Bold As Love

David Mills, 1961-2010

 

Many of you have heard about the sudden passing of Emmy award-winning TV writer David Mills, who wrote for shows such as NYPD Blue, The Corner, The Wire and the upcoming Treme.  Funny thing is, that’s not how I knew David.

In fact, I didn’t even know he was a TV writer, let alone someone recognized for their talent on award-winning shows.  First, for a long time I thought he was another David Mills, who I knew from the Black Filmmaker Foundation days, but that wasn’t the case.  No, what I knew about this David Mills was that he was a blogger, the creative force behind Undercover Black Man.  We’d exchanged a few comments and added each other to our respective blogrolls. But that was about it.  If I'd looked closer, I would've discovered that, prior to his TV career, he'd done a lot of music journalism.

When I was crowdsourcing the funding for my recent SXSW trip, out of nowhere he donated $500.  Just like that.  Humbling to say the least.  That was the single biggest donation I received.  In many ways, he was responsible for my ability to make it down to Austin this year.And I hardly knew the guy.

I thanked him for his generosity and this was his reply:

You're very welcome, Rob. You have turned me on to so much music, I felt a debt.



Keep on. I look forward to reading about SXSW.



DM

I certainly hope that he got a chance to read what I’d written, but the bigger lesson is the reminder that we never know who's life we're impacting when we do good and honest work.

Here's a glimpse at the 14-minute preview of Treme, which premieres on HBO on April 11:

Additional links:

• NY Times obit
• NJ Star-Ledger remembrance
• Some of David Mills' music journalism (via Washington Post)

Erykah's inspiration: Matt and Kim -- "Lessons Learned"

Notice the nod to Matt and Kim at the beginning of Erkyah's video?  This is the video that kicked her idea off.  Times Square and it's cold outside.

Check it.

VIDEO: Vernon Reid talks writing "Cult of Personality" and the riffs behind it

All you guitar players out there will dig this.  It's both the ideas behind the lyrics and a look at the main riffs.

Hat tip to Mark Anthony Neal for the heads up.

Have you taken the Boldaslove.us black rock audience survey? It only takes 5 minutes!  Click here to start.

The Pleasures & Perils of Race in the Post-Race Era

Just came across this.  Stanford University English professor Michele Elam offers a compelling talk that begins that explores the question, "What is the future of blackness?"  Where does blackness stand in this post-racial, post-soul, multiracial era?  She's particularly concerned with the role of black studies departments, but I think her remarks have relevance beyond the halls of academia.

She talks about "troubling, worrying, stirring, blackness.  Touching it and holding it up for examination."  Anyway, you'll hear the exact quote directly from Elam that speaks to what I've cited, as post-modern blackness. And all this "troubling" of blackness is done in service of black people.  Love that. 

My only regret is that this video only captures the first 10 minutes of this talk.  If anyone else has links to the rest of the presentation, please holla.

Additional link:

• Michele Elam on the Stanford English department site

TONIGHT: Fire + Fire, the Gypsy & Black experience

See below for discount ticket information.

From the press release:

Hungarian Gypsy and Black American musicians will share the stage for Fire + Fire, an innovative production exploring the synergies between the Black diaspora and Hungarian Gypsies. Part of the yearlong Extremely Hungary festival, Fire + Fire is a collaborative performance that delves into the dual experiences of political oppression and musical expression of Black and Roma peoples in the U.S. and Hungary. Ensembles of performers from both cultures will meld their musical traditions—infused with jazz, rock, rap and folk influences—to create an experimental fusion incorporating dance, jam sessions, and spoken word.

Produced by the Hungarian Cultural Center in collaboration with noted essayist and cultural critic Greg Tate, Fire + Fire will feature an historic meeting of cultures and music, as nine Hungarian musicians and singers take the stage on traditional Gypsy instruments including cimbalom and violin, alongside seven Black American performers on instruments ranging from banjo to blues guitar to African drums.

In addition to music, the performance will also include contemporary and traditional Gypsy and Black dance. The end result is an unprecedented collaboration that explores experimental music and dance traditions rooted in each culture’s vernacular, contesting racism by revealing the commonality of seemingly disparate communities and genres.

“There are compelling parallels between the Gypsy and Black American experience,” said Tate, curator of Fire + Fire. “That energy and struggle is reflected in Black and Gypsy musical traditions—both are intense, explosive, individual and raw.”

Jakab Orsos, the director of the Hungarian Cultural Center, added, “Now is a crucial moment for Gypsies in Europe, as wide-spread discrimination and racism proliferates in Hungary. The synergy between the Gypsy and Black American musicians is electric. Both have mined musical strength from experiences of racism and political oppression.”

“They journey, we journey. They struggle, we struggle. They dance, we dance. We’re overcoming, they’ll overcome,” added Musical Director Melvin Gibbs, a New York composer, producer and bandleader celebrated for his work with a diverse range of artists.

Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door.  However, use promo code RAC102, and can get tickets for $15.

November 19 and 21 (8pm both nights)

Symphony Space
2357 Broadway @ 95th Street in NYC
212 864 5400 (boxoffice)

Additional link:

• Info on Extremely Hungary

Two ways to look at white privilege

Comedy works best when it's based on truth, and there's a lot of truth in the Elon's work. As you'll see, Elon mentions Tim Wise in the This Week In Blackness episode above, which was shot last year. So I looked Tim up, and here's a clip of what I found:

Powerful stuff, indeed.  Great to see someone who's white out there talking about and working to dismantle racism and the negative effects it has on everyone, not just Black folks.

Additional links:

• This Week In Blackness
• Tim Wise's Web site and info on his anti-racism work

Talking Black rock at the National Black Arts Festival

Today, folks from all over the country are converging on Atlanta to kick off the National Black Arts Festival, a celebration of the culture of the African Diaspora, which has been in effect since 1988.

There’s lots to see and do: Music, theater, literary events, film, dance, the visual arts and much more, including a keynote by motivational speaker Les Brown, a Robert Townsend retrospective and a tribute to the great Nina Simone featuring artists such as Dianne Reeves, Joi, Lizz Wright and Nina’s daughter, Lisa Simone Kelly.  And there's much, much more.

What’s even better (I’m biased) is that the festival programmers carved out an hour to have a discussion about Black rock.  I’ll be leading the discussion along with Farai Chideya, URB Alt’s Boston Fielder, and "Medicine For Melancholy" director, Barry Jenkins.

Here’s the description of the session, which will follow immediately after a screening of Barry’s film:

The Black rock and the Indie Imperative

Over the past few years, Black alternative music—broadly called Black rock or Afro-punk—has been gaining popularity within our community.  This session explores how the cultural shift that is driving the acceptance of Black rock is also empowering and inspiring artists in other areas, particularly in film and literature.

Some questions I’m throwing out to the panel:

• Alternative.  Indie.  Progressive.  What do any of these terms mean to you?
• What were the “indie” issues each of you are trying to explore and why?
• One of the big ideas presented in the film is this idea of the frontier.  What was it like for each of you to step out onto that frontier?  More importantly, how have you gotten others to follow?
• What’s the responsibility of artists/creators to ensure all of this matters in the marketplace?
• What’s the responsibility of audiences?

I’m sure I’ll come up with some more questions between now and Saturday.  But, what else do you think we should discuss?  All suggestions welcome.

In the meantime, sincere thanks to program director Leatrice Ellzy for believing in this topic and including it in the Festival's agenda.

Additional link:

• “Medicine for Melancholy” screening and Black rock panel info @ NBAF

In Conversation with Maya Azucena

Maya Azucena is a woman of many talents: Singer, songwriter, producer, and now video host! You may recall from an earlier interview I did with her that she is fiercely committed to the creativity on her own terms.  And she's been successful at it.  So, it's no surprise that she teamed with ThisIsRealMusic.com to produce the series, Conversations with Indie, where she sits down with people to talk about various aspects of the life as an independent artist.

We sat down recently to talk about branding, the pros and cons of being "alternative" and why there's a need to for a "black rock evangelist."

Thanks to Maya and to Terrance Wilmore for including me.

Additional links:

• More Conversations With Indie
• Maya Azucena official site
• ThisIsRealMusic.com

The Michael Jackson Sample Map

I'm not sure if this is the entire universe of Michael Jackson samples, but this map is pretty cool nonetheless.  A quick explanation:

• Michael, of course, is at the center
• The next ring out are all of his songs
• Third ring are the songs that were created from samples in the second ring
• Outermost ring are the artists who used the sample

A double hat-tip is in order: First, to Victoria Clark, who hipped me to it and to Ethan Hein, who created the map.  Turns out he's done sample maps for a bunch of other artists.  You can find other examples here.

So much Michael

Lots being written about the Michael Jackson in these days following his untimely death.  Here's just the tip of the iceberg that I've seen:

• VIbe Magazine's Danyel Smith: "He gave himself to the world. And Michael Jackson left nothing but blood on the dance floor."
• The Nation's John Nichols: "He projected into the world (the genius and strength) of African-American culture."
• Nelson George: "Along with Eddie Murphy, Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, and so many other media legends, Michael made the '80s a golden age for black pop culture."
  
• An appraisal by the NY Times' Jon Pareles: "In the end, the superstar and the recluse were not so far apart. "
  
• Vanity Fair's Maureen Orth: Michael Jackson is Gone, But The Sad Facts Remain
• Duke University's Mark Anthony Neal: Dear Michael: Love Letters from Cyberspace
• Author Eisa Ulen: "Even when he pissed us off, we understood him. Who among us doesn't understand internalized self-hatred? Whether we were light or dark, trying to survive in a white neighborhood or trying to survive in the 'hood - we all knew what he was going through."
• Filmmaker Ralph Richardson: "Before Obama, there was Michael Jackson, a talented, welcoming figure that could bring white and black people together. "
• Ebony Magazine's Bryan Monroe's Q&A with Michael from December 2007: Michael on the state of the music business: "I think the answer is just phenomenal, great music. Just reaching the masses. I think people are still searching. There’s not a real musical revolution going on right now, either. But when it’s there, people will break a wall down to get to it. I mean, ‘cause before Thriller, it was the same kind of thing. People were NOT buying music. It helped to bring everybody back into the stores. So, when it happens, it happens."
• The Rev. Al Sharpton eulogizing Jackson outside the Apollo Theater: "Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color, way before Tiger Woods, way before Oprah Winfrey, way before Barack Obama," Sharpton said. "Michael did with music what they later did in sports and in politics, and in television. And no controversy will erase the historic impact."