Nick Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, and Valarie Simpson was born in the Bronx in New York City. They met at Harlem‘s White Rock Baptist Church in 1963, and developed a musical partnership as songwriters and performers that spanned five decades. After recording unsuccessfully as a duo in the early 1960s, Ashford and…
José Mateo's The Nutcracker
Born in Cuba and raised in the Bronx, José Mateo first studied ballet and modern technique at Princeton University. Mateo told SCN that he “got lucky” so to speak. “I attended Princeton the first year that is it became co-ed and they offered modern dance”, Mateo recalled walking up the steps to his dance company’s…
Bohemian Beats: SCN Chops It Up with Boston’s Avant-Garde Hip Hop Artist, Catch Wreck
Q. Where in Boston are you currently residing? A. Roxbury, MA Q. How would you compare Boston to other cities you’ve been in or know about? A. Boston has a very unique mind state I would say. The people are disconnected, their living in their own zone. The people don’t really travel outside of their…
Remembering Gil Scott-Heron
A powerful voice left us at a youthful age of 62 in late May of 2011 when long-term Harlem resident, poet and recording artist Gil Scott-Heron passed away. Scott-Heron was a rapper, poet and musician who was primarily known for his syncopated spoken words, harsh-blunt criticizing poetry performances in the 1970 ‘s and 1980’s expressing…
Talking About Revolution
Tufts, President Lawrence S. Bacow presents Tufts graduate, singer songwriter and four time Grammy winner Tracy Chapman, with an honorary doctorate of Fine Arts during the universities 2004 commencement in Medford, MA. Recognizing her for social activism, music and community work. Growing up in a poor, working class family, raised by a single mother in…
America's Rapper: Shea Rose
“Where did all the female hip hop artists go? We need to find the next generation and make sure their voices are heard.” –Queen Latifah Although the charts are inundated with a plethora of ubiquitous pop artists like Beyonce, Rhianna and Lady Gaga, one tend to wonder…whatever happened to female hip hop acts like Queen…
Roxbury's Prophet: Rap Phenom, Moufy Rhymes with Gitty Eloquence and Tender Rage
To cite the Urban Dictionary again, the first definition for Boston is, “A city that really feels like a town full of business people during the day and college kids at night.” Not to sound like a snob, but this is my impression exactly, although I only moved here recently. Having lived for many years…
Music Review: Debo, Ethiopian pop revival
Elliot Strassman Spare Change News Debo, a self-described “Ethiopian pop” group, played the Brighton Music Hall last month to promote the release of its first full-length LP. The group, based in Jamaica Plain and led by tenor saxophonist Danny Mekkonen, draws from Ethiopian pop and folk music of the late ’60s and ’70s to create…
Local Music Scene: Some Sweet Sounds from Sweet Wednesday
Jacques Fleury Spare Change News I met the folk musical group Sweet Wednesday back in 2007. I invited them to perform live on my then television show, “Dream Weavers with Jacques,” at Cambridge Community Television (CCTV). They are a rare breed of individuals reminiscent of the best of the 1960s and ’70s peace and love…