The Best of Critical Noir--2005

In a year marked by what I didn’t write about—The death of Luther Vandross, Kanye West's Late Registration and the murder of Stanley “Tookie Williams” among them—these are the best of the pieces that did make it to “print”. Also not included are any of the essays blogged at NewBlackMan–I still very much consider my blog writing as an examples of me “thinking out loud”.

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1. Rhythm and Bullshit? (Parts One, Two, Three)

The inspiration for this series on contemporary R&B was the commentary I provided for two documentaries—John Akomfrah’s Urban Soul (2004) and part 6 of the BBC’s Soul Deep (2005) series. There are folk who do a great job discussing the aesthetics of black music and others who do well discussing the business of black music. This was attempt to do both.

Rhythm and Bullshit?: The Slow Decline of R&B, Part Two
New Jack Swing, Mary J. Blige and the Coming Hegemony of Hip-Hop

Rhythm and Bullshit?: The Slow Decline of R&B, Part Three
Media Conglomeration, Label Consolidation, and Payola


2. Critical Noir: Songs of the Sad Minstrel

This was attempt to put the legacy of me like Bert Williams and Lincoln Perry (Stepin’ Fechit) in conversation with hip-hop. Despite my comments about John Smith (Lil’ Jon), I firmly believe that we need to look past the surface of the stereotypes so often react to.


3. Can Hip-Hop BE?: A Review of Common’s Be

This is a now forty-year-old father of two little girls coming to terms with his relationship with hip-hop culture and rap music.


4. Freedom Summer Remembered: A Conversation with Denise Nicholas

I’ve been a fan of Denise Nichols since I was seven—a school-boy crush derived from repeats of Room 222. Not only beautiful, this brilliant woman was part of the swirl that changed the world during the Civil Rights movement. Her fictionalized account of those days brings that era to life for the hip-hop generation.


5. A Nigger Un-Reconstructed: The Legacy of Richard Pryor

I really wanted to make plain the genius of this man and to attempt, to give another view of Pryor’s relationship to the word “nigger”


6. Critical Noir: Daughters of Sister Outsider
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Critical Noir: Can Hip-Hop Be Feminist?

These are the final two columns that I wrote for AOL Black Voices, before they dropped my column. The pieces are symbolic of the disconnect between my work as a public intellectual and corporate-styled on-line magazines, solely designed to deliver “black” consumers to advertisers.


7. The Next Great "...(Whatever)" : John Legend
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A Change Done Come: Leela James Sidesteps the Rhythm & Bull

I had very little chance to do pure music criticism, after logging nearly 200 reviews over the past five years for Popmatters.com and SeeingBlack.com. These are the best of music reviews that I did this year.


8. Critical Noir: A Hustler's Legacy

There are so many of our genius that deserved to be given a full form analysis—Phyllis Hyman, Etheridge Knight, Donny Hathaway are just the one that come to mind at the moment. Much praise to Eddie B. Allen for bringing Donald Goines to life.