R&B/Hip-Hop
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Though Madonna‘s 40th anniversary Celebration dates in the U.S. have been postponed due to the serious bacterial infection that landed her in a New York ICU last month, the singer made it out to Beyoncé‘s show in New Jersey on Sunday in one of her first public appearances since the hospitalization. Video posted by fans […]
When you drop a milli on Tupac Shakur’s gold, ruby and diamond crown ring you want to show it off. So after first flashing the piece he recently bought at auction in one of his Insta stories last week, Drake put the historic piece on display again recently in an interview with Sidetalk NYC at […]
Drake was originally scheduled to kick-off of his It’s All a Blur Tour with 21 Savage at the FedExForum in Memphis on June 29. That gig was postponed just days before and now the rescheduled show has been canceled with just a few days notice. Drake was set to play the Forum on Aug. 6, […]
Chuck D, legendary rapper and leader of Public Enemy, will headline the Guild of Music Supervisors’ ninth annual State of Music in Media conference. The event will take place on Saturday, Aug. 19 at the Los Angeles Film School in Hollywood, Calif.
Cheryl “Salt” James (Salt of Salt-N-Pepa) will keynote the event, which will celebrate 50 years of hip-hop.
Other speakers include Lorrie Boula, King Tee, Igmar Thomas, Dante Ross, Ananda Lewis, Gustavo Santaolalla, Joel C High, Frankie Pine, Julia Michels and Chris Lennertz, and the music team from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. There will also be a surprise, pop-up hip hop performance.
The conference is offering 15-minute, one-on-one sessions for aspiring music supervisors to meet successful people working in the field. This opportunity is open to aspiring music supervisors only. (Music pitching is not allowed.)
Members of the Guild of Music Supervisors and Friends of the Guild will receive a discount on their ticket purchases. Tickets are available to the public at full price and come with a complimentary one-year subscription as a Friend of the Guild. Students and military personnel will also receive a discount to attend.
To purchase tickets to attend the conference, visit the ticketing page here.
The event is presented in collaboration with The Los Angeles Film School.
The Guild of Music Supervisors is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2010. For more information, visit their website here.
Programming highlights include:
Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World
Summary: This is a narrative of struggle, triumph and resistance brought to life through the lens of an art form that has chronicled the emotions and experiences of Black and brown communities. In the aftermath of America’s racial and political reckoning in 2020, the perspectives and stories shared in hip-hop are key to understanding injustice in the U.S. over the last half-century.
Panelists: Chuck D & Lorrie Boula
The Origins of Hip-Hop
Summary: This will deep-dive into the inception of hip-hop in the early ’70s and how its unique sound was influenced by jazz and rhythm & blues.
Moderator: John Paul McGee, assistant chair of Piano Department – Berklee College of Music
Panelists: Amani “Burt Blackarach” Smith, music supervisor, Salamani Music; King Tee, West Coast rapper; Cheryl “SALT” James aka Salt of Salt-n-Pepa.
The Golden Age of Hip-Hop
Summary: Hip-hop’s influence on the ’80s & ’90s is undeniable with socially-conscious music in tandem with some of the most iconic photography and fashion of the 21st century. Hip-hop makes an indelible mark on the world with style, swag, and grace while concurrently illuminating often sinister elements of being Black in America.
Panelists: Dante Ross, A&R/producer/author, Stimulated; Ananda Lewis, mom, TV host, health activist, carpenter; Senyon Kelly, operations manager, archives, curatorial, Universal Hip Hop Museum.
The Global Impact of Hip-Hop: Passing the Torch for the Next 50 Years
Summary: Fifty years later, hip-hop is undeniably one of the most celebrated art forms in the music industry, having survived such hurdles as hate, ridicule and censorship. The result has been an augmented global community that has adopted this music as their own, bringing with it a herculean amount of history, context, struggle and joy.
Moderator: Chris Lakey, SVP, global creative synch, Kobalt Music Publishing
Panelist: Igmar Thomas, trumpeter, composer, arranger, bandleader
‘The Last of Us’ (Part II)
Summary: Journey of a soundtrack from video game to Max series.
Panelists: Scott Hanau, score director/music producer, Sony Interactive Entertainment; Phil Kovats, MPSE, senior director of sound, PlayStation Studios; Craig Mazin, showrunner, writer (streaming series); Gustavo Santaolalla – composer (game and streaming series)
‘Daisy Jones and the Six’: Music Supervisor Frankie Pine on Preparing for Successful On-Camera Performances
Summary: An in-depth overview of a music supervisor’s role in pre-production on an intensive on-camera project, and how to set up for success in production and post-production.
Moderator: Amanda Krieg Thomas, music supervisor, Yay Team Inc.
Panelist: Frankie Pine, music supervisor, Whirly Girl Music
Reinventing The Soundtrack of a Galaxy Far, Far Away
Summary: How do you create new music for the most iconic franchise in entertainment history? For Jedi Survivor, you throw away the rule book and deliver two new soundtracks that stand proudly on their own within the classic Star Wars canon. This session will break down the entire process – from concept and development through recording and release – with the composers and key players behind the acclaimed new Jedi Survivor score and Sounds for the Galactic Skylanes, the first-ever album of original songs from a Star Wars title.
Panelists: Douglas Reilly, vice president, games, Lucasfilm, Ltd.; Steve Schnur, producer, Jedi Survivor & Sounds for the Galactic Skylanes; Gordy Haab, co-composer, Jedi Survivor; Stephen Barton, co-composer, Jedi Survivor; Nick Laviers – audio director, Respawn Entertainment
The Real Deal
Summary: How to score an unscripted series. A conversation with music supervisors and synch reps about how to craft memorable music moments for reality TV on a shoestring budget.
Moderator: Adam Brodsky, owner, Woolly Music
Panelists: Joe O’Riordan, freelance music supervisor; Deja Siegler, CEO/music supervisor, Alooma Inc; Rochelle Holguin Cappello, senior vice president, creative music strategy at Paramount.
Music for the Masses
Summary: Trends, tropes, and techniques for effective advertising music; a conversation about the power of music in advertising, exploring timeless techniques and creative approaches that make for effective campaigns.
Moderator: Jeff Kling, founder, CCO at Das Favorite
Panelists: Josh Marcy, director of music, Media Arts Lab; Ben Dorenfeld, director of music, Anomaly; Jarred Causly, senior music supervisor, Saatchi & Saatchi; Beliansh Assefa, music producer, Townhouse/Grey.
The Music, the Paperwork, and Everything in Between: A Dialogue with Supervisors and Composers on Best Practices and Allyship
Summary: This conversation will explore the relationship between music supervisors and composers. It will highlight each individual role as well as the collaborative effort that is telling stories through music, particularly in film.
Moderator: Sami Posner, music supervisor, Blue Lily and Creative Control
Panelists: Chris Lennertz, composer; Dara Taylor, composer; Julia Michels, music supervisor, Format Entertainment; Joel C. High, music supervisor, Creative Control
Music Clearance 101
Summary: The basics of music clearance and licensing are explained in an easy-to-understand and practical way.
Panelist: Linda Osher, president, LJO Music Consulting
Music Clearance 201
Summary: Advanced topics and strategies in music clearance.
Moderator: Lindsay Wolfington, music supervisor, Lone Wolf Music Supervision
Panelists: Matt Lilley, president, MCL Music Services, Inc.; Karen Falzone, owner, Mostly Music
Stormi baby is following in her dad’s footsteps! The five-year-old daughter of Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner makes an adorable appearance on the rapper’s freshly released album, Utopia, as her sweet voice is heard on the track “Thank God.” When Scott shouts out Stormi in the lyric, “Storm’s a minor, but you know she’s livin’ […]
Nicki Minaj may currently be transforming the Earth into a “Barbie World,” but the Grammy-nominated rapper’s sights are already set on her forthcoming fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2. On Sunday (July 30), the Queens rapper took to Twitter to tease her Barbz about some of the new records on the highly anticipated album. “Yesterday […]
Kanye West has kept a low profile for much of this year after spending the latter part of 2022 on a bizarre media tour in which he repeatedly made antisemitic remarks that led to the near-total meltdown of his once formidable fashion and music empire, and, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a rise in antisemitic […]
Hip-Hop is turning 50 this year, and so am I.
I grew up fully immersed in the world of Hip-Hop and, like many other people, I don’t know anything else. Fifty years on, our culture rightly reminisces about and celebrates the iconic songs, performers, and cultural moments from over the years – but for me, and so many others, Hip-Hop is about more than just the music.
For me, it is the lens through which I view the world. I am a student of KRS-One. “Rap is something you do. Hip-Hop is something you live,” KRS famously said. That expansive view of the word, the sound, the dance, the visual art, the fashion, the business politics, philosophy, technology is what defines me.
Hip-Hop to me is, of course, the foundational “Four Elements” that we all recognize: MCing, B-Boy/B-B-Girling aka Breakdancing, Graffiti and DJing. But beyond these core tenants of the genre, it’s about so much more. Hip-Hop is about the energy and will of the people that cannot be stopped or controlled by any external system – and how we define and create the Culture on our own terms.
It is also how A.I. (Allen Iverson) played basketball. How he arrived at the games, with his hair braided by his mother. How the league changed the dress code to control his expression only to birth an even more powerful expression of fashion and expression we see today.
Hip-Hop was how Barack Obama moved on stage with Michelle and the family. The syncopation of his voice and the pregnant pauses caused the world to hang on his every word with the way he delivered a speech – it felt like rhyming. If he wanted to, Barack would have been an ill MC. Just as I imagine if Hov wanted to run for office he could be Mayor. It is this energy – that multifaceted, multidisciplinary power of Hip-Hop that BRIC looks to celebrate this year and for years to come.
2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop, a huge moment for the Culture. But what happens after the big weekend of celebrations planned for the summer? At BRIC, we’ve been having thoughtful conversations about our own contributions to this moment, particularly with my background as the founder of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop festival and BRIC’s rich history as a place for artistic exploration, incubation, and presentation. As a leading Brooklyn arts and media institution whose work spans contemporary visual and performing arts, media, and civic action, BRIC is uniquely positioned to plug into this moment across the spectrum of arts and culture. For over 40 years, our institution has shaped Brooklyn’s cultural and media landscape by presenting and incubating artists, creators, students, and media makers. As a creative catalyst for our community, we ignite learning in people of all ages and centralize diverse voices that take risks and drive culture forward.
I’m excited to share that, this fall, BRIC is launching a new curatorial lens called BRIC Hip-Hop. Across the organization, we’ve united around an ethos and a mission of creating an evergreen home for the education, expression, and evolution of Hip-Hop. Our programmatic focus will join others in the space by giving Hip-Hop a home for incubation, debate, and development not just during anniversary years, but for many years to come.
In many ways, Hip-Hop culture is built into the DNA of BRIC. For decades, it’s been central to how we operate, how we coordinate, how we curate. On the surface, we may not be here B-Boying or bombing trains, but we operate under the same tenets and philosophies that have fueled Hip-Hop culture for half a century. The fundamental idea is that we use arts, culture and education to communicate and build with our community. It is how we show up for the people—of all races and spaces, of all ages and means—every year, not just this year. Hip-Hop is how we grow, why we adapt, and what we hope to embody in the future. We institutionalize the spirit, diversity and beating heart of Hip-Hop into BRIC’s programming and through BRIC’s team.
We do this because it matters. Hip-Hop is innate to us, but it is also a choice. It is a choice to be multidisciplinary, to embrace art and creation in its many forms. It is a choice to be anti-racist, to embrace people from all walks of life who have found comfort and possibility in the enduring strength of community. It is a choice to be feminist, not to be ageist or transphobic or limit access because of a disability, but to view and operate with a goal of equality and equity of power, purpose and possibility.
By institutionalizing Hip-Hop, by ingraining it into everything we do, we’re seeking to build on its legacy and protect it for generations to come. We are celebrating the past by making entry points for creation in the present to better our collective futures. Maybe you’re a teenager. Maybe you’re a toddler. Maybe you’re grandparents. Maybe you’re from Flatbush or Park Slope or Bed-Stuy. It doesn’t matter. All are welcome.
New York is the birthplace of the Culture and we want to make sure people don’t forget about Brooklyn’s contributions to the story of Hip-Hop, both past and present. Many people walked up and down Fulton Street, from Masta Ace and Big Daddy Kane to Yasiin Bey to HOV himself for clothes, fame, and inspiration. And like those that came before us, we want to come together, cut through the madness of the world and do something real.
We’re beyond excited to share this new vision for BRIC’s contributions to the Hip-Hop space with our communities this fall and in the years to come. BRIC Hip-Hop will be a waystation for scholars, tourists, and artists this year and well into the future. Come join us at the Lena Horne Bandshell or at BRIC House, come down to the stoop, and find your place, whether it be something familiar or new. We can’t wait to have you be a part of the BRIC Hip-Hop conversation.
Wes Jackson has over 25 years of experience as a leader and innovator in entertainment and academia, previously working at Emerson College, The City University of New York, and consulting for Jazz At Lincoln Center. He is a Trustee of the Brooklyn Public Library and Board Chair of the Brooklyn Crescents, and has been leading BRIC — a multi-disciplinary arts and media institution anchored in Downtown Brooklyn — as its President since July 2022. On August 11 & 12, BRIC will commemorate Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary with free music performances, screenings, and more in Brooklyn at Prospect Park. Visit here for details.
The Sunday of summer is right around the corner and as the season begins to wind down, we’ve got a mellow roundup of Fresh Picks this week to help usher you into August. There’s an even mix of rap and R&B this week with Amindi, tobi lou and Frsh Waters representing the former while Tyla, Hamzaa and Josiah Bassey slow things down a bit. Regardless, you’re bound to have at least one of these songs on repeat to help power you through the week.
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Don’t forget to check out our July picks in the Spotify playlist, linked below.
Freshest Find: Frsh Waters feat. Ohana Bam & Benjamin Earl Turner, “Grace look good”
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Frsh Waters has been giving himself grace. Sampling Omar Apollo’s “Evergreen,” the Chicago rapper recruits Ohana Bam and Benjamin Earl Turner for a boom-bap rap song about “a combination of overdue compassion and damage control,” Frsh tells Billboard. “It’s checkin’ to let folks know we all need grace. Benjamin set the perfect scene [and] me and Ohana took up the challenge to fill in the details.”
Amindi, “diddy crop”
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Amindi’s new single “diddy crop” is inspired by her fondness of the mogul’s habit of cropping people out of photos. “P. Diddy is notorious for skillfully editing people out of his photos, and I think it’s hilarious and valid,” she shares in a press release. The Inglewood rapper-singer describes her sound as “pastel rap” due to how she pairs songwriting with her soft sound. “Diddy crop” is a perfect example of this and will appear on her upcoming mixtape Take What You Need.
tobi lou, “Some Things”
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“I am a problem, and I feel like this song reflects that,” says tobi lou. Combining an uptempo beat with witty bars, the Chicago artist releases “Some Things” a week after his Rolling Loud Miami performance, where he previewed the song.
Tyla, “Water”
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South African musician Tyla blended R&B and amapiano for her new track “Water.” “Make me sweat, make me hotter/ Make me lose my breath, make me water,” she sings. The new song is the perfect backdrop to a rooftop day party or tropical vacation.
Hamzaa, “Rush”
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Hamzaa is on her healing journey. “I don’t wanna rush/I don’t wanna get into a fuss… Can’t scream anymore, can’t feel anymore,” she sings. Produced by 1SRAEL, the song appears on her new 5-song EP of the same name. “This project was born out of a discovery phase,” she writes on X (fka Twitter). “I needed to learn about who I was all over again. I needed to understand what it is I really care about… But the one thing I knew is that as urgent as getting my life together is, I cannot rush the healing process.”
Josiah Bassey, “Here”
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According to his Instagram bio, Josiah Bassey is a sincere romanticist — and his new song “Here” is proof. The single is stripped back with soothing guitar undertones that compliment his soulful singing voice. “Who cares if the stars don’t align?/ And even if the sun stops shining/ When it gets harder to try, we’ll be just fine/ ’Cause, I’ll be right here,” he sings.
Cardi B got even with a concertgoer who tossed a drink at her during the rapper’s performance in Las Vegas on Saturday (July 29). In a video circulating on social media, the 30-year-old hip-hop star is seen hurling a microphone at an unruly audience member after they splashed their beverage on her during a performance […]