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Marcus K. Dowling
Marcus K. Dowling

19.4K Followers

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Jul 18, 2021

On White People, Black Perfection, Country Music And America’s Demise

When white people have to follow Black rules, madness ensues. — In the deal with the devil that someone made to allow the United States to survive 2020, white Americans aren’t allowed to make mistakes anymore. An American life lived under this condition will be abysmally stupid to witness and likely will not turn out well. Even though our country’s laws…

America

6 min read

On White People, Black Perfection, Country Music And America’s Demise
On White People, Black Perfection, Country Music And America’s Demise
America

6 min read


Jul 5, 2021

The name of this tune is Sha’Carri Goddam.

Sha’Carri Richardson, Nina Simone. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. — The most profound comparison by which to contemplate the current life and times of disgraced Olympic sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson is to think of the life of disgraced American soul vocalist Nina Simone. Some five-plus decades after Simone’s “Mississippi Goddam” inflamed America’s manic realities with difficult truths, Sha’Carri Richardson tested positive…

BlackLivesMatter

5 min read

The name of this tune is Sha’Carri Goddam.
The name of this tune is Sha’Carri Goddam.
BlackLivesMatter

5 min read


Jun 4, 2021

My 2021 Chet Flippo Award For Excellence In Country Music Journalism Acceptance Speech

Printed, unedited, in its entirety — Foremost, I would like to thank the International Country Music Conference for this mind-blowing honor. When Dr. Akenson told me I could make a few comments, I was awestruck, but then, in a series of fond yet bittersweet recollections, the words came to me. “Take me home, country roads, to…

Country Music

5 min read

My 2021 Chet Flippo Award For Excellence In Country Music Journalism Acceptance Speech
My 2021 Chet Flippo Award For Excellence In Country Music Journalism Acceptance Speech
Country Music

5 min read


May 20, 2021

On Colostomies, Country Music, And Morgan Wallen’s Return

The shit has hit the fan. — By playing an impromptu, late-night set at Kid Rock’s Big Honky Tonk Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse, Morgan Wallen — in a manner akin to being recorded screaming the n-word on camera at the beginning of this year’s Black History Month — made an auspiciously inauspicious return to country music in…

Country Music

6 min read

On Colostomies, Country Music, And Morgan Wallen’s Return
On Colostomies, Country Music, And Morgan Wallen’s Return
Country Music

6 min read


Apr 30, 2021

Today, A White Woman Sang To Me About My Demoralized Black Life.

“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose,” sang Janis Joplin as I ran by Black Lives Matter Plaza. — Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose Nothin’, don’t mean nothin’ hon’ if it ain’t free, no no… Today, I heard Janis Joplin sing “Me And Bobby McGee” in my earbuds as a hazy sunset cast a filtered haze over Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC. Also…

Strawberry2021

4 min read

Today, A White Woman Sang To Me About My Demoralized Black Life.
Today, A White Woman Sang To Me About My Demoralized Black Life.
Strawberry2021

4 min read


Published in LEVEL

·Apr 23, 2021

We Need Kendrick Lamar’s Music Now More Than Ever

Revisiting K-Dot’s genius in the midst of unprecedented times — As Black lives haven’t mattered and cities that were one-time citadels of Black excellence have been roiled by manic, racist antagonism, I’ve kept an ear open and eye out for one note of salvation: King Kendrick. The Negus. The good kid in a “m.A.A.d city.” The un-pimped butterfly. …

Strawberry2021

3 min read

On Missing Kendrick Lamar
On Missing Kendrick Lamar
Strawberry2021

3 min read


Apr 21, 2021

Would George Floyd Have Been Killed Over A Harriet Tubman $20 Bill?

How do you murder a man while he’s holding his freedom in the palm of his hand? — The root cause of George Floyd’s murder was not racism. The root cause of George Floyd’s murder was his attempt at using a counterfeit $20 bill for a purchase. Yes, falsifying currency is illegal and punishable by law. …

Strawberry2021

5 min read

Would George Floyd Have Been Killed Over A Harriet Tubman $20 Bill?
Would George Floyd Have Been Killed Over A Harriet Tubman $20 Bill?
Strawberry2021

5 min read


Apr 9, 2021

DMX’s “Ruff Ryder’s Anthem” Remix Is A “Swagged-Out Air-Raid Signal”

Producer Ken “DURO” Ifill remembers the making of 1998’s biggest remix — Here’s the story of an iconic hip-hop single, its remix, and how that led to a mixtape becoming a platinum-selling album. Or rather, how incredibly successful DMX was in 1998. From Grandmaster Flash blending David Mancuso’s Loft favorites to Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia debuting Nas or 50 Cent teaching…

Strawberry2021

8 min read

DMX’s “Ruff Ryder’s Anthem” Remix Is A “Swagged-Out Air-Raid Signal”
DMX’s “Ruff Ryder’s Anthem” Remix Is A “Swagged-Out Air-Raid Signal”
Strawberry2021

8 min read


Mar 30, 2021

Black Film’s Brilliantly Reparational and Excellently Blaxploitational Moment Will Be Bittersweetly Brief

This is just the true Blaxploitation renaissance, but — again, bittersweetly — better. — Had COVID-19 not imperiled the globe, multicultural and diversely representational cinema almost, once again, saved the movie industry. Instead, the latest — and arguably most brilliant — moments of Black onscreen excellence in fifty years leave the film industry in a bizarre stasis. The COVID-19 pandemic has spawned a Black…

Strawberry2021

7 min read

Black Film’s Brilliantly Reparational and Excellently Blaxploitational Moment Will Be…
Black Film’s Brilliantly Reparational and Excellently Blaxploitational Moment Will Be…
Strawberry2021

7 min read


Mar 27, 2021

Why Lil Nas X’s Evolution From Dolly Parton To Madonna Is Important

Lil Nas X “pleased (instead of teased) the Black demon” and evolved mainstream pop’s relationship to race and sexuality. — On Friday morning, Lil Nas X’s groundbreaking spectacle-as-music career took another astounding turn as a Black musician evolved from Dolly Parton into Madonna. The trap-rapping cowboy interloper behind double-diamond selling “Old Town Road” has now become the wildly subversive pop crooner behind the hyper-sexualized “official coming-out party”-as-single, “MONTERO (Call Me…

Strawberry2021

5 min read

Why Lil Nas X’s Evolution From Dolly Parton To Madonna Is Important
Why Lil Nas X’s Evolution From Dolly Parton To Madonna Is Important
Strawberry2021

5 min read

Marcus K. Dowling

Marcus K. Dowling

19.4K Followers

Creator. Curator. Innovator. Iconoclast.

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