Category: Music
They Loved the Style, Not the Black Woman: Esther Jones and the Betty Boop Lesson
Exploitation is a hand that smiles while taking.
It praises your light, then sells your flame.
It calls it “help,” but leaves you colder.
 [...]
Across the Water: We Were Never Surviving Alone
There is a way of telling Black history that can accidentally leave Black Americans standing alone.
We learn about the courage it took to survive s [...]
I Don’t Remember a World Before Dolly Parton
I think some artists enter your life so early that you cannot remember becoming a person without them. Their voices get mixed up with childhood itself [...]
BLUEPRINT vs ALGORITHM: Black Sound, Black Memory, Black Authority
There is a moment when a culture starts arguing about what it already built.
Black Music Month becomes a conversation about whether our icons are “re [...]
When You Stop Feeling Like You Have to Keep Proving Yourself
Lauryn Hill was awarded the BET Icon Award, and some are still saying that she didn't do enough. "It was just one album."
That framing leaves out a l [...]
10 Ways to Reconnect with Yourself (The 1980s Way) w/ Affirmations
10 Ways to Reconnect with Yourself (The 1980s Way)
If you want to step away from the digital noise and tap into that grounded, authentic energy of th [...]
The Phenomenal Phyllis Hyman, Institutional Betrayal, and Affirmations for Your Own Battles
Sometimes it isn't 'imposter syndrome.' Sometimes institutions just want you to be something that you are not because it is easier for them. B [...]
The Architecture of Sound & Soul: Celebrating Marlena Shaw This Black Music Month
When we talk about the giants of Black music, certain household names instantly clear the room. But there is a specific, sacred tier of artistry occup [...]
India.Arie Sings “I Am Light”: Plus 10 of Her Affirmations
"I Am Light" — India.Arie
The Vibe: A holy, minimalist prayer. Stripped down to just acoustic guitar and vocals, you are not your pieces—you are di [...]
10 Times Black Artists Forced Innovation to Find Its Soul
The Architecture of Innovation
Black music has never merely adapted to the future—it has constructed it.
When we celebrate Black Music Month, it is [...]