Zadie Smith on Jay-Z: "With Tupac, you can hear the effort, the artistry. And Biggie's words first had to struggle free of the sheer bulk of the man himself. When Jay raps, it pours right into your ear like water from a tap," the White Teeth, On Beauty and NW author writes about the man who the accompanying slideshow calls "Brooklyn's once and future king."
Obama apologizes to community members rained out of DNC speech: An estimated 65,000 community members who planned to listen to the president's Democratic National Convention speech in person tonight won't be able to because of a weather-related venue change.
Twitter attacks Minaj for supporting Romney: A verse suggesting that the rapper endorsed the Republican candidate for president inspired a series of profane tweets … But those who were upset about it will be comforted to know that her support can only go so far — she's reportedly not registered to vote.
Meet Obama's black bundlers: Included in the list of wealthy and high-profile supporters are multimillionaire Mellody Hobson, Texas Sen. Rodney Ellis and iconic filmmaker Spike Lee, the Huffington Post reports.