The Holy Spirit – Mother and Child

Growing up in a Christian religious family, you hear the famous trinity line all the time: the father, the son and the holy spirit. I used to not question it because, in general, conservative Christians do not allow for much questioning. But now as my beliefs are changing, I find it strange that the mother […]

Taking It From the Streets: The Making of Modern R&B

Yesterday, I came across another documentary that was directed by John Akomfrah, who directed “The Last Angel of History.” The Vh1 documentary is “Urban Soul: The Making of Modern R&B,” and it covers the history of R&B from the 70s to now and how artists, like Chaka Khan, The Fugees, Lauryn Hill, and Mary J. […]

Art and Capitalism In a Post-Modern World

Last semester, I took a classed called “The Art of the Other” (“Black and Latino Art”). Our teacher, Vilna Bashi Treitler, introduced us to two books, “Ways of Seeing” and “Believing is Seeing: Creating the Culture of Art,” and a number of articles from which we had to question “What Is Art,” “What is Black […]

Sister Rosetta

When most people think of the Blues, Rhythm and Blues and early Rock ‘n’ Roll artists who had a major influence on the development of Rock ‘n’ Roll, they tend to mention the male musicians like Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Muddy Waters, Louis Jordan, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Big Joe Turner and Ike […]

Resurrecting the Man in the Mirror

It has been two years since Michael Jackson has died and his cultural impact is still reverberating throughout the world to this day. Today, I came across a 2009 article by Greg Tate in which he gives his thoughts on why Jackson’s icon status was so huge, especially for Black people around the world, and how it […]

“Why Can’t We Be Happy”

This is the new single from Asa, the Nigerian-French singer-songwriter. I love the old-school vibe of the song and video, including the 50s technicolor look, the Soul Train line and dances, and the Ska/Reggae feel to the song. It’s a great song to start the summer!

Afrofuturism’s Stranger Blues (via Nuñez Daughter)

Here is another post from Nuñez Daughter connecting the song “Stranger Blues” from “Sweet Honey in the Rock” to the feeling of being an “alien” in Afrofuturism and science fiction, and the alienation that oppressed people of the world feel everyday. Also, please help support these ladies in their efforts to go to Detroit for […]

It’s Been Done Before

I was reading a post on Afropunk about Tyler the Creator from the group OddFuture and came across this comment CompoundEgret made in response to calling Tyler the second coming of a charismatic artist to change the industry. He said, “Not really the second coming. Maybe the third, fourth, or fifth. Please check the Horrorcore entry. Like […]

Death to Punk

I bet you were thinking I wanted Punk music to die. Nope. This is about the upcoming documentary about the band who predated Punk, Death. Founded in Detroit, Michigan in 1971, the band consisted of three Hackney brothers, Bobby, David, and Dannis. Starting off as an R&B group, they switched to rock in 1973 after […]

“Down Down Baby, Down Down the Roller-coaster”

Do any of you remember that hand-clapping game when you were younger? Now, think of the Nelly song “Country Grammar.” They sound familiar, don’t they? When I heard “Country Grammar” for the first time a decade ago, I did not realize the connection. But this week I finished reading Kyra Gaunt‘s “The Games Black Girls Play: […]