Lifestyle Archives

Killer Mike & Big Boi Are Helping Bring Hip-Hop’s First Amendment Rights to the Supreme Court (Audio)

On Monday (December 21), the Supreme Court received a plea for justice involving a Mississippi high-school student who in 2011 faced charges relating to an alleged threat he made against another, a threat law enforcement argued he delivered in the form of Rap lyrics. Taylor Bell was a senior when... Read more

December 22, 2015 Lifestyle

Buying Votes is Nothing New, But Now the Website We Use the Most Might Also Be Guilty

It's no secret that over its history, American politics has often been accused of being easily influenced by lobbying, that insidious form of influence which allows members of an organization to sway votes in Washington by contributing millions of dollars to campaigns and then expecting the favor to be returned... Read more

December 21, 2015 Lifestyle

Cooked Ones: Mobb Deep’s Prodigy To Publish Cookbook & Second Memoir

Mobb Deep co-founder Prodigy has been among the group of Hip-Hop artists that have successfully transitioned into publishing. The Queens, New York native born Albert Johnson released 2011 title, My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy with author/journalist Laura Checkoway, through Touchstone/Simon & Shuster Books. More than four... Read more

December 21, 2015 Lifestyle, News

Macaulay Culkin Spoofs Home Alone…By Channeling Reservoir Dogs. (Video)

Film Home Alone has become a holiday classic. The John Hughes-directed Macaulay Culkin franchise is full of elaborate pranks, family-friendly humor, and always a feel-good takeaway. After multiple films (two starring Culkin), several scenes, lines, and Wet Bandits pitfalls are etched in the hearts of generations. Twenty five years later,... Read more

December 17, 2015 Lifestyle, TV/Film, Video

This Man’s Quest for Healthy Food is Changing Los Angeles, One Garden at a Time (Video)

Los Angeles, though often thought of as a land of palm trees and greenery aplenty, is mostly a sprawling, urban expanse which is now dealing with a statewide drought of historic proportions. That isn't stopping a resident of L.A.'s South Central neighborhood from doing his part to help his beloved... Read more

December 17, 2015 Lifestyle

Supreme Is Knocking Out The Streetwear Competition & Providing Re-Seller Gold (Videos)

In the "hype-beast" era of street-wear, Supreme has lived up to its name. The New York City-originated brand is 21-plus years deep in the game, and popularized by everybody from the late Harold Hunter, to Slick Rick, to Mike Tyson. Behind the red-and-white lettering, is a sub-culture. Supreme's cache extends... Read more

December 16, 2015 Lifestyle, TV/Film, Video

Prison Reform Is Influencing New York to Diminish Use of Solitary Confinement.

2015 has been an important year in the ongoing fight for prison reform. Lately, discussions about reducing the amount of inmates in the United States has been a hotly contested area of political discourse, with many arguing that the country's disproportionate number of incarcerated citizens is a direct result of... Read more

December 16, 2015 Lifestyle

Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year Speaks Volumes About 2015 (Audio)

Since 2003, the dictionary publishing company Merriam-Webster has released lists of words every December that best define what the preceding 11 months were all about, and this morning, it became 2015's turn. In years past, the Words of the Year were decided by the dictionary's page views and website searches,... Read more

December 15, 2015 Lifestyle

Affirmative Action in Education is Eliciting Heated Debate by the Supreme Court (Audio)

Earlier today, the Supreme Court presided over a discussion about affirmative action within the jurisdiction of higher education. For many years, the issue of race has played a large role in the process of college and university admissions, and as any Heads who have applied to such a school can... Read more

December 10, 2015 Lifestyle

Bernie Sanders Calls Out Republicans for “Suicidal Course” on Climate Change (Video)

Last night, Vermont senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders visited Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show, where the Broooklyn, New York native outlined the major points of his political platform for a very receptive audience. After calling Republican frontrunner Donald Trump's politics "demagoguery" and "crap," Sanders focused on what he... Read more

December 9, 2015 Lifestyle

Time Magazine Could Name Black Lives Matter Activists as Person of the Year, But Will They?

Time magazine is a classic piece of American journalism, a long-standing publication that covers all aspects of social and political life and the annual selection of "Person of the Year" was first launched by the magazine in 1927 (the first being aviator and American icon Charles Lindbergh). It's hard to... Read more

December 8, 2015 Lifestyle

The Hip-Hop Generation’s Online Influence Is Being Co-Opted by Nearly Everyone

2015 has seen the rise of things like meme culture, Vines, and the Snapchat effect - all trends directly correlated to the merging of youth and technology. With the advent of Instagram and similar apps, internet culture has become a virtual playground, where creatives both young and old are creating... Read more

December 7, 2015 Lifestyle

150 Years After Slavery Ended, Politicians Still Need a Reminder that Black Lives Matter

On December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified with the sate of Georgia's approval of the legislation, bringing a formal end to slavery. The ratification meant that, at least on paper, human beings were no longer allowed to be viewed as property and that,... Read more

December 6, 2015 Lifestyle

The Cold, Hard Truth: 20 Individuals Have More Money Than Half of the US Population

Wealth inequality has become a buzzword in American politics lately, with documentaries like Inequality for Us documenting the drastic differences in financial realities for Americans. Across the board, the United States has one of the world's most appalling income gaps when it comes to socioeconomic classes. The very, very wealthy... Read more

December 4, 2015 Lifestyle

The U.S. Military Announces Women Can Now Take On Combat Roles. History Is Made (Video)

Ever since a 1994 Pentagon ruling banning women from entering the military fields of armor, artillery, infantry, and other forms of combat roles in the United States Armed Forces, there has been a push to rewrite history by allowing females to take on the same duties as their male counterparts.... Read more

December 3, 2015 Lifestyle

Bill Gates & Mark Zuckerberg Are Aiming Their Energies Toward Climate Change

On the heels of the news that Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife will be giving away 99% of their shares in the social media business (some $45 billion) way to charity, another weekend announcement has brought forth some exciting prospects for the future, particularly as it pertains to... Read more

December 2, 2015 Lifestyle

Batman Returns To Do What Politicians Won’t: Fight Police Brutality

As 2015 nears its end, the year's biggest political stories include issues of race, from the ongoing instances of police brutality waged disproportionately on people of color to the racist undercurrents found on campuses like the University of Missouri and others across the country. The deaths of Sandra Bland, Freddie... Read more

December 1, 2015 Lifestyle

The Old School Toy View-Master is Back & Taking Kids on a Virtual Reality Ride (Video)

Tomorrow (December 1), shoppers will be able to merge the old and new in an exciting new way, thanks to a partnership between toy manufacturer Mattel and Google, NASA, and National Geographic. More than 75 years ago, Mattel debuted a toy called the View-Master, and its framework was pretty straightforward,... Read more

November 30, 2015 Lifestyle

KRS-One: Police Are a “Federally Authorized Gang” & Presidential Candidates “Are a Joke” (Video)

"Trayvon Martin was your cure for Cancer. Freddie Gray was about to come up with something for planes that when they crash, they never exploded and everybody lives." Those are the opening words from KRS-One who, in a video package for CNN, contributed his thoughts and ideas for the network's... Read more

November 27, 2015 Lifestyle

Eddie Murphy Received the Nation’s Highest Prize for Comedy & Proves Why He Deserves It (Video)

The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is given annually to those who have contributed a body of work that has greatly influenced comedy, and is considered the U.S.' highest honor of its kind. Given out every year since 1998, past recipients include Richard Pryor (who was awarded the very... Read more

November 25, 2015 Lifestyle

Kickin’ It New School: U.S. Education Reform Is Causing Concern for Disadvantaged Students (Audio)

14 years ago, the United States Congress passed a measure that re-instituted the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the most extensive federal legislation involving education in the country's history. Essentially, the Act covers the funding for primary (kindergarten through elementary) and secondary (middle and high school) education, and its original... Read more

November 24, 2015 Lifestyle

Killer Mike Endorses Bernie Sanders & Calls Him a Revolutionary (Video)

Last night, Hip-Hop and politics merged in what may be the most powerful way in a generation. Killer Mike hosted presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, where the two shared a meal, had a one-on-one discussion, and took the stage for a rally. Killer Mike (born... Read more

November 24, 2015 Lifestyle

Around the World, Street Art is Embracing Paris & Celebrating Its Resiliency

The recent terrorist attacks in Paris have dominated international headlines, and while certainly not the only incidents of tragedy happening in the world today, tributes to the city, its victims, and its spirit have loomed large. Since the November 13 events, millions across social media platforms voiced support, and now... Read more

November 23, 2015 Lifestyle

One Street Artist Takes Aim At Homophobia With Spray Paint & Murals

Once again, street art's potential for spreading awareness of social and political issues is being proven, this time in Copenhagen. The Danish capital is home to a vibrant arts scene, and its reputation for being the world's most livable city has led to an influx of tourists and international residents,... Read more

November 19, 2015 Lifestyle

Kanye Warned Us About Blood Diamonds, But What About Gold? (Video)

From 2005-2006, the issue of blood diamonds was popular in American culture, more so than it had been in recent memory. In '05, Kanye West dropped "Diamonds (from Sierra Leone)," a Grammy-winning number that was inspired by the conflicts faced in many African nations - particularly in the West -... Read more

November 18, 2015 Lifestyle

Anonymous Has Placed ISIS In Its Crosshairs As Retribution for Paris Tragedy (Video)

The world's most infamous group of hackers, Anonymous, is once again using its skill set to bring down ISIS (Islamic State or Iraq & Syria), the group purported to be involved in the horrendous attacks in Paris on November 13. Anonymous, colloquially known as "hacktivists," have a pedigree that reads... Read more

November 17, 2015 Lifestyle

Cape Town’s Oldest Township Gets Adorned in Graffiti for a Good Cause (Video)

Established in 1927, Cape Town's Langa township carries with it decades of history. Before the apartheid era (which began around 1948), Langa was a site specifically designed for Black Africans, much like the formally segregated neighborhoods commonly found throughout the United States post-slavery through the mid-20th century. As the oldest... Read more

November 16, 2015 Lifestyle

More Than Hardcore: Lil’ Kim’s Overlooked Feminist History In Hip-Hop

Feminista Jones - a prominent author, activist, and social media presence - has penned an article celebrating the contributions and legacy of Lil' Kim, an MC whose talent is doubted by few, but who suffers from the same condition as most women who pick up a mic. In describing the... Read more

November 12, 2015 Lifestyle

A New Report Details The Number of Platinum Hip-Hop Albums By City

As far as music is concerned, a musician's hometown can be as heavy an influence in the development of one's sound as is talent. In many respects, the world can be carved up into musical regions, with borders based on native sounds as distinctively clear as the geographic markers like... Read more

November 10, 2015 Lifestyle

University of Missouri Students Fight the Power & Take Aim at the Media (Video)

Recent events that have transpired at the University of Missouri have turned the town of Columbia into a flashpoint of racial tension and political discourse surrounding what continues to become a standoff between school administrators and the student body. The university's football team made headlines when it walked away from... Read more

November 10, 2015 Lifestyle

Business Owners Are Using Graffiti To Prevent Graffiti. A New Book Examines How.

As an art form, graffiti has certainly climbed the rungs of prestige since the days in the '70s when it was generally considered to be an eyesore and a form of vandalism, primarily by those who didn't live in the neighborhoods where tagging was born. And, while wall etchings and... Read more

November 6, 2015 Lifestyle

Vice’s New TV Channel Re-Invents the Way the World is Shared (Video)

Vice has unveiled a bold, ambitious new venture that aims to change the way stories about the world are shared on television. Viceland - a 24-hour cable channel - will piece together thousands of video packages covering a host of topics, all of which tell the stories, both big and... Read more

November 5, 2015 Lifestyle, TV/Film, Video

From ‘93 Til Infinity: Ludacris’ Acura Legend Is A Hip-Hop Museum On Wheels

The Acura Legend, alongside Beemers, Benz Wagons, Cadillac Escalades, Lincoln Navigators, and a host of other vehicles has been name-dropped throughout Hip-Hop's history, particularly during the 1990s through present day. From A Tribe Called Quest's 1991 "Jazz" ("Boomin' in ya Jeep or ya Honda or ya Beemer or ya Legend... Read more

November 4, 2015 Lifestyle

A New Book Catalogs The History of Hip-Hop Through Hard To Find T-Shirts

Forever an influence on fashion, nostalgia for a certain era is prevalent in all elements of couture, from the high-brow clothing found on catwalks to the mass-produced tour tees sold at concert venues. It used to be that in order to purchase your favorite artist's merchandise, you had to attend... Read more

November 4, 2015 Lifestyle

Anonymous Released Names of Alleged KKK Members. Are They Right & Who Should Be Next? (Video)

Anonymous, by its very existence, is a paradox. Meaning, quite literally, "unknown" or "unnamed," Anonymous has made one of its main tenets the identification, by name, of those involved in illegal, elicit, or embarrassing activities. The decentralized, loosely organized team of activists and hactivists has risen to prominence over the... Read more

November 3, 2015 Lifestyle

Thousands of Released Prisoners May Help Reform America’s Criminal Justice System (Video)

Criminal justice reform has been an agenda-topping issue for many Americans for decades, and it's only in recent months that its visibility has landed into the living rooms of mainstream American politics. Just this year, President Obama became the first sitting president to visit federal inmates, a touching exchange caught... Read more

November 3, 2015 Lifestyle

Gentrification Is Giving the Boogie Down New Meaning & Not Everybody’s Feeling the Message

For decades, just the name "South Bronx" conjured up images of inner city turmoil, with all of its abandoned buildings, overcrowded schools, high crime rates, and a disproportionate level of poverty and its side effects - lack of access to healthy food, healthcare, and jobs. In fact, films like "80... Read more

November 2, 2015 Lifestyle

Afrika Bambaataa Will Receive a Lifetime Achievement Award For Helping to Birth Hip-Hop

Considered to be the Godfather of the culture, Afrika Bambaataa blazed a trail through the New York city club scene during a time when the city's youth culture was experimenting with what would become Hip-Hop (a term credited to Bambaataa). His contributions to that landscape are being recognized by the... Read more

October 27, 2015 Lifestyle

A New Trend in Dieting is Giving ‘Going with Your Gut’ a Whole New Meaning

Diet fads and fat burner come a dime a dozen, and it seems each year a new craze takes hold, eliciting conversations about the best way to shed weight that can be sometimes contradictory. Carbs are bad, but red meat is fine. Or maybe red meat causes cancer and carbs aren't... Read more

October 26, 2015 Lifestyle

More Faces of Color Are On Screen But Diverse Writers Are Still Treated Like The Walking Dead

Great strides have been made in the visibility of diverse characters on television in recent months, but many would justifiably argue that it's too little too late, and that much work is left to be done. Viola Davis recently became the first African-American woman to win an Emmy for Best... Read more

October 26, 2015 Lifestyle, TV/Film

The Hotel That Inspired ‘The Shining’ Is Now A True American Horror Story & Museum

It was to the delight of millions of fans that FX announced its current season of its hit show "American Horror Story" would take place in a hotel, a setting familiar to anyone who has traveled. And yet, despite its familiarity and comforting aspects, there is something about a hotel's... Read more

October 23, 2015 Lifestyle

The Graffti Drone Is Real, & She Is Helping Give Power To The People (Video)

Drones are a hot-button issue in the United States today, particularly when it comes to their use in combat. The Obama administration and others have come under fire for sending the drones (which are also known as unmanned aerial vehicles) into areas of the world like Pakistan, where they are... Read more

October 22, 2015 Lifestyle

A New Book Lists The Most Important Rap Songs Of Every Year Since 1979. Did They Get It Right?

In "The Rap Year Book," writer Shea Serrano attempts to do what many may say is impossible - pick only one Rap song from every year as the definitive best. Along with illustrations from Arturo Torres and a foreword from Ice-T, the project takes the form of a high-school yearbook,... Read more

October 22, 2015 Lifestyle

With Compelling Photography, An Artist Hopes To Lessen The Stigma Of Mental Illness

Dior Vargas, a self-described "Latina Feminist Mental Health Activist," is bringing much-needed attention to the prevalence of mental illnesses in communities of color through a photography project that asks everyday people to raise awareness about the issue. In general, mental illness is one of those touchy subjects that makes many... Read more

October 21, 2015 Lifestyle

The Numbers Show Police Don’t Care About Dead Rappers

For millennia, mankind has been at war. Whether in the name of religion, territory, love, greed, revenge, or duty, human casualties have remained constant throughout civilization, and as society is said to progress, murder remains a dark spot on our collective report card. For many Americans, particularly those of color,... Read more

October 16, 2015 Lifestyle

Quentin Tarantino Makes His Films With No Apologies…To Anyone

As a director, Quentin Tarantino has contributed timeless films, most of which are considered cult classics. Movies like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction have carved indelible marks into popular culture while Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained have taken a more mainstream, Academy-Award nomination route. What they all have in common,... Read more

October 15, 2015 Lifestyle

Tracy Morgan Returns To Stand-Up Comedy For First Time Since Accident

This coming Saturday (October 17), Tracy Morgan will make his return to host "SNL." Not only is the former cast member returning to his NBC alma mater, he is making a public, televised performance following a June, 2014 accident that nearly cost him his life. One of Tracy's friends and... Read more

October 13, 2015 Lifestyle, News

Even Amidst Unthinkable Turmoil, Hip-Hop Offers a Refuge in the Congo (Video)

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the reverberations of war remain omnipresent despite the fact that 2003 marked the official end of the Second Congo War, considered by most historians to be the deadliest war in modern African history. The war itself and its aftermath have claimed more than 5-million... Read more

October 12, 2015 Lifestyle

Hip-Hop Is Alive & Well In Haiti. Now Outsiders Can See It In Living Color (Video)

The global influence of Hip-Hop culture has reached every corner of the globe, one could argue easily. From international breakdancing competitions to the international fashion market, hints of its four elements have touched the cultures of other nations, even on the other side of the planet from the United States,... Read more

October 12, 2015 Lifestyle

On The 20th Anniversary Of The Million Man March, Hip-Hop Shows Up

Today (October 10), a protest march was held in the nation's capital. Washington, D.C. played host to the Justice Or Else March, a gathering intended to raise awareness and protest against police violence against Black Americans, among other races profiled and brutalized by law enforcement. Symbolically, today's march was held... Read more

October 10, 2015 Lifestyle, News