Words By Adisa Banjoko Before landing her career changing slot on “American Idol”, R&B star Jennifer Hudson had a 5-year recording contract with Righteous Records. It is said that Righteous Records put Jennifer through a rigorous year of charm school, physical fitness and live performance training before releasing her from her contract so that she […]
Fewer people have held such influence over our culture like Diddy. From Bad Boy to Sean John, Mr. Combs has made almost as big of an impact on what we wear as he has on what we hear, evidenced in 2003 when he resurrected a long forgotten style trend born out of a simple mission: […]
Words by MC Even though writer Sophia Stewart’s lawsuit against the Wachowski’s was dismissed, no one should have needed a judge to tell them that the block buster film trilogy that was The Matrix, was a black brainchild. Friday Five: Places That Celebrate MLK Day Let’s examine the facts. The smartest person in the classic […]
Saturday afternoon, a flash mob took over Times Square in New York City to honor the memory of “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius. Playing 70’s classics like The Jackson Five’s “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough”, some fans really got into the spirit by donning Afro wigs and roller skates and grooved down the now […]
When you think about MCs from Queens,NY one of the first names that comes to mind is Nasir Jones. His style and lyrics were cultivated in the famous Queens Bridge Housing projects and for years he as served as a proud ambassador of the Q-Boro. Nas even returned to his old stomping grounds to record […]
In a game where superstars of each generation set and break new records every year, it gets pretty tough to be the first to do anything, but not impossible. After all, black athletes may dominate the field but the coaching staffs (and the owner’s boxes) of the NFL have always been pretty slim on African […]
Long before battling rappers on wax and cowboys on the screen, Common aka Lonnie Lynn Jr. was attending Florida A&M University on scholarship majoring in Business Administration. Where Presidents Play and Writers Find Their Muse The rapper formerly known as Sense had a strict three-hour-a-day studying regimen, but his mind was still on rapping. In […]
In a recent interview with TheUrbandaily about his new album Groovy People, legendary songwriter and producer Leon Huff shared how he and his partner Kenny Gamble came to create the “Soul Train” theme song: Exploring The Sound Of Philadelphia ..It was a dance show and he[Don Cornelius] was very excited about it. He had everything […]
Even if you don’t know his name, you know his music. Lenny Williams’ classic ballad “Cause I Love You” has been sampled by everyone from Kanye West to Scarface and remains one of the most well-known love songs of the past thirty years. Fact: Lenny Williams won a BMI Award With Kanye West for Twista’s […]
On January 22, 2003 Black television changed forever. Comedian Dave Chappelle premiered his late night sketch comedy show on Comedy Central filling a void in late night television that had been vacated by the likes of “The Aresenio Hall Show” and “In Living Color.” But Dave’s irreverent humor was in a class all its own. […]
