Member of Public Enemy and 2013 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Chuck D will deliver the keynote address for Jackson State University’s 8th Annual Creative Arts Festival: The Legacy of Freedom Summer.
The festival will open Friday, April 13 in the Johnson Hall Art Gallery with a reception and photo exhibit from 6 pm to 8 pm. The exhibit will feature the work of Dr. Doris Derby entitled Women: Agents of Change in the American Civil Rights Movement.
Malaco Records, based in Jackson Mississippi, is holding a three-day talent search starting at 7 p.m. tonight (Thurs, Feb. 20). Auditions will be held at MetroCenter Mall. For more information click here.
Photo of land marker for historic Malaco Records. Courtesy of Soultrain.com/blog
Filming in Jackson Mississippi for the James Brown biopic “Get On Up” wraps today, and though cast and crew will be moving on, the locals will be left with some cool memories and stories to tell, notably of actor/comedian/Blues Brother Dan Aykroyd.
“I love the people here…Mississippi is a beautiful place and there is an opportunity on every corner…I’m going to talk up Mississippi to my people in Hollywood and tell them this is the place to do television and movies,” Dan Aykroyd told a Clarion Ledger reporter.
Aykroyd plays the role of Ben Bart, president of Universal Attractions, the agency that represented James Brown for more than 40 years of his career. While in town he took the opportunity to promote not only the movie but also the vodka he co-founded, Crystal Head Vodka, signing bottles of it and other memorabilia at Wine & Spirits in the Quarter. A pleasant surprise for Jacksonians was Aykroyd and co-star Craig Robinson taking the stage at Hal & Mal’s for a rendition of “Sweet Home Chicago.” (see video below.) Two nights later, band members from the movie played an entire set to promote the film.
One of the film’s co-producers, Mick Jagger- lead singer of the Rolling Stones, also made an appearance in Jacktown, dining in the same restaurant Aykroyd was spotted at, Parlor Market. Aykroyd’s Crystal head Vodka is incidentally the official liquor of the Rolling Stones’ 50th Anniversary Tour.
Jackson native Tate Taylor is directing the James Brown movie which features Chadwick Boseman as the Godfather of Soul himself. Other big names appearing in the biopic are Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Jill Scott. “Get On Up” is slated for release October 17, 2014.
Mick Jagger at Parlor Market in Jackson Mississippi. Twitter pic by Parlor Market executive chef Matthew Kajdan
For the past 24 years, nobody has celebrated southern history by way of a combination of books, film, music, food, lectures, and other entertainment quite like the Natchez Literary & Cinema Celebration. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the conference, and its theme alone- Continue reading The 25th Annual Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration→
Pharrell Williams may still be high off the mega success of 2013’s “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke, and “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk, but don’t put him on a pedestal because he’s determined to stay grounded.
Once again the stylish gospel duo Mary Mary, made up of sisters Tina and Erica Campbell, have to defend their taste for the sexier things in life; well, at least when it comes to their attire.
This time, the gospel community is heated over a promotional photo for Erica’s upcoming solo CD “Help”. The photo on the singer’s Instagram shows her rockin’ a sexy form-fitting white dress and killer heels. Although the dress has long sleeves, a turtle neck and falls below the knee, she is being blasted for showing off her voluptuous curves.
Erica offers that the photo is about feeling beautiful and confident just the way God made you. She is against the notion that only people “not proclaiming Jesus” are allowed to be considered sexy because as a proclaimer of Jesus, she is “sexy” and “cute” and she knows it.
The sisters faced a similar situation back in 2008 with the release of their CD, “The Sound”. On the cover the sisters are wearing sexy black dresses which Tina describes as “not tight, just form-fitting”. Tina doesn’t have a problem at all with people thinking she and her sister are a little sexy and in fact she likes to think of herself as sexy. She further defends her affinity for sexiness by adding that she wants her husband to think of her as sexy every time he looks at her.
Not everyone in the gospel community is hatin’ on Erica’s hot looks. Fellow gospel singer Yolanda Adams came to Erica’s defense. Yolanda who personally knows the Campbell sisters insists that their goal is not a sexual one. She says that the ladies simply wear what’s in style. Speaking from experience Yolanda says that some things “graze me in a place where somebody may find it offensive ” then adds that if they walked around in “sheets” and “moomoos” people would still have something to say.
Nonetheless, Erica is not swayed by the naysayers and boldly proclaims that she is “taking it in stride” and “keeping it moving.”
Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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