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NYFW 2016: The Fab 5
It is fashion week in the big city! It is a time for fashionistas, and celebrities, to see and be seen—come through, front-row fashion week seats! By now you’ve heard that the Yeezy season 4 show has come and gone (though not so well); we’re rooting for you, Ye. There’s always next year. All jokes…
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The First Lady Stays Fly: Our Favorite Magazine Covers
Let’s face it: We’re FLOTUS stans. We’re completely taken by her beauty, grace and intelligence, so when Michelle Obama speaks, we listen. Attentively. And seeing the first lady pictured on scores of magazine covers is no different. Our response is pretty consistent: Awe. Every. Single. Time. Through the years, the first lady has graced magazine…
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Outkast, Hip-Hop’s Brothers From Another Planet, and the Stars Behind ATLiens: Where Are They Now?
Twenty years ago, Outkast released their critically acclaimed sophomore album, ATLiens. At the 1995 Source Awards, amid boos and jeers, Outkast, who had just won for Best New Artist based on their debut album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, warned the industry that “the South had something to say.” The next year, Outkast’s second studio album, ATLiens, said it…
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Where Are They Now: How 11 Former Obama White House Staffers Moved On
Eight years go by fast. Many substantial careers have been boosted by the experience of working in the White House for the first African-American president of the United States. The historic importance of President Barack Obama’s time in office was always a certainty. What is never certain is how a career may turn out as…
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Aaliyah’s One in a Million and the Power Players Behind the Music: Where Are They Now?
The year 1996 was arguably the hottest in the ’90s for black popular culture. Tupac released his classic album All Eyez on Me, and just months later, he was gunned down in Las Vegas. Jay Z dropped Reasonable Doubt, launching a career that would see him rise from a street hustler to “a business, man.”…
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#MelaninOnFleek: Afropunk 2016
Afropunk is where melanin and metal music collide. The two-day festival of blackness that is Afropunk took place Saturday and Sunday at Commodore Barry Park in Brooklyn, N.Y. In its 11th year, the event continues to create a space for left-of-center musicians and their fans to, well, just be. This year’s acts included CeeLo Green, George Clinton, Ice…
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Naming Black Excellence: The Root 100 List Release Reception
The Root 100 means black excellence. And earlier this week, The Root, in partnership with Infiniti along with sponsor Heineken, gave black excellence a name—several names, rather—at The Root 100 2016 List Release Reception on Martha’s Vineyard. The resplendent affair was hosted at Atria, with food curated by Chef Roblé Ali. Needless to say, attendees were in…
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20 Black Films Made After She’s Gotta Have It That You Should See
Spike Lee forever changed black film with the 1986 release of She’s Gotta Have It. Although a black-film movement had been afoot before Lee joined its ranks, his first independently produced feature film put Hollywood on high alert. As the modern godfather of black film, Lee ushered in a golden age of black cinema that,…
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She's Gotta Have It, 30 Years Later: Where Are They Now?
It’s been 30 years since we were introduced to Nola Darling, a sex-positive, independent woman in Brooklyn, N.Y., who was trying to pick the right suitor in Spike Lee’s feature-film directorial debut, She’s Gotta Have It. There was polite Jamie, self-absorbed Greer and please-baby-baby-please Mars, all vying for her attention. Thirty years after Lee’s feature-film…
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40 Black Athletes to Watch at the Rio Olympics
After all the discussions about crime, poverty, pollution, corruption and the Zika virus, it’s now time to shift our attention to the actual games at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. More than 11,000 athletes representing more than 200 countries will compete in 42 Olympic sports beginning Friday. In total, there will be…