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. […]

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 […]

“Mutant and Proud:” X-Men First Class Movie

Yesterday, I went with a few of my friends to see “X-Men: First Class.” The reason I was interested in going to see it was that I had read and heard from a number of sources that Professor X and Magneto represented Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, respectively. I thought that was an […]

Africa and the World Kickstarter Project

Dr. Tukufu Zuberi, who is the Lasry Family Professor of Race Relations, chair of the Department of Sociology, and the director of the Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, is best known as the host of the PBS series The History Detectives. But Zuberi will focusing his energy on his upcoming documentary, “Africa and the […]

In the Future, We Kill Our Attackers: Rihanna’s “Man Down” as Afrofuturist Text (via Nuñez Daughter)

This is an interesting post from Kismet Nuñez placing Rihanna’s “Man Down” video in an Afrofuturist context. Kismet Nuñez is one of the Skillsharers of the of the 3rd Annual INCITE! Shawty Got Skillz workshop at the 2011 Allied Media Conference! Go to her blog to find out how you can help them get to […]

A Mirror’s Reflection

I was watching the video for “Tightrope” by Janelle Monae and recognized characters from her video in a 1974 film I started watching with the Jazz composer, Sun Ra, called “Space Is the Place.” The grim reaper characters with mirrors on their faces also appear in a 1943 short film called “Meshes of the Afternoon,” […]

The Last Angel of History

Do you know how long I have been trying to find this film?! And the only place where I can find it, sells it for almost $300!!!! Directed by Ghana-born English director, John Akomfrah, the 1995 documentary, The Last Angel of History,explores the intersections between Black music, science fiction, and African Diasporic religion, spirituality and […]