This evening, the history-making, true-to-her-roots, only-woman-in-an-all-men-best-rap-album-category Rapsody dropped a little more insight into her 7-year “overnight success,” the films & actresses who influence her alongside the musicians who do too, and how much she loves body-rolling. 5 days before the Grammys, she says this year feels different from the last time, when she went to support Kendrick after guesting on TPAB. “That was like when you babysit someone else’s kid. This one is mine. I carried it for 9 months. I had to push that thing out.“ Endearing herself to me even more, she told me South Africa, where she created the album Beauty & the Beast, is her favourite…
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The Rundown: Running in a Man’s World.
It took me 5 miles to run to all the statues of women of historical importance in NYC. There are only 5. I have no idea how long it would’ve taken me to run to the ones of men because there are 150 of them. I’m fascinated by the question of what that does to the imagination, the psyche of one half of the population when all around places of importance – street names, buildings, statues – are named after men. It’s the same issue of representation that is sorely lacking on TV and in film. And, of course, goes beyond gender and into race and ethnicity too. Rebecca Solnit’s…
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Wynton Marsalis on Why Jazz is Good for Your Soul
One of the magical things about living in NYC is that on an ordinary Wednesday night you can sit in an audience and hear one of contemporary jazz’s great musicians. Not play his instrument – no, that you can experience any place the musician may be touring. But sit in the audience and hear said musician share the story of his life – the story of his love of the very style and shape of music he has come to be known for playing. I walked into the Great Hall last night, well aware of the way Wynton Marsalis has with a trumpet – having become the first jazz composer…
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Ai Weiwei’s Fences in New York
I remember seeing my first Ai Weiwei installation in person. It was his collection of porcelain sunflower seeds at the Tate Modern and it was a sight to behold. It gave me my first sense of the scope and scale in which the Chinese artist works. His latest exhibition, in New York, is no less as ambitious. It’s called Good Fences Make Good Neighbours, and features site-specific works dealing with the theme of migration and people moving across borders and space. The two largest pieces of the public art showing (which also celebrates the 40th anniversary of New York’s Public Art Fund) are located in Central Park and in Washington Square Park.…
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The BET Hip Hop Awards – in Miami, Trick.
Jet-setted out to Miami for a hot minute to cover the BET Hip Hop Awards. Hosted for a second year by DJ Khaled, this time with his little protege Asahd by his side. 11-months old and that kid has more of a following than I could ever hope to accrue in all the years I have on him. It’s those cheeks I tell you! It was also the first time the awards took place in Miami, aka 305, aka Sunshine State, aka Khaled’s adopted home and the place that gave the super producer his big break into the industry. “It’s my second time hosting the awards, and I asked them,…
