This place must not have many Black folks, otherwise your name would've evolved into "Dub", pretty quickly.

We treat language like art. It's wonderful.

This. Right. HERE.

Can't argue with that. That said, Good timing is an important part of the battle as well (especially nowadays). She definitely chose the right moment.

It seems like artists take an overly casual approach to their delivery, as if to convey that they're making it look easy. I notice the same thing with a lot of their cadences too. It works for a small few, but for most it just makes them sound sloppy drug addled.

"When I say that the golden era female MCs had "melodic" voices, I mean they were able to adjust tone, syncopation and inflection while they were slaying."

Something can be both evocative and contrived. "Hello" is evidence of this.

I think people have started to overreach with the Alicia Keys shade. Everything that can be said about her as a poor vocalist is true. Her ability to craft great songs is another thing altogether. At the end of the day, this is a song driven industry first.

Not exactly. The average industry exec is more determined than ever to focus the little funds they're allotted on ONE sure thing, since in many cases there are fewer opportunities for them to monetize the music. The early 80's became ridiculously profitable (see:83, 84 and 85), yet FULL of Black artists who didn't…

LOL!!!!!!!!!! I was NOT ready for this.

If you had been familiar with the local Black community you'd have been privy to it. It's been a thing for several decades.

I'm almost ashamed to say how familiar I am with the minutiae of that show…almost. :-)

This needed to be said, and I'm glad you said it. SAY THAT!!!

Preach! If I recalled correctly, they had the best record in the league the year Jordan made that infamous last second jumper, on them.

She covers many a sin for me.

Bruh! That song does not get respect it deserves. It's SO well crafted.

Believe me, I responded the same way a few years back, when a friend of mine kept trying to get me to check out some of the events. He was the type felt he loved Black people, but hated anything that was an expression of their joy. Smiling, dancing, eating always came back to "cooning", so I didn't trust his idea of…

Interestingly enough, folks in my hometown (Nashville TN) seemed to have learned how to treat it like an actual celebration and it's been expanding every year since that awakening. Before then, it was just a bunch of folks browbeating guests about why they should "celebrate" it. As I'm sure you know, nothing says…

I'm not a violent man. I usually don't believe that mere words are a good reason for someone to be physically harmed, but I can say without reservation that this man should have teeth kicked in, for that "sentence" alone.

That's high on my wife's favorite list. Whenever she's in the mood, without fail, she'll approach me with "Hey Aaalllmond…"