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If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
As an 80's baby, I remember attending family gatherings in which Houston's music, among others, was a mainstay. Young girls wanted to be her, and young boys had a crush on her, including me.
Being counted among the children of addiction is an impossible hardship. From an early age, they are taught, even forced, in many cases, to veil their parent's addiction from the public eye.
Whitney Houston's voice was one of the most beautiful ever. She emoted with a rare pureness, any love song was hers. Her voice was stellar as it lingered. Her performance of a love song made you stand still and perhaps even shed a tear. She had the "Wow" factor.
I need Andre 3000 to make a triumphant return in 2012. With rumors of a new Outkast album flooding the blogs, and a slew of Dre guest appearances last year, it's looking like he might bring his hiatus to an end.
I was admittedly intrigued and somewhat confused by the recent decision by BET to ban Minaj's new video, "Stupid Hoe" from their channel. I wondered, out loud, what it was in this video that caused it to be banned.
The recent death of Don Cornelius, founder and host of the long-running syndicated series Soul Train, brought back into the focus the role of black independent media. Soul Train remains a metaphor for the freedoms and possibilities in the early years of the post-Civil Rights era.
The hype around seeing the new Tuskegee Airmen film Red Tails, is kind of like voting for Obama. If you don't do it your black card might be revoked, the Dr. King photo on your wall will close its eyes and you will drown in a chorus of, "See this movie or die."
I have no problem with folks asking me to support an all black film, especially given the politics behind this particular request. I do, however, take great issue with those who question my Blackness and my race loyalty when I tell them I refuse to see the movie just because I am Black.
At the dawn of the Black Hollywood Renaissance of the '90s, the sodality of filmmakers felt like the pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. Twenty years later, many black filmmakers (including myself) haven't had a movie financed by a major studio in over twenty years.
My most cherished takeaway from Sundance this year is something I hadn't anticipated. I was joined at the festival by my 22-year-old son Brett, a designer who works in New York. Seeing Sundance through his eyes gave new meaning to the experience for me.
The Blackhouse is part of a larger initiative created the Blackhouse Foundation and designed to provide a support base for African Americans who attend Sundance, as well as several other high profile film events throughout the year.
In recent years, the Sundance Film Festival has served as an incubator from which several African-American film titles landed big studio contracts. The 2012 event is already looking to duplicate those past success stories.
I recently visited an art exhibit chronicling the legacy of art in Black Los Angeles. The show is at the UCLA Hammer Museum and is called "Now Dig This! Art & Black Los Angeles 1960-1980." I sat down to speak with the curator of the exhibit, Kellie Jones.
In a time when Fatherhood is a hot button issue in the African American community actor/rapper Tray Chaney releases a music video for his new song titled Fatherhood that hits the mark. Many will recognize Chaney from his role as Poot Carr on HBO's hit show The Wire.
In a recent ad for Hot in Cleveland, the three younger cast members wear Christmas sweaters with "Ho" on the front, while Betty White stands oblivious to the shenanigans of her castmates. Some may wonder why this presented an issue for me, here's why.
In an era marked by the increased presence of law enforcement in Black communities, young Black men were particularly susceptible to blatant forms of police brutality. As such, so-called "gangsta rap "was likely the most organic documentation of police brutality in Black communities.
