Very Smart Brothas
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The Dumbest (and Most Common) Argument for Why Michael Jordan, Not LeBron James, Is the Greatest Basketball Player Ever
“Don’t be a prisoner of the moment!” said the person on the internet, who is 36 years old, about the reaction to LeBron James’ theatrics against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday. And against the Raptors the game before that. And against the Raptors the game before that. And against the Indiana Pacers the series before…
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Making Donald Glover the ‘Anti-Kanye’ Is Gross and Wrong and Will Backfire, so Please Don’t
I spent Saturday evening in a room full of black people, celebrating the birthday of a friend and the genius possessed by two people who were not in that room: LeBron James and Donald Glover. The first part of our night was devoted to the second half of the Cleveland Cavaliers game, and as we…
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How to Speak in Front of Large Groups of People When You’re an Introvert and It Terrifies You
It’s been nine (!!!) years now since I was invited to serve as a panelist for Paul Carrick Brunson’s Modern Day Matchmaker live event in Washington, D.C., which means it’s been nine years since the first time I spoke in front of a large audience. And also it’s been nine years since I was so…
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Wale Thinks Being Dark-Skinned and African Held Him Back in Hip-Hop, but He’s a Successful Rapper. What Gives?
I’m not Wale’s biggest fan, but the man can make a hit song. He has several of them. If you listened to the radio at all in 2011, you heard “Lotus Flower Bomb” multiple times a day. His verse on Waka Flocka Flame’s “No Hands”? Stellar. I still know it word for word. He’s got…
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A List of All the Fake Shit I’ve Bought (or Convinced My Parents to Buy for Me) to Be More Cool
Wearing them felt like I was wearing a tiny shoebox. I even bought a Superman shirt specifically to wear with it, and I’d walk around the city with my chest out while pretending I wasn’t rocking colorful plywood on my feet. It was all good until the strap disintegrated on me while I was standing…
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Detroit Music Station ‘Mutes’ Kanye West but Doesn’t Know if It’ll Mute Chris Brown and R. Kelly. SMH
Ever since T.I. rapped “you had a bad idea and you makin’ it worse” on his and Kanye’s “Ye vs. the People,” I’ve found ways to apply that statement to so many facets of life. It was so apt and simple and profound that it really encapsulates everything going on in the world of Kanye…
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20 Questions About Avengers: Infinity War From a Guy Who Just Watched It and Still Might Be Very Confused
(Sidenote: There are spoilers here. Like, literally all of the spoilers.) 1. Why Thanos’ chin like that? 2. Speaking of Thanos, did that nigga really throw a whole-ass moon at Iron Man? 3. How the fuck can you beat someone who throws whole-ass moons at niggas’ grills? 4. How were Spider-Man and Iron Man—who are…
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10 R&B Slow Jams That Bang in the Whip
I’m a child of the ’90s, which means that I grew up on R&B that wasn’t rappers harmonizing or singers talking with melody from their souls. Not that I don’t enjoy that; to the contrary, I love it all. But there was nothing like an actual solid slow jam. You know what I’m talking about:…
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Disagreement Is Fine. But Unpopular Opinions Do Come With Consequences
There’s this odd confusion that exists among people with “unpopular opinions.” They believe that people aren’t allowing them the freedom of their thoughts and that if others disagree with them, vehemently, then they are being persecuted for exercising their right to free speech. This is, of course, not true. For one, being provocative, while possibly…