Have you seen the latest from Ava DuVernay X Bradford Young? It’s 9 minutes of beautiful black womanhood in a short film described as “a celebration of the transformative power of feminine bonds”
And if you’ve enjoyed the music like I did*:Read More »
I was hooked from the moment I saw the teaser for Terence Nance’s An Oversimplification of Her Beauty. So before I got to experience the film I checked out some of his other work that is available online, including a short entitled Exorcising Rejection which features this incredibly soothing song from RJD2:
Whether its his use of silence or his amazing soundtracks, Barry Jenkins has a talent for pairing the right sounds with his visuals.
The song from his short film Tall Enough:
I usually post a review/reflection of a film before I post about the music but I’m somewhat ambivalent about Beasts of the Southern Wild. I like Hushpuppy, I like her relationship with her dad, I cried during the film, but something felt a bit off about how the story was told. For certain, it was not the music. Check out some of the songs from the film:
If you’d like to read recommendations/reflections of the film check out:
“An Unexpected, Enduring Lesson From Beasts of the Southern Wild” on Colorlines
“Magic, a Hushpuppy, and the Beasts of the Southern Wild” by P. Djeli Clark
*Update: Looks like the original video I posted has been removed. Here is a featurette on the music in the film:
In writing my Akata Witch post, I recalled memories of putting together cultural events with my colleagues in college. No matter the event, music was one of the most critical components of it — our events would not exist without African songs from the past and current hits.
Magic System’s Premiere Gaou is one of those songs that takes me back to the days of imitating our parents with fashion shows, potlucks, and parties. Check it out:
And a few more tracks that take me back to college:
I watched Medicine for Melancholy with both of the men I dated while living in NYC. The second one was as enamored with the music of the movie as I was. As a gift he gathered all of the tracks from the movie and burned them onto a CD for me. When he couldn’t find a couple of the songs, he Facebook’d Barry Jenkins and asked him where the tracks could be found and got a response! We are no longer together but I still have love for Barry for doing that LOL.
The Changes No One Needs to Know is probably my favorite song from the movie but here are a few others that top the list (and could be found on YouTube). Enjoy!
How did I forget to mention the music of Restless City?! It’s a great mix of musical styles but I’m going to have to show love for one of the more popular songs from the film: Wale’s My Sweetie
And if you don’t know, Wale’s track samples Bunny Mack’s Let Me Love You:
I don’t remember when I first heard Mack’s version but I consider it a staple of any West African household’s music collection. I was happy to hear our generation’s version of the song in the film.
When I first met Ava DuVernay, through I Will Follow, she gave me this gift:
Watch the kids at P.S. 22 do it:
And this cover from Cleveland Jones:
From the teaser trailer of An Oversimplification of Her Beauty
I’ve been jamming to this song since I heard it in the trailer for Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere (can’t wait for the release!)
Muse & Words 