Aretha Franklin: Her Majesty, The Queen of Soul
August 24, 2018Aretha Franklin, arguably the greatest voice in music history, has died. The Queen of Soul was 76. “She will be so missed as a mother, sister, friend, cousin,” said longtime friend Roger Friedman, who also covered the Queen of Soul for decades and originally broke the story about her pancreatic cancer fight on showbiz411.com. “Her […]
Movie Review: BlacKKKlansman
August 16, 2018You just can’t make this stuff up! A Black detective infiltrates the White racist Ku Klux Klan. When? Where? Why? How? If you want to know the details and want to be entertained while you catch up on this bit of Americana history, just set aside 2h 14min and watch this screen adaptation of the […]
Book Review: Gigged
August 10, 2018Your allowance was never enough, as a kid. Oh, sure, it bought you what you needed but what you wanted, well, you had to figure that out yourself. A dime here, a dollar there, little chores-for-pay, tasks for Grandma and you made it work. And as you’ll see in the new book, “Gigged” by Sarah […]
The Hampton Jazz Festival
June 29, 2018HAMPTON, VA. – Grammy winner “Uncle Charlie,” better known as Charlie Wilson, was Friday’s featured headliner at the Hampton Jazz Festival. Wilson opened with the high energy, toe-tapping, get up and dance song, “Party Train.” He continued with a melody of hits like “Charlie, Last Name Wilson,” “Everybody Have a Good Time,” and “There Goes […]
Movie Review: Deadpool 2
June 8, 2018In the pantheon of comic book hero movies, Deadpool set itself apart from the herd. It was ultra-violent, pansexual, hysterical, unapologetically sarcastic, frenetic and broke the 4th wall down with a sledgehammer. The deeply droll and irreverent Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds played the vomit-faced superhero. The script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick took audiences […]
Giovanni closes Greensboro Bound Literary Festival with presentation at NCA&TSU
May 19, 2018To close out the first Greensboro Bound Literary Festival, acclaimed poet and children’s author Nikki Giovanni will deliver the keynote in Harrison Auditorium at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University at 6 p.m., Sunday, May 20. Giovanni has authored numerous children’s books and poetry collections including, “Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid,” “Bicycles: Love Poems,” “Acolytes” […]
Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquait
May 19, 2018The very creative Jean-Michel Basquiat died at age 27 in 1988. His legendary persona as an urban artist, clothing designer, painter and musician are on view in this informative and perfectly rendered (director/writer Sara Driver) retelling of his formative teenage years. Rapper/entrepreneur Fab 5 Freddy, graffiti artist Lee Quiñones (star of the classic hip-hop movie […]
Movie Review: A Wrinkle in Time falls short
March 23, 2018The science fiction fantasy novel “A Wrinkle in Time,” written in 1962 by Madeleine L’Engle, won the prestigious Newbery Medal. The author had a fascination with quantum physics and her novel reflected that interest as it explored themes of good versus evil. Initially, more than 20 publishers turned down the book. The author felt that […]
Book review: Down the River Unto the Sea”
March 16, 2018Something’s wrong. It may look just fine, but you know better. Call it intuition, call it plain-as-day, but there’s something off, something not-quite-right about a situation and it’s gotten under your skin. You can’t ignore it and you can’t let it be. As in the new novel, “Down the River Unto the Sea” by Walter […]
Black Panther grosses $242M over holiday weekend
February 23, 2018Disney-Marvel’s “Black Panther” smashed all box office expectations topping “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” for the second-highest four-day domestic opening of all time, with $242 million at 4,020 North American locations. The movie opened Thursday, February 15 ahead of the President’s Day holiday weekend. By Tuesday, Feb. 19 and according to Disney Pictures, “Black Panther” […]