The Root

Diddy (or Puff Daddy, if you’re a traditionalist) is working to raise money to support healthcare workers who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to get others involved, the music mogul held a dance-a-thon via Instagram Live on Sunday (April 12), and invited a bunch of famous faces to join in on…Read more...

With all that’s happening in the world right now, it’s no surprise that some of you might have trouble sleeping at night. And if that’s a normal occurrence even outside of current events, then it’s especially vital to seek out a bit of help to ensure restful nights ahead.

Michelle Obama stays bound and determined to forever hold a special place in our hearts, doesn’t she?Read more...

As millions of people found themselves out of work due to the coronavirus-related closures that began last month, a new survey found almost one-third of renters didn’t make payments on their homes for the first week of April.Read more...

The president is not only a liar, he demands that the people around him push his lies as truth.

For years, the feud between frenemies Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal dominated headlines, and for those interested in knowing just how nasty that beef was, former teammate Isaiah Rider has the scoop.

As the entertainment industry continues to find new and innovative ways to respond and adapt to the COVID-19 crisis, Rihanna’s primary focus has been providing relief to those in need. In fact, after already donating millions of dollars to various philanthropic efforts and rallying famous friends to do the same, the…Read more...

He’s been laying low for a minute, but Q-Tip is coming back to the solo music scene. In fact, the rapper/producer is gearing up to release not one, not two...but three new projects.Read more...

In a viral video that can be viewed here, four Philadelphia police officers backed up by about six more officers can be seen forcibly dragging a man off of a SEPTA bus, apparently, for not wearing a face mask.Read more...

On the first day of April, Baltimore officials approved a deal between the Baltimore Police Department and Ohio-based company Persistent Surveillance Systems to use drones equipped with high-resolution cameras in order to spy on the city’s residents through around-the-clock surveillance despite formal objections filed…Read more...

Former NFL player Tom Johnson just scored a point for police accountability enthusiasts everywhere by reaching a $475,000 settlement with the city of Minneapolis, putting to rest a 2016 lawsuit alleging police brutality and violation of Johnson’s civil rights.Read more...

After spewing nothing but misinformation about what should be done to prevent COVID-19 cases, avid Trump allies Diamond and Silk were briefly locked out of their joint Twitter account.

You can’t keep us down for long. The highly anticipated season four premiere of HBO’s Insecure airs on Sunday, April 12. In light of social distancing precautions in place as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the series’ annual “Block Party” to gear fans up for the show’s premiere will be held virtually.Read more...

After Teddy Riley told Charlamagne Tha God in an Instagram Live interview that legendary musician Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds was feeling a bit under the weather, Babyface himself revealed that he is recovering from COVID-19.

“I always wanted to act,” Jay Ellis tells The Root while reminiscing about his earliest aspirations. “I had taken a couple of random theater classes as electives when I was in college, but I [also] played college basketball. I couldn’t tell my teammates ‘Yo, y’all want to come check me out in Jesus Christ Superstar?’”…Read more...

If you are a regular reader of The Root (or any of the G/O Media sites), then you might be familiar with the ghetto section of our sites that we term “The Grays.” The Grays is the area containing comments that are “pending approval” and appear as grayed out, unlike the good, white comments.Read more...

As COVID-19 has spread through the country, so too has misinformation. To combat this, politicians and celebrities have been holding virtual town halls to provide accurate information to the public. Now, Diddy is the latest to step up.

Giving honor to Editor-in-Chief Danielle Belton, Managing Editor Genetta Adams and all of the saints at The Root Apostolic First Nazareth Pentecostal Church of Blackness.Read more...

I love my kids. I really do. They’re a riot when they’re not trying to end me. Or when they’re not forcing me to listen to songs I’ve learned to hate over and over again. They’re a complete hoot when I don’t step on their shit in the middle of the night.

Last weekend’s epic producer battle between crunk overlords Lil Jon and T-Pain gave us much more than just nostalgia; it also presented the perfect opportunity to premiere new music in front of a global audience.

It didn’t take long for U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams to dip into personal responsibility talking points—and some other questionable rhetoric—in remarks given to the press today about the disproportionate impact the novel coronavirus has had on black communities and other communities of color.Read more...

The president of the United States—the one whom his believers link to Jesus, or, more modestly, God—just wished everyone a “HAPPY GOOD FRIDAY” because he’s not only a fake Christian, he doesn’t understand how any of this works.

With a global pandemic keeping billions of citizens confined to our homes, TikTok has provided the perfect escape from mounting fear and uncertainty. And in its efforts to help return the world to normalcy, the popular video-sharing platform announced that it’ll be donating some serious cash to COVID-19 relief…Read more...

TGIF.

The family of a beloved Mississippi barber who recently passed away from COVID-19 is making a plea to anyone who will listen: Stay at home.Read more...

I know that what I’m about to type may be blasphemous—I’m sheltering-in-place with a toddler who can’t stop watching a video of Hickory Dickory Dock, so I could be delusional—but Ron DeSantis might be the dumbest man in America who doesn’t have the last name “Trump.”

In a pivotal scene from the 2000 film Remember the Titans, team captain Gerry Bertier confronts new teammate Julius Campbell. Bertier, in awe of Campbell’s talent, believes he’s throwing it away with his unwillingness to be a team player and his bad attitude. After chronicling all the ways Bertier failed to step up as…Read more...

Rihanna has been keeping a relatively low profile (well, for Rihanna) since the coronavirus officially became a global pandemic last month. Save for a British Vogue cover and the release of her Fenty faux leather capsule collection (both of which were months in the making), Rihanna has mostly kept mum on social media:…Read more...

No matter the circumstances–whether it’s targeting Muslims after 9/11 or blaming anyone of Asian descent for the coronavirus—white people can’t seem to stop white people-ing.Read more...

Hollywood heavyweights and the Atlanta beauty community alike are mourning the death of Emmy-nominated hairstylist Charles Gregory Ross, who succumbed to complications from COVID-19 weeks after announcing his diagnosis on March 25, when he warned others to take the pandemic seriously.Read more...

Dr. Ben Carson is a world-renowned surgeon who may go down in history as one of the best to ever wield a scalpel. He’s currently a member of the Trump administration, and his position? He’s the doctor of housing. He may have been the only hope in terms of flattening the curve of idiocy inside the Trump administration,…Read more...

A Hamilton Beach sale, a RAVPower file hub, a GMG spring video game sale, a PowerA Fusion Fightpad for PS4, Xbox One, and Switch, and a Mr. Espresso lead Friday’s best deals.

Musician Bia has been waiting in the wings for her moment to arrive, and it appears it’s finally here. The bubbly 28-year-old initially got her start as a cast member on the first two seasons of Oxygen’s T.I.-produced show, Sisterhood of Hip-Hop, alongside artists like Crime Mob’s Diamond and Missy Elliott protégé…Read more...

If you spend any time on the internet, chances are you’ve come across a video of some idiot, responding to widespread fear and anxiety about the coronavirus, acting a damn fool: licking food or drinking from containers on grocery store shelves, coughing on essential workers, or loudly proclaiming they have the deadly…Read more...

Life in a pandemic is something none of us have any experience in handling. It’s been rough; can’t even front. It’s no excuse, though, for the level of sheer wilding we’ve seen from certain parts of the population.

In today’s “boy, if you don’t ssssssit yo’ ass down” news, Jerry Falwell Jr., the president of Liberty University, said on Wednesday that arrest warrants have been issued for journalists from The New York Times and ProPublica for committing the unspeakable crimes of...doing their jobs.Read more...

Recent events have left the majority of our society stuck at home either working, binge-watching shows, day-drinking or hell, maybe even a combination of all three. With this abundance of time spent at home, some of you might be curious about entering the gaming world for the first time. If you find yourself wanting…Read more...

When retired professional athletes trend on social media, my nerves get bad.

On Wednesday evening, Rep. Diana DeGette claimed that President Trump was running a little quid-pro-ventilators as he tried to garner political favor during a global pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed a new level of economic strain upon the American public with very little precedent. The United States government has taken action by authorizing massive levels of federal spending. Unfortunately, these efforts are hampered with a lot of shadiness.

In a wistful warble under the sea, The Little Mermaid’s Ariel once queried, “What’s a fire and why does it—what’s the word—burn?”

Joe Biden has been, in order, a dangerous young politician, a disappointing older politician, a laughable Democratic presidential candidate, a middling vice president, an uninspired Democratic presidential candidate, and now an uninspiring Democratic nominee. The most charitable encapsulation of him is that he’s…Read more...

It’s hard to remember in the midst of, well, literally everything happening in the world right now, but we are just seven months away from a general election where we will either pick a new president or stay the same disastrous course.Read more...

While the promise of a Teddy Riley versus Babyface song-off battle royale may really just be a pipe dream—I’m still working on my own thoughts regarding Teddy Riley’s reasoning for wanting to hold off— on the heels of last weekend’s epic Lil Jon vs T-Pain joyfest, we did get news of a hip-hop lover’s dream battle …Read more...

Gospel great BeBe Winans recently became one of the latest celebrities to contract COVID-19, and as he continues to recuperate from the deadly virus, he provided some insight into his diagnosis and recovery.

A certain basketball tournament got canceled causing a nationwide surplus of chicken wings and...that might just be the blackest lede I’ve ever written.Read more...

As a Washington football team fan (until Colin Kaepernick’s protest, when I realized that the Washington team owner is not only a huge asshole but also a huge Trump donor, which is basically saying the same thing), I’m pretty familiar with the idea of a serviceable quarterback. Just a body behind the center calling…Read more...

As the bitter rivalry between the NBA and COVID-19 rages on, the league has announced its latest attempt to entertain the masses: a friendly game of H-O-R-S-E.Read more...

Although it’s been on Apple Music for a few years now, Dr. Dre’s debut studio album The Chronic will be available on all streaming platforms later this month. Per Entertainment One (eOne), the album will be released to streaming services on, you guessed it, 4/20 (or April 20, if you’re not into that sort of thing).

Now, this is what you call staying on-trend: Fast-fashion retailer Fashion Nova is well known for offering the looks of the moment, but on Wednesday, the brand’s uber-famous ambassador offered far more. Via Twitter, a robe-and-towel-clad Cardi B (rocking impressively matched and manicured talons) announced that in…Read more...