To many, Jamila Woods is perhaps best known as the soulful voice that has accompanied Chance the Rapper and The Social Experiment on songs like “Sunday Candy” and “Blessings,” but …
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A Love Supreme: A Visit to Saint John Coltrane African Orthodox Church
I live in San Francisco with my boyfriend in a (formerly) predominantly black neighborhood called the Western Addition. I am black and reminiscent of the neighborhood’s past. My boyfriend is …
The Evolution of Kendrick Lamar
Something special happened to me four years ago at the 9:30 Club in D.C, slam in the middle of the awful August 2011 heat wave in a room full of …
The Church of Nayvadius
It was 3 or 4:something AM after a Lil B show in 2010. I was in a smoked out Harlem apartment with a few friends, all of us listening …
Yoncé
Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto. “I am a human being, I consider nothing that is human alien to me.” - Terence When the Eagles lost the Super Bowl …
The Funk Family Tree: Celebrating George Clinton’s Influence in Music
Most people tend to get the words “inspiration” and “influence” confused. The former is the act of convincing others that they too can achieve the great heights that you’ve reached. …
Where Brooklyn At? The Rise of Gentrification and the Fall of Hip-Hop
The new Brooklyn is different. It’s a place people come to, not a place people come from Photo by Chris Ford [nextpage title=”Next Page”] The image of modern-day Brooklyn is …
In Defense of “Trap Queen” As Our Generation’s Greatest Love Song
The best music… is essentially there to provide you something to face the world with.- Bruce Springsteen I. There is only one black church left in the neighborhood where I …
Kendrick Lamar: Shapeshifter
A little over three months ago, Kendrick Lamar appeared on “The Colbert Report,” where he debuted an untitled song and shared his views on his self-identity in an interview with …
Notes of a Mortal Man: My Time with To Pimp a Butterfly
I’ve had eleven days since To Pimp a Butterfly came into my life like a marauder past midnight and kept me up until the dawn. Some songs have become soundtracks …