By Guest Contributor David Brothers, originally published at 4thletter!
The easiest thing to point to when someone says “What’s cultural appropriation?” (in the unlikely event that somebody actually wants to know the answer to that question) is the theft of rock and roll. ego trip’s Big Book of Racism!, in addition to being an incredible read, [...]

By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García
Public Enemy |Public Enemy Video |The Roots |Hip Hop
I watched the Hip-Hop Honors pay tribute to Def Jam Records for the same reason I bought the Def Jam anniversary box set: sometimes you just need some old school, right? Here’s some scattered thoughts:
* Tracy Morgan couldn’t have been less [...]

by Guest Contributor Lisa, originally published at Sociological Images
Nikki L. sent us a link to this fascinating Tickle Me Elmo commercial.  In introduces a new Tickle Me Elmo product, “Tickle Hands.”
The ad takes place on what appears to be an urban street (reminiscent of Sesame Street).  Two of the kids appear white, while the other [...]

By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García
Dear Kanye,
What is it with you and MTV?
Even on a West Coast time delay, seeing you make a fool of yourself on live television because of a teenager – and I’m no Taylor Swift fan by any means, but she at least seemed to honestly enjoy winning Best Female Video [...]

By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García
These have truly been depressing days. Bad enough that the past few weeks of summer television hasn’t given us anything to rave about. But not even the bad stuff was inspiring – there was nothing that brought out the sweet, bileful taste of anger.
So thank you, Fox, for bringing Glee [...]

by Latoya Peterson
Today, I got three text messages in rapid succession from my friend Hae.
“Check out the new MV from 2ne1 called Fire!”
“Song is addicting!”
“Street version is better than space version!”
I knew YouTube wouldn’t let me down, so I headed over there to see if someone posted an English translation:

2NE1 is just one group in [...]

by Latoya Peterson
I am officially a hip hop curmudgeon. After a weekend spent in Houston listening to “Da Stanky Leg” and “the Halle Berry” on local radio, I am officially declaring myself one of those annoying ass old heads who is always waxing about the good old days. Notice here, I’m not talking [...]

Excerpted by Latoya Peterson

I was not enthused about the project. There seemed to be little humanity in Christopher Wallace. He sold drugs, used the “N” word as a noun, verb, and adjective, then became a famous rapper. My initial thought, “So what?” Instinctively, though, I knew if I could find a [...]

By Sexual Correspondent Andrea Plaid
I give mad kudos to Cara for her smartly written analysis about Lil’ Wayne having his rape exploited as talk-show fodder on Jimmy Kimmel’s show. She said a lot of what I was thinking when I saw the clip. She felt her thoughts were “long and wandering”, but she sorted through [...]

Excerpted by Latoya Peterson

A variety of clubs cater to queer women of color in the San Francisco Bay area. Some are wall-to-wall women of color – Black, Latina, Asian and most play hip-hop music non-stop. In each club, there are all different kinds of women. For instance, there might be women over [...]

by Guest Contributor M.Dot, originally published at Model Minority
I think I have fallen in love with Camus (a dead white Algerian philosopher who argues that the death penalty is premeditated murder) and Anthony Hamilton simultaneously.
What does this have to do with being an artist? Everything, simply because over the last few days I have been [...]

By Sexual Correspondent Andrea Plaid
My gurl S., who followed the Justin Timberlake/Ciara post and thread very closely, just about fell out while we talked on the phone.
She was apoplectic over Timberlake pulling Ciara’s chain in the video, of that salient image of BDSM (and possible race play) as well as the article about race play [...]

by Latoya Peterson

Reader Crash Happy tipped me to this provocative article published on SoulBounce, asking “How Can Justin Timberlake Still Objectify Black Women and Get Away with It?”
Contributing editor Ro writes:
Someone please explain why Justin Timberlake continually gets a pass to fetishize and exploit the image of Black women. Right now. Because after watching him [...]

A Racialicious Roundtable
Whether you describe it as the dawning of a post-racial age or just the end of white America, we’re approaching a profound demographic tipping point. According to an August 2008 report by the U.S. Census Bureau, those groups currently categorized as racial minorities—blacks and Hispanics, East Asians and South Asians—will account for a [...]

Excerpted by Latoya Peterson
I thought the insanity would end after the election. But oh-no! I was wrong!
”There was underlying concerns we had become too regionalized and the party needed to reach beyond our comfort” zones, he said, citing defeats in such states as Virginia and North Carolina. “We need messengers to really capture that [...]