|
Down In The Delta
''Down in the Delta'' is a 1998 American-Canadian drama film, directed by Maya Angelou (in her only film directing effort) and starring Alfre Woodard, Al Freeman, Jr., Esther Rolle (in her final film released during her lifetime), Loretta Devine, and Wesley Snipes. Plot Rosa Lynn Sinclair, an elderly woman, lives in a Chicago housing project with her daughter Loretta and her two grandchildren, four-year-old Tracy (who is autistic) and thirteen year-old Thomas. Disappointed in Loretta's life choices and afraid of the troubled circumstances surrounding her grandson Thomas, Rosa Lynn decides to send her daughter and grandchildren to visit with her brother-in-law in Mississippi for the summer. Loretta, a drug addict, declines to go, especially since her uncle Earl lives in the dry and rural part of the Mississippi Delta, and already juggles his business and a wife, Annie, who has Alzheimer's disease and is cared for by a housekeeper. Before they depart, Rosa Lynn pawns a silver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou's series of seven autobiographies focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, ''I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'' (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim. She became a poet and writer after a string of odd jobs during her young adulthood. These included fry cook, sex worker, nightclub performer, ''Porgy and Bess'' cast member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference coordinator, and correspondent in Egypt and Ghana during the Decolonisation of Africa, decolonization of Africa. Angelou was also an actress, writer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Dry County
In the United States, a dry county is a county whose local government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. The vast majority of counties now permit the sale of alcohol in at least some circumstances, but some dry counties remain, mostly in the Southern United States; the largest number are in Arkansas, where 30 counties are dry. A number of smaller jurisdictions also exist, such as cities, towns, and townships, which prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages and are known as dry cities, dry towns, or dry townships. Dry jurisdictions can be contrasted with "wet" (in which alcohol sales are allowed and regulated) and " moist" (in which some sales of alcohol are permitted, or a dry county containing wet cities). Background History In 1906, just over half of U.S. counties were dry. The proportion was larger in some states; for example, in 1906, 54 of Arkansas's 75 countie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Wonder is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, R&B, Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, Gospel music, gospel, funk, and jazz. A virtual one-man band, Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of contemporary R&B. He also helped drive such genres into the album era, crafting his LP record, LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Visual impairment, Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy who signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of 11, where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder. Wonder's s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
D'Angelo
Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" for R&B Supergroup (music), supergroup Black Men United. His debut studio album, ''Brown Sugar (D'Angelo album), Brown Sugar'' (1995), was certified Platinum certification, platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and received widespread acclaim from music critics, who have credited the album for ushering in the neo soul movement. His third single, "Lady (D'Angelo song), Lady", reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. D'Angelo would then collaborate with artists such as Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and then-girlfriend Angie Stone. His next album, ''Voodoo (D'Angelo album), Voodoo'' (2000), debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 and continued to receive critical accl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreography became a catalyst in the growth of MTV, enabling her to rise to prominence while breaking gender and racial barriers in the process. Lyrical content that focused on social issues and lived experiences set her reputation as a role model for youth. The tenth and youngest child of the Jackson family, Jackson began her career as a child actress, with roles in the television series '' Good Times'' (1977–1979), ''Diff'rent Strokes'' (1980–1984), and '' Fame'' (1984–1985). She signed a recording contract with A&M Records in 1982 and became a pop icon following the releases of the albums '' Control'' (1986) and '' Rhythm Nation 1814'' (1989). Her collaborations with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis incorporated a variety ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and nominations received by Whitney Houston, one of the most awarded performers of all time. As Cultural impact of Whitney Houston, a cultural icon, her List of Whitney Houston records and achievements, chart achievements and Whitney Houston videography, music videos influenced the breaking down of Gender inequality, gender and Racial segregation, racial barriers. Known for Cultural impact of Whitney Houston#Impact on vocal style in popular music, her vocal delivery and List of Whitney Houston live performances, live performances, Houston was ranked second on ''Rolling Stone''s list of the Rolling Stone's 200 Greatest Singers of All Time#2023 list, greatest singers of all time in 2023. Houston signed to Arista Records at the age of 19. Her first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Musical ensemble, bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All-Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar, and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as compact discs (CDs) replaced LP record, LPs and cassette (format), cassettes as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it, he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. They grew to be a worldwide success over time, with the success of platinum performers Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Devo, Tangerine Dream, Genesis (band), Genesis, Phil Collins, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, OMD, the Human League, Culture Club, Simple Minds, the Spice Girls, Lenny Kravitz, the Sex Pistols, and Mike Oldfield among others, meaning that by the time it was sold, it was regarded as a major label, alongside other large international independents such as A&M Records, A&M and Island Records. Virgin Records was sold to Thorn EMI in 1992. EMI would later be acquired by Universal Music Group (UMG) in 2012 with UMG creating the Virgin EMI Records division. The Virgin Records name continues to be used by UMG in certain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Richard Yearwood
Richard Yearwood is a British-Canadian actor, television host, director and producer, who is best known for providing the voice of Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong in ''Donkey Kong Country (TV series), Donkey Kong Country''. Career Yearwood began his acting career in 1980, in the television series ''The Littlest Hobo'' as Danny McLean. His other recurring roles include, Special Agent Bush in ''Due South'', Mr. Smith in ''Once a Thief (TV series), Once a Thief'', Jor in ''Relic Hunter'', Nestov in ''Tracker (Canadian TV series), Tracker'' and Benjamin N'Udu in ''InSecurity''. He also acted in several feature and television films, such as Vincent in ''Unnatural Causes (1986 film), Unnatural Causes'', Wilson Carlisle in ''X-Rated'', Marco in ''Down in the Delta'', Habersham in ''Enslavement: The True Story of Fanny Kemble'', Randy Benson in ''Bojangles (film), Bojangles'' and Lucius in ''Blizzard (2003 film), Blizzard''. Yearwood had also provided occasional voice over work ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Philip Akin
Philip Akin (born April 18, 1950) is a Canadian actor. Akin has been acting and directing for over 40 years. He has had roles in major American films such as ''The Sum of All Fears'', '' S.W.A.T.'', and '' Get Rich or Die Tryin'''. He has also done much voice work, including voicing the character of Bishop for the ''X-Men'' animated series and Tripp Hansen in '' Monster Force''. Life and career Akin was born in Kingston, Jamaica, as a middle brother of five sons. His parents moved to Oshawa, Ontario in 1953, and he and his brothers followed suit the next year. He has lived in Ontario ever since. Shortly after attending high school, Akin attended Toronto's Ryerson Theatre School. In 1975, he became the school's first acting graduate, landing a role just a few days later in a Shaw Festival production of '' Caesar and Cleopatra''. In 1983, Akin began studying Yoshinkan aikido and is presently a 5th degree black belt in that art. He has also trained in Jing Mo kung fu and tai chi. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Sandra Caldwell (actress)
Sandra Caldwell is an American actress, singer, and writer. Caldwell is known for recurring roles in Canadian TV series like ''Little Men'' and '' The Book of Negroes'' and smaller roles in US films like ''Shall We Dance'' and ''Murder at 1600''. Cadwell's pioneering experience as a trans woman in the Western entertainment industry was discussed in the 2020 documentary Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen. Early life Caldwell was born in Washington, D.C., and ran away to New York several times through her teenage years to see shows on Broadway and figure "things out". By 18 she already knew that performing in stage shows was what she wanted to do. Transition In her early 20s Caldwell transitioned to presenting publicly as a woman. She was supported by her mother and a couple of friends, and received gender affirming hormone therapy. Caldwell later described the transition as giving her "a lot of joy, and also relief." Career Caldwell fulfilled her dream of becoming a showg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Mpho Koaho
Mpho Koaho () (born 22 April 1979) is a Canadian actor. He portrayed Anthony on the TNT science fiction series ''Falling Skies'' (2011–2015) and was also a series regular on the Teletoon action adventure '' MetaJets'' (2011) and the BBC America science fiction comedy ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'' (2016–2017). Early life and education Mpho Koaho was born 22 April 1979 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to South African parents. Career Mpho began his acting career when Maya Angelou cast him as the lead in her 1998 Miramax film '' Down in the Delta''. After that, he appeared in films such as '' The Salton Sea'', '' Four Brothers'', ''Get Rich or Die Tryin''', and '' Saw III''. In 2009, Koaho was nominated to two Gemini Awards; one for his supporting role on the Canadian TV series ''Soul'', and another for his guest role on the TV series '' Flashpoint''. He ended up winning the former. Mpho portrayed Anthony, a series regular on the TV series ''Falling Skies'' produ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
