pop culture
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An Ode To Underrated 90's Fashion Icon (And Vest Trailblazer) Thomas Mikal Ford
When I was growing up, there was one question on the playground that separated the real from the fake: Martin or Fresh Prince of Bel Air? The only answer, really, was always and will forever be Martin. The humor was realer, rawer and funnier in just about every way. Martin, Gina, Tommy, Pam and Cole…
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Atlanta Episode 8: "The Club" Recap
When FX first announced their partnership with NBC workhorse Donald Glover for their new show about the inner-workings of an up and coming rapper and his manager, I assumed scenes like the ones that take place in Atlanta’s “The Club” would be par for the course. Club appearances and popped bottles are, after all, much…
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Mafia III Is Probably The Blackest Video Game Ever Made
If you’re rocking pearls, the disclaimer at the very beginning of Mafia III (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, MacOS) might make you clutch ‘em tightly. “Mafia III takes place in a fictionalized version of the American South in 1968. We sought to create an authentic and immersive experience that captures this very turbulent time and…
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Michel'le Survived Compton, Dre, and Suge And Got A Chance To Tell Her Story
On Saturday evening, Lifetime aired Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge, and Michel’le, which as the title suggests, is the story of Michel’le, the first lady of Ruthless Records with the tiny speaking voice but huge singing voice who both dated and bore children by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight. That sentence alone makes her story worth…
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An Interview With Dr. Kinitra Brooks, Who Teaches A Class On Beyoncé
A few weeks ago, I saw on Facebook that somebody was teaching a class on Beyoncé and specifically Lemonade at the University of Texas-San Antonio. I thought to myself, that’s pretty cool. Well, as luck would have it, a friend of hers who reads VSB reached out and said that the professor was both an…
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Panama and Shamira Discuss Solange's "A Seat At The Table"
Panama: So, Solange dropped an album recently that has the internet’s buzzing: A Seat At The Table. Let Facebook tell it, it’s the best, Blackest album that’s been released in quite some time. I’m not sure I’m in that camp, though I can understand why folks love it so much. But I don’t think it’s nearly…
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Atlanta Episode 7: "B.A.N." Recap
“Most people don’t realize their chakras are in another universe.” Does the black community have a problem with the LGBT community, specifically the trans-community and if so is it merely a by-product of oppression fatigue? This question and many others (such as why an Arizona iced tea is ringing up at the register as $1.29…
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If Mos Def’s Black On Both Sides Came Out Today, It Might Be Considered The Blackest Album of All Time
On September 30, Solange released her third album, A Seat At The Table, to remarkably favorable reviews. Social media lit up like the Empire State Building at Christmas with folks proclaiming how woke and Black the album is. Interspersed with interludes speaking to the Black experience from her mother, father, and Master P, the album…