Very Smart Brothas
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High School Reunions Are the Unseasoned and Undercooked Chicken Breast of Social Gatherings
Last weekend, I attended my 20th high school reunion. This was the first reunion of any sort—high school or college—that I had any interest in going to. And not because high school and/or college were particularly difficult times for me. I had as much fun in school as an introverted eggheaded nigga with the Western…
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Mike Pence Would Not Be Worse Than Trump Because No One, God Included, Gives a Shit About Mike Pence
It’s been a relatively slow week for rapey vat of curdled Cheez Whiz Donald Trump and his cadre of paint thinner-dipped sociopathic marionettes. Perhaps it’s because he’s currently on his 27th vacation of the last three months, and there’s no dry snitches left to fire for outing cocksucking contortionists to the New Yorker. But don’t…
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10 Things to Help Black Students Prepare for Life at a PWI
I regret not attending an HBCU. If I could do things over, I would have accepted those offers from either Howard or Hampton University and had a college experience devoid of the constant assaults on my humanity by way of microagressions and covert racism. Attending a PWI (predominantly white institution), I was ever aware of…
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In Insecure, Where Are the Condoms?
For the past two weeks, I’ve been recapping the latest episodes of Insecure. This week I’m going to do a little of that, but there’s something much bigger we need to discuss. Molly is looking for a new therapist and found a potential new suitor named Lionel (Sterling K. Brown in an awkward guest-starring role).…
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Of All the Reasons to Boycott the Trash-Ass NFL, Colin Kaepernick Not Getting Signed Is Waaay Down the List
In the time since I began writing this, Jay Cutler could’ve broken his right ring finger after punching a bag of Hot Cheetos for just being moderately warm instead of “Flamin’,” and the Dolphins, in need of another quarterback, could reach out to Colin Kaepernick. But for now he remains unsigned, and the only logical…
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The 10 Best Booty Songs, Ranked
Before we get going, let me preface this entire piece with two words: Fight me. Ahem. Ass anthems. Booty songs. Shake jams. Butt bumpers. No matter what you call them, they all bring the same thing to the table: They put asses on the floor, both literally and figuratively. Songs dedicated to the derriere have…
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The Danger of Existing While Trans (and the Men Attracted to Us Who Pretend They Were ‘Fooled’)
The outrage following Lil Duval’s appearance on The Breakfast Club—where he stated he’d kill a woman if he found out during their relationship that she was trans—has made people eager to participate in the conversation. Unfortunately, much of the dialogue has been cisgender black people exploring the ways that trans people should be punished for…
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Moving Day
Hi everyone. Going forward, all new VSB content will be at verysmartbrothas.theroot.com. Please go over there and sign up for Kinja (if you haven’t already) with the same name as your Disqus account, and I’ll add you. There’s a live piece up about Insecure, so leave your comments there. If you have any questions, leave…
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Hey, Y’all! We’re Over Here on The Root Now!
Hey, young world! Welcome to our new digs. You already knew that we were moving to a deluxe apartment in the sky. We got the keys a little bit earlier than anticipated, so here we are. Starting today (and moving forward), you can find all of that VSB new new here, live and direct and…
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The Levels of Wrong in Lawrence Attending Tasha’s Family Cookout, Ranked From Least to Most Wrong
Makes the list because I’ve never seen that before. And I’m 92 percent certain that shit has never happened before. But it’s only the eighth most wrong thing because I’m definitely intrigued as fuck by it now. And might even incorporate a flute twerk-off at my next game night. I get that Lawrence might have…