How Frankie Beverly Built a Band for Black America
While Grateful Dead disciples were looking for music to accompany the purple haze, most of Frankie Beverly’s fans were simply seeking good times and togetherness
Culture
‘Catch These Hands’: The Black Boxer Trope in Fighting Video Games
Who needs a weapon when you are a weapon?
Examining Tyreek Hill Being Aggressively 'Detained'
The football player was handcuffed and forced to the ground by police
'BMF' Actor DaVinchi On Helping Young Folks Battle Mental Health and Depression Through His Struggles
DaVinchi is dedicated to giving teens and young adults the education and tools they need to cope with mental health issues
Does It Matter if Abraham Lincoln Was a Lover of Men?
A new documentary and a new Broadway play present overlapping portraits of an American icon as a flesh and blood man.
Racism Isn’t Funny — So Why Does Archie Bunker Make Me Laugh?
How I fell in love with ‘All in the Family’s’ resident bigot
Michael Jackson Was An Archival Resource of Black Movements
The King of Pop pulled influence from R&B's chitlin' circuit, borrowing from legends like James Brown and Jackie Wilson
D-Nice Goes Deep on the Taste and Inspiration Behind His Cognac, Martingale
Launched last year, the serial entrepreneur invested in a spirit that delivers a sweet spin on the brown spirit
Why Jack Daniel’s New Stance on Diversity Leaves Bitter Aftertaste
Despite profiting off a Black man’s recipe, the company opposes diversity
Confederate Foolishness Ruined My Love of Blanch from Golden Girls
It complicates my feelings about my all-time favorite Southern belle
Denzel Washington is Good Enough to Make Disposable Films Matter
Some of Denzel's themes are serviceable entertainment at best, and yet, I’ve seen every single one because I love watching Denzel smile and talk his way out of a problem
Beyonce's SirDavis Whisky Will Be Your Favorite Fall Spirit
The spirit is named after Beyonce’s great-grandfather Davis Hogue who was a farmer and bootlegger in the American South during prohibition.
Saluting Soul Music's Black Moses
In an era that was largely defined by Black male superheroes like Stokely Carmichael, Huey P. Newton, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, Isaac Hayes and his bald head was a marketer’s dream
11 Years Later, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ is Still a Scathing Critique of American Society
The Wolf of Wall Street doesn’t offer a reassuring moral lesson. The system isn’t fair, and that's real. Why should Scorsese sugarcoat it?
Jay Ellis Says His Book Can Be Adapted Into an ‘Everybody Hates Chris’ Meets ‘Young Rock’ TV Series
His imaginary friend Mikey would take the place of the voiceover that was famously voiced by Chris Rock
Revisiting Rap's Groundbreaking Book, Black Noise
It's the first book that I suggest students read when they express any interest in Hip-hop studies. Here's why
'Bad Boys: Ride or Die' Actor Dennis McDonald Is Ready for His Close-Up
Following a show-stealing upgrade in Will Smith and Martin Lawrence's buddy cop franchise, the rising actor is ready to level up
Do Black Characters Actually Die First in Horror?
Exploring the validity of this trope
Kwame Alexander Is Leaning into Black Men and Writing His Way to Financial Success
The New York Times Bestseller is creating IP that goes beyond books
The Next X-Men Movie Should Have a Black Professor X
How race-swapping can be used to enhance a character
How Malik K. Buie Made a Definitive Documentary on Mixtape DJs
'Tale of the Tape: How the Mixtape Revolutionized Hip-Hop' is more than a decade in the making
Why the Stakes Are High With 'Deadpool & Wolverine' According to Pete Rock, Rob Markman, and Just Blaze
These hip-hop heavyweights explore why this is a pivotal film for the Marvel Cinematic Universe
How Brandon Victor Dixon Mastered Playing Alicia Keys’ Father
He had no touchbase with her dad before Hell’s Kitchen opened so he let the power of the script and a reworked version of her signature song, "Fallin'" shape his version of the character
On LeBron, Bronny and the Narrowness of our Nepotism Debate
Rather than engage in discourse about whether LeBron’s influence on Bronny’s spot in the NBA is good or bad, conversations like these need to evolve past litigating any individual instance of nepotism
Unpacking the Complicated History of the Black Cowboy
Historians estimate that around 1 in 4 cowboys were Black
After Careful Review, ‘Solo’ Is The Third Best ‘Star Wars’ Movie
Argue with the force, not me
Was Motown, the 'Sound of Young America', also the Sound of Queer America?
The label released one of the biggest 70s queer anthems with Carl Bean's "Born this Way" while Dynamic Superior's gay lead singer Tony Washington had high hopes
Woody McClain Should Be Hollywood's Next Action Hero
He's setting up shop in the music and publishing worlds while looking the next greatest action hero script
Center Fielder Willie Mays Has Left the Field for the Last Time
How Willie Mays and baseball brought me closer to my father
Proud Papa Usher Raymond Runs a Disciplined Household
The R&B legend wasn’t raised by his father and only got to know him before he passed. He’s making sure his children will never have that experience