New Orleans gospel singer Raymond Myles is the subject of a documentary, currently in progress, that needs your help. Read on for details.
Birth of a Nation: Before Lincoln, There Was…This
A look back at “Birth of a Nation,” one of the most controversial movies in film history.
award shows / hip-hop / Michael Jackson / Podcasts / pop culture / Pop Music / Race / Satire / soul music
Blerd Radio: Season Whatever.1: A Hip-Hop Riot
Big Money, GG and Carletta join forces for a new Blerd Radio podcast. Give it a listen! (no, John Mayer isn’t on the podcast-but he is discussed in detail!)
Big Money Presents-Aging Hip Replacement 2.0: Obligatory Post-Election Thoughts
Now that the election is over, let’s find a way to put aside our differences-or understand and appreciate our differences-and move forward.
Blerd Appreciation: Don Cornelius
We’ve gotta stop and give props to one of the most influential men in pop and soul music history-Don Cornelius.
Blerd Appreciation: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Perhaps it’s better that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived in the era he lived in. These days, it’s hard for anyone to galvanize a nation, whether it be an entertainer, a politician, or one of the greatest civil rights leaders of our-or any-time. In the age of social media, when rumors and innuendo are truth until proven otherwise, the unfounded rumors that Dr. King was a serial cheater would’ve ruined his career, or at least resulted in a tearful [...]
Award Show Sundays: Have a Little “Faith”
In between cursing myself for not having an NBA TV cable package and watching Season 7 of “Scrubs” for the 240th time, I turned to YouTube to pass the time. I somehow stumbled upon “A Different Story”, the documentary about the life and career of British superstar George Michael. As much as George has made some incredibly stupid decisions in his life, most of which have to do with getting behind the wheel of a car stoned off his gourd, [...]
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Spin Cycle: “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” by Kanye West
It’s one thing to not like Kanye West’s music. I’m a reasonable guy, and I don’t expect everyone to like everything. I can even understand if you’re not a fan of hip-hop. Well, I can’t understand it, but I can give you a pass. However, it unnerves the hell out of me when people criticize Kanye’s art based on his public persona-especially when all they know of him is maybe the four or five songs they hear on the radio [...]
A Moment With: Scott Poulson-Bryant
The music-writing bug hit me pretty early in life, but it didn’t strike me as a viable option (for various reasons) until I was in my mid-teens. Starting with the creation of The Source, young urban culture finally got a voice in the print media mainstream, It was closely followed by Quincy Jones’ magazine venture, Vibe. From the first issue of the magazine I saw (with a striking photo of Treach from Naughty by Nature on the cover), I was [...]
Hump Day Flashback: “Sanford & Son”
I’ve never been anywhere near a junkyard in my life, never lived in (or even been near) Watts, never known anyone named Lamont, and never tasted ripple. Matter of fact, I don’t know what ripple (or it’s distant cousin, champipple) even is. However, “Sanford & Son”, the show that introduced me to all these concepts, remains a favorite of mine three decades after I first started watching it (via rerun). Black characters in main roles on TV was still a [...]
To All the Tylers Out There: It Doesn’t Get Perfect-But it Gets Better
When the story of Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers University student who tragically committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington bridge, started popping up in the news headlines, my first thought was “man, why would an 18-year old kid kill himself over something seemingly so trivial?”. His roommate and another Rutgers student bugged his dorm room and broadcast footage of Tyler making out with another guy. After all, we live in an era when the minutiae of our lives is [...]
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