For twenty years, soul singer Sharon Jones has cultivated a world-wide audience with her sensational albums, performances and stunning voice. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings have been heard in everything from FitBit commercials, to Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf Of Wall Street” soundtrack. Though her career took off later in life, it’s clear that Ms. Jones has always belonged onstage. At the height of her career in 2013, Ms. Jones was soaring, until a devastating cancer diagnosis forced her to pause. During one of the toughest years of her life, Academy Award winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple followed Ms. Jones and The Dap-Kings in the stunning and captivating “Miss Sharon Jones!”.
Recently, I got the opportunity to chat with Ms. Jones about the documentary, her remarkable career, and her ongoing battle with cancer. Dedicated to the Dap Kings and to her sound, it was clear to me right away, that Sharon Jones wasn’t going to miss a beat.
Aramide Tinubu: Hi Ms. Jones how are you doing?
Sharon Jones: I’m doing alright thanks.
AT: Wonderful, well I just screened “Miss Sharon Jones!” and I’m so excited to chat with you about the film, your career and how things are going for you.
SJ: OK that sounds good.
AT: What was your first memory of singing?
SJ: When I was a child in church, I did a Christmas play where I got to play an angel and I sang “Silent Night”, so that was my first memory of singing.
AT: Wonderful. Well I know that James Brown has been such a huge inspiration for you, and you got the opportunity to meet him back in 2006 before he passed away. I know your mother actually knew him because they were both from Augusta, Georgia. How do you feel about being called the “The female James Brown”?
SJ: Well, that is such an honor to even get that thrown at me. I didn’t even realize it. He represented so much, coming from Augusta especially. In Augusta his name means so much. You can’t bring up Augusta without bringing up James Brown. They’ve also taken to me like that. In the museum, they have a little exhibit of me. I’ve also met with his daughter Deanna Brown and the James Brown Academy of Music pupils. It’s a school where the children are taught how to read music and play instruments. For me to be called the female James Brown, and to see how these kids look up to me, it’s just been so good.
AT: That’s incredible. In “Miss Sharon Jones!” you said that everything in your life has just taken a little longer. I know that your singing career didn’t really launch until you were in your early forties, but what has this journey been like for you? Did you ever think you were going to be Grammy nominated or begin a record label? Did you ever think you would be where you are today?
SJ: Well, maybe at one point back in the day I didn’t think I would, but once we started going at at this and I went to Gabe [Roth] and said, “Gabe you guys have to get serious about this. This is the last job I’m going to do; this record label.” I told him I wanted this to be a real label and focus on that. We got the building and I started painting and helping with that, so we knew then. The first three years we struggled. People think that we got together when our first album was out in 2000, but, [The Dap-Kings and I] got together around ’95 or ’96. It’s been twenty years now since I’ve known Gabe and some of The Dap-Kings
AT: Wow, it has truly been a journey then.
SJ: So over the last twenty years we’ve built ourselves to where we are now. It didn’t happen overnight. We put a lot of work and energy into it. To get that far, and then to be stopped in your tracks with the cancer; it was a blow. It still is a struggle right now, it’s a very big struggle right now for me.
AT: I’m sure, but you’ve been so courageous.
SJ: I’ve got to keep going. I’m not ready to give up yet.
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It’s rare for a series to be able to tackle hard-hitting issues such as colorism and class disparities in thirty-minute segments. However, Starz’s “Survivor’s Remorse”, which is led by showrunner Mike O’Malley and produced by LeBron James, hits the nail on the head every week. The series follows NBA star Cam Calloway’s (Jessie T. Usher) life off the court as he juggles his Boston bred family, his newfound fame and his massive fortune. The first two seasons had some pretty thought-provoking story lines, including the Calloway matriarch’s (Tichina Arnold) vaginal rejuvenation and Cam’s sister-in-law Missy’s (Teyonah Parris) decision to do the big chop and wear her hair natural.
My father was not perfect. A Nigerian immigrant born in the late ‘40s, he had his work cut out for him raising two little girls on the South Side of Chicago during the ‘90s. Naturally we butted heads quite often. Some days our arguments stemmed from our cultural differences, other days it was simply normal tensions that brew between daughters and their fathers. Despite all this, there are memories that I have of him that will remain with me until the day I take my last breath. From school science projects and “Harry Potter”, to my love and obsession for films, my father was pivotal in molding me into the woman that I am now. When I laid him to rest on a bitterly cold day the year I turned twenty-three, I knew that despite everything, he’d done the best that he could. Unfortunately, there are millions of people, especially in the Black community that cannot say the same about their fathers.
Every few days, I bargain with myself in an effort to get to the gym for some much needed exercise. As I pull on my gym shoes, I marinate over how I will reward myself for pushing through a three-mile run, or an Insanity class. I sweat solely for my health; I am no athlete. Still, my attitude towards fitness has vastly improved in the last decade. When I was seventeen, breaking a sweat ranked somewhere around leaving my relaxer in too long, or getting my cell phone taken away. It was literally one of the last things I wanted to do.
Everyone remembers high school. Whether you had the time of your life, or you were counting down the days until graduation, those four years made some sort of impact on your journey into adulthood. Personally, I look back and thank God for contact lenses, Shea butter, and a bit more wisdom. Still, for me, high school wasn’t all that bad. But, no matter what your experience, “Central Intelligence” reminds us just how horrific or glorious those high school days might have been.
In a journey that has been a decade in the making, the cinematic adaptation of the immensely popular “World of Warcraft” is finally hitting the big screen. In “Warcraft” the lovely Paula Patton plays Garona, a character who finds herself caught in the battle of her life. A half-orc, half-human, Garona is fearsome as she navigates between the orc shaman Gul’dan, and the leader of the human realm of Azeroth, King Llane. Though I have not touched any sort of game console since ’97, I found myself swept away in the fantasy of the vast magical realm. Full of CGI, otherworldly creatures, dark magic and hulking orcs, this $160 million dollar film is meticulously detailed. After the screening, Paula Patton sat down with the audience to talk about becoming Garona, lessons learned and diving into “Warcaft”. Here are the highlights from that conversation.
There are some songs that when played, take us back to a specific time or place. Miki Howard’s “Come Share My Love” reminds me of my childhood; riding in the car with my mother while Miki’s stunning voice smoothly glided out of the radio. For years, I never knew much about the songstress herself. However, when TV One’s “Unsung“ episode surrounding Miki Howard aired in 2010, I along with the rest of the world, was enraptured not just by her stunning music and success, but also by her turbulent personal life.
I’m a lightweight superhero fan, which means I’ve got no allegiance to the Marvel Cinematic Universe over DC Comics. Like any film lover, I simply enjoy a great story-line packed with even better action. However, screening “Captain America: Civil War” changed everything for me. By the time the film actually started —ten minutes behind schedule — the theater was so rife with anticipation that people were nearly fidgeting out of their seats. It was as if everyone but me knew just what we were about to experience.
When you're fifteen years old, the desire to fit in can be overwhelming. For some of us, if we're lucky, that carnal need to seek out the opinions of others fades slowly as we move further and further into adulthood. However, in adolescence, that thirst for approval is often tied to brand name material objects. For 15-year-old Brandon in Justin Tipping’s debut film "Kicks" that material object is a pair of black and red Jordan sneakers; the originals.
My sister likes to joke that I'm in my late twenties, and begrudgingly, I suppose that I am. As I've continued to age and mature, I've also had to unlearn so much. There has been a constant stripping away of girlhood fairy tales that continue to cling to me, despite my experiences and the circumstances that I've found myself in. I've also learned to shed bad habits, and refrain from buying into those old rules about what it means to be a woman in this society. A lot of this unlearning and revising stems from my own sexuality and sexuality experiences. Things I've been told to be ashamed of, or shy away from discussing.
In a project that is eight years in the making, Don Cheadle stars in his directorial debut as the legendary musician Miles Davis. “Miles Ahead” is a film that pays reverence not only to the musician, but also to Davis’ first wife, Frances Taylor Davis, the woman who inspired his critically acclaimed seventh album, “One Day My Prince Will Come.” The gracious and stunning Emayatzy Corinealdi stars as Ms. Taylor Davis in “Miles Ahead”. I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with her about the role, working with Don Cheadle and connecting with the real Frances Taylor Davis.
In preparation for “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” I attempted to re-watch 2013's “Man of Steel,” which I hadn't seen since it first premiered. It seems that I failed to remember how dull the film is. Honestly, other than Henry Cavill's strong jaw and even harder build, I found director Zack Snyder's Superman origin story rather lacking. As a result, I had no idea what to expect from “Batman v Superman,” much less understand all the hype and questions surrounding it.
Walking home once, I stopped in my tracks and watched dozens of cop cars and emergency vehicles come racing down the streets; sirens ablaze. In New York City, and certainly in my neighborhood, siren sounds aren’t a rarity. However, what stopped me that day was the sheer number of cars zooming to their destination. The experience was so jarring, that it shocked me into a standstill.
Hollywood seems to pride itself on biopics of historical Black figures. Over the past several years, Jackie Robinson, James Brown and Bessie Smith’s stories have all gotten the film treatment. This year, it’s Olympic Gold medalist and track star Jesse Owens’ turn in the film “Race”.
Some of the most intriguing films are mysteries. You’re not sure what you’re looking at until the final frame, and sometimes, even then, you’re left questioning what you’ve just seen with your own two eyes. Bernardo Britto’s mockumentary “Jacqueline (Argentine)” left me with this particular feeling. So full of twist and turns, it’s a film that is as fascinating as it is exasperating. Britto was inspired by Laura Poitras’ Academy Award winning documentary “Citizenfour”, about NSA spy Eric Snowden. However, “Jacqueline (Argentine)” is something else entirely.
It was films like “Nothing But A Man,” “Love Jones” and “Love & Basketball” that made me fall in love with cinema. As a millennial, in the ‘90s there was “Love Jones”, a narrative of passion set against Chicago’s urban backdrop. Hopeless romantics and cynics alike watched as Nina Mosely and Darius Lovehall, desperately tried to figure out that thing called love. In the past decade (except for Gina Prince-Bythewood‘s “Beyond the Lights”) Black romance in film has fallen by the wayside in favor of buddy comedies or ensemble features. First time feature director Tahir Jetter’s “How to Tell You’re A Douchebag” has the potential to help reinvigorate the genre for the 21st century.
If you're a Kevin Hart fan, then you know what you're in for when you sit down to watch one of his films. There are always some hilarious moments (including a bit of slapstick humor) some decent cameos, and even some witty one-liners. From his stand up performances to his characters on the big and small screens, Hart has mastered the art of capturing the audience’s attention. And yet, when I sat down to watch Hart and his co-star Ice Cube in the first “Ride Along” film, (which debuted in 2014) I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed it. I laughed more than I thought I would, and Hart and Ice Cube's chemistry hit that perfect sweet spot that’s needed for any decent buddy film. Still, when the sequel to the cop action comedy was announced, I found myself rolling my eyes. This was not a storyline that needed an additional moment, and certainly not another full-length film. It turns out, I was right to be apprehensive.
I’ve personally never felt that characters of African decent should be inherently good, educated, or of a particular caliber in order to be presented in film and on television. In my opinion, that is an argument of past centuries, when the narrative of Black Americans on screen may have needed a particular sort of trajectory. I also feel that everyone has a right to tell their stories, but I don’t feel that these stories should be mediocre or inherently stereotypical, which is why I often find the work of Tyler Perry extremely problematic. Still, despite my criticisms and the criticisms of others, Perry has carved out a prolific path for himself in the entertainment industry. From his stage plays to his body of films, and now with four shows on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network, including, “Love Thy Neighbor” and “The Haves and the Have Nots”, which premièred last week to over 3 million viewers, it’s clear that his audience is always eager to tune in.
Whether you were born and raised in New York, or you arrived with nothing but a dollar and some dreams, the city will humble you with a quickness. It’s a town that demands wits, ingenuity and fearlessness; no matter what industry you’re tying to break into. In order to make it here, you have to be a doer and a hustler, or else, opportunities will simply pass you by. I’ve lived in NYC for seven years now, and the hustle mentality is something I’m still learning every day.