Very Smart Brothas
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With Allies Like These We Don’t Need Enemies
As part of my day job, I travel a lot for work. I’m one of those semi-road-warrior types who collects miles and points on my weekly trips in and around the United States to sit in meetings where I add marginal value, eat boxed lunches and internally critique PowerPoint font choices. I’m TSA Precheck. I…
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Harvey J’s Henny Fried Chicken Is the Blackest Thing I’ve Ever Seen This Week (Possibly for Every Week … Ever)
If you’re on Facebook, there’s a better-than-50 percent chance that your eyes have seen the blackness glory. When the good Lord said, “Let there be a people of color with feet adorned in Jordans and homes full of TCB,” he was speaking of his plans to imbue one nigga named Harvey J—a COMPLETE wizard with…
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Want to Be a Better White Person? Learn How to Be a Guest
My first (and only) visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture almost didn’t happen. My wife and I drove to Washington, D.C., after biking from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md., on a four-day and 150-mile trek that I still plan to write about eventually, but remain too traumatized by to write about…
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Who Is Angela Rye? Her BET Specials May Let Us Know Exactly That
I met Angela Rye on Nov. 7, 2012. I was part of a group that put together an election night party at the Washington Post headquarters building in Washington, D.C., so we could all (hopefully) watch President Barack Obama be re-elected. Up to that point, I’d only heard of her. Black, young, college-educated, professional D.C.…
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J. Holiday Leaps Out of His Unmade Bed of Irrelevance to Criticize Beyoncé, SZA and Cardi B for Disrespecting Black Men
Out-of-season-Avirex-bomber-jacket-repurposed-into-a-dog-blanket-with-sentience J. Holiday apparently received a Google alert this week to remind people he was still alive. Because that’s the only logical reason why he’d think it prudent to somersault out of his waterbed to hop on Instagram and talk hypocritical shit on some of the biggest names in music: Beyoncé, Cardi B, SZA (all…
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Maybe Kyrie Irving’s 3rd Eye Really Could Predict the Cavs’ Future
Those who follow the NBA know that you’d be wise to take any Adrian Wojnarowski reportage on anything LeBron-related with a grain of salt. For reasons that remain unclear, Wojnarowski doesn’t miss opportunities to craft stories about LeBron James in ways that are less than flattering. That said, it’s hard not to be fascinated by…
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I Guess Fair and Equal Treatment Only Matters if You Like the Person Asking for It. Yes, We’re Talking About Mo’Nique
I’m not a fan of Mo’Nique and never have been. I don’t have any disdain for her; she’s just not my brand of bourbon, if you catch my drift. If I got free tickets to see a show in person, I may go depending on what else I had going on that particular evening. I…
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The 10 Blackest Things About This Kid’s Journal Entry Roasting His Teacher for Lying About Christopher Columbus
1. The matter-of-fact way he states, “Today was not a good learning day.” Which, in this context, is the equivalent of starting a sentence with, “But I just think it’s kinda funny that … ” 2. “I only wanted to hear you not talking” is probably the best burn I’ve heard since Morgan Freeman’s character…
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I Think My 1-Year-Old Son’s Pacifier Is His Homeboy
Parents, stop me if you’ve heard any of this before. Of my three children, my youngest, Rome, is by far the biggest spark plug. He’s a living, breathing 100 emoji. When he’s asleep, we take pains to make sure he sleeps as long as possible, shushing any and everybody in the vicinity making noise—not because…
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Hey Guys, Can We (Men) Please Stop Trying So Hard to Convince Everyone That We’re Stupid?
Budd: Larry, there ain’t nobody out there! Larry Gomez: “There ain’t nobody out there … Larry.” What’s your point? That you’re not needed here? Budd: My point is, I’m the bouncer … and there ain’t nobody out there to bounce! This passage, of course, is from Kill Bill: Vol. 2. It occurs toward the beginning…