Mark Anthony Neal's Blog, page 217

George Floyd's Murder Sparked a Global Movement

'In the immediate aftermath of George Floyd’s murder last May, activists organized protests against police brutality in the biggest cities and smallest towns across the U.S. -- everywhere from New York City and Washington, D.C., to Portland, Maine, and Wilmington, North Carolina. These mass public actions demanding justice were not restricted to the United States.  People in Thailand, Argentina, Mexico, Japan, and other countries across the globe demonstrated solidarity with Black Americans.  For more on the global response,  The Takeaway spoke to Omar Wasow, an assistant professor of politics at Princeton University.' 

Reimagining Blackness & Architecture: To Be Really Free Is To Be Spatially Free | Mario Gooden

'What does liberation look like? Architect Mario Gooden discusses his project “The Refusal of Space” and the ongoing histories of Black people in Nashville, Tennessee who occupied the city’s spaces, demanded freedom, and taught us that liberation is a spatial practice.' -- The Museum of Modern Art

Invisible Blackness – Smiling While Black, An Interview with Raphael Saadiq

'Raphael Saadiq's extraordinary talent has made him one of the most distinguished voices in American music. From his very humble beginnings in Oakland, he’s become an internationally renowned superstar. In this episode of Invisible Blackness, host Adrian Younge speaks with Raphael about growing up in a drug riddled community and processing death through art.'

1970s Music Journalism Gets An Overdue Rewrite In Dawnie Walton's Debut Novel 'The Final Revival of Opal & Nev'

'Dawnie Walton was working as the deputy managing editor at Essence in 2015 when she decided to leave her job to become a novelist. Walton's debut novel, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, is the result of that risk. The story centers on a fictional interracial rock duo from the 1970s: Opal is a Black proto Afro-punk singer from Detroit, and Nev is a goofy white British singer-songwriter. Opal and Nev become famous in 1971, when a riot occurs at one of their concerts during which their Black drummer is beaten to death by a white mob. The book is told in the form of a faux oral history that's being written by Sunny, the first Black editor-in-chief of a music magazine — who also happens to be the daughter of the late drummer.' -- Fresh Air

Inside Malaco Records, ‘The Last Soul Company

'Referred to as “The Last Soul Company," Malaco Records, based in Jackson, Mississippi, has managed to outlast major record label competitors over the past 50 years. The small, mostly unheard-of independent record label has been home to multiple recording artists and songwriters and has a catalog of original recordings and music copyrights, numbering into the thousands. Christopher Booker reports.'

Tiny Desk Meets AFROPUNK: Luedji Luna

"'I feel that we are living in a crazy moment in a crazy time and music has been a safe place for me — the only safe place for me,'  Luedji Luna says in a low, alluring voice as she explains the purpose of her latest album, Bom Mesmo É Estar Debaixo D'Água. The album, much like the Brazilian singer-songwriters's Tiny Desk performance, is a respite from these times. Elements of jazz and blues are infused with African rhythms as Luna uses music to express her ongoing struggles for autonomy as a Black woman. She performs from her coastal hometown of Bahia in the city of Salvador, Brazil, where African culture flows in abundance. Luna is a powerhouse, entrancing and elegant, soulful and spiritual, as she uses her platform to discuss individual and systemic forms of anti-Blackness."

A Baltimore Youth Program Mixes A Passion For Dirt Bikes With Science

'B-360, a nonprofit, uses dirt bikes to teach elementary and high school students math and science. "Fixing and repairing a bike is mechanical engineering," says Brittany Young, an engineering sciences educator who founded the program. "Most people don't realize when dirt bike riders pop a wheelie, it's actually like a physics equation".'  

Left of Black S11 · E28 | The Sound of Afro South Asian Collaborations in Black Music with Elliott Powell

When you think of hip-hop or R&B, how often do you hear the strings of a sitar being strummed in the background? In this episode of Left of Black, host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal discusses the influence of South Asian collaborations in contemporary Black music with Elliott Powell, the Beverly and Richard Fink Professor in Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota. His new book, Sounds from the Other Side: Afro–South Asian Collaborations in Black Popular Music (University of Minnesota Press), looks at how artists like Missy Elliott and Jay-Z have incorporated South Asian influences into their work and explores the history of these partnerships–going as far back as Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

Life, Love, Loss. NC Jazz Artist Nnenna Freelon Unpacks Her Story in ‘Time Traveler'

"Jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon’s new album is bittersweet — a time capsule filled with 40 years of love, laughter and tears shared with her late husband, architect Phil Freelon. Penned as a “sonic love letter,” Time Traveler fuses old classics, 1970s Soul hits and original works. It’s the first release in 11 years for Freelon, a multi-Grammy-nominated singer who lives in Durham, NC." -- The News & Observer

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Play It Forward: George Clinton Is Everyone's Hype Man

'NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with George Clinton about the legacy of his work, how the spirit of funk is synonymous with freedom and an artist he's grateful for: Constance Hauman.'