Malik Taylor aka Phife Dawg transitioned on March 22, 2016, from complications resulting from diabetes. His was 45 years-old. He was a husband, father, brother, and a member A Tribe Called Quest. Phife Dawg’s passing is a closing portal to my childhood. It was 1991 and I was a Orlando suburban kid, pimping my Afrocentric Cross Colours gear and big purple suede Karl Kani shorts. If it weren’t for my baggy clothes, I was so skinny that I could turn …
Category: Writing
Jay Z’s moms, Gloria Carter, spits a poem at the end of “Smile” off of Jay’s 13th album, 4:44. I was listening to it on my way home. Right when I opened the door to my apartment, she finished her verse with, “Smile.” The track itself is dope. Jay talks about his mother at the beginning and the rest is slick talk. It’s still arresting. The soulful Stevie Wonder samples obviously aren’t just musical props. When ma dukes goes in, …
The first time I met Harlemite rapper, producer, filmmaker, and actor Mtume Gant aka Core Rhythm, was in our Harlem Renaissance class at SUNY Purchase College. Gant usually had the most to say when it came to class discussions about our reading assignments. He was so vocal and passionate that I felt intimidated to raise my hand. Thoughtful, and progressive ideas effortlessly sprung off his tongue. There were few places where our opinions diverged. Most times, I was envious of …
My wife is pregnant and I am becoming a father. It’s joy and terror; anticipation and anxiety. How can we afford a baby? Will I hold the baby right? Will I be a good father? My wife wonders if she’ll be a good mother? What will the baby look like? Is it a boy or a girl? A girl will be easier and cheaper. “We’ll just chain her to the bed, home school her, she’ll live with us forever, no …
Want to say “nigger” without taking the chance of getting beat the fuck up? Are you a white liberal tired of white guilt? Feeling a little transracial? Does everything about you seem black, but your skin? Do you sketch self-portraits using a brown crayon, instead of peach? Find yourself tweeting #blacklivesmatter, but still getting bussed to the #alllivesmatter side of town? What about that blackface frat party you always wanted to throw? Want to get shot for no reason? Can’t …
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