“It could all be so simple (ba-ba-ba-baby, baby, baby) But you’d rather make it hard (huh, uh) Loving you is like a battle (it’s like a battle) And we both end up with scars” — Ex-Factor by Lauryn Hill Marrying a white woman was the hardest thing I have ever…

“I got dark, I got evil, that rot inside my DNA I got off, I got troublesome heart inside my DNA” — DNA by Kendrick Lamar I sat with a frazzled FBI agent in a dark well-upholstered wood-paneled room with plumes of cigar smoke completing the noir-inspired atmosphere. He was…

“How in the hell the parents gon’ bury their own kids Not the other way around? Reminds me of Emmett Till Let’s remind ’em why Kap kneels” — Cops Shot The Kid by Nas The patron saint of white woman’s tears passed away in April of 2023. Her name was…

“Don’t believe, here the evidence, where Brooklyn? See that? Bound to take it all kid, believe that” — Definition By Black Star Verse by Mos Def. I was in an orchard picking the reddest and ripest Honeycrisp apples I had ever seen. …

“B__ch, I’m a monster no-good blood sucker F_t motherf____r, now look who’s in trouble” — Monster By Ye verse by Rick Ross. The glee in their eyes illuminated the dingy hallways of power. Their sardonic smiles commanded the cavernous people’s house for the citizens of Montana. Their smugness was palpable…

“My thoughts react, like Steven Spielberg’s Poetry attacks, paragraphs punch hard” — Live At The Barbeque by Main Source verse by Nas. The most prized invitation in our society is an invitation to the cookout. It is the ultimate clout currency. I want to unpack what this invitation means and…

“Compton, Compton, ain’t no city quite like mine” — Compton by Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar — In 1977 my parents left their beloved Compton, California, with tears in their eyes. They sobbed goodbyes to each of the gargantuan palm trees that had provided shade to them and their children. These palm trees lined the street and made them feel like they were living a California Dream…

“No prevention from this lynchin’ of sorts You’re a victim from my drive-by of thoughts No extensions, all attempts are to fail” — Stranded On Death Row by Doctor Dre. I am working on myself. I truly am. It bothers me that I want the monster who invaded a black…

“I asked her out, she said ‘No way’” — Girls by The Beastie Boys Do you have a library card and a passport? It is a simple question, yet it yields so much information. A library card suggests someone who is rooted in their community. It reveals someone who needed…