At least wear a damn mask — Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com. 6. The aggressive spotter “Need a spot, bruh? Here, lemme just… [somehow squats directly over your face]. Okay. Yeah, man, get it. Get it! Grind it! YOU GOT THIS! THE GRIND DON’T STOP! YES! POWER…

Twenty-three years ago, The Notorious B.I.G. left his 52-inch belt at ‘The Source’ magazine weeks before he died. Nine Keepers of the Belt kept it safe and secret. Why was this accessory so important? — Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com. I feel silly telling this story. I mean, it’s just a belt. But it matters to me. The story begins in 1997 at The Source magazine.

If I tell you, it won’t happen. So the night you have your first panic attack, don’t open this. — Dear Charlamagne, I want to talk to you about what happened to you tonight. You were driving back to Mom’s home in South Carolina. …

After pulling the trigger in Hollywood’s most ominous drive-by, Lloyd Avery II began to mirror the lifestyle of the gangster he portrayed on-screen. But the late actor’s demise is much deeper than life imitating art. — Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com. Based on numbers alone, Lloyd Avery II’s character in Boyz N the Hood is a minor role. Four scenes. About eight lines of dialogue. At most, two minutes of screen time…

Only by dismantling unjust systems can we imagine a future that is safe, healthy, and truly free — This article is part of Abolition for the People, a series brought to you by a partnership between Kaepernick Publishing and LEVEL, a Medium publication for and about the lives of Black and Brown men. The series, which comprises 30 essays and conversations over four weeks, points to the crucial…

Going from being fixated on good green and syrup to obsessed with rooting for my granddaughter at her cheerleading competitions — Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com. “All! Star! Revolution!” I hear these words at least twice a week. It’s the name of the cheerleading organization that my granddaughter Taylor cheers for, and something my wife and I…

A white-hot Black comedian. An old-guard White showrunner. What could go wrong? Everything. — Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com. In 1987, Eddie Murphy was Hollywood’s Golden Child. He possessed a Midas touch that could pull a hundred Ms out of the box office with “a piece of shit.” (The cinematic…

Wake up and appreciate the greatness of these criminally slept-on heroes — Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com. Ever since White jazz critics barged into the hootenannies Black musicians threw for one another, the face of genius has been homogeneous. The standards for what was considered creative could only…

Three decades ago, Christopher Cunningham was diagnosed with AIDS—yet he’s still here to share his story — Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com. The first time I met Chris, he told me he had AIDS. And I laughed out loud. Let me explain. We were at a brunch last year hosted by a notable…