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Black Twitter Demands Answers After Rolling Stone's Colonized List of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time Resurfaces

I’m completely aware that opinions are subjective, but on Monday, Rolling Stone upset the entire balance of the universe all over again when its 2008 list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time” resurfaced to torment us all. Suggested Reading The Root 100 – 2020 Black History Month – 2022 Hip-Hop 50 Year –…

I’m completely aware that opinions are subjective, but on Monday, Rolling Stone upset the entire balance of the universe all over again when its 2008 list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time” resurfaced to torment us all.

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Stefon Diggs and Cardi B Viral Boat Video Prompts Response from Patriots Coach
Stefon Diggs and Cardi B Viral Boat Video Prompts Response from Patriots Coach

And no, “torment” is not hyperbole—because we live in a world in which Patti Labelle, the same woman who literally kicks her shoes off to deliver searing renditions of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” or “You Are My Friend,” is somehow only the 95th greatest singer to have ever lived.

Oh, and it gets worse: while luminaries such as Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and Marvin Gaye received their just due among the Top 10, Mariah Carey—who in a past life casually disrespected the 7th octave by doing shit like this—came in at 79, Luther Vandross and his velvet tenor was 54, and Whitney fucking Houston was 34.

And just who among these legendary voices does Rolling Stone claim is superior? Those would be artists like Neil Young, Iggy Pop, and Bob Dylan—all noteworthy songwriters in their own right, but better singers? Are you high?

And you wonder why we have high blood pressure.

Although this list originally surfaced in Rolling Stone’s Nov. 27, 2008 issue before making its way online on Dec. 3, 2010, what makes this list so egregious was that 179 living, breathing human beings—each of whom deserves to be tarred and feathered—collectively decided on these terrible ass rankings.

Naturally, Twitter had some thoughts:

https://twitter.com/SonofBaldwin/status/1186349992648302592
https://twitter.com/houstonxjordan/status/1186339571027587073
https://twitter.com/Deggans/status/1186362626986536960
https://twitter.com/OOOhTwit/status/1186362288036552704

I’m still salty that KeKe Wyatt, the incomparable Ron Isley, and the criminally underrated Rachelle Ferrell are nowhere to be found on this list, but when the potato salad tastes as bland as Rolling Stone’s, are we really surprised?

[Note from News Editor Monique Judge: This list is literally the raisins in the potato salad.]

Straight From The Root

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