Very Smart Brothas
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Revisiting Dr. Dre’s The Chronic 25 Years Later
There are a few albums in my life that have held pivotal roles: De La Soul’s De La Soul Is Dead, A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders, N.W.A.’s EFIL4ZAGGIN and Outkast’s Aquemini, to name a few. Another of those pivotal albums, Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, was released on Dec. 15, 1992, exactly 25 years ago…
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Black Thought’s Beautiful Mind
I was part of a conversation last week with two writers of color in which the concept of genius in art was discussed—specifically, how white men have anointed themselves both the sole possessors and the arbiters of it and how reluctant they can be to consider works created by people of color to be worthy…
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Why Does the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Keep Snubbing LL Cool J?
Perhaps there are bigger fish to fry. Racism is still alive; they just be concealing it, after all. Or more likely, I’m dazed by the fact that Alabama did the unthinkable, entirely thanks to black people, so I’m feeling greedy. Yo no sé. But the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recently announced its 2018…
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Why Don’t You Know How to Play Spades? An Important Question
Over the next couple of weeks, families all over the country will congregate to observe and celebrate whichever holiday those particular families observe and celebrate. Some of these families will be black—including mine—and in these particular holiday celebrations, there may be many unique things present, including (but not limited to) … Dining room tables with…
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Watch: VSB and The Root Conduct ‘Operation Find Black Santa’
If you’re a parent of color, Christmastime may present a conundrum of sorts. You want to engage with Christmas traditions, such as Santa Claus, but you’d love nothing more than for Santa to look like your family. Esteem Gang Gang Gang. We at VSB feel the same way. We heard a story, passed down from…
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5 Albums Everyone Loved in 2017 Except Me
Despite releases from Coldplay, Imagine Dragons and the unmerciful tyranny of Bieber’s “Despacito,” I have to say I think 2017 was still a generally good year for music. We saw some solid debuts and some great sophomore follow-ups. To be honest, there aren’t many projects released this year that I can say I viscerally hated,…
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My Significant Other Made Up an Elaborate Backstory to Steal My Shirt
The following words were approved by my household. My life is a fun one. I’ve got awesome children, and my home is full of love and often the smell of the holidays and gingerbread houses because my woman has somehow decided that boiling (and forgetting to turn off the eye until it’s too late—I spend…
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New Orleans Saints Season Ticket Holder Sues Team Because of Anthem Kneeling, Then Drowns in Tub of Salty White Tears
A man named “Lee Dragna” filed a lawsuit against the New Orleans Saints in which he claimed that the protests during the national anthem upset him and his family so much that he was unable to enjoy the games. I am not completely convinced that this lawsuit is a real thing—or even that “Lee Dragna”…
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White People Need to Be Better People
The vast—the overwhelming—majority of white people living in a state in the United States of America in 2017 voted Tuesday for an alleged serial pedophile; a sentient cauldron of microwaved racist lettuce who said, out of his own wretched mouth, that every amendment after the 10th wrecked “the form of government that our forefathers intended”;…
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Where Were You When You Found Out Singer Bobby Caldwell Was White?
Every so often on Facebook, like every few months, I like to do a “Bobby Caldwell is white” check. What’s that? Well, it’s where I randomly toss out “Hey, did you know Bobby Caldwell is white?” and like clockwork there is ALWAYS some group of black folks who, at that moment, learn the truth that…