Category: Arts & Culture
-
Hip Hop Activism
There is a fire burning in Roxbury, just up Washington Street from Dudley Square. At 2181, just after you see the Payless, you can find Project HIP HOP. Project HIP HOP, the acronym means ‘Highways Into the Past – History, Organizing, and Power’, is a youth-led, peer-to-peer organization that utilizes the Hip Hop aesthetic to…
-
Art & Revolution: Ai Weiwei Reviewed
Edward Said describes the intellectual “as the author of a language that tries to speak the truth to power.” Alison Klaymen’s Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry shows us what that looks like in practice. Her documentary follows the Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei as he and his team prepare for exhibitions in Munich and London;…
-
Poetry of Chopper Kate
The Storm and I The Western sky broods; fire bolt fingers claw rain laden clouds roiling to release their soggy burden. Two wheels, one heart beating a steel streak across the asphalt plain. Ride faster to haven, Ride faster to home. We fly, the storm and I. Bad ass, it breathes dank and damp; the…
-
"F" Poverty
The Rich and the Rest of Us, by Tavis Smiley and Cornel West (Smiley Books). These two bright minds, with articulate diction of intellect and the loud volume of intense passion, place the political “F-word” at the center of the socio-political discourse – and that disconcerting word is poverty. For many, it remains an icky…
-
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…
-
Searching for Sugar Man: A Movie Review
Movie directed by Malik Bendjelloul It’s been a long time since I’ve walked out of a movie feeling as invigorated and uplifted as I did after seeing “Searching for Sugar Man.” Unfortunately, I can’t fully tell you why without running the risk of ruining the experience for you. I knew next to nothing about this…
-
Marley: A Movie Review
Movie directed by Kevin McDonald It is the rarest of figures whose life’s work was so passionately particular that, by honoring his own credo, he, in turn, spoke to the pulse of the world. This is not hyperbole. Director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) ends this enthralling documentary, as the credits roll, with…
-
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…