Having recently released “Power to the People and the Beats: Public Enemy’s Greatest Hits”, to document their immense and far-reaching legacy to the development of hip hop music, how did Public Enemy catalyse the transition of rap music from minority interest to establishment juggernaut?
Public Enemy have released a ‘Best of’ compilation of their music […]
I wasn’t privy to the preview of the film ‘Shoot the Messenger’ to a floor full of ‘community leaders’, leading lights, notables and other luminaries…
However, what I have to say was that some organizations like Ligali, who I want to stress, usually do a good job, were quick to do the intellectual jump stating that […]
Friday May 19th
Meeting at the UK Pavilion. Dealing with passes and accreditations. Sorting out the usual mumbo-jumbo required to cruise through the festival.
‘Volver’ from eternal ‘enfant-terrible’ Pedro Almodovar is on show and has the usual red-carpet treatment. Penelope Cruz - gorgeous in a white Balanciagga dress, or is it? - and Carmen Maura, the co-stars […]
John McLaughlin, quite simply, is an eloquent. A guitarist whose musical vocabulary is both fluent and succinct; a musician who has proved he can work on equal terms with players from around the world and in any context. The language of music has rarely been expressed better.
He is also the guitar hero’s guitar hero; admired […]
Currently playing at the Arcola Theatre as part of the Africa ‘05 celebrations this is the second time the UK has seen this remarkable performance. Previously staged at Riverside Studios in 1978 to exceptional reviews, it is now restaged by Tiata Fahodzi ( Theatre of the Emancipated ), Britains’ leading African theatre company, under the […]
Director, Drama, Horror, Performance, Theatre, WarNina considers the musical language of jazz to be one of her greatest inspirations. Her exhibition, Jazz in the City is the culmination of a life’s work for this innovative and unique artist.
It also begins a tour featuring Nina as an artist in residence, to include The International Jazz Festival in Moscow, during which Nina’s […]
The opening night sees an evening of classical opera extracts performed, including Carmen, Nessun Dorma, The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro and many others at The Hackney Empire.
East London Metropolitan Opera continues to bring together top professional musicians with members of the local community and children from Hackney schools accompanied by a full […]
Two artists dismayed by the Millennium Dome’s corporate presentation of Britain have created their own snapshot of British artistic creativity. Five years after the Dome presented its shiny, clean vision of Britain, there is now a smaller, cheaper and more democratic snapshot of the UK on show at the Barbican Gallery.
A life-size mechanical elephant from […]
The Royal National Theatre eagerly and protectively awaits the title and production of Mike Leigh’s new play, as do we, excited by the mystery and fascination of it all. Will it cause a tempest, flooding the South Bank venue with honour or derision?
“I want you to get an interview with Mike Leigh!” The assertion in […]
This is the first time ever that the London Eye has been used for a live arts festival and was sold out well in advance of its opening. It seems an African summer breeze has blown in over the UK, with weather temperatures soaring, bringing with it a feast of unforgettable experiences.
How ironic then that, […]