essays
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POV is a recurring first-person column wherein Complex employees have the opportunity to express their unique perspectives on an array of topics. In this column, Shirley Lim (Executive Assistant/Social Media Coordinator with First We Feast) addresses the controversy surrounding The Mahjong Line. The Mahjong Line, a Dallas-based company owned by three white women, began its “About […]
Black History Month has to be more than a running list of “Did you know?” fun facts. It has to be more than regurgitated Instagram posts with red, black, and green borders or an opportunity for advertisers and TV stations to break out their dashiki-print art treatments. Black history is everyone’s history. Just as there […]
College, for many, is the time of new possibilities. During my first and only year of college, in the serenity of a small Pennsylvania town, two rap legends gave me clarity about how boundless, subversive, and versatile the hip-hop world is. I can’t say I retain much from those general ed courses, which is my […]
Playboi Carti is the most musically polarizing rapper on the planet right now. Artists like Kanye West and Tekashi 6ix9ine might be more divisive pop culture figures overall, but when it comes to the actual music, no one’s polarized fans more than Carti has in the past couple of years. The 24-year-old Atlanta rapper stays […]
Another Grammy nomination day, another deluge of confusion and disappointment. It’s been three decades since a who’s who of rap boycotted the Grammys for not respecting rap, and as a whole, they still don’t get it when it comes to Black music. Or maybe we just don’t get it. Perhaps expecting a historically anti-Black industry […]
Ten years ago, on Nov. 22, 2010, Nicki Minaj released her highly-anticipated debut studio album, Pink Friday. After inking a deal with Young Money in 2009 as the first female artist on the label, all eyes were on the New York rapper to see if she could keep the momentum going following her viral mixtapes, Beam […]
The so-called death of R&B has been a topic of conversation for nearly a decade now. The discussion periodically gains steam, somewhat arbitrarily. It’s been the chatter of many Clubhouse rooms as of late, and it was addressed during a Billboard roundtable between Summer Walker, Jhené Aiko, Kehlani, and Teyana Taylor just last week. Skepticism […]
A self-proclaimed “Martian of rap,” Lil Wayne has always operated in his own universe. Wayne has acknowledged that he doesn’t pay attention to any music but his own, recently confusing 21 Savage for a group and admitting he didn’t know what TDE and Quality Control were. It’s one thing to disengage from the world in […]
By all estimates, the 2020 general election has already shattered records for voter turnout. With more than a week left before the election, millions of Americans have braved hours-long lines and deceptive tactics to cast their ballots early. With so much build-up and even more at stake on the first Tuesday of November, it is […]
Ice Cube has allowed himself to become the latest celebrity to be used by the Trump campaign. On Wednesday, Trump senior advisor Katrina Pierson shouted him out for his “willingness to step up and work with @realDonaldTrump Administration to help develop the #PlatinumPlan.” The tweet stoked fears that Cube went full-on MAGA, but he’s since […]
