Salehe Bembury has designed several sneakers over the years. But one of the few things that stands out about how he goes about doing his work is his focus on world-building. One way to world-build is how someone runs their marketing campaigns for their product. Salehe always has an interesting use of colors in all of his campaigns as well as elements of exploration or adventure. Last week he released a few campaigns via his YouTube for both his new Croc collaboration as well as a New Balance collaboration, and we’ve included 2 of our favorites below. Later in the newsletter we also included a conversation he had on TED about some of these ideas.

The 2026 Diamond League regular season wrapped up at Zurich’s Letzigrund Stadium on August 26–27, and it delivered two world records in a single night. Brazil’s Alison dos Santos stunned the crowd in the men’s 400m hurdles, breaking the world record. Moments later, USA’s Masai Russell matched the drama, setting a new women’s 100m hurdles world record at 12.09. The sprints didn’t disappoint either. Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred beat American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, with Sha’Carri Richardson taking third. Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi cruised to victory in the 800m, while Kenneth Bednarek took the 200m. Switzerland’s Audrey Werro won in front of her home crowd with a national and meeting record in the women’s 800m. With the regular season now complete, all eyes turn to Brussels, where the Diamond League Final will crown this year’s champions on September 4–5.

For the first time, the continent has its own architecture biennale, and it’s conceived, curated, and led entirely from Africa. From September 7 to 11, Nairobi becomes the epicenter of global architectural discourse as it hosts the inaugural Pan-African Biennale, under the theme “Shifting the center: from fragility to resilience.” Staged at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, the Biennale marks a deliberate break from decades of Western-defined design narratives. For too long, Africa’s built environment has been read through a colonial lens, treated as a recipient of models and technologies rather than a source of them. This Biennale repositions the continent as the origin of spatial intelligence, epistemic innovation, and future-making. Participants span the continent and its diaspora, with featured work from Ghana, Cape Verde, South Sudan, and Morocco, among others. The question at the heart of it all: who gets to define the future? Africa builds. Africa thinks. Africa leads, and always has.

“The Terminal”: Where we navigate the vast sea of information to bring you the essential stops for our global Black audience. As a bustling terminal serves as a gateway to new destinations, our curated content will be your passport to knowledge, empowerment, and connection. Embark on this journey with us as we explore the world from a unique perspective—yours.

• The Long Gallery Harlem had a pop-up in Martha’s Vineyard that featured all Black women artists.

• Drake sold a majority stake in his OVO brand to Authentic Group.

• Unrivaled League, the growing women’s 3-on-3 league, has now been valued at over $600 million.

• Uncle Nearest, which over the last few months has seen its share of legal issues, has been officially set for trial and has dates.

Conversations this week

Salehe Bembury sits down with Cloe Shasha Brooks at TED.

Recho Omondi sits down with The Middlebrow Podcast to speak about fashion.

Press Picks

• Turtle Doves - Marcus Harvey, BLK ODYSSY

• Valentine - Erykah Badu, The Alchemist, DRAM

• Midnight in New York - Ayra Starr

• Love Me - Dahi, Obongjayer

• I Love Your Body - DESTIN CONRAD

Check out our Malindi Press Play playlist that’s updated weekly!

Song of the Week: “Turtle Doves” by Marcus Harvey, BLK ODYSSY (South Africa & U.S.A.)

For sponsorship inquiries, please reach out via email: info@malindipress.com

This September, on what would have been John Coltrane’s hundredth birthday, Blue Note will open its first-ever UK venue. With locations in Los Angeles, Napa, Waikiki, Tokyo, Milan, Beijing, Shanghai, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, London is the most recent addition to its array of jazz venues. Robert Glasper will headline, with Nubya Garcia, Yussef Dayes, and KOKOROKO performing as openers. The history of London’s relationship to jazz is complicated. American jazz has been crossing into London for over a century, and the exchange was never clean. In 1919, the all-white Original Dixieland Jazz Band packed the Hippodrome for the first-ever live jazz performance in London by any band — one that history has since credited with popularizing, not inventing, a music built by Black New Orleans musicians. A few years later, singer Leslie “Hutch” Hutchinson gained popularity entertaining London’s aristocracy while facing intense racism, including being forced to enter through the servants’ door. Then, the Windrush Generation changed everything, threading Caribbean sound permanently into British jazz. And in the last decade, London’s scene of Afrobeat, dub, and hip-hop, all folded together, stopped importing and started exporting. So this opening is America finally showing up to a room London has been building on its own terms.

When heavy winds and thunderstorms hit Indiana on August 11, no one expected the power to be out for 11 days. As of this weekend, Gary, Indiana, still has over 18,000 customers without power, even as power has been restored to many other places across the state. Why does this matter? Gary is one of the most heavily Black-majority cities in the country. It’s over 70% Black. What’s unfortunate about this story is that the media barely seems to be covering a place where people have been without power for 11 days. Of course, we understand that the media has large discretion over who they cover. But it’s clear that when the focus of a story is Black suffering or an issue affecting Black populations, it normally isn’t covered with the same rigor as issues affecting our white counterparts. Utility companies need to have a higher sense of urgency, and the media needs to make as much noise as possible to contribute to that sense of urgency. Having no power has several negative consequences. Food may spoil since refrigerators aren’t running, and some people may not be able to go to work due to the outage, which could lead to financial hardship. There’s also the impact on small businesses that rely on the local community to survive — 11 days without power and no customers could alter a business in ways some may not be able to return from. Although residents have been told power will return soon, one can only hope “soon” means within the next few days, and that this doesn’t drag on until September.

“The Terminal”: Where we navigate the vast sea of information to bring you the essential stops for our global Black audience. As a bustling terminal serves as a gateway to new destinations, our curated content will be your passport to knowledge, empowerment, and connection. Embark on this journey with us as we explore the world from a unique perspective—yours.

• The murder trial for Tupac Shakur completed its first week.

• NBA superstar and future Hall of Famer Russell Westbrook announced his retirement.

• Olivia Dean sells out Madison Square Garden.

• The 2026 HBCU Labor Day Classic Battle of the Bands is expected to attract more than 50,000 fans.

Conversations this week

Jon Batiste sits down with Ebro to speak about his new album “The Black Mozart.”

Press Picks

• Twinkle - Jon Batiste

• Abandon Me - Rapsody, Denaun

• Midnight in New York - Ayra Starr

• I Need Help - Eric Bellinger

• 2Fresh - Victony

Check out our Malindi Press Play playlist that’s updated weekly!

Song of the Week: “Twinkle” by Jon Batiste (U.S.A.)

For sponsorship inquiries, please reach out via email: info@malindipress.com

For a few months, we’ve been anticipating and guessing who Marvel would cast as Ororo “Storm” Munroe. Speculation was that it would be Jayme Lawson due to her connection with Ryan Coogler (Sinners), but this weekend at D23, Marvel announced their Storm. They cast Maya Boyd as the Kenyan witch priestess and weather mutant who enters their universe to appear in the first X-Men movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She will be the third live-action Storm after Halle Berry and Alexandra Shipp. The X-Men movie, and her film debut, will be in May 2028. Boyd, although new to film, isn’t new to the entertainment industry. The University of Michigan alumna has a stage and theater background, with three broadway plays under her belt already. For some, there was concern about taking a theater person and putting them into film, but the reality is that this has been done for years. Some of our greats started on the stage. Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Viola Davis, Angela Bassett, and several other prominent Black actors started on the stage before transitioning to film. So, this concern is unwarranted. We’ll be keeping up as the film develops, and it’s likely Boyd will be a star to watch for years to come. Those who paid attention to her Broadway career already knew this. Now the broader film audience will learn of her star power as well.

Since the beginning of the Trump administration, there have been aggressive cuts to anything DEI-related in both the private and public sectors. Everything from scholarships to jobs has been eliminated. Northwestern University, in line with current trends, has decided to close its Program of African Studies. The program was started almost 80 years ago and was the first academic program exclusively focused on Africa in the United States. Nothing is known about what will happen to the students, but some staff members will be laid off as a result of the program’s closure.

Cambridge University’s youngest Black professor, Dr. Jason Arday, was found dead in his home this week days after resigning. After allegations of plagiarism led to heavy public scrutiny, as well as an internal investigation, Dr. Arday resigned from his post. Dr. Arday had just released a memoir, so his death is a shock, but some are speculating that there could be a connection between the public criticism he faced and his untimely demise. What we’ve seen time and time again is that Black academics are often heavily scrutinized. Furthermore, when their white counterparts are accused of similar issues, the media, as well as the general public, seems to forget relatively quickly. They are then able to continue their careers. It is unfortunate that Dr. Arday had to resign due to allegations of plagiarism, but it points to the larger issues and burdens of Black professionals needing to be perfect, with little room for mistakes or even the appearance of mistakes.

“The Terminal”: Where we navigate the vast sea of information to bring you the essential stops for our global Black audience. As a bustling terminal serves as a gateway to new destinations, our curated content will be your passport to knowledge, empowerment, and connection. Embark on this journey with us as we explore the world from a unique perspective—yours.

• The National Association of Black Journalists gave news commentator Stephen A. Smith the “Thumbs Down” award for some of his political commentary.

• Serena Williams’s venture capital firm “Serena Ventures” had its trademark denied due to potential confusion with “Serena,” which is another investment company.

• Drake received a one-of-one Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona in commemoration of his 15th number 1 album, Iceman.

Conversations this week

Recho Omondi sits with Awf the Record and speaks about some lessons she’s learned with The Cutting Room Floor.

Press Picks

• Monster - The Womack Sisters

• Let Me Go - Baby Rose

• Out The Game - Isaiah Falls

• Trance (Walk It Down) - Quavo

• Natural - Nasty C, Tellaman

Check out our Malindi Press Play playlist that’s updated weekly!

Song of the Week: “Monster” by The Womack Sisters (U.S.A.)

For sponsorship inquiries, please reach out via email: info@malindipress.com

More than a century after her death, Edmonia Lewis is finally receiving the institutional recognition her work deserves. Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone, now on view at the Georgia Museum of Art, is the first major retrospective dedicated to the nineteenth-century sculptor, bringing together approximately 30 of her surviving works alongside other materials that examine her life and career. The exhibition is the result of years of research and collaboration between the Georgia Museum of Art and the Peabody Essex Museum.

Born in Upstate New York, Lewis rose to prominence at a time when neither women nor people of color were expected to succeed in the fine arts. She relocated to Rome in 1866, where she built an international reputation for her marble sculptures. Her work often explored themes around Black people and Native Americans, producing iconic pieces such as Forever Free and The Death of Cleopatra.

Said in Stone is the celebration of a pioneering artist and an effort to place Lewis at the center of American art history, not its margins. By reuniting works scattered across museums and private collections, the exhibition demonstrates that Lewis was one of the most accomplished sculptors of her generation.

Last week, we mentioned the issue with Marvel and Black characters, more specifically how they never fully figured out Blade and Mahershala Ali. One of the original directors for Blade, who left the production, was Bassam Tariq. This week, the trailer for “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother.” A film starring Mahershala Ali and directed by Bassam Tariq. Although the duo never made it to Blade, they are giving us this action film this year, which may be a taste of what we may have missed. See the trailer below.

“The Terminal”: Where we navigate the vast sea of information to bring you the essential stops for our global Black audience. As a bustling terminal serves as a gateway to new destinations, our curated content will be your passport to knowledge, empowerment, and connection. Embark on this journey with us as we explore the world from a unique perspective—yours.

• Rahquel Purcell has been promoted by L’Oréal to Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for Noterh America.

• Singer and songwriter Kelala speaks about her most recent album “New Avatar.”

• CNN covered some of the issues happening around the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

• Steve Bartlett, Joe Budden, and Charlamagne Tha God are among Forbes’ highest-paid podcasters for 2026.

• Keke Palmer speaks to Whoopi Goldberg about her career.

Conversations this week

Wil Sylvince sits with Trevor Noah for a conversation.

Press Picks

• Sweet Fuego - Duckwrth

• Sinner, Pt.2 - Tamera, Jessie Reyez

• Drive Me Off The Wall - Q, Deb Never

• Porsche 911 - Johnny Venus

• E Clear - CKay

Check out our Malindi Press Play playlist that’s updated weekly!

Song of the Week: “Sweet Fuego” by Duckwrth (U.S.A.)

For sponsorship inquiries, please reach out via email: info@malindipress.com

So what’s left? For the United States, the host nation where football has long competed for national attention with ingrained sporting leagues, the lasting question isn’t whether the tournament was a success. It’s whether, for millions of Americans across diverse communities, football was experienced as a culture rather than simply a game.

It’s no secret that the U.S. knows how to host a party, and it should’ve been no surprise that, despite the chorus of skepticism in the build-up, the tournament would be well-attended. The World Cup provides football fans the ultimate excuse to make otherwise irrational journeys to support their nations, and the U.S. was, for the most part, ready to receive them. Massive fan-fests erupted in host cities, complete with music, food, and other activations that overstimulated minds and emptied wallets—this much we expected. And brands were quick to capitalize, using the spectacle as a playground to stage pop-ups, sponsor takeovers, and ensure their messaging reached fans at every match and during hydration breaks. These commercial aspects felt familiar to Americans, similar to Super Bowl and NBA Finals programming. What set the World Cup apart, however, was the eruption of organic cultural celebrations that couldn’t be anticipated.

Football has always had a way of bringing communities together, particularly international football, in which communities bridge generational gaps to support their countries. We saw it with the Unity Cup, the short-form tournament of international friendlies that saw African and Caribbean fandom take over London and compete for national pride. The World Cup magnifies that feeling exponentially, and in a melting pot like the U.S., we saw local diasporas on full display.

Take NYC’s Le Petit Sénégal, or Little Senegal, as an example. On West 116th Street in Harlem, Senegalese fans made their presence known. A footballing nation with immense pride, the Lions of Teranga weren’t just happy to be there. In fact, as the rightful winners of AFCON 2025 (yes, rightful winners, argue with your mother), many labeled them as one of the tournament’s dark horses. And before their highly anticipated match against centuries-old rivals and former colonial power, France, the sights, sounds, and tastes of a community coming together showcased an energy that few other events could replicate.

For the average New Yorker, it very well might’ve been the first glimpse of true football culture from a community that would’ve otherwise been unknown to them. Little Senegals, Brazils, and Congos emerged everywhere. And even in cities without established diasporas, the arrival of international teams and their supporter groups created an even greater culture shock. This World Cup gave us sentences that were never written before.

The Spanish national team arrives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Croatia set to train at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia.

Mo Salah and the Egyptian national team have touched down in Spokane, Washington.

For many Americans, these strangely specific training camp destinations provided the perfect introduction to football that no livestreamed Premier League match or MLS outing ever could. It was a chance to see the world’s game up close. Local communities took full advantage, immersing themselves in the culture and fandom of their newly adopted countries. The warm welcome received by the Algerian national team in Lawrence, Kansas proves just how important these cultural crossovers were.

These linkups felt organic, not commercial. They felt like an authentic first taste of football for an American audience that continues to grow its appetite. Domestic leagues in the U.S. are often clowned for their atmospheres. Compared to European setups, chants sound forced, supporters sections lack energy, and formats don’t make sense, creating a negative connotation of the sport. Now, it’s unfair to compare Major League Soccer, or any other league for that matter, to the World Cup, but a major international tournament like this one is a crash course that no domestic league can compete with. Americans who attended games and watch parties saw ultras standing, chanting, and drumming for 90-plus minutes, reacting to every call as if they were on the pitch, and feeling the emotions that players felt after the final whistle.

Beyond the supporter culture, the players themselves may have left the greatest impression. This tournament showed us Black, African, Middle Eastern, and Asian footballers that aspiring young athletes may never have heard of otherwise. Outside the Mbappés, Bellinghams, and Haalands, world-class players used to the spotlight, new players garnered attention from this fresh and eager audience. Breakout talents like Johan Manzambi, the young Swiss starlet, son of a Congolese father and Angolan mother, captured the hearts and minds of young fans.

That’s the feeling we want to stick. A newfound contingent of American fans so enamored by the storylines, playstyles, and drama of the World Cup will tune into the Gold Cup or Nations League to continue their support without expecting a semi-final appearance overnight. A new generation of Black footballers will emerge—not hoping to be the next Christian Pulisic, a former wonderkid scouted by Borussia Dortmund as a pre-teen—but seeing themselves in Yan Diomande, the young Ivorian whose incredible journey has taken him from Florida high school soccer to the UPSL, La Liga, RB Leipzig, and now the verge of a groundbreaking move to Real Madrid. Casual fans will come to appreciate not just football, but also its ability to unite communities and international diasporas, something a country built on immigrants can surely respect. If these feelings persist, football in the U.S. won’t need a reintroduction for the next World Cup; the foundation will already be in place.

Writer Maxwell Wright, who played Division 1 soccer at American University and Coastal Carolina University, works as a Writer and Contributing Editor for Malindi Press. With experience in the sports & entertainment agency field, he combines a passion for the convergence of music, culture, and sport to see what’s on the forefront of all three.

Few artists tackled the visual language of Black identity quite like Betye Saar. Across a career that spanned more than seven decades, Saar transformed objects into deeply layered works. Best known for her landmark 1972 piece The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, she challenged racist stereotypes. Her work helped define the Black Arts Movement and remains a touchstone for artists examining our stories.

This week, Tuskegee University instituted some extra guidelines to its dress code. They must be considered extra guidelines because, as an institution, they already had a dress code, but these new guidelines have sparked several conversations surrounding presentation, Black culture, and the definitions of proper attire. You can see the full letter where Tuskegee introduced the new policy, among other things, here. But let’s examine the plain reading of the policy:

“The university has developed a new policy for student attire on campus, classroom attendance, and cell phone use in classrooms. Tuskegee students now have a dress code for public and professional places. The Student Handbook requires students to arrive on campus with a business suit and proper shoes for a business meeting. Students are prohibited from wearing revealing clothing in class, to the cafeteria, or in official settings like Convocation. They are also not able to wear bedroom shoes, bonnets, or du-rags to class or the cafeteria.”

The part of the policy that everyone focused on was the last sentence, which addresses bedroom shoes, bonnets, and du-rags in class or the cafeteria. Social media erupted into a debate. Some people sided with Tuskegee and acknowledged that some attire isn’t meant for the classroom, while also pointing out that college is a place that prepares people for life. Others took the opposite stance and argued that a dress code such as this is overly restrictive and anti-Black. They mentioned that being asked to adhere to any sort of dress code is both unfair and aligns too much with white standards of proper attire.

To be clear, the policy isn’t asking students to dress in business attire all the time. The policy still gives room for regular casual attire but essentially shuts the door on bedroom attire, bedroom shoes, bonnets, and du-rags, specifically in class and the cafeteria.

A perspective that should be considered as to why some students are so against this is that some of these students spent a lot of time at home during COVID. Their perspective on how to dress for class is viewed through that lens. They have proven they’ll get work done both at home and in person. So now that they’re in person and this kind of rule has been instituted, there is some level of confusion since they have proven their attire doesn’t affect their work product.

The polarizing nature of this rule has highlighted some key concerns about how people view certain standards and guidelines. Considering the fact that Tuskegee has too many students already, and some students are staying in hotels due to overflow, it is interesting that people have chosen to focus on attire and not unite in the same way on the issue of housing.

“The Terminal”: Where we navigate the vast sea of information to bring you the essential stops for our global Black audience. As a bustling terminal serves as a gateway to new destinations, our curated content will be your passport to knowledge, empowerment, and connection. Embark on this journey with us as we explore the world from a unique perspective—yours.

• A deeper look inside the 10 years of streetwear brand, Stüssy.

• Nike has officially resigned Victor Wembenyama and unveiled his new signature logo.

• Serena William’s venture capital firm, Serena Ventures has rebranded to Starfire Ventures.

Conversations this week

Maverick Carter sits with Boardroom to speak about how LeBron James built a billion dollar empire.

Press Picks

• Coming Home - Odeal, Jorja Smith

• Trail Mix (3pm) - Cautious Clay

• Hookah Baby - Ari Lennox

• Come Over 2.0 - Nasty C, Tellaman, Oxlade

• Nightmares to Dreams - Meek Mill

Check out our Malindi Press Play playlist that’s updated weekly!

Song of the Week: “Coming Home” by Odeal, Jorja Smith (U.K)

For sponsorship inquiries, please reach out via email: info@malindipress.com

This weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, David Jonsson was announced as the new Black Panther, with Black Panther 3 announced for December 2028. But let’s go back for a second and see how we got here after all these years. In 2020, when Chadwick Boseman passed away, the lingering question was who would be the next actor to be cast as Black Panther. The cultural impact of the film, along with the financial success, indicated that it was the kind of character that would inevitably need to be recast. Marvel in the immediate and foreseeable aftermath didn’t do that. They even released the sequel, Wakanda Forever, and seemingly moved on. Portraying an on-screen funeral for Black Panther, which took place following an off-screen death of the character. By the end of the film, they introduced a child who was Black Panther’s son. This settled the matter that they wouldn’t recast the character but would move the hero along to his son. But the questions around who would take on the role still lingered. Black Panther is one of the more important Black characters, not just in comic book films, but films in general. For years, rumors circulated that Snowfall star Damson Idris would be the new Black Panther. The British star has the look, the physique, and the charisma to play the character. The fans created art, informally crowned him, and in interviews he was always coy about the rumors. With Avengers: Doomsday being released this December, there has been speculation that there may be a new Black Panther either featured or announced. So, when Ryan Coogler came out at Comic-Con, everyone assumed, based on all the rumors, that it would be Damson. Ryan Coogler proceeded to announce David Jonsson, which was a surprise and an actor that wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card. He is a great pick though. Industry, The Long Walk, and Alien: Romulus have seen Jonsson have such a great run that this feels like a culmination of a lot of hard work.

What is going to be interesting is to see how Marvel handles this next film. Outside of Black Panther 1 and 2, Marvel has shown poor management of how they have handled Black characters. Let’s go further back to 2019. They announced a Blade Film starring Mahershala Ali as Blade. It’s 2026, and the film seems dead in the water. Multiple director changes and developmental hiccups, and there is no sign that the film is happening. Ironheart was released but the promotion was lackluster. With Marvel also planning on introducing the X-Men, they also have a tall order on their hands because they have to cast Storm. Previously played by Halle Berry, then played by Alexandra Shipp, Storm is canonically one of the strongest characters in that universe and has a relationship with Black Panther at some point. Cynthia Erevo has stated she’s interested. Fans have also speculated DeWanda Wise, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Jayme Lawson. We hope that the same developmental hiccups which hindered Blade don’t affect how they handle Storm, and we’re highly anticipating Black Panther 3 in 2028, which will hopefully start the new era of Marvel films.

“The Terminal”: Where we navigate the vast sea of information to bring you the essential stops for our global Black audience. As a bustling terminal serves as a gateway to new destinations, our curated content will be your passport to knowledge, empowerment, and connection. Embark on this journey with us as we explore the world from a unique perspective—yours.

• Greg Jackson speaks to Highsnobiety about his personal style.

• LeBron James made his big decision this week and will be joining the Philadelphia 76ers for the upcoming season.

Conversations this week

Oprah sits down with Keke Palmer for a conversation about careers and worth.

Press Picks

• Jumpupw!nya - Chad Hugo, Leikeli47, Tierra Whack

• Unconditional - Willow

• Never Be The Same - THEHONESTGUY, Lizzie Berchie

• Mr. Nonchalant - Tyla

• Better Decisions - Larry June

Check out our Malindi Press Play playlist that’s updated weekly!

Song of the Week: “Jumpupw!nya” by Chad Hugo, Leikeli47, Tierra Whack (U.S.A.)

For sponsorship inquiries, please reach out via email: info@malindipress.com

July 25th is the last day that you can go view the Ideas of Africa exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. So, for everyone who enjoys great photography and history, this is an exhibit that you shouldn’t miss this week in New York. At The Museum of Modern Art, Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination is an exhibition that brings together striking images by photographers working across Africa and the diaspora to show how portraiture has become a powerful form of self-representation and political expression. From the dynamic studio portraits of Jean Depara and the iconic work of Seydou Keïta and Malick Sidibé, to images by James Barnor, Kwame Brathwaite, and contemporary voices, these photographs reveal worlds shaped by decolonization, youth culture, and Pan-African solidarity. People chose how they wanted to be seen, whether marking new independence, expressing fashion and freedom, or engaging with broader political currents. Every image is a conversation between the photographer and the subject, between the past and the present. By exploring portraiture as political imagination, the exhibition shows how photography can connect people across time and place.

When it was announced that Travis Scott would have a role in The Odyssey, many people were confused as to what his role could be. Christopher Nolan received some pushback once it was revealed that Travis Scott would be playing a bard. His response to the criticism was, “I wanted to nod towards the idea that this story has been handed down as oral poetry, which is analogous to rap.” Merriam-Webster defines a bard as “a tribal poet-singer skilled in composing and reciting verses on heroes and their deeds” or “a composer, singer, or declaimer of epic or heroic verse.” In many ways, the contemporary bard could be analogous to the modern rapper. They are storytellers who often speak about heroes, even if the heroes they are speaking about are themselves. The grand nature of rap music makes it a fitting medium and an ingenious contemporary portrayal of what a bard could be. Of course, there are many different kinds of rappers, and not every rapper is a great storyteller, but at its core, rap is a storytelling genre, and the most elite storytellers are masters of the English language. It is perfectly reasonable that the art of rap music is comparable to other forms of literature and can be considered high literature in and of itself. The skepticism surrounding Nolan’s comparison of rap to oral poetry may also reflect a broader tendency to undervalue artistic traditions rooted in Black culture. Often, art forms more closely associated with Black culture are not given the same academic or artistic credit as art forms associated with other cultures. It is important that we see ourselves and our creations as complex and deeply layered.

“The Terminal”: Where we navigate the vast sea of information to bring you the essential stops for our global Black audience. As a bustling terminal serves as a gateway to new destinations, our curated content will be your passport to knowledge, empowerment, and connection. Embark on this journey with us as we explore the world from a unique perspective—yours.

• Gabriel Moses served as the creative director for Jay-Z’s Yankee Stadium shows.

• Jude Bellingham broke England’s World Cup goals record, as England secured 3rd place at the World Cup.

• Grambling State University and the city of Grambling received $1.5 million in federal funding for their energy infrastructure.

• Ruka Hair becomes the first braiding hair brand to be available at Sephora.

• Telfar announces that they will be downsizing by means of a 90% reduction.

Conversations this week

The Internet sits with The New York Times and Popcast for a conversation.

Press Picks

• Jasmin 17 - Syd

• When I’m Home - James Blake, Travis Scott

• Someone - Masego, Keyshia Cole

• Crash Out - Tinashe

• Nothing - Steve Lacy

Check out our Malindi Press Play playlist that’s updated weekly!

Song of the Week: “Jasmin 17” by Syd (U.S.A.)

For sponsorship inquiries, please reach out via email: info@malindipress.com

This weekend, Jay-Z began his three sold-out show run at Yankee Stadium. Night one was Jay-Z30, which commemorated 30 years since the release of his debut album, Reasonable Doubt. The guests he brought out were Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, Nas, Memphis Bleek, Jaz-O, and Alicia Keys. The stadium was sold out. Night two was Jay-Z25, which focused on the 25-year anniversary of The Blueprint, and we got a chance to attend. As far as legacy is concerned, the album was released on September 11, so it is forever linked to the tragic day. Also, from a production perspective, The Blueprint was the album that introduced Just Blaze and Kanye West to the world commercially. Highly regarded as two of the greatest producers of all time, both of them introduced their signature sound to the project and were the architects of The Blueprint sound. Sample-heavy music with a mix of programmed and live drums combined with the storytelling of Jay-Z made for one of the most impactful albums of all time. For his Saturday night performance, Jay-Z brought out Slick Rick during his performance of “The Ruler’s Back.” Other highlights included Eminem coming out for their song “Renegade,” then remaining on stage to perform “Lose Yourself.” Pharrell came out for “Frontin’,” “Allure,” and “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me).” The intersting thing about this performance was that there was an emptiness in not having Kanye West present considering his heavy involvement in the project, but due to their ongoing rift, it was almost certain he wouldn’t be a guest.

On the subject of music and concerts, this weekend J. Cole also opened up his The Fall Off Tour in his home state of North Carolina. He started with 2 sold out shows at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. The stage design featured elements of his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. This is on theme with the album, which has a lot of themes of him being home and how that impacted his career and ambitions. This is the beginning of a tour that will span several countries and over 50 cities and will culminate in December in Johannesburg, South Africa, at FNB Stadium. Along with the tour, J. Cole also released a limited edition print magazine, “The Fall Off Magazine.” It features interviews and features from artists and is reminiscent of the print magazines that were, at some point, omnipresent in Hip Hop culture.

Who controls the meaning of a story? The person who creates it, or the person who experiences it? That question shaped the work of Stuart Hall, one of the most influential thinkers in media and cultural studies. Hall argued that media doesn’t simply reflect reality; it helps shape how we understand it. His encoding/decoding model explained that creators “encode” messages into films, advertisements, television, and news. Let’s use a luxury fashion campaign featuring a Black model as an example.

The brand may be communicating ideas about beauty, luxury, success, and representation. A dominant reading accepts that message. That viewer/listener’s interpretation would be, “This represents progress and expands who gets to be seen as luxurious and aspirational.” A negotiated reading accepts parts of it but questions others. That viewer/listener’s interpretation would be, “This representation matters, but one campaign doesn’t change the larger issues within fashion.” An oppositional reading rejects the intended meaning. The viewer/listener’s interpretation would be, “This is a brand using diversity as an image without changing deeper structures.” Hall’s insight was that audiences are not passive. The message may be created by the producer, but its meaning is never entirely under their control.

“The Terminal”: Where we navigate the vast sea of information to bring you the essential stops for our global Black audience. As a bustling terminal serves as a gateway to new destinations, our curated content will be your passport to knowledge, empowerment, and connection. Embark on this journey with us as we explore the world from a unique perspective—yours.

• The World Cup semifinals are set: England, France, Argentina, and Spain. For the first time in history, the top four ranked teams in the world are the final four teams left.

Conversations this week

Salahe Bembury sits with Alex Proba for a conversation.

Press Picks

• Slick - Victony

• Powder Coat - The Dream, Pusha T, Swizz Beatz

• If I Let You - The Womack Sisters

• Running - Dahi, Childish Gambino

• Wo, man - Peggy Gou, Ayra Starr

Check out our Malindi Press Play playlist that’s updated weekly!

Song of the Week: “Slick” by Victony (Nigeria)

For sponsorship inquiries, please reach out via email: info@malindipress.com

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