Music10:00 AM11hSaveMusic10:00 AMMusic28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 25: Sonny Sharrock's Black Woman (1969)Panama Jackson3The cover for jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock’s debut album, 1969's Black Woman, could have easily doubled as a movie…
Music2/24/21Feb 24SaveMusic2/24/21Music28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 24: Leon Thomas' Full Circle (1973)Panama Jackson3The cover for Leon Thomas’ 1973 album, Full Circle, does not look like what it sounds like, to me at least. The…
Music2/23/21Feb 23SaveMusic2/23/21Music28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 23: Ohio Players' Honey (1975)Panama Jackson12There is no discussion about Black album covers, iconic or otherwise, that doesn’t include the string of album…
Music2/22/21Feb 22SaveMusic2/22/21Music28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 22: Max Roach's We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite (1960)Panama Jackson1Max Roach was a famed jazz drummer and composer who has countless albums with various configurations of artists. His…
Music2/21/21Feb 21SaveMusic2/21/21Music28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 21: Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)Panama JacksonKendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly (all parts of it) has been think-pieced to death, so that’s not what’s going to…
Music2/20/21Feb 20SaveMusic2/20/21Music28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 20: Dee Dee Bridgewater's Afro Blue (1974)Panama JacksonI love the album cover for multi-hyphenate Dee Dee Bridgewater’s debut album, 1974's Afro Blue. Dee Dee is a…
Music2/19/21Feb 19SaveMusic2/19/21Music28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 19: Mary J. Blige's My Life (1994)Panama Jackson1Mary J. Blige’s My Life is a personal choice for me. For my money, her 1994 album is one of the best albums ever…
Music2/18/21Feb 18SaveMusic2/18/21Music28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 18: Shut Up and Dance's Dance Before The Police Come! (1990)Panama Jackson4It’s possible that you’ve never heard of the London-group Shut Up and Dance. They were (are) a British…
The Blackest Awards2/18/21Feb 18SaveThe Blackest Awards2/18/21 The Blackest AwardsVIDEO: Celebrating Moments of Peak Blackness from Some of Our Distinguished Nominees for 2021 SkippiesPanama JacksonEven though we’ve already let you know who won our 2021 Skippies, that does not mean that the party has stopped. The…
Music2/17/21Feb 17SaveMusic2/17/21Music28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 17: Mystique's Mystique featuring Ralph Johnson (1977)Panama Jackson2Friends, Romans, Countryfolks...this is one BlackAF album cover. The group, Mystique, signed to Curtis Mayfield’s…
The Blackest Awards2/16/21Feb 164The Blackest Awards2/16/21The Blackest AwardsAnd the Skippy Goes To! Here Are The Root's 2nd Annual The Blackest Awards WinnersPanama Jackson42020 was a year. And I don’t mean that in a good way. Because this whole endeavor is about positivity, I won’t even…
Music2/16/21Feb 161Music2/16/21Music28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 16: Outkast's Aquemini (1998)Panama Jackson3“Even the sun goes down, heroes eventually die, horoscopes...often lie, and sometimes “why”/Nothing is for sure,…
The Blackest Awards2/16/21Feb 164The Blackest Awards2/16/21 The Blackest AwardsWatch: The 2nd Annual Blackest Awards Winners!Panama Jackson2We’re so happy to bring you the winners for our 2nd Annual Blackest Awards. Around here, we call them The Skippies…
Music2/15/21Feb 152Music2/15/21Music28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 15: Minnie Riperton's Perfect Angel (1974)Panama Jackson11I love this album cover for Perfect Angel. For starters, it has an innocent feel to it, but that melted ice cream…
Music2/14/21Feb 141Music2/14/21Music28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 14: Marvin Gaye's I Want You (1976)Panama Jackson4It’s Valentine’s Day so it only makes sense to include an album cover for an album about that good lovin’. Marvin…
Music2/13/21Feb 131Music2/13/21Music28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 13: Preston Love's Preston Love's Omaha Bar-B-Q (1969)Panama Jackson5Have you ever seen an album cover that had you at hello? For me, that album cover would be Preston Love’s Preston…
Music2/12/21Feb 121Music2/12/21Music28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 12: Diana Ross' Diana (1980)Panama Jackson4You know this album. I know this album. Your neighbor knows this album. Everybody knows this album by the Queen of…
Music2/11/21Feb 11SaveMusic2/11/21Music28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 11: Kay-Gees' Keep On Bumpin' & Masterplan (1974)Panama Jackson2I cannot stress to you how much I love this album cover for the Kay Gee’s 1974 album, Keep On Bumpin’ & Masterplan…
Culture2/10/21Feb 101Culture2/10/21CultureThe 2021 Skippies: An Interview With the Bay Area About Whether or Not They Were Snubbed In the 'Best Verzuz' CategoryPanama Jackson8Last week, The Root dropped our nominations for the second annual The Blackest Awards, or more simply, the 2021…
Music2/10/21Feb 10SaveMusic2/10/21Music28 Days of Album Cover Blackness With VSB, Day 10: The Brothers Johnson's Winners 1981Panama Jackson6To be Black (especially in America) is to know the Brothers Johnson. They had several No. 1 singles on the R&B…