http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/ Seattle-bred, Brooklyn-based cultural critic Jalylah Burrell riffs on anything and everything. en Copyright 2008 Thu, 06 Dec 2007 22:08:37 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss One of these things is not like the other: Whiny, fan-throwing, polygamist pop star Akon and the great Jimmy Jam at the 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nomination Press Conference The Recording Academy has long been off it's rocker but this year I find its nominations offensive to common sense. Here are my biggest beefs:]]> http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/12/grammys50.html http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/12/grammys50.html Foolishness GRAMMYS Thu, 06 Dec 2007 22:08:37 -0500 I was telling a friend the other day how I didn't much care for Dave Chappelle until I went to a taping of the first season of Chappelle's Show. With the exception of his appearance in the Nutty Professor, Dave seemed to be a white boy's Black comic. He had a weird twang that didn't sound much DC (although his family's roots run relatively deep there) and he wasn't much of the mimic or the broad entertainer like his immediate predecessors (e.g., Eddie, Martin, Jamie, even Tommy and the other Eddie, who I have since renounced).]]> http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/12/chappelle.html http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/12/chappelle.html Dave Chappelle Thu, 06 Dec 2007 10:02:24 -0500 It is quite a disappointing time to be listening for good soul music. If soul singers don't have their eyes on pop, or hip hop, they're necrophilicly (trans)fixed on pastime paradises. And with Black radio, once a rather diverse platform for multigenerational Black musical expression, having died and been reborn wack, and post "Video Soul" music television uninterested, there aren't too many venues to get the word out about good soul music by Black artists. Christina, Joss, JoJo are doing just fine. (I can't say the same for Amy, whose substance abuse woes outweigh the commercial success her whiteness enabled.) As to the queen of hip hop soul and the princess of Dereon, their successes are unique and neither does much straight up soul. This has left me frustrated by the relatively low profiles, stalled careers, or critical indifference to some vital Black female voices on the major label soul scene. Here, I want to highlight two of my favorite under-appreciated Black female soul singers whose careers thus far, have been grossly underdeveloped. ]]> http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/12/fallenstar.html http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/12/fallenstar.html LaToiya Williams Soul Yummy Bingham Wed, 05 Dec 2007 14:06:43 -0500 New York Magazine profile of Alex Goldberg, a Nolita brat of some means and absolutely no supervision, is an example of adolescent star fuckery but also suggests the illogic of "40 is the new 20." The now 14-year-old so-called hustler is surrounded by grown folks who have absconded many of their grown up responsibilities, primarily his parents who seem to be living second childhoods as cool kids through Alex. Oh, that being grown has become unsexy! You see, when forty year olds don't act their age, they fail to provide the proper guidance for their sons, nieces, godchildren, or the neighborhood latchkey kids. The only sensible voice to come out of the piece, was that of DJ Clark Kent. He frequently encountered the portly tween terror at the NikeID store in New York City. Gray explains:]]> http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/12/40_is_still_40_being_grown_in.html http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/12/40_is_still_40_being_grown_in.html Child Rearing Clark Kent Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:18:32 -0500 Barneys New York and and brown ultra suede one from Sisley--are jazzy but designer provenances aside, puffies just scream teen. Maybe early twenties but I crossed the quarter century mark this past May so I need to go ahead and step it up. What's stopping me are the half a g starting prices of decent dress coats. So while I figure out how I'm gonna get the extra dough for the multicolored Missoni 3/4 length I've been pining for, check out these classic nineties videos from the region of the puffy. Reflecting back sure warmed my heart.]]> http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/12/when_the_east_was_in_the_house.html http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/12/when_the_east_was_in_the_house.html East Coast Old School Hip Hop Sun, 02 Dec 2007 00:36:25 -0500 * Once Fugee Wyclef Jean has been doing a lot of press in support of his new solo album, The Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant, to be released Tuesday December 4th. Here are my thoughts on the the forthcoming album and Clef's junketeering as someone who is fully aware of the immense breadth of Clef's pop sensibilities the finite limitations to his creativity. Clef's music is derivative at best, mimetic, at worst but fun and appealing and presented live with dexterity and extraordinary aplomb. I'm not a hater just not quite convinced his enduring success is a product of artistic greatness.]]> http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/11/wyclefjean.html http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/11/wyclefjean.html Foolishness Fugees Wyclef Jean Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:43:14 -0500 As we come up on the anniversary of the Godfather of Soul's death, Princeton University posthumously fêtes the late bandleader with Ain't That a Groove: The Genius of James Brown, a two-day symposium considering his work and influence. This Thursday and Friday, Fred Wesley, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson and a host of music critics including über scholar and VIBE blogger Mark Anthony Neal, symposium organizer Daphne A. Brooks whose Bodies in Dissent is a must read for those interested in American performance and the ever insightful rock critic Kandia Crazy Horse will engage James Brown's catalog from a variety of perspectives. This event is not to be missed so skip out on work or class Friday. If nothing else, NJ transit it to Princeton for the Friday night conversation between Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and ?uestlove. The full schedule is after the jump.]]> http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/11/jamesbrown.html http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/11/jamesbrown.html James Brown Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:06:00 -0500 So Thanksgiving came and went, my poinsettias 'been bought, and my balcony--bedazzled in non-LED lights (I'm sorry Al but I couldn't find them at Target)--is visible from at least half a mile away. What but the run up to Christmas: the most wonderful time of the year. I'm ready for my annual dose of Claymation specials, reruns of silly holiday flicks (e.g., Jingle All The Way), Soy Nog and Charlie Brown. And I've compiled a list of a ten songs that represent what Christmas sounds like to me after the jump.]]> http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/11/holidayplaylist.html http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/11/holidayplaylist.html Christmas Playlist Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:44:20 -0500 the passing of Kanye West's mother Dr. Donda West. Sad news indeed. God rest her soul and God comfort her family members and friends. A retired distinguished academe, most of us knew Dr. West as an indefatigable champion of her child. I always appreciated Dr. West's steadfastness in that regard. When you have great ambition, you need great self-confidence, which doubting or downpressing friends and family stunt. I have long had a village (in the old Negro tradition, I was raised by many) co-signing my worth and gold-starring my future. From my childhood in Seattle, teen sojourn abroad and college years in Atlanta, I had people tending to my psychic well being, pronouncing me a leader, smart and, of course, special, and, when necessary, offering occasional correction. I didn't appreciate their impact on my success until I moved to New York and was without a healthy support network. I still did fairly well in my pursuits but seldom heard a good word from many of the folk in my new environment and it certainly took its toll. A public speaker since my single digits, I started to stutter and experienced occasional panic attacks. I held it together on the outside but was falling apart emotionally. My distant networks left their fair share of concerned voicemails and sent uplifting e-missives to which I seldom responded. Self-doubt is a bitch to banish.]]> http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/11/dondawest.html http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/11/dondawest.html Kanye West. Playlist Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:03:31 -0500 Brooklyn Museum of Art, pissed off then New York Mayor Rudolph Giulani. "The Holy Virgin Mary" was but one example of the offbeat incisive images of romance and religiosity proffered by Ofili, a Brit of African descent who now makes Trinidad his home. Yesterday evening, I raced from work to New York's Gallery district to take in a soon closing exhibit of his latest work, Devil's Pie (a nod to D'Angelo's opus). There I met up with rock critic Kandia Crazy Horse and performance studies scholar Tavia Nyong’o, both of Bluegum. Nyongo'o suggested we take in two nearby exhibits so we moseyed a few blocks north to see Kara Walker's harrowing cut outs and framed prose at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and then Isaac Julien's film installation at Metro Pictures, passing a Basquiat exhibiting (with Warhol and Haring no less) on the way. Since the fine arts are on my mind, I wanted to spotlight some artists who I'd hope to patronize someday. Wait 'til I get my money right. I went to Hillman's prototype. The domecile will be Cosbyish. ]]> http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/11/artsmart.html http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/11/artsmart.html Art Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:11:59 -0500 Time Out New York. The Q&A, which was picked up by a number of outlets, including Page Six, and generated a good deal of press for that Time Out New York issue, was a painful read thanks to Leu's contentious (and cheesy) line of questioning. Here are some examples:]]> http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/10/letmeupbraidyou.html http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/10/letmeupbraidyou.html Writing Sun, 28 Oct 2007 17:56:03 -0500 We're coming up on All Hallows Eve, a holiday I celebrated as a child until an overzealous church member convinced my mom and a bunch of other adolescent parentals that Halloween was satanic and not to be celebrated by God fearing Christians. Luckily, by then I had been put in work, having treated hard through my neighboorhood with my older sister. We even coaxed our dad to chauffer us to outlying areas for additional booty.]]> http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/10/little_boy_pop_a_halloween_pla.html http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/10/little_boy_pop_a_halloween_pla.html Music Playlist Sat, 27 Oct 2007 20:21:20 -0500 Not too fond of Terry Gross interviews but I have to spotlight this one with writer/producer Larry Wilmore over at NPR. It's typically stilted with Gross introducing the former "In Living Color" writer in this manner, "When "The Daily Show" deals with the thorny issues of race they call on their Senior Black Correspondent Larry Wilmore." Oh, Terry and/or NPR writers. Thorny issues of race!? While, the interview suffers from unnecessary gravitas (Tavis would have killed on this interview), Wilmore deserves the shine however mildly specious the context. ]]> http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/10/larrywilmore.html http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/10/larrywilmore.html Comedy TV Thu, 25 Oct 2007 12:08:15 -0500 Christian Scott at the Blue Note Jazz Club, New York (10.22.07) "I still can't tell the difference between good and bad police," explained trumpeter Christian Scott Monday night from the Blue Note bandstand before charging into "Litany Against Fear." A swelling bulwark to injustice, the song was written after Scott's encounter with a Black boy terror-stricken by the New Orleans police's unprovoked detention of the his big brother. Revealing that he too had been repeatedly culled for police line ups, Scott and band capped a six song set with drama and dexterity before autographing CDs, posing for pictures and mashing it up with members of the packed New York club. Scott, who expressed surprise at show's start that so many had shown up for the Monday night gig, played with an alacrity and aptitude befitting a man familiar with selling out venues and, indeed, secured his current record deal with Concord Music Group by playing to throngs at the Virgin Megastore in Boston, where he attended Berklee College of Music. While the set tackled fear and loss, Scott, couched it with a good deal of humor, exhibiting a star quality that will soon be on display in the new George Clooney movie, Leatherheads. In this second installment of our interview with Scott (conducted prior to his Blue Note performance), the New Orleans native spoke to his forays in film and the entire span of his creative ventures, from his recent release, Anthem (2007), a meditation on Hurricane Katrina, to his guest appearance on Prince's Planet Earth, and made clear that his musical imperatives are activist as well as aesthetic.]]> http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/10/christianscottpt2.html http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/10/christianscottpt2.html Christian Scott Jazz Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:04:39 -0500 Photo Credit: Kiel Scott 24-year-old trumpeter Christian Scott called in for this interview late and breathless. Detained at a New York subway stop after a car carrying him was besieged by a gun-brandishing cop despite no sign of criminal activity amongst the commuters, he was aghast and a little bit amused at the sheer ridiculousness that ensued. The 'only in New York' moment just briefly fazed the quick witted New Orleans native who remains confounded by the storm of ineptitude and indifference that flooded his birthplace, a catastrophe he assails on his sophomore album Anthem (2007), a brooding reflection on a city sunk. In addition to opening up on the Hurricane Katrina debacle, Scott spoke pointedly to his sound, influences, peers and beginnings as he prepared for tonight's one-nighter at New York's Blue Note jazz club, after which he'll make a few stops on the eastern seaboard, return home for the Voodoo Music Experience and cross the Pacific for Tokyo's Fujitsu Concord Jazz Festival.]]> http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/10/christianscott.html http://www.vibe.com/blog/babar/2007/10/christianscott.html Christian Scott Jazz Mon, 22 Oct 2007 09:23:18 -0500