Art Tart: Bayou

Art Tart: Art you can sink your teeth in....

South of the Mason-Dixon Line, lies a strange land of gods and monsters. Born from centuries of slavery, civil war, innocent bloodshed, hate and strife lurks a world parallel to our own...

--From Bayou synopsis

Black girls aren't known for reading comic books, let alone being the heroines of them, but Jeremy Love's Bayou, may just help to dispel both myths.

Beautiful artwork partnered with a powerful story has drawn Bayou comparisons to the lush film, Pan's Labyrinth. If you thought you'd never pick up a comic in your life, this one may be the right kick to your cerebellum.

Read Bayou online: Bayou @ Zuda Comics

Cocoa Lounge: Role Play

Biopics are all the rage these days.

With everyone from Beyonce' (Etta James) to Jesse L. Martin (Marvin Gaye) to Rita Marley (Bob Marley) in some stage of production on a film about the life of a celebrated star, Hollywood's fascination with the biopic isn't showing any sings of distress.

So, in our own personal salute to the trend, here are a few films we'd love to see get the greenlight. Dah-ling, these casting suggestions are powdered, lit and ready for their close-ups.



Queen Latifah as Pearl Bailey

Pearl Bailey climbed her way from vaudeville to starring roles in such film classics as St. Louis Blues and Carmen Jones, with a sassy performance style equivalent to that of a pared-down, black Mae West. Her long career included many fascinating anecdotes including an appointment by President Nixon as the "Ambassador of Love," and singing 'He'll Understand' at Joan Crawford's Funeral.

Only one bold, actress wtih jazz-pipes could come close to filling Bailey's shoes and Queen Latifah is just about the only woman for the job.




Kelly Rowland as Donna Summer

Donna Summer remains the highest of royalty in the disco genre: The Queen. During the explosive disco scene of the late 70s and early 80s, Summer's music fueled dance clubs around the country, including the infamous Club 54. The first African American ever to win a 'Rock' award at the Grammys, Donna Summer doesn't always get the respect she deserves in black music history; partly because disco is frequently lost in the shuffle between the post-Motown era and the birth of Hip Hop music.

Kelly Rowland has the look and energy of Donna Summer in her prime--not to mention the hair.




Ledisi as Dinah Washington

Dinah Tells a Joke, a rare moment recorded when Dinah Washington wasn't singing (included on the Queen: The Music of Dinah Washington compilation) is a most hilarious glimpse into the fun-loving personality that captured the hearts of jazz fans world-wide. With a voice that is one of the most distinctive in jazz music, Washington quickly skyrocketed to music success, but her life was tragically cut short, at the age of 39, from an overdoes of sleeping medication.

Married a whopping seven times, Dinah's romantic resume' could make Elizabeth Taylor blush.

Ledisi, like Washington, possesses an infectious onstage personality and her voice, like Washington's, is a very rare treasure.

The Listening: Tawiah

We keep 'Another One' on repeat so 'Watch Out' for Tawiah.

Is the UK the home of the next soul movement or what???

Check for Tawiah's recently released material on iTunes and we promise it'll keep your head noddin'.

The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency Lives Up to its Name

(photo credit: Keith Bernstein)

The BBC debut of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency took the #1 slot in viewership in the UK, with 6.3 million viewers, nearly twice the audience of its closest rival.

The story centers around the adventures of Precious Ramotswe, the proprietor of a female owned detective agency. Precious investigates cases and helps people solve problems while juggling a blossoming love life of her own.

The series was one of director, Anthony Minghella's, last projects before his untimely passing last week and though some may have questioned casting singer Jill Scott as the African lead, Minghella was mesmerized by her: "She was the one person out of everyone we auditioned who had this majesty and enormous soul."

We can't wait for this one to premiere on HBO...which means adding the channel to our already ginormous cable bill. Ouch!

This is a must-see for fans of Valerie Wilson Wesley's Tamara Hayle books and anything with Idris Elba gets a thumbs up from us.

We'll be keeping the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency under close watch. Over and out.


Related Posts: Coming Soon: Films in Production From ATL to Africa

Santogold: L.E.S Artistes

London's up-and-coming directing talent, Nima Nourizadeh, who's helmed videos for Hot Chip, Lily Allen, Mark Ronson and Chromeo, lends his quirky music video style to Santogold's L.E.S Artistes.

The videos' avant garde feel may create more questions than it answers but you can't knock an artiste for trying.

Love it or hate it, Santogold pushes boundaries...hard.

Art Tart: Elizabeth Colomba

Art Tart: Art you can sink your teeth in....



A storyboard artist by trade, Elizabeth Colomba's work is frequently only seen by the director of Hollywood films (Waist Deep, Next Friday, The Wood, Everything Is Illuminated and Romeo + Juliet to name a few).

But her work off-the-clock is equally worthy of feature-film treatment. The women in the above paintings all hint at a period piece waiting to be told.

The moody backgrounds and rooms of Colomba's Victorian imagination are just as layered as the women within them.

We dig it.

Saturday Soul: PP Arnold

PP Arnold paid her soul dues as one of the original members of The Ikettes, those energetic women who were the must-see staples of nearly every Ike and Tina Turner performance.

With some pull from Mick Jagger, Arnold ventured out on her own and moved to Europe where she recorded the first released version of Cat Stevens' "The First Cut is The Deepest, " her biggest hit of 1967.

It's always a pleasure discovering little gems like this one. Enjoy!

NOW: The Soul of The Southwest

(clockwise: Shingai Shoniwa of the Noisettes, Miss Jack Davey, Maya Azucena and YahZarah )

South By Southwest (SXSW), one of the largest music festivals in the U.S., is scheduled to kick off this week in Austin, Texas, and though primarily known for it's huge array of rock bands, the festival has a very cool sprinkle of Alternative/Soul chicas on its roster this year:

The UK's Noisettes.
Los Angeles' J*Davey
DC's YahZarah as Purple St. James
and Brooklyn's Maya Azucena

What's that? You can't get time off work for a week-long trip to Austin, Texas? Check the artists' myspace pages for tour info because one of 'em's surely scheduled to rock a city near you.

Coming Soon: No Woman No Cry

The Weinstein Co. will produce and distribute a big-screen version of [Rita Marley's] 2004 autobiography "No Woman No Cry: My Life With Bob Marley," a chronicle of the musician's childhood and their tumultuous 15-year marriage through his death from cancer in 1981.

The untitled project from producer Rudy Langlais ("The Hurricane") is tentatively set to begin filming early next year with a projected late 2009 release date. Langlais said the film will be an "epic romance," including the Marleys' life and the assassination attempt on the couple.

-- Billboard

Rita's first choice to portray her onscreen? Lauryn Hill. Rita is reportedly vocal about Lauryn starring in the role, because "She sees my life as her life." Well, Lauryn's certainly starring in her own real-life role as the mother of a Marley clan, and wouldn't have far to go for research, but as unpredictable as she's been over the years, we're not sure this casting dream will make it past Rita's lips.

But for the love of Bob Marley we may have to Wait in Vain for the outcome.

Fresh Face [#016 - #017]: Kinee Diouf and Honorine Uwera

Two of the freshest new faces in modeling belong to: Honorine Uwera of Rwanda and Kinee Diouf of Senegal.

Their collective resumes include work for Moschino, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs and Jean Paul Gaultier and coveted positions in magazines from Trace to Elle.

Watch for Kinee walking for Project Runway finalist Jillian Lewis during the final episode of Season 4.

In the global world of fashion, African girls stay rockin' the runway and Haute couture is so much better for it.

NOW: 'A Raisin in The Sun' Premieres

Set your TVs! A Raisin in The Sun premieres tonight on ABC.

A landmark in black theater history, the classic tale gets a fresh new look with stars Phylicia Rashad, Sean P. Diddy Combs, Sanaa Lathan, Audra McDonald and costumes by Gersha Phillips.

Having seen and loved the 1961 version, it'll be hard not to compare the two but we're thankful ABC decided to develop this literary classic after the success of Oprah's 2005 Their Eyes Were Watching God adaptation.

If this tradition continues, we'd love to see them tackle some work of the brethren; Richard Wright's Native Son, Ralph Ellison's Invisble Man, or James Baldwins' Go Tell it on the Mountain perhaps...? Hey, we're just putting out there in the hopes that someone at ABC catches it...

Tonight at 8, be sure to pay the Younger family a visit.

related posts: A Raisin In The Sun to Hit the Small Screen, Nov. 2006

The Female MC Class of '88: Who's Who?

We're bringing '88 back! Just when you thought Black History Month ended with the Civil Rights Era...



How many female emcees can you recognize? Cheat sheet below.

Twenty years ago, pioneering female emcees sat down for this historic photo shoot captured by legendary music photographer, Janette Beckman. Beckman recently released a book of her hip-hop photography The Breaks: Stylin’ and Profilin’ 1982–1990, which includes over 100 photos from hip-hops golden era.

Can you guess who's who?

(Answer key: Monie Love, MC Lyte, Roxanne Shante, Ms. Melodie, Sweet Tee, Yvette Money, Sparky Dee, Finese, Synquis and hip-hop predecessor Millie Jackson)