Music
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Let's Talk About Lauryn Hill's Essay Where She Addresses Everything and Nothing at the Same Damn Time
Ms. Lauryn Hill decided to share some thoughts on all of the talk surrounding her late shows and many of the very pointed and incendiary comments and opinions shared by Robert Glasper earlier this month. Like most folks, I’m a fan of ’90s Lauryn, or Ms. Hill as she prefers to be called (more on…
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The Pop Up: pineappleCITI Just Might Be Your New Favorite Rapper
Some say hip-hop is an overstuffed musical genre. That’s both a gift and a curse because it means there’s a variety of ways to express yourself as a hip-hop artist. And that’s what rapper pineappleCITI loves about music—self expression. “Considering the oversaturation of hip-hop, it is embedded in me to keep going because I’m so…
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Dark-Skinned Babies? 'I Ain't With That': GlocKKKNine, Self-Hate and Colorism in America
Some conspiracy theories are real. When planes flew into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, it was the result of an actual conspiracy—whether it was an inside job or a plan composed by nine hijackers. Either Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin or white people’s “racial resentment” conspired to elect a president with the intellectual capacity…
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YouTube Originals' G Funk Documentary Proves Warren G Saved Snoop Dogg's Career, He's Not Afraid of Suge Knight and Drake Should Thank Him
The G Funk era of hip-hop was ushered in by three hip-hop giants, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg and Warren G. The genre represented everything west coast hip hop was and is, but focused more on having fun than gangbanging. The powers that be at YouTube decided to gift the world with an original documentary, G…
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The Pop Up: Deva Mahal's Vintage Soul Sound Will Grab Your Attention and Your Eardrums
Growing up, Deva Mahal’s parents made sure that their house was filled with music. “There were no places that were off limits and there were no genres where we were not allowed to go,” she says. So it’s no wonder that now, as an artist, Deva’s music is a reflection of her parents’ early influence.…
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You Gotta Put Me On: For the Artists Who Haven’t Quite Reached Mainstream Success but Are Killing the Game
When black people who are musically inclined choose to pursue a career as an artist, they are proclaiming that they not only believe in their talent but also don’t subscribe to the conventional ways of making an American dream a reality. These people are dreamers with thick skin. Rejection is palpable when you choose to…
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New Hit Musical Features White Woman, White Cast Singing ‘Slave Songs’
As further proof that the gentrifying instinct of caucasity knows no bounds, a new theater presentation featuring “slave songs” sung by an all-white cast, backed by an all-white band and led by a white director has quickly become the biggest hit at the largest jazz festival in the world. Coming soon to a theater near…
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Black Music Month: Soul Music; We Make It, They Take It
Did you know that R&B was renamed as “rhythm & blues” from “race music” by Billboard magazine in 1949? The name change reflected upwardly mobile Negroes working diligently to change their social and economic statuses. But, of course, with growth and downright swag comes theft. R&B caught the ears of white audiences, and the rest…
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Is Black Music the Well Many Other Artists Drink From and Profit From More Than Black Artists?
What is black music? For many, it’s soul, funk, R&B, hip-hop and essentially all genres of music that reflect roots in blackness. But the industry doesn’t hear us. Music is very much a culture of “We make it, they take it.” We’ve seen it throughout history in the theft of everything we exclusively create within…
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Exclusive: Janelle Monáe Is Trying to Be as Free and Open-Minded as Possible With Virtual Reality and Pandora
“When the world tells us that the very existence of us, or our skin color, could get us kicked out of Starbucks. When the world tells us that because of your skin color, the police can mistake your cellphone for a gun and you’re murdered, it’s important that I tell my story and I tell…