By Summer McDonald Original Published at The Black Youth Project I’ve spent the last week treading in the liquid of a queer-flavored ambivalence, trying to determine why the Anderson Cooper and Frank Ocean coming out announcements mean less to me than other people. I have seen enough episodes of Coming Out Stories and foolishly subjected myself and […]
Category: Music
Thinking of Happiness and Black Female Bodies
So over the past few weeks there has been much controversy over “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” Flaming Lips video that was edited and released without the knowledge/approval of the featured artist, Erykah Badu. Honestly, I have mixed emotions about the video, liking some parts and disturbed by others. Full disclosure: I […]
a praise song for mamas: a mother’s day mix
I am invested in sepia mamas. My mother lines my eyelids and floats my dreams. She sits on the right hand of the throne she abdicated to all I might become. “Mama gonna work it out,” Martin versioned at his best. Her frame, I shouldn’t calcify. And I’ll leave her flesh be. I know they […]
This is How it Works
You’ve probably already heard about Brian McKnight’s desire to release an “adult” mixtape. Now, brother McKnight has recently claimed that this shamtastery was a parody of the hypersexualized R&B songs that are par for the course. Okay, boo. You might need to start back at one. Something tells me that Forever Knight was not lampooning the […]
Feminist Care Packages: Healing Love for Hard Times
“Thrown away where? The world is round.” – Luciente This month we’d hoped to talk about love and relationships but a lot of terrible things have been happening in the world. Whitney died. Too Short gave some terrible advice. So did Not So Very Smart brothas. and there’s a thread in these narratives about black women and girls bringing things […]
Tu(r)ning to Black Love
This past week, I found myself swept in an emotional whirlwind witnessing Whitney’s homegoing while remembering that she was not even in the ground before the Fox-affiliated shock jocks called her a babbling idiot, bag lady, and a crack ho that should have died years ago. From AM talk radio to morning cable television, a […]
Love Overflow: A Red Reflection (and a Trigger Warning… SMH)
It’s early on Valentine’s Day, an invented holiday by U.S. greeting card companies (for real, look it up!). I just learned about Too Short’s “Fatherly Advice” to young boys about how to “turn girls out” in a video for XXL. While this is not shocking for Too Short, it also speaks to the culture we […]
Don Cornelius, Indelible Soul
Don Cornelius, creator of the television show Soul Train, changed the media entertainment landscape forever. Yesterday, the Los Angeles County Coroner confirmed that Cornelius had died from a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the head. He was 75. Soul Train is one of the longest-running syndicated shows in television history. Created by Cornelius after he returned from Marine […]
Tonight! Join a conversation on the State of the Union!
CF Eesha here, y’all. Tonight is the President’s State of the Union address to Congress. If the election season so far is any indication, we know that amidst the politicians and the pundits there’s very little time for real talk. This is one of the most important elections in recent history : there is a […]
2011: A Year in Crunkness
It’s that time of year again. Another year has come to a close, so it must be time for our second annual Crunk List! CFs offer up the books, blogs, films, etc. that get us crunk and keep us crunk! CF Crunkadelic It’s hard to narrow it down, but these books were really significant for […]