Prince Archive
The Black Aesthetic: Money Talks in Jay-Z’s 4.44
Jay-Z’s latest album 4.44 rejects racial transcendence, while promoting Black business ingenuity. Although Jay-Z acknowledges America’s capitalistic history of enslavement and the tragic stories associated with Black celebrity, he promotes Black ownership as the dominant means for authentic financial freedom in America.
The Black Aesthetic: Death, Mourning, and Celebration in Prince’s “Sometimes It Snows in April” and “Let’s Go Crazy”
When Prince Rogers Nelson died on April 21, 2016, his fans were shook by his untimely death. Many wondered if Prince himself foresaw the specter of death in his midst. The black and white movie Under the Cherry Moon (1986), directed by Prince, may have foreshadowed his April death.