Afro-Punk Features's Blog (10)

Organic food in the Black Community: A desert land

Some time ago a friend asked me if I could drive her to a grocery store because her car was broken down. I offered to take her to one a bit further out but she chose one in the hood that she always goes to. I had never been there before although I had driven past numerous times. I went inside the store with her, following her aisle by aisle as she filled up her cart with canned vegetables, canned fruit and boxes of freeze dried mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. The beef… Continue

Added by Afro-Punk Features on May 20, 2010 at 8:30am — 14 Comments

You Can't Handle Black with W. Kamau Bell

We found a comedian who claims he can end racism in one hour. That's right. W. Kamau Bell (pronounced KA-MAOW, like KA-POW) says that his one man stand up show can end that nasty little "r" word that we've all got mighty comfortable with. So, we decided to invite this San Francisco comedian to the Afro-punk scene to smack us around a little, get the race conversation stirred up a bit, and to make us a little more uncomfortable… Continue

Added by Afro-Punk Features on May 14, 2010 at 12:30pm — 18 Comments

Reclassified Afro-Punk: STAX records is punk music

From one Memphis label, we can hear mod, soul, country, blues, rock and the beginnings of punk. Oh, you thought MC5 and The Stooges were proto-punk, right? Well take a look and listen to the artists of STAX. They’re in the same category as early 60’s bands like The Sonics, The Monks, and The Fabulous Wailers. If those bands are respected for their early contributions to rock, then Stax is in need of an Afro-Punk Reclassification because they… Continue

Added by Afro-Punk Features on May 13, 2010 at 12:00pm — 8 Comments

Love Connections on Afro-punk? Why Not?

My response to Jill Scott's Essence Magazine article seemed to have people up in arms as far as interracial relationships and white men/ women stealing all the "Good" black men/ women. I've noticed that here on Afro-Punk we have an array of men and women from different backgrounds, races, religions, etc. and it almost seems, even though we all have our different views on many many topics, that…

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Added by Afro-Punk Features on May 10, 2010 at 2:00pm — 36 Comments

Going against the grain: Are you a trend-setter?

What constitutes a trend-setter and how do you locate a real one in the bucket full of fakes? In my experience, most trends are set by individuals who dare to step out of the box of normalcy, and go against the grain of what we consider the norm.

Going against the grain: Are you a trend-setter?

Words…

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Added by Afro-Punk Features on May 6, 2010 at 6:30pm — 10 Comments

Pull My Threads: Spring trends for hot legs

Coming out of winter all I can focus on is not wearing rain boots and coats. Usually around March/April is when I hit the internet hard to find new some threads to rock during the warmer days of spring into the hot summer days. While there is a whole lot of shit out there on the internet, I have managed to comb through it and find a few of the gems. These lines don’t just offer one or two choice pieces, but a whole line that you can mix and match from. Click on the store name… Continue

Added by Afro-Punk Features on May 3, 2010 at 8:30am — 7 Comments

Jay Smooth: T-Pain and the Know Nothing Know-It-Alls

From Matthew Morgan: "I love this guy, he has come across my radar a few times and thought I just had to share. By the way not that it really matters but who is J Smooth aka John Randolph?" Matthew

Video:

Jay Smooth: T-Pain and the Know Nothing… Continue

Added by Afro-Punk Features on April 30, 2010 at 2:00pm — 1 Comment

Words from a Mixed Girl: Dating outside of your race, get over it!

Flicking through the pages of Essence Magazines, April 2010 Issue, one thing happened to catch my eye. "The Wince," by Jill Scott. Now it wasn't I who read it but my older brother, Ryan, who happens to be mixed. Upon finishing the article, one thing my brother said was, "She's biased." Jill wants the equality that African Americans have searched for for over 400 years for… Continue

Added by Afro-Punk Features on April 28, 2010 at 7:52am — 85 Comments

Reclassified Afro-punk: Donna Summer

Let's get one thing straight, I love Donna Summer. The hair, her sound, all of it. That being stated, you can understand my frustration with her being overlooked as the true punk artists that she is/was during her prime years. This curly haired vocal power house released a double album called "Bad Girls" which mixed rock, funk, blues and soul to electronic beats for crying out loud, but as music history has it, Donna was part of the artists during the 70s that got locked in… Continue

Added by Afro-Punk Features on April 26, 2010 at 2:30pm — 19 Comments

Can Kinky Equal Sexy?

The afro. Wow, I don’t know where to begin but I will say this, it’s fucking awesome. Though Blacks are victims to centuries worth of conditioning, I think it’s safe to say that hundreds of years later the fro is rapidly making a comeback... but for how long is it going to stick around this time?

Can…

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Added by Afro-Punk Features on April 20, 2010 at 6:21pm — 44 Comments