Naomi Andre’s Blackness in Opera unravels the influence and interplay of race in the world of opera. Discussing well-known operas that highlight race, including Porgy and Bess and Otello, alongside lesser-known works like Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha, the book examines the ways that opera addresses race and interprets blackness. Andre includes essays and opinions from various…

James Brown led a fascinating and complex life as not only one of soul music’s pioneers but also as an outspoken advocate during the height of the civil rights movement. R.J. Smith’s biography of the late superstar, The One: The Life and Music of James Brown, delves into the life and legacy of a musician…

Abraham Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer is back with yet another account of the exciting intricacies of the Lincoln presidency. Emancipating Lincoln: The Proclamation in Text, Context and Memory delves into the belly of arguably one of Lincoln’s most championed actions while in office: the Emancipation Proclamation. Holzer encapsulates the tumultuous path leading to the passage…

Just in time for Women’s History Month, Crystal McCrary has released her latest book profiling the who’s who of influential black women in the 21st century. Inspiration: Profiles of Black Women Changing Our World boasts 30 profiles of prominent black women whose efforts in fine and performance arts, media, music and acting, politics, humanitarianism and…

Soul songstress Macy Gray is back with her first album in more than two years. Covered, her anticipating forthcoming album, includes 16 covers of a variety of artists, such as Radiohead and the Eurythmics to Colbie Caillet and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Each track showcases the unique raspy voice and musical styling that brought Gray…

In honor of the seminal novel’s 75th anniversary, The Greene Space at WNYC and WQXR will bring Zora Neal Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God to the FM airwaves with the first-ever radio adaptation of the novel in the United States. Tony Award-winning actor Ruben Santiago-Hudson is directing the adaptation, with a notable cast including…

Comedian Eddie Murphy is back on the big screen — this time as a man whose life has been shortened to mere words in the upcoming movie A Thousand Words. Less than three months after the release of Tower Heist to lukewarm reviews, Murphy seeks gold at the box office with the tongue-in-cheek comedy, which…

SFJAZZ Collective, a jazz troupe based in San Francisco, will showcase its unique jazz renditions of some of Stevie Wonder’s most popular hits, including “Superstition” and “My Cherie Amour”, during a nationwide tour, including a date at New York’s Lincoln Center on March 10. The nine-person act is no stranger to nationwide tours, performing original…

Director of the acclaimed 2001 documentary That’s My Face, Thomas Allen Harris is back with a new project to help highlight the fascinating world of the Diaspora. Considered the Antiques Roadshow of black genealogy, the Digital Diaspora Family Reunion, or DDFR, project travels across the country as historians help unravel the unique histories of families…