2025: The Year Rage Ruled Everything
By Rob Redding
Editor & Publisher
NEW YORK, Jan. 2, 2025, 1 p.m. — Welcome to 2025, the year America ran hot. The headlines were loud, the tempers were louder, and the country felt like it was running on pure adrenaline. Some people were angry for power. Some were angry for attention. Some were angry because anger is the only language they speak anymore. Anger was not just an emotion this year. It was a currency.
Here are the four Angry Men who defined the year.
4. Donald Trump: The Angriest President Ever
Trump stormed back into the White House in January and wasted no time lighting a match under the culture wars. He declared, “DEI is dead,” and called diversity programs “dangerous,” “immoral,” and “illegal.” Within weeks, federal DEI offices were gutted, training programs were slashed, and old inclusion orders were tossed out like yesterday’s trash. Workers tied to DEI efforts were pushed onto paid leave. Trump called it merit. Critics called it a purge. Either way, the message was unmistakable.
3. Elon Musk: The Man Who Salutes the Nazis
Musk stole the show at Trump’s second inauguration with a gesture that set the internet on fire. Right hand over his heart, arm extended outward. Some saw a Roman salute. Others saw something far darker. Germany would have fined him. America just argued about it.
His fans said it was awkward patriotism. His critics said it was a mask slipping. The Anti-Defamation League tried to play referee, calling it awkward at first, then blasting Musk for cracking jokes about it.
And that was only the warm-up.
In 2025, Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, unleashed massive job cuts across the federal government. Black workers were hit hardest because they make up a large share of the agencies targeted. The Department of Health and Human Services lost about 10,000 workers across the FDA, CDC and NIH. The Department of Veterans Affairs was lined up for 80,000 cuts to roll staffing back to 2019 levels. Legal fights slowed some of it, but thousands still lost their jobs. The IRS shed more than 26,000 workers and is on track to drop below 60,000. That is alarming for a department where Black workers have historically made up about one-third of the staff. The Department of Education faced some of the deepest cuts, with nearly half the agency marked for elimination. Musk called it efficiency. Workers called it devastation.
2. Kendrick Lamar: The Biggest Hater in the Culture
Lamar has openly expressed intense hatred toward Drake, framing Drake’s music and persona as everything he despises. His words reveal deep animosity:
"I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress," and "We hate the bitches you fuck, because they confuse themselves with real women."
He insists that "it is not just me, it is how the culture feels." He positions himself as the ultimate critic of Drake’s influence. These lyrics go beyond "Not Like Us" and his Super Bowl performance. Kendrick told us exactly who he is, and I believe him.
This was not just rap beef. This was personal. This was venom. This was Kendrick telling the world exactly who he is. And after the Super Bowl, after “Not Like Us,” after the interviews and the lyrics, it was impossible not to believe him.
1. Dave Chappelle: The Man Who Hates Trans People
In 2025, Chappelle was not chasing laughs. He was chasing a fight. Chappelle’s latest Netflix special "Unstoppable" pushed him deeper into the culture war bunker. He compared himself to Charlie Kirk and said he feared becoming like him. The jokes were gone. The edge was gone. What remained was anger. He talked about trans people with open hostility. Critics said he had stopped being a comedian and started being a grievance machine. Fans said he was telling the truth. Either way, the laughs were not the headline anymore. The rage was.
TOP 5 BLACK STORIES OF 2025
1. Historic Political Milestones
Syracuse elected Sharon Owens its first Black mayor. Detroit elected its first Black woman mayor, Mary Sheffield. Two cities. Two breakthroughs. One message: the map is changing.
2. Cultural Impact and Entertainment
The Drake versus Kendrick feud swallowed hip-hop whole. And here is the part people do not want to talk about. Historians have long documented how enslaved Black people were forced into violent competitions, including staged fights known as battle royals, for the amusement of white audiences. Enslavers used rivalry as a control tactic, pitting Black people against one another to prevent unity. After slavery, similar patterns showed up in entertainment and sports, where Black performers and athletes were pushed into competitive spectacles shaped by white expectations. With that history in mind, it is hard not to see echoes of the past in the way this feud was consumed and amplified.
Kendrick told us exactly who he is. The culture told us exactly what it rewards. And the country showed us exactly what it still loves to watch.
3. Sports Achievements
Marcus Freeman made history by becoming the first Black head coach to lead a team to the NCAA College Football Playoff National Championship. Notre Dame reached the final after an Orange Bowl win. He also became the first Asian American head coach to reach the Division I FBS title game. He did not win, but he changed the record books.
4. Economic Challenges
Black unemployment hit multi-year highs. The warning signs were everywhere. The recovery was not reaching everyone.
5. Black History Month and Identity
The theme was “Standing Firm in Power and Pride.” It fit the moment. It fit the mood. It fit the fight.
TOP 5 BLACK PEOPLE WE LOST IN 2025
1. D’Angelo (1974 to 2025)
The soul genius behind “Brown Sugar” and “Voodoo” died from pancreatic cancer. A voice that shaped a generation went silent.
2. Malcolm-Jamal Warner (1970 to 2025)
The beloved actor from “The Cosby Show” died in Costa Rica after a drowning incident. A familiar face from America’s living rooms was gone.
3. Ananda Lewis (Age 52)
The MTV VJ and television host died on June 11 after a long fight with metastatic breast cancer.
4. Jimmy Cliff (1944 to 2025)
The reggae legend died at 81 from a seizure and pneumonia. His music carried nations. His loss was global.
5. Roberta Flack (1937 to 2025)
The iconic singer died at 88 after living with ALS. Her voice defined tenderness.
Honorable Mentions
Sly Stone, funk pioneer, died at 82.
George Foreman, boxing champion and entrepreneur, died at 76.
These lists are explored in full on my show Redding News Review Unrestricted. Listen at ReddingNewsReview.com if you dare, and find out how and why people are mentioned or not mentioned before you decide how you feel about who made the lists.
Rob Redding is the author of the forthcoming book Black Power in the Age of Artificial Supremacy Featuring Redding-Shim Kwet Yung out on Jan. 5, 2026. He is the bestselling author of 17 books. He is the host of Redding News Review Unrestricted and creator of ReddingNewsReview.com. He is also an emerging visual artist who lives and teaches at two colleges in New York City.