Denieca Brown, Author at Rolling Out

Bridging the gap between Africans on the continent and those in the diaspora, is the work that has brought two seasoned artists — one from the United States and the other Kenya — to collaborate. It is a collaboration that has been in the making for 10 years, finally bearing fruit with “Nu Africans.” Maurice Evans…

A ball of blue, a bottle of cream soda and even a lizard’s tail (yes, the tail) are all things that have been identified as common ingredients in performing a kind of sorcery practiced in the Caribbean called obeah. Obeah was hot on everyone’s lips on Tuesday evening, July 9, 2019, as things got ugly…

What’s it like to go from bootylicious to bootyless? It is a happier life according to former “Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta” star Estelita Quintero who recently made the transition. Quintero, who is currently in recovery, traveled to Barranquilla, Colombia last week, where she had silicone fillers removed from her buttocks. In a 19-minute-long video…

Most of us can still remember exactly where we were when we heard that Michael Jackson had died. Ten years later, it is still the major talking point. The hashtag #10YearsWithoutMichaelJackson has been trending globally on Twitter with close to 70,000 tweets, as of this writing, utilizing the hashtag which has largely been used to…

You’ve probably heard of Spike Lee and the late John Singleton, but what about Mati Diop? Diop is a French Senegalese film director who made history over the Memorial Day weekend when she won a second place award at the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival in France. This is the first time a Black female director has…

In a graduating class where less than 10 percent of students are black – Khadeeja Franklin is the pupil on top. Franklin made history on May 14 when she graduated from Vancleave High School as class valedictorian, but she’s the second-ever black student to hold that title at the top performing public school located in…

Who can forget earlier in the year, in April, when trailers for Disney’s “Aladdin” were released? Will Smith‘s Genie character didn’t get the most favorable reviews as online trolls had a field day flooding social media platforms with a plethora of comments and memes mocking the actor’s appearance – which were intentionally distorted by computer-generated…

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is calling on the Arizona Department of Corrections to lift its ban on Paul Butler’s book “Chokehold: Policing Black Men.” According to the ACLU, it had recently come to to the organization’s attention that Butler’s book was prohibited inside correctional facilities across the state. Butler is a Black professor…

Emanuel Samson at court on May 23 (Source: Facebook Live/ WKRN-TV) A jury returned a guilty verdict against Emanuel Kidega Samson, who in 2017 opened fire inside a Nashville church. The incident, which occurred at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, Tennessee, left one woman dead and eight others injured. Samson was on…

Fort Negley in Nashville, Tennessee, has been named as a “Site of Memory” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The “Site of Memory” designation is part of UNESCO’s Slave Route Project, which aims to break the silence about slavery and the slave trade while preserving the contributions of the those who had been enslaved.…

Money means nothing if you can’t give back. That’s according to rapper Safaree, who spent Thursday, May 23, 2019, participating in a Labor Day project in Kingston, Jamaica. The rapper joined forces with legendary Jamaican entertainer Bounty Killer to paint sections of the Kingston Public Hospital, which is located in the heart of one of…

Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen who was shot dead in Florida in 2012, announced that she is running for local office in Miami. Fulton, who is running for the post of Miami-Dade County Commissioner, made the announcement in front of a small crowd at the Miami Gardens shopping plaza…

A street in Brooklyn, New York, is to be renamed in honor of the late Christopher Wallace, more popularly known as Biggie Smalls, Big Poppa and The Notorious B.I.G. The Christopher Wallace Foundation, started by the rapper’s mother Voletta Wallace, made the announcement on Tuesday, May 21, 2019 — the day Biggie would have turned 47…

Actress Tika Sumpter came under heavy criticism from some fans on Tuesday, May 21, 2019, after she shared on Instagram a photo of her gay cousin’s wedding. The wedding photo post, which has over 35,000 likes, was captioned by the actress: “I love you, cousin. I’m so proud of you. Can’t believe my peanut is…

“The Real” co-host Loni Love and “The Breakfast Club” co-host Angela Yee were honored Tuesday night, May 21, 2019, as recipients of the coveted Gracie Awards. Love copped the award for her radio show “Café Mocha,” which boasts being “the only nationally syndicated show dedicated to women of color,” according to the show’s website. Yee,…

The disqualification of candidate Rhonda Brown-Fleming for the post of principal chief of the Cherokee Nation (CN) has reignited the debate about race and racism within the Native American community. Rhonda Brown-Fleming is the first of Freedmen descendant — surviving offspring of black enslaved people held by the Native American group — to run for…

Rapper Cardi B used Instagram on Sunday, May 19, to give her fans instructions on how to greet her when they see her in public. While the 26-year-old was clear that she really appreciates all the love and respect that she gets from her fans and others in public, Cardi B said that she hates…

The Sun Is Also a Star got off to a terrible start at the box office, grossing less than $3 million after opening in 2,073 theaters nationwide. The film, a romantic teen drama, tells the story of two immigrant families — one of whom is fighting deportation. Led by “Black-ish’s” Yara Shahidi and “Riverdale’s” Charles…

Dancehall artist Spice made her way into the dungeon on Friday night, May 17, 2019, to perform at Kandi Burruss’ Welcome to the Dungeon burlesque show in Washington, D.C., at Echostage. The artist, clad in a red spandex onesie brought her high-energy Jamaican vibes to her 30-minute set, which received shrills of excitement from a…

DJ Khaled’s Father of Asahd officially dropped at midnight Friday, May 17, 2019. The well-teased album is the hip-hop producer’s 11th studio album, and Khaled has claimed it is his best work yet. The album, which is dedicated to Khaled’s 2-year-old son Asahd, is jam-packed with collaborations and features artists, including Beyoncé, Buju Banton, Cardi B, Chris Brown,…