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Like Glue
He sat silently in the dark with his legs crossed and his thoughts a million miles away. His cigarette smoke did a solo until in joined the rest in the cloud slightly above him. His ambience of choice. The light from the afternoon sun coming through a small window was my guide. He asked me to do something…
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Common Media
Have you ever saw something on social media that makes you stop in your tracks and make you say, “Wait, hold up!”? Then the longer you think about it the more upset you get? The post below did just that. View this post on Instagram Getting right to it, what rapper Common erroneously did was…
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Apologies Sold Separately

Often times we celebrate and applaud those who relinquish the burdens of reality and decide in a particular moment to live their life the way they want to, usually with a smile on their face. That #carefreeblackgirl and #blackboyjoy is what my cousin would describe as being “LIT!” They have created and re-created their realities…
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Encore: A Look at Jay-Z’s Law Lyrics Across his Career

In Never Change 2.1, the study which looked at drugs, guns, criminal and law references throughout Jay-Z’s discography, the law theme had the lowest mentions but was the most consistent throughout his career and has a particular allure because of the way it was referenced. Jay-Z’s relationship with the criminal justice system is something he…
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Never Change 2.1

So, if you have been following this blog for a couple of years, you know I did a mini research project about Jay-Z and his rhymes. I re-upped and got a little bit more critical this time with Never Change 2.1. It does the same thing the old one did but with updated stats and…
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“Krazy”

I’ve been quiet lately. I was living inside my head. I have my views, but my voice was silent…until now. But before I got here, I had to go for a run. It was just me, the wind, the sun, and God. By the end, I was emotionally better but exhausted. The drama I was…
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Blessed and Highly Favored
Blessed and highly favored is one of those religious sayings that I have always questioned. Does your good fortunes mean you’re favored over others? What about those who are down and out? What if their struggle or suffering is a lesson for others to learn? I hear people say it and I wonder if they…
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Hey, Dad
Dear Dad, This morning I came to you with a heavy heart and tears in my eyes. This morning, instead of saying “Happy Birthday,” I said, “They keep killing us.” You gave me your shoulder to cry on and we had a conversation about the murdering of Altson Sterling and Philando Castile—two Black men that…
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Dressing for the Culture
Last year Kyemah McEntyre, 19, wooed the world with her prom dress in homage to the dashiki. It had a beauty and vibrancy that refused be ignored. This year she has helped to inspire the class of 2016 to show up and show out in their own designs—and they definitely did. Fabrics from Nigeria, Ghana,…
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For the GOAT

“There are three deaths. The first is when the body ceases to function. The second is when the body is consigned to the grave. The third is that moment, sometime in the future, when your name is spoken for the last time.” –David Eagleman When a person dies, I think of this quote because for…