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Since the passing of Mobb Deep's Prodigy Tuesday, June 20, there has been an outpouring of tributes from fans and celebrities to one of the rap game's largest figures. Blavity reported that Prodigy born Albert Johnson was hospitalized for complications related to sickle cell anemia. Johnson was only 42 joining a long list of other rappers who died young including Phife Dawg from  A Tribe Called Quest.One the most touching tributes for Prodigy came from Atlanta WSB-TV news anchors Fred Blankenship and Mark Arum. The duo has gone viral in the past for their tributes to rappers Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur. And now Prodigy gets the same dope treatment.With expert timing and precision, the anchors managed to drop at least a dozen references that included name drops, hit singles, lyrics and albums during Wednesday, June 21's morning newscast. Take a quick look for yourself below.   They did it again, y'all. Watch @MobbDeep's Prodigy get a @FBlankenshipWSB and @MarkArum tribute: 🙌🔥🎤https://t.co/N5pKp2oyNy pic.twitter.com/fbMASZixhA— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) June 22, 2017RIP...

The iconic LeVar Burton is back with a podcast that is essentially Reading Rainbow for adults who have a unquenchable reading appetite. Burton's Reading Rainbow got a lot of kids of the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s into reading. The PBS show's high production value, visuals, unforgettable theme song and liveliness live on for many of those kids who are now navigating adulthood. LeVar Burton Reads is your new obsession. In each episode, Burton selects a short story and read it aloud in the same vein as the original show. There are an array of sound effects and music that will bring the story to life and quench that nostalgia thirst. While the podcast doesn't feature picture storybooks--- because it's a podcast-- it does feature literary and genre short fiction.If you miss Burton's dope storytelling, subscribe to the podcast and relive the magic of Reading...

Instagram is one of millenials' (and grown grown folks) guilty pleasure. But in a time where we're ingesting so on much social media at once, shouldn't we be able to get something out of it? Whether you're looking for a new brunch spot, want to head on a food tour, or trying to figure out how to throw down in the kitchen ya damn self, these foodies have got you covered.Here are 10 Foodies of Color You NEED to follow on the Gram! (like now!)1. Chef Reshafinally got my hands on the Hestan Nanobond skillet by @hestanhome. WOW. listen. i seared my salmon skin-side down then put it in a 425° oven until the internal temp was 130°. not only did this skillet give my fish super crispy skin, but once it was ready to release, it literally glided all over the skillet and i BARELY used my fish spatula to move it. i'm not kidding. idk what kinda magic that is but i'm here for it. i did apply a very thin layer of fat to help it sear (as you should), but i'm still trippin off now clean the release was. i knew once i got this pan that the best way to test it would be with fish cuz fish don't lie. as far as this salmon, i cured it first for 30min a salt/sugar rub, rinsed it, patted dry, then seared it in a little olive oil. basted the finish product with butter, fresh dill from MY GARDEN (yaaas), and lemon and ate tf out of it. "Hestan NanoBond which marks the first innovation in stainless steel cookware in over 100 years. The cookware line was built to last longer and 4x stronger than stainless steel." I'm gonna keep playing around with this pan but so far, VERY good. thank you Hestan for sending me this amazing skillet! catch a glimpse on my snapchat (carnaldish) #hestanskillet #hestannanobond #hestan #forseriouscooksonly #crispyskinsalmon #salmonA post shared by Chef Resha (@chefresha) on May 2, 2017 at 2:31pm PDT I have to thank Chef Resha for making a young NYC girl infatuated with Wegman's. Known for her big hair, great jokes, and amazing orange Hennessy flavored wings, you'll definitely step your "Sunday Dinner" game up after following Chef Resha.2. Chef RobleSpaghetti Bolognese. One of my favorites and this one is great.A post shared by Roblé (Blédakiss) (@chefroble) on Jun 12, 2017 at 9:59am PDTAh, not only is Chef Roblé handsome, but the man gets down in the kitchen. When he's not busy with throwing his Everyday People events, he's whipping up some incredible food. If you're in the Brooklyn area, stop by Streets BK to try the food in person!3. Chef Fowles Our amazing Jamaican breakfast is taking over the streets of the big apple!!! Our national dish "ackee and saltfish" is loved and adored by many people even outside of our culture! Great food, Good people and Amazing culture 🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲!!! One love from @misslilys #myfood #myculture #proud🇯🇲 #inthebig🍎 #caribbeancuisine #misslilys #cheffowles #happysunday #onelove 🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲A post shared by Andre Fowles (@cheffowles) on Jun 4, 2017 at 8:51am PDTGotta taste for Caribbean food? Miss Lily's chef and two-time Chopped contestant, Andres Fowles has got you covered. You definitely need to get a little culture on your feed.4. The KitchenistaCumin scented skillet #cornbread with orange rose #harissa honey butter. #kitchenistasundays #kitchenista #sundaydinner Photo ©️2017 Angela Davis.A post shared by The Kitchenista Diaries (@thekitchenista) on May 21, 2017 at 4:30pm PDTListen, Angela Davis won my heart a long time ago with her braised oxtail tortilla soup and her chicken wings. I may have licked my phone screen a couple of times. But, her IG page is the MoMa of food. The professional chef will inspire you to get your ass in the kitchen ASAP.5. Culinary Colour Me: I want some Pho Me: You got Pho money? Me: no but I’ve got these leftovers … Ok, so this not pho at all😖. But this is how I brought my leftovers back to life🌱. I built a broth with water sautéed garlic and onion, and spices such as salon, turmeric and smoked paprika (stock is always a good option if you are not used to building a soup base). I also tossed in some black quinoa. Then I added in spaghetti squash arugula, avocado, fresh basil, and sundried tomato. 😘#Culinarycolour . . . . #PhoA post shared by Tiffany (@culinarycolour) on Nov 15, 2016 at 9:17am PSTOnly have a few boring leftovers left in fridge? Culinary Colour will show you how to revamp your leftovers into literally anything. If you're into trying new colorful veggies, Tiffany also explores the benefits of the vegetables that we typically give the side eye to in the grocery store. 6. Sweet Potato Soul🍠🌯Sweet Potato Breakfast Burrito🌯🍠 One of three super yummy and filling #vegan #glutenfree breakfast recipes on my blog & Youtube now 🌟Link in my bio 🌞A post shared by Jenné Claiborne (@sweetpotatosoul) on Jun 7, 2017 at 6:47am PDTWhether you're vegan or just regretting eating 12 hot links at your uncle's cookout (yes, you!), Jenné Claiborne better known on the Gram as Sweet Potato Soul's plates are not only aesthetically pleasing but easy to make too! Yes, recipes are included! 7. The Spice Girl Gotta sweet tooth? The Spice Girl will get you together real quick. I mean honestly...a Hennessy Peaches & Cream cake?!  My body is ready. 8. Food Before Love#YumCam Rigatoni alla Norcina with sausage, wild mushrooms, black truffle and parmesan reggiano from @ribaltaatl | eaten and submitted by @dafoodwhisperer #FoodbeforeLove #Pasta #Nom #Travelingwhilehungry #atlantaeats #sausage #rigatoni #atleats #dining #dinner #wildmichrooms #foodporn #foodie #foodlover #foodoftheday #foodpics #feedfeed #yum #PastaBeforeLoveA post shared by Food Before Love (@foodbeforelove) on Jun 6, 2017 at 7:00am PDTNeed a new brunch spot for the weekend? Don't know where to get the best Philly Cheeseteak in Philly? Ever wanted to go on a burger tour? Food Before Love is the page for you! 9. FoodFashionPartyTonight's dinner was a simple cauliflower+bell pepper +jalapeño sabzi with buttered rotis. I always look to my carnivore loving little baby bear for approval, and he wiped his plate clean today. Comfort meals always win. Happy almost Friday!!!!A post shared by Asha Shiv (@foodfashionparty) on Jun 8, 2017 at 6:18pm PDT Asha Shiv's Instagram will literally take you all over the world for the sake of good eats. 10. The Place I Was Telling You AboutBrunch Paella never tasted so good 🥘 @boqueriaA post shared by R'el Dade + Marcus Lloyd (@theplaceiwastellingyouabout) on Jun 17, 2017 at 2:12pm PDTUm, two words: Relationship Goals. Based in NY, Marcus Lloyd and R'el Dade travel all over the city and states to put us onto the places we should be spending our coins at. Ah, such heroes. Get your fork and your life, and support these beautiful chefs! Tried any of their recipes? Let us know what you thought in the...

Ysanet Batista started out with $200 when she launched Woke Foods the summer of 2016 in Washington Heights, New York.The food cooperative provides a variety of services including catering, cooking classes and meal planning to the Washington Heights community. Woke Foods also serves as a monthly meeting place for chefs of color to meet, exchange recipes and teach one another about their respective culture. To Batista, what we eat is just as important as where the food comes from.“I want people in my community to understand that food is political even though we don’t see it that way. We vote with our dollars,” she told Harlem Focus. “Farmers of color are constantly being exploited in our food system here and in my island. People need to stay woke about their food.”The traditional meat-based Dominican cuisine is given a brand new twist with Batista's vegetarian ingredients. Throughout her college years, Batista experimented with traditional Dominican dishes like sancocho, asopao, kipes, and pasteles without meat serving as the essential ingredient. “I thought making the food I grew up eating vegetarian would be impossible. But my mentor Jeseli Soto and my grandmother demonstrated to me it wasn’t.” Such a pleasure cooking for the writers of Sankofa Sisterhood Writers Retreat. I remember meeting @diosadominicana 7 years ago in college and love how full circle life is that I get to be here for this labor of love she has created for women of color. Grateful, always 🙏🏾A post shared by ysanet batista (@ysanetbatista) on May 27, 2017 at 5:38pm PDTWe're super excited to be cooking for the writers of the 3rd Annual Sankofa Sisterhood Writers retreat this Memorial Day weekend. Fresh guacamole for refrigeration and check in 🥑 #WokeFoods #sswr2017 #SankofaRetreatA post shared by Woke Foods (@wokefoods) on May 26, 2017 at 7:20pm PDTThe young activist wants to do more than just provide healthy alternatives to Dominican staples. She is in the process of crowdfunding to purchase farm land and equipment in her native Dominican Republic. Batista hopes the land will provide her the freedom to use clean ingredients for her new business....

Anyone that had good taste in music back in the 90s instantly felt nostalgia when DJ Khaled, Rihanna and Bryson Tiller dropped their already summer hit, "Wild Thoughts." That guitar rift took you to a familiar place, to a certain time, to a particular feeling. That melody belongs to Carlos Santana and The Product G&B who delivered the hit, "Maria, Maria" to us back in 1999. Although the song is classified as rock/pop, there's no doubt that the Wyclef Jean produced banger is and will always be for the culture.In a statement sent to Billboard, Carlos Santana shared his thoughts on the the DJ Khaled mix, and don't worry, he's a fan. "There is a reason that the infectious groove/theme that Wyclef and I created on 'Maria Maria' still resonates today," Santana shared. "It speaks to the heart. DJ Khaled, Rihanna and Bryson take that vibe and bring it to a new dimension with 'Wild Thoughts,' but the groove and essence of the song is still intact."Wyclef Jean also chimed in and thanked DJ Khaled for introducing him, Santana and producer Jerry Wonda to "a whole new generation of music lovers."Santana ended his statement by saying that "Maria, Maria" will always be a feel-good summer song that speaks to women, and "Wild Thoughts" is an extension of that summer song vibe that is timeless.Catch a summer vibe with both the original and the latest version below. You're...

Over the weekend I called my father to wish him a Happy Father’s Day. Almost a decade had passed since the last time I chose to give him a holiday celebratory call. In my protest over those years I celebrated a sports coach, father figures from my community, and I even wrote a letter to my future self. In the letter, I sang high praise to the man I had become by being the opposite of the man who birthed me. The letter was lengthy in pages, but halfway through the first page, the positive remarks drifted from me as a father, into me as an individual. This year I put my pride aside, and with a lump in my throat and I rock in my chest I uttered, “Hey Siri?” Mesmerized by the ROYGBIV spectrum of colors pulsating in the lower portion of my phone screen, I managed to say, “call dad.” The error message saturated in a computerized accent reminded me that his number wasn’t saved under “dad”. Scrolling down in alphabetical order I see his government name and proceed to make the call. Lamenting with THE Father for the opportunity to escape this situation by leaving a voicemail was interrupted. God didn’t answer my prayers. He answered, and after playing three rounds of “Simon Says, Hello”, our conversation shifted into full small talk mode. The loud, booming silence was occasionally interrupted by moments of chatter which caused our 17 minute and 34-second conversation to feel like it had lasted for hours.*Spoiler alert* for those waiting for the prodigal son/father moment where we spent hours on the phone apologizing and weeping joyously over healed wounds, that isn’t how this story ends. Sorry. I had to break that news to you because at this moment I have no idea how this story ends because I’m currently acting this thing out. Reading through the script making notes here, scratching out there, and wadding up groups of pages for the use of our trashcan basketball three-point contest. None of which are wrong or right, they are just the way life plays out. Understanding the necessity for correction and adjustment are what made me reconsider my cold approach to a man who made a series of mistakes but has a mindset to rectify those wrongs. “Life’s too short…” is the sentiment overtaking the conversation in my post-phone call discussion with myself. I looked myself in the eye and expressed how these hard feelings toward my father could have a negative influence on the process of me raising my future children. So why not begin to forgive? Forgiving doesn’t mean I walk around telling the world, “that’s my dad!” but it does allow me to be at peace with all the past trauma.There is a difference between a being father and being a dad. A father is someone who has birthed a child. A dad is someone who is actively present in raising the child. Any male can be a father, but only dedicated fathers become dads. I can no longer grieve over the father I didn’t have growing up, because the father I may have now will be able to help me in ways I’ve never imagined. So, as I grow further from my father, I’m growing closer to my dad. Happy Father’s...

Most women can say that they’ve been cheated on, lied to or manipulated at some point in their life. I’ve been through all 3 and it was by the same person...my ex.In high school I dated a guy named Mario for three years, he was two years older than me so naturally, he was the first of many for me. My first “real relationship”, my first kiss, and although he didn’t “take my virginity” I considered him my first. We went through hell and back. From sneaking into his house, my house, skipping school and pregnancy scares.Once he graduated things went left and we were more off than on because he was quick-tempered and always thought I was cheating; which I learned later was triggered by his guilty conscience. He was a true Gemini. But when you’re in love with a man you think you want to marry, you deal with the back and forth.After 3 years we broke up for good, I graduated high school, went off to college and moved on. One year later, I received a call from him. The first thing he said was that he had some things to get off his chest because he was turning his life around and didn’t want me to hear what happened from anyone else. I remember feeling confused and nervous about what he was going to confess because I hadn’t spoken to him in months. Did he get married, have a baby, what?Then he dropped the bomb on me. During our relationship, he was cheating on me with his best friend's girlfriend the entire time.                                                   Photo: GiphyTo be completely honest, I wasn’t completely shocked because I had my reservations about how close they were. All the times he had to help her study or pick her up because her boyfriend, his best friend, couldn’t do it came towering into my memory like a ton of bricks. While I wasn’t surprised, I did, however, feel incredibly stupid for not sticking to my gut and pursuing the issue. I specifically remember a time where we had an argument about her calling him late at night too often and after nearly cursing him out he reassured me that he was just talking her through the issues between her and his best friend.I know now it was more than that.After he had his coming to Jesus moment we hung up and the shock settled. I was left feeling angry, stupid, humiliated but most of all confused. Was I not good enough? Did I not please him? Was I not beautiful? Did I nag him too much? Was I not showing him enough attention? What did I do wrong?Those same questions weighed on me for almost 10 years. Yes, I’d moved on. Yes, I had another partner and even had a daughter, but yet I was mentally stuck in the past. The unanswered questions and his deceit caused issues in my new relationship. I was unable to fully trust because I was afraid that my new man felt the same way my ex did.If my boyfriend said he was studying with a classmate, I got anxiety and needed him to check in with me every ten minutes. In the back of my mind, I automatically accused him of doing something else. Those unanswered questions caused me to become extremely insecure, even more than I already was.I quickly realized that I needed answers. And 8 years later I got them.  I received a Facebook message from Mario at the end of last year asking me to go to dinner with him because he wanted to talk and catch up. My first initial reaction to his invitation was hell no. He practically ruined my life and if I saw him there was no telling what I might do.                                                       Photo: GiphyNot to mention my boyfriend wouldn’t approve of me going on a date with my ex. But then, I thought about my life in its current state and how damaged I had become due to the unknown. This meeting wasn’t about anyone else. It was about me. I needed answers to my questions. I needed closure. So if a date with my ex was how I could become “normal” again then so be it.The night we met up, we talked for over 4 hours and I walked away with something more than closure. I walked away with my sanity. For a long time I was angry with him for ruining me but that night I walked away knowing that it wasn’t my fault. I did nothing wrong. He was the one that was damaged. He was the one with the issues. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.It’s almost over a year since our “date” and I’ve seen a tremendous change in not only my present relationship but in me. I’m not 100% back to my old self, and I don’t think I ever will be, but our date helped me realized that I don’t want to be.That relationship was 10 years ago and it’s okay to grow and there should be change.His infidelity taught me about trust, about what I will and won’t accept, and more than anything it taught me a huge lesson on forgiveness and letting go.It might not be for everyone, but for me going on a closure date with my ex was the best decision I ever made.Have you ever been on a closure date? Share your story in the comment section...