Ahead of the election, Megan Thee Stallion knows that once again Black women are being asked to save the country—despite still being “constantly disrespected and disregarded in so many areas of life.” She’s had enough. In a passionate op-ed and accompanying video for the New York Times, the rapper detailed several ways our society mistreats Black women. She meditated on how those double standards and abuses have affected how she’s perceived as an artist, and how people responded to her shooting by Tory Lanez this summer. “My initial silence about what happened was out of fear for myself and my friends,” […]
Hip hop music
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Former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to make his highly anticipated running-mate pick any day now. But before he does, The Daily Show made the case for one more out-of-left-field candidate. “All of those candidates are definitely qualified to be Biden’s VP,” Trevor Noah said Monday night of the presumed shortlist. “But when making his choice, Biden has to consider all of their potential landmines for him.” Susan Rice? “Benghazi baggage.” Kamala Harris? “Strict prosecutor.” Elizabeth Warren? “Could turn off moderates.” Gretchen Whitmer? “Is white.” The host joked that Biden’s decision is “like The Bachelor, but here there’s a chance […]
It’s clear enough that Ben Shapiro and Republican candidate James P. Bradley’s puritanical pearl clutching over Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s (censored!) music video “WAP,” which stands for Wet-Ass Pussy, is largely irrelevant. Shapiro’s and Bradley’s statements decrying the explicit message of the song and the (un)dress in the video constitute the kind of performative moral panics that are so baldly opportunistic as to render them banal. (Though, aside from his ranty and tedious video, Shapiro’s tweets express a bizarre curiosity about the rappers’ vaginal health in which he solicits input from his “doctor wife”.) Yet, here I am writing […]
On Monday afternoon, as Megan Thee Stallion opened up to fans on Instagram after being hospitalized with gunshot wounds earlier this month, she said words no human being should ever have to say: “I didn’t deserve to get shot. I didn’t do shit.” Rapper Tony Lanez allegedly shot at Megan Thee Stallion and her friend, Kelsey Nicole, after the three argued at a party. The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the incident as a potential assault with deadly force. In the weeks since news first broke of the shooting, countless fans have voiced their support for Megan Thee Stallion—but some […]
On Tuesday afternoon, TIDAL, the Jay-Z-owned streaming service that announced its arrival with one of the more embarrassing public displays in recent memory, provided a millions-strong platform for an alleged serial rapist. In since-deleted social media posts, TIDAL hyped the latest episode of its podcast Drink Champs, hosted by the rapper N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN. The topic of conversation was Black Lives Matter and the fight for social justice, and the guests included rappers Talib Kweli, Mysonne, and Bun B; academic Marc Lamont Hill; and Russell Simmons, the disgraced Def Jam Records co-founder who stands accused of sexually assaulting at least […]
In 1986, Ricky Powell was selling Frozade lemon ices on the streets of New York City, he never imagined he’d become a legendary hip-hop photographer. But that year, Powell ditched the cart and joined opening act the Beastie Boys on Run DMC’s “Raising Hell” tour across America. He eventually became the Beastie Boys’ photographer of choice, capturing the trio (Adam Horovitz, Adam Yauch and Mike Diamond) on the “Licensed to Ill” and “Check Your Head” tours, and even earned a shout-out on the track “Car Thief” off Paul’s Boutique: “Homeboy throw in the towel / Your girl got dicked by Ricky […]
On Wednesday afternoon, amid a global pandemic that’s killed more than 400,000 people, a civil rights movement for black lives hitting all 50 states (and beyond), and a billionaire author’s childhood-shattering campaign of hate, the rapper Ice Cube apparently decided it was the perfect time to unleash a torrent of tinfoil-hat conspiracies—including several anti-Semitic memes suggesting that Jews are fomenting the oppression of black people. Yes, in between sharing memes positing Marvin the Martian as some sort of harbinger of anti-black racism (an odd claim, given Warner Bros.’ racist TV mascot), and alleging that Europeans destroyed the noses of sphinxes in […]