Adilifu Nama, Chair of the African American Studies Department at Loyola Marymount University.
Doc Nama Makes an Incredibly Interesting Connection Between Artistic Intention and Creativity
How I Began to Connect to Hip-Hop
Recently, I explored golden age hip-hop MCs in order to gain a better appreciation of hip-hop music and culture. After listening to 14 albums from female and male MCs and recognizing their impact on MCs today, I’ve come to realize that hip-hop music and culture have been miseducated to some listeners today. This is especially true when it comes to what it means to be a Black woman and a Black man.
Until last year, I hated hip-hop music and culture because I was taught by mainstream media that hip-hop had a certain image you had to aspire to. From middle school to ninth grade, I felt pressured to listen to hip-hop music whose subjects were either materialism, a new dance craze or sex.
As a girl, I also felt pressured to be a hip-hop cheerleader for misogynoir-filled songs like Jay Z’s “99 Problems” and Kanye West’s “Gold Digger.” In high school, I would realize that Black men were pressured to aspire to an image of materialism and violence through these songs and others.
By ninth grade, I would realize that there wasn’t any hip-hop music that reflected my experiences as a Black girl. I was different from most girls because I was nerdy and artsy. I felt alienated from my Black peers, ashamed of who I was and unsure of who I could be. Since I couldn’t see my experiences reflected in hip-hop music, I found refuge in alternative rock bands like Evanescence and Linkin Park.
I wouldn’t find hip-hop music I could relate to until 2012. At that time, I would discover Angel Haze, an underground female MC. After admiring her raw honesty in her cover of Eminem’s “Cleanin Out My Closet,” I decided to explore her mixtapes and spoken word poetry.
One mixtape called “Reservation” had songs that changed my life. “Smile N Hearts” perfectly captured the sense of alienation, self-hatred and hope that I had been feeling up to that point. In addition, the song showed me that hip-hop could be poetic through a beautiful and frank interlude without music.
Read more at www.blackgirlnerds.com
Theories Abound About Black Panther’s Introduction to Big-Screen Universe
When news about Black Panther joining the Marvel cinematic universe hit the Web earlier this year, there were many different theories on how he would be introduced prior to his own solo film.
In the recent Avengers: Age of Ultron, director Joss Whedon and company dropped hints about Black Panther’s homeland, Wakanda. There were hints about one of his major villains, Ulysses Klaw, and about Vibranium, which is a common resource to Wakanda. 
According to Sean Erickson of Movie Pilot, “some of the more interesting photos from the set of Captain America 3 have been of a big fight between Cap, Falcon and Crossbones taking place in what is almost certainly Black Panther’s home turf of Wakanda.”
In the past two days, there have been leaked photos of the set and villains. These photos can lead one to think that the Winter Soldier may be in Wakanda on assignment. Maybe he is en route to assassinate the ruler or rulers. From this information, Black Panther could team up with Captain America and the Falcon to take down the common menace.
There was an earlier theory that Iron Man and Captain America would have tried to persuade Black Panther to join their respective causes, but that may not be the case because Spider-Man is rumored to be in the film as well.
6 Blerd-Created Web Series and Films You Should Watch
Creator(s): Written and directed by Stefan Dezil
What you need to know: At only 19, Dezil brought Dwayne McDuffie’s creation to life. It is surprising the Static Shock Blackout only has about 200,000 views. The cinematography is great and the acting top notch. Check out more of Dezil’s work on his YouTube channel.
11 Black Male Directors Besides Spike Lee Who Have Established A Respectable Career Behind The Camera
Carl Franklin
Notable Works: House of Cards (2013-present), Out of Time (2003), Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Impact: Franklin was a former actor working on the hit 1980s show The A-Team. He has directed Denzel Washington in two neo-noir films that show off his flair and style for directing crime drama and action scenes — Devil in a Blue Dress and Out of Time. In the 2000s, he became a major TV director, working on House of Cards and 2014’s The Affair for Showtime. Franklin is making a Tupac Shakur biopic.
Ernest R. Dickerson
Notable Works: The Walking Dead (2010-present), Juice (1992),
The Wire (2003-08)
Impact: Dickerson began his career in film and TV as a cinematographer shooting most of Spike Lee’s early films. He is the most prolific TV director on this list. He has worked on many Showtime, HBO, FOX and ABC TV shows since the 2000s. Aspiring television directors should look at his body of work.
Meet Two Best-Selling Black Indie Authors
Meet New York Times and USA Today best-selling fantasy writers Terah Edun and Lola StVil. These two African-American women are taking the indie publishing world by storm. It sounds so simple. Write a book and upload it on Amazon for free, then wait for the money to roll in. Unfortunately, indie publishing isn’t the gold rush many thought it would be. In fact, in today’s overly saturated indie publishing market, less than 10 percent of writers can make a living crafting a story. Of that 10 percent, only a handful of them are writers of color.
Edun and StVil are not only defying the odds but these women are managing to thrive. In the past three years, they have sold over 500,000 copies of their respective fantasy series by being among the new group of indie authors: savvy, businesspeople with the goal to make their books as well-known as Amanda Hocking and Veronica Roth or, dare we say it, the next black J.K. Rowling.
Yet for these two women, what’s more important than ranking, or even royalties, is the satisfaction of knowing they are adding diversity to an otherwise homogenous landscape that is indie publishing. They insist on adding diversity throughout their fictional worlds and making sure that people of color are represented.
Often readers hear about the next big Black authors through word of mouth. If you ask your mother she might suggest you read one of Steve Harvey’s books or if she’s really into science fiction then Octavia Butler is the next name to come to her lips.
But what about the young, hip authors? Where do you find these authors when your shelves are dry? Goodreads! Amazon Bestsellers Lists! But word of mouth can also be gold. StVil and Edun are here to talk about their stories with diverse casts of characters and success as self-published authors with 500,000 books sold between them.
But before we get to the special one-on-one interview between these two authors, here’s a little more about these women and their journeys.
They’ve hit The New York Times and USA Today best-selling lists and managed to enrapture readers in the process. The idea of writing and publishing a book sounds so simple. But it’s not. Not anymore. Not with the advent of self-publishing where the author is either in charge of, or working with contractors to complete, cover design, formatting, editing, accounting, social media and publishing. Not to mention the primary task – WRITING.
After you upload the final production onto your retail distributor … well then comes the hard part. You can’t just wait for the money to roll in. Being a successful self-publishing author is about being a multi-faceted entrepreneur day-in and a day-out.
Read the interview and more at www.blackgirlnerds.com
5 Interesting Things You May Not Know About Black History in Comic Books
Most people do not know that there have been Black creators in comics since the 1940s. Most don’t know that there have also been Black characters appearing in the pages of comic books that precede the creation of Black Panther and the Falcon by Marvel Comics. The reality is that Black people have been part of the process, and they could have been just as influential as Jack Kirby and Stan Lee under different circumstances.
Orrin C. Evans
Evans crossed racial boundaries in the comic industry and the world of journalism. He was the first Black person to cover news at an all-white news outlet in the United States. Evans worked at the Philadelphia Record, a now-defunct publication.
5 Black Women Who Could Shake Up the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Marvel continues to dominate the movie theaters with its dynamic characters and elaborate cinematic universe. However, there are issues. Recently, Avengers director Joss Whedon left Twitter over a fan backlash over Black Widow. The reasons he left are still unclear. The situation brings up the problem of character diversity. There is very little diversity in terms of race and gender up to this point. Here are five cool female characters who can shake up the mostly male and mostly white films.
Misty Knight
Misty Knight is a former cop who is a hero with a robotic arm. What makes her interesting is that her arm was created by Iron Man aka Tony Stark. She is a hero-for-hire who works on the streets of the Marvel Universe. It is possible she might be on one of Marvel’s Netflix series.
Blerds Exclusive First Look : ‘Legend of the Mantamaji’ Web Series Episodes 2 & 3
It appears we are living in a Golden Age for indie comics. Never has there been a better or easier time to write, create, print and sell comics as an independent creator and publisher. For independent publishers, setting yourself apart from the pack is crucial. Eric Dean Seaton, television director, creator and independent publisher of the graphic novel series, “Legend of the Mantamaji,” decided to use his “day job” experience [as an episodic director of hit shows like NBC’s Undateable, Disney’s That’s So Raven, and Nickelodeon’s The Thundermans and Bella and the Bulldogs] to create a live action short based on the first book in the Legend of the Mantamaji series.
“As an independent with a new superhero, you encounter some pretty big obstacles,” Seaton said. “You have to dispel some long held misconceptions people have about independently published comics – that they don’t have longevity, that they are inconsistently produced, hard to find or not well made. Then, you have to establish your characters and the rules of your world in a way that’s interesting and to the point. I say this all the time – when Superman first came out he couldn’t fly, there was no Lex Luthor or Kryptonite.That first Superman would never make it in the comics now, it took years of great writers to develop him into the hero the world knows today. Now, you have to rich content and highly developed characters with all their powers right from the start. That’s one of the reasons why we did the short. You get to see what the Mantamaji can do and a good representation of the action and fun in the book in eight minutes.”
In addition to creating the live action short, Seaton launched a web series on May 5th, 2015: “Legend of the Mantamaji: Behind the Scenes.” The web series follows Eric’s production team for three days as he films the live action short. Most episodes of the 12 episode series clock in at a social-media-friendly two minute run time and lead up to the release of the live action short in June. Originally slated for one weekly episode, the series will now show its fans two episodes per week of behind the scenes action.
“The series and the short serve three purposes: first of all, I want them to help promote the books. When you start off in the comics industry, it’s like being a freshman. You have an idea of how things work, but you have to get in there yourself and learn through experience. You aren’t very popular, no one knows who you are and even if the media and fans are interested, they tend to take a wait and see approach in favor of more well known titles and creators,” Seaton said. “Secondly, I wanted to create something live action for the fans of the series to say, ‘thank you’ for the support. They have made this so much fun and have been saying all along they’d love to see it this way,” Seaton said. “And lastly – I was curious. What does it take to bring a graphic novel to life? How will the Mantamaji armor translate from 2D to real life? What about the morphing of his weapons? I’ve been able to combine my two childhood dreams – directing and creating comics – into one and I’m having a great, great time. We’re underdogs, the new kids on the block, but I’ve always loved an underdog.”
Atlanta Black Star has the Exclusive First Look at this week’s episodes in the series. Check them out:
Episode 2:
Episode 3:
Terreece M. Clarke is a freelance writer/journalist for a variety of magazines, newspapers and websites and a rocking’ wife and mother of three. Follow her on Twitter: @terreece!
9 Awesomely Talented Blerds Behind The Scenes of Your Favorite Animation
James Tucker
Tucker is a prominent animation producer for DC Comics and Warner Bros Animation. He has worked on projects such as Justice League: The Animated Series (2001), Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008) and Superman: Unbound (2013). He also worked on comedy animated series like Pinky and the Brain (1997).
Floyd Norman
Norman is one of the most important animators in Black history. He worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Ruby-Spears, Film Roman and Pixar. He was the first Black artist/animator to work for Disney, opening the door for many animators to come. He worked on Sleeping Beauty (1959), Toy Story 2 (1999), and Monsters, Inc (2002). He also has writing credits on Mulan (1998) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996).