Do Medium writers have to choose between profit and exposure? — From the time I joined Medium four years ago, one of the great fringe benefits has been the reach the platform provides outside of its own confines. Many of my early articles received minimal traction here, earning under ten cents. …

Experimentation met expertise. A revolution exploded. — If you were a hip-hop fan in the late 20th Century, you surely remember the fall of ‘93. The weekly sojourns to the record store. The thrill of ripping the plastic off the newest release. Wondering if it would top the previous week’s revelation. Yet, most of us didn’t grasp…

Aesthetics of inclusion and the sound of silence — “I don’t like how you look,” the moderator sneered. We were on the second of two scheduled breaks in the panel discussion that my graduate school was hosting with journalistic icons Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. The breaks were mainly to allow the university television station, which was carrying the…

The fight for inclusion won’t be won with words — “My name is Jacqueline,” announced the guest speaker at an online professional event I recently attended. For the sake of discretion, let’s say the topic was “virtual data aggregation,” just as we’re saying the speaker’s name is “Jacqueline.” “My pronouns are she/her,” she continued My eyes involuntarily rolled a little. …

To the beat of the rhythm of the night… (96/100) — The midnight hour holds a quiet power. Air thickens. Inhibitions thin. Life’s rhythms slow, bringing its throbbing beat into heightened focus as we vibrate in celestial oneness with our surroundings and fellow travelers. A fading day’s final moments give way to the rejuvenating possibilities of the next. “Seven times out…

50 songs for 50 years of hip-hop (10–1) — What is humanity if not the sum of our stories? Since the dawn of language, man has used narrative to pass down wisdom and warning, history and legacy, family, and community. …

Hillbilly elegy or Civil War dog whistle? — Oliver Anthony seems more redheaded rube, fallen from the bed of the turnip truck and into the glaring spotlight of 21st Century viral fame, than musical missionary of the new confederacy. Perhaps he’s some brand of hybrid mutant It doesn’t really matter. Whether Anthony is cravenly complicit or a pitchy-voiced…

50 songs for 50 years of hip-hop (20–11) — Too often throughout the history of the United States and the world, the people at the heart of our cities are the most overlooked. …

50 songs for 50 years of hip-hop (30–21) — Though hip-hop was born in New York’s party scene, it didn’t take long for the music and culture to find its footing as music’s most potent tool. Hip-hop proved a towering platform for sharing information and inspiration. The most verbiage-heavy form of popular music to date, the art of rapping…