12.09.2016

This is all to say, social media ... I don't know what social media is. I'm sitting here trying to articulate it perfectly, and nothing's coming. People can say pretty much whatever they want, and I'm forced to respect that because our country's constitution promises freedom of speech to us all. What I cannot and will not respect, however, are people whose political views are so dangerously incorrect. There is what looks to be a calculated and concerted effort to execute black people happening in front of me, and I'm supposed to care that two rich people don't want to live together any more? You cannot be serious.

The Curious Case of Usher Raymond

Since releasing Here I Stand, an distinctly mature album for a then-29-year-old, Usher has seemingly chosen to age backwards. Up until Hard II Love, each attempt felt clunky and, even worse, contrived.

Essays, Music, Entertainment, Most PopularLarry J. SandersDecember 2, 2016Usher, My Way, 8701, Confessions, Hard II Love, Larry J. SandersComment

Mr. Me Too: Rediscovering Originality in Urban Fashion

Over the last five years, I've seen many young men purchase their outfits right off the mannequins or copy looks from Instagram or straight out of a magazine. They see a look they think is dope and run with it without taking the time to customize it to their own style.

Essays, CultureBlake HallDecember 2, 2016Fashion, Streetwear, Mannequin Challenge, Nelly, JAY Z, Nike, Urban, Future, Fabolous, Social Media, Fresh Never Fades Clothing, Blake HallComment

Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, 10 Years Later

Food & Liquor quickly became the soundtrack of my freshman year of high school. I’m terrible at rapping, but I’ve always fancied myself a poet; I love crafting the perfect sentence, and it was clear this not-tough nerd from Chicago loved words just as much – if not more – than this not-tough nerd from the westside of Detroit.

Essays, Music, Entertainment, Curator's ChoiceLarry J. SandersSeptember 19, 2016Lupe Fiasco, Food & Liquor, Larry J. SandersComment

WSH's (Highly Scientific) African-American Literary Canon

The second semester of my senior year, I signed up for African-American Literature from 1940 to the Prresent, and the assigned final project was for each student to develop his or her own African-American literary canon - the works we believed were most indicative of whatever we individually thought a black literary canon set out to achieve. My thesis was that the African-American literary canon details a quest for authenticity and self-honesty in the face of a power structure demanding assimilation and acquiescence.

Over two years later, I stand behind that thesis and the works I selected for my canon, but the internet is the internet, so I expect some disagreements on my picks. If you feel so inclined to let me know you disagree, the comments section is open for your convenience. Enjoy.

Death of a Dynasty

Oklahoma City had been blessed with THREE generational talents, plus a guy overqualified to be a team's fourth option, and have absolutely nothing to show for it. You need luck to win a title, sure, but that luck seemed to come in the players they'd been gifted. And they blew it.

Lórenzo's Way-Too-Late 2016 NBA Finals Analysis

I don’t know if these really classify at ‘hot takes.’ I’d consider these more as thoughts I had entering the game and observations made during. I really wanted to write all of these in the immediate aftermath of the game, but I figured giving myself a day or two to sit on them might prove that these thoughts were far more emotional than logical.

A month later, and naw. I believe everything I thought then and that I’ll write now. But, some of you might view these as still very scorching opinions here, and the catchphrase ‘hot take’ seems good for clickbait, but whatever. To begin:

Essays, SportsLarry J. SandersJuly 31, 2016Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA, Basketball, Larry J. SandersComment

Eight Years Later

My nephew likely can't remember a time when a black man wasn't running this country. All of my nieces were born in this midst of this presidency. As a kid, I'd always been told I could be whatever I wanted to be – even the president. They've got the last 8 years as proof.

Essays, CultureLarry J. SandersJuly 31, 2016Barack Obama, Larry J. SandersComment

Mr. Trump's America

Cursory acknowledgment somehow meets their -ism threshold. "I occasionally say nice things about these people; therefore, I can't be racist! I can't be sexist! I love gay people! They're the best!" There's a tolerance there, but not an acceptance. To accept would beget a willingness to share. And the closer we inch toward true equity actually bound to law, the angrier the cult seems to get.

Essays, CultureLarry J. SandersJuly 22, 2016Larry J. SandersComment