3/10/20 O&A NYC WILDIN OUT WEDNESDAY: Madonna- Justify My Love

Lenny Kravitz helped Madonna write and produce this sultry song, where Madonna whispers most of the lyrics. It was the first single from her highly anticipated Immaculate Collection compilation album, and created plenty of sales-generating controversy for the singer, who was known for pushing the limits of sexual content.
Continue reading

(Repost) 8/4/20 O&A NYC DIVA ALERT! RAINY DAY BONUS: Stormy Weather- Featuring Katherine Dunham And Her Dance Troupe

Stormy Weather is a 1943 film musical produced and released by 20th Century Fox. The movie is considered one of the best Hollywood musicals with an all African-American cast and serve to  showcase of some of the top African-American performers of the time. Continue reading

3/8/20 O&A NYC SUNDAY JAZZ CONCERT: Lena Horne- The Lady and Her Music (1982)

JAZZ OB-IL416_lena9_H_20100510163318

Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, a Broadway musical revue, written for and starring American singer and actress Lena Horne. The show opened on May 12, 1981, and after 333 performances, closed on June 30, 1982, Horne’s 65th birthday. Continue reading

3/8/20 O&A NYC O&A NYC GOSPEL SUNDAY: The Caravans- Oh Mary Don’t You Weep ( Caravans Reunion- 1988 Stellar Awards)


The Caravans reunion featuring  Inez Andrews, Shirley Caesar, Albertina Walker, Delores Washington with James Cleveland perform Oh Mary Don’t You  Weep at the 1988 Stellar Awards. Continue reading

3/6/2020 O&A NYC SONG OF THE DAY: Missy Elliott – DripDemeanor feat. Sum1

Melissa “Missy” Arnette Elliott is a Hip Hop artist, singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and philanthropist. She embarked on her music career with all-female R&B group Sista in the early-mid 1990s and later became a member of the Swing Mob collective along with childhood friend and longtime collaborator Timbaland. Continue reading

3/4/20 O&A NYC WILDIN OUT WEDNESDAY: Millie Jackson- Phuck U Symphony

wildin out wednesdaymed_1427987385_imagePhuck U Symphony is one of the best-known tracks on Millie Jackson’s 1892 live album, Live And Outrageous. Jackson continues to include it in her live shows to this day. Continue reading

3/2/20 O&A HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Cotton Come To Harlem – Iris, Officer Jarema and The Paper Bag

Hollywood Mondayscotton-comes-to-harlem-movie-poster-1970-1020194569

Cotton Comes to Harlem was the beginning of short period in American film that featured black actors in leading roles and the themes dealt with issues from the African-American microcosm. With a screenplay by Arnold Perl and Ossie Davis, and  directed by Davis this action drama represents the black prospective. Much of the film’s humor is urban black comedy, which was groundbreaking in 1970.

Continue reading

3/6/23 O&A NYC CELEBRATING WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH: Deborah Manning in Cry- Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Deborah Manning performs Alvin Ailey’s tribute to woman (especially our mothers) Cry (1971).  Continue reading

3/28/19 O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Ike and Tina Turner Revue- Proud Mary and River Deep Mountain High (original 1966 promo)

Tina-Turner_Proud-Mary

Late in 1970, while on break from touring in Florida, the band recorded their cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Proud Mary. The song was released the following January and became the duo’s best-selling single, reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and selling well over a million copies. The song earned the group a 1971 Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.  Continue reading

(Repost) 1/30/23 O&A NYC HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Sepia Cinderella (1947)

Sepia Cinderella (1947) is the second in a series of films produced by Jack Goldberg and Arthur Leonard, made primarily for the 684 theatres (in 1947) that catered exclusively to Black audiences that were kept out, or placed in a special balcony section, in most of the theatres in segregated America. Continue reading