Rembert Explains

THIS ACCLAIMED BLOGGER HAS A UNIQUE TAKE ON popular culture—one that Ebony magazine says makes him one of the “7 Young Black Writers You Should Know.” Browne shares his upbeat, quirky perspective at Grantland through a signature March Madness-style bracket approach he has used to determine the best Jay-Z song titles and through his blog Rembert Explains the ’90s, running commentaries interspersed with video clips (most recently his commentary on Will Smith’s “Getting’ Jiggy Wit It”).

The former columnist for The Dartmouth Mirror magazine says he writes with his friends and comedian Dave Chappelle in mind. “If it’s something that these 12 people who have various different interests would be intrigued or entertained by, then I think I have something that will work for the greater public,” he says. Browne’s approach has thrived in social media, as evidenced by the 43,000 plus followers of his Twitter feed, which Time magazine recently declared one of the best.

In his latest venture for Grantland—Rembert Explains America Browne set out in June to discover the wonders of the contiguous 48 states in a rental car. In the debut entry he details how, eight New York City blocks into the journey, he backed into another car while a policeman looked on. In the almost-daily blog he mixes photos shot along the way (which might help explain his accident record) with milepost observations and recollections of growing up. “You need to take breaks from technology and the Internet sometimes, because it can just rot away at your soul,” he says.

Browne returned to Hanover in June, a road trip that kicked off his blog, Rembert Explains America.

I’ve always had a group of people in my brain that I’m kind of writing for—friends of mine from different parts of my life.”