Justin Tinsley

Washington, D.C.

@andscape. @AroundTheHorn. @30for30’s “The King of Crenshaw.” ✍️ a book w/ @DwyaneWade. “It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World That Made Him,” May 10, 2022.

Articles

Draymond Green’s ‘angry Black man’ comment is complex because of the messenger

3 weeks ago | andscape.com | Justin Tinsley

Just because Draymond Green has long turned being one’s own worst enemy into a hardwood injustice doesn’t mean he’s a deserving victim of America’s original sin. Green’s Golden State Warriors prepare to clash with the Minnesota Timberwolves in a critical Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinals series tonight at the Chase Center in San Francisco. Yet, the intersection of basketball, race and Black life in America came to a head during Game 2.
Saquon Barkley can’t outrun history

1 month ago | andscape.com | Justin Tinsley

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley came under fire recently after photos of him and President Donald Trump circulated on social media. The pair was photographed ahead of the Eagles’ visit to the White House to celebrate the team’s Super Bowl victory. “lol some people are really upset cause I played [golf] and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT,” Barkley wrote on X.
Travis Hunter se ha ganado este momento; lo que siga, depende de él

1 month ago | espn.com.ar | Justin Tinsley

Es el único prospecto en este draft, quizás en cualquier draft, con una remota posibilidad de convertirse en el Novato del Año ofensivo y defensivoTravis Hunter, el actual ganador del Trofeo Heisman, cuyas habilidades como cazador de balones lo convierten en uno de los prospectos más singulares del draft en la historia de la NFL, probablemente no escuchaba a Jay-Z en el otoño de 2009. Después de todo, solo tenía seis años en ese momento.
Travis Hunter earned this moment. What happens next is up to him

1 month ago | andscape.com | Justin Tinsley

Travis Hunter, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner whose two-way ballhawk skills make him one of the most unique draft prospects in NFL history, likely wasn’t listening to Jay-Z in the fall of 2009. He was, after all, only six-years-old at the time. Yet, as the adage goes, “There’s a Jay-Z lyric for every situation in life.” Unbeknownst to young Travis at the time, Jay dropped a bar nearly 16 years ago that would define his life at this exact moment.
How social media and rap podcasts became an invaluable tool for police

1 month ago | andscape.com | Justin Tinsley

Few people in Los Angeles are more engaging than rapper Glasses Malone. But when the long-time MC and member of the Crips was asked about the recent sweeping federal charges levied against music executive, businessman and Rollin’ 60s Crips bigwig Eugene “Big U” Henley Jr., the conversation gets more complicated. Gangbanging, Malone said, requires a serious level of diplomacy. Somewhere along the line, though, outsiders became representatives of the culture.
The uncomfortable reality around this year’s Jackie Robinson Day

1 month ago | andscape.com | Justin Tinsley

A few days after the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers’ White House visit last week, I asked the team’s manager, Dave Roberts, about the obligation that came with not only celebrating Jackie Robinson’s legacy but protecting it in light of the Trump administrations’ attempt to minimize his military contributions.
MLB shouldn’t take the Defense Department’s attempted erasure of Jackie Robinson lightly

2 months ago | andscape.com | Justin Tinsley

This week, the Department of Defense essentially did what the military and America couldn’t do to Jackie Robinson. The DoD’s removal of a bio of Robinson’s military service on its website was temporary yet massive in symbolism. It erased Robinson. In particular, it erased a significant part of his very existence. And it’s precisely why Major League Baseball must be a fierce protector of a man who altered the course of history playing its game.
Meek Mill’s verse on Fridayy’s ‘Proud of Me’ is painfully beautiful

Mar 7, 2025 | andscape.com | Justin Tinsley

The keyword in the following sentences is “should.” Because Fridayy‘s recently released double album, Some Days I’m Good, Some Days I’m Not, should be destined for success — perhaps even Grammy-nominated success.
Shedeur Sanders’ confidence at the NFL combine rubbed some the wrong way. It shouldn’t have

Mar 6, 2025 | andscape.com | Justin Tinsley

Last week, University of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders didn’t participate in the NFL combine. The soon-to-be franchise signal-caller — whose marquee college career began with two stellar seasons at historically Black Jackson State University — opted to complete the on-the-field display of his pro-day in Boulder later this month.
For Voletta Wallace, there was life after death

Feb 24, 2025 | andscape.com | Justin Tinsley

Known in hip hop as simply “Miss Wallace,” Voletta Wallace, the mother of late rapper the Notorious B.I.G., died on February 21 at her home in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, where she was reportedly under hospice care. According to her family, Wallace died from natural causes. She was 78. When Christopher Wallace was hustling on the streets of Brooklyn, emotions were a sign of weakness.