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Music!

Two weeks of music may be overwhelming, but hey, it’s the weekend. Take some time to do an activity and bump the exceptional tunes that we have been blessed with over the past two weeks.

This week

-Singles

TRUST! - Jpegmafia

No Time For Sleep - Bobby Shmurda

Linda - Tokischa & Rosalia

Rebel Time - Moonga K. and Sampa the Great

- Albums

CLB - Drake

Voyage - ABBA

Sometimes I Might Be Introvert - Little Simz ***Editors Pick****

The Yearbook - Baby Queen

Don’t Be Afraid - Ep - Nico and Vinz

Last Week

- Singles

Baby Keem x Kendrick Lamar - Family ties

Burna Boy Ft. Don Jazzy - Question

- Albums

HWH8 - Westside Gunn

Black Wall Street -EP - Van Buren Records

Glow On - Turnstile

Meanwhile - EP - The Gorillaz

Idles - The Gods that Failed

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Nothing like some fine art books...

Weekly roundup of excellent fine art books which have been released and I’ve read about.

1. From Jacky by Jacky Marshall

2. 123 Polaroids by Lin Zhipeng

3. A Black Gaze by Tina M. Campt

4.Sagacity by Fulivo Ventura

5. Jennifer Packer: The Eye Is Not Satisfied With Seeing (releasing October 26th)

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Must-See Exhibitions

 Here is your weekly run down of exhibitions to see before they close, and those that you should go see once they open

Opening Soon

- Marina Rheingantz: Suor @ Bortolami (Opens September 10th) **pictured first**

-Group Show: 3.0 @ Chapter NY (Opens September 10th) 

- Tyler Mitchell: Dreaming in Real Time + I Can Make You Feel Good @ Jack Shainman (20th and 24th St. Locations) (Opening September 9th)

-Dawoud Bey: In This Here Place @ Sean Kelly Gallery (Opening September 10th)

Closing Soon

- February James: When the Chickens Come Home to Roost  @ Tilton Gallery (Closing September 11th)

-Elias Mung’ora: Gathering of Small Fires @ Montague Contemporary (Closing September 11th) ** pictured second**

-Born in Flames: Feminist Future @ The Bronx Museum (Closing September 12th)

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My Top Picks

(09/03/2021) - After a week off the grid, I’m back with some great news to consume during breakfast. Here are some of my personalized favorite things I’ve been reading / watching / listening too.

Music: Black Wall Street - EP by Van Buren Records

Book: Roy DeCarava: Light Break. Published by David Zwirner

Artist I’ve been loving: Jonathon Lyndon Chase

Music Video recently released: Roof by Wiki (prod. Navy Blue)

Instagram Account I’ve been loving: @homeunion

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New Music Friday

(08/20/2021) - Another jam-packed week of music releases. Here are a handful of albums and singles to queue for the weekend playlist.

Albums

Cleo Sol - Mothers ***( Editors Pick)*** (Pictured Top)

Tiwa Savage - Water and Garri E.P

Trippie Redd - Trip At Knight

Lorde - Solar Power

Rod Wave - Soul Fly (Deluxe)

dvsn & Ty Dolla $ign - Cheers to the Best Memories

Shire T - Tomorrow’s People

Singles

Butch Dawson - All Mine

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - Survivor

Young Thug - Tick Tock

ABRA & Boyz Noize - Unlock It (Feat. Playboi Carti)

Nija - Ease My Mind (Come Over)

Dua Saleh - dashery ***(Editors Pick)*** (Bottom image)

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Music: Must-see Performances

(08/20/2021) - Concerts are coming back, and many are remembering the harsh reality of fomo. Missing your favorite artists perform for a variety of reasons makes you rethink everything, but thankfully, Youtube has you covered. 

The first honorable mention is a riveting performance by The Isley Brothers on NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert. The group, which have aged like fine wine, puts on a performance playing four songs, with infamous tracks like For the Love of You and That Lady. The performance takes place at their home studio in St. Louis, with several small stories told between the songs, like those of their relationship with Jimmy Hendrix. Listen on your way to work, while writing a treatment, or most importantly, with breakfast. 

Secondly, I want to highlight a less widespread performance that occurred on August 14th, that I was able to attend. This performance was by Navy Blue (formally known as Sage Elsesser) and MIKE on Allen St., right outside of the clothing store The Good Company. The performance was electric, with about 150 people pressed together on Allen St., spreading into the street and the island separating the two lanes. MIKE has gathered quite a loyal fan base over the past few years in NYC so many dedicated fans showed out for him. You can catch a recap of the performance here

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Exhibition of the Week

(08/18/2021) - This week’s Exhibition of the Week goes to ‘The De Luxe Show’, a group exhibition at Karma Gallery and Parker Gallery, respectfully in NYC and LA. The 17 person group show pays homage on the 50th anniversary of the first ‘The DeLuxe Show’ in Houston, which was one of the first interracial contemporary art exhibitions in the United States. The original show was organized by the Menil Foundation, who at the time, were looking to widen the exposure of black artists in the United States (TSHA) The show in both New York and Los Angeles is open until September 25th.

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Art News

(08/18/2021) - The Obama portraits are making their way to the Brooklyn Museum, starting August 27th. The famed portraits of the 44th president and first lady have arguably the best presidential portraits to have been painted. “Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of President Obama and Amy Sherald’s portrait of the former First Lady have inspired unprecedented responses from the public.(Brooklyn Museum). The tour of these portraits is going to a total of five locations, with Brooklyn being the second stop on the tour. Tickets for the exhibition can be found here

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Its Friday...New Music!

(08/13/2021) - Nothing is a better feeling than to wake up to loads of new music on this scorching Friday. Despite the past few weeks really brining the heat, this week (for me personally), was a little slow. Here are some of the highlights.

1. El Michels Affair Meets Liam Bailey — Ekundayo Inversions

2. Boldy James and The Alchemist - Bo Jackson

3. Benny The Butcher - Pyrex Picasso E.P

4. Binki - Motor Function E.P

Notable Singles

Lizzo & Cardi B - Rumors 

D Smoke - Shame on You

Wizkid - Essence feat. Tems and Justin Bieber (Off of Made in Lagos deluxe version)

Nao - Wait (Off her upcoming album And Then Life Was Beautiful)

Preme - Pause Play

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Movie News

(08/13/2021) - Major movie studios have been making the transitions into streaming services, with people spending more time at home and the lack of good movies that have been released recently. If there’s one thing criterion does right, is continue to give fans classic movie offerings, this time in 4k ultra HD. Rolling Stone reports that Criterion Collection will begin their rollout of classics shown in 4K, this includes but isn’t limited to Mulholland Drive, Menace II Society, and Citizen Kane. The full list of offerings can be found here ! Which classics do you think Criterion should re-release in ultra 4K HD?

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Book Releases

(08/11/2021) - Some recent photo / art books that have been released that you should check out. Always go to your local bookstore first to support local business!

Hoda Afshar - Speak the Wind

Kara Walker - A Black Hole Is Everything A Star Longs To Be (middle image)

Janette Beckman - El Hoyo Maravilla

Rahim Fortune - I can’t stand to see you cry (Pictured first)

Stephen Tashjian - Taboo! 1982-1988 (bottom image)

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Must-See Exhibitions

(08/11/2021) Exhibitions that will be open for a couple weeks that you should go see. Be sure to find time during the week as many galleries have summer hours which excludes weekends.

Often Vary Never Change - Group Show @ C L E A R I N G New York (396 Johnson Avenue) (First Painting featured is by Chase Hall)

Huey by Hugh Hayden @ Lisson Gallery (504 West 24th Street)

What’s Already There by Tom Lawson @ Broadway Gallery (373 Broadway)

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(08/11/2021) - Tyler Mitchell announces his first solo show with Jack Shainman titled Dreaming in Real Time. The exhibition which is set to debut in September, comes after Mitchell’s first solo U.S show I can Make You Feel Good which was shown at ICP until late December 2020. Mitchell has been on a role recently, with recently shooting cover stories for Vogue and I.D Magazine, along with leading frequent collaborator Loewe’s 2021 perfume and sunglasses campaign. Be sure to free your schedule for September 9th to see Mitchell’s work in-person.

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Music Releases (08/06)

(08/06/21) - The summer continues to heat up, with a major Friday/week of releases. With fans continuing to be disappointed with Kanye failing to release his highly anticipated album Donda, there is still many notable releases from this past week.

Album/EP Releases

Gumbo’! by Pink Siifu (Editors Choice) 

King of Disease II by Nas

333 by Tinashe

Dreams Still Inspire by Abstract Mindstate

Laura Stevenson by Laura Stevenson

Sinner Get Ready by Lingua Ignota 

Single Releases

Take My Breath by The Weeknd

Walk The Beat by Tierra Whack

Buss by Rico Nasty

Black Creek Drive by Dylan Sinclair

Baxter (These Are My Friends) by Fred Again... & Baxter Drury

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New Movie Releases (08/06)

Here are some notable movie releases from Friday, and what critics have to say.

Suicide Squad dir. James Gunn.

IMDB: 7.9/10, Rotten Tomatoes: 96%

Anette dir. Leos Carax

IMDB: 6.9/10, Rotten Tomatoes: 72%

Vivo dir. Kirk DeMicco

IMDB: 6.9/10, Rotten Tomatoes: 89%

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Film News

(08/06/2021) - Ebs Burnough's The Capote Tapes will finally have a theatrical release, on September 10th, 2021. The documentary which released originally at the Toronto International Film Festival, explores the life of the infamous author, and shows many never before-seen interviews. If you aren't familiar with Truman Capote, I'd highly recommend reading his famous books like In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffanies, along with his bio-pic Capote where he is portrayed by the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

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Film News

(08/06/2021) - The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is officially underway. The festival this year will be a hybrid one, with in person viewing at SVA Theatre and Lincoln center, and virtual screenings via Lincoln Center's Virtual Cinema, the festival will run despite the surge of the delta variant. The festival is showing one of its biggest lineups in their twenty year history, "with two world premieres, six international premieres, 29 North American premieres, eight U.S. premieres and nine New York premieres". The opening film tonight (August 6th) will be a showing of Ryoo Seung-wan's film “Escape From Mogadishu,”. The festival is hopeful to bring communities together through film, with the high levels of violence against Asian American being exhibited over the past year. Be sure to plan your trip to Lincoln Center, as the festival will go on through Sunday, August 22nd.