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Beyoncé's 'Black Is King' Builds Identity From Afrofuturism

Beyoncé's Black Is King's reliance on Afrofuturism recuperates the film from Disney's clutches while reclaiming Black excellence.

                                      
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Beyoncé's Black Is King's reliance on Afrofuturism recuperates the film from Disney's clutches while reclaiming Black excellence.

Scholars share their initial thoughts on the musical reactions to the burgeoning social movement, Black Lives Matter, in this anthology from Indiana University Press.

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Dropping unexpected albums is a growing trend and one that should be done away with.

Kanye West and Frank Ocean have created imperfect perfect albums which invert our notions of flaws and challenge our perception of the album as an art form.

Sirens is a masterpiece. Melding pop and experimental music, it reflects the uneasiness of our difficult times.

"Hold Up" is a slice of art that engages the senses of sight and sound, and it's beautiful.

Lemonade is that rare work where you will remember exactly where you were and exactly who you were with the first time you hear it.

There are moments in games that capture the feud waged in ourselves between hope and despair.

Beyoncé's "Formation" is Black Pride incarnate, and it’s exactly what we needed to hear right now.

The overall response to Beyoncé's "Formation" has been startlingly positive, but mostly for reasons attached to political agendas. It's time to investigate this trend.

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In 2015, the "poptimism vs. rockism" debate has inspired a rash of thinkpieces and Twitter arguments. Is this debate actually saying anything, though?

Even though it is on Labor Day and it is called “Made in America", this fest has nothing to do with manufacturing jobs. Instead, this is Jay Z’s vision of a new – or renewed – sense of patriotism.

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AC/DC opened the telecast with a song called "Rock or Bust", a prophetic ultimatum that was answered all too quickly by a cavalcade of performers who seemed to be tripping over themselves to see who could be the most uninspiring of them all.

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On Episode 7 of Pop Unmuted, we talk about women in pop music in 2014, covering Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and some of our personal favorite moments.

For artists a big as Beyonce, U2, and Thom Yorke, the surprise album release model offers minimal risk and maximal reward. It's a paradigm that's sure to be replicated by others going forward.

We owe it to ourselves to recognize the many women in pop music that made an undeniable impact on popular culture and the world at large.

The talented London-born, NYC-based Sofia has offers up a sparse, Auto-Tune accented acoustic cover of Beyoncé's "Partition".

After the surprise release of quite possibly her best album to date, it's time to have a look at the tracks that propelled this R&B darling into super-stardom.

It's her most honest album. It's a surprise. It's dirty as hell. It's the fantastic pop album we waited for all year. Happy New Year.

Despite billions of dollars worth of half-time and commercial hype, the most interesting part of the show was the game.

Celebrities aren’t the only ones with an entourage, anymore. Anyone with a cellphone has his or her own entourage, too.

Gen X’ers may still want their MTV, but the version they loved is as distant a memory as Valley Girl speak, parachute pants, and leg warmers. Wake up and smell the VEVO.

In light of Jay-Z being named executive producer of the NBA2K video game franchise, we look at just how far Mr. Carter has taken the boundaries of hip-hop and success.

Could a “hot 16” change black fatherhood for generations to come? If that is the thought, than we’ve forgotten what hip-hop does best: It reflects and narrates.

Bilal Oliver belongs to an elite class of late '90s Neo-Soul singers, but his guest appearances may be the true gems of his career.

The selections on this list aren't necessarily bad albums -- some actually happen to be among the most critically acclaimed of this year. In some cases, it's just that the albums weren't what fans were expecting, and in others, they were exactly what they were expecting.

Good riddance, Sasha Fierce. Welcome back, Beyoncé.

Continuing our look at the year’s most notable television events, here’s what happened in November 2010.

November 2010, the subject of our latest look at the year’s biggest events in music, was a month full of new releases, award shows, and artist recognition.

Predictions on who will win what in the biggest categories, based on industry hype and a little guessing about the academy’s voters.

Let’s single out the biggest events that happened in the world of music one month at a time, starting with January 2010.

This is a look at likely contenders for the Song of the Year, which is a composer/songwriter’s award.