“It” didn’t sell at last month’s auction, so maybe you still wanna try and pick “it” up: Artist Michael Whelan’s original acrylic painting, above, for the Jacksons’ famed 1984 work, Victory.
Entries Tagged 'Black Music' ↓
This Is It.
November 5th, 2009 — Art, Black Music, Design, Entertainment, Pop Culture
Feeling the Awesome Power of Patti.
October 30th, 2009 — Advertising, Black Music, Entertainment, Music Video, Pop Culture
The music video is crap. “All Right Now”‘s incendiary production, and blazing performance by Patti LaBelle, above, though, are both out of this world. Check out this studio masterpiece from her her 1992 Live! album. Play loud.
To Terrorize Y’All’s Neighborhoods.
October 29th, 2009 — Black Music, Dance, Music Video, Obituary, Toys
Sideshow Collectibles brings it, again, with this astounding, 12″, fully poseable Michael Jackson, from his legendary, 1983 “Thriller” video.
From manufacturer Hot Toys’ Icon series, the 1/6th scale figure features, right,
• Hot Toys’ slim version TrueType body with over 32 points of articulation
• 2 interchangeable heads – Michael Jackson head and MJ Zombie head
• 2 costumes (original red jacket and pants & zombie suit)
• 2 pairs of white socks with black shoes
• Five (5) sets of interchangeable hands and one (1) additional posing right hand
• 12-inches figure stand with the classic Thriller title and Michael Jackson nameplate
The accessories enable you to alternately create either the cute, moviegoing Michael Jackson, above right, or the zombie MJ, above top, with only one purchase.
I’ll make a bet, watch my words: Some brilliant, self-taught white kid living in Minnesota, or Kansas, is going to get one of these, a video camera that shoots still frames, and recreate the entire zombie dance sequence from “Thriller” using this, as an animation project. Me, I wanna get two of them and make ’em fight each other. Hot Toys’ Michael Jackson “Thriller” 12-inch Figure, out 1st Qtr 2010, $189.99.
[via Tomopop.com]
Brushin’ That Bittersweet Dirt Off Your Shoulder: Jay-Z vs. The Verve.
October 20th, 2009 — Black Music, Culture, Entertainment, Music, Pop Culture
The YouTube I found earlier, before someone yanked it down, had video, as opposed to these stills. However, the track—a mashup of Jay’s “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” with the Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony”—bangs. Rock that, Mr. President.
It’s Too Funky In Here.
October 15th, 2009 — Black Music, Culture, Entertainment, Music, Pop Culture
I think this speaks for itself, fam.
Grand Master Roc Raida, 1972-2009
September 24th, 2009 — Black Music, Hip-Hop, Obituary
After Anthony Williams’, aka D.J. Roc Raida’s, funeral today in Harlem, D.J. Premier gave out T-shirts with this balletic image, above, of the late, great master of steel wheels.
May he rest in peace.
Thriller.
September 7th, 2009 — Art, Black Music, Entertainment, Finance, Money, Obituary, Pop Culture, Race, Satire
Random thought I had today: With the King of Pop’s death in June, the price of superstar conceptual artist Jeff Koons‘ famed 1988 sculpture, Michael Jackson and Bubbles, above, must be rocketing in value. (Made in an edition of three, plus an artist’s proof, one of the life-sized, 42 in. x 70 1/2 in. x 32 1/2 in. porcelain tchotchkes sold at auction for $5.6 million in 2001.)
Indeed, legendary art dealer Larry Gagosian, who reps Koons, right, told The New York Times back in July that if one of the creations
was to come up for sale now, it could make more than $20 million. “And that’s conservative,” he added.
Jay-Z and I Stare Each Other Down.
September 4th, 2009 — Black Music, Entertainment, Hip-Hop, TV
Who’s the hardest? In the above photograph by BET exec Stephen Hill, rapper/entrepreneur Jay-Z, right, and I take a break from our semi-annual lunch at New York City’s Sequoia restaurant to reenact a dramatic scene from the 1981 sci-fi horror film, Scanners.
To watch him make my head explode, tune in to Black Entertainment Television, next week, Thurday (9/10) evening night/Friday morning, at midnight 7 pm, and check out Food for Thought: Conversations with Jay-Z.
There, for a whole hour, Hot 97 NY on-air personality Angie Martinez, sportswriter Stephen A. Smith, and I will take turns ice-grilling America’s most wanted emcee about his music, business, and philosophy. Make sure you peep it. I think it’ll blow your mind, too.
Just Blaze: Is the @TheMegatronDon Actually Not a “Super Producer,” or Did XXL Magazine Just Super FAIL?
September 3rd, 2009 — Black Music, Hip-Hop, Magazines, Media
Early this evening, I tweeted famed hip-hop producer Just Blaze, above, with a simple question:
For the record, here’s the list, from the magazine, about which I was speaking:
10. Scott Storch
9. Wyclef Jean
8. The RZA
7. Swizz Beatz
6. Jermaine Dupri
5. The Neptunes
4.Timbaland
3. Kanye West
2. Sean “Puffy” Combs
1. Dr. Dre
Now, though I know or have met almost all 10 of these, the talented names on XXL magazine’s list of knob-twiddlers, I don’t know Just Blaze. I do know of his reputation. However, I haven’t met him, and didn’t even really expect him to reply.
So, I was a bit suprised when, fewer than ten minutes later, I got this tweet:
Laughing With You, Or At You?: Does Yale’s “Single Asians” Debunk or Traffic Old Stereotypes?
August 24th, 2009 — Black Music, Controversy, Education, Pop Culture, Race, Satire
You all get Fs: Mixed Company sets Asians back thousands of years
Adam Clayton Powell was fond of noting that Harvard University had “ruined more Negroes than bad whiskey.” Well, perhaps his Korean counterpart is somewhere saying the same thing about Asians at Yale.
That was my first random thought when I saw this bit, today, on YouTube: Purported members of the Mixed Company of Yale University chorale, above, shuffling to their reworked version of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”: “Single Asians.”
