The 44 Percent: Doechii, Flo Rida shopping plaza, Black businesses in South Florida

The entire discourse around Doechii is backward.

We should be talking about how she’s in rare air becoming only the third woman to win the Grammy for hip-hip album of the year. We should be talking about how she’s already one of the best performers in music, bar none. And we certainly should be talking about how Lauryn Hill passed her the proverbial torch during their recent performance at Jazz in the Gardens.

Instead, much of the discourse surrounding the Tampa native over the past week has been her comments on a recent episode of “Hot Ones” in which she listed “being a straight man” as a dating red flag.

Here’s the deal: if her comments actually offended you, some serious introspection is needed.

C. Isaiah Smalls II author card

Doechii is bisexual. Are you really surprised that a queer woman is wary of straight men? Odds are Doechii just has zero tolerance for homophobia. And what group generally is more homophobic? Heterosexual men. Can you truly blame her for not wanting to put herself in a precarious situation?

As much as we, as a community, want equity within society, that can’t come without the respect for our LGTBQ+ brothers and sisters. So instead of going back and forth about why a queer woman doesn’t want to date straight men, maybe we should try to create safe spaces.

The wise words of Assata Shakur come to mind.

“It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”

Dr. Venis Wilder, founder of Aunt Alberta’s Spice House, is with her natural seasoning, crafted from her medical research. She is among the many entrepreneurs driving South Florida’s Black business boom in Plantation, Florida on Thursday, March 6, 2025. (Miami Herald photo by: Carl Juste)

Nearly 4,000 Black-owned businesses were created from 2017 to 2022 in South Florida, reporter Michael Butler reported, seeing the second highest growth of Black businesses. It is only behind the metro Atlanta area.

Concierto en vivo de “Flo Rida” en E11AUN Miami. (Photo by: Cortesía)

Rapper Flo Rida spoke to reporter Raisa Habersham about investing back into Miami Gardens after purchasing a shopping plaza and a nearby lounge. Raised in Carol City, the rapper hopes it becomes a hub for businesses and tenants like the changes they’re already seeing including increased security.

Jai Lucas is introduced as the new men’s basketball coach at the University of Miami on March 10, 2025. He replaces Jim Larranaga, who was the winningest coach in program history and led the Hurricanes to the 2022 Elite Eight and 2023 Final Four. (Miami Herald photos by: Carl Juste)

When the University of Miami hired Jai Lucas to coach its men’s basketball team, the decision made him the youngest coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Michelle Kauffman reported. Lucas, who comes from a basketball family, replaces legendary Jim Larranaga, who retired unexpectedly the day after Christmas, less than two years after leading the Hurricanes to the school’s first Final Four.

The Trump administration is considering banning Cuban and Haitians from entering the United States as part of a new travel ban, Nora Gámez Torres and Jacqueline Charles reported for the Herald.

As they write: Cuba, which is on a State Department list of countries that sponsor terrorism, might end up on a “red list” of countries facing a total travel ban, while Haiti might end up on a less restrictive version of the list, the sources said. Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump directed officials in the administration to come up with a list of nations that could be part of an expanded travel ban similar to the one he introduced during his first term for countries with Muslim majorities, based on the idea that they have a weak security apparatus to do background checks.

By RAISA HABERSHAM/Miami Herald