Pain, passion and partying all the way through—- clouds and chilly rain may have loomed outdoors, but thousands of fans enjoyed the heartwarming soul of newcomer Ro James and co-headliners Maxwell and Mary J. Blige, who regaled the nearly packed-out Dallas’ American Airlines Center on Friday night. Mary J. Blige was the first up of… Continue reading Concert Review: The “King & Queen of Hearts” Tour Hits Dallas’ AAC
Tag: “Melody Charles”
Play Review: “Love Jones: The Musical”
Romance, drama, music and the big city: nearly 20 years ago, African-American movie goers fell in love with Love Jones, a 1997 film starring Larenz Tate and Nia Long. As Darius Lovehall and Nina Mosley, they enraptured audiences, playing two young Chicago-area professionals keen on their jobs, deep into the arts and hot for each… Continue reading Play Review: “Love Jones: The Musical”
Joe’s “#MyNameIsJoeThomas,” CD Review/Preview Link
……What the sixteen tracks will demonstrate, beyond Joe’s trademark finesse and sincerity, is his understated intensity and ease with a variety of styles and subject matter; Damo Farmer, Derrick “D.O.A.” Allen and Gerald Issac anchor his explorations into both the familiar and unfamiliar. We know Joe is proficient with the boudoir skills (“Lay You Down”)… Continue reading Joe’s “#MyNameIsJoeThomas,” CD Review/Preview Link
A Tribe Called Quest’s “We Got It From Here…..” CD Preview/Review Link
……In comparison to their pedestrian (and likely obligatory) 1998 release, ironically entitled The Love Movement, We Got It crackles with energy and inspiration. Phife’s pitch mellowed with age, but his familiar cadence won’t be denied, matching Q-Tip rhyme for rhyme on the urgent opener, “The Space Program” and rolling into Jamaican patois on the blistering… Continue reading A Tribe Called Quest’s “We Got It From Here…..” CD Preview/Review Link
Alicia Keys’ “Here,” CD Preview & Review Link
“Segregation, determination, demonstration, intergration, aggravation,humilation, obligation to our nation.” The Temptations’ 1970’s hit, “Ball of Confusion,” although released in the 70s, aptly describes of the world today. The contentious election cycle aside, issues like police brutality, racial profiling, and foreign/domestic terrorism keep people buzzing about what should happen next, and that’s Alicia Keys brings forth… Continue reading Alicia Keys’ “Here,” CD Preview & Review Link