History
Original Soul Train Dancers Speak On What It Took To Dance For Don Cornelius & ‘Soul Train’ Back In The Day (Video)
March 6, 2019
We taught America to dance. We taught the WORLD to dance!
Ahhh, so Doc C. brought the Soul Train line to TV straight out of Chi-Town. Learn about that and more about this quintessential part of our Culture in this mini-doc.
From the days of Motown to the birth of Hip-Hop, the “Soul Train” dancers look back at their time on the show and reflect on how their experiences transformed Black culture.
– Soul Train
– @ojones1
Mannie Fresh Speaks On The Making Of Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up” (Video)
February 20, 2019
How much of a classic is Juve’s hit “Back That Azz Up” though? Watch what happens when it plays at a party TODAY! Azzes WILL get to backing folks up! Right from “Cash Money Records taking over for the ’99 and the 2000” it is ON!
Watch super-producer of that hit, Mannie Fresh, talk about its creation. Genius! For real…
Back in 1998, Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up†introduced bounce music to the mainstream and helped Cash Money Records make a name for itself. The 400 Degreez track remains one of the New Orleans rapper’s biggest hits, peaking at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. Production is handled by Mannie Fresh, who served as the architect of Cash Money’s signature sound from the early ’90s to mid-2000s.
– Genius
– @ojones1
‘Officer Clemmons’ Speaks On Being Black In “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” (Video)
February 15, 2019
Hope you got to spend Valentine’s Day celebrating love in some way. I sat down and watched a documentary on a legend who lived a life of love; influencing generations to be better people as he made his way in the world. Man, if only we had Mr. Rogers around now. Rest in peace to the legend Fred Rogers.
Then IÂ found this Great Big Story on ‘Officer Clemmons’ on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. So wonderful!
Remember Officer Clemmons, the policeman from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood?” Actor Francois Clemmons was initially reluctant to take the role. Growing up in the late ’60s, Clemmons didn’t have a positive opinion of the cops at the time. But Fred Rogers convinced him, and Clemmons became one of the first Black actors to have a recurring role in a children’s TV program.
– Great Big Story
You gotta watch this story and check for the “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” documentary on HBO or on-demand on YouTube. Well worth watching!
– @ojones1
“Horror Noire” Explores How Black People Love Horror Movies, But Don’t Always Get Love Shown In Return (Trailer)
February 14, 2019
Yeah. Why do they do us like that? Why do we have to die so fast, at least in the older horror movies? We ain’t tripping…
(Really. That’s Becky-With-The-Good-Hair who always trips and falls when running from monsters & killers. She oughta die ASAP, right? Haaaa!)
Based on the acclaimed book of the same name by Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman, HORROR NOIRE takes a critical look at a century of genre films that by turns utilized, caricatured, exploited, sidelined, and embraced both Black filmmakers and Black audiences.
Featuring interviews with Ernest Dickerson (Bones), Rusty Cundieff (Tales from the Hood), Jordan Peele (Us), Tina Mabry (Mississippi Damned), Tony Todd (Candyman), Paula Jai Parker (Tales from the Hood), Tananarive Due (My Soul to Keep), and Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman.
– Shudder
– @ojones1
Posted in Film, History, Interview, Investigation, Trailer, Videos | 
Tags: A Shudder Original, Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman, Horror Noire, Robin R. Means Coleman, Shudder | 
No Comments »
Activism: Per Dr. King’s Request, Where Is Our ‘Check,’ America? (Video)
February 13, 2019
Shout to the homie Mack Friday for resharing this, keeping it going. I would post this ANY DAY OF THE YEAR. It just happens to be Black History Month. So yeah, let’s say that’s the reason. Feel free to share this with anyone who just cannot understand why Black people are still ‘crying foul’ over slavery that happened so long ago.
America was built off the back of slaves. This wealth created did not disappear after the “Great Emancipation” neither was it shared with the new Black citizens of America. It remained with colonizers and their decedents creating a wealth disparity that we still see TODAY.
– The Great Griot
No late pass needed. This clip will be on point forever… because TRUTH! Watch, discuss, and share. Stay woke, and wake up everyone around you. Make sure everyone watches this to the end. Let MLK Jr.’s words on reparations be heard #ComingToGetOurCheck
Posted in Activism, History, Lecture, Videos | Tags: America was built off the back of slaves, America was built with slave labor, American Wealth, colonialism, economic inequality, From the Backs of Our Ancestors, reparations, Slavery, The Great Griot, Wealth Gap, Wealth Inequality, Wealth Inequality in America | No Comments »
Throwback/History: Nikki Giovanni Interviews James Baldwin (November 1971) [Video]
February 6, 2019
The world does it to you long enough and effectively enough… You begin to do it to yourself. You become a collaborator, an accomplice of your own murderers…
Just reading the title, you must know that the convo here is about to get deep-deep-DEEPER in depth. Even the context of this clip is deep. Nikki Giovanni, at this point in her life, is interviewing an idol of hers (James Baldwin). And before the talk really gets started, her idol declares that he is PROUD of her… that he needs and depends on her.
If only we strived to live to make our forerunners proud; for them to be able to truly pass the baton to us and trust that the race will continue to be well run… WHEW!! #Chills #NoChill #BlackHistoryMonth
Original video from SOUL! and then shoutfactorytv. All rights and love to Soul! and shoutfactorytv for broadcasting this. Taped in London, November 1971.
Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni, Jr. (born June 7, 1943) is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Giovanni gained initial fame in the late 1960s as one of the foremost authors of the Black Arts Movement. Influenced by the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement of the period, her early work provides a strong, militant African-American perspective, leading one writer to dub her the “Poet of the Black Revolution.”
James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American novelist and social critic. His essays, as collected in Notes of a Native Son (1955), explore intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th-century America. Some of Baldwin’s essays are book-length, including The Fire Next Time (1963), No Name in the Street (1972), and The Devil Finds Work (1976). An unfinished manuscript, Remember This House, was expanded and adapted for cinema as the Academy Award-nominated documentary film I Am Not Your Negro.
Baldwin’s novels and plays fictionalize fundamental personal questions and dilemmas amid complex social and psychological pressures thwarting the equitable integration of not only African Americans, but also gay and bisexual men, while depicting some internalized obstacles to such individuals’ quests for acceptance. Such dynamics are prominent in Baldwin’s second novel, Giovanni’s Room, written in 1956, well before the gay liberation movement.
Soul! or SOUL! (1967–1971 or 1967–1973) was a pioneering performance/variety television program in the late 1960s and early 1970s produced by New York City PBS affiliate, WNET. It showcased African American music, dance, and literature.
Ellis Haizlip was born on September 17, 1929 (to January 25, 1991). He was a pioneering broadcaster, television host, theater and television producer, and cultural activist. Often host of Soul!
– thepostarchive
– @ojones1
Posted in Activism, History, Interview, Television, Throwback, Videos | Tags: Ellis Haizlip, James Arthur Baldwin, James Baldwin, James Baldwin & Nikki Giovanni a conversation, James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni a conversation, London, Nikki Giovanni, Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr., Yolande Cornelia Nikki Giovanni | No Comments »
Kenny Burns & Fawn Weaver Speak In Depth On the Legacy Of Nathan Green And The ‘Uncle Nearest’ Whiskey Brand Named In His Honor (Video)
February 5, 2019
You saw the post on the history and launch of the Uncle Nearest whiskey brand (here), right? Turns out that there is more to the story… way more! This interview reveals how much more.
Kenny Burns & Fawn Weaver Discuss The History Of Uncle Nearest And Jack Daniels Whiskey
– Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM
– @ojones1
Posted in Business, Hip-Hop, History, Interview, Product, Radio, Series, Videos | Tags: Angela yee, Breakfast Club, Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM, Charlamagne Tha God, DJ Envy, Fawn Weaver, Godfather Of Tennessee Whiskey, Jack Daniel, Jack Daniels, Jack Daniels Whiskey, Kenny Burns, Nathan Green, Nathan Nearest Green, Nearest, Power 105, Power 105 FM, Power 105.1, Power 105.1 FM, the slave who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey, Uncle Nearest, Whiskey, Whiskey Brand | No Comments »
Jeffrey Wright Narates This Ad For A Product Named In Honor Of ‘The Greatest Whiskey Maker The World Never Knew’ (Video)
February 1, 2019
Okay, so there will be at least ONE commercial that is a must-watch on Super Bowl Sunday – this one for Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. This new whiskey is named for the slave, Nathan Green aka Uncle Nearest, who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey (*record scratches*). Yeah. That’s right. That Jack Daniel.
What happens when everything we know about something changes?
This is “The Why,†our first national TV campaign to debut following Super Bowl LIII on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert†Post-Super Bowl Special. The people you see are Uncle Nearest team members and their passion and words are 100% unscripted.
This is what sets us apart.
#MoreThanWhiskey
Posted in Business, Celebrity, Craft, Food, History, Product, Television, Videos | Tags: Godfather Of Tennessee Whiskey, Jack Daniel, Jack Daniels, Jack Daniels Whiskey, Jeffrey Wright, Lynchburg, Nathan Green, Nathan Nearest Green, Nearest, Tennessee, Tennessee Whiskey, the slave who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey, The Why, Uncle Nearest, Whiskey | No Comments »
The “Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men” Documentary Comes To Showtime This Spring (Trailer)
January 28, 2019
ShoDocs is a good look for the Wu. A mini-series telling of a story all the heads want to hear – on the history of one of Hip-Hop’s most influential crews ever.
Showtime Documentary Films dives deeper into the music documentary space with Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, a four-part limited docuseries from filmmaker Sacha Jenkins (BURN MOTHERF*CKER, BURN!) that transcends the music documentary genre by creating a new lane that merges music, socio-cultural commentary and intimate family portrait.
Posted in Film, Hip-Hop, History, Series, Television, Trailer, Videos | Tags: Of Mics and Men, Sacha Jenkins, ShoDocs, Showtime, SHOWTIME Documentary, Showtime Documentary Films, Wu-Tang Clan, Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men | No Comments »
“4-IZE: 2 Ignorant 2 Intelligent” Debuts On Amazon Prime February 2019 (Trailer)
December 24, 2018
Certainly, 4-IZE has a story to tell. We in ATL on the scene certainly know a lot, but not all of it. However, there are folks in other parts of the world not blessed with the 4-sight on 4-IZE… yet. This documentary is set to change that.
God Is Good!!! Here is the first teaser of the new documentary series, Paper Chasers TV Presents “4-IZE: 2 Ignorant 2 Intelligent” launching on Amazon Prime in February.
For nearly two decades my story has remained untold. So NOW, we bout to tell dat muh fxcka…
My dude. So glad he’s so excited. I’m excited for him. Join in and get to anticipating! Watch the trailer above.
– @ojones1
Posted in Film, Hip-Hop, History, Trailer, Videos | Tags: 2 Ignorant 2 Intelligent, 4-Ize, 4-IZE: 2 Ignorant 2 Intelligent, Amazon, Paper Chasers, Paper Chasers TV, Tony Hayes III | No Comments »
Bill Duke Speaks On The Importance Of Following Your Dreams (Video)
December 18, 2018
How do you live a life of fulfillment… of passion? That, ladies and gentlemen, is THE question. Understanding that is the keystone of your time here, or it should be.
Bill Duke spoke to VladTV about choosing happiness overstability with his acting career, as he explained that he watched too many people in his family work in jobs they hated and die soon after retiring. He went on to speak about teaching kids in his foundation about the entertainment business and encouraging them to use the internet to put their talents out and not wait to be discovered. Bill also spoke about his upcoming and current projects, including Black Lightning on the CW, Mandy starring Nicolas Cage, and High Flying Bird, which director Steven Soderbergh filmed entirely on an iPhone 8.
– Vlad TV
Here, Bill says, “Go for it.” But you have to have a plan, be prepared to work hard, embrace the ‘suck’ and don’t wait to be ‘discovered’… discover YOURSELF! Feel that. Overstand that!
– @ojones1
Robert Townsend Speaks On ‘Hollywood Shuffle’ & Being One Of The Architects Of Black Hollywood (Video)
December 18, 2018
Somebody was sitting next to me the other day, and she actually said, into her phone, “I didn’t even know that The Five Heartbeats was not a real group until yesterday.”
Turns out Envy & Charlamagne weren’t hip to it either. Um…WHAT????!! Haha!
Robert Townsend On ‘The Five Heartbeats’ Documentary, Whitney Houston + More
– Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM
– @ojones1
Posted in Celebrity, Comedy, Hip-Hop, History, Interview, Radio, Series, Videos | Tags: Angela yee, Breakfast Club, Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM, Charlamagne Tha God, DJ Envy, Power 105, Power 105 FM, Power 105.1, Power 105.1 FM, Robert Townsend | No Comments »
Ernie Isley & Chuck D Speak On ‘Fight The Power’ (Video)
December 12, 2018
Wondering if each of the respective generations of listeners of these versions of “Fight The Power” knows about the other… Bet they do. Kind of cool even if they don’t, since NPR put this doc together #YouMustLearn
NPR’s American Anthem series brings together two songwriters — Ernie Isley of The Isley Brothers and Chuck D of Public Enemy — whose respective versions of “Fight the Power” eyed the same struggle… Ridenhour would later take the stage name Chuck D, as the leader of the pioneering rap group Public Enemy. In 1989, he wrote his own “Fight the Power” for the film ‘Do the Right Thing.’ The movie is set on the hottest day of the summer in a Brooklyn neighborhood, where the temperature leads long-simmering racial tensions to boil over in the street.
– NPR Music
Posted in Activism, Celebrity, Hip-Hop, History, Interview, Politics, R&B, Videos | Tags: American Anthem, Carlton Ridenhour, Ernie Isley, Fight The Power, National Public Radio, NPR, NPR Music, Public Enemy, The Isley Brothers | No Comments »
Dick Cheney Had A ‘Different Understanding’ Of The Vice Presidency (Trailer)
December 11, 2018
Is somebody risking too much for real behind this? I mean… we know Cheney was the Veep to joke on… but you might find more ‘realness’ in this real funny trailer for “Vice.” Maybe a bit too real for the ‘shadow president.’ Check it.
(Don’t @ me haters, and Secret Service don’t come at me. Just a blogger blogging on a blog over here.)
– @ojones1
Posted in Film, History, Politics, Trailer, Videos | Tags: Alison Pill, Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Eddie Marsan, Jesse Plemons, Justin Kirk, Lily Rabe, LisaGay Hamilton, Sam Rockwell, Shea Whigham, Steve Carrell, Tyler Perry, VICE | No Comments »
American Dream/American Nightmare: “Training Day” Director Antoine Fuqua Relates The Real Life Drama Of Tha Row (Trailer)
December 6, 2018
New Death Row Documentary coming out on Showtime. Looks good. pic.twitter.com/Htwl8hAXDF
— Brian (@_ValTown_) December 5, 2018
Good looking trailer indeed. Hope this Showtime flick boldly goes where ‘Compton’ had not gone before (yeah, Star Trek talk is gangsta… ha!).
What Happened To J-Kwon? (Video)
December 5, 2018
Dude! I was just thinking: What happened to J-Kwon? Young’un used to SNAP on tracks! One of the few back then that gave me true hope that Hip-Hop could still produce the party rappers who could turn grime on a dime… and take us to the hood with ’em!
Well, here we go.
What happens to a 17-year-old rapper who makes a monster hit like 2004’s “Tipsy?†From sleeping in a car at 12, to mooning L.A. Reid, to child support conspiracies, to random shoutouts from Kanye West, J-Kwon’s life has been a wild ride.
– BETNetworks
– @ojones1
Posted in Hip-Hop, History, Series, Videos | Tags: Finding BET, Finding J Kwon, Finding JKwon, FindingBET, FindingJKwon, J-Kwon, JKwon | No Comments »
Bill Duke Used To Hate White People (Video)
December 3, 2018
Bill Duke’s Great Grandparents were slaves, his parents escaped from the racist, oppressive, and DANGEROUS South to the North… with their lives. Bill was subjected to extreme racism himself as a child. Is it a wonder that Bill feels how he feels? Imagine how you feel watching a movie with some racism in it. That part… times 1000!
In this clip, Bill Duke spoke about growing up in Poughkeepsie, NY, during the 1940s and 1950s. His parents moved North to escape the oppression of the Jim Crow South equipped with just a 2nd- and 3rd-grade education, respectively. Bill Duke opened up about some his early experiences dealing with racism and how some Whites defied the racist logic of the time as well. He recalled what it was like being a pre-teen when the Emmitt Till story made national headlines.
– Vlad TV
But beyond the agony of his youth, there was wisdom, imparted to Bill, and he shares some with us in the clip above. Watch.
Posted in Celebrity, History, Interview, Series, Videos | Tags: 'Jim Crow' Era, Bill Duke, DJ Vlad, djvlad, I Hated White People as a Child, Jim Crow, My Great Grandparents were Slaves, Part 1, Racism, Slavery, Vlad, Vlad TV, VladTV | No Comments »
Started As Some Colonies, Now We’re Here… As A Corporation (Video)
December 3, 2018
If you hang out with folks in the States who claim Moor as nationality, they might have hipped you to something like this. Or at least tried. Perhaps you really did not take in the knowledge because it was not echoed elsewhere. Well, not trying to proselytize anyone, but here’s a ‘truth echo’ right here. Study, look into things, and THINK for yourSELF!
Plain and simple America is a Corporation since 1871 with the Act of 1871. Finalized in 1938. Rockefellers in the United States. The Rothschilds in England. They own and run the Federal Reserve the Central bank of England and the United Nations is run by them. They both finance WAR for both sides to keep the lies going and but the Corporations are broke. Everything with Syria, Russia, USA and soon to be China falls under this to enslave us with Agenda2030 that was Agenda21 www.republicoftheunitedstates.org GO now!!
– TruthnotWar2115
Mississippi Elected A Racist Governor & Slavery Was Recently Abolished (Video)
November 29, 2018
See this? You might say it looks ridiculous? But you know what is ridiculous, but true? The last state did not legally abolish slavery until 1995. Surprised? That last state was Mississippi (still surprised). Hold your jokes. It was 20 years ago…
A segment from Michael Moore’s TV Nation (1994) that focuses on Mississippi finally getting around to ratifying the 13th amendment to the US constitution – 130 years later. Correspondent Rusty Cundieff races down to Mississippi to try to buy some slaves before the law goes into effect.
– KoalaFrog
But wait, wanna guess which state is having a runoff, now, in 2018 for a Senate seat between a Black Democrat and a White Republican… who PUBLICLY said she would attend a hanging… while she was campaigning???? Yeah, same state, M-I-crooked letter-W-T-F’n Mississippi!!
(Hit the jump.)
LeBron James & Friends Remember The Backlash From His ‘Taking My Talents To South Beach’ Announcement (Video)
November 28, 2018
Remember when LeBron James had an entire state butthurt when he announced ‘The Decision’ to leave Cleveland and go play for Miami? Well, LeBron does. Still. Today.
In this clip from “More Than an Athlete” on ESPN+, LeBron James and his friends and business partners — Maverick Carter, Randy Mims, and Rich Paul — reflect on The Decision and what went wrong.
– ESPN
Posted in Celebrity, History, Series, Sports, Television, Videos | Tags: ESPN, Lebron James, Maverick Carter, More Than An Athlete, Randy Mims, Rich Paul, The Decision | No Comments »
