#TTOT: The Newsletter 002 (2024)

An all-new episode of THAT’S THAT ON THAT is now live, and it’s all about Brandy for Black Music Month!

THAT’S THAT ON THAT is about uplifting legends in the Black cultural zeitgeist who deserve their flowers, so it was only right that Brandy was highlighted for Black Music Month.

A friend of mine suggested that I highlight her, and at first, I was like, “I’m not sure,” but after thinking about it some more, I was like, “Well, actually, yes.” Even though Brandy’s episode is focused on her music, specifically “The Boy Is Mine,” due to the uncanny yet divine timing of Ariana Grande adding Brandy and Monica to the remix of her song by the same name, Brandy’s legacy is really robust.

While Brandy was becoming a music star, she was also the lead on Moesha. While she was doing these two things well, she became a Cover Girl spokesperson and got her own Barbie. These two things may sound like small things, but considering the fact that Brandy is Black and was a spokesmodel is huge. The fact that she had a Barbie is even bigger since the history of Black Barbie dolls is interesting and all about the need for representation.

Anyway, get into the latest episode below:

Kendrick Lamar is King.

Or maybe it was when he dropped To Pimp A Butterfly. The album was deeply rooted in Black music in a way that resonated with me. Easy to listen to, impactful, and thought-provoking. I won't go track-by-track, but to hear music that speaks to self-love, Black love, independence, Black history, the state of us as a people, and what it is to be grounded in who we are stuck to me, and it stuck with me.

Or maybe it was DAMN. If we're unsure, we can be clear since this is Kendrick's Pulitzer Prize-winning album. He was the first rapper to do so, which is another reason nobody should want to smoke with him, but I digress.

It could also have been how seeing him live in 2022 at Staples Center (it's Crypto now, but whatever) really shook me to my core. He was electrifying. His staging was immaculate, his lyricism and vocal performance were immaculate, the liturgical dance fused with Hip-Hop and modern dance was immaculate, and the storytelling was immaculate. I knew then that my allegiance in Hip-Hop was to him (and Hov, of course).

But now, we're here. "Not Like Us" is one of our songs of summer. "Not Like Us" is an ode to Compton, an ode to where Kendrick is from, an ode to sh*t-talking you can back up, an ode to keeping it on wax and taking it there, and an ode to poppin' out and showing that you are who you say you are.

Kendrick popped out on Juneteenth at the Kia Forum with the appropriately titled The Pop Out: Ken and Friends concert, and put all of L.A. on the stage and showed that he's really HIM and that it can't ever be denied. He platformed every artist from L.A./Compton that you could think of and took the stage himself. He rapped for approximately 90 minutes straight and ran "Not Like Us" back five times to the audience's delight, reminding us of a time when The Throne would run "nigg*s In Paris" back as many times as they saw fit during a live show because people loved it that much.

Tanner Adell is one of Country Music’s brightest Black stars on the come-up, and she’s been doing things the indie way until now.

It was announced last week that Tanner signed a distribution deal with LVRN, a label known to work with Hip Hop and R&B artists, so I think a few eyebrows were raised when this news broke, but, here’s the real as I see it.

If Country music is Black music, it makes sense for Tanner to go where she will be loved, understood, and appreciated. It would also make sense for a Black label to sign and get into business with Black Country musicians because they aren’t going anywhere soon. Plus, we’re just seeing the beginning of where this new Black Country music renaissance is going.

But, I know one thing for sure — Tanner Adell inking this deal means that when Country music’s big stages shun our people, they now know that they always have a home where they’re appreciated but, maybe, more importantly, seen. And that is more important than anything else, so shout out to LVRN for this move and for setting a precedent for the future of Black people in Country music.