History The Tate and the Kwesi
posted by on February 14 at 15:31 PM
Good news! Greg Tate is coming to EMP’s Pop Conference.
There is no other reason why I write for a weekly than the work Tate produced for the Village Voice in the 80s and 90s. True, I do not agree with his position on Miles Davis’ late work (on that point I side with another hero, Stanley Crouch), but Tate’s pieces on hiphop and contemporary black culture in general overflow with brilliant insights and ideas.
Sadly, I will miss Tate’s reading because at the moment he is talking about his thing, I will be taking about my thing. And my thing will be Linton Kwesi Johnson.
The dub poetry of Linton Kwesi Johnson still gives me the intoxication of the revolutionary mood. Wine and Kwesi always get me drunk.
WHY did they book these at the same time?! Why, why, why, why -?!
I've been wanting to see Tate speak since the 80s; and LKJ is one of my very favorite performers (did you catch him at Bumbershoot a couple of years back, Charles?).
I guess the good taste in presenters just overflows from the Pop Con. But still -- what an agonizing decision. Looks like I'll be running back and forth all over the EMP again this year ...
hey, maybe Greg'll no-show like he did the last time he was scheduled for EMP!
Its amazing how I can agree with you so completely and disagree with you on the most fundamental basis in the course of two sentences.
LKJ is almost as important as Gil Scott Heron, and just as unfairly forgotten. (poor Gil is in jail again. When he should be given a MacArthur grant and declared a national treasure).
But if there was ever, ever, TRUTH with a capital T anywhere in the world, it lies in the genius of the work of Miles Davis from Bitches Brew thru the 70's.
And I too found Tate's writing in the 80's at the VV virtually the only music criticism worth reading in those years.
@3:
I wouldn't say Gil Scott-Heron is entirely forgotten. He's been getting a relatively strong amount of airplay on KEXP lately.
As for him being in jail, c'mon! Dude's 59 years old, and still doing blow! Better he's alive in prison, than out on the street blowing his mind with cocaine. Say it again: 59 and still doing blow! That's like my Mom's age!
But if there was ever, ever, TRUTH with a capital T anywhere in the world, it lies in the genius of the work of Miles Davis from Bitches Brew thru the 70's.
Testify!
Comments Closed
In order to combat spam, we are no longer accepting comments on this post (or any post more than 14 days old).