Jive Culture
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an Afro-Punk mixtape, mon amour
featuring: 1. Whole Wheat Bread – Throw Yo Sets Up 2. Dallas Austin – Children of the Revolution 3. Janelle Monae – Violet Stars Happy Hunting 4. The London Souls – Someday 5. Irradio – Call The Nation 6. Amercian Fangs – LeKick 7. The Smyrk – The Ballad of Fletcher Reede 8. J.U.S Evolution…
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no room for pride
Art from Immig-Art, anonymously contributed immigration experiences as a group art project. Immig-Art was founded by my friend, Kabuika Kamunga, a Congolese filmmaker and journalist based in Chicago.
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the Twinight Revue is Coming
The Chicago-based record label Numero Group has brought together several veteran local soul acts from the short-lived (local) Twinight Record label (circa late 60s- early 70s). Among them will be: Renaldo Domino, Syl Johnson, and the Notations. They’ll perform Saturday at the Park West on Armitage Avenue in Chicago. Tomorrow on Chicago Public Radio’s morning…
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Africa Hi-Fi (back and in full effect!)
mark your calendars for Ron and Sonia’s ongoing afro-funk-highlife-house-shindig…. Saturday, April 11th at Sonotheque… AFRICA HI-FI SUPPORTS NEXTAID , an LA based non-profit that uses music events to raise money for children in South Africa orphaned by the horrendous AIDS EPIDEMIC, and AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, working diligently to raise awareness and action against Human Rights Violations…
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Portraits of Black Chicago: Cool Off
Black youngsters cool off with fire hydrant water on Chicago’s South Side in the Woodlawn community… June 1973 “…The kids don’t go to the city beaches and use the fire hydrants to cool off instead. It’s a tradition in the community, comprised of very low income people. The area has high crime and fire records. From…
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Cult Movie of the Week: Shaft in Africa
I will start with the disclaimer: I am not really a blaxploitation film lover. I’m a lover of their funky romps-of-soundtracks. That said, I dig Shaft in Africa despite its more reserved soundtrack. Why? It’s titled Shaft…..in Africa! Not only Africa, but, specifically, Ethiopia… a country that holds a lot of romance for me because…
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Cult Movie of the Week: Jacksons an American Dream
Yeah, I said it. Angela Bassett, Terence Howard, dude from Welcome Back, Kotter Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, etc., in the story of Gary, Indiana’s most famous sons (and daughters). I recently pulled out my (second) dub of this. It’s a textbook cult classic: lines you can’t forget, larger than life characters… and untouchably-dope music. Since I couldn’t…
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The Warriors: Cult Movie of the Week
Coke bottles clanging together, the sound ringing down a dark, wet alley. A voice calls out menacingly: “Warriors…. Come out and Play-yay…..” The Warriors (1979) is many things. It is a classical Epic tale (like Homer’s Odyssey). It is a pulpy cult classic with a look all its own (co-starring the New York Transit System…
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Monkey Hustlin’ in Chicago
Monkey Hustle is a blaxploitation film shot in Chicago in the 70s (a rarity, in that regard), around the same time as Cooley High. Mainly shot around 63rd Street, East of the Dan Ryan (the Woodlawn Neighborhood), and various West Side locations, the city figures prominently in the overall vibe of the film. Starring in…
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Killer of Sheep: Cult Movie of the Week
“Killer of Sheep caught the lives of the children with a fidelity to how kids really do fight, play, and cry — and how they can sometimes be cruel simply because they’re so scared.” — ROGER EBERT “If Killer of Sheep were an Italian film from 1953, we would have every scene memorized.” — MICHAEL…
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