Skip to main content

Black History Month Playlist: Lift Every Voice and Sing

Music has always been a passion.  Earlier in my career, I was a music writer for The Associated Press, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, Vibe, The Source, and other media outlets.  Then for a decade I was a Digital Content Editor for Barnes & Noble's e-commerce website, where I wrote music reviews and had the chance to interview legendary recording artists like Patti Labelle, Chaka Khan, Daryl Hall, Michael McDonald, Mary J. Blige, Ronald Isley and Lionel Richie.


Recently, I've returned to my music loving roots by curating Spotify playlists for Sisters from AARP, a digital newsletter for Gen X women of color.  I love compiling playlists that empower and support Black women, and really all music lovers. Playing DJ is a creative outlet and a form of meditative self-care -- so it's hard for me to stop generating new playlists, even when I'm not assigned to do one. So I put together a celebratory Black History Month playlist of 35 songs for Everything She Wants

Included are uplifting and motivational classics by James Brown ("Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud"); McFadden and Whitehead ("Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now"); Stevie Wonder ("Higher Ground"); and Curtis Mayfield ("Move on Up"), as well as mournful melodies by Sade ("Slave Song"); Nina Simone ("Baltimore"); Billie Holiday ("Strange Fruit"); and Common ("Black America Again").

But still we rise. And we can't lose sight of the better days ahead, as we are reminded by Donny Hathaway on "Someday We'll All Be Free"; Andra Day on "Rise Up"; Mariah Carey on "Hero"; Mavis Staples on "Eyes on the Prize"; Leela James on "A Change is Gonna Come"; and Cynthia Erivo on "Stand Up (From Harriet)."

So if you'd like a soundtrack while you observe Black History Month and beyond, push play and let's collectively "Lift Every Voice and Sing."


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Conway Discount Clothing Chain Closing in New York City

It's the end of an era. Conway discount stores are closing . As of this weekend, a sign on the sole Herald Square location (34th Street btwn 7th and 8th Ave) says the store will close in "7 Days." Before I relocated to New York City, I was introduced to the discount chain while on a bus trip from Baltimore.  I recall the first time I saw Conway's signature pink bags carried by hurried shoppers in midtown. And Miss Foster, the trip organizer and a bargain hunter from way back, took me to the store for the first time. Conway store in the Fulton Mall./Tracy E. Hopkins When I moved here in 1994, my love affair with Conway continued.  I furnished my first apartment with discount knick-knacks and home goods from the store.  And much to my chagrin, in hindsight, I curated most of my wardrobe for my first full-time job from the long-shuttered 42nd Street and Third Avenue store. One regretful ensemble: Lime green and white checkered pants with a matching lime green

Memorial Day Weekend 2023 Cultural Highlight: DanceAfrica Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Throughout Brooklyn

In her essay, " African Dance is Medicine for the Mind, Body and Spirit ," dancer, teacher and choreographer Cherie Hill wrote, "The more I perform African dance, the more I discover and enjoy euphoria. When the drums are beating and the body is dancing everything fits in sync and I feel limitless and powerful."   Photo by Nate Palmer                                                                                                                         Hill is honored with a portrait by Cecilia Lamptey-Botchway that's on display   at the  BAM Howard Gilman Opera House  during the annual  DanceAfrica Festival .  The festival celebrates Black joy and resilience and the regal power of African dance.  I mark my calendar each year for the  DanceAfrica Bazaar, where I often run into old friends and see familiar faces. In a Brooklyn that has quickly become gentrified, I love to see us walking tall, beaming with pride and to quote Bey, "shining, shining, shining, y

Does Your Cheap Jewelry Contain Lead?

Scouring street fairs, flea markets and discount shops for cheap, chunky costume jewelry is kinda our thing. As a sometime sidewalk sale seller and Etsy store owner, we’ve even sold thread earrings made in Brazil and Peru.  Street fair jewelry is cheap, but is if safe?/Photo by Tracy E. Hopkins Lately, however, we’ve noticed the label " lead compliant " on some of our fashion jewelry finds. But what does that mean? To get the skinny on lead compliance and what we should look for and avoid when shopping for budget costume jewelry, Everything She Wants asked two jewelry experts/medical doctors – Alexis Gopal and Matilde Parente -- for their tips. Everything She Wants : What does it mean when jewelry says, "lead compliant?"   Alexis Gopal : The term "lead compliant" means that the piece of jewelry conforms to the standards set forth by the Consumer Product Safety Information Act , which was signed into law in 2008. It set limits on the am