State Champ Radio Black Twitter
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Source: Hulu / hulu
A new documentary series on Hulu highlights the impact of Black Twitter on popular culture through the eyes of some of its most notable users.
On Thursday (May 9), the highly anticipated documentary series Black Twitter: A People’s History premiered on Hulu. The series is an in-depth look at the community of Black users and their seismic impact on what is now X, formerly Twitter before its acquisition by tech billionaire Elon Musk from founders Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone. The series’ impetus came from a WIRED oral history article written by Jason Parham, which covered the multitude of videos, memes, and tweets that truly
defined the era.
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The three episodes feature various personalities from the Black Twitter community along with cultural critics Roxane Gay and Jamilah Lemieux, writer Ira Madison III, and former Twitter executives such as God-is Rivera, the platform’s former global president of Culture and Community and TJ Adeshola, Twitter’s former chair of Global Content Partnerships. They convey the spirit of what being involved with Black Twitter was like and how those involved helped to inform when it came to topics such as police brutality as well as help spark the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is covered in the second and third episodes. “We repurposed Twitter the way we repurposed chitlins,” says writer Baratunde Thurston.
Prentice Penny, who directs the series, manages to intersperse tons of those funny moments (encapsulated in clips and hashtags in between users recounting how Twitter helped them cope and rage during the uprisings in Ferguson, Missouri, and the murder of George Floyd. They also talk about the company’s constant failings of its users as well as Musk’s dogged determination to ultimately own the platform, providing a searing look at how his machinations like allowing white supremacists like Nick Fuentes back on have helped to erode a space that was prized by Black people online and shift its energy to other places, especially TikTok.
Black Twitter: A People’s History is airing now on Hulu.
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Source: Ivan Pantic / Getty / Black Twitter
Unsurprisingly, there is a documentary about Black Twitter, but actual Black Twitter, or Black X, should we call it that? Nah, we’re going to stick with the original name, is on the skeptical side about who is involved.
The docuseries from former Insecure showrunner Prentice Penny coming to Hulu is not even out yet. Still, a trailer for it is being met with an enormous amount of skepticism due to the people who will be involved and speaking about the influential and popular subsection of Twitter, now unfortunately known as X, thanks to Elon Musk.
According to a press release. The series will take its cues from Jason Parham’s 2021 Wired cover story, “A People’s History of Black Twitter,” and “charts the rise, movements, voices, and memes that made Black Twitter an influential and dominant force in nearly every aspect of American political and cultural life.”
To help break down Twitter subsection’s rise to popularity and eventually carry the social media platform on its back will be Roxane Gay, Jemele Hill, Sam Jay, Amanda Seales, Kid Fury, April Reign, Raquel Willis, Apple Music’s LowKey, Chris Foxx aka @FoxxFiles, and more.
The Reactions To The Black Twitter Docuseries Are Already Pouring In
Therein lies the issue: many feel many people are being left out in this docuseries and are giving it the mean side-eye.
One X user wrote, “The real meat and potatoes of Black Twitter is everyday people. Not B-list Black celebrities and pseudo intellectual Talking Heads.”
Fair.
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Another user on X pointed out just how crazy this debate is, writing in the post, “Black Twitter arguing over whether that Black Twitter documentary is gonna include all the right people and topics, is the most Black Twitter thing ever.”
Prentice Penny also got involved in the debate, adding: “I’d like to think after 20 years of holding the culture down, y’all would trust I got #blacktwitterhulu best interest in mind. But lowkey, I also love black Twitter mad hesitant and petty ’bout it, too! LOL!”
When this documentary arrives on Hulu on Thursday, May 9, it seems likely that there will be a lot of hate-watching and live tweeting.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
1. Damn, that’s how y’all feel?
2. The video, lol
3. She’s right
4. Good chance they are going to be hate-watching
5. Always late to the party.
6. Very accurate
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Montgomery, the state capital of Alabama, is known for its place in the fight for civil rights along with a number of notable establishments treasured by the culture. Now, “The Gump” is also known as the site of a brawl that had Black folks forming like Voltron to protect a security guard against a crowd of angry white boaters.
By now, much of the details of the Montgomery Riverfront brawl are out there but we’ll share a brief recap as seen in NPR and across social media.
This past Saturday (August 5), a scene unfolded on the Riverfront during the afternoon after a pontoon boat full of revelers decided to ignore the orders of a Black dock worker and angrily beat the man. However, the fight turned fair rather quickly as others rushed to aid the dock worker with very explosive results that we’ll share below.
Josh Moon, who works for the Alabama Political Reporter, posted a video of the brawl on X (formerly known as Twitter). From what details we have available, the pontoon boat tried to dock in the space of the Harriott II double-decker riverboat. The Black dock worker, doing his job, undocked the pontoon boat, sparking some of the guests to approach him. The mob of angry boaters began beating the man but one young man stood out above all.
Dubbed “AquaMane, ‘Ja’Michael Phelps,” and other choice nicknames, the teen crew worker only known by his first name, Aaren, swam from another boat to aid the dock worker and despite having swam a great length, still had time to dole out body slams and fades in defense of the worker.
Reports say that Montgomery police had arrest warrants out for some of the boaters who started the brawl. We’ll add details as they came on on that front.
In the spirit of old Black Twitter, X has done an excellent job of recapping, sharing jokes, memes, and everything else you can imagine regarding the Montgomery Riverfront showdown.
Without wasting any more time, check out our favorite reactions and videos below.
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Photo: Ray Tan / Getty
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Source: press handout / press handout
Missy Elliott is using her star power to defend Flyana Boss after social media users posted open criticism over the continued running theme in the young Hip-Hop duo’s videos.
Best friends Folayan and Bobbi LaNea, better known as the sprinting musical team, Flyana Boss, have swiftly become the latest sensation to conquer the internet. Their viral presence has garnered widespread attention online– even snagging a Grammy.
Last week, the “DripDemeanor” rapper/icon clapped back at a critic who felt the need to assert their opinion on the group — who has become known for physically running through their videos while reciting lyrics to their songs — and their marketing method after labeling the methods as “redundant.”
“How many times they gon do the same thing in different videos for this song?” In their visuals, the girls are seen running through crowds of people while rapping their hit song “You Wish.”
The tweet received a response from Missy Elliott, who defended Flyana Boss’ artistic decisions by shedding light on how she experienced similar criticism when breaking out in the late-1990s.
“This old school tactic if you do a bunch of things you confuse the audience,” Missy explained. “They don’t know who you are That’s why most successful artist have eras and for that era they consistently do the same style and sound so you build a particular fan base. [For] Example, my 1st album I wore FingerWaves the entire time,” she wrote. “My sound was a futuristic vibe even down to the way I danced it was a jerky move. But all the elements established the type of artist I was… you must be consistent when you are a new artist.”
Missy’s authoritative teaching continued after another user asked the entertainment legend if confusing the audience by “doing a bunch of things” pertains to an artist’s sound as well; to which Missy replied that artists should focus on crafting a signature sound before experimenting with other creative decisions.
“I feel you should create a sound 1st so ppl can attach that sound to the artist and it becomes your signature,” Missy wrote. “Once the consumer know your sound then you can experiment. TeddyRiley he had the new Jack swing sound. Prince always used that flair drum it was his signature. So it’s like a entire package. That’s why you may see people say this was riri pop era or this was this artist R&B era because for that album they pretty much stay consistent the whole album even down to hair and clothes. Think of the group TLC oversized combat boots era.”
In other Missy Elliott news, fellow legend Busta Rhymes has completely shut down the idea of facing off against the “Supa Dupa Fly” rapper in a Verzuz battle; citing that he wouldn’t be able to fully flex on her with bravado as the reason. In a recent interview with Apple Music, the “Beach Ball” rapper shared that he was told there are two valid competitors that might be able to take him on in a Verzuz: Jay-Z or Missy Elliott.
“See, there’s never a Missy option,” Busta replied. “The reason why I can’t ever do a Verzuz or compete with Missy on a challenging level is ’cause that’s my twin. I’m Missy and she’s Busta Rhymes. I will never ever ever ever ever because I love her so much, I can’t talk my shit the way I would want to in a Verzuz. I love her too much and I hold her in a regard that’s so crazy.”
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Source: @spillmob / Instagram
In the wake of another chaotic situation caused by Elon Musk, Black Twitter users are making a move to the new Spill social media platform in droves.
On Saturday (July 1st), Twitter users were greeted with an error message that either said “Rate limit exceeded” or “Cannot retrieve tweets.” Musk stated in a tweet that users who were unverified would only be able to read 600 posts a day, but Twitter Blue subscribers would be able to view 6,000 a day. For Black Twitter, that was the last straw in what many felt was the Tesla and Space X CEO’s continual disrespect, prompting many to sign up for Spill.
Spill is a social media platform with the purpose of creating a safe space for diverse communities with a distinct focus on Black women and LGBTQ+ communities. The app had recently launched its beta version on June 19th. It was created by Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell and DeVaris Brown, former Black Twitter employees who were let go in the wake of Musk’s $44 billion purchase of the social media platform. “Our thesis was if we could build a platform from the ground up that caters to these groups, these culture drivers, and then solve the core problems that they’re facing, that our community is facing more specifically, that would make for a better experience for everyone,” Terrell said in a recent interview. The exodus of Black Twitter users, including numerous famous figures such as Keke Palmer and Desus Nice has propelled Spill to be number one in Apple’s App Store as of Monday (July 3).
Spill is styled as a microblogging app with a visual-first approach, with users being able to select from four colorways for their home page. Instead of Twitter’s 140 characters per tweet, each post or “spill” is set at 90 characters but users can get creative with images and GIFs, and even short videos in their posts. Spill is currently invite-only for new users, and is only available on iOS devices, which has spurred some complaints from those using Android devices. But many who’ve made their way to the app are praising it for its diversity and fun factor, as well as the dedication to keeping it a safe space for everyone. Hashtags such as #SpillMigration and #Spillionaires were in wide use on the app, with many more on Twitter making public requests for invite codes.
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Donald Glover, and Janine Nabers, have a hit on their hands with Swarm. Ever since the Priime Video series—a psychological thriller that takes an unadulterated, unhinged and murderous lens to Stan culture—started streaming, the Internets and Black Twitter have been littered with hot-takes, reactions and theories.
As soon the series was announced, it was clear that Beyoncé’s “Beyhive” of superfans was the inspiration. To keep things extra spicy, the writers used real-life events to propel that story that follows Dre, portrayed by Dominique Fishback, an obsessed fan of a singer called Ni’jah who is clearly inspired by Bey (her husband’s name is Caché).
Sometimes playing things too on the nose can be a problem, but in the case of Swarm it makes for a wild ride that will have you saying “WTF?” to thinking “Ooh, I remember that!” on to pondering “How exactly is she getting away with all of this?”
As a crib sheet for viewers dissecting the series, we pulled some of the real-life incidents, which spawned some epic moments on Black Twitter reactions, that inspired some of the episodes. There are spoilers below, so tread lightly if you haven’t yet watched Swarm. What are you waiting for, though?
1. The Bite: Tiffany Haddish Said What Now?
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In 2018, Tiffany Haddish told GQ that she witnessed some bit Beyoncé in the face at a party. The gossip spread like wildfire, with Black Twitter detectives trying to figure who dared to put their teeth on the Queen. Eventually, the culprit was revealed to allegedly be Sanaa Lathan (hence the Love & Basketball reference in Swarm). However, Haddish has said she never confirmed it was Lathan who took a chomp at Beyoncé. What a time.
2. The Elevator Fade
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Back in 2014, footage leaked of Solange Knowles blessing Jay-Z with the hand while in an elevator at The Standard Hotel in Manhattan. Swarm recreated the clip shot for shot, and also steadily mentions Ni’jah’s sister throughout the series. Black Twitter had a field day when that clip dropped, with many speculating that Jay-Z had done something dastardly. Which was all but confirmed by Beyoncé’s Lemonade album, which wouldn’t drop until 2016.
3. Rumors
Source:Prime
Speaking of Lemonade…
Let’s be clear, Dre is a fictional character. However, Janine Nabers has confirmed that the pilot episode was inspired by a rumor that a Houston woman named Marissa Jackson (portrayed in Swarm by Chloe Bailey) had killed herself after listening to Lemonade and being distraught about someone cheating on Beyoncé. Twitter trolls were even in going in on the poor child. But the kicker is that the rumor was based on a story from a satire site. So it was fake news.
4. Exit Stage Right – On The Run II Tour Stage Rusher
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Dueing the last stop of Beyoncé and JAY-Z’s On The Run II Tour in 2018, an overzealous fan had the audacity to run up on stage during the Atlanta show. While in the series Dre, or Tony, actually got to kick it with their hero, the real-life Stan was escorted swiftly and efficiently out the paint.
Written By D.L. Chandler , Senior Editor Posted 22 mins ago @dlchandler123 D.L. Chandler is a veteran of the Washington D.C. metro writing scene, working as a journalist, reporter, and culture critic. Initially freelancing at iOne Digital in 2010, he officially joined the iOne team in 2017 where he currently works as a Senior Editor […]
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Source: chefway__ / Instagram
A popular Tik Tok food slinger, is getting dragged for all the filth after some heinous tweets he dropped years ago resurfaced. The hateful messages from Chef Way has the guy on the brink of cancelation, and he has no one to blame but himself.
The man born Waymond Wesley is getting deep fried on social media after misogynistic tweets he let loose back around 2014 and 2015 resurfaced (the user name at the time was WayMoTheGod), and it’s looking ugly, for him. The tweets featured hateful, colorist messages aimed at Black women in particular.
Of course, you knew the too little, too late, you only did it because you got caught apology was forthcoming.
“To those I’ve hurt with my past tweets that have resurfaced, I am deeply sorry,” he tweeted. “That was a moment in my life where I was sick in more ways than one. Cooking saved me. You have watched a flawed man heal. I will continue to heal and learn. Thanks for being along for the journey.”
But Chef Way’s suspect, cooking healed me apology and only added gas to the fire, and now he is getting fried.
Even the guy’s momma took to Twitter to call out her son’s tomfoolery.
It also turns out that Chef Way is a prosecutor with the Harris County DA’s office in Tecas, and there are calls for his firing (which hasn’t happened).
After the well-deserved backlash, brands affiliated with Chef Way started canceling their reservations…sorry, too easy.
Check out more of the slander being hurled in Chef Way’s direction in the gallery. Should he be shown some grace, or is he getting all he deserves? Let us know what you think in the comments.
1. Good luck indeed.
2. Bruh…
4. Where is the lie?
10. Never forget.
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