REFLECTION & REASON

Just so we're clear: this isn't about Drake. This isn't about Kendrick. This is about the headlines, the vloggers, the experts, and the discussion that continues to circulate within Elon's galaxy, in Mark's metaverse, on Beyonce's internet. This #TheyNotLikeUs conversation, as I understand it to be, is fundamentally about hip hop music. Preserving hip hop culture. Respecting hip hop culture. Protecting hip hop culture. Gatekeeping, and raising standards. Policing authenticity. Identifying and eliminating wastemen. Elevating leaders. Keeping it Black, and keeping it real. This isn't about these two individuals--although they have ignited and amplified the conversation--it's about the longevity of hip hop. The blessing about hip hop is, is that many of us can actually remember the early days. It's a relatively young phenomenon, with living legends to verify and authenticate the origin stories and details. The history is still quite tangible. We were th...

I rarely get this feeling from TV shows...usually from books, but rarely from television. That feeling that someone has gone inside your head and communicated the exact feelings, and behaviours, and reality that is personal to you and to people close to you. We've learned to adapt. Black women. We've learned to watch television programs like Sex and the City, and a range of other fabulous shows that definitely depict WOMEN and their thought processes in an entertaining and relatable light. But there's something so intimately different when the story is about a black woman, and being told by a black woman . Yes, we had Girlfriends and A Different World and a variety of other programs that had black female protagonists that we could laugh and journey through life with. But it's definitely been a while. I've said it once, and I'll say it again... you can not underestimate the power of a good story. A believable story. And a story that has the power to ...

On the 11th day of the 1st month of the 2011th year, millions (7.7 to be exact) of viewers across the continent gathered at their televisions for a highly anticipated event: the return and rejuvination of The Game . And I’m not talking about the Raptors. (The Cast L-R: Coby Bell, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Hosea Chanchez, Tia Mowry Hardrict, Pooch Hall, Brittany Daniel) Thanks to day-long marathons, relentless reruns, massive Twitter-ing, casual conversations, and online petitions, the return of the 4th season of the BET program was a huge ratings bonanza. In fact, it set a ratings record for original programming on BET. I was right there on the bandwagon, wondering how Melanie and Derwin’s marriage was going, if Kelly and Jason would rekindle their flame, what was up with Tasha Mack and Rick Fox, and of course, even curious about TT, Janay, and the Sunbeams. The show was taken off the air in 2009, and I became a rerun fan. Just like I did with Sex and the City , Friends , and the countles...