Creative Endeavor
SA-RA's Om’Mas speaks the truth
by Corey Bloom
Om'Mas Keith, Taz Arnold, and Shafiq of SA-RA Creative Partners. © Pablo Aguilar Photography
To start it the way it ends, SA-RA is about to take over. From their latest full album, Nuclear Evolution: The Age of Love, to the EPs and singles and group members’ solo efforts like Shafiq’s Shafiq En’ A-Free-Ka and Om’Mas’s forthcoming City Pulse, it’s clear that something special is continuously unfolding. The following is a conversation with Om’Mas, the multi-instrumentalist whose abstract answers reflect his group’s enigmatic sound. read more »
Phantogram
by Alex Suskind
Photo by Doron Gild
When we go to sleep, our bodies go through several stages before reaching the point of rapid eye movement (also known as REM sleep). It is during this phase where our dreams take over, exposing us to a universe filled with our strongest and deepest emotions. read more »
Dedicated
Microphone fiend Rakim is back
by Ericka Blount Danois
Michael Wong Photography
In 1985, DJ Marley Marl was working in his studio that doubled as his sister Belle’s second-floor apartment in the Queensbridge Houses—a sprawling ninety-six-building project, a small city of some thirty thousand residents in Long Island City, Queens. The apartment was sparsely decorated with a creaky couch that Eric B. slept on, reel-to-reels against the wall, records from floor to ceiling, and a drum machine that Marley slept with because he didn’t want anyone to touch it. read more »
Blaxploitation Revisited
Black Dynamite director Scott Sanders on film
by Mark Randolph
Black Dynamite's famed pimp scene
In Issue 38, writer and blaxploitation expert Mark Randolph interviewed Black Dynamite director Scott Sanders. We give you online bonus coverage where Sanders speaks specifically about which blaxploitation films influenced him. read more »
Gordon Voidwell
by Chaya Wilkins
Photo by Bon Duke
While many artists adopt an alter ego to define or redefine their image, synth popster Gordon Voidwell may be one of the few artists whose alter ego chose him. read more »
Best of Both Worlds
Robert Glasper brings jazz into the modern age
by Marisa Aveling
“Jazz people,” Robert Glasper muses, settling back in his black T-shirt emblazoned with the opening lines from A Tribe Called Quest’s magnum opus The Low End Theory, “we have such a snooty vibe sometimes.” Which is funny, because while undeniably jazz he is, with his jovial manner, deep-bellied laugh, and inclusive approach to music, snooty is something he unquestionably ain’t.
Between the Sheets
Sheet music collectibles
“As well as digging for records,” says Nostalgia 77’s Ben Lamdin in Issue 15, ”I realized you can dig for scores.” As fellow obsessive collectors, we eventually made our way to sheet music as well. Whether it’s to lay open on your Fender Rhodes, or frame on your wall, each piece of music has that special quality that keeps history alive. Check out a few of the sheets we’ve collected over the years.
Sesame Street Soul
Forty years of funky television
by Kurt Iveson
Towards the end of 1968, almost all of the pieces for a new television show aimed at inner-city kids were in place. A group of activists committed to using television to help educate disadvantaged children formed the Children’s Television Workshop. The Workshop pulled together a diverse and dedicated team of entertainment and educational professionals, who had spent months workshopping ideas for an innovative combination of fun and curriculum. Included in the mix was Jim Henson and his company, poised to launch a new crew of muppets on the world. Initial funding for the show had been secured from the federal government and the Ford and Carnegie Foundations. The CTW even had a street team in place, ready to promote the show to inner-city communities. read more »
