So I’m writing for Complex now. If you weren’t one of the (surprisingly, pleasantly high) number of people to have engaged with my Twitter announcement, I signed on a couple of weeks ago and started this week. I’m really excited about the decision, and things are starting well, but I’d like to clarify some things.
Most importantly, I know that multiple women shared their stories about a corrosive environment at Complex. The very first edition of this newsletter was me discussing similar call-outs by Black women all over the media world.
I just wanted to clarify that before I even started freelancing with Complex I asked them what they were doing in response to those statements, and while I won’t say exactly what I was told, I was satisfied that the staff was fully united in doing what was necessary from a top-down level to create a better working environment. I asked the same questions throughout my interview process and was again satisfied that they were doing the work and making the necessary changes (even as we work from home, for now). I know that does nothing to quell the experience that these women had, but I am comfortable about the environment going forward.
Also, in terms of where the newsletter goes...when I started, it was a domain for me to write what I want, whether it was an essay about a reaction to a song, a diatribe against the two-party system, or some weird prose inspired by a literary excerpt. I had pretty much only been writing about music before I started, so this gave me the chance to express myself in other manners. The freedom worked out for me, and I’m glad people are receptive to the non-music pieces, because I’m probably gonna be exploring a lot more non-music here.
As a staff writer, Complex is my priority when it comes to writing about culture. That’s not to say that I won’t ever be exploring the same kind of music/rap-oriented pieces I’ve been doing — some of the pieces that found their way on here were pieces that Complex passed on when I was freelancing.
But I have to figure out where to go from here “strategically.” At the least, as I get used to the new workflow and editorial process, I’ll probably be doing newsletters once a week instead of twice.
Again, I’ll also have to figure out the “content.” I have some ideas, but if anyone reading this has a newsletter and found themselves in a similar predicament, please hit me up and let me know how you handled it — if you care to.
Anyways I appreciate everyone for reading, sharing, and biggin’ the newsletter up, as well as everyone who congratulated me on the move.
quick takes
I can’t remember the last time I agreed with The Breakfast Club, but if Megan’s team at Roc Nation really told them they had a limited list of topics, but let other outlets ask her about Tory’s violence, that’s BS. People trying to pre-emptively police what a discerning adult can be asked in an interview is corny. And the propensity to treat Black outlets inferiorly doubles down on the corniness.
COVID numbers are rising again in most places, Georgia wants people to believe they’re experiencing a decrease despite being “open” all year, and Jeezy/Gucci are still throwing a post-Verzuz party there tonight. Entertainers have been throwing parties down there all the time like it’s all good. I don’t want to fearmonger but I just hope the masses in Atlanta don’t end up paying dearly for their civic negligence.
Audiomack. If you’re an artist, deal with artists, or know upcoming artists, tell them they need to get on Audiomack now. The platform is steadily rising, and I love what they’re doing editorially.
Donald Trump is a coward and so are all the GOP people riding with him instead of telling him to kick rocks.
Poor Klay Thompson. 2020 really fucked the 19-20 NBA season and an intriguing part of the 20-21 NBA season.
bars of the moment
“A CNN commentator said ‘maybe we can get back to normal’. But what’s normal? When Obama was President, I was marching for Trayvon Martin fresh out of college.”
“Another pandemic take- but reflecting lately on how American exceptionalism relies so much on willful disbelief/shock. All the information is here, yet the national myth is so powerful that every time it fails, people act like it's not only the first time, but the only time.”
For me it was showing creatives that we can build something and own it 100 percent. This is a blueprint of showing our power. People are calling us the next Live Nation. People are calling us the next BET. People are calling us to make [a new] Viacom. I like those names, but we got a chance to be bigger than all of those. Why? Because our culture made all of those. If we have the culture, then we can be bigger than all of those companies, and respected as those companies are and were.
Swizz Beatz in Gerrick Kennedy’sInside The Unstoppable Rise of Verzuz piece
As we continue to fight toward Black liberation and liberation of all beings, it’s important to understand that effort must be anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian, and anti-hierarchy. Black people who are fighting for autonomy and liberation do not need leaders.
Kandist Mallet in The Black Elite Are an Obstacle Toward Black Liberation piece
artifact
In honor of tonight’s Verzuz battle, here’s Gucci Mane talking about wanting to join BMF, but, probably thankfully, not getting the nod.
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Venmo: Andre-Gee