Photo courtesy of Darius James

Darius James. Dr. Snakeskin. The artist and author embraces both titles, but neither expresses the frenetic genius of the man himself. Born in Connecticut but raised at the intersection of Hoodoo culture and New York City’s downtown literary scene, Darius James cut his teeth writing for various literary zines, as well as Penthouse magazine’s “Ask Dr. Snakeskin” column. His first book, Negrophobia: An Urban Parable (1993), is the story of sixteen-year-old White teenager Bubbles Brazil and her frightening vision of African American culture. James’s electrifying mix of screenplay, performance art, and poetry makes for a tasty gumbo that’s sure to titillate your satirical palate. For his second book, the semi-autobiographical tome That’s Blaxploitation! Roots of the Baadasssss ‘Tude (1995), James mined the hazy days of his ’70s youth. Through interviews with key figures in the blaxploitation genre and hilarious, pointed reviews of many blaxploitation films, James welcomes new-jack and seasoned fans alike. read more »

February 19, 2010

Like obvious forebear Booker T. and the MGs, Brooklyn’s Menahan Street Band–an instrumental outfit led by Dap-Kings guitarist Thomas Brenneck and featuring members of the Dap-Kings, Antibalas, El Michels Affair, and the Budos Band–sounds great both behind an R&B vocalist and in the absence of one. And it was this back and forth (the band on its own and backing the gritty singers Charles Bradley and Lee Fields) that fueled the group’s February visit to the Music Hall of Williamsburg.

To open the show, the Bushwick-based septet ran through tracks like “The Contender” and “Home Again!” from its debut, Make the Road by Walking, an album of uncontrived, often orchestral-sounding soul music that touches on dub, Afrobeat, psychedelia, and Ethio-jazz. But the evening began in earnest with the arrival of Bradley, a former James Brown impersonator. Howling and dancing his way through tunes like the moving “The World (Is Going Up in Flames),” Bradley, dressed in all white, energized the Friday night crowd, and warmed them up for Fields, the night’s headliner.

Fields, also backed by the Menahan Street Band (who presumably transformed into the Expressions at this point in the show), provided a different experience than the one offered by Bradley; where Bradley was loud and ecstatic, Fields was subdued and focused. Simply burning on cuts like the smooth “Honey Dove” and the show-stopping “Ladies,” Fields embodied much of what the Daptone movement is all about: grace, subtlety, and soul. With Fields’s exit, the nearly two-hour revue ended just the way it began: with horns blasting, rhythm section grooving, and people gettin’ down.

Wax Poetics and Dubspot present Funk Aid for Africa & Haiti, an event to raise awareness and funds for Africa and Haiti. This official SXSW showcase will donate its proceeds to charities NextAid, whose mission is to improve the lives of African children affected by the AIDS crisis, and SOIL, which promotes disaster recovery in Haiti and sustainability as a solution to poverty. read more »

This week we bring you a free track  called Gettin’ Down by the High-Fly Orchestra off of the Contemporary Jazz compilation on Tramp records. This compilation presents a fine selection of hand picked songs to show that creative minds are still on the planet that are committed to keeping Jazz alive.

read more »

Wax Poetics, Dubspot and Bemba Soul Tribe Productions kick off the week at SXSW with World Groove, a SXSW extension of the famous World Music Night Series at the legendary live music club, Momo’s. This monolithic showcase will rock Austin collectively and plant a seed that will inevitably sprout and flourish into one of Austin’s most dynamic music production partnerships. read more »

This week we bring you Black Tiger, a track by Deep Jazz on Perfect Toy Records.

Following in the footsteps of the classic Impulse and Blue Note recordings, Deep Jazz is presenting Spiritual and Modal-Jazz of the highest intensity.

Our friends over at Ego Trip and the Maysles Institute will be hosting a showcase of classic hip-hop films tomorrow night. This is the second night in a series of screenings, and will focus on the documentaries “Electric Boogie” and “Beat This! A Hip Hop History” with a panel discussion to follow. The guest list for the discussion includes hip-hop pioneers Soulsonic Force, and Easy A.D. of the Cold Crush brothers, as well as filmmaker Tana Ross, director of “Electric Boogie,” as well as a few surprise guests.

“Electric Boogie” documents the art of breaking and being a b-boy when it was up and coming in the early ’80s, while “Beat This! A Hip Hop History” is a BBC production directed by noted documentary filmmaker Dick Fontaine, and includes interviews with the Cold Crush Brothers, Soulsonic Force, Afrika Bambaataa, and Lisa Lee.

Party starts at 7:30 pm, the doors open an hour early, and there’s a suggested donation of $10 — so remember get to class early and be ready for school!

Check out more info at the Maysles Institute.