TV Updates BlackAF (This is the latest entry to our “Long Reads” series – previous essays can be accessed here.) BlackAF debuted on Netflix last Friday. There was already controversy surrounding the show before its release. Created, written, and starring Kenya Barris, this is his first acting project after producing an incredibly stacked resumé By Melayna • Apr 24, 2020 11:42 am
Equality Issues How Diddy disrespected Lizzo This past Easter Sunday, Diddy hosted a “Team Love” Dance-a-Thon for frontline workers, a fundraiser for COVID-19 relief. This idea already suspiciously looked like a billionaire asking other people for money instead of just donating it himself. He did recruit and court other celebrities to dance on his Instagram live By Melayna • Apr 15, 2020 10:58 am
TV Updates Issa and Insecure are back! Finally, HBO’s Insecure is coming back this Sunday, April 12 on Crave in Canada and HBO. The wait is over and the timing couldn’t be better – even when we aren’t stuck inside the show is a treat and a gift. Ahead of the premiere, Issa Rae was By Melayna • Apr 09, 2020 03:50 pm
Equality Issues Who created Kanye West? (Lainey: as mentioned a couple of weeks ago, as we approach the launch of the new look for our site, we are adding a “Long Reads” section; the first entry was Duana’s essay about the 30th anniversary of Pretty Woman, arguing that Julia Roberts’s Vivian Ward is a By Melayna • Apr 03, 2020 12:55 pm
Equality Issues Appreciating Amanda Seales In January, Amanda Seales made her debut as the 5th chair for the Emmy/NAACP award winning talk show, The Real. For those who follow Amanda, this was consistent with how we have seen her career blow up in the past few years. For fans of The Real, it seemed By Melayna • Mar 18, 2020 02:57 pm
TV Updates On Kenya’s “karma” Kenya Moore returned to Real Housewives of Atlanta for this year’s season 12, after taking season 11 off – and much like Kenya’s seven year tenure on the show, there has not been a shortage of drama. Unfortunately, we have gotten to the point in the season that covers By Melayna • Mar 13, 2020 11:36 am
TV Updates Love Is Blind: The Reunion WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD The gift that is Netflix’s hit Love is Blind kept giving when the reunion special aired yesterday. Last month, right before Valentine’s day, Netflix dropped this addictive dating show, labelled an experiment, but clearly meant as a binge-worthy messy masterpiece. The show continues to sell By Melayna • Mar 06, 2020 11:01 am
Ellen Degeneres Ellen DeGeneres and the limits of nice Last weekend, Ellen DeGeneres was seen at a football game with former US president George W. Bush. The backlash came quickly as many consider Bush to be a war criminal with an abysmally harmful record with the LGBTQ community. It’s a record that has shaped much of the continued By Melayna • Oct 10, 2019 10:03 am
Music Nicki Minaj to retire? Yesterday, without warning, right in the middle of a relatively uneventful Thursday, Nicki Minaj announced her retirement. Not to be confused with a moment for haters, or even critics, or as she calls them “cocksuckers” or “the Nicki hate train”, this was just for the Barbz. Nicki’s exact wording, By Melayna • Sep 06, 2019 12:41 pm
Music Megan Thee Stallion's Paper Magazine cover Megan Thee Stallion covers the new issue of Paper Magazine which is only right, as she’s the inventor and muse for Hot Girl Summer. Anyone tapped into current hip-hop knows that the internet is truly undefeated, making and breaking careers, propelling underground artists, mixtapes, and singles to stardom that By Melayna • Aug 09, 2019 11:53 am
Issa Rae A Black Lady Sketch Show It was just this past January that it was announced that brilliantly vibrant comedian, former talk show host, and comedy writer Robin Thede would be creating A Black Lady Sketch Show on HBO. Executive produced by Thede herself and Issa Rae, it was clear that the project would be special, By Melayna • Aug 06, 2019 02:10 pm
Equality Issues A$AP Rocky returns home Rapper A$AP Rocky (real name Rakim Mayers) and two members of his crew were held in a Swedish prison for almost a month stemming from a June 30th street fight in Stockholm that was documented (at least partially) on video. On its face, it seems like Rocky was attempting By Melayna • Aug 06, 2019 10:05 am
Douchebags Antoine Fuqua is the one who’s married Last week, we saw a messy cheating scandal unfold. Paparazzi caught Nicole Murphy kissing director Antoine Fuqua, husband to actress Lela Rochon, in Italy. We are thirsty in these Black gossip and Twitter streets so we immediately judged the kiss as romantic, and just as quickly as Nicole put out By Melayna • Jul 30, 2019 03:33 pm
Equality Issues Ayesha Curry: it’s not about the milly rock Yesterday, Ayesha Curry was trending again and I have enough experience in this arena to know that it could not possibly be positive. Entrepreneur, mother of three and wife of NBA superstar Stephen Curry, Ayesha for some reason gets people deep into their online feelings virtually any time she does By Melayna • Jul 18, 2019 04:11 pm
Music Missy Elliott covers Marie Claire This week, Marie Claire profiled living legend and prolific hit-maker, Missy Elliott. Missy remains a pioneer in the industry, a hip-hop and R&B icon for over 20 years. Winner of 4 Grammys (nominated for 22), and having sold 30 million records, any discussion of Missy starts with where By Melayna • Jul 17, 2019 11:08 am
Equality Issues Colin Kaepernick and Nike’s value Forbes is reporting that Nike’s stock rose 2% this past week, which is $3 billion in market value, after complying with spokesperson Colin Kaepernick’s appeal to pull its latest shoe. Last week, Nike removed the “Betsy Ross”, a version of their Air Max 1 Quick Strike. According to By Melayna • Jul 08, 2019 03:49 pm
