On January 26,1992, In Living Color changed television. “We decided to do a live episode during halftime of the Super Bowl in 1992,” recalled the show’s creator and host Keenen Ivory Wayans in a 2019 Hollywood Reporter oral history of the landmark series. “Before we did our halftime special, it…
Interpolation: “Lady Marmalade,” LaBelle (1974)
It’s a testament to the durable greatness of LaBelle’s signature anthem that the song has managed to become an indelible part of the great American songbook, despite its head-turning subject matter about a prostitute looking for prospective Johns. The delightfully outrageous trio of Patti…
Sample: “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye),” Gladys Knight & The Pips (1972)
The primary hook on this underground 2018 club hit is the majestic, buttery voice of the icon herself, Ms. Gladys Knight. It’s enough to make you miss the Pips. …
By the time comedian Dave Chappelle was a 14-year-old prodigy turning heads in Washington, D.C.’s stand-up clubs, he was already building the foundation for what would become the most groundbreaking sketch show of the 21st century. …
“I felt robbed.” That’s how Garrett Morris summed up his tenure as a Saturday Night Live performer. When the sketch comedy show first hit the airwaves in 1975, critics and audiences heralded it as a counterculture breakthrough — but as Morris admitted in the 2017 documentary Live From New York…
My name is Keith Lamar Murphy, and I am a Black man with a tiny dog.
Like most Black men, I was taught that dogs are an extension of our manhood and the contract with our canine companions was all about mutual protection. I grew up with a German shepherd…
A few weeks ago, I aired a few controversial takes on Twitter. Nothing crazy, but also stuff you’d imagine would meet with some pushback. Derek Jeter was overrated. Scarface is really a comedy. Steph Curry didn’t deserve two MVP Awards. Beyoncé did not have a legit across-the-board classic album until…
As a Prince stan, I’ve gotten used to people questioning his pedigree. There’s a certain kind of social-media rock critic — usually White — who can go on and on about how Prince is overrated. It’s a flawed opinion, but an opinion nonetheless, so I let it go. …
For so many black Americans, even after all the mud has been slung, Joe Biden is still the man for the job.
Even after all the allegations of inappropriate touching, even after his flip-flop on the Hyde Amendment, even after he endured a pummeling at the hands of Kamala Harris…
