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Michael Jackson Died 7 Years Ago and His Legacy Still Eludes Us; Maybe That's How He Wanted It
Seven years after his death, Michael Jackson continues to elude and astonish us. But we now know this was how he intended it. Spike Lee’s recent documentary about Jackson’s early years features a letter Jackson wrote in 1979, at age 21. He had just released Off the Wall and was on the Destiny tour with…
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With Lalah Hathaway Live, Singer Boldly Steps Into Her Father’s Legendary Legacy
It is no small thing to invite comparison between your own first live album and one of the greatest live albums ever made—even if the person who made that classic record is your father, and even if you are a Grammy Award-winning phenom in your own right. But such is the bright boldness of Lalah…
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D’Angelo Has His Second Coming With Black Messiah
Like many people, I waited so long for D’Angelo’s new album that I stopped waiting. Its title, Black Messiah, partly mocks the idea that any artist—even the so-called R&B Jesus—could warrant such anticipation. But it’s also about something greater: the problem of waiting for messianic leadership from “on high” and the current refusal to wait…
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Donny Hathaway: We Didn’t Want the Music to End
Thirty-five years ago today we lost the great American soul singer Donny Hathaway. Best known for “A Song for You,” “This Christmas” and classic duets with Roberta Flack, Hathaway was a church-trained singer, pianist, producer and composer who recorded three solo albums, scored a film and conducted orchestral symphonies. His preternatural genius was a music-industry…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
