When I was younger, Vibe Magazine was the holy grail for me when it came to music, lifestyle and fashion. Every month, like clock work I would run to the mailbox to retrieve my copy and spend hours reading it in my bedroom. Vibe also featured articles by writers that I admired. Aliya King and Dream Hampton, to name just two. But when digital hit, the magazine took a turn. And some say not for the good. The magazine went from being the epitome of hip-hop culture, to trying to find its niche in a changing publishing market.
Last night, Vibe‘s twitter account took a turn towards the “sexy” with its NSFW question and answer tweet-a-thon moderated by radio personality Angela Yee. Here’s just a sampling of what happened:
never have ;( RT “@RobMarkman: @vibemagazine when was the last time you squirted ?”
— VibeMagazine (@VibeMagazine) July 25, 2013
only if you real RT @hkcovers: lol RT @VibeMagazine: Would you kiss a girl right after you buss in her mouth?
— Sage Williams (@SageWilliams_) July 25, 2013
Same. RT @dirtyxluxury: my man doesn’t & i’m still one… RT @VibeMagazine Guys, do you mind if your girl used to be a hoe?
— Mrs. Dong Young-Bae (@TheFemaleYeezus) July 25, 2013
Not everyone enjoyed the late night sex talk either. My friend, Huny, a former Vibe employee expressed her sentiments.
I see I’m not the only person who was confused, befuddled, disturbed and saddened by VIBE’s “after dark” antics this evening. just no.
— Kim BAEsinger (@huny) July 25, 2013
As did writer, Dream Hampton.
I spent 15 years writing for @VibeMagazine, forgive me for spending 26 mins wondering why they hate their brand this week.
— dream hampton (@dreamhampton) July 25, 2013
Would I expect this type of late-night talk from Cosmopolitan? Sure. Vibe? Not exactly.
Do you think Vibe’s sex-tweet-athon tainted their brand?
July 25, 2013 -
Anything for publicity. I wrote for Vibe at one point too, but back in the good days before it was sold. Since then, Vibe has been quite “thirsty” and lost its original style.
July 25, 2013 -
The act of using your ‘job’s Twitter page’ to write messages that are sexual in nature is the only problem that I see. Other wise than that, I would consider this to be a “non-story”.
Slightly off-topic:
Does anybody know of any websites that caters to black women and the topic of sex? And I am talking about a place where black women congregate and discuss about different types of sex-related topics, as well as, read articles and other creative works of literature without the… You know… The trolling and the condemnation from people whose ears are sensitive to the subject matter.
July 25, 2013 -
You should go to Corset Magazine! The creator of that mag is a writer that often contributes articles on Clutch.
July 25, 2013 -
Miss MimiLuvs, I think you may have just stumbled upon a niche.
You have already identified your concept, purpose, and audience.
July 25, 2013 -
I have also had a subscription to Vibe in high school. As a matter of fact, I still have all of my late 90s early 2000s issues of Vibe in a box in my basement somewhere. It just hasn’t been good since that time period. The articles and departments are boring. Bought an issue last year, waste of my $5 SMH.
July 25, 2013 -
*also had
July 25, 2013 -
I don’t read even read Vibe magazine, so their brand means nothing to me, but I definitely would pick up their magazine after seeing that mess.
July 25, 2013 -
“buss in her mouth.”
seriously, VIBE? The word is bust.
Also, buss means to kiss.
July 25, 2013 -
Slang often changes with city/location.
One word may mean something in City A and something completely different in City B.
July 25, 2013 -
Yeah in NYC buss in her mouth definitely aint no kiss LOL
July 25, 2013 -
Not in dc either….LOL
July 25, 2013 -
Not in NC either.
July 25, 2013 -
When the quality of music goes down so does the quality of music journalism.
July 25, 2013 -
Why am I not suprise Angela Yee had something to do with this. I swear everything about sex that lady is there. Like other have said Vibe along with other magazines have gone downhill. It’s not the same anymore and that’s why they are dying out.
July 25, 2013 -
WTF??? No really, what? I believe it’s ok to talk about sex but in a subtle and classy manner and this right here is complete foolery. Buss, hoe, squirt? Really? Just tacky. Sigh!
July 25, 2013 -
Lol. This might as well be the script to some bad porn.
July 25, 2013 -
It’s all fun to talk about all the freaky sex one can get, yet NOBODY talks about being sexually RESPONSIBLE for themselves and the person they’re having intercourse with.
How about this Yee chick write about how somebody can apply a condom without losing the moment. Or how women can apply a dental dam and still keep it poppin’..
Nowadays, people are too careless with their bodies that we really should not be talking so much about sex if we are so careless about it.
Too much talk about sex, but not enough talk about sexual accountability…
July 25, 2013 -
It’s what happens when porn becomes the norm.
July 27, 2013 -
We have to create spaces where we are allowed to talk about these things. Whenever we see or hear things that portray a negative side of black people we want to either get rid of that source or change it. Both approaches are wrong. THe most effective would be for us to start creating more positive images to push out there. If you look at mainstream media aka “white america” they have all kind of trashy garbage content out there because there’s no negative consequence to it. Black people understandably constantly worry about the judgement and scrutiny our brothers and sisters will face which is why we are always trying to edit sources. We can’t allow them to do this to us. Trying to change “rap” or keep magazines from talking about “inappropriate” things on twitter is simply playing the game that was meant for us all these years. IF we allow perception to control our content we’ll simply be “Niggers that need white approval” excuse my language. So my solution would be to promote the shows and magazines that shed a positive light on our community. This way it creates a balance which will help our children see the entirety of humanity. So while I don’t agree that vibe magazine should have done this somebody else needs to. A balance is what we need!