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The Rise and Fall of Motown's Mary Wells
(The Root) — In the biography Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown’s First Superstar, author Peter Benjaminson unravels the turbulent life and career of one of Motown’s greatest vocalists. During the early ’60s, Wells was the Detroit label’s top female singer. She had several big hits including the Smokey Robinson-penned songs “You Beat Me to the Punch”…
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Solange Knowles Finds Her Lane on 'True'
(The Root) — First things first: Drop any comparison of Solange to her über-famous sister Beyoncé. The younger Knowles sibling (who’s 26) usually doesn’t gyrate her hips or perform intricately choreographed, J-setting, “Single Ladies”-esque dance moves in music videos. But, for all that she’s not, Solange brings her own kind of talent. Solange’s new EP, True,…
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'Some Girls': Black Female Leads UK TV Show
(The Root) — When it comes to racial diversity on television, American and British networks have considerable work to do. But the tides may be changing with BBC3’s new comedy TV series Some Girl, starring Adelayo Adedayo. She plays Viva, 16, who’s focused on going on to study at a university. She’s one of an eccentric lot…
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Listen to Menahan Street Band's New Album
(The Root) — The Brooklyn, N.Y.-based, funk-soul collaborative the Menahan Street Band is back with its new collection of jazz- and funk-inspired tunes, The Crossing. The group, which features members from Budos Band, Antibalas, El Michels Affair and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, infuses its latest album with the band’s characteristic mélange of instrumentals, from heavy…
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Watch the Final Debate With The Root in DC
(The Root) — Join CSE, the Madyun Group and The Root in Washington, D.C., tonight as we watch President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney go head-to-head during the third and final round of presidential debates, leading up to Election Day on Nov. 6. (The Root is also hosting a debate watch event at the Aloft…
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NAACP on Latest John McNeil Decision
(The Root) — NAACP officials met in Arlington, Va., on Friday to discuss the newest decision by Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens in the case of John McNeil, a black Georgia man convicted of homicide after shooting a white trespasser in 2005. Activist Anita McNeil, the wife of John McNeil, was joined by NAACP President…
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K'Naan Talks Life, Music in Minidoc
(The Root) — Somali-Canadian rapper K’Naan recounts his voyage from a modest childhood in Mogadishu, Somalia, to the top of Canadian rap stardom in a new minidocumentary, which complements the release of his sixth studio album, Country, God or the Girl, which came out on Thursday. K’Naan returns to Somalia for the first time since…
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'Django Unchained': New Star-Studded Trailer
(The Root) — Director Quentin Tarantino is planning a return to the big screen this Christmas with his signature cinematic kitsch in the upcoming Django Unchained. Featuring a star-studded cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington, Tarantino’s latest brings blockbuster acting chops to the spaghetti western genre. After being…
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New Box Set Immortalizes Iconic Jazz Venue
(The Root) — Half a century after turning New Orleans into the hometown of jazz, the hallowed corridors and iconic musicians of Preservation Hall are being immortalized in a 50th-anniversary, four-CD deluxe box set, which includes 58 tracks spanning from Preservation Hall’s beginnings in 1962 to contemporary recordings and sessions by many of its revered…
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Film Revisits Swing Era Via Chick Webb
(The Root) — Celebrating the world of swing, The Savoy King: Chick Webb and the Music That Changed America revisits the music’s heyday through the life and legacy of Chick Webb, the house-band leader at the legendary Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. Directed by Jeff Kaufmann and featuring narrations by Bill Cosby and Tyne Daly, The…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
