Vibe

When a magazine is 2/3 advertising, it falls short in the content department.

"VIBE", with its pages filled with hunks and babes in various degrees of undress, is nothing more than a Madison Avenue pawn, catering to a generation obsessed with appearances and status.

To my generation "BLING! BLING" just doesn't cut it!


A decent staple of urban culture.   June 6, 2002
The Groove (Boston, MA)
12 out of 15 found this review helpful

Within its few years since inception, Vibe magazine has grown to be a staple in urban/hip-hop culture. To its credit, Vibe covers considerable ground: r&b, neo soul, hip hop and reggae. Its focus is music, but it also reaches out to cinema, current events, sports, and television. Apparently, Vibe isn't afraid to push the envelope and tackle non-mainstream issues: they even did an article on hip hop culture in the Black gay community, which ended up being one of the very best articles the magazine has published. While Vibe is often guilty of hyping "hot" artists that are of dubious quality (Ashanti, Destiny's Child, etc), they also feature articles on talented artists that have yet to make it big. Overall, this magazine comes with my stamp of approval.


You've lost that VIBE...   February 9, 2004
Anthony Rupert (Milwaukee, WI)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

Frankly, there isn't much I can say that hasn't already been said by everyone else, but all the people that gave Vibe magazine less than four stars are pretty accurate. What was once a great urban magazine is now just an okay magazine. The articles were great, all twenty of the 20 Questions were funny (or if not that, accurate); even the magazine itself was larger. But now all that has changed.

The articles are still pretty decent, but very seldom are they actually about music. I mean, sure, it's good to cover wrongful beatings of people and what not, but I thought this was a music magazine. Also, now the artist on the cover usually has an article that is only about two or three pages long, as opposed to longer stories by other artists - or other TOPICS in general. And the Revolutions (reviews) section is something I can do without. When the reviewers don't like an album, they never go into detail. Basically, they just say it's bad; they don't say WHY. And nowadays when I read 20 Questions, most of them will make me say, "Man, you must've been bored."

Vibe is still an okay magazine, but it needs to get its vibe back to keep readers interested.

Anthony Rupert


OVERLY GLOSSY YET STILL EFFECTIVE   May 6, 2002
J. Johnson (CT)
10 out of 13 found this review helpful

I remember cleary back in November 1995 when I got my first issue of VIBE in the mail.It was the December 1995/January 1996
issue with Whitney Houston on the cover.I was loving this magazine.Yes it was a lot like an "urban Rolling Stone" but it was smart,hip,diverse,and intriging.Founded by Quincy Jones in 1993,VIBE has been a more stylish,hipper alternative to the more street,keep-it-real The Source and it has succeed.

From that Whitney Houston issue to this day,I've been an avid reader of VIBE,it's my first-choice music magazine.It especially
thirved when Danyel Smith became the Editor In Cheif from November 1997 to November 1999 as it became even more wordly and intriguing.Not to mention,the stunning photos and informative aricles,helpful reviews,and political columns but then VIBE got a little soft on me when former fashion editor Emil Wilibekin became the Editor In Chief.As Wilibekin became the E-I-C,VIBE has become very glossy and prissy.Very woman-friendly and gay-friendly(that's not necessaraly a bad thing though).With glossy fashion spreads galore and a just overall
prissy vibe(no pun intended).That turns me off.I also don't care how the Revolutions(the review section) is so skimed down and less informative.VIBE is one of the main reasons I became a reviewer on Amazon.com,their reviews used to be honest and well-intended but these days they aren't so effective anymore and not that many big hip hop releases are even reviewed anymore(which is good in a way since it's helping the readers discover more
less well-known,adventrous sounds).

Even with it's in it's overly slick state these days,VIBE is still the best music magazine on the market.XXL may be more down and more informative and The Source may be righteous,and the promising Blender may be more music-guided but VIBE will always the first-choice music magazine for me for like Mr. Knyte said
it inspired me to take my dreams of journalism(especially music journalism) higher and for now,seven years it's lifted my sprits
and always kept me intrigued.