Southern Eccentrik
Cultural/Social
Letting Art Imitate Life….
So, here I am, deep into the draft for my next stageplay, Honey’s Kitchen. I’m constantly developing the story, the characters, and envisioning the set. Then, one day in February, a tragic event stopped my creation process dead in its tracks. I came across a headline about an unarmed teenager murdered by, of all things, … Continue reading
A Perspective (and Rant) About Red Tails
By now, you’re fully aware that, Red Tails, George Lucas’ cinematic account of the Tuskegee Airmen opened in theaters across the country this weekend. Sitting in my cushiony seat at the Malco Paradiso theater on Saturday night, I thought about all of the hype before the film; the barrage of posts on my FB newsfeed … Continue reading
A Word About Amber Cole
So, I went to dinner with three friends this past Friday night. We were sitting at a hibachi table with a brotha and his daughter and son. Before they left, we found out that it was the young girl’s birthday and that she was turning fifteen. In the midst of dinnertime conversation, the subject of … Continue reading
Cultural Translation, or, They Might Read About ‘Madea’ in a History Book One Day.
Cultural Translation: The first time I heard this term, it was being used by a political science professor to describe the late Isaac Hayes. At the opening ceremony for Kwanzaa 2006, the artist formerly known as Black Moses was standing alongside the former Superintendent of Memphis City Schools (Memphis, TN), Carolyn Johnson as official ceremonial royalty. … Continue reading
Eccentrik Memphis: “They Buckin’, Mane!”
Gangsta Walkin’. Buckin’. Jookin’. Choppin’. If you’re unfamiliar with any of those terms, don’t worry, I’m going to try to explain it to you. But really, it’s hard to break down. You just have to see it for yourself. Before I moved to Memphis, we, as in the kids in my Mississippi hometown, were doing … Continue reading
We Lost Gil
On May 27, 2011, I learned that we lost Gil. Unfortunately, there’s quite a few people, Black folks in particular, who are unfamiliar with Gil Scott Heron so this piece of major news went by with a shrug of nonchalant shoulders with them. I won’t spend a lot of time rehashing his biography, just spend some … Continue reading
How Come Common Can’t Be Invited to the White House?
Yeah….by now, most of us reasonable people should be fully ignoring right-wingers, however, it’s difficult to do when they keep finding ways to make complete asses out of themselves by raising hell about nothing. Ok, we get it. You don’t like the President and everything about him makes you cringe, even if his wife holds … Continue reading
Eccentrik Memphis
This city where I live, work, and create gets a bad rap a lot. Unfortunately, it’s too easy to get on the pity wagon and mope about what all makes Memphis a hard place to live sometimes. But the more I work in purpose, the more I realize that I’m personally responsible for doing my … Continue reading
This Blog, Black History Month, and Oh Yeah, the Oscars
Southern Eccentrik is undergoing some more changes. Yes, I know. For some reason, I can’t seem to get this blog where I need it because the scope of it keeps changing. I am still very much interested in building this blog into something substantial; however, the content will be changing, perhaps drastically. Blame it on … Continue reading
Joining Chuck D’s Army
Many may dismiss Chuck D as that old guy whose just ranting and raving over nothing. They’ll say that he’s just ‘hating’ on the dime a dozen ringtone rappers because they are making a mint spouting absolute foolishness….and that he’s just mad because he didn’t think of it first—nor was he able to capitalize on … Continue reading
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