History of the Villager's Black Blog Rankings

This post provides an archival record of the growth and evolution of the Black Blog Rankings. Currently, we have 1,766 blogs listed as of October 3, 2009 (read/download).

This listing is the last one scheduled to be published. We are closing down the Villager's Black Blog Rankings today.

The downloadable version of the Villager's Black Blog Rankings is in .pdf format. You can leave a COMMENT below (with your email address) if you want a Word version that has clickable links embedded in it.


History of the Black Blog Rankings

1. Sep 2009 - 1747 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
2. Aug 2009 - 1766 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
3. Jun 2009 - 1704 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
4. May 2009 - 1,659 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
5. Apr 2009 - 1,629 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
6. Feb 2009 - 1,593 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
7. Jan 2009 - 1,575 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
8. Dec 2008 - 1,500 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
9. Nov 2008 - 1,440 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
10. Oct 2008 - 1,440 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
11. Sep 2008 - 1,400 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
12. Aug 2008 - 1,329 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
13. Jul 2008 - 1,269 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
14. Jun 2008 - 1,239 blogs (#1, Bossip.com)
15. May 2008 - 1,173 blogs (#1, Bossip.com)
16. Apr 2008 - 1,045 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
17. Mar 2008 - 850 blogs (#1, Bossip.com)
18. Feb 2008 - 751 blogs (#1, Bossip.com)
19. Jan 2008 - 602 blogs (#1, Concrete Loop)
20. Dec 2007 - 516 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
21. Nov 2007 - 430 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
22. Oct 2007 - 300 blogs (#1, Pam's House Blend)
23. Sep 2007 - 75 blogs (#1, Paula Mooney's Tips)

Random Spotlight on Black Bloggers
We began putting the spotlight on new blogs being added to the Black Blog Rankings in February 2008. Here are the blogs highlighted since that time:

• 1,600th Blog - I Hope You Can Handle It
• 1,400th Blog - Reverend Lutionary
• 1,200th Blog - The True Urban Queen
• 1,100th Blog - Want/Do Not Want
• 1,000th Blog - Something Within
• 900th Blog - Gunfighter: A Modern Warrior
• 800th Blog - L.A. Stylin'

I had no idea what I was getting into when this journey began back in September 2007. I hope that you enjoyed the Villager's Black Blog Rankings while it lasted!

Top 10 Black Blogs (Sep 2009)

Here is our updated Villager's Black Blog Rankings (BBR) for September 2009. This month's BBR is unique. For the first time in two years we have less Black-owned and Black-operated blogs on the list than the previous month. I imagine there many bloggers gave up using blogs to share their thoughts in cyberspace in favor of social networks like Twitter or Facebook.

Villagers, I need your help. If you are a blogger ... please share a post on your blog about your inclusion in this month's BBR. Let them know where you stand now ... and what your goal is for some set time in the future. Secondly, if you see that your score is either not updated ... or not included ... please use the COMMENTS (or 'VILLAGE VOICES') option at the conclusion of this post to let me know. I'll make the correction as quickly as possible.

Please note that any blog that has not been updated in the past 120 days is now shown at the bottom of the list (in alpha order). I encourage those blog owners to ensure that they 'ping' their blog with Technorati in order to be placed back in order with the other blogs. If the blogs are not updated after 180 days ... they will be purged from the BBR. Also, any blog for which I can no longer locate a valid URL (link) will be purged from the BBR

A'ight ... here is what you came for ... the September 2009 Black Blog Rankings (BBR) with 1,747 Black-owned and operated blogs ... down 19 from the last published BBR. We had five blogs changing their ranking in the BBR Top Ten this month. In addition, a sixth blog -- Necole Bitchie (BBR #10) -- returns to the BBR Top Ten for the first time since Janurary 2009.

We recognize that not every Black-owned & operated blog is on our current list! Please let me know if you see a blog that should be added to the BBR.

Top Ten Black Blogs for September 2009:

1. Pam Spaulding: Pam's House Blend (Authority: 605 / Rank: 1,505) - [Politics] Pam is a major voice in the LGBT community. She was a presenter at the recently-concluded Netroots Nation convention held in Pittsburgh. Pam's blog continues in the BBR #1 for the 15th month in a row. Pam is a role model for many Black bloggers ... including me!


2. Ahsmi Rawlins: Nah Right (Authority: 532 / Rank: 1,934) - [Entertainment] Ashmi (a.k.a., ESKAY) is the top-ranked gossip or entertainment blog on our list. Vibe.com claims that Nah Right is the 'The Best Rap Blog'. Eskay launched his blog in May 2005 from his home state of New York.


3. The Bossip: Bossip.com (Authority: 387 / Rank: 3,435) - [Entertainment] Moguldom Media Group, which owns Bossip, is run by a powerful sister named Marve Frazier. Ms. Frazier recently launched a new venture called HipHopVenture. Does anyone have a digital photo of Ms. Frazier?


4. Wayne Bennett: The Field Negro (Authority: 278 / Rank: 4,498) - [Social Commentary] This blog moved up a spot since last month. This is the highest ranking for Field Negro since we started these rankings two years ago. Wayne was recently a guest on the Michael Eric Dyson radio show. His blog is hard-hitting in its social commentary ... and the sidebar insights are almost as compelling as the posts. Finally, the success of this blog should be noted by all of us that still use *free* blog templates like Blogger or Wordpress.


5. Renee Martin: Womanist Musings (Authority: 270 / Rank: 6,135) - [Social Commentary] Womanist Musings came to being in April 2008 to speak truth to power. The majority of the topics deal with people that are marginalized ... that society has a tendency to ignore. There is no subject too controversial. Regular features of this blog are Drop It Like Its Hot and Sunday Shame. Hmmm, I hope that we can convince Sis. Renee to add us to her blogroll!


6. Oliver Willis: Oliver Willis (Authority: 261 / Rank: 6,460) - [Politics] Oliver Willis has written about politics, current events and pop culture at his web site since 2000. Profiled in the Boston Globe, Baseline Magazine and cited in The Washington Post he prides himself on being "Like Kryptonite To Stupid". Willis works in the technology department of Media Matters for America.


7. Angel Laws: Concrete Loop (Authority: 252 / Rank: 6,823) - [Entertainment] Angel Laws - Angel, 24, is the creator and editor of the award winning blog Concrete Loop. She is also a part-time photographer who shared blogging tips with the folks at the 2009 Blogging While Brown conference.


8. Natasha Eubanks: Young, Black & Fabulous (Authority: 246 / Rank: 7,057) - [Entertainment] Natasha Eubanks jumped up one spot in this month's BBR. Natasha is the writer, editor and perhaps the most famous African American entertainment/gossip blogger in the world. The YBF is the product of her obsession with all that is Hollywood and celebrity. Learn more about Natasha from this wonderful blogger interview conducted by Thembisa Mshaka.


9. Baratunde Thurston and Cheryl Contee: Jack and Jill Politics (Authority: 235 / Rank: 7,591) - [Politics] Cheryl and Baratunde have grown in visibility as their blog as grown in stature. They were both stars at the 2009 Netroots Nation convention held last month in Pittsburgh. Baratunde interviewed Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett. Cheryl urged journalists, bloggers and activists to "partner with organizations and coalitions, while challenging racism in the media. Use social media, blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Create alliances. Go around the media. Create you own media. Send it out." Meanwhile, Baratunde has been named one of the Top 50 Funny People on Twitter. Does anyone know the backstory on the half-eaten watermelon that serves as their logo?


10. Necole Bitchie: Necole Bitchie (Authority: 171 / Rank: 12,149) - [Entertainment] Necole is one of the few Black bloggers making a career from her blog. NecoleBitchie.com is one of the fastest growing urban celebrity blogs on the Internet. She is also sharing information on YouTube. However, not everyone is a fan. Necole is having the last laugh as her blog is in the BBR Top Ten, while the celebrity hatin' blog is only BBR #739.

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HONORABLE MENTION (11-25): Living Life Abundantly, Sandra Rose, Aloha Nico, RaceWire, The Black Snob, Rod 2.0: Beta, The Black Sphere, The Daily Voice, La Shawn Barber's Corner, RealTalkNY Brought to You by Nigel D., Fly, African Path, Black and Missing But Not Forgotten, Soul'd On Music and Crunk & Disorderly.

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This ranking is open to any blogger of African descent who owns/operates a blog. Villager's Black Blog Rankings lean heavily on the Technorati Authority and Rank score for each blog. The Technorati authority and rank numbers are shown in parenthesis. The authority figure includes a number of factors including the number of blogs that are linked to this blogger over the past six months. The rank number indicates how many blogs are between the one listed and The Huffington Post, which is the #1 overall blog in the universe.

There are hyperlinks on the Word version of the Villager's Black Blog Rankings. Leave a COMMENT using the VILLAGE VOICE link below if you want a copy of the Word version. In the meantime, I encourage you to share some link-love with this post so that your blog readers know about us!

Top 10 Black Blogs (Aug 2009)

It has been awhile since we've updated the Villager's Black Blog Rankings (BBR). I used to update the BBR on a daily basis. However, now I find that weeks go by without me updating it. I took a few hours today to update the rankings as a result of friendly reminders on Twitter.

There are three things that you should understand about this month's BBR.

First, it was impossible to personally review the Technorati Authority score for all 1,766 blogs on this list. If you see that your score is either not updated ... or not included ... please use the COMMENTS (or 'VILLAGE VOICES') option at the conclusion of this post to let me know. I'll make the correction as quickly as possible.

Second, it is obvious that Technorati Authority scores are falling dramatically. Evidently, fewer blogs are linking with one another. Many folks are getting content through Twitter / Facebook / GoogleReader / FriendFeed and such. I would be interested in other thoughts on the falling Technorati Authority scores?

Third, I noticed that a number of blogs are not updated by Technorati for one reason or another. I decided that any blog that has not been updated in the past 120 days would be moved to the bottom of the list. I encourage those blog owners to ensure that they 'ping' their blog with Technorati in order to be placed back in order with the other blogs.

With no further ado, here is the August 2009 Black Blog Rankings (BBR) with 1,766 Black-owned and operated blogs ... up 62 from the last published BBR.

We welcome one new blog, Living Life Abundantly (BBR #10) to the Top 10 this month. At the same time, we see that another blog, This is SOHH (BBR #1759) dropped out of the Top 10.

We recognize that not every Black-owned & operated blog is on our current list! Please let me know if you see a blog that should be added to the BBR.

The Top Ten Black Blogs for August 2009:

1. Pam Spaulding: Pam's House Blend (Authority: 619 / Rank: 1,448) - [Politics] Pam's blog continues in the BBR #1 for the 14th month in a row. Pam is a leading voice in the LGBT community as evidenced by her recent Huffington Post commentary. It is worth noting that this blog lost almost 300 TechAuthority points, however, it leapt over 400 blogs in that same timeframe ... only 1,448 blogs stand between Pam's House Blend and the #1 blog in the world (Huffington's Post).


2. Ahsmi Rawlins: Nah Right (Authority: 555 / Rank: 1,789) - [Entertainment] Ashmi (a.k.a., ESKAY) is the top-ranked gossip or entertainment blog on our list. In fact, Vibe.com recently named Nah Right as the 'The Best Rap Blog'. ESKAY informed me that his company is based on S. St. Andrews Place in Brooklyn. I let him know that I was born and raised on S. St. Andrews Place in Los Angeles. This unique coincidence is enough to make Nah Right one of my favorite entertainment blogs.


3. The Bossip: Bossip.com (Authority: 408 / Rank: 3,415) - [Entertainment] Moguldom Media Group, which owns Bossip, is run by a powerful sister named Marve Frazier.


4. Oliver Willis: Oliver Willis (Authority: 281 / Rank: 5,864) - [Politics] Oliver is a Washington Redskins fan who is destined for another disappointing football season ... but, he continues to maintain a strong blog. In fact, this is the highest ranking for the Oliver Willis blog since we began tracking this stuff a couple of years ago.


5. Wayne Bennett: The Field Negro (Authority: 278 / Rank: 5,868) - [Social Commentary] Wayne is a consistent blogger with a powerful voice. He gets more comments on his blogs than any other non-entertainment blogger. He has great rapport with his blogging community ... which is why this blog is rated higher than ever before this month. is my favorite blogger, although I must admit that RiPPa is making a run for that title.


6. Renee Martin: Womanist Musings (Authority: 270 / Rank: 6,154) - [Social Commentary] All villagers owe Renee a debt of gratitude. It was her Twitter message today that pushed me into action. I wonder if she knew that her Womanist Manifesto would result in the highest BBR ever for her blog? This Canadian sista speaks her truth as an anti-racist woman of color. This blog was BBR #143 at this time last year.


7. Angel Laws: Concrete Loop (Authority: 269 / Rank: 6,188) - [Entertainment] Angel Laws is the twenty-something sister who owns and operates this popular entertainment blog. Her blogging history and her candor about blogging income made her all the buzz at the 2009 Blogging While Brown Conference held earlier this summer. Concrete Loop is also a popular destination on MySpace.


8. Baratunde Thurston and Cheryl Contee: Jack and Jill Politics (Authority: 249 / Rank: 6,951) - [Politics] Baratunde and Cheryl have had a very interesting month. Baratunde ("Jack") provides his political commentary quite often on various cable television networks. Cheryl ("Jill") has been engaged in a very high profile dialogue with National NAACP chairman Julian Bond (or his ghostwriters) on a wide variety of issues. You can also find this blog on Facebook. Does anyone know the backstory on the half-eaten watermelon that serves as their logo?


9. Natasha Eubanks: Young, Black & Fabulous (Authority: 249 / Rank: 6,951) - [Entertainment] Natasha Eubanks is another twenty-something blogging genius. She was called a blogger to watch by Newsweek. She also has a popular site on MySpace.


10. Marenda Taylor: Living Life Abundantly (Authority: 183 / Rank: 10,984) - [Social Commentary] We welcome Marenda back to the BBR Top Ten this month. She wrote, "I started this blog with the intentions of expressing my thoughts, provoking thought, bridging gaps, and sparking conversation. The agenda is to entertain, educate, and empower. The goal is to inspire, encourage, and uplift. The mission is to Live Life Abundantly and to share the lifestyle with as many people as possible." This blog was BBR #108 in Aug 2008.

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HONORABLE MENTION (11-25): Necole Bitchie, Sandra Rose, Aloha Nico, RaceWire, Booker Rising, The Black Snob, Rod 2.0: Beta, La Shawn Barber's Corner, The Black Sphere, RealTalkNY Brought to You by Nigel D., The Daily Voice, Crunk & Disorderly, African Path and TransGriot.

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This ranking is open to any blogger of African descent who owns/operates a blog. Villager's Black Blog Rankings lean heavily on the Technorati Authority and Rank score for each blog. The Technorati authority and rank numbers are shown in parenthesis. The authority figure includes a number of factors including the number of blogs that are linked to this blogger over the past six months. The rank number indicates how many blogs are between the one listed and The Huffington Post, which is the #1 overall blog in the universe.

We are adding hyperlinks to the Word version of the Villager's Black Blog Rankings. Leave a COMMENT using the VILLAGE VOICE link below if you want a copy of the Word version. In the meantime, I encourage you to share some link-love with this post so that your blog readers know about us!

Any feedback on this month's BBR that you care to share?

Top 10 Black Blogs (Jun 2009)

Hotep Villagers! I can't seem to get this monthly update posted on the 1st of the month any longer. But, the wait for the June 2009 Black Blog Rankings (BBR) is over.

I'm happy to report that we have 1,704 blogs in this month's rankings. Two new blogs (This is SOHH.com and Womanist Musings) enter into the Top 10 this month. Living Life Abundantly (BBR #13) and La Shawn Barber's Corner (BBR #14) dropped out of the Top 10.

Currently, we track 1,704 blogs ... up 45 from last month. One thing I noticed this month is that the overwhelming majority of Black-owned blogs have declining Technorati Authority scores. This means that we have less links to our blogs today than we did six months ago. Methinks that this is direct result of links related to the 2008 presidential election dropping from the mix.

We recognize that not every Black-owned & operated blog is on our current list and we are counting on you to let us know about any Black-owned and Black-operated blog that should be added to the BBR.

Without any further ado, here are the Top Ten Black Blogs for June 2009:

1. Pam Spaulding: Pam's House Blend (Authority: 918 / Rank: 1,841) - [Politics] Pam's blog continues in the BBR #1 for the 12th month in a row. Pam is a leading voice in the LGBT community as evidenced by her recent Huffington Post commentary. She will be a presenter at the 2009 Blogging While Brown Conference later this month. This blog was BBR #2 in June 2008.


2. Ahsmi Rawlins: Nah Right (Authority: 678 / Rank: 3,023) - [Entertainment] Ashmi (a.k.a., ESKAY) is the top-ranked gossip or entertainment blog on our list. In fact, Vibe.com recently named Nah Right as the 'The Best Rap Blog'. I'm still waiting on some villager to give me the 411 on his blog logo!?! I was born and raised on St. Andrews Place in Los Angeles so the irony intrigues me every time I log onto Nah Right. This blog was BBR #4 at this time last year.


3. The Bossip: Bossip.com (Authority: 625 / Rank: 3,677) - [Entertainment] Moguldom Media Group, which owns Bossip, is run by Marve Frazier and the founder who seeks to keep her anonymity. So, I guess that I've finally figured out that The Bossip is a woman. One thing that I know for sure ... Gabrielle Union is pissed off at The Bossip. This blog was BBR #1 in June 2008.


4. Felicia Palmer and Steven Samuel: This is SOHH.com (Authority: 592 / Rank: 3,677) - [Entertainment] SOHH stands for Support Online Hip Hop and is a blog based in Jersey City, NJ. SOHH.com is a destination site for fans of hip hop music. The site was created in 1997 as a more cost-effective information alternative to a monthly print publication called 4Control Media, which launched two years earlier. This blog was not ranked a year ago.


5. Angel Laws: Concrete Loop (Authority: 504 / Rank: 4,702) - [Entertainment] Angel Laws is the 24-year old sister who who owns and operates popular entertainment blog. Her blogging history will be a compelling backstory for this presenter at the 2009 Blogging While Brown Conference later this month. Unfortunately, not everyone is a fan. SandraRose.com (BBR #20) showed her animosity in a recent blog post. Anyhow, Concrete Loop is a popular destination on MySpace. This blog was BBR #3 in June 2008.


6. Natasha Eubanks: Young, Black & Fabulous (Authority: 439 / Rank: 5,725) - [Entertainment] Natasha Eubanks has been in the blogging game since July 2005. This 27-year old nubian from Alexandria, VA was called a blogger to watch by Newsweek. She also has a popular site on MySpace. This blog was BBR #6 a year ago.


7. Oliver Willis: Oliver Willis (Authority: 401 / Rank: 6,446) - [Politics] Oliver recently shared his thoughts on the Republican Party in the Huffington Post. Oliver has developed some blogging enemies in the four years since he started his blog. But, whatever you think about him ... it is nice to have a non-entertainment blog in the BBR Top Ten! This blog was BBR #5 in June 2008.


8. Baratunde Thurston and Cheryl Contee: Jack and Jill Politics (Authority: 382 / Rank: 6,988) - [Politics] Baratunde and Cheryl will share their unique Black bourgeoisie perspective on U.S. politics at the 2009 Blogging While Brown Conference later this month. Cheryl wasn't in Cairo for Obama's speech last week, however, she did follow him to Europe for the G-20 Summit in April. This blog recently expanded into other social networks such as Facebook. Does anyone know the backstory on the half-eaten watermelon that serves as their logo? This blog was BBR #9 at this time last year.


9. Wayne Bennett: The Field Negro (Authority: 327 / Rank: 8,556) - [Social Commentary] Wayne is my favorite blogger, although I must admit that RiPPa is making a run for that title. This practicing attorney was born in Jamaica, however, he considers himself a citizen of the world. His blog is revolutionary in nature with no-holds barred commentary on the worlds of entertainment, sports, and politics. He operates on a blogspot.com platform and refuses to cross-promote on any other social network. This blog was BBR #14 in June 2008.


10. Renee Martin: Womanist Musings (Authority: 322 / Rank: 8,747) - [Social Commentary] Rene proudly laid out her Womanist Manifesto in April 2008. Her blog has risen faster and farther than anyone else in the past year. Once you understand the passion that this Canadian mother of two possesses it is not surprising to see the success of her blog. She speaks her truth as a anti-racist woman of color. About the only thing that Renee is mistaken about his her review of the iconic television series, '24' ... but, that is a story for a different day! This blog was BBR #860 at this time last year.

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HONORABLE MENTION (11-25): Ill Doctrine, The Smoking Section, Living Life Abundantly, La Shawn Barber's Corner, Necole Bitchie, The Angry Black Woman, AfroBella, Angry Black Bitch, SoulBounce.com, Sandra Rose, Raw Dawg Buffalo, RaceWire, Tariq Nelson, Crunk & Disorderly and Clutch Magazine

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This ranking is open to any blogger of African descent who owns/operates a blog. Villager's Black Blog Rankings lean heavily on the Technorati Authority and Rank score for each blog. The Technorati authority and rank numbers are shown in parenthesis. The authority figure includes a number of factors including the number of blogs that are linked to this blogger over the past six months. The rank number indicates how many blogs are between the one listed and The Huffington Post, which is the #1 overall blog in the universe.

We added clickable links to the Word version of the Villager's Black Blog Rankings. Let me know if you want a copy of the Word version. In the meantime, I would be interested to hear from you. Is it worth the effort to update this list each month?

Top 10 Black Blogs (May 2009)

Happy Mother's Day! We now have 1,659 blogs ranked in May 2009 BBR. Two new blogs (The Field Negro and La Shawn Barber's Corner) enter into the Top 10 for the first time since Feb 2009. Hello Beautiful (BBR #12) and This is SOHH.com (BBR #16) dropped out of the Top 10.

Currently, we track 1,659 blogs ... up 30 from last month. We are proud of the evolution of the Black Blog Rankings (BBR). However, we recognize that not every Black-owned & operated blog is on our current list! Please let me know if you see a blog that should be added to the BBR.

The Top Ten Black Blogs for May 2009:

1. Pam Spaulding: Pam's House Blend (Authority: 1,084 / Rank: 1,402) - [Politics] Pam's blog continues in the BBR #1 for the 11th month in a row. The Washington Post shared some reasons that Pam has been so influential in the blogosphere. I still hold out hope that Pam will be a guest on Rachel Maddow show at some point in the near future. Tags for this blog are race, politics, feminism, gay and lesbian. This blog was BBR #2 in May 2008.


2. Ahsmi Rawlins: Nah Right (Authority: 721 / Rank: 2,771) - [Entertainment] Ashmi (a.k.a., ESKAY) has been blogging since May 2005 and is now recognized as the top-ranked gossip or entertainment blog on our list. This BBR #2 ranking is an all-time high for Nah Right. I still want to know the deal on his blog masthead. I was born and raised on St. Andrews Place in Los Angeles ... so it brings a smile to my face whenever I visit Nah Right. Can anyone tell me why he has St. Andrews Place on his blog masthead. The tags for this blog are news and music. This blog was BBR #4 in May 2008.


3. The Bossip: Bossip.com (Authority: 714 / Rank: 2,819) - [Entertainment] This blog has spheres of influence in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York City. Moguldom Media Group, which owns Bossip, is run by Marve Frazier and the founder who seeks to keep anonymity. This blog was BBR #1 in May 2008.


4. Angel Laws: Concrete Loop (Authority: 548 / Rank: 4,160) - [Entertainment] Angel Laws is the 24-year old sister who who owns and operates popular entertainment blog. She will be a presenter at the 2009 Blogging While Brown Conference. Concrete Loop is also a popular destination on MySpace. Tags for this blog are Music, Pictures, gossip, R&B, Hollywood, Celebs, Exclusive, loop, concrete, gossip blog, concreteloop, black celebs, black gossip, celeb interviews and black hollywood. This blog was BBR #3 a year ago.


5. Natasha Eubanks: Young, Black & Fabulous (Authority: 488 / Rank: 4,865) - [Entertainment] Natasha Eubanks moved up three spots in this month's BBR. This 27-year old nubian from Alexandria, VA provides some remarkable celebrity photos on her blog. She also has a popular site on MySpace. This blog was BBR #7 a year ago.


6. Oliver Willis: Oliver Willis (Authority: 475 / Rank: 5,138) - [Politics] Oliver has been blogging since April 2005. You can tell an awful lot about a blogger from the company he keeps. Oliver's blogging enemies go for his juggular. On the other hand, he is a contributor to the top-ranked blog in the world. Tags for this blog are politics, media, news, comedy, humor, progressive, journalism, democrats and movies. This blog was BBR #6 in May 2008.


7. Baratunde Thurston and Cheryl Contee: Jack and Jill Politics (Authority: 451 / Rank: 5,551) - [Politics] Baratunde and Cheryl make up the dynamic online team of Jack and Jill. Their blog provides a Black bourgeoisie perspective on U.S. politics. The duo provides outstanding political content. You can find them on Facebook as well. This blog was BBR #8 last year.


8. Marenda Taylor: Living Life Abundantly (Authority: 366 / Rank: 7,451) - [Social Commentary] Marenda wrote, "I started this blog with the intentions of expressing my thoughts, provoking thought, bridging gaps, and sparking conversation. The agenda is to entertain, educate, and empower. The goal is to inspire, encourage, and uplift. The mission is to Live Life Abundantly and to share the lifestyle with as many people as possible." Marenda posts more often than just about anyone else on this list. I have no idea how she finds the time, however, all of her blog readers appreciate the power of her information. This blog was BBR #135 in May 2008.


9. Wayne Bennett: The Field Negro (Authority: 341 / Rank: 8,181) - [Social Commentary] Wayne is both my namesake and my favorite blogger. It is worth noting that he does it his way. I don't think that this blogger is on any of the other social networks like Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn Network. His blog is the only one in the BBR Top 10 using the Blogger.com 'freebie' platform. It goes to show that if your content is tight ... you will attract attention. Tags for this blog are house negro, Politcs, Race, Racism, negroes, Economics, Law, Urban, Jamaica, Pan Africanism, Malcolm X, Crime, Sports, killadelphia and third world. This blog was BBR #13 a year ago.


10. La Shawn Barber: La Shawn Barber's Corner (Authority: 326 / Rank: 8,848) - [Social Commentary] La Shawn began blogging in November 2003 ... making her one of the most experienced bloggers on our list. She is a freelance writer and columnist with a Christian and conservative viewpoint. She recently shared her thoughts on Black beauty pageants. You can also find her on Facebook. Tags for this blog are News, Music, Media, Writer, conservative, Black, God, Digital, blogger, Journalism, Women, Jesus Christ, Bible, Harry Potter, iTunes, Christian, Pro-life and Reformed. This blog was BBR #9 in May 2008.

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HONORABLE MENTION (11-25): Womanist Musings, Hello Beautiful, Ill Doctrine, The Smoking Section, Necole Bitchie, This is SOHH.com, AfroBella, The Black Snob, The Angry Black Woman, Rod 2.0:Beta, Raw Dawg Buffalo, Sandra Rose, Angry Black Bitch, SoulBounce.com and What About Our Daughters.

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This ranking is open to any blogger of African descent who owns/operates a blog. Black Blog Rankings lean heavily on the Technorati Authority and Rank score for each blog. The Technorati authority and rank numbers are shown in parenthesis. The authority figure includes a number of factors including the number of blogs that are linked to this blogger over the past six months. The rank number indicates how many blogs are between the one listed and The Huffington Post, which is the #1 overall blog in the universe.

We are adding links to the Word version of the Villager's Black Blog Rankings. Let me know if you want a copy of the Word version. In the meantime, I encourage you to share some link-love with this post so that your blog readers know about us!

Top 10 Black Blogs (April 2009)

I trust that all villagers are having a joyous Easter. I apologize for my late presentation of the Villager's Black Blog Rankings (BBR) for this month. My hope is to get back on schedule for posting this list on the 1st day of each month. With any luck we will make into the Top Ten Top Ten Lists maintained by Vincetastic!

We now have 1,629 blogs ranked in April 2009 BBR. Hello Beautiful (created by Tracey Cooper) and Living Life Abundantly (created by Marenda Taylor) both powered their way into the Top 10 this month. I hope that Tracey and Marenda drop by to share some tips in the comments section with the rest us!

The number of blogs tracked by our monthly rankings have increased significantly since we shared those first 75 Black blogs in Sep 2007. It has been a remarkable journey. It is likely we are missing some Black-owned & operated blogs our current list! If you see any that are missing ... please let me know in the COMMENTS section.

Here are some of the blog lists from the past four quarters:

• January 2009 - 1,550 Black blogs
• October 2008 - 1,440 Black blogs
• July 2008 - 1,269 Black blogs
• April 2008 - 1,045 Black blogs

Anyhow, with no further ado, here are the Top Ten Black Blogs for April 2009:

1. Pam Spaulding: Pam's House Blend (Authority: 1,090 / Rank: 1,426) - [Politics] Pam's blog continues in the BBR #1 for the 10th month in a row. The Washington Post shared some reasons that Pam has been so influential in the blogosphere. You can meet Sis. Spaulding in person at the 2009 Blogging While Brown Conference. Tags for this blog are race, politics, feminism, gay and lesbian. This blog was BBR #2 in April 2008.
2. The Bossip: Bossip.com (Authority: 740 / Rank: 2,724) - [Entertainment] Bossip.com remains the top-ranked gossip or entertainment blog on our list. This blog has spheres of influence in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York City allowing it to be the first to break stories about celebrities such as Chris Brown, Rudy (from 'The Cosby Show') and Tyson Beckford This blog was BBR #1 in April 2008.
3. Ahsmi Rawlins: Nah Right (Authority: 738 / Rank: 3,042) - [Entertainment] Ashmi (a.k.a., ESKAY) has been blogging since May 2005. Folks continue to marvel at the ability of Eskay to stay ahead of the blogging game. Personally, I'm curious to learn the backstory of his logo ... the St. Andrews Place street sign. I was born and raised on St. Andrews Place in Los Angeles! Anyhow, the tags for this blog are news and music. This blog was BBR #4 in April 2008.
4. Felicia Palmer and Steven Samuel: This is SOHH.com (Authority: 592 / Rank: 3,806) - [Entertainment] SOHH stands for Support Online Hip Hop and is a blog based in Jersey City, NJ. SOHH.com is a destination site for fans of hip hop music. The site was created in 1997 as a more cost-effective information alternative to a monthly print publication called 4Control Media, which launched two years earlier. Tags for this blog are HIP HOP, Rap, Magazine and Newspapers. This blog was not ranked a year ago.
5. Angel Laws: Concrete Loop (Authority: 572 / Rank: 3,979) - [Entertainment] Angel Laws is the young sister who who owns and operates this dynamic entertainment blog. I am very pleased to report that we can learn how Angel, who blogged herself into a successful career, will be a presenter at the 2009 Blogging While Brown Conference. Angel has other interests in life as demonstrated by her photo blog. Tags for this blog are Music, Pictures, gossip, R&B, Hollywood, Celebs, Exclusive, loop, concrete, gossip blog, concreteloop, black celebs, black gossip, celeb interviews and black hollywood. This blog was BBR #3 in April 2008.
6. Tracey Cooper: Hello Beautiful (Authority: 544 / Rank: 4,519) - [Entertainment] This blog is a fun mix of fashion, beauty, entertainment and relationship talk carefully curated for Black women. From politics to celebrity gossip and love to style advice, Hello Beautiful helps keep Black women connected to information they love and the people they want to share it with. Tags for this blog are relationships, sex, Michelle Obama, fashion, Rihanna and 'naked with socks on'. I must admit that I learned about a woman who uses her boobs to pay for her rent from this blog! This blog was not ranked a year ago.
7. Oliver Willis: Oliver Willis (Authority: 508 / Rank: 4,764) - [Politics] Oliver has been blogging since April 2005. He is expanding his cyber-empire to YouTube as well. Lately, Oliver has been tangled in blogging warfare with some conservative pundits. Tags for this blog are politics, media, news, comedy, humor, progressive, journalism, democrats and movies. This blog was BBR #6 in April 2008.
8. Natasha Eubanks: Young, Black & Fabulous (Authority: 500 / Rank: 4,865) - [Entertainment] Natasha Eubanks started her blog to give the paparazzi treatment to celebrities who don't make the pages of US Weekly or the posts of PerezHilton.com. She started the blog after evacuating New Orleans ahead of Hurricane Katrina. You can learn more about Sis. Eubanks from this blogger interview. This blog was BBR #7 a year ago.
9. Baratunde Thurston and Cheryl Contee: Jack and Jill Politics (Authority: 442 / Rank: 5,821) - [Politics] Baratunde and Cheryl make up the dynamic online team of Jack and Jill. Their blog provides a Black bourgeoisie perspective on U.S. politics. I recommend that villagers subscribe to Baratunde/Jack on YouTube or Facebook to get a different perspective on his style and content. This blog was BBR #8 in April 2008.
10. Marenda Taylor: Living Life Abundantly (Authority: 362 / Rank: 7,692) - [Social Commentary] Marenda wrote, "I started this blog with the intentions of expressing my thoughts, provoking thought, bridging gaps, and sparking conversation. The agenda is to entertain, educate, and empower. The goal is to inspire, encourage, and uplift. The mission is to Live Life Abundantly and to share the lifestyle with as many people as possible." This blog was BBR #135 in April 2008.

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HONORABLE MENTION (11-25): The Field Negro, La Shawn Barber's Corner, Womanist Musings, Ill Doctrine, The Smoking Section, Necole Bitchie, AfroBella, Raw Dawg Buffalo, Sandra Rose, The Black Snob, Rod 2.0:Beta, The Angry Black Woman, Angry Black Bitch, SoulBounce.com and Crunk & Disorderly.

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This ranking is open to any blogger of African descent. We invite all progressive Black bloggers to consider applying for membership into The AfroSpear.

Black Blog Rankings lean heavily on the Technorati Authority and Rank score for each blog. The Technorati authority and rank numbers are shown in parenthesis. The authority figure includes a number of factors including the number of blogs that are linked to this blogger over the past six months. The rank number indicates how many blogs are between the one listed and The Huffington Post, which is the #1 overall blog in the universe.

We are adding links to the Word version of the Villager's Black Blog Rankings. Let me know if you want a copy of the Word version. In the meantime, I encourage you to share some link-love with this post so that your blog readers know about us!

Top Ten Black Blogs (Feb 2009)

Are you enjoying Black History Month? It appears from the growing popularity of the Villager's Black Blog Rankings (BBR) that many of you are enjoying the nubian flava flowing from in the afrosphere. The list grew to 1,593 blogs ranked in February 2009 BBR. Join us in welcoming This is SOHH.com as a new member of the Top 10.

Were any of you with us when we started this monthly ranking BBR with 75 Black blogs in Sep 2007. It has been a remarkable journey. It is likely we are missing some Black-owned & operated blogs our current list! If you see any that are missing ... please let me know in the COMMENTS section.

Here are some of the blog lists from the past four quarters:

• January 2009 - 1,550 Black blogs
• October 2008 - 1,440 Black blogs
• July 2008 - 1,269 Black blogs
• April 2008 - 1,045 Black blogs

Anyhow, with no further ado, here are the Top Ten Black Blogs for Feb 2009:

1. Pam Spaulding: Pam's House Blend (Authority: 1,241 / Rank: 1,257) - [Politics] Pam's blog continues to maintain a commanding lead as the top Black blog in the universe. Tags for this blog are race, politics, feminism, gay and lesbian. This blog was BBR #2 a year ago.
2. The Bossip: Bossip.com (Authority: 751 / Rank: 2,942) - [Entertainment] Bossip.com is the top-ranked gossip or entertainment blog on our list. We continue to wonder whether The Bossip is male or female? Tags for this blog are Music, Entertainment, gossip, R&B, Racism, Black, Hip-Hop, Harlem, Bet, African American, alicia keys, jay-z, Allen Iverson, russell simmons, p diddy, the superficial, spelman college, young jeezy, hot 97 and Mary J Blige. This blog was BBR #1 a year ago.
3. Ahsmi Rawlins: Nah Right (Authority: 738 / Rank: 3,042) - [Entertainment] Ashmi (a.k.a., ESKAY) has been blogging since May 2005. Both his name and job are based on phonetics, literally and figuratively. The name – eskay – is the phonetic spelling of “SK,” the tag he used as a graffiti writer years ago. Tags for this blog are news and music. This blog was BBR #6 a year ago.
4. Angel Laws: Concrete Loop (Authority: 634 / Rank: 3,762) - [Entertainment] Angel Laws is the young sister who who owns and operates this dynamic entertainment blog. Angel has other interests in life as demonstrated by her photo blog. Tags for this blog are Music, Pictures, gossip, R&B, Hollywood, Celebs, Exclusive, loop, concrete, gossip blog, concreteloop, black celebs, black gossip, celeb interviews and black hollywood. This blog was BBR #3 a year ago.
5. Oliver Willis: Oliver Willis (Authority: 600 / Rank: 4,061) - [Politics] Oliver has been blogging since April 2005. He is expanding his cyber-empire to YouTube as well. Tags for this blog are politicsmedianewscomedyhumor, progressive, politicsmedianewscomedyhumor, Journalism, News, Entertainment, Politics, Media, Liberal, pundit, Democrats and Movies. This blog was BBR #7 a year ago.
6. Felicia Palmer and Steven Samuel: This is SOHH.com (Authority: 592 / Rank: 4,118) - [Entertainment] I just learned about this blog last week. SOHH stands for Support Online Hip Hop. SOHH.com is a destination site for fans of hip hop music. The site was created in 1997 as a more cost-effective information alternative to a monthly print publication called 4Control Media, which launched two years earlier. SOHH.com, which is based in Jersey City, N.J., began as an online hip hop campaign to promote the musical genre on the Internet. Tags for this blog are HIP HOP, Rap, Magazine and Newspapers. This blog was not ranked a year ago.
7. Natasha Eubanks: Young, Black & Fabulous (Authority: 570 / Rank: 4,118) - [Entertainment] Natasha Eubanks started blogging four years ago out of her passion for celebrity gossip. This blog was BBR #8 a year ago.
8. Baratunde Thurston and Cheryl Contee: Jack and Jill Politics (Authority: 563 / Rank: 4,405) - [Politics] Baratunde and Cheryl make up the dynamic online team of Jack and Jill. This blog was BBR #13 a year ago.
9. La Shawn Barber: La Shawn Barber's Corner (Authority: 411 / Rank: 6,848) - [Social Commentary] This top-ranked blog was launched in November 2003. Tags for this blog are News, Music, Media, Writer, conservative, Black, God, Digital, blogger, Journalism, Women, Jesus Christ, Bible, Harry Potter, iTunes, Christian, Pro-life and Reformed. This blog was BBR #9 a year ago.
10. Wayne Bennett: The Field Negro (Authority: 382 / Rank: 7,637) - [Social Commentary] The Los Angeles Times interview provided insights into Wayne last year. It is worth noting that this is the top-ranked Black blog running on Blogger.com platform. Tags for this blog are house negro, Politcs, Race, Racism, negroes, Economics, Law, Urban, Jamaica, Pan Africanism, Malcolm X, Crime, Sports, killadelphia and third world. This blog was BBR #17 a year ago.

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HONORABLE MENTION (11-25): AfroBella, Womanist Musings, Necole Bitchie, Raw Dawg Buffalo, Living Life Abundantly, Ill Doctrine, Angry Black Bitch, Sandra Rose, Crunk & Disorderly, Rod 2.0:Beta, The Black Snob, The Angry Black Woman, Stuff Fly People Like, SoulBounce.com and Electronic Village.

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This ranking is open to any blogger of African descent. We invite all progressive Black bloggers to consider applying for membership into The AfroSpear.

Black Blog Rankings lean heavily on the Technorati Authority and Rank score for each blog. The Technorati authority and rank numbers are shown in parenthesis. The authority figure includes a number of factors including the number of blogs that are linked to this blogger over the past six months. The rank number indicates how many blogs are between the one listed and The Huffington Post, which is the #1 overall blog in the universe.

We are adding links to the Word version of the Villager's Black Blog Rankings. Let me know if you want a copy of the Word version. In the meantime, I encourage you to share some link-love with this post so that your blog readers know about us!

Top Ten Black Blogs (Jan 2009)

We enter enter the Obama era this month. The continued popularity of political and social commentary blogs in the Villager's Black Blog Rankings (BBR) reflects the greater engagement of our blog readers in the issues of the day. I hope that you enjoy the 1,575 blogs ranked in the January 2009 BBR.

I looked back on where things stood 12 months ago when we published the January 2008 BBR. Three of the current Top Ten Black Blogs (Jack and Jill Politics, The Field Negro and Necole Bitchie) were not in the Top Ten a year ago.

We started this ranking effort with 75 Black blogs in Sep 2007. This month we publish over 1,500 Black owned & operated blogs! I don't pretend that we have all Black owned & operated blogs on this list. If you see any that are missing ... please let me know in the COMMENTS section.

Here are the blog lists from the past four quarters:

• January 2008 - 602 Black blogs
• April 2008 - 1,045 Black blogs
• July 2008 - 1,269 Black blogs
• October 2008 - 1,440 Black blogs

Anyhow, with no further ado, here are the Top Ten Black Blogs for Jan 2009:

1. Pam Spaulding: Pam's House Blend (Authority: 1,187 / Rank: 1,384) - [Politics] Pam's blog continues to maintain a commanding lead as the top Black blog in the universe. One of the secrets to her success is the frequency of posts on her blog. Pam has a number of guest commentators and there seems to be a new blog post every couple of hours. In any case, Pam's House Blend is the go-to location for anything related to the lesbian and gay community. Pam has been dealing behind-the-scenes with the hacking of her blog platform This blog was BBR #2 a year ago.
2. The Bossip: Bossip.com (Authority: 769 / Rank: 2,893) - [Entertainment] Bossip.com is the top-ranked gossip or entertainment blog on our list. We continue to wonder whether The Bossip is male or female? This blog survived a dust-up that began last year at this time with some derogatory remarks against Maya Angelou. Click here to see index of the people that are blogged about on Bossip.com. This blog was BBR #3 a year ago.
3. Ahsmi Rawlins: Nah Right (Authority: 716 / Rank: 3,202) - [Entertainment] Ashmi (a.k.a., ESKAY) has been blogging since May 2005. Both his name and job are based on phonetics, literally and figuratively. The name – eskay – is the phonetic spelling of “SK,” the tag he used as a graffiti writer years ago. Today, rappers go nowhere unless Eskay says so. His chronically updated NahRight.com is the site for hip-hop news and videos. Check out this interview he conducted with Urb Magazine to learn more about Eskay. This blog was BBR #6 a year ago.
4. Angel Laws: Concrete Loop (Authority: 638 / Rank: 3,767) - [Entertainment] Angel Laws is the young sister who who owns and operates this dynamic entertainment blog. She created the blog back in 2005 and it was the top-ranked Black blog last year. Angel has other interests in life as demonstrated by her photo blog. I encourage you to see the list of the last 50 posts on her blog. This blog was BBR #1 a year ago.
5. Oliver Willis: Oliver Willis (Authority: 574 / Rank: 4,343) - [Politics] Oliver has been blogging since April 2005. Oliver attended Florida Atlantic University and is a member of the Technology and Online Community Department at Media Matters for America. He is expanding his cyber-empire to YouTube as well. This blog was BBR #7 a year ago.
6. Natasha Eubanks: Young, Black & Fabulous (Authority: 571 / Rank: 4,375) - [Entertainment] Natasha Eubanks started blogging four years ago out of her passion for celebrity gossip. Her blog, focused on Black celebrity gossip and entertainment news, has risen from from nothing to something to become a destination for many bloggers and fans. This blog was BBR #6 a year ago.
7. Baratunde Thurston and Cheryl Contee: Jack and Jill Politics (Authority: 564 / Rank: 4,444) - [Politics] Baratunde is conscious comic and vigilante pundit who has successfully merged his interests in technology, politics and comedy. He has authored three books, including Keep Jerry Falwell Away From My Oreo Cookies. Cheryl works in communications and marketing of social meda and Web 2.0, and is starting her own consulting shop. Together they make up the dynamic online team of Jack and Jill. This blog was BBR #13 a year ago.
8. La Shawn Barber: La Shawn Barber's Corner (Authority: 363 / Rank: 8,238) - [Social Commentary] This top-ranked blog was launched in November 2003. La Shawn comes at things from a unique point of view. She writes about politics, faith, culture, digital technology and, occasionally, how these things intersect. There are many fans of La Shawn Barber. I'm interested to see how her view evolve in the Obama era. This blog was BBR #9 a year ago.
9. Wayne Bennett: The Field Negro (Authority: 355 / Rank: 8,471) - [Social Commentary] The Los Angeles Times interview provided insights into Wayne last year. Field shared his post-election thoughts, however, he managed to weasel his way out of running buck-naked down a Philadelphia street when Obama won. It's cool to see this popular Black blogger sharing his thoughts on King's legacy with Al Jazeera. This blog was BBR #18 a year ago.
10. Necole Bitchie: NecoleBitchie.com (Authority: 348 / Rank: 8,869) - [Entertainment] Necole is one of the few Black bloggers making a career from her blog. She shared some great monetizing tips at the Blogging While Brown conference last year. NecoleBitchie.com is one of the fastest growing urban celebrity blogs on the Internet. She is also sharing information on YouTube. However, not everyone is a fan. This blog was BBR #124 a year ago.

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HONORABLE MENTION (11-25): AfroBella, Ill Doctrine, Sandra Rose, Womanist Musings, Crunk & Disorderly, Raw Dawg Buffalo, The Black Snob, Angry Black Bitch, Living Life Abundantly, Rod 2.0:Beta, The Angry Black Woman, Michelle Obama Watch, Why Does Everyone Suck?, How To Split An Atom and Electronic Village.

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This ranking is open to any blogger of African descent. We invite all Black bloggers to apply for membership into The AfroSpear or join our Facebook group known as the Afrosphere Bloggers Association.

Black Blog Rankings lean heavily on the Technorati Authority and Rank score for each blog. The Technorati authority and rank numbers are shown in parenthesis. The authority figure includes a number of factors including the number of blogs that are linked to this blogger over the past six months. The rank number indicates how many blogs are between the one listed and The Huffington Post, which is the #1 overall blog in the universe.

We do think that these Black blogs are important spheres of influence. Let them know that you appreciate the work they have put in over the past few months and years to get on this list. I encourage all bloggers to provide some link-love to this post so that your readers can learn about the Villager's Black Blog Rankings! Next step is yours ... what say u?