Music
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Perfect Music Moments in Black History: Nina Simone’s ‘4 Women’
For a certain segment out there, I imagine that Jay-Z’s song “The Story of O.J.” introduced them to Nina Simone (born Eunice Waymon). The song samples her famous 1966 song “Four Women,” released on the Wild Is the Wind album. For those who were introduced to her through Jay-Z, I’m both happy and sad: happy…
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Universal Music’s VP of Urban Catalog Andre Torres Talks New Editorial Platform, Urban Legends
Andre Torres is a vinyl and hip-hop head, who’s also a veteran of music journalism. With over two decades in the trenches, Torres, who founded Wax Poetics magazine and was also executive editor at the lyrics site Genius, is now vice president of the urban catalog at Universal Music Enterprises. And in his new role,…
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Drake Blessed 2 Miami Schools With a Scholarship, New Uniforms and Impromptu Concerts
Drake made surprise visits to the University of Miami and Miami Senior High School on Monday. The rapper-singer, who’s currently promoting his new single, “God’s Plan,” filmed portions of his visit and sprinkled a little do-good along the way. Drake’s first stop was Miami Senior High, where he gave students an impromptu performance of “God’s…
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How Do You Listen to Hip-Hop?
On Feb. 2, 2018, Brooklyn, N.Y., wordsmith Skyzoo released an album called In Celebration of Us. I don’t know exactly how I decided to listen to it—I can’t call myself a Skyzoo fan—but since I did, it’s been in heavy rotation. Skyzoo, as any hip-hop head will tell you, is a noted lyricist in the…
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Toni Braxton Has Blocked Me on Twitter and I Have Questions
In September I was alerted to a new Toni Braxton single, entitled “Deadwood,” by a friend who has long known my affinity for all things Toni Braxton. I heard the song and, unsurprisingly, loved it. So being the longtime fan that I am, I promptly went to Twitter in order to spread the gospel. That’s…
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Soul Singer Alleges That Kanye West and Solange Knowles Illegally Sampled His Track
Prince Phillip Mitchell, also known as Leon Mitchell, isn’t the sort of household name that Kanye West and Solange are. Still, if you listened to Kanye’s Graduation (the 2007 album went double platinum, so it’s safe to say that most of us have), Mitchell’s work will be familiar to you; his song “If We Can’t…
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Is Today’s Hip-Hop Trash or Are We Just Getting Old? Spoiler Alert: The Answer Is ‘Yes’
I’ll start with a disclaimer: I’m an old hip-hop head. I am 30-*coughs and crumples paper while driving under a bridge* years old and I am set in my taste, similar to how white people describe their racist parents as being “set in their ways.” I know what I fuck wit. If you know me,…
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Should Black Artists Care About the Grammys?
“Who gives a fuck about a goddamn Grammy?” These venerable words came from the mouth of Public Enemy’s Chuck D on 1988’s “Terminator X to the Edge of Panic.” It is a sentiment that’s been shared by so many other artists, critics and fans over the years. When it comes to the Recording Academy, black…
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A Prayer for Post Malone, Who Says It’s a ‘Struggle Being a White Rapper’
Heavenly Savior, Today I come to you, O Lord, and humbly as I know how. In fact, I come to you so humbly that I will admit that I don’t know whether or not to pronounce the “h” in “humble.” I mean, I can see the letter right there at the beginning of the words,…
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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…