264 Search results for "black icon"

Following a week-long media frenzy surrounding the rift between icons Jay-Z and Harry Belafonte, Bakari Kitwana of Rap Sessions and Mark Anthony Neal of Left of Black sat down to unpack the shortcomings of the recent Jay-Z/ Belafonte debate.   Rather than perpetuating the beef between the Civil Rights Generation and the Hip-Hop Generation, they […]

Today is the 95th birthday of the incomparable Nelson Mandela. And – coinciding with this great day – we are happy to report that Mandela’s health is reportedly improving!

In the wake of the George Zimmerman trial, the Congressional Black Caucus have prepared a set of bills that will address racial profiling, stand your ground laws, and promote better training for neighborhood watch volunteers.

Rev. Al Sharpton has announced plans to relocate to Chicago to address and bring attention to the city’s gun violence crisis. Sharpton vows to make the move in September, where he’ll rent an apartment and work with community leaders and organizations.

Rhymes and Reasons interviews Sage Morgan-Hubbard about the Hip Hop songs that changed her life: Arrested Development’s “People Everyday,” Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” and Queen Latifah’s “U.N.I.T.Y.”

Eunique Jones has created a photographic sensation with her “Because of Them, We Can-Black History and Beyond” campaign and has taken the movement to KICKSTARTER. The plan is to raise $80,000 by June 19th, to produce a high quality book contained with all 365 images of kids turned icons. The KICKSTARTER project will cover design and layout, copyediting, printing and delivering expenses for […]

Apparently Lil Wayne’s “apology” letter didn’t impress Emmett Till’s family… or PepsiCo. The rapper has been dropped as spokesperson for the company’s Mountain Dew line.

Jasiri X and MC Lyte at the Dear Dr. Hip-Hop: Speak, Be Heard, Be Considered event in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Tanya Pugh) MC Lyte was the feature panelist at the Dear Dr. Hip-Hop:Speak, Be Heard, Be Considered event in Dayton Ohio. In the above clip, Hip-Hop author and activist Bakari Kitwana asks MC Lyte about […]

Two requests: 1. Forgive me for writing about basketball two weeks in a row, and 2. Allow me to wonder aloud for a bit. Last week, one of the most disappointing articles I read was about the rise and fall of Allen Iverson, the first overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft (to the Philadelphia 76ers) […]

Boots Riley from the Coup, Jasiri X, and Mark Gonzales at the Run It Back: Remembering and Reimagining Hip-Hop as Social Activism panel in San Francisco (Photo by Open Line Media)  Last week we celebrated the birthdays of 2 of Hip-Hop’s founding fathers and icons, DJ Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa. This got me reflecting on the origins […]

Last night, Bravo aired the finale episode of Ms. Kenya Moore’s inaugural twirl as a real housewife of Atlanta. And it, of course, was histrionically wonderful. Now, Moore has been at the center of several dramatic conflicts this season, serving beef to Kandi, my beloved Phaedra Parks, esq., and fellow rookie castmate, Porsha. Many have […]

Beloved anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela has been admitted to a hospital for a lung infection. At 94 years-old, Mandela’s health has steadily declined in recent years. Please join us in keeping Mr. Mandela in your prayers.