Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 113

El DeBarge: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

'The torchbearer for the DeBarge family plays a few of his R&B standards from a cozy home studio.'

The New Yorker Radio Hour: Black Thought Takes the Stage

'Tariq Trotter, best known in music as Black Thought, the emcee of the Roots, is regarded by many hip-hop fans as one of the best freestyle rappers ever. His work changed shape when the Roots became the house band for Jimmy Fallon’s late-night show, and again when he began performing standup comedy. “I’ve spent most of my career with my sunglasses and my hat pulled down low, very many layers of defense,” he tells Jelani Cobb. “You’re up there as a comedian, it’s just you and your ideas and a microphone, no light show, no band. . . . After having done this for over thirty years, what else can I do, how can I become a better storyteller?” Trotter’s latest endeavor has been writing the music and lyrics for Black No More, a musical-theatre production based on the eponymous novel, by George Schuyler;  the script is by John Ridley, with direction by Scott Elliott. Schuyler’s book is a dark satire, written during the Harlem Renaissance, that describes the development of a “cure” for Blackness; Trotter stars as Dr. Junius Crookman, who believes that this remedy will solve America’s problems with race. “My focus became almost rapping as little as possible” in the show, Trotter says; “I wanted this to be above and beyond folks’ expectations”.'

From Rhymes to Reading: Run-DMC's Darryl McDaniels Publishes Children's Picture Book

'Back in 2007, MTV named Run-DMC the greatest hip-hop group of all time — but Darryl McDaniel wasn’t always feeling the love from his peers. McDaniels recently published his first children's book, “Darryl's Dream.” The book stars a third-grader named Darryl. He's a poet and the kids at school bully him because he wants to sign up for the talent show. He's got chunky glasses — reminiscent of McDaniels’ signature look. That’s because the character is him, minus the passion for poetry. But the bullying is true to life: Bullies picked on McDaniels for his glasses, his love of comic books and his status as a straight-A student on the honor roll.'

How Big Sugar Stripped Hawaiians Of Their Own Land And Water

'Hawai’i’s sugar industry drained streams to irrigate its crops for over a century, often displacing Native Hawaiian farmers who relied on the water. The last sugar plantation closed in 2016. So why are Native Hawaiian farmers still fighting for their water rights?'

Jay-Z, Jeymes Samuel, and James Lassiter discuss making 'The Harder They Fall'

'Writer, director, composer Jeymes Samuel and producers Jay-Z and James Lassiter discuss making The Harder They Fall and their creative vision.'

Big Boi & Sleepy Brown Break Down Their Most Iconic Tracks

'Big Boi and Sleepy Brown break down their most iconic tracks, including 'Rosa Parks,' 'Player's Ball,' 'Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)' by UGK feat. Outkast, 'So Fresh, So Clean,' ATLiens,' 'Ms. Jackson,' 'Dirty South,' 'The Way You Move,' 'SpottieOttieDopaliscious,' 'Shutterbugg,' 'Shine Blockas' feat. Gucci Mane and more.'

Abolition. Feminism. Now. | with Angela Y. Davis, Gina Dent, Erica R. Meiners, Beth E. Richie and Mariame Kaba.

'As a politic and a practice, abolition increasingly shapes our political moment — halting the construction of new jails and propelling movements to divest from policing. Yet erased from this landscape are not only the central histories of feminist — usually queer, anti-capitalist, grassroots, and women of color — organizing that continue to cultivate abolition but a recognition of the stark reality: abolition is our best response to endemic forms of state and interpersonal gender and sexual violence. Amplifying the analysis and the theories of change generated from vibrant community based organizing, Abolition. Feminism. Now. surfaces necessary historical genealogies, key internationalist learnings, and everyday practices to grow our collective and flourishing present and futures. Join Angela Y. Davis, Gina Dent, Erica R. Meiners, and Beth E. Richie for an urgent conversation moderated by Mariame Kaba.'

Billy Dee Williams on Diana Ross & Lady Sings the Blues

'Billy Dee Williams on Diana Ross, whose feature film debut is their movie Lady Sings the Blues. Featuring Ross in an Oscar®-nominated role, Lady Sings the Blues (1972) is an unflinching look at the life of legendary singer Billie Holiday – co-starring American Film Institute Trustee Emeritus Billy Dee Williams as Holiday’s husband.'

DaMaris Hill in The Black Writer's Studio

'Dr. DaMaris B. Hill is the author of Breath Better Spent: Living Black Girlhood, A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing: The Incarceration of African American Women from Harriet Tubman to Sandra Bland, The Fluid Boundaries of Suffrage and Jim Crow: Staking Claims in the American Heartland, and Visible Textures. She is a 2020 NAACP Image Award nominee for Outstanding Literary Work in Poetry and was a Hurston Wright College Award Winner in 2003. Similar to her creative process, Dr. Hill’s scholarly research is interdisciplinary. Dr. Hill is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Hill joins Khadijah Ali-Coleman, Ed.D., host of The Black Writer's Studio.'

Nike's Larry Miller, His Story of Redemption and Building The Jordan Brand

'Larry Miller has been a top executive in sports and athletic wear for decades. As the Chairman of Nike's Jordan Brand, he's in charge of a multibillion-dollar global apparel juggernaut. But as a teenager growing up in West Philadelphia, he made a violent mistake that haunted him for decades: he murdered an 18-year-old man, Edward David White.'