Culture Bobby Brown’s 35th Anniversary Celebration Was More Than a Concert—It Was a Reunion With a Generation There are few artists whose music can instantly transport an audience back to a specific chapter of their lives. On Friday night, Bobby Brown proved that his catalog still possesses that rare power as he celebrated the 35th anniversary of Don’t Be Cruel, the groundbreaking album that transformed him By Victor Flavius • 3 min read
Culture Paul Brunson and Dr. Liza Paz Resuscitated the 'Married At First Sight Franchise' Paul Brunson is the best thing to happen to the fan favorite reality series in years After watching the season premiere, I’m convinced Peacock didn’t just find a new relationship expert. It found the magic this franchise has been missing all along. For years, Married at First Sight By Dr. Christal Jordan • 4 min read
Culture OWN’s Put A Ring On It: Cheathab Asks the Question Reality TV Has Been Avoiding For years, reality television has followed a familiar script. Couples fall in love, cameras roll, temptation enters the picture, someone cheats, trust is shattered, and by the reunion special we’re dissecting another relationship that couldn’t survive fame, pressure, or poor decisions. We’ve watched it happen across dating By Dr. Christal Jordan • 3 min read
Culture Black Beauty Never Needed Permission Simone I. Smith and Rapsody remind us that our culture has always been the blueprint. There are certain things Black women wear that have never simply been fashion. They have always been declarations of who we are. A fresh press on Sunday morning, bamboo earrings in the neighborhood, a perfectly By Dr. Christal Jordan • 5 min read
Culture Karen Derrico's Breakdown Is a Result of What Happens When a Woman Abandons Herself For Love and Family We’ve heard tales of women having children in the double digits, but rarely in the modern area, or for Black families of today. That is why Doubling Down With the Derricos was so fascinating for its millions of viewers. It was fun to watch the children interact, and Deon By Brenda Alexander • 5 min read
Culture History Is Still Catching Up to TLC How CrazySexyCool: The Musical reminded me that the best-selling U.S. girl group of all time is still ahead of us. There are moments in theater when you leave talking about the performances, the music, or the beauty of seeing a familiar story brought to life in a new By Dr. Christal Jordan • 8 min read
Culture Black Music Month Spotlight: Darwin Hobbs’ Greatest Gift Was Never His Voice There are singers with incredible voices, and then there are artists whose voices become instruments of healing. Darwin Hobbs belongs in the latter category. For decades, Hobbs has possessed one of the most extraordinary voices in contemporary music. It is the kind of voice that immediately commands attention, effortlessly moving By Dr. Christal Jordan • 3 min read
Culture Netflix’s 'The Polygamist' Isn’t Really About Polygamy it's an Illustration of Emotional Abuse Like a lot of people, I finally gave in to the hype surrounding Netflix’s South African drama The Polygamist. Social media had been talking about it nonstop, and with a flight ahead of me and plenty of time to binge watch, I decided to see what all the excitement By Dr. Christal Jordan • 7 min read
Culture Lessons from Black Wall Street How Jayme Broome and Solid Foundations Are Preparing Tulsa’s Next Generation to Lead For many Americans, Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom. Families gather for cookouts and festivals, communities host parades and commemorative events, and conversations turn toward the resilience of a people who endured unimaginable hardships while continuing By Dr. Christal Jordan • 8 min read
Culture NPR Got It Right: Joe’s Tiny Desk Concert Is a Black Music Month Must-Watch His voice defined grown-man R&B long before the culture gave him the credit he deserved. One of the greatest things about Black Music Month is that it gives us an opportunity to revisit artists whose contributions to the culture deserve far more recognition than they often receive. By Dr. Christal Jordan • 8 min read
Culture From Wendy Williams to Tasha K: Why Hollywood Keeps Creating the Women It Claims to Despise Why Hollywood’s Most Controversial Truth-Tellers Always End Up Winning Every generation has a media personality that Hollywood claims to hate but the public refuses to stop watching. They are criticized for being too loud, too opinionated, too messy, too invasive, and too willing to say the things that By Dr. Christal Jordan • 6 min read
HE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA Season:17 Pictured: (l-r) Phaedra Parks, Drew Sidora, Pinky Cole, Angela Oakley, Kelli Ferrell, K. Michelle, Shamea Morton Mwangi, Porsha Williams (Photo by: Gizelle Hernandez/James Bianchi/Bravo) Culture Despite Fresh Blood, 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' Is Telling the Same Old Story Let’s be honest: the glory days of The Real Housewives of Atlanta as we grew to know and love the show are over. Every franchise has its peaks and valleys, and for several seasons, the peach holders have been in a slump. It’s typical with any television series, By Brenda Alexander • 6 min read
