A man in tattered clothes staggers through the doors of the crowded Dan Ryan el car. His head is hanging down, so it’s hard to guess his age. At the opposite end of the car a young man with a big boom box leans against a pole. “Today’s my father’s birthday, and I’ma do this […]
Author Archives: Rosalind Cummings
Posted inNews & Politics
Like Father, Like Son
At age 40, Luis Rodriguez figures he should have enough life experience to deal with the problems of his 20-year-old son, Ramiro. He talks to Ramiro, draws him out about what he’s feeling. He talks to Ramiro’s friends, offering a nonjudgmental ear. He takes the boys to sports events and even helped them start a […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Music Notes: Equator Club reaches around the world
In the cool basement space of the Equator Club, the rhythms of soukous meld with flowing calypso and reggae beats. Jeans and flannel rub against embroidered garments. African dialects blend with American slang. It’s exactly the sort of hodgepodge that owners Adolphus Nnodi and Emmanuel Egwu planned when they opened the club five years ago. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Music Notes: Winston Damon’s melting pop
Ten years ago, musician Winston Damon would have said he was influenced by jazz, rock, and funk. Today he names Brazilian, African, Balinese, East Indian, and Afro-Cuban music as his favorites. He says he felt straitjacketed playing Western pop. It started to seem too stiff and confining. “The cerebralness, the disconnection, the ego put me […]
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Chi Lives: Chicago’s finest motivator
After nearly ten years as a Chicago Police officer, Dierdre Burrell-Hill started questioning her life’s direction. “I was asking God what is my purpose, what should I be doing,” she says. Although she was good at her job, she always felt there was something else in store. One afternoon in 1989, Burrell-Hill was answering 911 […]
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Island Records
Spragga Benz Lucky Star, March 18 Spragga Benz, one of the top five DJs in Jamaica, is already a success by dance-hall standards. He recorded his first single in 1992, and every one of his 25-odd singles since has become a hit in his country. Capitol signed him last year, but most record companies don’t […]
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Spiritual Guidance
Painter Adedayo Laoye turns to his ancestors for inspiration
Posted inMusic
Praised And Confused
Fishbone Vic, March 11 Digable Planets Metro, March 11 Hype isn’t always a good thing. It’s not a new idea, but it struck me as I watched one of the most hyped groups of the early 90s perform exactly the way they sound on their latest album: hesitant and confused. The irony was that I […]
Posted inMusic
Soft Around the Edges
Aretha Franklin, Jerry Butler Arie Crown Theater, February 25 Soul music is a dying art form. Contemporary artists are producing emotionless interpretations of black musical traditions, since soul, rooted in the African American experience, is often considered too black to have crossover appeal. But the artistic compromise that crossover demands is a heavy one–less authenticity […]
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Confessions of a Working Poet
Meet Marvin Tate, a man who lives on words alone
Posted inArts & Culture
In Print: rights of the accused
Women who have abortions are seldom referred to as mothers. But author and educator Judith Arcana believes that this denial has led to the dehumanization of women deciding not to have babies. For many, abortion remains a secret they can never share. “We need to speak of our abortions, not in an atmosphere of guilt […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Local Lit: look back without anger
Keorapetse Kgositsile’s poetry mixes the language of anger and love, juxtaposing images of war with symbols of passion. It’s the legacy of growing up in South Africa, simultaneously influenced by the desire to overthrow a repressive government and the steadfast love of his grandmother and mother. A former deputy secretary of culture for the African […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Zine of Record
J-Bird has identified with hip hop since he was a shorty in Waukegan. It shows in everything from his speech to his mannerisms–he sounds like a Bronx teen and gestures with his hands like a laid-back MC. The 24-year-old J-Bird (aka Jason Cook) has just launched a new zine called Caught in the Middle, a […]
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Too Soft For The Hard Core
Spearhead, Fugees Metro, December 16 Emancipate your mind / Don’t set the limit preached to some / Free the spirit / Cause ya blunted / On the lyrics / I just punted. –Fugees,”Vocab” When I scanned the crowd at Metro during the recent Spearhead/Fugees concert, I wasn’t surprised to see mostly white faces. Spearhead and […]
Posted inNews & Politics
And the Winner Is…
To the editors: In my January 6 review of the Ohio Players and Average White Band at the New Regal Theater, I noted that AWB seemed to elicit a stronger connection with the audience, which may have left some readers with the impression that AWB is the more influential band. But to set the record […]