I don’t know when, exactly, I decided to get a Ring video doorbell, but I do know that one day I got it in my head that I needed some minor surveillance around my door, after a series of unfortunate events. Events like the various times both UPS and the USPS claimed to have delivered items directly to my front door,…

Parenting, in practice, is a lot of work. Sure, it’s work that most of us who have the privilege of being parents love, but there are days when everybody can use a break. Especially when you have little ones, which I do. I have three children, aged 3, 4 and 10. As kids get older they get easier, physically, while the…

I’m not saying that somebody has it out for me when it comes to air travel, but I’m not saying somebody doesn’t either. I’ve made several trips in the past two months and they’ve all come with their fair share of shenanigans. I wrote about the one that ended my on-again, off-again relationship with American Airlines,…

You’ve probably seen a ton of lists circulating on social media lately ranking the 50 greatest rappers of all time. I don’t know who did the first one, but somehow Joe Budden—an extremely talented and gifted wordsmith—ended up in the No. 3 slot ahead of arguably, at minimum, 10 rappers easily better than him. Because…

You know how sometimes two things seem so sympatico and perfect in theory that they’re basically a union waiting to happen? Well, today, we—the universal we ... ya know, me and you, your mama and your cousin, too—got word that such a union will be realized.

Rapsody, the North Carolina lyricist known in hip-hop circles as a rapper’s rapper, has consistently delivered on both her individual releases and features. In 2017, Rapsody (born Marlanna Evans) dropped her critically-acclaimed and Grammy-nominated album, Laila’s Wisdom (Jamla/RocNation). The first record on the…

On Friday, July 26, after much leadup and life changes for one Chancelor Bennett, aka Chance the Rapper, he independently released his “debut” album, The Big Day. Boasting a shit-ton of songs, largely about relationships and the leadup to “the big day”—his wedding, presumably—he uses his “big day” (“debut” album…

It’s been over two years since “Classic Man” Jidenna (born Jidenna Mobisson) dropped his debut album, The Chief, in February 2017. I loved his debut. It was an album chock-full of diverse sounds and styles. Sometimes Jidenna sang and other times he rapped. He went from extremely socially conscious on songs like “White…

For a solid stretch—probably from at least 2008 through 2014—I’m going to assert that Washington, D.C., was the Black Brunch Capital of African America. If you wanted to see bougie blackness at its apex, the U Street N.W. corridor was your spot. It was nothing to see young black professionals and politicos dancing on…

The trailer for the biopic about Harriet Tubman—called Harriet—recently hit the internets; the movie hits theaters in November. The film (perhaps controversially) stars Cynthia Erivo in the role of the most famous Harriet of all time. I have no facts to back up that statement but I feel it in my soul so I’m going with…

Meek Mill might be getting a new lease on life.

It might be official: Meek Mill is better at catching the dreams he’s chasing than everyone else. Meek Mill (born Robert Williams) and RocNation announced in a pair of Instagram posts the launch of Dream Chasers Records, a joint venture label between the two in which Meek will serve as president and be responsible for…

I listen to a lot of podcasts nowadays, the vast majority centered around true-crime, the NBA or history. I spend a lot of time searching for podcasts that tickle my fancy, though. My fancy is most frequently tickled by discussions about hip-hop, black cinema or great moments in blackness and/or black history.

Once upon a time, not long ago, when people wore pajamas and lived life slow, my wife and I were invited to a wedding in Dallas; ya know, deep in the heart of Texas. Because I believe that there’s nothing you should do today that you can put off until tomorrow—I don’t actually believe this, but my airplane ticket…

I recently took a trip down to Atlanta for a wedding. It was a joyous occasion. Since my wife and I were coming in from Dallas (more on this ordeal on a future talk show), we had to make our way through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, or more commonly known as Hartsfield, or simply, Atlanta Airport…

Queen Sugar’s fourth season has not disappointed one bit. Not that I expected it to, but the writers continuously find new ways to hit us with shit we absolutely did not see coming. This week’s episode was no different. I had enough moments that elicited a physical reaction in episode 4, “Skin Transparent,” that I…

In my house, we are currently potty training my three-year-old. It’s the challenge all parents must face and possibly the most unreasonable of them all. Consider this: You must convince a child that his caution-to-the-wind, carefree, diapered lifestyle is actually inconvenient for him AND that he’d have much more fun…

I’m not even sure I need to explain why “Before I Let Go” would be the final song of the 30 Days of Musical Blackness With VSB series. If you’re black and have congregated with other black folks and this song comes on you know it signals one of two things: 1) It’s time to get your line dance on, or 2) it’s time to go.

De La Soul’s sophomore album, De La Soul Is Dead, was released on May 14, 1991. Sometime in late 1991, while I was in 7th grade, my class went on a field trip, and on the bus ride I sat down next to a friend of mine (whose name I remember vividly but whose business I won’t put in the streets) and she handed me her…

I’m a well documented SWV fan. But since I’m feeling generous, allow me to document this again. From a piece I wrote called “An Ode to SWV” in February of 2016: