The Ol’ Wopty
I once believed that Reggaeton was the only form of music that was displaced from African-America culture--stemming from Reggae and Dancehall music influences. But this just in: Salsa is too. Apparently Salsa is an African (and European) inspired dance style that was espoused by Spanish-speaking people in the Carribean. Who would have thought that we were the originators of this "love dance" flavored with self-expression, grace, and ambiguity: for instance, the "Boogaloo"--a type of Latin dance and music--is a fusion of doo-wop, blues, R&B--music tastes which Latin Americans shared--with mambo. I'm convinced that being Black is cool; it's just that--what makes us and everything about us, or at least everything that was about us, so advantageous to everybody else?
Kanye West Live From VH1!
Download: Kayne West Live From VH1
What a Name!!
Spike Lee is undoubtedly one of the greatest directors Hollywood has seen, exclusively for his vividly poetic portrayal of black life in the late 80s and early 90s. Not only is Lee able to give us holistic insight on racial tension, family feuds, and social injustices, he gives the characters in these movies such dope names!..Ossie Davis played The Good Reverend Doctor Purify in Jungle Fever, and was referred to as such throughout the whole film...no abbreviations. Also in Jungle Fever, Wesley Snipes played Flipper and Samuel L. Jackson played Gator. There was also a cameo appearance by Charlie Murphy whose character was called Livin' Large. In Lee's Do the Right Thing, Spike play Mookie, Bill Nunn played the infamous Radio Raheem, Giancarlo Esposito played Buggin' Out (you had to love he and Mookie's hand shake),Samuel L. Jackson played Mr. Senor Love Daddy, and Robin Harris (Father from House Party) played Sweet Dick Willy. You just gotta love it. The characters from these movies are timeless.