criticism and essays
All my writing at The Atlantic can be found here. Selected works include:
There’s Nothing Else Like Netflix’s Mo — March 2025
The Palestinian American sitcom is the first of its kind—and takes its humor very seriously.Nikki Giovanni’s Wondrous Celebrations of Black Life — December 2024
The poet’s work crackled with revolutionary fire but also contained jubilation and gentleness.The Truth About America’s Most Common Surgery — June 2024
A new book explores the history of the Cesarean section—and how it explains what’s broken about American health care.The Missing Piece of the Bob Marley Biopic — February 2024
A new film about the reggae legend sanitizes his commitment to social justice—and loses what made him so magnetic.Who’s Afraid of Women’s Pleasure? — December 2023
A new documentary about the pioneering sex researcher Shere Hite points to the barriers that women face when writing candidly about intimacy and power.A Poet Reckons With Her Past — October 2023
In a striking new memoir, the Jamaican writer Safiya Sinclair attempts to make peace with her Rastafari childhood and the island that shaped her.Who Wants to Watch Black Pain? — April 2021
More Black storytellers are turning to the horror genre to unpack the traumas of racism. But some viewers are growing tired of these stories.The Audacity of Panic! at the Disco's Debut Album — September 2020
Oh, well imagine: Panic! at the Disco’s debut album is 15 years old, and young listeners still love it.A Deeply Provincial View of Free Speech — July 2020
Many prominent writers and thinkers seem invested in the notion that simply facing strong public criticism is a threat to free speech.Pop Smoke Made the Soundtrack of a Lost Summer — July 2020
The posthumous debut album of the Brooklyn rapper reverberates with the tragedy of his untimely death.The Haunting Senegalese Love Story That Stunned Cannes — November 2019
The Grand Prix–winning Atlantics, set to stream on Netflix later this month, deftly melds fantasy and romance in a complex portrait of migration.The Messy Politics of Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It — May 2019
The second season of the Do the Right Thing director’s Netflix adaptation dials back the romantic drama, but leans into tonally confused social commentary.What Solange’s When I Get Home Shares With Stevie Wonder’s Most Esoteric Album — March 2019
The musician’s first studio project since A Seat at the Table emphasizes the revelatory power of repetition.Long Live Samantha Jones — June 2018
An appreciation of the Sex and the City character who valued her relationship to herself more than those she—or any of the show’s four main characters—had with men, on the occasion of the show’s 20th anniversary.
Selected freelance writing and works for prior employers include:
“Vindicated”: The Return of Dashboard Confessional (The Ringer) — February 2018
An interview with Chris Carrabba about the band’s first album in eight years.Young M.A’s “OOOUUU” - 25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music Is Going (The New York Times Magazine) — March 2017
Analysis of the Brooklyn rapper’s transgressive and transformative appreciation of other women.How "Two Can Play That Game" Flipped The Script For Black Rom-Coms (BuzzFeed) — September 2016
Fifteen years after the glossy battle of the sexes rom-com was released, we spoke to members of the cast and crew about how the film came to be, how it opened doors for a generation of black entertainers – and an iconic ponytail GIF even politicians use. Co-written with Bim Adewunmi.Gentrifying Afropunk (The New Yorker website) — August 2015
A report from the Brooklyn music festival, which drew ire for shifting its focus away from the movement’s origins.The Weeknd's East African Roots (Pitchfork) — June 2015
A study of the R&B singer’s sonic influences, which stretch back to the country of his mother’s birth.