By MESFIN FEKADU AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — At just 7, Blue Ivy Carter is an award-winning songwriter. Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s daughter won the Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award at Sunday’s Soul Train Awards for co-writing her mom’s hit “Brown Skin Girl,” a song celebrating dark- and brown-skinned women. In this July 9, […]
Category: Arts & Culture
Posted inArts & Culture, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT, NEWS, Prince George's County News, TV and Film
Millennial Filmmaker Speaks on Race, Politics in Documentary
By Mark F. Gray, AFRO Staff Writer, mgray@afro.com Asia Norris is a millennial filmmaker with a baby boomer’s perspective. She sees life through a prism of historic context and uses new media approaches to tell stories. Norris has blended old school knowledge and cutting edge technology to produce a documentary that begins a frank discussion about perceptions […]
Posted inArts & Culture, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
Kennedy Center Highlights Hip Hop ‘For the Culture’
By Micha Green Washington, D.C. editor mgreen@afro.com Since 2016 the Kennedy Center has been officially doing it- in the words of Trap music trio Migos– “for the culture,”- Hip Hop Culture that is. Urban Dictionary defines, ‘doing it for the culture as, “usually a statement requesting that someone carry out a specific action for benefit of […]
Posted inArts & Culture, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, D.C. Community, ENTERTAINMENT, NEWS, TV and Film, Washington D.C. News
20 Years Later ‘Rent’ Resonates With D.C. Audiences
By Micha Green, AFRO Washington, D.C. Editor This reporter must start by saying, “Rent,” is my favorite musical. I had to remind myself before entering the National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., that I could not sing along during the show-which ended up being really, really hard. I came in hoping that the National Theatre’s “Rent […]
Posted inArts & Culture, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, BUSINESS, D.C. Community, ENTERTAINMENT, National News, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
PRESS ROOM: National Museum of African American Music Assembles All-Star Band of Creative Agencies to Launch Grand Opening
Written by the NNPA NASHVILLE, TENN. (November 2019) — When the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) officially opens its doors in the summer of 2020, it will be a first-of-its-kind cultural institution that celebrates the tradition of the people behind Black music and the music’s significant impact on the soundtrack of American society. […]
Posted inArts & Culture, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT, HBCU, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
Howard Partners With Amazon For LA-Based Entertainment Program
By Mark F. Gray, AFRO Staff Writer, mgray@afro.com Howard University has made a name for itself as one of the premiere developers of entertainers and broadcasters who have ascended to the peak of their industry. Now the school has partnered with Amazon Studios to launch Howard Entertainment, an innovative new program designed to diversify the pipeline for […]
Posted inArts & Culture, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT, NEWS, TV and Film, Washington D.C. News
Maestrina Da Favela: A Documentary to Inspire
By Nyame-kye Kondo, Special to the AFRO District of Columbia native Falani Afrika is currently in the post production phase of a documentary project she has been developing locally and abroad for the last 10 years. Filmed entirely in Brazil, Afrika’s film “Maestrina Da Favela” follows the life and career of Elem De Jesus Silva, a […]
Posted inArts & Culture, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT, TV and Film
Tyler Perry Studios to Host Miss Universe 2019
By AFRO Staff Tyler Perry continues to score big time. The Miss Universe organization announced <https://mobile.twitter.com/MissUniverse/status/1190021246823682048> Oct. 31 that its 2019 pageant will be held at the entertainment executive’s new 330-acre studio in Atlanta. Tyler Perry poses for a photo on the red carpet at the grand opening of Tyler Perry Studios at Tyler Perry […]
Posted inNEWS
Fall Concert Celebrates 100 Years of Scholarship
By Special to AFRO More than two thousand music lovers from the Baltimore and Washington Metropolitan Areas will fill Gilliam Concert Hall at Morgan State University’s Carl J. Murphy Fine Arts Center on Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. for the 10th annual fall concert of the Community Concert Choir of Baltimore, Inc. (CCCB). This year’s […]
Posted inArts & Culture, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, D.C. Community, ENTERTAINMENT, Mayor Muriel Bowser, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
AFRO Exclusive: Dave Chappelle at Duke Ellington
By Neruda Williams, Special to the AFRO DMV native, celebrated comedian, and now the newly minted Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for Humor awardee gave back in a big way on Monday, Oct. 28, when he surprised his alma mater, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, for a day of workshops with some of his special […]
Posted inArts & Culture, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT, National News, NEWS, TV and Film
AFRO Exclusive: ‘Harriet’ Depicts a True, Black Superhero, Stars Weigh In
By Micha Green AFRO Washington, D.C. Editor mgreen@afro.com This reporter has seen award-winning director Kaci Lemmons’ “Harriet,” starring Cynthia Erivo and Leslie Odom Jr. twice at two different premiers- the first time because it was necessary in order to interview the cast, and the second was because the film was spectacular. First of all, Tony-award […]