Reviews

'The Obamas': Jodi Kantor White House book paints personal portrait of Barack and Michelle Obama

12:00 PM on 01/12/2012

REVIEW - The book has 360 pages of dialogue and intimate details, giving the impression of being inside the minds of the first couple and other players...

San Diego African-American ministers sponsor gun exchange

By Ashley Michelle Williams

3:23 PM on 12/16/2011

theGRIO REPORT - Many San Diego African-American ministers are coming together in mid-December to sponsor their fourth annual no-questions-asked gun exchange, in which weapons can be turned in for gift cards...

Rihanna and Mary J. Blige represent ends of R&B spectrum

By Kia Miakka Natisse

8:55 AM on 11/22/2011

OPINION - Two very big pop stars released albums this week, and while tradition would have had most of us pitting one album against the other, these two couldn't be more different...

Why you can thank Drake now for 'Take Care'

By Rap Genius

2:24 PM on 11/07/2011

REVIEW - Drake's sophomore album is really his first album if you consider that 'Thank Me Later' was a rush job. Now that he's actually put a quality album together, we can finally thank him...

Does 'Tower Heist' steal black stars' dignity?

By Kia Miakka Natisse

8:53 AM on 11/04/2011

OPINION - It's unfortunate because here are two Oscar nominated black actors, Sidibe and Murphy, and yet they're playing these really stereotypical one- dimensional characters: a criminal and a maid...

Wale is winning on new 'Ambition' album

By Mike McCray

8:51 AM on 11/01/2011

REVIEW - Fans shouldn't be deflated by a project cloaked in pop ambitions, since what's delivered does balance what long-time fans have loved with what should be a natural progression of an artist...

'Saviour?' play takes on white privilege in Obama era

By Zerlina Maxwell

1:26 PM on 10/28/2011

REVIEW - The issue of white privilege and well-meaning white liberalism is the centerpiece of the show...

Do rappers turned authors have the write stuff?

By Demetria Irwin

2:43 PM on 10/25/2011

REVIEW - Three rappers decided to write chapters instead of verses this year. But are their paragraphs as engaging as their hot sixteens?...

'The Mountaintop' portrays a more down to earth MLK

By Abdul Ali

8:37 AM on 10/13/2011

REVIEW - 'The Mountaintop' is definitely not your standard narrative of Dr. King as a public figure or the black saint who much of civil rights lore makes him out to be...

'Cheslea Settles': MTV throws weight behind black reality

By Demetria Irwin

11:12 AM on 10/12/2011

REVIEW - Chelsea is smart, sweet, very stylish, has a smile that lights up a room and you find yourself really rooting for her...

'NBA 2K12' video game may stand in for the real NBA season

By Kyle Harvey

8:49 AM on 10/06/2011

REVIEW - Looking at a potential season-ending lockout, basketball enthusiasts might find their fix from the comfort of their video game consoles...

Highly anticipated 'Cole World' delivers honest hip-hop

By Mike McCray

9:01 AM on 09/27/2011

OPINION - 'Cole World: The Sideline Story' is J Cole bursting out the tunnel and through the smoke with the North Carolina flag in his hand, sprinting towards glory...

Lenny Kravitz goes gray on 'Black and White America'

By Abdul Ali

1:00 PM on 08/30/2011

REVIEW - It's risky business when artists tack provocative titles onto their work and fail to follow-up on said title as if being provocative itself justifies the work...

'Tha Carter IV' sounds like Lil Wayne's star fading

By Mike McCray

8:04 AM on 08/29/2011

REVIEW - Instantly striking is just how flat Wayne comes off. While the content and subject matter is nearly identical to his past hits, the energy and passion that sold it before is absent...

Can 'The Help' win over black audiences?

By Kia Miakka Natisse

12:23 PM on 08/10/2011

REVIEW - Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer create characters worth watching, people who you root for until the very end...

Hip-hop's reigning duo keep crown on 'Watch The Throne'

By Mike McCray

4:40 PM on 08/08/2011

REVIEW - Together, the two kick out perfectly pompous bars that are at times shockingly grandiose -- which for them is hard to do...

'Beats, Rhymes & Life': A fine and fair tribute to A Tribe Called Quest

By Abdul Ali

9:11 AM on 07/15/2011

REVIEW - The film makes an earnest effort to give the legendary hip-hop quartet its props, while critically looking at reasons for the band's breakup...

UN admits South Sudan as 193rd member

By theGrio

1:47 PM on 07/14/2011

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The African nation, which gained independence Saturday, became the U.N.'s 193rd member by acclamation Thursday...

'Curious Case of Curt Flood' gives baseball hero his due

By Kyle Harvey

9:24 AM on 07/12/2011

REVIEW - I can only imagine what would professional sports would be like without Curtis Flood...

'Square Grouper': New film high on 70s ganja smugglers

By Jaquen Castellanos

8:34 AM on 07/11/2011

REVIEW - One thing 'Square Grouper' does exceptionally well is explain the significant economic and cultural impact marijuana can have on a community or country...

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