Author: Destiny Philips

Sean Carter has built a career on rewriting the rules of what’s possible for Black artists in business. That reputation made his recent GQ interview land harder than a typical celebrity profile. In it, the rapper and entrepreneur laid out a vision of Black ownership that struck many observers as a significant departure from what the term has historically meant, and the response has been pointed. What Jay-Z actually said about ownership The most debated moment from the interview centered on how Jay-Z defined Black ownership. He argued that a business can be considered Black owned even if the Black…

Coachella gets the headlines every spring, but it has never had a monopoly on the festival season. This year, a deep and varied lineup of Black music festivals is spread across the country and beyond, covering funk, hip-hop, R&B, jazz, Afrobeats, and African diasporic dance. Some of these events have been running for decades. Others are newer additions to the calendar. All of them are worth serious consideration. Where the season starts The spring stretch alone carries serious weight. Rolling Loud USA, widely recognized as the largest hip-hop festival in the world, is set for May with a lineup anchored…

South Carolina defeated UConn 62-48 in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four on April 3, sending the Gamecocks to the national championship game against UCLA. The margin was decisive. Ta’Niya Latson finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double, Agot Makeer added 14 points, and South Carolina dominated the paint, outscoring UConn 34 to 20 in that category. UConn shot just 31% from the field and committed 10 turnovers that South Carolina converted into 18 points. By every statistical measure, it was not a close game. But what happened after the buzzer drew more attention than anything that…

Most ministers spend their later careers settling into the traditions they built over decades. Rev. Dr. Wanda Bynum Duckett, at 64, went the other direction. She traded the formality of a conventional pulpit for something closer to a spoken word stage, and in doing so, she may be pointing toward what Black church looks like for the next generation. Her approach has a name: Sacred Slam. It pulls from the rhythmic cadences of hip-hop and the performance tradition of slam poetry, and it frames all of it within Black Christian worship. The result is a service that sounds less like…

Marvin Gaye is a name that resonates deeply within the realm of classic soul music. Known for his smooth vocals and profound lyrics, Gaye’s contributions to the genre extend far beyond the well-known hits that dominate radio airwaves. His journey from the early days of Motown to the creation of groundbreaking concept albums illustrates a rich tapestry of musical evolution, making him a pivotal figure in the history of soul music. While tracks like What’s Going On and Sexual Healing are staples in any classic soul playlist, there exists a treasure trove of lesser-known songs that deserve recognition. These tracks…

The sentiment from most of the table followed a similar thread, with the cohosts largely choosing empathy over judgment as they worked through the details of what had unfolded in Florida. A conversation about pain and addiction Sunny Hostin offered the most substantive defense of Woods, framing his situation within the broader context of chronic pain and opioid dependency in America. She acknowledged that Woods had undergone roughly 20 surgeries over the course of his career and lives with ongoing back pain, drawing a line between the compassion the country tends to extend to addiction discussions generally and what she…

Cardi B is stepping into the celebrity beauty space, and she is doing it without apology and without the narrative that tends to follow women in entertainment who dare to occupy the same market. The rapper, 33, is set to launch her haircare line Grow-Good Beauty on April 15, and she has been making the media rounds with a clear message: this is not about competition. During a recent appearance on the Aspire with Emma Grede podcast, Cardi was asked directly how she felt about entering what the host described as a saturated market, one already home to established celebrity…

Black women in the United States die from breast cancer at a rate roughly 40 percent higher than white women, even though they are diagnosed with the disease at a lower rate. New research suggests that advanced genetic tumor testing could play a meaningful role in closing that gap, and the findings point to a systemic failure in how standard diagnostic tools have been applied. Researchers applied genetic testing to early-stage breast cancer tumor samples from more than a thousand women and found that Black patients were significantly more likely to have high-risk tumors that standard clinical biomarker testing, such…

Black women are enrolling in college, launching businesses, and earning advanced degrees at historic rates. On paper, the numbers tell a story of momentum. Off paper, a different story is playing out. Employment has dropped. Debt has grown. The pay gap has barely budged. And in workplaces across the country, the same women being celebrated for their ambition are being penalized for it. A sharp drop in employment Data from the Economic Policy Institute shows that Black women experienced one of the steepest employment declines in 25 years in 2025. Their employment-to-population ratio fell to 55.7%, a drop of 1.4…

As the vibrant season of spring unfolds, bringing with it the scent of fresh flowers and longer sunny days, it’s the perfect time to cozy up indoors and dive into some exciting new television. This spring, a plethora of Black shows are hitting the screens, offering a variety of genres from thrilling dramas to light-hearted comedies. Here’s a curated list of must-watch series that you can add to your watchlist for those moments when you want to escape the outdoors. 1. Imperfect Women Imperfect Women is a gripping thriller that delves into the lives of three women whose decades-long friendship…