The Harlem Renaissance was a period for blacks to engage in life. Life, which consists of good, evil, happiness, sadness, communication and expression, was more like a prison built on a foundation of hardship, suppression and all the counter parts of the good things, the things worth living for. Bu...

"To me passion is so essential...it hurts any kind of dance when there's no artistry. There are just feats." - Donald McKayle Born in July 6th 1930 in New York City, Donald McKayle first gained an intense interest and admiration in dance more than half a century ago aft...

The roots of Hip Hop culture sink decades deep into the soil of urban civilization. The term "Hip Hop" was coined by DJ Kool Herc, meaning that the beats were hip hopping back and forth from one turntable to the other. Kool Herc and Bambatta are documented spinning breakbeats in the early seventie...

The Harlem Renaissance The neighborhood of Harlem was the place to be in the 20's. It was the jazz age and in New York City, Harlem was the site of an explosion of African-American literature, art, music, and culture. This would become known as the "Harlem Renaissance" or "The New Negro ...

In the early 1900s, particularly in the 20s and early 30s, African American literature, art, music, and dance began to flourish in Harlem, a section of New York City. Variously known as the New Negro movement, the New Negro Renaissance, and the Negro Renaissance, the movement emerged toward the end ...

In The mid 70's a new culture emerged in The South Bronx section of New York City, little did anyone know that it would spread like a wild fire throughout the nation effecting not only the music industry, but Media, Fashion, marketing and advertising, and almost every aspect of modern society....

New York and Chicago During the 1920's The 1920's was a huge decade for the phenomena known as "Jazz". Due to the closing of the seaport in New Orleans, musicians were forced to travel up the Mississippi to find work. Two of the cities most affected by this move were Chicago and New York. ...

Though it has its roots in European forms such as opera and operetta, what we know as musical theatre today is a form that developed in America during the 20th century. The birth of musical theatre can be traced to an 1866 production called The Black Crook, a far-fetched melodrama scheduled to op...

Hip-Hop The Merriam-Webster Colligate dictionary defines Hip-Hop as "a subculture especially of inner-city youths whose amusements include rap music, graffiti, and break dancing; an element or art form prevalent within this subculture." This is a general and to me, a very discriminatory...