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(10/30/19 10:41am)
The Virginia Film Festival presented the short film "What if Black Boys Were Butterflies" and the documentary "Always in Season" Sunday at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. The short film, directed by DaeQuan Collier, portrays the polarizing existence of being a black man in America.
(04/23/19 9:59pm)
“Cuz I Love You,” which dropped April 19, is the third studio album — and first with a major record label — from songstress and flautist Lizzo.The force of a major label shows as Atlantic Records paired her with a number of hitmakers, namely Oak and Ricky Reed. Despite these pairings, the album is a somewhat underwhelming effort. While there are a few shining moments, the lack of lyricism and distracting production overpower the positive elements.
(04/22/19 12:03am)
On April 14, 2018, Beyoncé became the first black woman — and third woman ever — to headline the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Her performance — which her fans aptly named “Beychella” —was an ode to black culture, from the costumes she wore to the dancing and songs interpolated into the setlist. Beyoncé headlining broke records, becoming the most viewed Coachella performance and the most streamed live event of all time. A year later, Beyoncé teamed up with Netflix to create a documentary titled “Homecoming” along with a live album. “Homecoming” allows diehard fans to watch the entirety of Beychella in HD, while also showcasing the effort required to pull off such a gargantuan production.
(04/18/19 4:38am)
Ayana Flewellen — co-founder of the Society of Black Archaeologists — delivered a presentation Thursday titled “A Black Feminist Archaeology of Adornment” for the eighth annual Tom Tom Founders Festival. The presentation took place at Common House and centered around the research question, “How did race, gender, and class operations of power and oppression shape African American women’s identity formation during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Texas?”
(04/01/19 3:46am)
The Netflix dramedy “On My Block” returned for season two on March 29. The previous season left audiences with a cliffhanger. Both Ruby (Jason Genao) and Olivia (Ronni Hawk) were shot in a hit and run meant for Cesar (Diego Tinoco), and viewers do not know lived and who died. Within the first four minutes of season two, the show reveals only Ruby survived. Picking up from such a somber finale, the show maintains its balance of comedy and drama. Through superb writing and acting, “On My Block” manages to send a harrowing message about gang violence and loss while simultaneously making the audience laugh.
(03/28/19 1:35am)
Recently, the show “RuPaul's Drag Race” — now in it’s eleventh season — has come under fire for being racially biased. In 2018, writer and performer Phillip Henry published an article on the LGBT based platform them, critiquing the show’s namesake lack of action, writing that “queens of color who compete will continue to pay the price for Rupaul’s silence.” The most current instance fans have pointed out centers around the winners of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” season four. The top four of the most recent “All Stars” consisted of three queens of color — Naomi Smalls, Monét X Change, Monique Heart — and a Caucasian queen — Trinity the Tuck. Monét X Change and Trinity the Tuck both won — the first time in the series two queens were crowned.
(03/21/19 11:41pm)
The once hit Fox television show “Empire” returned for its spring premiere March 13. In the premiere, viewers will want for nothing in the drama department — but unanswered questions remain about the direction of the plot and the future of the show as a whole. These questions stem from the media storm surrounding one of the actors on the show — Jamal Lyon (Jussie Smollett).
(03/19/19 1:44am)
“Queer Eye,” the Netflix show, which returned for its third season March 15, is back and tugging at heartstrings worldwide. The new season features the Fab Five — Jonathan Van Ness, Antoni Porowski, Karamo Brown, Tan France and Bobby Berk — branching out from Georgia to Kansas City, Mo. With this expansion they take on a wider array of heroes/heroines and alter the ways in which they aid the struggling subjects of each episode. Despite these changes, the show still needs to make some adjustments.
(03/06/19 1:56am)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” is back for an 11th season, and the series shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The show has moved past breaking into the mainstream — it has infiltrated popular culture in many ways, from season three queen Shangela snagging a role in “A Star is Born” (2018) to Valentina from season nine playing Angel Dumont in the Fox television production “Rent: Live” in late January. The show is helping to launch superstars in the making, all the while entertaining the masses. In the season 11 premiere on Feb. 28, Mother Ru continues to give viewers a number of reasons to keep tuning in. Yet despite seasons filled with gag-worthy looks, lip sync battles and juicy drama, the show needs some tweaking to prevent itself from becoming predictable.
(02/12/19 1:15am)
Ariana Grande is hard at work. Less than six months after the release of her fourth album, “Sweetener,” she managed to score two Grammy nominations, two number one singles and release her fifth studio album, “Thank U, Next.” In an interview with Billboard Magazine she said, “My dream has always been to be — obviously not a rapper — but, like, to put out music in the way that a rapper does. I feel like there are certain standards that pop women are held to that men aren't.” Grande not only challenges these standards—she shatters them.
(11/27/18 4:18am)
Fresh off their Summer Hits Tour 2018, British phenomenon Little Mix released their fifth album aptly titled “LM5.” “LM5” finds the quartet, to quote member Leigh-Anne Pinnock, “more confident than ever.” The album benefits from the girl group taking more ownership in the studio — they penned half the tracks on the album — and developing a more mature sound. Unfortunately, their newfound sound works like a double-edged sword. In an attempt to mature their sound, Little Mix tries too hard at creating experimental sounds and following trends.
(11/27/18 4:17am)
Mariah Carey has had a rough four years. After numerous embarrassing high-profile performances, a disparaging reality show and a cancelled engagement, listeners might think she would retire and disappear into obscurity. But if the general population learned one thing from Carey’s career, it is to never discount her. The five-time Grammy award winner returned to music with her first body of work in four years, her 15th studio album “Caution.” The album finds Carey shedding all preconceptions people hold about her and falters only in its lack of a theme and its cohesiveness bordering on monotony.
(11/09/18 1:43am)
Following his 2018 movie “Acrimony,” Tyler Perry returns to comedy with his film “Nobody’s Fool.” It features the star-studded cast of Tika Sumpter, Omari Hardwick, Tiffany Haddish and Whoopi Goldberg. The movie follows Tanya (Haddish) upon her release from prison where she discovers her sister, Danica (Sumpter), is involved in a catfishing joke. Despite such a cast of veteran actors, the movie falls flat due to stale comedy, regressive jokes, false advertising and an underdeveloped plot.
(10/22/18 3:41am)
“The Hate U Give” adapts the 2017 novel of the same name for the big screen. It follows high school student Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) as she maneuvers between her two worlds — a rich white high school and her poor black neighborhood, Garden Heights. To complicate things, she witnesses the shooting death of her friend Khalil Harris. With moving performances from the cast members and attention to detail, the film accurately depicts what it means to be black in America. However, it falls victim to colorism and diminishes its discussion on race in the process.
(10/12/18 12:06am)
Mariah Carey is setting the stage for her forthcoming 15th studio album with the ballad “With You.” “With You” finds Carey regaining her artistic footing after a string of unsuccessful singles and her lackluster 14th studio album, “Me. I am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse.” The song pays homage to her older work with trendy yet classic production, Carey-esque lyrics and explosive vocals.