The director Roger Ross Williams on the Harlem ‘temple’ that has hosted legendary performers from James Brown to Lauryn Hill. By André Wheeler, The Guardian — The Apollo Theater is a living piece of black history. Located in the heart of Harlem on West 125th Street, the theater has operated as a refuge for black audiences and performers from its opening in 1934. Artists from James Brown and Aretha Franklin to Stevie Wonder and Lauryn Hill have graced…
By St. Louis Public Radio — St. Louis-based hip-hop artist Kareem Jackson, who goes by the stage name Tef Poe, has often traveled across the world to share his musical…
By Nick Fouriezos, OZY — Maurice “Moe” Mitchell stalks the stage aggressively, barking lyrics in pointed contrast to his black T-shirt, which reads in bold white letters: “Don’t Shoot.” It’s August 2014, and the socially conscious punk rocker is grieving. Not just because this Afropunk Fest show is his band Cipher’s first in three years after the death of its drummer Danny Bobis, but also because, less than three weeks earlier, the…
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson, The Hutchinson Report — There are two stories that regularly make the rounds about men like Nipsey Hussle. The one story that should be routinely told, pointed to, and held up for all is the colossal refutation of the gangster and thug image much of the public holds of men such as Nipsey. Yet, this never gets more than passing mention. It took the massive media…
Nipsey Hussle (August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019) By Bashir Muhammad Akinyele — As I read and watched the reports on the murder of our brother Nipsey Hussle this past Sunday in the media, I thought about how South Central, Los Angeles’ African American community loss a good Black man. He was a brother of many gifts. He was a father. He was husband. He was a friend. But he was also a Hip Hop artist, entrepreneur, and…
By Todd S Burroughs — Gary Byrd turned 70 on Thursday, March 14, 2019. I thought this was as good an excuse as any to pull this out of my…
By Michael Saponara, Billboard — Azealia Banks is at it again. The Harlem native sparked an old flame by taking aim at Cardi B via Instagram on Tuesday night. With…
The politician and freedom fighter said reggae music has helped to influence him to fight against colonial afflictions while growing up in the ghettos of Uganda. By teleSur — Member of parliament, freedom fighter and artist Bobi Wine traveled 36 hours to Jamaica, the politician says, to be able to spread his musical message to his fellow Ugandans and the rest of the world. Bobi Wine made the remark while…
Reggae was often championed as a music of the oppressed, with lyrics addressing sociopolitical issues, imprisonment and inequality. By TeleSUR — Reggae music – whose calm, lilting grooves found international fame thanks to artists like Bob Marley – has won a coveted spot on the United Nations’ list of global cultural treasures. UNESCO, the world body’s cultural and scientific agency, added the genre that originated in Jamaica to its collection of “intangible…
For more than 40 years, Atlanta has marketed itself as being on the forefront of radical social change – but its reality is much less progressive. By Maurice J Hobson,…
February 5th Fund Drive Edition of Vantage Point Topic Award Winning Writing/Author Edwidge Danticat and International Acclaimed Guitarist Alix Pascal Discuss the Legacy of Legendary Haitian Folk Singer Manno Charlemagne…
Masekela began playing the trumpet at the age of 14, after seeing the film Young Man with a Horn. By Nino Pagliccia — Legendary South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela –…