(ThyBlackMan.com) Hip-Hop titans Jay-Z and Kanye West interestingly decided on “No Church in the Wild” as the first track on their long-anticipated album, Watch the Throne. I want to explore this understanding of “the wild” within two critical realms of African American life, Black churches and Hip-Hop culture. It’s not ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) In today’s rap culture, the references of drugs, guns, and the mistreatment of women are prevalent in today’s lyrics and videos. Everyone comments on the lack of direction and substance inside of rap today, with record company executives using an alleged simplistic formula with their artists to sell records ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) Listening to the courtroom testimony in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician facing charges in the death of music superstar Michael Jackson, one cannot help but feel sorrowful. It has become apparent that Jackson was addicted to powerful drugs and was so driven to succeed that he ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) For the last 15 years rap has evolved from mafia rap of the mid-late 90’s, rap records for the charts in the early 2000’s, and snap music of the mid 2000’s. In the midst of all of that, Shawn Corey Carter, better known as Jay Z, had remained a ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but has Beyoncé gone too far? The pop diva is being accused of stealing choreography in the new music video for her single “Countdown” — and the troubling thing is, this isn’t the first time Beyoncé’s been accused of being ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) It’s been a “cover girl” year for Rihanna. Literally. Over the past 10 months, the Bajan superstar snagged the covers of Rolling Stone, Vogue UK, Glamour, GQ, and most recently, Esquire magazine, which named her this year’s “Sexiest Woman Alive.” The glamorous shots almost make it easy to forget ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) Tattoos are an ever increasingly visible form of artistic expression in the African-American community. Two of African-America’s cultural pillars are its love for sports and its love for music. African-American culture is a unique hodgepodge of its African and American components. On one hand, Africa’s history of extreme body ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) Uncle Luke from 2 Live Crew put hip hop artists on blast for not standing up for their communities while they seem glad to drain all available resources. Speaking to the Miami New Times, Luke issued this ultimatum: “I’ve got a message for Lil Wayne, his Cash Money Brothers, ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) Thousands of fans piled into Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., on Friday night to see onetime pariah Chris Brown’s F.A.M.E. tour, supporting his latest album of the same name (an acronym for the bewildering title “Forgiving All My Enemies“). In a gray knit skully, camouflage shirt, cargo ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) For all the great “can’t miss” products in music, sports, or other forms of entertainment, comes the hype that comes with it. It’s been a while since a MC in hip hop had all the tools of becoming a superb MC out the gate and with all the mediocrity ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) I was asked to write about DeAndre Cortez Way–aka- Soulja Boy. Something about the young rapper intrigued me, and I wanted to know why people disliked him so much after taking the assignment. I had to have some type of reference to make sense of this young man’s success ...
(ThyBlackMan.com) Since the release of their collaborative album, Watch the Throne, Jay Z and Kanye West have received some criticism for their ostentatious display of wealth at a time when most of the country is dealing with the hardships of a recession. Their showboating rhymes have inspired a discussion about ...