North Charleston and West Ashley met in the middle Friday night, and Charleston hip hop walked away with something it doesn't get handed very often: a night it built entirely for itself, with the whole city watching. One line from the crowd is already being repeated around the city, and it deserves to be: Charleston doesn't need the industry. The industry needs Charleston. That's the whole night in one sentence.

Most curse words don't come from some evil place. They started plain. They were made 'bad' by whoever got to decide what counted as proper. Most elders in the Black village I grew up in cursed. The grandma, the auntie, the same women who cursed like sailors were often the ones making sure the neighborhood kids' bellies stayed full. In Black culture, cursing has never automatically meant disrespect. It's culture. Yes, culture.

We live in a digital age. Numbers matter. But when your business is people, it has to be more than numbers. Every person is human. They can’t be seen as a commodity. The revolution and pursuit of justice do need numbers. However, it needs integrity, humility, passion, morals, and ethics. So dear Brother… dear Sister… why are you here?

Black artists, writers, and geniuses have been erased, stolen from, and written out of history before. Emilia Bassano may be one of the most overlooked examples. What if one of the greatest literary voices of the English Renaissance belonged not to the man history celebrates, but to a Black woman whose identity was buried beneath someone else's name? This isn't just about Shakespeare. It's about who gets remembered, who gets erased, and how history has too often rewarded th

The practice of not splitting the pole has become a subconscious awareness of those around me, and concern for our collective wellbeing. My decision making is never without consideration for all those it may affect. If I'm presented with an obstacle in a path I know my folks will also be taking, I'm quick to alert them. From minor inconveniences to major dangers, to even opportunities, I'm constantly in communication with my people to the best of my ability

Trey “Director 80” Smith’s Botanical Series transforms the garden into sacred ground, where color, light, and structure mirror the inner work of healing. Red gates, water, and greenery become symbols of protection, ancestry, unity, and quiet spiritual growth

“Because I love you, I get the least of you.” A truth that cuts deep. Love strained by survival leaves those closest to us with fragments instead of fullness. What would change if we gave our best to each other?