Jon Covington Didn’t Set Out to Define Black Manhood — He Just Started Listening
By Doug D. Sims Jon Covington has always been a storyteller. Whether behind a radio mic, a television camera, or a film lens, his work has carried the same quiet…
We Are The Curators Of Visual History
As Black History Month 2026 is here, I’m choosing to spotlight local to international Black photographers. Truth be told, we are the curators of visual history. We freeze time. We…
Two Billion Plays Later: Why “In Da Club” Still Runs the Party
Some songs live in a moment. Others own time.More than two decades after its release, 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” has officially crossed 2 billion streams, proving that true hip-hop…
MOSAIC MASTERMINDS: THE GRAND RAPIDS EDUCATION REVOLUTION
By Doug D. Sims In an era where academic pressure hits children earlier, harder, and louder than ever before, Grand Rapids is quietly leading an education revolution — not from…
1970’s to the late 90’s, “An Invitation That Never Expired: How Norman Connors’ Jazz Classic Became the Soul of Mos Def’s ‘Brown Sugar’”
By Doug D. Sims Norman Connors’ “Invitation” is one of those quiet masterpieces that lives in the space between jazz, soul, and mood. Released in the mid-1970s, the track doesn’t…
The Sound Between The Moments
By Doug Sims I’ve never been interested in telling stories only at their highest point. The highlight is easy. What’s always mattered to me are the moments in between—the spaces…