Very Smart Brothas
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9 Things I’m Going to Try Very Hard Not to Be Annoyed by Anymore in 2018
Baby steps. Of course, this doesn’t mean I’m going to start giving a shit about zodiac signs—I’m a Capricorn, by the way, just in case you’re one of those people who give a shit—but I will attempt to stop being annoyed at people who do give shits. Admittedly, my annoyance with line dancing is at…
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10 Struggles That Only Men With Big-Ass Beards Will Understand
Hello. My name is Damon Young, and I have a big-ass beard. It’s not an obnoxiously big-ass beard. I’m not the bougie-nigga Rick Rubin. But it’s big enough that it has its own personality, likes and dislikes (for instance, my beard looooooves Broad City). It is also fortunate enough to exist during a big-ass beard…
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Republicans Seem Hell-Bent on Showing Us That Their God Doesn’t Exist
I remember vivid details about the morning when I first decided I didn’t want to go to church anymore. I remember that my mother attempted to wake me several times that morning when she was already fully dressed, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, wearing her nurse’s uniform that she had to wear every fourth Sunday because she…
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The 10 Blackest Moments of 2017, Ranked
2017 has been a motherfucker of a year. Despite this fact, blackness has flourished. We’ve seen a resurgence of pride and excitement in blackness that is reminiscent of the Black Power movement of the ’60s. From #BlackGirlMagic to #BlackBoyJoy, Dead Mike from mythical rap group CB4 is outchea looking like a damn prophet as so…
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Pittsburgh Man Who (Allegedly) Killed 4-Year-Old Girl, Her Mother and 58-Year-Old Woman After Burning Their House Down Has Several Bizarre Facebook Videos Ranting About Black Women
The Pittsburgh area woke up Wednesday morning to the horrible news that a house fire took the lives of 4-year-old Chy’enne Manning; her mother, Shamira Staten, 21; and Sandra Carter Douglas, 58—a blaze that, according to Pittsburgh Fire Chief Darryl Jones, spread so fast that “the people didn’t have time to call 911 themselves.” A…
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5 Inevitable Ways You Will Get Stuck for Your Paper Once You Have Kids
Being a parent is awesome. It teaches you about yourself. For example, you get to learn your true “patience” threshold and if you need to work on it in order to make it through the next 18 years (short answer: Yes, you do). You get to go see blockbuster movies that some people without kids…
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LaVar Ball Is the Wrong Guy With the Right Ideas
A sizable part of LaVar Ball’s appeal for people he happens to appeal to is that he’s a walking, talking distillation of many of the half-baked but smart-sounding arguments about sports that often occur in barbershops, during happy hours, over barbecue pits, at spades tables and on the bleachers of midget-league football games. It’s in…
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An Ode to Combat Jack, One of My Heroes
One of my heroes died yesterday. Yes, losing Prince hurt. As did the death of luminaries such as Dick Gregory and Maurice White. But for all their contributions in moving black culture forward, their statuses as legends were solidified prior to their passing. My fear is that Reggie Ossé, better known as Combat Jack, who…
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The Otis Effect: 7 Things That Were Never the Same After the Star Left
When Joe Budden didn’t report for his duties as co-host of Complex’s Everyday Struggle webcast this week, folks assumed that he was fulfilling his paternal duties, since he had a son with fellow Love & Hip Hop alum Cyn Santana this past weekend. It turns out, however, that Budden has left the show for good…