The Root’s video team, including host and producer Felice León, went on a mission to test the black cards of one of the black meccas in America: Harlem. We wanted to see how much 125th Street residents knew about some of the top nominees recognized in The 2019 Root 100.
How do you think they did? Should we revoke some black cards? Do you think you could guess some of these influential African...
The 2019 American Music Awards (AMAs) have come and gone, but we need to reminisce about one of the most nostalgic moments of the night.
On Sunday night, Toni Braxton took the stage to perform her Hot 100 hit, “Un-Break My Heart,” and yes, every single person in the audience mouthed the words along with her as they swayed back and forth. I’m actually surprised I didn’t see anyone hold up any...
Do you hear that sound? That’s the sound of Madea exclaiming, “Hellur!” and welcoming you to black history in the making.
On Saturday, all of Black Hollywood’s elite descended upon Atlanta to celebrate the grand opening of Tyler Perry Studios, the first ever fully black-owned film studio lot. As The Hollywood Reporter points out, the studio has no proprietary partners or corporate backing....
“De nigger woman is de mule uh de world.”
— Zora Neal Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Do me a favor.
Before reading this, open another tab and Google “Beyoncé Vote.” Because when I call Bette Midler stupid, I don’t want anyone to think it is an insult. Google returned 21 million results when I performed the aforementioned search. The first result came on October 29, 2016, when The Hill...
Madame Tussauds hasn’t always been on the mark when it comes to paying tribute to perhaps the most famous figure in music. When a figure of Beyoncé was unveiled in 2017, immediate backlash forced the famed wax emporium to “adjust” the poorly rendered likeness before ultimately opting to remove it altogether. It was just that bad (like, so bad).
Harpo, Who Dis Woman? It Sure Isn’t BeyoncéYou...
The day was Sept. 13, 2009. Heaps of celebrities gathered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City to honor each other with shiny moon men at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). The “Best Female Video” award was up and Taylor Swift’s name was announced for her “You Belong With Me” video. However, Kanye West wasn’t feelin’ that decision; he actually preferred Beyoncé’s pop culture-changing...
Last year, Beyoncé helped make history when she approved Tyler Mitchell to photograph her for the cover of the September 2018 issue of American Vogue, making the then-23-year-old the first black photographer —and one of the youngest—to shoot the cover of the world’s best-known fashion magazine in its 126-year history. In the year since, that barrier-breaking moment has spawned others,...
She gets it from her mama—and papa. The “she,” in this case, is Blue Ivy Carter, Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s first-born, and the “it” being a spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The seven-year-old entered the chart at the No. 76 spot for her writing and composing work on the song “Brown Skin Girl” from The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack, Billboard reports.
'Brown Skin Girl' Was Bound to Be Our New...We all saw it—the grueling journey from postnatal (with twins!) ‘Yoncé to Homecoming cutoffs ‘Yoncé—and frankly, I, for one, instantly decided I didn’t have the stamina (seriously, the woman is damn near supernatural). But to hear it straight from the Queen’s mouth in the promo for her newest venture, 22 Days Nutrition, “getting the weight off was so much easier than me getting back...
Bow down, Simba...because we already know who the real star of The Lion King reboot is.
The CGI-fueled film opens in U.S. theaters today, but all week we’ve been ramping up, first falling for the fashion-fueled extravaganza that was the “Spirit” video release , and now getting our Afrobeats on with Thursday night’s release of The Gift, Beyoncé’s personally curated collaborative album timed to...
So far, we’ve counted 12—yes, 12 outfits that Beyoncé reportedly sports in the four minutes and 31 seconds the “Spirit” video runs. That’s gotta be some kind of record.
Granted, only 10 of Beyoncé’s reported 12 costume changes made the final cut of the official video for the first single from her Lion King-themed album of original songs, The Lion King: The Gift. We’re sure there’s an extended...
Beyoncé has done the unthinkable—rebranded the word “spirit” so that when you think of that word, you think of her instead of the wonky airline. Wow.
The video for “Spirit” debuted on the ABC special, The Lion King: Can You Feel The Love Tonight with Robin Roberts on Tuesday night.
The video gives me, “If Beyoncé invited Simba to her version of Timon and Pumbaa’s paradise,” equipped...
Once upon a time, a U.K. princess (okay, duchess) met a Disney princess.
This Sunday, the European premiere of The Lion King in London had fans erupting with as much joy as the animal kingdom did the morning Simba was born in the Pride Lands. Why? Well, because Duchess Meghan Markle and Beyoncé Knowles Carter have finally met in person! Oh yes, Prince Harry and Jay-Z were there, too. *wink*
...
As a people, we’ve been known to make it out on top in some of the most unfortunate circumstances. With all that we have been through, we still manage to find a way to celebrate the beauty that comes with being black. Even when you trod us down into the dirt, still we rise and celebrate our black excellence.
Essence Festival is a shining example of that celebration. Every single day of the...
Simba may be the star of The Lion King, but Beyoncé is the star of the red carpet—and arguably, of Disney’s live-action remake, as her casting as Nala has boosted anticipation for the film into the stratosphere.
Of course, after seeing her Lion King-inspired look for the 2019 Wearable Art Gala , we were wondering how the star would turn out for Tuesday’s world premiere in Hollywood. But in a...
Like her lioness character, Nala, Beyoncé has “pinned you again”—with a new album!
The Lion King: The Gift comes from Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records and is curated by Bey herself. The album will feature some of the most important current African artists in what is being described as a “tribute” to the film and “love letter to Africa,” per Yahoo.
Additionally, on the night of the...
They’re two of the world’s most famous women (with equally famous husbands), are both working moms, share a few famous friends and both even sport royal titles (albeit one slightly more official than the other). But have Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle and Queen Bey ever met?
If so, that’s a photo op we’re sorry to have missed; to date, the closest we’ve seen is a February Instagram post of...
I’m not even sure I need to explain why “Before I Let Go” would be the final song of the 30 Days of Musical Blackness With VSB series. If you’re black and have congregated with other black folks and this song comes on you know it signals one of two things: 1) It’s time to get your line dance on, or 2) it’s time to go.
MAZE featuring Frankie Beverly “Before I Let Go” (1981)
It’s...
Beyoncé said “let me upgrade you,” and that doesn’t just apply to Jay-Z.
The Lion King’s Jon Favreau knows what that’s like, too. Well, when it comes to how “cool” he is with his family, that is. In an exclusive interview with Fandango, the much-anticipated film’s director chatted about the one thing I’m sure that entire cast and crew is asked about: What’s it like to work with Beyoncé?
Well,...
Some lovely Twitter user by the name of Green Chyna gave me one of my most stressful hours on Sunday when they created a quiz titled, “Being Beyoncé’s assistant for the day: DONT GET FIRED THREAD.”
Never in my life have I ever cared for a job I knew I wasn’t going to get. In this thread, you are tasked with answering several questions that will either appease the King of Music or have your...