Black Thought News

For the first time in years, legendary Afrobeat artist and Kuti family scion SEUN KUTI & EGYPT 80 are relentlessly touring the globe with their ongoing US, UK, and European tour, hitting stops at major festivals and unique venues along the way. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 will be performing classic anthems and songs from their catalogue—including the most recent Grammy®-nominated album Black Times—alongside new material.

The Kennedy Center's Hip Hop Culture and Contemporary Music program has announced its initial programming for the 2022–2023 season. The season deepens the mission of Hip Hop Culture at the Center by highlighting multi-hyphenate artists and creators in the world of hip hop and honors Contemporary Music's diverse musical genres and audiences by celebrating important artistic voices who have helped shape the canon, defied categorization, and propelled us into the future.

Freddie Gibbs and A-Trak join Meechy Darko on a new track. The hard driving song “On GOD” is found on his long awaited debut album, Gothic Luxury. The track was co-produced by Jay Versace and Dot Da Genius and finds Darko trading verses with the legendary rapper Gibbs while A-Trak adds a sweeping cinematic energy to the beat.

Leading the way for the fifteen-track release will be a new visual for 'I Play Forever,' featuring Grafh. New tracks on The Heaven Experience Vol. 1 include production by S1 (Kanye West), Jake One (Brent Faiyaz), Shndo (Justin Beiber), and collaborations with Black Thought on 'Right Hand,' and  Big K.R.I.T. on 'Black Lives Matter.'

A Spring Celebration “Dionysia,” benefiting The New Group, is set to take place Monday, June 6 from 6:00-9:30pm at Guastavino's (409 East 59th Street).  This event will honor playwright Donja R. Love and New Group Board Members Jana Shea and Anita Waxman with the Mimi and Michael Mendelson Award for Outstanding Commitment to Theater. 

The festival concourse will be rounded out by the Toyota SoundStage featuring performances by Mary J. Blige with the Roots, Summer Walker, WizKid, Kirk Franklin, Jazmine Sullivan and more; the CIROC and DeLeón VIP Experience, Everything Legendary Stage, Picnic Village with local businesses and non-profits.

The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and Odyssey Opera, two of today's leading innovators on the classical musical scene, present the New England premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis's seminal opera X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (1986) on June 17, 2022, at the Strand Theatre.

Together with supporters and partners, MENTOR will host Amplify Mentoring, a Celebration of Connection & Possibility, to reflect on collective achievements in the field of mentoring, recognize champions of the movement, and celebrate the resiliency of young people and the mentors and leaders who support them.

Writer/producer/director Latoya Raveneau has entered into an overall deal at Disney to develop and produce animated projects with preeminent animation studios Disney Television Animation and 20th Television Animation and includes terms for live-action content development. The announcement was made by Ayo Davis, president, Disney Branded Television.

Casting has been announced for the People's Light World Premiere production of Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical, celebrating the life, career and unforgettable songs of trailblazing Rock & Roll Hall of Fame legend, Lloyd Price (1933-2021). 

The series is directed by Deborah Riley Draper and executive produced by Mick Jagger, Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson, Peter Afterman, David Blackman, Victoria Pearman, Tariq 'Black Thought' Trotter, Shawn Gee, Zarah Zohlman and Charlie Cohen. Co-Executive Producers for Polygram are Madeline Post and Robert Komadina.

The gospel-indebted R&B single was produced by Ray Angry and features sensational vocalist Stout. Renowned for his work with Elvis Costello, John Legend, Patti Labelle, Mobb Deep, Mark Ronson and more, Ray Angry co-produced the soundtrack for Hulu’s Life and Beth starring Amy Schumer & Michael Cera, due out March 18.

Before Rosa Parks refused to go to the back of the bus, before Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired a movement, Lloyd Price’s music brought Black and white youth together. From his obscure beginnings to overnight teen sensation, from unsung trailblazer to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the story of Lloyd Price has never been told onstage — until now.

Today's top stories include the casting of Lana Gordon in the role of Persephone in Hadestown beginning Tuesday, February 22 at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre. Plus, watch the premiere of the new web series, The Aging Ingenue! In today's episode: Claire gives a killer audition! ... but for which role? Starring Sara Jean Ford, Vishal Vaidya, Ashley Blanchet, and Will Reynolds.

Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute today announced that six rising MCs have been selected to participate in a free master class led by legendary hip-hop artist Black Thought from April 4-7, 2022 as part of the Hall’s ongoing series of workshops and master classes for young professional musicians.

The New Group's just celebrated opening night of Black No More, featuring Leanne Antonio, Rhaamell Burke-Missouri, Elijah A. Carter, Jennifer Damiano, Brandon Victor Dixon, Ryan Fitzgerald, Gaelen Gilliland, Polanco Jones Jr., Zachary Daniel Jones, Tamika Lawrence, Sarah Meahl, Howard McGillin, Mary Page Nance, Oneika Phillips, Nicholas Ranauro, Malaiyka Reid, Mars Rucker, Angela M. Sauers, Tracy Shayne, Theo Stockman, Ephraim Sykes, Tariq 'Black Thought' Trotter, Akron Watson, Nyla Watson, Edward Watts and Lillias White.

For the first time ever, Mary J Blige, fresh off a performance at Super Bowl LVI, and The Roots will join forces on stage to headline the proceedings with a once-in-a-lifetime set. The lineup also includes Summer Walker, Wizkid, Kirk Franklin, Jazmine Sullivan, Mickey Guyton, Muni Long, and more. Check out the full confirmed lineup now. 

The Nasher Sculpture Center announces 'SCULPTING SOUND: Twelve Musicians Encounter Bertoia', a series of six historic concerts, from February 22–27, 2022, bringing together twelve master musicians to explore the expressive range of Harry Bertoia's sounding sculptures, in complement to the exhibition Harry Bertoia: Sculpting Mid-Century Modern Life on view at the Nasher January 29 – April 23, 2022. 

Under their newly created audio production banner SBH Productions, the two superstar talents will bring five new projects to Audible listeners in 2022, all of which supports the overall vision of the development deal to give rise to Black creatives and create content that speaks to the culture. Nicole Shelton is head of production for the company.

DACAMERA, a Houston-based presenter of chamber music and jazz concerts, announced that jazz guitarist Pat Metheny is set to join them on Friday, February 25 at Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center. The performance will feature new and reimagined works from Metheny’s Side-Eye project, a rotating platform for upcoming musicians—the latest version showcasing Houston native pianist James Francies and New Orleans drummer Joe Dyson.