L ast week, videos of Ian Connor, who is Kanye West’s creative consultant, surfaced on Twitter. In these videos, Ian Connor is seen sucker-punching rapper, singer, and Kanye collaborator, Theophilus London. In case you don’t know who Ian Connor is, he’s been accused of rape by at least six women. It was covered in major outlets… Continue reading On Ian Connor, Theophilus London, and Rape Culture
Month: June 2016
On ‘Coloring Book’ and My Faith
“T his is the sheep that ain’t like what it heard,” raps Chance the Rapper on his intro track “All We Got.” His newest project, Coloring Book, explores the conjunction of his personal life, his music career, and his Christian faith. In 2016, this is a constant conversation many of us have with ourselves. In… Continue reading On ‘Coloring Book’ and My Faith
A View From Inside
A few weeks ago, I was at my parents’ house helping them downsize when I came across a pendant that I had to have. I can remember it clearly from when I was little, a large gold circle with a swirly representation of my father’s initials. This was the wardrobe item I hadn’t even known… Continue reading A View From Inside
A Letter from Mom
A heartfelt, handwritten letter found on the ground at 114th and Lenox in Harlem. Dear the light of my life, This is your mommy. I know you are all grown up. And I know you have your own life to live now. I just want you to know that I love you, and I will… Continue reading A Letter from Mom
To Orlando With Love
I ’m gay. It boggles my mind that there are people in the world who harbor so much hate for people like me. There are people out there who don’t want us to live, who want to see us dead, who actually kill us, and who don’t have much remorse when we die. When I… Continue reading To Orlando With Love
No Safe Spaces: When Violence Against Women is Fantasy and Reality
A ctress Rose McGowan made headlines recently while calling out a billboard for Fox’s X-Men: Apocalypse movie and its connection to violence against women. While comic books, and by extension the movies that spawn from the books, are not bastions of world peace or shining beacons of how we should treat each other, McGowan’s beef… Continue reading No Safe Spaces: When Violence Against Women is Fantasy and Reality
A Few Words About Orlando
I didn’t have the words to express how I felt about what happened in Orlando. I sat on my couch Sunday morning and continued to watch the death toll climb. First it was twenty people. Then it was fifty. Then fifty-three. And the last number I saw before I started to write this piece, was… Continue reading A Few Words About Orlando
A Letter to my Future Daughter
Hi Beautiful, You might think I’m a little weird writing this to you now. Am I pregnant? No. Am I married? Absolutely not. I’m not even in a relationship. There aren’t even any prospects. It’s just me. Do I think I’m ready to be a mother at this very moment? No, I do not. But,… Continue reading A Letter to my Future Daughter
Therapy is Working for Me
Looking back, the circumstances surrounding my mother’s death happened in two phases: the six months of hospitalization before her passing and the subsequent four months without her. PHASE ONE The first phase was a dizzying whirlwind of misfortune. I watched her suffer in ways that still seem surreal. She entered the hospital on Mother’s Day… Continue reading Therapy is Working for Me
Music for the Rest of Us: Welcome
Peace. Welcome to the “Music for the Rest of Us.” It would be logical to ask, “Just who exactly comprises us?” There’s my general definition, which is anyone who loves great music that was created with artistic integrity. Like most people, I have a wide range of musical interests that span several genres, and I… Continue reading Music for the Rest of Us: Welcome