A&E / April 28, 2022 The Rap Trap: Degradation vs. Empowerment

By Aiyana Fewell, Courtney Williams, Darreonna Davis, Ianna Fenton, Leelyn Ellis and Rachelle Smith Since its inception in the 1980s, hip-hop music has been under scrutiny by various groups of people for a litany of reasons. Some of these reasons include violence, poor representation of African American people and degradation of Black women. Music is...

A&E / September 27, 2021 The Art of the Pivot

By: Hadiya Presswood Sesh, a student-organized collective dedicated to artistic exploration and creative expression, is revamping despite challenges as campus life moves into a hybrid model. The organization, while not formally recognized by Howard University, is popular amongst the student body. At its onset, Sesh was hosted in the apartment of its founder, filmmaker and...

A&E / November 18, 2020 ‘Blackfishing’: The New Blackface?

By Jade Whaley   In the midst of increased racial tensions in the U.S., a new kind of cultural appropriation has emerged, which some have dubbed “Blackfishing.” Cultural appropriation, the idea of members of one culture adopting elements of another culture, is a hot topic on social media. The term Blackfishing is used to describe an...

Big Brotha, Election 2020 / November 1, 2020 The road to restoration: reclaiming your rights as a once-convicted felon

By Samantha Chaney Every election season we are given a list of reasons why we should exercise our right to vote. We are told that voting is the opportunity to demand change and choosing not to vote is a choice to silence your voice. There has been a call to action this year echoing across...

A&E, Music, Quick Hits / November 11, 2019 Amid the Music Streaming Rush, a Vinyl Revival

By Spencer Green After nearly vanishing from store shelves and most households, vinyl records are making a strong comeback.   More than 16 million vinyl albums were sold in the U.S. in 2018, producing vinyl’s highest total revenue in 30 years, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Of course, the $419 million...

A&E, Music, Quick Hits / September 27, 2019 Why Your Favorite Songs Seem to Leave You Wanting More

By Alexandra Banks Have you ever been listening to a song from your favorite artist, and right when you’re starting to enjoy the song, it just…ends? Whether this song takes the form of an interlude or just a 90-second melodic experience, it seems as if artists are releasing teasers rather than full-length songs these days....

A&E

Josephine Baker: The Original Queen B
A&E, Black History Month

Josephine Baker: The Original Queen B

By Sydney Stallworth You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone today who isn’t a fan of mega-star Beyonce. She is described as a musical genius, the best dancer in Hollywood, and the ultimate triple threat. But if you’re a fan of Queen Bey, you need to know the OG queen of performance. A woman who…

Gladys Bentley: Testing the Limits in Entertainment
A&E, Black History Month, Music

Gladys Bentley: Testing the Limits in Entertainment

February commemorates the annual celebration of Black History Month, which highlights the important contributions by people of African descent. Each year, however, we discover that there are many more black individuals and groups that significantly contributed to today’s world, yet remain unacknowledged in today’s history lessons. Black people have made (and continue to make) considerable…

Are Voter ID Laws the New Poll Tax?
Big Brotha, Election 2018

Are Voter ID Laws the New Poll Tax?

By Jessica O’Donnell WASHINGTON — As more states move to pass strict voter ID laws, cries of voter suppression have grown louder. But that’s not really new: Voter suppression in the U.S. is as old as the nation itself. From the beginning, white women and enslaved black people were barred from the polls. After the…

Does being a background singer lead to spotlight of success
A&E

Does being a background singer lead to spotlight of success

By Sydney Davenport Some people crave the spotlight. They want to see their name in lights and are willing to do what it takes to make it to the big time. Not vocalist Jazmine Thomas of Savannah, Georgia. She’s hoping to find success is not behind the scenes, but in the background. Thomas, a music…

How ‘Fences’ Was Built
A&E, Fact-Checks, Quick Hits

How ‘Fences’ Was Built

Denzel Washington’s film adaptation of August Wilson’s “Fences,” which premiers on Christmas Day, is being praised as an original remake of the Broadway play. However, this story has been an essential work in American theater for more than 30 years, and it didn’t originate with Washington. Oscar-winning actor James Earl Jones originally portrayed Troy Maxson,…

#nomakeup with a little help?
A&E, Fact-Checks, Music

#nomakeup with a little help?

Alicia Keys launched a movement after she published a letter on Lena Dunham’s blog, Lenny, in May, stating that she has had enough of wearing makeup everyday. Her reason is simple: “I don’t want to cover up anymore. Not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my thoughts, not my dreams, not my…

A&E, Fact-Checks, Music, News

George Clinton on the Mothership, the Smithsonian — and Funk

The Mothership is the space vehicle of George Clinton aka Mr. Funkenstein and his wingmen of Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication. As part of the Parliament-Funkadelic theory, it existed as a fictional vehicle of funk arrival to engage fans who were down with the P-Funk movement. After the success of his hit “Chocolate City,” Clinton says, the Mothership was later developed into a physical…

1 2 3