Life in a Shanty Town

By Byron Crawford

A free, weekly email newsletter from the pioneering hip-hop blogger and author of books like Infinite Crab Meats and No Country for Black Men, with topics including racism, homophobia, healthy living, respect for women, tolerance for religion and who really runs the music industry

Previous issues

What I won't do for fried chicken

#123 Aug 23, 2019

Join the real resistance

#122 Aug 20, 2019

Jay-Z takes a knee (on the black community's neck)

#121 Aug 16, 2019

#120

Aug 9, 2019

Chance the Rapper sucks now – Internets,After years of rainbow-colored mixtapes, Kit Kat commercials and what have you, Chance the
#119

Aug 2, 2019

Save a horse, ride a cowboy (nullus) – Internets,There was a time when only proud, straight, masculine men could drop successful rap songs a
#118

Jul 26, 2019

It's hard out here for a pimp – Internets,It's a few days early as I'm writing this, so you'll have to forgive me if none of the thin
#117

Jul 19, 2019

Send half of the squad to MY house – Internets,In the spirit of the circa '04 blogosphere, I feel it's important to note at the outset tha
#116

Jul 12, 2019

Don't free A$AP Rocky – Internets,Police in Sweden threw A$AP Rocky in jail for at least two weeks just for assaulting someon
#115

Jul 5, 2019

Lil Nas X is the gay rapper – Internets,I was shocked, the other day, to learn that Lil Nas X is gay, and I'm sure it'll be even mo
#114

Jun 28, 2019

Louis CK is back! – Internets,If you have any female friends or family members who are considering a career in comedy, wh
#113

Jun 21, 2019

Who wouldn't want free money? – Internets,My ancestors worked hard to build this country so that white people could have the privileg
#112

Jun 14, 2019

They don't want you to be a sore loser – Internets,On Twitter this week, some of the most perceptive, insightful members of the hip-hop commun
#111

Jun 7, 2019

They hate to see a brother on the Forbes list – Internets,I was feeling a deep sense of personal satisfaction the other day when it was announced tha
#110

May 31, 2019

Never preemptively accept an apology – Internets,The fact that Meek Mill went to prison for popping a wheelie on his motorcycle, and now he'
#109

May 24, 2019

A horse is a horse, of course of course – Internets,I can't help but feel that there's some added significance to the fact that Cardi B is suff
#108

May 17, 2019

Hopocalypse Now – Internets,It's a testament to an adulthood misspent that, when it was announced yesterday that aborti
#107

May 10, 2019

Deplatform Chance the Rapper – Internets,Louis Farrakhan never said a single thing that wasn't true, and yet he's been banned from b
#106

May 3, 2019

Crabs weren't meant to live in a barrel – Internets,Some concert venue in New York has been remodeled, and the TIs brought Jay-Z in to do anoth
#105

Apr 26, 2019

Damn, Bun B really does shoot people – Internets,After what happened to Nipsey Hussle, I don't know if I could have handled losing Bun B.I m
#104

Apr 19, 2019

Tiger Woods walked so that Lil Nas X could run – Internets,When black people excel in fields typically dominated by white people, it makes me feel lik

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