Missy Elliott, DJ Kool Herc, The Spinners, Chaka Khan, George Michael, and Don Cornelius were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Elliott is the first female rapper to have the honor. Queen Latifah introduced Elliott before she performed a medley of her hits onstage at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn during the induction ceremony on Saturday, November 4th. Jazmine Sullivan introduced Khan, who performed “I Feel For You” with Common rapping Melle Mel’s part. H.E.R. and Sia joined her while she sang “Ain’t Nobody,” “Sweet Thing,” and  “I’m Every Woman.” Khan brought Tony Maiden from Rufus after she accepted her award. New Edition put on a well-choreographed show in tribute to The Spinners, while a Soul Train scenario played out in the background in honor of Don Cornelius. LL Cool J inducted Kool Herc, who accepted his award with his sister Cindy. Andrew Ridgeley, who was one-half of Wham with Michael, inducted his later former bandmate. Miguel, Adam Levine, and Carrie Underwood performed some of Michael’s classics, including “Careless Whisper” and “Faith.” 

Rza, Misty Copeland, Yvonne Orji, and more appeared at the 2023 Urbanworld Film Festival. The Wu-Tang Clan member was the ambassador for the festival and the co-director of A Wu-Tang Experience: Live From Red Rocks Amphitheatre with Gerald Barclay.  The event is on day three of the five-day event. Various industry people have attended, including Nelson George, Misty Copeland, and Leyla Fayyaz, the producers of the film Flower. Benny Boom, who directed A Love Letter To Hip-Hop, also attended the festival in New York City. Orji made her debut as a director with the feature JAMAAL. dream hampton’s Freshwater and the experimental film Paradise from Terrace Martin & Alex Isley will also be presented at the festival. American Fiction director Cord Jefferson received the Visionary Award on opening night. Gina Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Rock Bythewood attended the screening and Q&A for Genius: MLK/X, which they executive-produced. The festival is in its 27th year and is the nation’s largest multicultural competitive film festival. This year, the festival screened 73 official selections, 7 spotlight screenings, 3 spotlight conversations, and featured 5 Urbanworld Innovation sessions and 4 original screenplay finalists. The winners have been announced. 

 

 

                                                             2023 Winners

BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE (U.S.) – Frybread Face and Me – Directed by Billy Luther

THE JURY:

Darcy Heusel – VP of Audience Engagement and Impact, NEON

Efuru Flowers – Founder and CEO, Flourishing Films

Sue Ellen Chitnuya – Filmmaker and Academy Member

BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE (WORLD) – Sira – Directed by Apolline Traoré

Honorable Mention: Inky Pinky Ponky – Directed by Damon Fepulea’i and Ramon TeWake

THE JURY:

Darcy Heusel – VP of Audience Engagement and Impact, NEON

Efuru Flowers – Founder and CEO, Flourishing Films

Sue Ellen Chitnuya – Filmmaker and Academy Member

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – Brief Tender Light – Directed by Arthur Musah; Presented by ESPN Films

THE JURY:

Jackie Glover – Emmy-Winning Executive Producer

Leslie Fields-Cruz – Executive Director, Black Public Media

Sarah Eshaghian – Coordinator, HBO

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT – Slice – Directed by Zaire Love

Honorable Mention – Things Long Left Unsaid – Directed by Antonia Thornton

THE JURY:

Jackie Glover – Executive Producer

Leslie Fields-Cruz – Executive Director, Black Public Media

Sarah Eshaghian – Coordinator, HBO

BEST YOUNG CREATOR – The Old Young Crow – Directed by Liam LoPinto

Honorable Mention – Shallots and Garlic – Directed by Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto

Presented by The Walt Disney Studios

THE JURY:

Ramona Wright – Founder and CEO, WrightOne Media Group

Phillip Domfeh – Senior Manager, Disney+ Launchpad

Julian Newman – Founder and CEO, Culture Creative

Will Schnable – Programs Manager Equity and Inclusion, Warner Bros. Discovery 

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT (U.S.) – Spaceship – Directed by Jorge G. Camarena

Honorable Mention – Jerome – Directed by Gianfranco Fernández-Ruiz; Death and Ramen – Directed by Tiger Ji

THE JURY:

Amanda Ross – Director, TV Programming DEI, NBCUniversal

Kecia Cole – Director, Fiction, BRIC

Kierna Mayo – Writer, Editor, and Media Executive

Marquis Daisy – Producer, ESPN Films

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT (WORLD) – Yellow – Directed by Elham Ehsas

THE JURY:

Tamara McCaw – Chief Civic Program Officer, The Shed

Ivonne Cotorruelo – Film Programmer

Amy Andrieux – Executive Director, Chief Curator, Mocada

BEST ANIMATION SHORT – Tomato Kitchen – Directory by Junyi Xiao

Honorable Mention – Lil Ruby – Directed by Bartek Kik

THE JURY:

Ramona Wright – Founder and CEO, WrightOne Media Group

Phillip Domfeh – Senior Manager, Disney+ Launchpad

Julian Newman – Founder and CEO, Culture Creative

Will Schnable – Programs Manager Equity and Inclusion, Warner Bros. Discovery 

BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM – Quiet As It’s Kept – Directed by Ja’Tovia M. Gary

THE JURY:

Tamara McCaw – Chief Civic Program Officer, The Shed

Ivonne Cotorruelo – Film Programmer

Amy Andrieux – Executive Director, Chief Curator, Mocada

BEST SCREENPLAY – Long Live AJ – Written by Marvin Van Buren

Honorable Mention – The Washroom – Written by Elie El Choufany and Omar Al Dakheel

THE JURY:

Tracey Moore – EP, The Spirited Actor Podcast (iHeart Radio); Celebrity Acting Coach

Sonja Perryman – Writer, Producer, Actress

Joshua Sanchez – Screenwriter + Member of Writers Guild of America, East

Jenny Mayer – Screenwriter, Playwright + Member of Writers Guild of America, East 

URBANWORLD AUDIENCE AWARD BEST SHORT – Homing – Directed by Ricardo Varona

URBANWORLD AUDIENCE AWARD BEST FEATURE – Brief Tender Light – Directed by Arthur Musah

NYWIFT AWARD for BEST FEMALE DIRECTOR, US NARRATIVE FEATURE

Sira – Directed by Apolline Traoré

Presented by New York Women In Film & Television

NYWIFT AWARD for BEST FEMALE DIRECTOR, US NARRATIVE SHORT

Lunch Box – Directed by Anne Hu

Reunion – Directed by Zainab Jah

Presented by New York Women In Film & Television

 

The Black Music Action Coalition and the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame have formed a partnership to make the music industry more inclusive with the 2024 BMAC Music Maker Guaranteed Income and Mentorship Program.  Applications for the program are available from November 2, 2023 through November. 20, 2023 for Black women and women artists and industry professionals between the ages of 18-30 years old who have financial need and live in the United States. BMAC and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will provide one year of mentorship and financial support beginning in February 2024 to celebrate Black History Month.  BMAC, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Billboard, iHeartMedia, and the Music Artist Coalition (MAC) will produce an industry wide summit during 2024 Grammy Week to discuss diversity, inclusion, and the contributions female and Black Artists have made to music.  

“…The immeasurable contributions made by Black Artists and executives have led to the growth and expansion of our music industry and impacted bottom lines globally,” says Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, co-founder/Chairman of BMAC. “However those contributions have often been overlooked, appropriated and misrepresented. BMAC applauds the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for partnering with us to launch a program that will directly address the long standing inequities in the music industry. We are leveling the playing field and investing in the next generation of Black and female creatives and future executives, ensuring they have the access, resources, and the network to continue to make those contributions and impact.”

“Rock & Roll was born from the collision of Rhythm & Blues, Gospel and Country,” said John Sykes, Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. “From its creation in 1986 through today, Black and female artists and executives have played a vital role in creating the diverse sounds, styles and spirit honored by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We are proud to partner with the Black Music Action coalition on this important initiative.”

“The powerful contributions made to music by Black artists and female artists are so significant as to be unquantifiable,” says Caron Veazey, co-founder of BMAC. “At BMAC, part of our mission is to support and cultivate talent – and through the BMAC x Rock and Roll Hall of Fame program, we are able to provide mentorship and a guaranteed income to artists, which will provide them with the bandwidth to create. Our aim is to help the next generation of musicians, songwriters, producers, managers, agents, and other industry professionals to go after their dreams and turn them into reality. Working together with RRHOF is an exciting example of implementing tangible action to support a shared goal.”

Applicants can apply to the BMAC Music Maker Guaranteed Income and Mentorship Program at the BMAC site.  In September, BMAC opened membership to music industry professionals and advocates who want to join as a unified force of action to bring racial parity in the music industry. 

 

DJ Mark The 45 King died last Thursday morning at age 62. DJ Premier was among the first to report his passing on his Instagram page. The producer was behind some of hip-hop’s most famous tracks as a producer and remixer. Queen Latifah’s debut album All Hail The Queen, Jay-Z’s “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)” and Eminem’s “Stan” are just a few of the projects that he graced with his skills. The starting point of his career came with “The 900 Number” breakbeat he released in 1987. The track would be sampled in other popular songs like DJ Kool’s “Let Me Clear My Throat” and UK DJ Chad Jackson’s “Hear The Drummer (Get Wicked).” He was born Mark Howard James but got his DJ name because of his affinity for using rare 45 records to make beats. James’s configuration of horn samples and bottomless drums was a trademark of his sound. In 2022, Westbound Records released a set of five 45s called Westbound Beats mixed by James. The producer mined the label’s archive including unreleased music from Junie Morrison and The Ohio Players to create new tracks.