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Posts tagged as “Christmas”

MUSIC MONDAY: Groove Christmas 2022 (LISTEN)

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

For many of us 2022 was a time of recovering from lockdown. It was a return to normalcy for many of us. I am wishing you all safe and wonderful Holiday Season.

I am more than delighted to share this week’s playlist, Groove Christmas 2022, just in time to share and gather with friends and family.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2DpEkDw9zhgXGNr4hcGLPo?si=9894be07cf80431d”]

As usual this is freewheeling and “afroclectic” collection season tunes from several genres. Soul, Jazz, Gospel, Reggae, and many other styles are on hand for the Christmastime collection. You know, Nat King Cole, Marvin Gaye, Eartha Kitt, Donny Hathaway, Sharon Jones and other Christmas standard-bearers are on hand.

Though there are artist like Aloe Blacc, Vika & Linda, Kontawa, and DRAM with recent releases.

Whether you are staying home, or traveling, please have a wonderful, and peaceful, holiday season.

It has been an honor and delight to share music with you all here on Good Black News for another trip around the sun. I’ll see you back here in January with a round-up of this year.

And until such time stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)

MUSIC MONDAY: Ultimate “Soul of the Season” Christmas Soundtrack – Deluxe Expanded Edition (LISTEN)

by Jeff Meier (FB: Jeff.Meier.90)

We hope that all of you in the Good Black News family are enjoying the holiday season and all the prep that goes along with it.

As many longtime readers know, Good Black News couldn’t survive the holidays without our Spotify Christmas music mixes playing in the background.

So, today, we’ve updated one of our most popular playlists ever to share with you again, and offer you the chance to deep dive into holiday music that is a little different than the rotation of 20 Andy Williams, Burl Ives and Bing Crosby tunes you might hear on the regular radio.

Back for Year Three is our Ultimate Soul of the Season Christmas Soundtrack – Deluxe Expanded Edition – now filled with more than 60 new tracks, and lasting overall for over 34 hours.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2FHQ8HVPzGR0pd9R4Tu1Zm?si=77040f88ca504bed”]

While you’re wrapping, decorating, baking, or just sipping eggnog by the fireplace, our playlist is a go-to that can last all season long.

Of course you can set it on shuffle and never know what’s coming next, or just let it play through.  We’ve carefully planned it out so that if you just let it play, you’ll get a mix of tempos and artists and soulful styles singing songs you know by heart mixed in with forgotten coulda-been classics and brand new originals that are classics in the making.

As a reminder, musically we’ve set out to create our own ‘radio’-like Christmas playlist, but as only GBN could, comprised entirely of songs performed by Black artists (or in the rare case of Robin Thicke, artists singing in a soulful tradition).

Of course, we’ve got Donny Hathaway, The Jackson 5, The Temptations‘ “Silent Night,” and plenty of Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Mathis, and yes, Mariah Carey.

But as we did last year, we’ve refreshed the playlist this year with a bunch of new tracks – titles that are freshly released in 2022, as well as older tunes that are new discoveries for us, and even some famous songs that had never before appeared on Spotify.

In the era of streaming music, new Christmas music is being released much differently than it used to be.  There are still a few new full-length Christmas ‘albums’ being issued.

Among them are collections from Alicia Keys, Regina Belle, and recent Emmy groundbreaker Sheryl Lee Ralph (working with gospel producer/artist B. Slade on her new release entitled ‘Sleigh.’).

We’ve got songs from all of the new releases above (although currently Alicia Keys has only made one single from her album available on Spotify).

Good Black News Wishes You and Yours a Safe and Merry Christmas

On a day when so many family members, friends and loved ones may or may not have been able to come together to celebrate, GBN wishes you a Merry and safe Christmas, a blessed and bountiful Kwanzaa and Hopeful Holidays all around.

As we give to each other, let us always strive to remember what a gift we have in life, and to cherish and respect that spirit always for ourselves as well as others all year long.

Love and Peace,

The Good Black News Team

[Photo courtesy of Marlon West]

Good Black News Wishes You and Yours a Merry and Safe Christmas

This Christmas, unlike any other in our lifetime, is a time to forgive, be thankful, grateful, generous, kind and compassionate.

Good Black News thanks you all for your support and goodwill over the years and especially in 2020 when we have collectively experienced so much challenge.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas, a blessed and bountiful Kwanzaa and what we all hope will be a healing new year.

Love and Peace,

The Good Black News Team

MUSIC: Celebrating the Season with “The Ultimate Soul Christmas Soundtrack” Playlist (LISTEN)

by Jeff Meier (FB: Jeff.Meier.90)

I spotted Christmas decorations in Costco by early October and Hallmark Channel has been airing non-stop holiday movies already for weeks, but like many, our family has always marked Thanksgiving to be the point where we officially kick off the holiday season, including breaking out the yuletide tunes.

With that in mind, Good Black News is happy to offer the “Ultimate Soul of the Season Christmas Soundtrack” as a playlist to guide you through the holidays with ease.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:2FHQ8HVPzGR0pd9R4Tu1Zm”/]

This is a mega-playlist – 25 hours of music in honor of the 25 days of Christmas leading up to the big day.  It is not meant to be listened to all in one sitting – but rather to be just one-click away as your go-to soundtrack for the month. You can set it and forget it, or hit shuffle and mix it up.

Our inspiration was to capture the mood of those many radio stations around the country that turn to a festive Christmas musical format in the month of December – but with our own specific Good Black News twist.

In our playlist, ALL the songs are by or feature Black artists. Have it on in the background for decorating, cooking, wrapping presents, or just sitting in front of the fire sipping eggnog – and in the process you’ll be supporting Black artists through your streams.

Good Black News Wishes Blessings for You and Yours on this Very Merry Christmas

On a day when so many family members, friends and loved ones come together to celebrate, GBN wishes you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, a blessed and bountiful Kwanzaa and Hopeful Holidays all around.

As we give to each other, let us always strive to remember what a gift we have in life, and to cherish that spirit always for ourselves as well as others all year long.

Love and Peace,

The Good Black News Team

“Find Black Santa” App Helps Families Locate Black Santas Across U.S. and Abroad

Find Black Santa App created by Jihan Woods (photo via findblacksanta.com)

According to wthr.com, after having trouble finding a Santa Claus her sons could relate to, Dallas psychiatrist Jihan Woods decided to make sure others wouldn’t encounter the same problem.

In 2018, she created a Kickstarter campaign raising some $5,000 in 30 days. The result was a very special app called “Find Black Santa.”

“After several years of trying to find a Santa that was relatable – that my children could identify with, I realized that kind of all over the U.S., but specifically in Dallas, I wasn’t able to find a Santa that represented our family,” Woods explained.

The app lists Santas in 35 states and Washington, D.C. – from Oregon, to one in the Mall of America, and as far south as Florida. She’s even located them in London, Canada, and Amsterdam.

Since creating the app, organizations have reached out to Woods to tell her about their black Santas. And black Santas have asked her to list them for events.

To find Black Santa, click here.

To read more: https://www.wthr.com/article/app-helps-families-search-black-santa

 

Good Black News Wishes You a Very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

GBN thanks you for your support and goodwill throughout the years, and we wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, a blessed and bountiful Kwanzaa and Happy Holidays all around. May honesty, positivity, responsibility and fortitude help us all do our part to change ourselves and the world for the better in 2019 and beyond!

Love and Peace,

The Good Black News Team

Fabolous Spends 100K+ on Gifts for Brooklyn Youth in Annual Toy Drive

Fabolous made Christmas come early for kids in the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club of Brooklyn this year with his annual Christmas Toy Drive. The event was made possible by the Brooklyn rapper’s foundation A Fabolous Way (which is designed to merge communities and the arts), Def Jam and D’usse.

“On behalf of The Boys and Girls Club, we would like to thank Fabolous and Lisa for bringing joy to some of our families this holiday season,” said the Director of Clubhouse Operations, Antonio Fort. “Fab has visited us in the past and we appreciate his positive message of inspiration to the youth.”

The event was held at the lavish Red Rabbit in New York City’s Meat Packing District neighborhood. According to Page Six, Fab spent over 100K on the presents. “I don’t put a money amount on Christmas — I just want to show people that they are special to me,” he said. “But, it is safe to say I have spent over $100,000.”

Although he’s definitely generous, he admits that doing the actual shopping is tough for him because of his busy life. What matters most to him is making sure he’s giving someone a thoughtful gift.

To read more: https://www.vibe.com/2018/12/fabolous-brooklyn-annual-toy-drive

Black Santa, For the First Time Ever, Comes to Mall of America in Minnesota

Larry Jefferson is the first black Santa in the 24-year history of the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. (STAR TRIBUNE SCREENSHOT)

article by Monique Judge via theroot.com
For the first time in its 24-year history, Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., had a black Santa on hand to help spread holiday cheer Thursday.
“This is a long time coming,” Landon Luther, co-owner of the Santa Experience, which has run the intimate photo studio at the mall for years, told the Star Tribune. “We want Santa to be for everyone, period.”
Customers at the Mall of America have two Santa options to choose from: They can wait in line with everyone else at the mall for the free Santa, or they can book an appointment with the Santa Experience. The Star Tribune reports that Luther conducted a national search last spring for a Santa to whom children of color would be able to relate. Santa Sid, who has worked at the Mall of America for 20 years, met Larry Jefferson of Irving, Texas, at a Santa convention in Branson, Mo. Of the 1,000 Santa impersonators in attendance, Jefferson was the only black one.
“It was like finding a needle in a haystack,” Luther said.
Jefferson, dressed as Santa Larry, will greet children, pass out candy and pose for photographs by appointment only from Thursday to Sunday.
To read more, got to: For 1st Time Ever, a Black Santa Comes to Mall of America in Minn.