For the past few months, bassist Dezron Douglas and harpist Brandee Younger have dealt with the necessity of social distancing with their own kind of intimate gigs: a series of quietly uplifting performances streamed live through a shared microphone from their Manhattan apartment. Force Majeure collects a dozen of these songs along with brief, perceptive […]
Tag: Beyonce
Posted inArts & Culture
Brittney Cooper’s black-girl magic for grown-ass women
In Eloquent Rage, Professor Crunk offers a course on black feminism and the importance of Beyoncé.
Posted inBlogs
Chicago footwork producers Boylan and Pranas drop a transcendent track to hype Boylan’s imminent birthday bash
Boylan and Pranas’s “Pick It Up” samples the latest smash single from lightning-rod Chicago rapper Famous Dex.
Posted inBlogs
Twenty-five years later, filmmaker Julie Dash reflects on Daughters of the Dust
An apparent inspiration for Beyoncé’s Lemonade, Dash’s film (1991) has been restored and reintroduced to the mainstream through a theatrical rerelease.
Posted inBlogs
The best things to do in Chicago during Memorial Day 2016 weekend
Beyonce, Bike the Drive, Crap Beer Day, and more happenings from May 27-30.
Posted inBlogs
As Beyoncé and Drake’s big albums rule pop, Chicago rapper Sterling Hayes gets intimate
Save Money rapper Sterling Hayes gets bleak on his debut mixtape, but his music isn’t without its highs.
Posted inBlogs
Chicago rapper Sasha Go Hard sets an example of independence for her daughter
Sasha Go Hard’s new mixtape displays the fighting spirit that’s made her a force to be reckoned with—and gifts it to her young daughter.
Posted inMusic
Kuk Harrell brings the best out of Rihanna
Grammy-winning vocal producer Kuk Harrell talks about the path that led him from church choir in Chicago to his work on Rihanna’s new Anti.
Posted inBlogs
Officials haven’t warned us about lead in our drinking water, Beyonce hits town over Memorial Day weekend, and other Chicago news
Also, Garry McCarthy rumored to be under consideration for police chief job in London, and cop who shot unarmed teen and bystander in December sues teen’s estate.
Posted inBlogs
Drake proves ghostwriters don’t matter with ‘Hotline Bling’
“Hotline Bling” is one of four new songs the Toronto rapper-singer debuted this past week, and though it hasn’t gotten as much attention as the dis tracks aimed at Meek Mill, it’s the best of the batch.
Posted inBlogs
Donnie Trumpet and Chance the Rapper’s new album hit the Web last night without any warning
Surf, the new album from Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment (aka Chance the Rapper’s backing band), is for sale on iTunes.
Posted inBlogs
The Prancing Elites start a prance-dance revolution
If you can’t fall in love with these guys, you need to find Jesus.
Posted inBlogs
Kanye West’s ‘All Day’ proves the value of strength in numbers
The Chicago hip-hop icon demonstrates some of the advantages of collaborating with more than a dozen songwriters at a time.
Posted inBlogs
Beyonce, D’Angelo, and the albums that don’t make year-end lists
Music that falls outside the “best-of” cycle encourages us to think of records as moments, not objects.