged on the biggest Chanel bag in the store. You decided to two-tone your Patek, having worn it around enough to finally decide what should be done with your luxury timepiece. You’ve got a bad little vibe who’s been on your mind, but your phone is elsewhere (we’re living in a…
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10 Music Biopics I'd Really Like To See
On Nov. 2, 2018, Bohemian Rhapsody, the biopic about the group Queen, but mostly about the Freddie Mercury, hits theaters nationwide. I can’t wait because I’m a fan of the group and Mercury in particular, and I generally love music biopics and biographies. I always look forward to finding out things that I didn’t know.…
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Dear Laura Mvula: Thank You for Being the Musical Bridge for My Daughter and Me
Since my daughter was born, I’ve had two very clear objectives: 1) Raise a good human being who goes to Spelman College, and 2) Turn my daughter (and the rest of my kids) into music heads. I want my kids to be the ones who go to school talking about that new Marvin Gaye Here,…
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10 Best Christmas Soul Songs, Ranked (Also Known as the Hardest List of All Time)
What I’m about to do will possibly be THE most controversial and contentious list ever created. I want you to know that up front. Even as I was making this list, I started a fight with myself that didn’t end well, and I think Brick killed a guy. So let’s just get the most important…
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Watch: Soul and Funk Icons Who Stood Tall for Black Empowerment
You could say that music usually reflects where we are as a society. The height of soul and funk music ran roughly parallel to the civil rights movement in America, from the 1950s to the ’70s, a period that was highly charged with political and social commentary. In today’s climate, it seems fitting to remember…
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Soundtrack for Survival: 10 Songs to Help You Through a Trump Presidency
I was in the fourth grade when my white best friend told me a racist joke. “Why are black people so dark?” he asked a group of us at lunch, with a mischievous grin. I looked at him dumbfounded. I put down my milk box, wiped what had dribbled down from the corners of my…