Black Musicians Didn’t Give A F*ck About The Black Dahlia

Excerpt from “I’ll Get You My Pretty” Black Los Angeles & The Black Dahlia by award-winning novelist Pam Ward. “Every musician has his last gig,” Joe said. Drummer Man, the youngest of the group, polished his sticks and put them away. The other musicians zipped their cases or gathered sheets of music. Like a cigarette… Continue reading Black Musicians Didn’t Give A F*ck About The Black Dahlia

Riding through Joburg with Lianne La Havas

“Is this Hillsong?” the driver asked. We were 100 meters from my house. There was not enough time for a sermon. In the front seat of the cab, I gathered myself before I answered. “No, it’s not Hillsong at all. At all. It’s Lianne La Havas,” I said, in a measured tone, collecting the overwhelming… Continue reading Riding through Joburg with Lianne La Havas

On Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly

Kendrick Lamar didn’t make an album. Or at least not in the traditional sense. To Pimp a Butterfly isn’t an album you’re going to want to just throw on. Its shuffle play value is low. This is an album you revisit. It’s an album you sit with. It’s an album you study. Kendrick didn’t make… Continue reading On Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly