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CultureMonday Notes: America's Family Secret, Affirmative Action, Juvenile's Tiny Desk
A Reuters investigation finds more than 100 US lawmakers, governors, and Supreme Court justices are direct descendants of slaveholders. Damian Lillard officially requests a trade out of Portland after a decade of loyalty to the Trail Blazers.
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Tuesday Notes
Lil Uzi Vert's long-awaited Pink Tape album finally arrives. Popcaan and Burna Boy share Aboboyaa, a vibrant Afropop collaboration filmed in Ghana.
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Culture
Friday Notes
The 2023 NBA Draft brought tailoring and Louis Vuitton to the red carpet. Chris Paul's trade from the Suns to the Warriors creates one of the league's most unexpected pairings since Jordan Poole heads to Washington.
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MusicRelease Day: Young Thug, Coi Leray, Camidoh, Big Freedia
Coi Leray channels her critics and her complicated relationship with her father Benzino into her self-titled sophomore album COI. Big Freedia returns after nearly a decade with Central City, featuring Faith Evans and Lil Wayne.
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Tuesday Notes
Chris Paul — a 12-time All-Star mid-book tour — found out he'd been traded by the Phoenix Suns when his son told him. Bradley Beal heads to Phoenix while online clothing stores quietly drop return policies.
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Culture
Monday Notes
Pharrell Williams steps into the shoes of the late Virgil Abloh as Louis Vuitton's menswear creative director, debuting his first collection in Paris. Michael Jordan agrees to sell his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets at a reported $3 billion valuation.
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Culture
Saturday Notes
The Philadelphia 15 — Black sailors kicked out of the Navy in 1940 for protesting racist abuse — were posthumously exonerated at the Pentagon on Juneteenth eve. The holiday is going national, but local traditions must be preserved.
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Culture
Friday Notes "Amapiano, We go show, We go let dem know, na we de run the town"
Asake's sophomore album Work of Art drops, igniting what the post calls the Summer of Amapiano. Nikola Jokic's low-key championship celebration contrasts with Denver's euphoric Nuggets parade, while Minneapolis marks three years since George Floyd's murder.
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MusicRelease Day: Asake, Killer Mike
Asake's Work of Art arrives less than a year after his debut, operating at a near-peerless level with amapiano-Fuji fusions and Yoruba panegyrics. Killer Mike's MICHAEL is his most personal record — gospel, funk, and hip-hop all grounded in the Black Southern church.
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CultureThursday Notes: "Strung out on this dusty couch In a big white ugly house"
HomeVestors of America, branded as "We Buy Ugly Houses," targets desperate homeowners with predatory tactics. Three-time Olympic champion Tori Bowie died from childbirth complications, underscoring the severity of the Black maternal mortality crisis.
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CultureWednesday Notes "I got, mental vision, intuition"
Jude Bellingham, just 19, is profiled as a once-in-a-generation talent heading to Real Madrid. Meanwhile NBA free agency looms with Khris Middleton, Bruce Brown, and Dillon Brooks among the top available forwards.
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CultureTuesday Notes: Denver wins NBA Finals, NYC Gig worker wage increase, Increase in text scams
Nikola Jokic is crowned Finals MVP as the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat in Game 5 to win their first-ever NBA championship. NYC simultaneously sets a $17.96 minimum hourly wage for app-based food delivery workers, rising to $19.96 by 2025.