Entertainment

Last week, Republic Records — the home of Drake, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, and dozens more — announced it would no longer use the term “urban” to describe “departments, employee titles and music genres” in an effort to “not adhere to the outdated structures of the past.” The radio-format term had long been used in the music industry as a synonym for traditionally Black musical genres such as hip-hop, R&B, and more dating back to the 1970s, pioneered by DJ Frankie Crocker. The company said in a memo (per Variety), “As with a lot of our history, the original connotation of the term urban was not deemed negative.” But over time, the term “developed into a generalization of Black people in many sectors of the music industry, includin...

Taylor Swift has found her political voice, and she is using it to take a hard-line stance against racial injustice. On Tuesday (June 9), the singer took to Twitter to make a passionate statement demanding far-reaching structural change within American politics, while simultaneously voicing her support for the Black Lives Matter movement. “Racial injustice has been ingrained deeply into local and state governments, and changes MUST be made there,” she wrote, urging followers to cast their votes for candidates who are dedicated to combatting harmful legislature. “In order for policies to change, we need to elect people who will fight against police brutality and racism of any kind.” Swift went on to share a link to a Medium article written by Bara...