AFH Ambrosia for Heads

Archives

A Trump Presidency Will Likely Make the Failed War on Drugs Even Worse. Here’s Why.

In 2016, much headway has been made to counteract some of the harmful lingering effects of the so-called "war on drugs." Criminal-justice reform has taken on invigorated energy, with more attention being focused on overturning the excessively harsh sentences placed on low-level, nonviolent drug offenders. Marijuana continues to become more... Read more

Nas Says We Need Racial “Healing” & Looks To Muhammad Ali For Guidance (Video)

Earlier this year, the world lost an icon in Muhammad Ali. The legendary boxer and civil-rights activist made history inside and outside of the ring, by boldly standing up against the U.S. government when conscripted into the military in protest of the Vietnam War, and adopting the Islamic faith and... Read more

Jay Z’s Examination of How the Justice System Fails People of Color Is a Must Watch (Video)

Far too often, a person's story of pain and struggle only receives its due attention when it's too late. It's true for Kalief Browder, who at 16 was arrested for a crime he didn't commit. After spending three years in prison without ever being convicted (let alone awarded his right... Read more

2016’s Boldest & Most Important Political Statements In Hip-Hop & Beyond

2016 has been a rough year. From seemingly endless celebrity deaths to a political campaign unlike any other to racial tensions dominating headlines, these last 12 months have been riddled with great sorrow. But as history continues to remind us, out of great pain comes great resilience, and actors, athletes,... Read more

Killer Mike Explains the Racist History of the Chronic War Against Legalization

In a new essay he penned for Rolling Stone, Killer Mike (born Michael Render) addresses the racially motivated disproportions in the marijuana industry, a topic that has become a major talking point as the movement for nationwide legalization continues to gain steam. By 2020, the recreational marijuana industry is expected... Read more

Trevor Noah Says America Should Begin Treating Racism As a Disease (Video)

Today (December 7), The Daily Show host Trevor Noah was the guest on The Breakfast Club, where the South African comedian and author discussed in great detail the racially-fraught history of his native country and its relation to the United States. To begin the discussion, Noah explains that "apartheid made... Read more

Trevor Noah Grills Tomi Lahren On Black Lives Matter & It Gets HEATED (Video)

Conservative media darling Tomi Lahren is not short on fans - nor critics. At only 24, she has made a name for herself as a far-right-leaning media personality, one whose voice has come to represent fiscally and socially conservative millennials. Her outspoken viewpoints have helped make her one of the... Read more

Erykah Badu Gives A Message Of Love & Inclusion. She Says There’s No Need For Alarm. (Video)

This week, Erykah Badu appeared on Ebro In The Morning. The veteran singer, producer, and DJ spoke about the world. She considers herself "an observer," and the mother of three had some hopeful sentiments to those who may be emotionally downtrodden, given current political, social, and environmental developments. Approaching the... Read more

Q-Tip Explains How the Economics of Racism Inspired ATCQ’s Latest LP (Video)

With "We the People," A Tribe Called Quest shared their most political single to date, but it's just one facet of an entire album whose content deals head-on with serious issues. We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service tackles racism, poverty, and struggle but "We the People"... Read more

OutKast Warned About The Dangers Of Phobia 20 Years Ago…They Were Right (Audio)

To follow up Poetic Justice, John Singleton’s 1993 romantic drama starring Tupac and Janet Jackson, the Boyz n the Hood director released his third movie two years later, in 1995. Higher Learning confronted issues like racism and sexual assault through the lens of students on a fabricated multicultural college campus.... Read more

Vic Mensa Pens a Powerful Essay on Trump & Why Race Is a Distraction From the Real Problem

Vic Mensa has been one of the most outspoken artists of his generation, with 2016 being his biggest year yet. The Chicago MC's "16 Shots" is a prime example of his using music to bring attention to social and political issues of the day, but it's not just as a... Read more

Q-Tip & Phife Release Their Most Political Song Ever & It Ain’t Nothin’ Nice (Video)

It's been a heavy week for America. Donald Trump is President-Elect, a stark reality for the millions who have found themselves in the crosshairs of his vitriolic campaigning. Just three days into his new position, Trump has already inspired protests across the country waged by people who are literally fearing... Read more

Killer Mike Explained Donald Trump’s Victory Before It Happened (Video)

Just minutes ago, Hillary Clinton delivered her concession speech after losing the presidential election to Donald Trump. There is no doubt that today, November 9, 2016, will go down in history as a clearly marked moment in time when, years from now, we will all remember where we were the... Read more

Vic Mensa Uses 16 Shots To Say “If You Don’t Vote, Racism Wins” (Video)

In the canon of Hip-Hop music that captures the zeitgeist of American culture in 2016, Vic Mensa's "16 Shots" is as real as any song. The There's Alot Going On single was inspired by the 2014 killing of Laquan McDonald in Vic's hometown of Chicago. The 17 year-old was shot... Read more

Kxng Crooked Pulls a Fast One On Killer Cops To Teach Them a Lesson (Video)

They say the best way to understand another person's pain is to walk a mile in their shoes, but history has proven time and again that empathy is not a lesson easily taught. When it comes to solutions to the problem of police violence, many say hiring officers to police... Read more

YG Shows Not Much Has Changed Since N.W.A. Told The World About Cops In Compton (Video)

2016 has been a monumental year for YG, the Compton rapper whose Still Brazy album contains some of his most political work to date. His anti-Trump anthem "FDT (F*** Donald Trump)" featured Nipsey Hussle and was so successful, YG enlisted the help of G-Eazy and Macklemore for the song's second... Read more

Kxng Crooked Shoots Back At Racist Police With A Lyrical Demand For Justice (Audio)

For many this election season, the issues of police brutality and the militarization of law enforcement in this country are front-and-center, as racially charged discourse continues to emerge. Police versus citizens has become a prominent theme in music today, with Hip-Hop artists like T.I., Big K.R.I.T., and Nas making the... Read more

The U.S. Government Is Going to Start Tracking Violent Police Encounters

Beyond the troubling rate of frequency with which American citizens are killed by police, another piece of the complex social issue presented itself as equally confounding, for many. Earlier this year, the fact that the federal government lacked a comprehensive means of tracking officer-involved violence became more well known than... Read more

Soul On Ice: Ras Kass Reflects On His Groundbreaking Album 20 Years Later (Video)

By all accounts, Ras Kass is one of the most gifted lyricists of all-time. For more than 20 years, Ras Kass has been seizing every opportunity to approach rapping with thoughtfulness, complexity, and message-driven content. Of course, he wasn't the first to do so, and he credits KRS-One and Rakim... Read more

Nocando’s Most Important Work to Date Is An Explosive Ride Through Racism (Audio)

Los Angeles, California's Nocando has been releasing solo albums since 2010's Jimmy the Lock, and the work he's put in for the city's local music circuit extends much further. But it's now, in 2016, that the MC has released the most significant song of his career in the form of... Read more

Common & Stevie Wonder’s Snapshot of Black America Is Raw & Uncut (Video)

Common's 2014 album Nobody's Smiling not only signified a reforged musical partnership with producer No I.D., but also a concept record inspired by Chicago. The MC's hometown continues to be plagued by skyrocketing rates of gun violence, and while it manages to be a hotbed for vibrant talent including Chance... Read more

Marshawn Lynch Makes A Profound Statement in Support of Colin Kaepernick (Video)

"I'd rather see him take a knee than stand up with his hands up and get murdered." With just those few words, spoken on last night's (September 19) episode of "Conan," Marshawn Lynch made a powerful statement in support of his NFL brethren Colin Kaepernick and other players who have... Read more

Discrimination Is Costing Black Americans 27% In Potential Income (Video)

In April, Ambrosia for Heads reported on the expanding rate of income inequality along racial lines in the United States, an economic trend which has led to families of color being consistently paid less than their White counterparts. The statistics suggest that, despite the Civil Rights Era of the 1950s... Read more

Patriotism For Pay: NFL Teams Were Paid by the Military to Salute the Flag (Video)

There are times - particularly in the internet era, when a story's shelf life sometimes lasts only a few hours - when news in the recent past resurfaces because it coincides perfectly with real-time events. We see it often on social media, when a years-old tweet from Donald Trump suddenly... Read more

Big K.R.I.T. Raps Like He Never Has Before In a Chilling Cry For Justice (Audio)

2016 has been a watershed year for protest records in Hip-Hop, from Mistah F.A.B.'s "6 Shots" to T.I.'s "Warzone" and countless powerful anthems in between. Police brutality and the broader system of injustice in this country continues to inspire songs that are both triumphant but also forlorn and tinged with... Read more

Jay Z Explains How The War On Drugs Really Is A War On People Of Color (Video)

Jay Z, one of the world's most successful artists and businessmen, made his way into the Rap game in part by spinning true-to-life tales about hustling in the streets, spending a considerable amount of his time coming up as a self-proclaimed D-Boy. Far from an unfamiliar trope in Hip-Hop music,... Read more

T.I.’s New Video Re-Creates Police Killings, Making The Officers Black & The Victims White

As an MC, T.I. has had one of the most successful mainstream career trajectories. His sophomore album, 2001's Trap Musik, set the tone for the rest of the decade, and by 2010 he had the double-platinum Paper Trail under his belt. The Grammy winner's most successful singles have been largely... Read more

The Entire Seattle Seahawks Team Could Be Protesting the National Anthem

There are times in modern history when things seem to be happening at a clip never before seen, with intensity that leaves many questioning when the fight began and why it only seems to be happening today, in the here and now. Most would argue that it's technology's presence in... Read more

Childish Gambino Is Now The Man & He’s Calling The Shots For His Own Show (Video)

In a year when diversity in Hollywood has been a major point of discussion, creators like Shonda Rhimes, Ava DuVernay, Nate Parker, Viola Davis, and others have helped present projects which incorporate the nuanced and varied experiences of Black Americans in mainstream popular culture. Donald Glover (also known as rapper... Read more

Marc Lamont Hill Wants to Build a Society Without Police & Prisons (Video)

Marc Lamont Hill, one of the pre-eminent scholars and media personalities of his generation, arrived in Ferguson, Missouri one day after the killing of Mike Brown. It was 2014, and the 18-year-old was fatally shot by police and left in the middle of the street for more than four hours,... Read more

Georgetown Is Making Amends To The Descendants Of Slaves From Whom It Profited

In a speech that will go down in history as one of the greatest examples of political oratory, Michelle Obama referenced the building of the White House by slaves. It was a potent point, and one that is often forgotten when Americans are swept up in patriotism and pride. Slaves... Read more

Leslie Jones’ Second Online Attack Points to Anti-Black Woman Sentiment in the U.S.

Leslie Jones is a survivor of one of some of the most vicious civil rights violations, and it was all done in front of millions. In July, the celebrated comedian and star of the rebooted "Ghostbusters" was victimized by a mob of racist, sexist, and verbally violent Twitter users who... Read more

Misplaced Hate Makes Disgrace: Changes Are Addressing Online Racial Profiling (Audio)

Nextdoor is a social-media platform that connects people with their real-life neighbors and cultivates an online community where residents can communicate with one another. It serves as a virtual town hall, community bulletin board, and crime-watch group, but because it functions as an extension of real-world functions, there are some... Read more

Mothers of Black Boys Are Uniting to Protect Sons From Police Violence

For millions of Americans, the racial climate in the country today is not only unsettling, but in many instances lethal. In a nation where colonization and slavery were founding principles, there remains a system in place which continues to encourage the economic, political, and social disenfranchisement of people of color... Read more

1 Problem: Roadside Drug Tests Are Remarkably Flawed & Ruining Thousands of Lives

In his 2004 single "99 Problems," Jay Z references an interaction with a police officer after being pulled over for a relatively harmless offense - "you was doing fifty-five in the fifty-four." What ensued, however, is an exercise in the kind of power dynamics that gives law enforcement a presumption... Read more

Marc Lamont Hill Believes 4 Years of Trump Would Be Good for the Revolution (Video)

Marc Lamont Hill is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native whose work in academia, activism, and television has made him one of the preeminent figures of his generation. With a résumé boasting titles such as Morehouse College Distinguished Professor of African-American Studies, CNN political commentator, BET News Correspondent, and celebrated author, Mr.... Read more

Will Smith Says “Racism Isn’t Getting Worse. It’s Getting Filmed.” Is He Right? (Video)

Last week, Will Smith was a guest on "The Tonight Show," where he made a statement about current social affairs that has been resonating on social media for many months. "Racism isn't getting worse," he said. "It's getting filmed." Smith's remarks echo the sentiments of millions of Americans in the... Read more

The Black Lives Matter Movement Has New Demands for Justice & Calls for Reparations

Today (August 1), many of the social-justice organizations within the civil-rights movement known as Black Lives Matter are unveiling a series of policy goals aimed at redefining and honing the movement's direction. Also being referred to as a list of demands, the platform - officially titled "A Vision For Black... Read more

Two Recent Studies Show Racism Doesn’t Make Dollars Or Sense

For any given campaign season, a handful of social and political issues inevitably rise above the rest and there is perhaps no more contentious issue in 2016 than racism. While climate change, campaign finance, terrorism, LGBTQ equality, and general jurisprudence issues are all present this season, they have not incited... Read more

Michael Jordan Has Made the Boldest Political Statement of His Career

Arguably the world's most iconic living athlete, Michael Jordan dominated the sport of basketball and ventured onto successful careers as a business man, film star, fashion mogul, and sports executive. Along with his prowess on the court, the branding of the Jordan image is one of the most lucrative in... Read more

The Social Media Hate Against Leslie Jones: Why Humans Are More Horrifying Than Ghosts

As one of the definitive elements of the 21st century, social media is at its best a democratizing form of communication but at its worst, it can be a bastion of harassment and emotional trauma. Trolling online has become a cyber-based blood sport where anonymous users can unleash vitriol that,... Read more

Vic Mensa Drops More Wisdom In 3 Minutes Than Most Rappers Do In A Career (Video)

Vic Mensa's recent EP, There's Alot Going On, could not be more appropriately titled. In fact, in a year where multiple citizens have died at the hands of the police, terrorists have attacked an independence day celebration, militaries are staging coups, snipers have killed multiple police officers, and countries are... Read more

After a Tragedy Was Livestreamed, Defining Hate Speech Is Getting Tricky (Audio)

On July 6, Philando Castile lost his life after being shot to death by a police officer in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. His girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, was his front-seat passenger and in what is being acknowledged as a formidable act of strength and foresight, she took out her phone and livestreamed... Read more

Kemba Argues a New Black Theory While Still Seeking Answers (Video)

As with any social-justice movement, there are cultural takeaways that come to represent the modern-day civil rights movement in searingly visual ways. For generations past, images of police dogs, water hoses, and segregated water fountains are markers signifying a time and place during which struggle for equality was forcibly constricted... Read more

Minority Report: Babies of Color Officially Outnumber Whites Now

Several years ago, National Geographic made headlines for its cover story about what people of the future will look like. Far from a science-fiction based approach, the story rather examined the very real evolution of interracial coupling. Essentially, the thesis was that by 2050, the vast majority of people will... Read more

Jesse Williams’ Blueprint for Revolution Is Chillingly Powerful (Video)

Best known for his portrayal of Dr. Jackson Avery on Grey's Anatomy, actor Jesse Williams took the stage at the BET Awards last night (June 26) for a reason unrelated to his on-screen performances. The Chicago, Illinois native has been deeply entrenched in political and social activism, working tirelessly to... Read more

The Supreme Court Has Held Up Affirmative Action in College Admissions

In December of 2015, a case involving affirmative action at a Texas university headed to the Supreme Court. At play was the central issue of how race, if at all, should be applied in the university admissions process. As previously reported by Ambrosia for Heads, the December hearing was related... Read more

Creators of the ‘Roots’ Reboot Get Real About the Need for a Remake (Video)

"King Kunta," one of Kendrick Lamar's stand-out tracks off To Pimp a Butterfly, bears a title that references what is perhaps the most iconic miniseries to ever air on American television. Kunta Kinte was the name of a central character in Roots, a visual requiem about slavery in the United... Read more

This Killer Mike Interview Shows HE Should Have Run For President (Video)

Last year, Killer Mike set the Internet ablaze when he announced he was running to be a Georgia State Representative. Though the campaign was short-lived due to a technicality, the excitement was palpable, not just because the man born Michael Render is a beloved MC, but because, for the last... Read more

Tamir Rice’s Mother Shares Poignant Details About the Day Police Killed Her Son (Video)

On May 4, 1970, Kent State University in Ohio became a flashpoint in American politics. On that day, four unarmed students were killed and nine others wounded when the state's National Guard opened fire after a campus-wide protest ballooned into something else entirely. By no means the first instance of... Read more