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Harlem Arts Festival
The Harlem Arts Festival is an annual arts festival and arts nonprofit based in Harlem that began in 2012. The organization presented community-based music, dance, theatre, and visual artists at Marcus Garvey Park and the surrounding Harlem area. Notable participants included Queen Esther, Toni Blackman, Brandee Younger, Kris Bowers, Divinity Roxx, Marc Cary, AKIR, Timothy Bloom, Brady Watt, Maurice "Mobetta" Brown, M-1, Solomon Hicks, Bentley Meeker, among many others. History The organization and festival was co-founded and led by three local Harlem producers: Neal Ludevig, J.J. El-Far and Chelsea Goding. The festival debuted in 2012 after a successful Kickstarter campaign garnered press from The New York Times, The Daily News, DNAInfo, Northhattan News, and a number of other media outlets. The organization presented more than 200 artists to more than 17,000 attendees in 5 years. In 2014, the organization honored musician and social activist Fred Ho with its annual Lyne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brandee Younger
Brandee Younger (born July 1, 1983) is an American harpist. Younger infuses classical, jazz, soul, and funk influences to the harp tradition pioneered by her predecessors and idols Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. Younger leads her own ensemble, performs as a soloist and has worked as a sideman for such musicians as Pharoah Sanders, Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden, Bill Lee and Reggie Workman, and other popular artists including Lauryn Hill, John Legend ('' Love in the Future''), Common ('' Finding Forever''), Ryan Leslie, Drake, Maxwell, The Roots, Moses Sumney and Salaam Remi. Younger is noted for her work with saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, who was featured on her 2019 release, ''Soul Awakening''. Currently, she records and tours with drummer and producer Makaya McCraven, following the release of his 2018 recording ''Universal Beings''. Current features In April 2019, Younger's original composition "Hortense" was featured in the documentary '' Homecoming'', by Beyon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akir
Akir is an American hip hop recording artist, producer, songwriter activist and, teaching artist known for his complex lyrics and social-political content. His name is an acronym for "Always Keep It Real". Biography Akir first entered the hip hop scene as an on-air personality at the high school radio station, WNMH, from 1994 to 1996. In 1998, he ranked second out of 50 in Howard University's Verbal Armageddon, MC competition. Akir sought to improve his musical talent and began to focus on production. Collaborating with his brother and business partner SouthPaw, he co-produced one track on Immortal Technique's ''Revolutionary Vol. 1''. Soon after, Akir released his first song, "Best Friend", on DJ N'finite's mix CD, ''The Blockbuster Vol. 1'', through his own production company, One Enterprises. In November 2005, Akir and ten other up and coming emcees formed the group The Reavers, and released the album ''Terror Firma''. Soon after, One Enterprises and Viper Records joi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dead Prez
Dead Prez, often stylized as dead prez, is an American hip hop duo composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with lyrics focused on both militant social justice, self-determination, and Pan-Africanism. The duo maintains an ethical stance against corporate control over the media, especially hip hop record labels. Career Background (1990–2000) In 1990, M-1 headed to Tallahassee, Florida, to attend Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University where he and stic.man met and formed a relationship due to their mutual love of music and similar leftist political ideology. While there, their views solidified, M-1 becoming particularly interested in the Black Panther Party. M-1 joined the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement in Chicago for three years, while stic.man remained in Florida. Burned out by the arduous labor of Uhuru, M-1 and stic.man chose to focus on music. Brand Nubian's Lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from New York City. The duo consisted of rappers Prodigy and Havoc. They are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hopEdwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC'', Chicago Review Press, p. 323. and hip hop in the mid-1990s. Mobb Deep became one of the most successful rap duos of all time, having sold over three million records. Their best-known albums are ''The Infamous'' (1995), '' Hell on Earth'' (1996) and ''Murda Muzik'' (1999), and their most successful singles were "Shook Ones (Part II)" and " Survival of the Fittest." They were known for their dark and hardcore delivery. The duo disbanded in 2012, but reunited the following year. Prodigy died in June 2017. Havoc is currently working on a new Mobb Deep album. Biography Early career Havoc and Prodigy met while both were students at the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan—a school that produced creatives like C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prodigy (rapper)
Albert Johnson (November 2, 1974 – June 20, 2017), better known by his stage name Prodigy, was an American rapper. With Havoc, he was one half of the hip hop duo Mobb Deep. Early life Prodigy was born on November 2, 1974, in Hempstead, New York, on Long Island. He was raised in LeFrak City, in Queens. He had one elder brother, Greg Johnson. He came from a musical family. His grandfather Budd Johnson was a saxophonist who was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1993. His grand-uncle, Keg Johnson, was a trombonist. Both of them are remembered for their contributions to the bebop era of jazz. His mother, Fatima Frances (Collins) Johnson,Blisteen, JonMobb Deep Rapper Prodigy Dead at 42 ''Rolling Stone''. June 20, 2017. was a member of The Crystals. His father, Budd Johnson Jr., was a member of a doo-wop music group called The Chanters. His great-great-great-grandfather, William Jefferson White, founded Georgia's Morehouse College. While attending the High S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inez Dickens
Inez E. Dickens (born July 15, 1949) is the Assemblymember for the 70th district of the New York State Assembly. She is a Democrat. The district includes portions of El Barrio, Hamilton Heights, Harlem, and Morningside Heights in Manhattan. She formerly served on the New York City Council from 2006 to 2016, representing the 9th district. Life and career Dickens is a lifelong resident of New York City. Her father, Lloyd E. Dickens, was a Democratic District Leader and a member of the New York Assembly, and her uncle Thomas K. Dickens was an assemblyman and a justice on the New York Supreme Court. She attended P.S. 133 and Julia Richman High School, and later did undergraduate studies in real estate and land economics at New York University and later at Howard University but did not graduate. Dickens was first elected to office in 1974 as a State Party Committeewoman, and served in that capacity for 32 years. In the 2004 presidential election, she served as one of New York's 33 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Ho
Fred Ho (; born Fred Wei-han Houn; August 10, 1957 – April 12, 2014) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist, composer, bandleader, playwright, writer and Marxist social activist. Biography He was born in Palo Alto, California,John Stevenson"Fred Ho: Baritone saxophonist whose innovative output was influenced by his social and environmental beliefs" ''The Independent'', May 30, 2014. and moved at the age of six with his family to Massachusetts. In 1988, he changed his surname to "Ho". While he is sometimes associated with the Asian-American jazz or avant-garde jazz movements, Ho himself was opposed to the use of term "jazz" to describe traditional African-American music because the word "jazz" had sometimes been used pejoratively by white Americans to denigrate the music of African Americans. Ho sought to define what constitutes Asian-American jazz: "What makes Chinese American music Chinese American? What would comprise an Asian American musical content and form that co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, Kickstarter has received $6.6 billion in pledges from 21 million backers to fund 222,000 projects, such as films, music, stage shows, comics, journalism, video games, board games, technology, publishing, and food-related projects. People who back Kickstarter projects are offered tangible rewards or experiences in exchange for their pledges. This model traces its roots to subscription model of arts patronage, where artists would go directly to their audiences to fund their work. History Kickstarter launched on April 28, 2009, by Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, and Charles Adler. ''The New York Times'' called Kickstarter "the people's NEA". ''Time'' named it one of the "Best Inventions of 2010" and "Best Websites of 2011". Kickstarter repo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neal Ludevig
Neal (Neil) is a given masculine name and surname of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion". As a surname, Neil is traced back to Niall of the Nine Hostages who was an Irish king and eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill and MacNeil kindred. Most authorities cite the meaning of Neal in the context of a surname as meaning champion. Surname *Abbie Neal (1918–2004), American country music entertainer *Adam Neal (born 1990), English rugby league player *Alice B. Neal (1828–1863), American writer *Arthur Neal (1903–1982), English footballer *Blaine Neal (born 1978), American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball *Bob Neal (Atlanta sportscaster) (born 1942), American sports broadcaster *Bob Neal (Cleveland sportscaster) (1916–1983), American sports broadcaster * Charles Lincoln Neal (also known as "Link") ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bentley Meeker
Bentley Meeker is an American artist and lighting designer. He lives in Harlem, New York and works in Hell’s Kitchen, New York. Meeker's artistic practice is concerned with the properties of light and how they affect us. In 2014, he created The "H” in Harlem, a large scale public art installation suspended under the 125th St and 12th Ave viaduct in Harlem, NYC. In 2016, Meeker was commissioned by Michelle Obama to create a light sculpture for the Nordic state dinner at The White House. Later that year, Bentley Meeker was selected to be a Harlem Arts Festival 2016 artist and created the piece entitled "Indigo". He has been a multi-year featured artist at Burning Man in Northwestern Nevada, creating the lighting for the Temple of Transition, Temple of Whollyness and Temple of Promise. Additionally, he has shown at the Southampton Center for the Arts, The Whitney Museum of American Art, National Arts Club, the CORE:club and galleries in Chelsea and SoHo. Outside of art, Mee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solomon Hicks
"King" Solomon Hicks (born February 8, 1995) is an American guitarist, blues, jazz singer, and composer. His style of music ranges from jazz, blues, classical, gospel, R&B, funk, Afro-Cuban, and classic rock. Hicks has been a blues guitarist since he was 13. He plays a Benedetto GA35 guitar. Benedetto jazz guitars are hand crafted by Robert Benedetto an American luthier of archtop jazz guitars. He teaches beginning and advanced guitar along with music theory. His first recording was when he was 14 with the Cotton Club All-Star Band. The CD is called ''Embryonic''. He has toured in Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Mexico, Japan, Bahamas, Bermuda, Barbados, and the United States. Early life Hicks received his first guitar lessons at the age six. His mother Holly Hicks was his first tutor. She taught him the history of African-American music. He started learning soul music, blues, and then Jimi Hendrix. He was playing music before he learned to read music. He attended th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
M-1 (rapper)
Mutulu Olugbala (born Lavonne Alford, May 12, 1975), better known by his stage name M-1 (sometimes stylized as M1), is an American rapper, songwriter, and activist from Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for his work as one half of the political hip hop duo dead prez with stic.man. Career M-1's first solo album, ''Confidential,'' credited to "Dead Prez Presents M-1," was released on March 21, 2006, through Sotti/Koch Records. Following ''Confidential'' M-1 worked on the album ''Can't Sell Dope Forever'' by Dead Prez & Outlawz. M-1 had the lead role in ''Broken Rhyme'', a 2006 American 90-minute feature film and drama directed and produced by Detdrich McClure about a disillusioned rapper who goes to Japan to shoot a video there and encounters a mysterious Japanese woman who leads him on a spiritual journey and the heavy price he has to pay for turning his back on the forces that run the hip-hop music industry. The film premiered at the Filmlife and HBO American Black Film ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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