The compilation, "Boldaslove.us presents Fire In The Dark" has clocked in just under 8,300 downloads.  This is one of the songs, I think, that's driving that interest.

Sophia Ramos (above) is a powerhouse of a vocalist.  She can rage and coo, threaten and comfort, all within the same song.  Critic Greg Tate described her as, "A Bronx-bred banshee. . .Imagine Chaka Khan morphing into Ozzy Osbourne mid-wail. . ."  That about sums her up.

Sophia graciously shared "Freedom Is Over" with us, and it was taken from her album, Revelator.

Enjoy!

Additional link:

• Sophia Ramos on Myspace
• Download "Boldaslove.us presents Fire In The Dark" here
• Revelator on CDBaby

Have

Just came across this.  Stanford University English professor Michele Elam offers a compelling talk that begins that explores the question, "What is the future of blackness?"  Where does blackness stand in this post-racial, post-soul, multiracial era?  She's particularly concerned with the role of black studies departments, but I think her remarks have relevance beyond the halls of academia.

She talks about "troubling, worrying, stirring, blackness.  Touching it and holding it up for examination."  Anyway, you'll hear the exact quote directly from Elam that speaks to what I've cited, as post-modern blackness. And all this "troubling" of blackness is done in service of black people.  Love that. 

My only regret is that this video only captures the first 10 minutes of this talk.  If anyone else has links to the rest of the presentation, please holla.

Additional link:

• Michele Elam on the Stanford English department site

King’s X recently wrapped up their 2009 tour with an October 1st show in London, Ontario. While the band is taking some well deserved time off, Doug Pinnick (above) is already working on his next recording project. Over the next several months, Doug will be writing and recording as part of a new ‘supergroup’ called A.N.M., an acronym taken from the title of track 8 on Public Enemy’s Fear Of A Black Planet. The band’s impressive lineup is as follows:

• Doug Pinnick (King’s X): Vocals
• Jimi Hazel (24-7 Spyz): Guitar, Vocals
• Rick Skatore (24-7 Spyz): Bass, Vocals
• Spacey T (Fishbone, Sound Barrier): Guitar, Vocals
• Greg Fulton (Rebels Without Applause, Cyclone Temple): Guitar, Vocals
• Phil D. Fish (Fishbone, Wicked Wisdom): Drums, Percussion


This is not the first time that Doug has recorded with Jimi Hazel and Rick Skatore of 24-7 Spyz. Doug first appeared on their 1996 album Heavy Metal Soul By The Pound, lending vocals to ‘Love And Peace’ and ‘Yeah x 3’. He returned on their following album Face The Day in 2006 to sing the closing track ‘Stand!’.

In a press release announcing the new band, Jimi (above) described A.N.M.’s sound as “some of the heaviest, funkiest and crunchiest music heard in a long time.” The band is currently in talks with various record labels and hopes to release their debut album by the summer of 2010. No announcements have been made regarding live shows but with a lineup this powerful, it will be difficult to keep them off the stage.

Reporting by David Sadof, Houston Music Examiner

Hat tip: W. Kamau Bell (thanks, brotha!)

For those of you wondering what A.N.M. means, check this video:

(l to r) Reebee Garofalo, Tamar-Kali, Moe Mitchell, Linda Tillery, Dr. Portia Maultsby, Greg Tate

Frankly, it’s easy to think that wherever you are is the center of the Universe.  In my case, that would be Brooklyn and New York City.  But, in fact, there’s a lot going on—particularly in the world of black rock and Afro-Punk—far beyond NYC.  Bloomington, Indiana is a case in point.

A couple of weekends ago, I had the privilege of participating in the conference called “Reclaiming the Right to Rock: Black Experiences in Rock Music”, which was hosted by the Archives of African American Music and Culture (AAAMC) at Indiana University.

First, let me say that there’s some amazing work going on at the AAAMC.  Its director, Dr. Portia Maultsby—who was recently named one of the university's distinguished professors—talked about the importance of source materials to both research and academic study.  She said that it’s impossible to introduce a course if you can’t provide multiple original sources that can be studied.  As such, since 1991, the Archives have amassed materials covering the range of African American cultural expression since the post World War II era.  Its holdings include oral histories, photographs, musical and print manuscripts, audio and video recordings, educational broadcast programs, and the personal papers of individuals and organizations concerned with black music. 

In many ways, it was a big family reunion.  There were a lot of people there who I already knew, folks like Greg Tate, Tamar-kali, Stew, Kandia Crazy Horse, Maureen Mahon and the BRC’s Earl Douglas and Laronda Davis.  But I also got to hang with Cipher’s Moe Mitchell, Game Rebellion’s Netic and Earl Greyhound’s Kamara Thomas (look out for Kosmic Kam!) It was also cool to meet both guitarist Suzanne Thomas and vocalist and drummer Linda Tillery, along with Ike Willis, guitarist for the late Frank Zappa.  Academics such as Reebee Garafalo (UMass Boston) and Andy Hollinden, are also providing valuable scholarship related to black rock and American popular music.

Good discussions all around.  I mean, it was great to be around folks who wanted to talk about nothing but black rock for two days.

The other treat was to hear some music. IU has a student performance group, The Soul Revue (above).  Lemme tell you: If you are near Bloomington when they’re performing, I highly recommend that you go see them.  They’re high energy and they can stop on a dime.  An impressive group of students, to be sure.  They started their set with a cover of “Cult of Personality.”  That caught me by surprise, given that I’ve just seen Corey and Living Colour not long ago.  But then I realized that the song has been around for 21 years and has entered the canon.  Other highlights were “Them Changes” performed as a duet, and a rousing version of “Proud Mary”.  Suzanne Thomas sat in with the group for “Voodoo Chile”.

Speaking of Suzanne, she and her group, The Blues Church, were great.  There is no doubt that Suzanne is a masterful guitarist and bandleader.  Her set started with field hollers, moved into electrified blues and finished with hard rock.  I especially enjoyed her song “Not Like I Give A Fuck."

Tamar-Kali and her band closed out the night. She also performed a few songs from her upcoming album, including the single, “Pearl,” which is available now on iTunes. As ever, she’s powerful, captivating and her band is tight. She just gets better and better, and is one of several artists in the black rock scene who is ready for a wider audience.

Blogger and fellow traveler Laina Dawes also attended the conference and she shared some of her observations here.

Additional link:

• More photos from the conference are on my Flickr page

Have you taken the Boldaslove.us black rock audience survey? It only takes 5 minutes!  Click here to start.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Cipher's Moe Mitchell a few weeks ago at the Black Rock Conference at Indiana University.  He's good people and definitely about the DIY. You may recall that he recently completed a "Listening Tour" as part of the pre-release efforts for next year's album, "The Joyous Collapse," which drops June 24th.  Well, for now through the end of the year, the talking's over.  Now, it time for some hardcore.  So, here's where you can check out Cipher:

1/27/09 @ Mr. Roboto Project - Pittsburgh PA
11/28/09 @ Urban Warfare - Altoona PA (early show)
11/28/09 @ Cafe Metropolis - Wilkes barre PA
11/29/09 @ Broadway - Amityville NY
12/4/09   @ Keyport VFW - Keyport NJ
12/11/09 @ Polish Club - Phoenixville PA
12/12/09 @ The Backstage - Woodmere NY
12/13/09 @ Jason's Upstairs Bar - Hudson NY
12/17/09 @ The Glass Door - Brooklyn NY
12/19/09 @ Fins Pub - Oakdale NY
12/20/09 @ Championship Bar and Grill - Trenton NJ
12/30/09 @ Rides Night Club - Herkimer NY

Additional link:

• Cipher on MySpace

Have you taken the Boldaslove.us black rock audience survey? It only takes 5 minutes!  Click here start.

From CMJ New Music Report:

Massive Attack will release its fifth album, Heligoland, on February 9 via Virgin. The new record will be the duo's first studio full-length since 2003's 100th Window, and the British trip-hop progenitors roped in quite a guest list of collaborators. TV On The Radio's Tunde Adebimpe, Blur's Damon Albarn and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval (among others) all contribute vocals, Portishead's Adrian Utley plays guitar on "Saturday Come Slow" and DFA's Tim Goldsworthy also contributed to some of the tracks.

The duo has had a busy 2009 in preparation for next year's new record. Massive Attack headlined the 2009 Bestival, a three-day festival in Robin Hill, England, and then embarked on their first UK tour in three years. They also released a four-track EP, Splitting The Atom, which previewed two tracks from the upcoming full-length ("Splitting The Atom" and "Pray For Rain").

Track Listing For Heligoland:
01. Pray For Rain (Featuring Tunde Adebimpe)
02. Babel (Featuring Martina Topley-Bird)
03. Splitting The Atom (Featuring Robert del Naja/Grant Marshall/Horace Andy)
04. Girl I Love You (Featuring Horace Andy)
05. Psyche (Featuring Martina Topley-Bird)
06. Flat Of The Blade (Featuring Guy Garvey)
07. Paradise Circus (Featuring Hope Sandoval)
08. Rush Minute (Featuring Robert del Naja)
09. Saturday Come Slow (Featuring Damon Albarn)
10. Atlas (Featuring Robert del Naja)

Additional links:

• Massive Attack
• CMJ New Music Report

Have you taken the Boldaslove.us black rock audience survey? It only takes 5 minutes!  Click here start.

Yet a third option for a Friday night in BK.

Poets as rockstars.  Not a bad concept.  And I see that Dalmar James will be on geetar.

Check it out at Public Assembly.

Additional link:

• Tai Allen

Another option in NYC this Friday. 

I've never seen The Real Live Show before, but they sound like they are strong performers.  They'd have to be in order to share bill with Game Rebellion.

Littlefield
622 DeGraw betweet 3rd/4th Avenues
$10 at the door

Additional links:

• The Real Live Show
• Game Rebellion

I'd mentioned this event last week, but you can always expect Boston to do some great artwork that's worth sharing.

UPDATE: You can buy tickets in advance through SmartTix.  Boldaslove.us readers can use the promo code "MUTHA" and you'll get $5 off the ticket price.  Boston tells me you can use the promo code at the door, too.

That's February 8, 2010, to be exact.  Wow, will it have been 10 years since Lovers Rock?  Hard to believe, but the wait will soon be over.

As I've said to people, Sade could release a blank tape, and I'd buy that bad boy.

Additional links:

• The official Sade Web site