Life spins people, bouncing them here and there, back and forth, knocking them up against the cold and the hunger, over and over again. And all we can hope is that, while in its grip, while being spun, we somehow smash into our purpose. 25 year-old, Zimbabwean-English musician, Tinashe seemed to collide with his, heart first.

Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Tinashe’s mother left him in Highfield with relatives, while she fled to England to try to provide some sort of refuge [...]

Go to any bookstore in any city. Ask the lady at the desk, the one with the glasses, where the teenage section is. She’ll say something like “YA? In the back on the left.” Yep, “YA” is what she’ll say. Stands for Young Adult. It’s OK if you didn’t know. It’s been a while since you were a “YA.” And if not, well, maybe it’s been a while since you’ve bought a YA book.

When you make it there, to the [...]

Re: Rebuttal to Kanye West comparison

Dear Mr. Jones:

First, let me say that I, though a child of the hip-hop generation, also grew up on a lot of the music you produced. My family was big into music, and my father was what some would consider a maven, chocked full of facts about all genres and sounds, from yours, to the Motown sound, to Bob Dylan, and even the early makings of hip-hop, Kurtis Blow. He gave me lesson after lesson [...]

It’s Friday. Thursday wasn’t kind to me. I’m laying on my girlfriend’s futon, exhausted after three hours of sleep. My head is pounding. My mouth is dry. But it’s 2:20pm, and I can’t catch a nap because I have to conduct a short interview with Bobby Creekwater in ten minutes. The phone rings. Then stops. Then it starts to ring again, this time from a different number. I answer. The voice coming from the other side of the [...]