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Posts published in “Music”

Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton Help Lifetime Celebrate Black History Month

By goodblacknews on January 12, 2013
The Lifetime network is celebrating Black History month by airing three original TV movies in February, the network announced Wednesday.  Among the offerings is Betty & Coretta, starring Mary J. Blige, and Twist of Faith, starring Toni Braxton. 
Betty & Coretta premieres Saturday, February 2, at 8 p.m. ET.  As previously reported, Mary plays Malcolm X‘s widow, Dr. Betty Shabazz, in the movie.  The film focuses on the friendship Shabazz forged with Martin Luther King, Jr.‘s widow, Coretta Scott King — portrayed in the film by Angela Bassett — after the deaths of their husbands.
On February 9, Toni fans get to see her in Twist of Faith, airing at 8 p.m. ET.  In the movie, she plays a single Christian mom, whose love of music brings her closer to an Orthodox Jewish widower.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
article via z93jamz.com

Florida Youth in Manatee County Work to Keep Martin Luther King Legacy Alive

By goodblacknews on January 12, 2013

Bre’Yahna Thompson, 15, of Bradenton, foreground, calls herself a “positive rapper,” and is very tuned in to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Behind Bre’Yahna is her father, Rodney Thompson. RICHARD DYMOND/Bradenton Herald
PALMETTO — Like other communities getting set to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 21, Manatee County’s religious leaders wonder if Dr. King’s message of brotherhood, nonviolence and persistence is getting through to the younger generation.  One way that is working, say local pastors, is the recently completed Dr. Martin Luther King Speech and Essay Contest in Manatee County, which involved more than 300 young people writing essays and researching King’s life and work.
Another way is through church, where pastors say a moment of silence and some discussion will be the hallmark of services on Jan. 20 and where a local Jewish temple is holding an interfaith Shabbat service honoring the civil rights leader.
But one talented young local African-American woman is trying another way to share King’s ideals.  She wants to use music to reach her generation.  Bre’Yahna Thompson, 15, a Bradenton home-schooler who writes poetry, plays the violin and cello, and calls herself a “positive rapper,” is working on a rap song about King that she calls, “The Story of a Leader.”

Go-Go Music Godfather Chuck Brown To Be Honored with City Park Memorial and Ampitheater

By goodblacknews on January 12, 2013

(D.C. Department of General Services)

(D.C. Department of General Services)

Washington DC city officials released renderings of the city’s recreational tribute to go-go godfather Chuck Brown — a $1 million steel-and-wood music pavilion on the grounds of Langdon Park in Northeast Washington.  The bandshell faces outdoor seating built into an earthen berm and surrounded by magnolia trees and backed by a copse of evergreens. Beside it stands a “timeline tower” listing Brown’s most famous songs in chronological order.
The architects, Marshall Moya Design, said the pavilion “follow[s] the ancient design concepts that the Romans used to build open-air amphitheaters.” In any case, it’s a lot more impressive than the initial plans for Chuck Brown Park.
It will be an all-too-rare locally oriented memorial, Mayor Vincent C. Gray said Thursday. ”A lot of our monuments, which are iconic, are really a tribute to people who have national significance,” he said. “We have so many of those, and we just want to make sure we recognize that we have over 600,000 people in the city, many of whom made an important contribution to the city. … Chuck was one of those.”

Born On This Day in 1924: Legendary Jazz Drummer Max Roach

By goodblacknews on January 10, 2013

Max Roach Birthday
Pioneering percussionist, composer, band leader, and drummer Max Roach was born Maxwell Lemuel “Max” Roach in North Carolina to parents Alphonse and Cressie, and worked with dozens of musical greats, including Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, and Dizzy Gillespie. 

Jill Scott, Maxwell Return to Re-Branded Essence Fest

By goodblacknews on January 9, 2013
Singers Jill Scott (L) and Maxwell arrives at the 41st NAACP Image awards held at The Shrine Auditorium on February 26, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NAACP)

Singers Jill Scott (L) and Maxwell arrive at the 41st NAACP Image awards held at The Shrine Auditorium on February 26, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NAACP)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Essence Music Festival is dropping the music — from its name, that is.
The festival held in New Orleans every July 4th weekend for the past 18 years has rebranded itself The Essence Festival. Organizers say the change is designed to showcase the event as more than a music festival.
Still, music will remain a focus for the 19th annual festival, which is July 4-7.
The lineup includes more than 30 acts — a number of them Essence veterans. On the roster are Jill Scott, Maxwell, New Edition, Charlie Wilson, Keyshia Cole, LL Cool J and Brandy.
As in past years, concerts will be held at the Superdome while empowerment seminars on health, beauty, careers, education and relationships are held at a nearby convention center.
article by Stacey Plaisance via thegrio.com

University of Arizona Introduces First Ever Hip-Hop Minor

By goodblacknews on January 7, 2013
grandmaster-flash-16x9

The University of Arizona has announced that it has created a “Hip-Hop Concentration” minor under the Africana Studies department, the first of its kind for any institution, according to the school’s website.
The course’s objectives are to “provide students with a solid introduction and broad understanding of the origins and developing of the forms of expression that make up hip-hop culture throughout the world: hip-hop dance, rap music, graffiti/tagging, fashion, business, and film.

Prince to be Honored at Tribute Concert in Carnegie Hall

By goodblacknews on January 5, 2013
Prince
The music of Prince will be honored at a special concert at Carnegie Hall in March and The Rootsand Talib Kweli will be among those that pay tribute.
The show, the latest in an annual concert series put on by New York entrepreneur Michael Dorf, will raise money for various music education organizations, including Music Unites, the Pinwheel Project and the Center for Arts Education. Past shows have paid tribute to The Rolling Stones, The Who, Joni Mitchell and Elton John among other luminaries.
In addition to Talib Kweli and The Roots, performers at the show who will interpret Prince songs will include the Blind Boys of Alabama, DeVotchKa, Living Colour, Madeleine Peyroux and more. Tickets for the concert, to take place March 7, are available online here.
article by Reggie Ugwu via bet.com

WC Handy’s Memphis Blues: The Song of 1912

By goodblacknews on December 31, 2012
W.C. Handy
“Memphis Blues” author WC Handy

One hundred years ago, in the autumn of 1912, an African-American musician by the name of WC Handy published a song that would take the US by storm – Memphis Blues. It launched the blues as a mass entertainment genre that would transform popular music worldwide.

In 1903 William Christopher Handy was leading a band called the Colored Knights of Pythias based in Clarksdale, in Mississippi’s Delta country, when one day he paid a visit to the little town of Tutwiler.

“A lean loose-jointed Negro had commenced plunking a guitar beside me… His face had on it the sadness of the ages,” Handy writes in his 1941 autobiography, Father of the Blues.

“As he played, he pressed a knife on the strings of the guitar in a manner popularised by Hawaiian guitarists who used steel bars… The singer repeated the line three times, accompanying himself on the guitar with the weirdest music I had ever heard.”

Trumpet Awards 2013 Honorees Announced

By goodblacknews on December 15, 2012

*The Trumpet Awards Foundation announced the 2013 Trumpet Awards honorees at a press conference in Atlanta.

The Trumpet Awards Ceremony is one of the most respected televised award shows saluting African American achievement in the world.  The following Trumpet Award honorees will attend and receive their award at the ceremony on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 4pm.

Chaka Khan – Legend Award
Debra Martin Chase – Entertainment Award
Michael McMillan – Community Service Award
Alonzo & Tracy Mourning – Humanitarian Award
Mayor Kasim Reed – Public Service Award
Charlie Wilson – Lifetime Achievement Award
Edward Welburn – Corporate Award

T.I. to Launch New ‘Give Like a King’ Campaign to Support Homeless Veterans

By goodblacknews on December 13, 2012
Recording Artist/Host T.I. at AKOO's 2nd Annual 'A King Of Oneself Brunch' Hosted By T.I. at Ocean Prime on September 30, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for AKOO Clothing)

Recording Artist/Host T.I. at AKOO’s 2nd Annual ‘A King Of Oneself Brunch’ Hosted By T.I. at Ocean Prime on September 30, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for AKOO Clothing)

Rapper T.I. will announce the launch of his global “Give Like a King” campaign this Friday.  The rapper, actor and reality TV star is returning to his Bankhead neighborhood in Georgia to unveil his new campaign.

According to BCG, he is joining efforts with Veterans Empowerment Organization of Georgia (VEO) to help support homeless veterans.  VEO is an organization that brings food, shelter, and services to veterans in need.