Earlier this year, I posted portions of an article originally published through the blog insideplaya, about D’Angelo. A tough love piece, it rendered facts about the business of the music industry, the legacy of FUNK, and Michael “D’Angelo” Archer’s career.
This is in celebration of 14 pages of the Funkalicious blog. In lieu of current events, I simply want to document profound photos of yesteryear and yesterday… another PSA
Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film “Inherent Vice” hits theaters on January 9th. The seventh feature from P.T., it stars Joaquin Phoenix, who starred in his last movie “The Master.” Reese Witherspoon, Josh Brolin, Benicio del Toro, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short, Jena Malone, Owen Wilson and Eric Roberts are also cast in the picture, set in the 70’s, about an adventure of an L.A. detective.
There was a lot of FUNKY Music this year! Not limited to the genre of FUNK, several icons and legends in music released new albums, as well as some of music’s newer FUNKY artists. Here’s the FUNKALICIOUS list for 2014…
All three of Bobby Ray’s studio releases have made the Funkalicious lists of best albums of the year. Ever since his first CD, “B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray,” this talented performer and producer has been droppin’ musical bombs that have exploded beyond the genre of hip-hop. In addition to his official records, B.o.B. has also released the mixtapes “No Genre” (Import), “No Genre Pt. 2” and “New Black.”
FROM THE WASHINGTON POST: “A grand jury has declined to indict Darren Wilson, the white Ferguson, Mo. police officer whose fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager sparked days of turbulent protests and a national conversation about race and police interactions with African Americans, prosecutors said Monday. The decision means that Wilson, 28, will face no state charges in the August shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.”
All my experiences with Dr. Bronner’s products have been good ones. So when I saw the article below about drama with the FDA, I had to know more. Here’s the site…
Classic definition: Judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind; i.e. “a classic novel” — A work of art of recognized and established value. This is a definitely a title befitting of the FX television series “American Horror Story.” Created and executive produced by Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy, who brought the TV viewing public “Glee” and “Nip/Tuck,” the show is in its fourth FUNKY season and was recently greenlit for a Funkalicious fifth.
Azealia Banks’ debut album, “Broke With Expensive Taste,” hit i-tunes and Spotify on November 6th. Ever since her track “212” dropped in 2011, I’ve been looking forward to a full length project. Interscope records picked her up soon after the single was released, but dropped her this past July. The label released her EP “1991” in the Spring of 2012, and her mixtape “Fantasea,” followed it two months later.
There is no FUNKIN’ “Middle-Class.” Dear friends, associates, lovers of this website and random blog readers, ever since G. W. Bush Funked Up the economy, the “Middle-Class” has ceased to exist. Sure, for the most part the Working Class – those with ambition – have been ok, but unless you’re bringing in a minimum of 200-250k, you are not of today’s “Middle-Class.” It’s cold ain’t it, but it’s real – the sooner you accept this reality, the more equipped you will be to change it.
Not too long ago, Laurence Fishburne played “Dr. Raymond Langston” in CBS’ CSI series, but first he was Dr. Joshua “Josh” Hall (#1) on “One Life to Live” on ABC TV from ’73 to ’76; he did a television movie, then began a career in film. He took on a role with Pee Wee’s Playhouse as “Cowboy Curtis” from 86 to 90; and most recently was “Jack Crawford” in the small screen version of “Hannibal,” that was based on the character made famous in the Oscar award winning film, “The Silence of the Lambs.”
It looks like the Hawkins Brothers are on their way. The team of Zeke and Simon Hawkins have wrapped their first film. Featured at the Toronto Film Festival as “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” “Bad Turn Worse,” hits theaters on November 14th.
Stevie Wonder is taking “Songs in the Key of Life” on the road! He initially announced the tour about a year ago, but dates for the road trip, hit the Internet just last month. I got the news via http://insideplaya.wordpress.com about a week or so ago! I didn’t recall having heard about it before – then I spoke to a fellow Wonder lovers, and they too said they hadn’t heard yet either. I am generally the one to hear about major music events among my immediate family and friends — then our cousin Stevie told us that he wanted to write something for The Museum of UnCut Funk. His inspiration, to talk about his memories connected to the album, made me begin to think of mine…
Benjamin Booker is a raw new talent out of New Orleans! He recently made his network television debut on “The Late Show w/ David Letterman,” and his self-titled debut album is in stores now – performance on Letterman here… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8VyRO2iqeg
One of entertainment’s true black cultural icons has passed away. Ever since childhood, my life was touched by the presence, of Geoffrey Holder. From commercials to film to actually meeting him, Holder has unquestionably influenced, encouraged and inspired dynamics of my life, that led me to choose pursuing the world of entertainment and writing as a career. A true giant in stature and in life, I am honored to have been in his presence and humbled, by the advice he rendered.
At it’s inception, Netflix was a cool idea, despite it’s analog entry into the mainstream. Digital was at the onset of the brand, however a solid cyber foundation was required to couple strategic timing and marketing. The evolutionary medium recently acquired the rights to air the NBC hit, “The Black List” that stars James Spader, for two-million dollars per episode recently. Now they’ll enable subscribers to see brand new films simultaneously as they’re released in theaters! It begins with the sequel to the Ang Lee hit “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”
Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand and Smokey Robinson all have new music out. Streisand and Robinson’s CDs are duet projects, and Franklin’s release is an album of covers, including classics from Etta James to Adele.
Last year I wrote an item titled “Missing the Funkiest Moment.” It was about how so many people nowadays that go to live performances, and truly miss the essence of the show they’re attending. You Are At The Show, you should enjoy it, not spend time trying to record it to watch later. I feel confident in my knowledge of this, as I have been so fortunate to see so many shows, since I was a teen.
Prince is releasing not one, but 2 new albums this fall. Expected for release on September 30th, “Art Official Age,” is a solo project and “Plectrumelectrum,” is the long anticipated project that features 3rdEyeGirl. Friends and fans may already have seen the video for the previously released single, “Breakfast Can Wait,” which features Dave Chapelle on the cover art – if not, go here… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHbyNrGXpAA…
In the midst of turmoil, even when the worst of matters are smacking folks of all cultures in the face, a spade gon’ be a spade. “Call a Spade a Spade”: To tell the truth about something, even if it is not polite or pleasant. Pertaining to ethnicity, the phrase predates the use of the word “spade” as an ethnic slur against black people, which was not recorded until 1928. This item encompasses a bit of both regarding recent public and personal occurrences.
