culture

Leela James’ last recording, Let’s Do it Again, begins with a rendition of Betty Wright’s “Clean Up Woman” and closes with the title track, a remake of The Staple Singers’ classic. Betty Wright and Mavis Staples are defining examples of a generation of black women singers whose sass and soulfulness stood out as one of…

At the turn of the 20th century, a visitor to the Congo might witness all kinds of horrors: Chained prisoners, executions (real and staged), long lines of porters, soldiers “pacifying” villages, ivory traders, rubber collectors, concubines and missionary sermons. At the time, it was considered nothing to be ashamed of. Just another day in the…

Hipsters. They’re everywhere. You’ve seen them on skateboards, in the mall and at the club. You’ve seen them shrugging dismissively in Oakland, Calif., Willamsburg, Brooklyn and Austin, Tx. And, suddenly, in Barack Obama’s Washington, too. Recently, I encountered Hector, a teenager skateboarding with friends outside a McDonald’s in downtown D.C. He’s wearing a neon T-shirt, impossibly…

Nike, Glaceau and everyone else betting on NBA finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers—a series between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James—are likely to be disappointed by the Conference finals. James and his Cavaliers are on target to make the finals, but Bryant and his Lakers, who flirted with disaster in the…

Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, tends to say what he thinks. Recently he suggested that the AIG executives who took those hefty bonuses after their company was bailed out with taxpayer money should either “resign immediately” or “commit suicide” like their Japanese counterparts. And as controversial as that was,…

Director Jim Jarmusch’s latest film, The Limits of Control, is a confection of weirdness and camp with a sprinkling of brilliance, and that turns out to be not enough. There is a plot outline, but no real plot. And while there is a first-rate cast, some of whom have previously worked with Jarmusch on some…

Mention “soul food” and you will hear scores of health and medical professionals claim that it is the downfall of the health and well-being of African Americans. It is true that African Americans have some of the highest rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and some cancers of any group in this country. But frankly,…

It’s the middle of spring, the nadir of the off-season for football junkies, yet all over New York City, if not all across the nation, Jets fans are laughing derisively at the Minnesota Vikings. Some even giggle at the mere sight of purple, the Vikes’ trademark team color. The reason is simple. The Brett Favre…

Clearly, it’s part of the job description, this celebrity compulsion to live life large, and largely in front of the camera. Even if that camera is attached to an iPhone. Blame it on the Madonna-ian philosophy (pre-Guy Ritchie, post-Truth or Dare) that members of the glitterati subscribe to: I am filmed, therefore, I am. This…