pop culture
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An Open Letter To Everybody Involved in the Creation of Rihanna's "Higher"
Dear Love Haters: I recently took the time to check out Rihanna’s newest album, Anti, which was a much different sound from her than I expected. I’d heard many people talk about the album’s direction not being the typical paint-by-numbers Rihanna album, but waited to check it out. It’s quite a good album. It’s all pleasant surprise…
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Zoe Saldana As Nina Simone Is What Happens When Diversity Doesn't
When news first broke a few years ago that Zoe Saldana would be cast in Nina — the yet-to-be-released biopic about the iconic artist and activist — I wasn’t as put off about the aesthetic dissimilarity between Saldana and Simone as many of us seemed to be. Mainly because I generally don’t believe an actor needs to…
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Chris Rock Was Really Bad Last Night, And The #OscarsSoWhite Skits Were Even Worse
I’ve started and stopped writing this three times already; scribbling a few sentences out and deleting them as soon as I was finished typing them. Because, as the title suggests, I am going to talk about how bad Chris Rock was at the Oscars last night, and how bad the #OscarsSoWhite skits were — skits…
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Underrated Moment In Black History: Redman Goes Peak Black On MTV Cribs
Over the past few weeks, we have examined underrated Blackness in multiple mediums — all unique, all bold, all transformative. That said, of all the instances discussed, none of them — not even Bobby’s Doodie Bubbles — hold a candle to the unapologetic hood fabulousness that was Redman’s episode of MTV Cribs. Let me set…
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Nine Thoughts On Rihanna's "Work" Vid From Someone Actually Qualified To Share Thoughts On It
A few weeks after the clusterfuck that was the Anti release (shout out the newly-unemployed Tidal team member who tripped and hit the big red button hours before he or she was supposed to), Rih Rih decided to bless us with some choice visuals for her first single “Work” and did not disappoint in delivering…
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When In Doubt, Trust Yourself (Unless You Make Bad Decisions As A Rule, Then Don't)
Disclaimer: The following words do not work if you are allergic to common sense or if Chris Brown or Kanye West are your spirit animals. They work only if you have pledged allegiance to good decision-making. I’m feeling motivational again. Until I saw the movie Brown Sugar in the early aughts, I’d never heard the term “trust…
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Exclusive: A Leaked Email Exchange Between Drake And Kanye West From This Afternoon
Months ago, our sources were able to find multiple leaked email conversations between celebrities such as Drake, Kanye, Meek Mill, and President Obama. After taking an extended break, our sources were able to find another exchange. This time, between Drake and Kanye after the “Work” video was released today. A condensed version of the conversation is…
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Underrated Moment In Black History: When Tyra Banks Taught White People How To Moisturize
Black folks as a people have a collective predisposition against ashiness. In concept, this would be something that is not just limited to us, because moisturizing is for the people, just like Wu Tang and hot wings. However, extensive experiences — and by extensive, I mean my anecdotal moisturizing experiences involving White friends, colleagues, and…