BlackStack is giving the new Black Tumblr.
A lot of talk of “ex-Tumblr girls” — before Pinterest, there was Tumblr, and for me, it was the introduction to a life filled with inspiration and glamourized Black culture.
There’s been quite a lot of romanticization of Tumblr, the site where many millennials and Gen-Z spent days and nights fine-tuning their microblogs with photos, quotes, and music that highlighted the existential feeling of youth (or maybe we just wanted to share cool sh*t).
There’s also been a lot of talk of “ex-Tumblr girls” — baby, some of us never left! Whether we use the site as a personal art archive or to source imagery for our latest social media post, Tumblr continues to serve as an endless well of creativity and boundless expression.
Read along as we share our perspectives highlighting Tumblr's impact on our Black experience.
what’s in a username? my love for A Tribe Called Quest, for one.
my first email address ever was ilovecandy729 — the first part of this moniker was a very true statement, much to the chagrin of my pediatric dentists. then there was my username, fierceloverock — an amalgamated ode to my love of rock music and a childhood obsession with America’s Next Top Model. Tyra Banks had a penchant for frequently saying “Fierce” and it was absolutely a phrase that i worked into my own lexicon. from here, you can already see how often my interests and the things i love inform how i express myself online.
one interest that has persisted throughout my life is music, and i enjoy music of all genres.1 one influential group that exposed me to the various ways that different genres can coexist was A Tribe Called Quest. the artful sampling of R&B, jazz, rock, and more within their hip-hop production was a game changer. sometime during my coming-of-age, i fell in love with the song “Bonita Applebum." to say that i was intrigued is an understatement — there aren’t many rap songs that’ll make you look up the meaning of the word “prophylactics.” consequently, i adopted the online handle heybonita across Tumblr and the like. i definitely had “Bonita Applebum” on autoplay if you visited my blog.
“do i love you? do i lust for you? am i a sinner cuz i do the two?”
choosing a username is like renaming yourself on your own terms. Tumblr was the place where my many phases and interests could co-exist. even as i've changed my usernames into adulthood, elements of those youthful avatars still remain dear to me. plus, heybonita persists. i still use it on Spotify in a staunch refusal to connect my Facebook account to the streaming service, and it’s also my username for last.fm, where i’ve tracked my music since the Tumblr era.2
i’m an archivist of sorts, and i continue to curate my Tumblr page every now and then. in many ways, my newsletter is an extension of this digital archive i’ve built of inspirations and musings. with things i collected, i often bridge the gap between the digital and analog worlds by showing you the artifacts i’ve saved from moments in my life, including vinyl, CDs, photos, ticket stubs, and more. i take photos of these items in their current state; all of the memories i’ve lived with them are apparent in the wear.3
“hey bonita, glad to meet ya.”
while i’ve yet to add music by ATCQ to my physical collection, i do have this Stüssy tee, Hanif Abdurraqib’s book Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest, and shoes from the Vans x ATCQ collab in my possession. i remember seeing the collection at the Vans store in New York while interning for a very famous music magazine (google me baby!) and not knowing which style to get, so i passed up on purchasing them. within the next year or so, i returned home to Atlanta and began working at a local resale store, where i eventually became a buyer. a pair of yellow suede high-top Vans with lyrics to “Bonita Applebum” scrawled on the laces came in over the counter, and i knew i HAD to get them this time around, even if they were a half-size too big. i’ll cherish them forever. like the username, the shoes are just another way to show my love for one of the greatest songs that i’ve ever heard.
Call me CAPTION the way I curate the perfect capture.
It’s no secret that my signature curation will include a photo to capture the emotion or point I am looking to drive home. Since I can remember I’ve had this love for using pictures to curate the message, and it all started with Tumblr.
Well really MySpace, but that’s not the topic today. Before Pinterest there was Tumblr, and for me, it was the introduction to a life filled with inspiration and Black culture glamourized as an aesthetic.
I quickly became obsessed with the creative expression witnessed on Tumblr as Black folx, as
put it in her hair story, showed up and showed out on the internet. Tumblr came out while I was still in high school, so when I transferred to an early college, I enrolled in a film processing class to explore my love for photographs. I enjoyed the process of developing the film but was less interested in the actual act of taking the photos.You would think that I would have fallen in love with photography or at least the creative director nature of work, but nope, I fell in love with aesthetics. My curation process is taking two completely different experiences and weaving them together with my words as the muse. It’s the creative process for me!
It’s people like
and who highlighted this as my “signature style” when it comes to my curation, and honestly, I love that for me. Never would I have imagined that my Tumblr days were paving the foundation for my entire brand.Back, back, back in the day when I first got in these Substack streets,
shouted me out in The Community Corner section of her post, showing me love because of the curation of my photos in my creative article titled romanticizing life.
Maybe it’s my Taurus Midheaven, which keeps aesthetics at the front focus of all of my creative projects, that will bring me financial stability. Or perhaps it’s my Scorpio Sun that enjoys layering the mysterious depth to my creations. Either way, when the opportunity to curate some Black shit rings my line, I am answering the call!
has been the 2024 edition of Black Tumblr, in my personal opinion, so what if it’s biased? Over the past two months, the ways the newsletters have been curated, no matter the series, feels like Tumblr back in 2007 when I was heavy in my blogger girl, Vogue chief-editor era. Black culture has to be preserved, but most importantly, Black American culture is trying to be preserved after years of attempting to reclaim the identity stolen from us. Platforms like Tumblr and now are safe spaces to share our voices freely and unapologetically.
Reads that inspired this post:
F.U.B.U. - Black Hair Stories pt. 1
Black hair is one of the most admirable things about Black culture.
- Black Hair Stories pt. 1 featured on .
- today was a good day post.
yes, i’ll even tolerate country music at this point in my life. Black American music influences a good percentage of modern popular music. i like listening to various genres to see how it all connects, how it resonates with me, and to give me a connection to those who have heard the same music. - Shanté
my total listens on “Bonita Applebum” are inconclusive, considering the remixes, the version with the “Can I Kick It” intro, and the number of times i pressed repeat on my MP3 player. — Shanté
i buy a lot of things secondhand, so other people's stories are palpable within some of these collectibles. — Shanté
I never used Tumblr or Pinterest. My niece and sister stay baffled by this. But I understand the vibe. 🤓
I loved Tumblr before Yahoo bought it. Now it's a whole hot mess.