Music

A Gift From Another World

Prince Rogers Nelson was the blueprint for a certain kind of Black femmeness. In the interstitial spaces of my life, he has kept me company. 

Everything We Can't Describe in Music

The terroir of sound, timbre’s role has always been underrated, or even ignored, because it's so intangible.

'Float Like Gravity': Remembering Phife Dawg

The rapper's streetwise edge and unpretentious manner rooted A Tribe Called Quest to their home in Jamaica, Queens.

Future Imperfect

The rapper may be off in another dimension, but he's a realist. And realism is messy.

'We Don't Need Another Black Woman in Rock 'n' Roll': How Betty Davis Challenged the Music Industry

On the legacy of the ‘70s singer and the important influence of iconic black women. 

Joni Mitchell’s Forgotten Opuses

While Blue has forged its way into the cultural canon of “classic” albums, much of Joni Mitchell’s later work has been unfairly relegated to the audiophilic dustbin.