Music
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A Minute-By-Minute Recap Of The Night The VMAs Reminded Me I'm Old As Fuck
I have never been less interested in pop music than I was this year. Part of this lack of interest is practical. I barely listen to the radio when driving, choosing instead to rock to one of the 1500 songs (and no, 1400 of them are not Kanye tracks) on my iPhone. I don’t watch…
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T.I. Releases "New National Anthem" With Skylar Grey
T.I. released a new song in response to Ferguson along with an open letter about the history of violence against Black men in America. The song sounds okay, in the way that every pop song Tip has put out over the last few years does… I’m just wondering why it’s Skylar Grey on the hook.…
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Ray J Reduced To "Kardashian Sex Tape Partner". Probably Doesn't Like That Sh*t.
In what has to be a supreme blow to the ego of Ray J, he has finally – and undeservedly so – been reduced to Kardashian Sex Tape Partner in a recent story featured on Gawker about charges stemming from his arrest back in May. It also proves how unaware they are of Kim K’s…
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Yep, Guys Really Are Just As Messy As We Claim Women Are
Monday nights in my life are good for two things: vh1’s Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta and Hit The Floor (and now apparently Atlanta Exes). They provide just the right balance of ratchet and “WTF did I just see on my television” to keep me balanced, especially in the wake of the past week’s on-going and non-stop…
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On J. Cole's "Be Free" and Hip-Hop In Times of Protest
One thing I have stopped doing over the years is looking at hip-hop artists to be a voice for our social conscious. Of course when things in Ferguson, Missouri started getting out of control I had a quick thought: “What’s Nelly going to do?” But I dismissed it as quick as it entered my head.…
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Leaked New Kanye Track ('All Day') Sounds Like Old Kanye
You know those people who want the old Kanye West back? Who reminisce about the days of ‘Spaceship’ and “Bush don’t care about Black people” and colorblocking Lacoste polos and dating Deltas? I am not one of those people. (Although I do love Deltas.) I do not miss the old Kanye, and I actually prefer…
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Why Gospel Rap Struggles for Acceptance
“…people ask for God, ’til the day he comes/see God’s face, turn around and run/God sees the face, of the man/God shakes his head, says he’ll never understand…” ~ Dice Raw of The Roots, “Understand” …and then you shoot your cousin I’m not a fan of gospel rap. Well most of it anyway. I’ve listened to…
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Lil' Kim Adds Nicki Minaj Jab To Flawless Remix
The Queen Bee has put out a diss track aimed at Nicki Minaj. And by that, we mean she threw a verse on the end of the Flawless remix and put her face over Nicki’s on the album art the way you might paste your face into a picture of a girl group you admire……
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Swagger Wagon: Here's How I Like My Cultural Appropriation
By now, I’m sure most people have seen the commercial/video for the 2015 Toyota Sienna minivan. It features a new version of the Sienna family (The Neuberts) from the original “Swagger Wagon” video from 2010. There’s one big difference between the 2010 version and this latest 2014 version. The 2014 version is exactly how I like my cultural…