Umkhungo (The Gift)

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Umkhungo (The Gift)

"Set in the slums of Hillbrow, an overpopulated urban area of inner city Johannesburg, Umkhungo tells the story of Themba, a young boy shrouded since birth by paranormal events; most say haunted by the ancestors. When his mother is murdered, and his father dies in mysterious and unexplained circumstances; Themba is rescued by a disillusioned street thug, Mthunzi."

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Improve Relationships. Redemption.

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Improve Relationships. Redemption.

For Colored Boys is a dramatic web series written and directed by award winning filmmaker and content creator, Stacey Muhammad of Wildseed Films. Inspired by the highly acclaimed 1975 choreopoem "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf"  by Ntozake Shange, For Colored Boys is a series of short stories that follow the lives of seven African American men from various walks of life as they navigate and overcome challenges, face their fears, find their truth, mend broken relationships, find love, build families and inspire the lives of many.  

The first season of For Colored Boys, subtitled REDEMPTION, follows the life of Benjamin Boyd, Sr. who upon release from prison seeks to reunite his family by rekindling his relationship with wife, "Lisa" and reassuming his role as father to his teenage daughter, Sidney and 20 year old son, "E". A talented yet somewhat troubled young man, "E" has had to shoulder a tremendous amount of responsibility during his father's incarceration. Accustomed to assisting his mother with his 15-year-old sister, Sidney, he is pulled and persuaded by the temptations of his environment to make money and help provide for his family.

Returning home, Benjamin finds his son is no longer a boy, but a man unwilling to acknowledge or accept the presence of his father.  In order to mend a troubled and fragile relationship and rebuild his family, Benjamin must be careful not to overstep his bounds, yet still re-establish his presence as E's father.  Finding his place in a world he's been estranged from is more difficult task than he could have ever imaged and suffering from Post Incarceration Syndrome makes it seem nearly impossible.  

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Lecture: Rakim (New York 2013)

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Hip hop’s golden age began in 1986, the day Rakim stepped to a microphone to record “Eric B Is President.” Only 18 years old (though he sounded considerably more worldly), Rakim (real name William Griffin) had a smooth, effortless flow that brought a cool melodicism and high intelligence to the MC game—he gave both fire and ice, set within the wiry frame of his serious features. Even those who didn’t get the Five Percenter reference wouldn’t have bridled at his nickname, God. His partnership with his DJ, Eric B, yielded four great albums and numerous classic singles before Rakim split for a solo career. Despite initial success with 1997’s The 18th Letter, he endured several frustratingly fruitless years signed to Dr Dre’s Aftermath, working on an album that never came. Now Rakim back in his native New York, the city where his immense influence is most clearly audible, notably in other NYC wordsmiths such as Nas. As recently as 2012, The Source named him the greatest MC of all time.