Ebro Darden

Ebro Darden Apologizes For Calling Tinashe’s Name ‘Ghetto’ During Their Interview

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R&B singer Tinashe and New York radio personality Ebro Darden are trending on Twitter after a video of their 2013 interview on his Hot 97 morning show resurfaced in which he teases her about her name. After Ebro asked Tinashe’s last name (it’s Kachingwe, by the way) and his co-host, Peter Rosenberg, supplied the answer, Ebro tried to joke about Tinashe’s “unusual” name — which comes from the Zimbabwean Shona language and means “We have God (or God is with us)” — somehow mashing together reckless colorism with an ignorant, classist statement.

“Can we point out how light-skinned she is with a ghetto-ass name?” Ebro wonders. Rosenberg checks him, telling him, “It’s not a ghetto name, it’s an African name.” Although he incorrectly states that it’s a Nigerian name, Tinashe clarifies that it’s Zimbabwean and gives them the definition. Ebro tries to explain himself, saying, “Sometimes these ghetto names are actually African.” Meanwhile, Tinashe merely smiles at Ebro in the clip on Twitter, which cuts off before her response. In the full interview, which is still on YouTube, she addresses the light skin comment, explaining that her father is from Zimbabwe, while her mom is white.

In posting the video, the user who resurfaced the clip pointed out the singer’s composure in the awkward moment but let’s be honest: She’s probably used to it. People say all kinds of wild things to kids who don’t just have generic or Biblical names and the question “what are you mixed with” gets lobbed at fairer-skinned Black people all the time. In fact, Tinashe herself imperfectly explained colorism during the run-up to her third studio album, Joyride, pointing out how her complexion often causes confusion from other people. Twitter, being Twitter, dragged her for the comment, but it looks like today, the tables have turned.

Users excoriated Ebro for his comments (it’s unclear whether they recognized how old the video is), while pointing out the obvious irony in them, given Ebro himself is a light-skinned Black man with African roots and an unusual name. For his part, he apologized for comments, saying, “Yea this was a terrible joke, we were using the name skit for people to learn her origins… love Tinashe that’s my homey still.” Obviously, he’s (mostly) grown from this era of confrontational journalism, although he also made Saweetie cry by dissing her freestyle a few years later. Hopefully, he’ll continue to learn and grow, as we all should, and find a way to balance his jokes with consideration, thoughtfulness, and empathy. You can watch the full interview above.

Ebro Darden Apologizes For Calling Tinashe’s Name ‘Ghetto’ During Their Interview

by

R&B singer Tinashe and New York radio personality Ebro Darden are trending on Twitter after a video of their 2013 interview on his Hot 97 morning show resurfaced in which he teases her about her name. After Ebro asked Tinashe’s last name (it’s Kachingwe, by the way) and his co-host, Peter Rosenberg, supplied the answer, Ebro tried to joke about Tinashe’s “unusual” name — which comes from the Zimbabwean Shona language and means “We have God (or God is with us)” — somehow mashing together reckless colorism with an ignorant, classist statement.

“Can we point out how light-skinned she is with a ghetto-ass name?” Ebro wonders. Rosenberg checks him, telling him, “It’s not a ghetto name, it’s an African name.” Although he incorrectly states that it’s a Nigerian name, Tinashe clarifies that it’s Zimbabwean and gives them the definition. Ebro tries to explain himself, saying, “Sometimes these ghetto names are actually African.” Meanwhile, Tinashe merely smiles at Ebro in the clip on Twitter, which cuts off before her response. In the full interview, which is still on YouTube, she addresses the light skin comment, explaining that her father is from Zimbabwe, while her mom is white.

In posting the video, the user who resurfaced the clip pointed out the singer’s composure in the awkward moment but let’s be honest: She’s probably used to it. People say all kinds of wild things to kids who don’t just have generic or Biblical names and the question “what are you mixed with” gets lobbed at fairer-skinned Black people all the time. In fact, Tinashe herself imperfectly explained colorism during the run-up to her third studio album, Joyride, pointing out how her complexion often causes confusion from other people. Twitter, being Twitter, dragged her for the comment, but it looks like today, the tables have turned.

Users excoriated Ebro for his comments (it’s unclear whether they recognized how old the video is), while pointing out the obvious irony in them, given Ebro himself is a light-skinned Black man with African roots and an unusual name. For his part, he apologized for comments, saying, “Yea this was a terrible joke, we were using the name skit for people to learn her origins… love Tinashe that’s my homey still.” Obviously, he’s (mostly) grown from this era of confrontational journalism, although he also made Saweetie cry by dissing her freestyle a few years later. Hopefully, he’ll continue to learn and grow, as we all should, and find a way to balance his jokes with consideration, thoughtfulness, and empathy. You can watch the full interview above.

Drake Fans Are Pretty Skeptical About ‘Certified Lover Boy’s Emoji-Laden Cover Art

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After months of delays — perhaps prompted by Drake and Kanye’s ongoing feud — Drake’s new album, Certified Lover Boy, officially got a release date when he made the announcement with an emoji-laden Instagram post. However, now fans are feeling skeptical about the album — or at least its ostensible cover art — after Ebro Darden confirmed on Twitter that the picture Drake posted is actually the album’s cover. Of course, Drake’s been roasted over questionable art before, but this picture — which features a grid of pregnant woman emojis in various skin tones and different colored shirts — doesn’t exactly scream “album of the year.”

Fans were quick to drag Drake’s decision to use, as one put it, such an “unserious” picture as his actual album cover. I’m old enough to remember the reaction to his Take Care album cover, which was derided for the exact opposite reason, so maybe this is Drake’s way of telling us this next album will be fun and lighthearted — or at least full of baby-making music that can be appreciated by people of all types. That hasn’t stopped some fans from being convinced that he’s “sabotaging his own rollout” and declaring that it’s “worse than the Donda artwork.” However, as Kanye recently proved with the chaotic release of his own recent release, these are two artists who exist in their own echelon, where rollout won’t matter as much as the music and the communal experience of streaming along with the rest of the word whenever the album drops. Check out more responses below.

Certified Lover Boy is due 9/3 via OVO and Republic.

J. Cole Advised Dave East To Make One Change To Improve His Rap Voice

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Harlem rapper Dave East has been around for a minute, but absent the big-name co-signs or signature hits that drove some of his peers’ careers, mainstream success has eluded him. With that said, his latest project, the Harry Fraud-produced Hoffa, is a masterclass in ignoring mass appeal in favor of crafting high-quality work and staying true to yourself — the album Dave East always needed in his catalog. However, it turns out one of East’s peers had some advice for him to improve his chances to gain traction on future projects.

Speaking with Apple Music 1’s Ebro, East recalled how J. Cole helped him make some adjustments to improve his rap voice — a key component in any rap artist’s success. “I got a chance to lock in with J. Cole, just me and him in the studio with the engineer, and he asked that same question, like, ‘Bro, I’m a fan of what you do, I really respect your pen, but you rap with one tone,’” he recounted. “And I really sat and listened to myself, and a lot of my sh*t is one tone.”

The rest of the session, he said, consisted of “me and him in the studio testing tones. He’s just really seeing how high I can take my voice, how low I can take it, and then he just was like, ‘Apply that to your music. Watch the difference. That’s just something I gotta keep working at, keep working at. I think it will be something dope to add to my music.” Listening to Hoffa, it’s clear the advice paid off, as Dave sounds more energized than ever, partly as a result of Harry Fraud’s complementary beat choices but also because his inflections bring a new-found dimension to his delivery, highlighting the emotional stakes of his rhymes.

Watch Dave East and Harry Fraud’s interview with Ebro below.

Big Sean Emphasized The Importance Of Educating The Youth About Mental Health

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For the past few years, Big Sean has increased his activism for mental health awareness. The Detroit native has experienced his own issues, which he opened up about shortly after the 2020 release of his album Detroit 2. Now, more than eight months later, Sean once again spoke about the topic during a recent sit-down with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden.

The interview is a part of the Apple Music host’s series The Message, and when the subject of mental health awareness came up, Sean explained why it is important to teach the youth about it. “It really needs to be just like how they teach us about STDs and sex in health class,” Sean said. “They need to make sure they teach us about how to deal with anxiety or how to breathe properly and all of that. It all should be together, because it’s all connected. It’s not like the head is separate from anything, it’s all together.”

As for the music side of things, Sean recently joined Sada Baby and Hit-Boy to throw a mansion party in the video for their new track, “Little While.”

You can watch Sean and Darden’s full interview on Apple Music here.

Sada Baby is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.