Greetings Fam!

Happy New Moon, Solar Eclipse, close of the Lion’s Gate all in Leo! (🌑☀️🦁) I know the hour is late, but we are still in the shift! If you want to make a big change, start anew, well now is the time! I have two exciting things to share!

My good sis Miss Olithea is making big moves! This fall Miss O is headed to London to begin work on a graduate degree and to take the UK by storm! But before she leaves I am bringing back the ‘Ello Gov’na Future Arts Series to present “Miss O, the Places You’ll Go” and give our girl a beautiful send-off! We are back on Governors Island on August 22nd and if you missed her show last year, don’t be a fool and miss it again. This event is also a fundraiser as her dollars will be rolling over to pounds and you know the Brits will tax! They invented it! 😂 So get your tix and support Miss O as she steps into her bright future!

A little over a year ago (about 16 months to be exact) my girl Ki Ki Hawkins suffered multiple strokes. Since then she has been working hard to regain her strength and return to what she loves most, music. With that in mind, I am so happy to share that The Ki Ki Experience is back in Phoenix Frequency: The Rising, on Saturday, September 12th and Lincoln Center Atrium!! I am also excited to be a part of Ki Ki’s return to the stage as a solo artist. Join us in September and witness the Rising and the Power of her Ki Ki!

Finally, if you haven’t gotten a chance to check out my article on Greg Tate in Hammer & Hope magazine’s summer issue it’s still up! So please take a moment to give it a read!

Have a great rest of the week and set those big intentions for change. Happy New Moon, Solar Eclipse, close of the Lion’s Gate in Leo! Now is the time! 🌑☀️🦁

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Saturday, August 22nd
The ‘Ello Gov’na Future Arts Series Presents:
Miss O, The Places You’ll Go (Miss Olithea’s Farewell New York Show!)
On Governors Island (Address upon purchase of Ticket)
$20 +tax (cuz Brittain!)
Doors @ 6pm / Show @ 7pm (Last Ferry off the Island @ 10:30pm)
For Tix & More info: www.eventbrite.com/MissO 

Saturday, September 12th
Phoenix Frequency: The Rising, Feat. The Ki Ki Experience
@ Lincoln Center Atrium
1887 Broadway
New York, NY
FREE for the People!
Doors @ 6:30pm/Show @7:30pm 
For more information: http://www.lincolncenter.org/KiKiExperience

Reading is Fundamental...
Check out my story in Hammer & Hope on Greg Tate
Few People Knew Greg Tate’s Inside Voice by Shelley Nicole

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Greetings Fam!

Happy New Moon in Cancer! 🌑♋️ Life has been filled with ups and downs for all of us these days, but the roller coaster for me lately has felt like a Six Flags adventure. The highs are high and the lows are low, but we keep going, keep living, keep loving. This Stack will surely feel like a rollercoaster, but hopefully in the energy of The Ohio Players it will be a “Rollercoaster of Love/Say what?”

As the coaster goes up…

I am so honored to be published as a part of a roundtable of nine writers who honored Greg Tate in the Summer issue of Hammer & Hope magazine! Please take a moment to check out my story, “Few People Knew Greg Tate’s Inside Voice” and the whole issue. The Greg Tate roundtable is in conjunction with the reissue of Greg’s first book Flyboy in the Buttermilk so you always wanted a copy now is the time to pick it up! Give Thanks!

My good sis Miss Olithea is making big moves this fall. Miss O is headed to London to begin work on a graduate degree and to take the UK by storm! But before she leaves I am bringing back the ‘Ello Gov’na Future Arts Series to present “Miss O, the Places You’ll Go” and give our girl a beautiful send-off! We are back on Governors Island on Saturday, August 22nd and if you missed her show last year, now is your chance to experience the wonderment that is Miss O! This event is also a fundraiser as her dollars will be rolling over to pounds and the Brits do tax! So get your tix and support Olithea as she steps into her bright future!

As the coaster comes down…

On June 13th the Knicks won in 5 (that’s an up), but we said our farewells to my friend and now one of our many angels, Maritri Garrett. The memorial service was beautiful, but she leaves behind three amazing nieces who are still in need of support. So if you are so inclined please consider giving to the GoFundMe for Rylee Garrett as she is a young woman navigating this new landscape without her aunt as her North Star and/or giving to her Chariot Scholarship Fund so that she can continue her education as Maritri would have encouraged. Thank you.

Finally, I am sad to share that my baby cousin Jeremiah Jefferson passed away on Monday July 6th. He was 46. I know many of you on this list may not know him, but I want you to know him now. He was my first, first cousin and more like a little brother. When he learned he had cancer he met the challenge head on and with grace. He may not be here with us on this side any longer, but he is with us always. As we cope with this loss it cannot be understated that his wife and children are left to contend with a world that keeps turning. With that in mind a friend of the family has set up a GoFundMe to cover lingering medical bills, the kids’ sports expenses, and the weight of now carrying a household on one income with two teenagers. If you feel moved to support; I thank you in advance. (Please see Jeremiah’s service info below in the Giving Corner.)

This New Moon in Cancer calls for us to lean into our softness, honor our emotional rhythms and move at a pace that keeps us connected to ourselves and the feelings that may arise at this time. Sending you all love on this Cancer New Moon. 🌑♋️

Saturday, August 22nd
The ‘Ello Gov’na Future Arts Series Presents:
Miss O, The Places You’ll Go (Miss Olithea’s Farewell New York Show!)
@ Governors Island (Location address upon purchase of ticket)
$20 +tax (cuz the UK invented taxing!)
Doors @ 6pm / Show @ 7pm (Last Ferry off the Island @ 10:30pm)
For Tix & More info: www.eventbrite.com/MissO

Reading is Fundamental…
Check out my story in Hammer & Hope on Greg Tate
Few People Knew Greg Tate’s Inside Voice 

Greg Tate Changed the Game (Full Roundtable)

Support Jeremiah Jefferson’s Family 
On July 6th we lost our son, husband, father, brother, nephew, cousin, friend Jeremiah Jefferson. He was diagnosed with cancer 18 months ago and traveled that road with the grace that we know is Jeremiah.  Please consider supporting his wife and children at this time. Click the GoFundMe link to support and for more information.  Thank you. Jeremiah's services will be Friday, July 17th (Wake) and Saturday, July 18th (Funeral). Please click the link for more service information. Thank you! 

Support Rylee Garrett (Niece of Maritri Garrett)
On March 10th we lost our sister, friend and super aunt Maritri Garrett. In the wake of her loss she left behind three beautiful nieces who were once in her full-time care. Not only did they lose an aunt, but a surrogate mother.  Her oldest niece Rylee is now charged with big responsibilities as the eldest of her two sisters.  Please consider supporting Rylee and she navigates this new role as head of household and continues her college education.  You can support her schooling by contributing to The Chariot Fund and her everyday needs by supporting her GoFundMe.  Thank you and please check the links for more info.  

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Greetings Fam!

This Thursday, Friday & Saturday, May 14th-16th PoetWarrior Productions and the Black Rock Coalition Orchestra present Stevie: A Life in the Key of Songs performing All Five of Stevie Wonder’s seminal albums (Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Fulfillingness’ First Finale, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life) over three consecutive nights! There is still time to be in the building and trust me when I say it is not to be missed! This event comes from the beautiful mind of bassist & curator Darrell McNeill and also includes The Family Stand (Sandra St. Victor, Peter Lord, V. Jeffrey Smith), David Ryan Harris, Corey Glover, Ray Angry, LaFrae Sci, Grégorie Maret, Leon Gruenbaum, Miss Olithea, Xavier Smith, Bruce Mack, Marcus Machado, Vernon Reid, yours truly, Shelley Nicole and more! The fun begins in two days so Get Your Tix Today! If you want to come and can’t choose which night, come all three! Use the Discount Code: STEVIE30 for 30% off Tix! Don’t miss this beautiful opportunity to come together and hear Stevie’s music live! Be in the room to catch the sonic vibration, sing along and heal your heart in these trying times.

See you at the shows!

Thursday, Friday & Saturday, May 14th-16th 
PoetWarrior Productions and the Black Rock Coalition Presents:
The Black Rock Coalition Orchestra performing Stevie: A Life in the Key of Songs
The BRC Orchestra will present the 5 seminal Stevie Wonder albums: Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Fulfillingness’ First Finale, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life
@ BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Avenue 
Brooklyn, NY 11217
7:30pm each night! / Starting from $36
For Tix and more information: www.bam.org/Stevie 
Use Discount Code: STEVIE30 

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Greetings Fam!

Happy Full Moon in Scorpio, Beltane & May Day! It is the first day of May and I am “Overjoyed” to share once again that I am part of an incredible Stevie Wonder retrospective at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Thursday, Friday & Saturday, May 14th-16th the Black Rock Coalition Orchestra is presenting Stevie: A Life in the Key of Songs performing All Five of Stevie Wonder’s seminal albums (Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Fulfillingness’ First Finale, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life) over three consecutive nights! This event comes from the beautiful mind of bassist & curator Darrell McNeill and it is not to be missed! Some of the amazing souls in the orchestra include The Family Stand (Sandra St. Victor, Peter Lord, V. Jeffrey Smith), David Ryan Harris, Corey Glover, Ray Angry, Grégorie Maret, Miss Olithea, Xavier Smith, Bruce Mack, Marcus Machado, Vernon Reid, LaFrae Sci, Leon Gruenbaum, yours truly, Shelley Nicole and more! Get Your Tix Now! Come one night or all three, but no matter just be there!

This music is the healing force that we need right now and this event is much more than a performance. It’s an opportunity to come together and hear Stevie’s music live! Be in the room to catch the sonic vibration, sing along and heal your heart in these trying times.

I recently shared that I lost my friend, vocalist/composer Maritri Garrett. This has been a devastating loss for our community and she left behind three nieces who were in her care; one who is in college and has been tasked with taking over the household expenses as well as finishing out her schooling. To that end, we (the community surrounding Rylee & the girls) invite you to support them—through the Chariot Scholarship Fund and/or by directly supporting Rylee via GoFundMe as she continues her college studies; while navigating her new responsibilities. Both of these funds have been created to lift the girls as they traverse this new normal, which is not normal at all. Check the links for more details and if you cannot donate at this time, please share widely so we can shower the Garrett girls with the same love that Maritri gave them. 🙏🏽💚

There has also been a MyKeeper Memorial page, created, which offers a thoughtful space to share memories, messages, prayers, and photos of Maritri, as well as details about her forthcoming memorial celebration on Saturday June 13th in California. If you are not able to travel at that time, do not worry. There will be other celebrations happening in New York, DC and other important locations in the months ahead.

Have a beautiful day everyone! Get your Stevie tix & support the Garrett girls! Happy Full Moon in Scorpio 🌕♏️, Beltane & May Day!

Thursday, Friday & Saturday, May 14th-16th 
PoetWarrior Productions Presents:
The Black Rock Coalition Orchestra performing Stevie: A Life in the Key of Songs
The BRC Orchestra will present the 5 seminal Stevie Wonder albums: Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Fulfillingness’ First Final, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life
@ BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Avenue 
Brooklyn, NY 11217
7:30pm each night! / Starting from $36
For Tix and more information: www.bam.org/Stevie 

Looking Ahead:
June 20th - Maker Park Radio presents Future Roots Festival feat. Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber, ESG & more!  @ Maker Park, SI, NY, FREE! For Tix and more info www.makerparkradio.nyc 
July 30th-August 1st: Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber Caramelizes the Summer of Love at SFJazz, For Tix and more information www.sfjazz.org. 

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Greetings Fam!

Thank you to all who came out to the Burnt Sugar Smokehouse residency at Nublu! We closed with a bang on March 31st. It was a beautiful night with some beautiful people! “The Tao of Abbey Lincoln” was a success once more. Shout out to my partner in all things electronic Abbey, LaFrae Sci! The more we play the music, the more I see where Abbey is leading me.

So what’s next you ask? LaFrae and I will be doing a short electronic live set on The Lot Radio, Monday April 13th. LaFrae is not only my Abbey Lincoln collaborator, we are also the electronic duo, Quanta 8! For our Lot Radio debut we will be presenting a couple of pieces from “The Tao” and a couple of Quanta 8 originals. Catch us on the 13th at 4:30pm EST as part of the “Beauty In Sounds with JWords” set live streaming video and audio on thelotradio.com!

Speaking of radio, I was a guest on my girl LyricL’s podcast Words, Wellness & Wonderment out of the UK. LyricL is an amazing poet, lyricist and wellness warrior! You may know LyricL as the featured MC on my “blaK Girls (Afrobiotic Swine Funk Mix)” or from her own amazing singles including the broken beat classic “Loose Lips” and more recently “Find Myself”, which is featured on the SoulParlor compilation Day By Day. My episode of the podcast aired on April 4th, but you can catch the replay on pod.co/wordswellnesswonderment. It was a great time! Give it a listen!

Finally, I am “Overjoyed” to share that May 14th-16th (Thursday-Saturday) I am part of the Black Rock Coalition Orchestra’s presentation of Stevie: A Life in the Key of Songs at the BAM Opera House! We are performing all five of Stevie Wonder’s seminal albums (Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Fulfillingness’ First Finale, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life) over three consecutive nights! We have an amazing lineup of artists in the orchestra for the momentous occasion! All the fabulous name drops coming soon. LOL! Get your tix now cuz this is one you don’t want to miss! These songs are the healing force that we need right now. Be in the room so you can sing along and heal your heart in these trying times.

Looking forward to seeing you all out in the world this spring. Stevie said, “Love’s In Need of Love Today” and Biggie said, “Spread Love, it’s the Brooklyn Way.” So every day do your best to Give Love and Spread Love in the best possible way!

Thank you to all my paid and free subscribers! A new essay is on the way! See you at the shows!

Monday April 13th
Quanta 8 (Shelley Nicole & LaFrae Sci)
@ The Lot Radio on “Beauty In Sounds with JWords”
Streaming Live (Audio and Video)
4pm-5pm EST (Quanta 8 begins at 4:30pm)
Tune it at www.thelotadio.com

Thursday, Friday & Saturday, May 14th-16th 
PoetWarrior Productions and the Black Rock Coalition Presents:
Stevie: A Life in the Key of Songs
The BRC Orchestra will present the 5 seminal Stevie Wonder albums: Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Fulfillingness’ First Final, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life
@ BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Avenue 
Brooklyn, NY 11217
7:30pm each night! 
For Tix and more information: www.bam.org/Stevie 

🌟🌟🌟Don’t forget to check out the replay of Word, Wellness and Wonderment  hosted by LyricL to hear an interview with me!🌟🌟🌟

Looking Ahead:
July 30th-August 1st: Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber Caramelizes the Summer of Love at SFJazz, For Tix and more information www.sfjazz.org 

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Greetings Fam!

Tuesday, March 31st, is the last night of the Burnt Sugar Smokehouse residency at Nublu! This final week of the residency is in conjunction with Nublu’s The Music of Now Festival and I’m excited to present The Tao of Abbey Lincoln for this closing event. If you missed it at Weeksville last year, here is your chance to check it one more time. This week the Smokehouse will also present a virtual/live performance of The Quantum Ocean Vortex Suite lead by Marque Gilmore aka Tha Inna Most featuring virtual & live performances from Stockholm and NYC and The Burnt Sugar Arkestra this week is conducted by Vernon Reid.

Don’t miss the last week of the residency! We’ve had a blast at Nublu since Feb. 17th and we are gonna go out with a big bang on Tuesday so it is not to be missed!

Finally…on March 11th I lost a dear friend and the world lost a brilliant musician in Maritri Garrett. I haven’t had the head space to really write what I want and need to say about her flying home, but I am thankful to have had her in my life. I will be writing a larger piece about her and our time together, but I wanted to make this acknowledgement here, now. I was working on a piece about Jill Scott, but that has to be put on pause for a moment while I reflect on Maritri; hands down one for the greatest songwriters, vocalists, and musicians that I and many, many others, have even known. I miss you gurl. We miss you. More soon... 🕊🕊🕊

See you all next week at Nublu! Also don’t forget to spread a little love in The Giving Corner (see below). No gift is too small. Have a great weekend!

Tuesday March 31st
The Burnt Sugar SmokeHouse x The New Music of Now Festival 
(Final Show of Smokehouse Residency)
Feat. The Quantum Ocean Vortex Suite (Virtual from Stockholm/Live from NYC), The Tao of Abbey Lincoln Feat. Shelley Nicole & LaFrae Sci, The Burnt Sugar Arkestra conducted by Vernon Reid. With DJ Sugar Free BK & DJ Smoota 
@ Nublu
151 Avenue C
New York, NY
$20 / Doors @ 7pm, First set @ 7:30pm
For Tix & more information: www.nublu.net 

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Help Ben Tyree Record His Activator Trio Album!!! 
Ben Tyree is an amazing guitarist/songwriter/visual artist, part of my Burnt Sugar Arkestra family and my Soulbling! It is no small feat to make a record these days and even though it feels like music is free, it is not!  Please support this endeavor if you can. 

Support Marika’s Healing and Recovery After Car Accident 
Marika Hughes is a fellow musician (cellist and proprietor of Looking Glass Arts (https://bit.ly/4bZIPdG) artist residency) and member of the Burnt Sugar Arkestra family

Save Nicholas Brooklyn's 52-Year Legacy 
Nicholas is a 50+ year old Black business in my neighborhood that I shop at ALL THE TIME! They were already displaced from Fort Greene at the height of gentrification in Brooklyn and then they found a new home in Bed Stuy. Let us help keep this family business going. They are a staple and support for other burgeoning black business owners.

A Safe Space for Candy, Daz & Myla 
My friends Candy Taffee and  Darren Benjamin aka Daz-I-Kue were forced to leave their home in Nashville.  After severe ice storms swept through, a pipe burst in their attic that led to flooding in their whole home.  Candy, Daz and their dog Myla are still displaced, but with your support they will be able to soon return home. 

Support Mikel Mwalimu-Banks' Fight Against FSHD 
My brotha Mikel Mwalimu-Banks is still on the journey living with a rare form of muscular dystrophy called FSHD. This has not stopped him from carrying on with his art, but he still needs your financial support as his is not able to work at this time.  No donation is too small.  Thank you! 

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Greetings Fam!

TONIGHT, Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe will be doing our thing at the Burnt Sugar Smokehouse residency at Nublu. The Burnt Sugar Arkestra is opening the night at 8pm and then blaKbüshe takes the stage at 9pm followed by JMMR at 10pm. So brighten up your rainy night with us. It’s gonna be a fun night! See you at the show!

Looking ahead, the Smokehouse residency will continue on March 17th featuring Ben Tyree’s Activator Trio and The Binky Griptite Orchestra. Then on March 31st the residency will close with The Tao of Abbey Lincoln w/Shelley Nicole & LaFrae Sci and Marque Gilmore tha Inna Most. Each night will also feature a live conduction set by the Burnt Sugar Arkestra!

Thank you to everyone who came out to “The Sistas With Transistas” event at Lincoln Center last week. We had a blast!

Have a beautiful day and see you TONIGHT! Happy Full Moon in Virgo! 🌕♍️

Tuesday March 3rd
The Burnt Sugar Smokehouse 
Feat. The Burnt Sugar Arkestra, Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe, JMMR (Junior McLeans Musical Resistance. With DJ Sugar Free BK & DJ Smoota 
@ Nublu
151 Avenue C
New York, NY
$20 / Doors @ 7pm, First set @ 7:30pm
For Tix & more information: www.nublu.net 

Help Ben Tyree Record His Activator Trio Album!!! 
Ben Tyree is an amazing guitarist/songwriter/visual artist, part of my Burnt Sugar Arkestra family and my Soulbling! It is no small feat to make a record these days and even though it feels like music is free, it is not!  Please support this endeavor if you can. 

Support Marika’s Healing and Recovery After Car Accident 
Marika Hughes is a fellow musician (cellist and proprietor of Looking Glass Arts artist residency) and member of the Burnt Sugar Arkestra family

Save Nicholas Brooklyn's 52-Year Legacy 
Nicholas is a 50+ year old Black business in my neighborhood that I shop at ALL THE TIME! They were already displaced from Fort Greene at the height of gentrification in Brooklyn and then they found a new home in Bed Stuy. Let us help keep this family business going. They are a staple and support for other burgeoning black business owners.

A Safe Space for Candy, Daz & Myla 
My friends Candy Taffee and  Darren Benjamin aka Daz-I-Kue were forced to leave their home in Nashville.  After severe ice storms swept through, a pipe burst in their attic that led to flooding in their whole home.  Candy, Daz and their dog Myla are still displaced, but with your support they will be able to soon return home. 

Support Mikel Mwalimu-Banks' Fight Against FSHD 
My brotha Mikel Mwalimu-Banks is still on the journey living with a rare form of muscular dystrophy called FSHD. This has not stopped him from carrying on with his art, but he still needs your financial support as his is not able to work at this time.  No donation is too small.  Thank you! 

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Greetings Fam!

As Black History Month comes to a close, I’ll be making history TOMORROW, Thursday, Feb. 26th, at Lincoln Center Atrium with Black Sound Salon (Shelley Nicole, Miss Olithea & Jasmine Wilson) for “The Sistas With Transistas: A Transformative Evening of Sound, Story, and Sistahood” curated by Nona Hendryx and also featuring Moor Mother. Join us for an evening of live music, innovation, transformation and sistahood.

Then on Tuesday, March 3rd the büshe is back! It’s been a minute since Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe has graced the stage, so we are excited to be part of the the Burnt Sugar Smokehouse residency at Nublu. Also on the 3rd, the Arkestra is conducted by one of my favorite people and conductors Bruce Mack! So join us at Nublu! It’s gonna be fun!

Baby it’s cold outside, but it will be warm at Lincoln Center and Nublu! Don’t let the snow get you down. Put on your big coat, tall boots, knit hat and let us warm you up! See you at the shows!

Thursday, February 26th
The Sistas with Transistas, Curated by Nona Hendyx
Feat. Black Sound Salon & Moor Mother 
@ Lincoln Center Atrium
1887 Broadway
New York, NY
Doors @ 7pm / Show @ 7:30pm / FREE for the People
For more info: www.lincolncenter.org 

Tuesday, March 3rd
The Burnt Sugar Smokehouse 
Feat. The Burnt Sugar Arkestra (conducted by Bruce Mack), Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe, JMMR (Junior McLeans Musical Resistance, w/ DJ Sugar Free BK & DJ Smoota 
@ Nublu
151 Avenue C
New York, NY
$20 / Doors @ 7pm, First set @ 7:30pm
For Tix & more information: www.nublu.net 

Looking Ahead:
March 17th: Burnt Sugar SmokeHouse @ Nublu, Feat. Burnt Sugar, Ben Tyree’s Activator Trio & The Binky Griptite Orchestra. 
March 31st: Burnt Sugar SmokeHouse @ Nublu, Feat. The Tao of Abbey Lincoln w/Shelley Nicole & LaFrae Sci and Marque Gilmore tha Inna Most.

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Happy Lunar New Year! 🔥🐎
Happy New Moon in Aquarius 🌑♒️
Ramadan Mubarak ⭐️🌙
Happy Lenten Season 🙏🏽
Solar Eclipse 🌞🌒🌍
Reset & Restore 💜

Today is an auspicious day! As if the New Moon energy were not enough, it’s also the start of the Lunar New Year (Year of the Fire Horse), Ramadan, the Lenten season and there is a Solar Eclipse where the sun, moon and earth are all aligned! So if you want to make a major change in your life, today is the day to jump that off! Set your intentions and as Michael Jackson said, “Make that Change!” I’m all in and I’ll report back at Easter!

On this day I’m adding something new to my Substack called “The Giving Corner.” There is so much going on and sometimes we want to give/support, but don’t know where to start. I am sharing about folks I know, love and/or businesses that I patronize who are trying to stay afloat in these times of tariffs. No donation is too small. Thank you!

TONIGHT the Burnt Sugar Smokehouse residency at Nublu begins! The Burnt Sugar Arkestra are kicking off this and every night of the residency with a special all conduction performance. This week Vernon Reid is wielding the baton for the first Sugar set, followed by Avram Fefer’s Juba Lee 4tet and On Ka’a Davis’s 3D Veve. DJ Smoota and DJ Sugafree BK will be holding down the DJ sounds and there will be spades games going on up top! It’s a beautiful Tuesday so come on out! We can’t wait to see you!

Next Thursday, Feb. 26th, I’ll be at Lincoln Center Atrium with Black Sound Salon (Shelley Nicole, Miss Olithea & Jasmine Wilson) for “The Sistas With Transistas: A Transformative Evening of Sound, Story, and Sistahood” curated by Nona Hendryx and also featuring Moor Mother. Join us for an evening of innovation, transformation and sistahood.

Then on Tuesday, March 3rd the büshe is back! blaKbüshe is playing on the second night of the Burnt Sugar Smokehouse residency at Nublu. It’s been over 2 years since the band last played and strangely enough our last gig was at this very venue. So join us at Nublu on March 3rd! I’m ready to rock!

Finally and sadly, we lost Rev. Jesse L. Jackson today. Wattstax, One of my favorite films, documents the iconic Stax record label takeover of the Los Angeles Memorial Colosseum to commemorate the Watts rebellion and restore community. At the beginning of the film, before any performers begin to play, Rev. Jackson takes the stage for opening remarks and then leads the whole crowd in his now famous affirmation “I Am Somebody!” This call is as powerful, resonant and relevant today as it was in 1972. On that day he was speaking specifically to a sea of Black faces, but let this chant be a reminder to all of our personal power! I didn’t expect to be so emotional today, but I am feeling this on different levels. Maybe because my grandfather would have been 102 years old yesterday and he was also a freedom fighter. We know what to do. The blueprint has been laid. It may need tweaking for this time, this moment, but we got this. Our ancestors did it with less and under the daily threat of death. We are not defeated, but we must remember who we are!

Set your intentions. Rest, restore and move into action. Happy New Moon in Aquarius 🌑♒️ / Solar Eclipse 🌞🌒🌍 / Happy New Year of the Fire Horse. 🔥🐎

Tuesday February 17th
The Burnt Sugar SmokeHouse (First night of a 4 week residency)
Feat. The Burnt Sugar Arkestra, Avram Fefer’s Juba Lee 4Tet, On Ka’a Davis’s 3D Veve. With DJ Sugar Free BK & DJ Smoota 
@ Nublu
151 Avenue C
New York, NY
$20 / Doors @ 7pm, First set @ 7:30pm
For Tix & more information: www.nublu.net 

Thursday February 26th
The Sistas with Transistas Feat. Nona Hendyx, Black Sound Salon & Moor Mother 
@ Lincoln Center Atrium
1887 Broadway
New York, NY
Doors @ 7pm / Show @ 7:30pm / FREE for the People
For more info: www.lincolncenter.org 

Tuesday March 3rd
The Burnt Sugar SmokeHouse (Second  night of a 4 week residency)
Feat. The Burnt Sugar Arkestra, Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe, JMMR (Junior McLeans Musical Resistance. With DJ Sugar Free BK & DJ Smoota 
@ Nublu
151 Avenue C
New York, NY
$20 / Doors @ 7pm, First set @ 7:30pm
For Tix & more information: www.nublu.net 

Looking Ahead:
March 17th: Burnt Sugar SmokeHouse @ Nublu, Feat. Burnt Sugar, Ben Tyree’s Activator Trio & The Binky Griptite Orchestra. 
March 31st: Burnt Sugar SmokeHouse @ Nublu, Feat. The Tao of Abbey Lincoln w/Shelley Nicole & LaFrae Sci and Marque Gilmore tha Inna Most.

Support Marika’s Healing and Recovery After Car Accident 
Marika Hughes is a fellow musician (cellist and proprietor of Looking Glass Arts artist residency) and member of the Burnt Sugar Arkestra family.

Save Nicholas Brooklyn's 52-Year Legacy 
Nicholas is a 50+ year old Black Owned Business in my neighborhood where I shop ALL THE TIME! They were already displaced years ago from their home in Fort Greene at the height of gentrification in Brooklyn, but they were blessed to find  a new home in Bed Stuy. Let us help keep this family business going. They are a staple and a support for other burgeoning black business owners.

A Safe Space for Candy, Daz & Myla 
My friends Candy Taffee and  Darren Benjamin aka Daz-I-Kue were forced to leave their home in Nashville after severe ice storms swept through the city.  A pipe burst in their attic that led to flooding in their whole home.  Candy, Daz and their dog Myla are still displaced, but with your support they will soon be able to return home. 

Support Mikel Mwalimu-Banks' Fight Against FSHD 
My brotha Mikel Banks is still on the journey living with a rare form of muscular dystrophy called FSHD. This has not stopped him from carrying on with his art, but he still needs your financial support as he is not able to work at this time.  No donation is too small.  Thank you! 

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Greetings Fam!

Happy Black History Month! This year marks 100 Years of celebrating the contributions of Black people in the U.S. Originally called “Negro History Week” by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in February 1926; in 1976 the week was expanded to a month-long celebration. As we are in the 100th year of this recognition, it has been dubbed by many as the “Blackest History Month Ever!” Black history month is not just about acknowledging the labor, struggle and resistance of Black people, but it is about recognizing our contributions to this county through art, science, technology, joy, beauty and doing it with pride. In the words of the Jungle Brothers “Black is Black is Black is Black!” Happy Blackest History Month! ✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽

This month we are kicking off the Burnt Sugar Smokehouse residency at Nublu on Feb. 17th! The Sugars will be in the building every OTHER Tuesday though March 31st! Each night will spotlight a special all conduction performance by Burnt Sugar along with an array of different bands each week. That first week also features Avram Fefer’s Juba Lee 4tet and On Ka’a Davis’s 3D Veve. DJ Smoota and DJ Sugafree BK will be holding down the DJ sounds! We can’t wait to see you!

Thursday, Feb. 26th, I’ll be at Lincoln Center Atrium with Black Sound Salon (Shelley Nicole, Miss Olithea & Jasmine Wilson) for “The Sistas With Transistas: A Transformative Evening of Sound, Story, and Sistahood” curated by Nona Hendryx and also featuring Moor Mother. Join us for an evening of innovation, conversation, transformation and sistahood.

Then on Tuesday, March 3rd the büshe is back! blaKbüshe is playing on the second night of the Burnt Sugar Smokehouse residency at Nublu. It’s been over 2 years since the band last played and strangely enough our last gig was at this very venue. So after a long break and a little nudge from a friend, we are back at the scene of the crime! So join us at Nublu on March 3rd!

Finally, I am determined to write more on this platform this year. I’m committing myself to sharing at least once a month, which seems more in alignment with my time and head space. Like my last post about D’Angelo, depending on how long it is, I may send a separate Substack. Either way, there is more writing to come. Thank you for sticking with me on this journey. Thank you to all of my paid subscribers, it means more than you know. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to check out this page and actually read what I’ve written. It also means a lot. Thank you, Thank You.

Have a great week and if you are in a cold climate reading this, bundle up! If you are in a warm climate…well…whatever. LOL! Just kidding! Send some heat and sunshine our way, please and thank you.

Have a great week and see you at the shows!

Tuesday February 17th
The Burnt Sugar Smokehouse (First night of a 4 week residency)
Feat. The Burnt Sugar Arkestra, Avram Fefer’s Juba Lee 4Tet, On Ka’a Davis’s 3D Veve. With DJ Sugar Free BK & DJ Smoota 
@ Nublu
151 Avenue C
New York, NY
$20 / Doors @ 7pm, First set @ 7:30pm
For Tix & more information: www.nublu.net/BSS

Thursday February 26th
The Sistas with Transistas, Curated by Nona Hendryx
Feat. Black Sound Salon & Moor Mother
@ Lincoln Center Atrium
1887 Broadway
New York, NY
Doors @ 7pm / Show @ 7:30pm / FREE for the People
For more info: www.lincolncenter.org 

Tuesday March 3rd
The Burnt Sugar Smokehouse (Second  night of a 4 week residency)
Feat. The Burnt Sugar Arkestra, Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe, JMMR (Junior McLeans Musical Resistance. With DJ Sugar Free BK & DJ Smoota 
@ Nublu
151 Avenue C
New York, NY
$20 / Doors @ 7pm, First set @ 7:30pm
For Tix & more information: www.nublu.net/BSS

Looking Ahead:
March 17th: Burnt Sugar Smokehouse @ Nublu, Feat. Burnt Sugar, Ben Tyree’s Activator Trio & The Binky Griptite Orchestra. For Tix: www.nublu.net/BSS
March 31st: Burnt Sugar Smokehouse @ Nublu, Feat. The Tao of Abbey Lincoln w/Shelley Nicole & LaFrae Sci and Marque Gilmore tha Inna Most. For Tix: www.nublu.net/BSS

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“The season may come when your luck just may run out,
and all that you'll have is a memory, oh…”
~ Back to the Future, Pt. 1 (Black Messiah)

Preface

When Michael Eugene Archer, also known as, D’Angelo, took his leave of this world in the fall of 2025, he was one of many deaths that happened last year. I am well aware that we are all heading that way, but selfishly, after personally experiencing the loss of friends too young and too soon, I want everyone to die of natural causes at a ripe old age. I wanted that for D’Angelo, deeply.

On the transition front, 2025 felt like 2016. That year we lost Prince, Bowie, Sharon Jones, Carrie Fisher, Phife, George Michael, Maurice White. Need I go on? This last year was already fraught with wildness on the political front and that in and of itself was enough, but before we even got to the passing of D’Angelo, we lost Roberta Flack, Gene Hackman, Irv Gotti, Barry Michael Cooper, Chris Jasper, D’Wayne Wiggins, Roy Ayers, George Foreman, Sly Stone, Sasha Jenkins, Ananda Lewis, Walter Scott, Chuck Mangione, Assata Shakur, Robert Redford, Diane Keaton, and tragically lost Angie Stone to a car accident, Jill Sobule to a house fire and Malcolm-Jamal Warner to drowning. Whew… It was rough. I mean losing Angie and D’Angelo in the same year felt like a cruel joke. To quote D’Angelo’s song title, 2025 felt like the year of “1000 Deaths,” and if I keep it a buck and add in the people I knew personally, the genocide in Palestine, the Congo and the Sudan, then “1000 Deaths” feels much less metaphor and much more like reality.

I didn’t know D personally, but friends and acquaintances knew how much I genuinely cared for him. When genius-type people come along, there is this notion that there will never be another. There could never be another Michael Jackson or Prince or James Brown, could there? Not exactly, but when D’Angelo came on the scene he continued to challenge the myth of there only being one.

The ancestors are remembered as long as we say their names. So I’m happy to start off my year saying the name Michael Eugene “D’Angelo” Archer. Asé O.

1000 Deaths: Our Angel Has Gone Home

Between 1995 and 1996 three men showed up on the music scene who would forever change the lives of young, mostly Black, music lovers of the time. The first was Omar, the sultry soul singer out of the London with a vocal style all his own. His third album For Pleasure was released in the UK in 1994, but many of us in the US didn’t get full wind of it until May 1995. One listen to that album and I knew I had landed in the international musical promised land. He wasn’t the first UK soul artist to capture our hearts, but his impact endures. Omar released his debut album, There’s Nothing Like This, in 1990 and his sophomore project, Music, in 1992. So we could immediately reach back and taste more from that beautiful soul brotha.

If Omar had been the only artist to float me through ‘95 I would have been cool, but then a couple of months later in July, D’Angelo dropped his seminal debut Brown Sugar, with its lead single bearing the same name, espousing his love for Mary Jane. With his round the way look and Marvin Gaye-esq voice we all knew something wildly special was happening inside that young man.

Then, just when you thought the crooning couldn’t get any sweeter, along comes Maxwell in April of 1996 with his sensual debut, Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite. It was the second single off that album, “(Ascension) Don’t Ever Wonder” and a co-sign from the late great New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker, that made him a household name. From the beginning Maxwell has given us so much more than “a little sumthin’, sumthin’”

Omar has released 9 studio albums and 1 live album. Maxwell has released 6 studio albums (including a Best of) and 1 EP. Both have had their share of singles and features on other people’s projects and both continue to tour to this day. D’Angelo on the other hand only released 3 studio albums, 1 live album, was also featured on a number of projects, and throughout his 30 year career remained in demand…yet elusive.

Michael Eugene Archer. D’Angelo. Messenger from God. When he arrived on the scene at the tender age of 21, this cherub was bold enough to sing sweetly in our ears wearing his Timberland boots and a head full of cornrows. He was a young man carrying the spirit of old men. He sang of the “Jonz” in his bones, he sang of loving his “Lady,” and his “Dreaming Eyes” while simultaneously crooning about killing his lady and the man she was cheating with! I mean “Sh*t, Damn, Muthaf*cker!” He was so “Smooth” that after all that he could still lift us with songs of “Getting By,” taking us “Higher” and letting us know we were gonna be “Alright.” Then he had the nerve to call up the Smokey soul classic “Crusin’” and make it his very own. D’Angelo felt like our music and our parents all wrapped in one fine ass package and we were here for it!

1995 to around 2000 was the era of “neo soul” and under that umbrella created by Kedar Massenberg, D’Angelo was leading the charge. D was the poster child, the leader of the pack if you will and we all were wanting more, more, more, but D made us wait… and wait… and wait! Now, in those days, if you were on fire then there was an album coming at least every 2-3 years. So by 1997 when there was no word on a new studio album people started to get itchy. Yes, there was the Japanese release of the now iconic D’Angelo: Live at the Jazz Cafe, London (1996/1998 international release), which included his definitive cover of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Can’t Hide Love,” but we wanted more from this unicorn.

It would be 5 years before the magic of Voodoo came through and worked a root on all of us. In between time there were leaks. In fact I have a cassette that my friend Clayton got hold of with demos of songs, including a reimagining of the Sister Nancy classic “Bam Bam” with Lauryn Hill in mind, on which D covered Lauryn’s parts on the demo. That didn’t make it on the Voodoo album (they would later collaborate on the swirly soul ballad “Nothing Even Matters” for her Miseducation project), and a very early version of “Africa” which would become the final song on Voodoo. Of course we heard “Devil’s Pie” on the Belly soundtrack (1998), which honestly sent me and many others into a frenzy because that track is rhythmically insane! To me, “Devil’s Pie” was the first indication that D was leaving the land of neo soul for his own sacred ground.

The making of Voodoo sent D’Angelo to Cuba. There he carved his personal path to funk, learned about the Orisha, and wrote of “The Root” that worked him into a trance. At 26 years old, he turned our collective worlds upside down when the album’s lead single, “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” literally ripped the shirt off the whole game. That now iconic video, laying D bare for the world to see would unlock a Pandora’s Box that he ultimately became uncomfortable with. On the small screen, against a black background, his golden brown skin, beautiful lips, fresh cornrows, crucifix gold chain, bare chest, six pack of abs and that finely outlined V-Line giving the illusion of nakedness pulled focus from the music and while the ego may say yes to the attention, in the end something in him knew he wasn’t here to be a sex symbol. According to him, it was the realization of this great power that became one of the factors that led him to retreat.

But before his “disappearance,” I traveled with my boyfriend at the time to see the Voodoo tour at Chastain Park in Atlanta (Raphael Saadiq opened). That would be my first time seeing D’Angelo live and if I wasn’t sure of his magic before (which I was) I was doubly sure now. You may ask, why go to ATL when he did several nights in New York at Radio City? Well, I couldn’t afford the tickets in New York at the time and believe it or not it was cheaper to jump in the car and take a road trip to Atlanta than it was to go to Radio City! That show was the hottest ticket in town!

When I bought the Voodoo album I listened to it nonstop! To me, it was and remains perfect. Not one song needs to be skipped and on this album he covered another soul classic, “Feel Like Makin’ Love” by Roberta Flack. Voodoo made its way into the clubs with “Spanish Joint” which I have danced, sweat and sang so hard to, too many times to count. I was dancing to that jam in my kitchen as I listened to D-Nice remembering D’Angelo on his IG Live set the day of his passing. Some folks are afraid of the word voodoo, but it, like that album, is a prayer, an intention, an invocation, a divination, a calling, a call in, a shout out, a wish, a dream. We were all under his spell. Voodoo was a good time! We got to see D come out of his shell. He sang and played for the gods! The 5 year wait was well worth it, and then, silence-ish for 14 years.

In the lean years between 2000-2014 there were glimpses of D on recordings with Raphael Saadiq, Macy Gray, Common, Q-Tip and a live performance here and there, but mostly it was silence with random rumors of a return. Then in 2007 there was a leak, by Questlove, from the Triple J radio station in Australia. Two songs, “1000 Deaths” and “Really Love” were unleashed into the world. He was recording again for real! But it would be another 7 years before D or his label (there are conflicting reports) would unexpectedly drop Black Messiah, an album that made me lose my mind because from the moment I heard “1000 Deaths” on that scratchy demo in 2007 I knew we were headed for the stratosphere.

In 2013, before Black Messiah took over my life, I was on the road with Burnt Sugar in Nashville. Always on the lookout for all things D’Angelo I got word that there was going to be a duo show with D and Questlove at Brooklyn Bowl! I would be back in town in time for the show, but I didn’t have the funds for the tix at that moment. There was a sense of urgency in the air because seeing D’Angelo live was like having a Sasquatch sighting at that point. LOL! I called my ex who I was still cool with and who was also an insane D’Angelo fan. Very matter of fact, I asked him if he would get the tix to the show and I would pay him back as soon as I saw him. Even though we had not been broken up that long, he didn’t even hesitate cuz D’Angelo live trumps heartbreak! Ha! So we, along with a few of our other friends, went to that now legendary show where I really got to experience up close and personal what a crazy left hand D has (I mean who needs a bass player with that hand?!), and it was that night that he first covered a favorite S.O.S. Band tune, “Tell Me If You Still Care.” The white folks in the room looked confused as the Black folks lost our collective minds and sang along with a strong, “Tehhhhlllll me, if you still caayy-eee-air about me!.” D sang both the male and female leads on that tune. Whew! At the end of the set as we were screaming for an encore, Quest came back out first and made it clear that we better clap louder or it may be 2042 before we saw D again. Trust me when I say that none of us thought he was exaggerating. Then he went on to say, “My name is Questlove so I know I get love, but let him know that he’s loved.” So we did and the band played on.

2014 into 2015 were whirlwind years. The summer of 2014 D’Angelo reappeared like Mr. Spock through the Transporter, playing at Afropunk in Brooklyn, and then like a sudden tornado in December he dropped Black Messiah, his highly anticipated 3rd studio album. Not to be outdone, March of 2015 Kendrick Lamar came strong with his 4th, game changing studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly! Funk was securely back in the building. Hot damn! Butterfly would set Kendrick well on his way to receiving the Pulitzer Prize for DAMN., and Messiah solidified D’Angelo’s place in music history as the brilliant wonder that he was.

I have vivid memories of my first time listening to Black Messiah. On that December night in 2014 a literal Bat Signal went out and my phone started blowing up. D’Angelo had dropped Black Messiah with no announcement at all! Without hesitation I went to my computer and downloaded it immediately. I didn’t want to be the one around the proverbial water cooler the next day left out of conversation. As the album began to play my jaw hit the floor. With the first pitch of that eerie guitar and the crack of what sounded like a Linn drum pulled back and then pushed forward as the track went on, and then the vocals, The Vocals! Good Lord! At that moment I knew. I knew with everything inside me, we were in for a ride, a beautiful ride, a bumpy ride, the ride of our lives. I don’t think I exhaled until the last note of “Another Life.” I’m not gonna recap that album because I did that already when I wrote “12 Days of Black Messiah: Musings on the Return of D’Angelo and the Vanguard” in my original blog. You can go back and read it for yourself, but I will say this. That record sent me on a journey that was so deep that after seeing him live at the Apollo Theater at what would be the first show of his Second Coming Tour, I wrote another essay called “D’Angelo and the Vanguard Second Coming Tour Live at the Apollo (Feb. 7, 2015),” also on my old blog if you want to relive that supernatural experience.

Black Messiah and the Second Coming Tour had me in a chokehold. He left the US for Europe right after that Apollo show and I drank in any clips I could find. Me and my friend Mechelle joked about his “uniform.” In almost all of those early European shows he only wore a black tank top, black joggers, black boots, black headband and black accessories on his neck and/or wrists. Sometimes on those shows he would enter with a black biker jacket or that black and red check ¾ length vest, and/or what would become his signature wide brimmed hat. But when he got cookin’ everything came off and it was just black on black on black on black. To me it reminded me of Rocky training for a fight! That wardrobe said, “No need to be super cute cuz I’m gonna give you this music and you’re not gonna give a damn what I’m wearing,” and he was correct! To me, D was looking GOOD! He grew into his man-self. Thicker and to me, looking better then he had in 2000. Grown. Although I know some folks were at those shows in search of the six-pack, I was there for the vibes, for the feeling, for the voice, for the energy, the face, the smile, the playfulness, the juju.

“See, if you're wondering/wondering 'bout the shape I'm in/
I hope it ain't my abdomen/that you're referring to.”
~ Back to the Future, Pt. 1 (Black Messiah)

I wanted to see him again. I HAD to see him again, but I couldn’t make it to Forrest Hills, Queens which was the next closest venue to me stateside, but I would not be stopped. I was watching the tour dates like a hawk and I saw that he was playing outside of Philly at the Keswick Theater on June 23rd! Long story short, I went “One Mo Gin” with my girl Mechelle (as it happened to be her b’earthday) and that show was as FIRE as the first. Unlike at the Apollo, this time we had seats close to the front and the venue was hella small, almost like an expensive school auditorium with great sound so seeing him there, like that, was incredible. The band had changed a bit that night. Now Joi Gilliam was on vocals (in place of Kendra Foster) and Pino Palladino’s son Rocco was on bass, but it was no less magical. After the show ended, one of the guys from the crew came over and handed me the set list from off the stage. I was hyped! I still have it.

After the frenzy of Black Messiah died down, those of us who knew D by now, knew we could be waiting for a long time to feel that feeling again, but we would… patiently… wait…. D would show up here and there as a feature on this project or that. He showed up during the pandemic on Verzuz doing his own thing because it’s always been Michael vs. D’Angelo and he was on D-Nice’s IG Live. Then this past May he was scheduled to perform at the Roots Picnic in Philly, but had to cancel at the last minute due to “an unforeseen medical delay regarding a surgery” he had earlier in the year, and who ironically came in his stead? His neo soul bredren, Maxwell. At this point I’m guessing that “medical delay” was due to his cancer diagnosis. Of course at the time, nobody knew that and there wasn’t immediately much compassion for that cancellation.

To say that D had his share of struggles is an understatement, but we all have our struggles don’t we? And shouldn’t we, in our time of struggle, be offered compassion, grace and love? Those of us who looked upon D’Angelo as more than a commodity, more than just an entity here to deliver on demand, more than a jukebox, more than a sex symbol; loved him, not because we knew him personally (although I know there are some folks reading this who did), but because we recognized parts of ourselves in him; the light and the darkness. We saw his gift as a healing force, felt his light beam, and knew he was a prophet walking amongst and with us. He loved us, his people, as much as we loved him.

I used to always say when it came to D, that no news was good news. I wasn’t sitting by waiting to hear anything from him except music whenever he was ready. I could care less about rumors or speculations. I didn’t want to hear it. I was patient because I understand how the muse works. I was patient because I understand how the mind works and D’Angelo was in a battle with himself. In the Sly Stone documentary Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius) he spoke of being vulnerable as a Black artist in the industry while the world is watching:

“It's really hard. It’s the hardest thing to do.  The hang-ups, baggage, guilt, the pain, and the shame that comes with it. And if you don’t know how to handle it, if you don’t have your soul centered and people around you that you really trust and people that really know you and are really down for you, it can be unbearable, man. It will turn you into an unwilling participant.

In the documentary film Devil’s Pie, D also spoke on the challenges of keeping the separation between Micheal and D’Angelo:

“It is a thin line between separating this guy right here, who’s Michael. I’m Michael, but when I’m on the stage I’m D’Angelo. To actually leave him there on the stage is kind of hard, ya know. I think a lot of times, I’m too real for that shit! So I have to leave him there because if I bring him in here, then this gets too murky and cloudy. This shit is a contact sport. There’s so many great, great artists and musicians who just didn’t make it. They didn’t make it, man.” 

October 14, 2025 was the day Michael “D’Angelo” Archer was released from the pain of this world. Those of us who knew him actually or spiritually, know what we have lost and deeply understand that we lost it too soon and possibly lost it before we even knew it was gone. Never gone in the spirit, but we knew what a challenge this place was for him in the flesh because we know what a challenge this place can be for us, especially those of us who call ourselves artists and empaths.

If you stay in the game long enough, you will see peers rise to a level of success deemed acceptable by the world, friends and family (meaning being seen on TV, in the movies or heard on the radio or now Spotify, etc.). Hell, it may even be you who has risen to a level in whatever industry you are in, but at what cost? Often people wonder why so and so, or such and such are so talented, but the world (meaning the mainstream) doesn’t know them. Well, some of us are making decisions, hard decisions, in real time about how we navigate through this entertainment world. How do we create and share our music, art, gifts, visions, downloads, with those who want to hear, see, feel, and touch without intentionally or unintentionally delivering ourselves to the meat grinder? How do we avoid becoming an ingredient in the Devil’s Pie? How far are you willing to go? Where is “the Line?” These are the daily, weekly, monthly, questions, thoughts and decisions.

The artists in your life, in your communities, they are your light bearers, healers, soothsayers. Don’t just use them up; love them. Care for them, hold them, nurture them, support them, encourage them and they will, we will in turn “send it right back to you.” We are magic but remember, you are too. Instead of coveting someone’s light, find your own and like Taimak in The Last Dragon, Glow! Michael Eugene Archer was many, many things, but at the top of my list, in the words of the church mothers, he was anointed. A player trapped in a game not of his own making. A prophet in chains, now free.

1000 Deaths by D’Angelo 
I can't believe I can't get over my fear, oh-oh
They're gonna send me over the hill
Ah, the moment of truth is near, oh
They'll send me over the hill, oh no 

I can't believe I'm got caught up in the thrill, oh 
They’re gonna send me over the hill, oh
Locked and loaded up, and I know the drill
(Say know what I'm saying)
They're gonna send me over the hill, oh darlin’, yeah 

'Cause I was born to kill, they're gonna send me over the hill, oh-oh

I been a witness to this game for ages
And if I stare death in face, no time to waste
But oh

And if I charge it to the game before
Every time I slip into the unknown
Well, that's only when the spot gets blown
It's war — that is the Lord
I won't nut up when we up thick in the crunch

You know a coward dies a thousand times
But a soldier only dies just once
Once, once..

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Greetings Fam!

I know it’s been a minute, but I been around the world and I, I, I… But now I’m back…from outer space (well actually from overseas) 🇬🇧, and I had an amazing time! If you don’t already, follow me on IG to see some highlights from my trip. Enjoy!

We may be in a New Year, but we are still in the season of giving. To that end I am asking for your support on behalf of my brotha rhyme, Mikel Mwalimu-Banks, who is living with FSHD, a rare form of muscular dystrophy. In past years we have done a live fundraiser for Mikel, but we were not able to make that happen in 2025. In lieu of that, the family and community are requesting support for his ongoing GoFundMe campaign. Please give what feels good. Mikel is still thriving and making art, but the challenges to that end are still great. So whatever you can give at this time would be greatly appreciated. No amount is too small. Thank you! 🙏🏽💜

Sunday, January 11th we are celebrating The Lasting Legend of Luqman! Members of Funkface, Dope Sagittarius and an array of vocalists (including myself) will be celebrating the life and music of Luqman Brown. Join us at Bowery Electric for an afternoon of Big Love, raucous music, and I’m betting lots of shenanigans because Luq wouldn’t have it any other way! This event is FREE for the people so join us! 🤴🏾💜

In other amazing news, after being out of print for YEARS, my brotha Greg Tate’s debut book of essays, Flyboy in the Buttermilk, is finally being reissued! If you don’t own a copy of this masterpiece you can now get yours, and in hardcover! One of the most interesting things about this reissue is that it is being released on April 21st, the same day as Prince’s transition! 🤯 That feels like Greg to me! 😂 Pre-order your copy now! You’ll be glad you did! ✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽

Looking ahead, beginning in February, The Burnt Sugar Arkestra is kicking off 2026 with a Burnt Sugar Smokehouse residency at Nublu! We will be there every OTHER Tuesday from February 17th-March 31st. My band blaKbüshe will be playing for the first time since Jan. 2024 😲 on March 3rd and I’ll be performing music from the Tao of Abbey Lincoln with LaFrae Sci on March 31st. So come to all the shows or pick your favorites, but no matter what you do, be there! 🎸🎹🎤🎷🥁🎵

Finally, we lost our brotha D’Angelo on October 14th, 2025, which as Universal jokes would have it, was our brotha Greg Tate’s b’earthday. To say that was a tough day for so many of us is an understatement. I said I was going to write something about D’Angelo, and the time has finally arrived to share my thoughts. As with most things I write, this piece is long. So I’m going to make a separate Substack for that and I’ll post it on Wednesday. So please be on the lookout for 1000 Deaths: Our Angel has Gone Home. 💔 (Link is Live)

Happy Full Moon Energy! 🌕 This is the last of the shadow days of the Full Wolf Moon that happened on the 3rd. There is still time to set your intentions and go forth with courage into this New Year! Happy 2026! 🎉🎉🎉

Sunday, January 11th
The Lasting Legend of Luqman
Feat. Funkface and Dope Sagittarius with special guest vocalists
@ The Bowery Electric
327 Bowery
New York, NY 
2pm-6pm
FREE for the people!
For more info: www.boweryelectric.com

Tuesdays Feb. 17th, March 3rd, 17th & 31st
The Burnt Sugar Smokehouse Residency @ Nublu 151
Feat. The Burnt Sugar Arkestra (will perform each night of the residency) conducted by Vernon Reid (2/17 & 3/31), Bruce Mack (3/3) and LaFrae Sci (3/17) 
Other featured bands include: Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe, The Tao of Abbey Lincoln w/Shelley Nicole & LaFrae Sci, Avram Fefer’s Juba Lee 4Tet, On Ka’a Davis’s 3D Veve, JMMR, Ben Tyree's Activator Trio, The Binky Griptite Orchestra, Marque Gilmore Tha Inna Most 
w/ DJ SugaFree BK and  DJ Smoota (Every night!)
MC for all four nites: LaRonda Davis
@ Nublu 151
151 Avenue C
New York, NY 
$20 / Doors at 7pm / Burnt Sugar kicks things off at 7:30pm
For Tix and more info: www.nublu.net

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Greetings Fam!

It’s my B’earthday!! 🎂🎁💃🏾🎉🥂💫 Well it was my b’earthday on Nov. 7th, but seeing as how I’m sending this out now and since I celebrate all month, it’s still my b’earthday! Thank you to everyone who already shouted me out on the day on the socials! Keep showering me with love cuz I’m here for it! LOL!

In other b’day news, my solar return took me back across the pond! I am playing in London with my Burnt Sugar bredren, Marque Gilmore aka Inna-Most, at the CLF Art Lounge Pop up This Friday, Nov. 14th, with South London Soul Train host, JAZZHEADCHRONIC! For all my UK folks and for all of you who know UK folks, please come thru and spread the word! In Burnt Sugar style we will be creating off the dome with an electronic, drum & bass with a little bit on jungle VIBE! I brought along my looper, etc. to add to the “noise.” So who knows what may happen, but I do know that if you are around and in town, you should be there!! Join Us!

I want to say Thank You to everyone who came out to hear my new work, The Tao of Abbey Lincoln, at Weeksville in October. I know it’s taken me a moment to get back to you and share anything, but it has been a whirlwind since the end of October. I will leave a few pics here today knowing there are more to come! I also must thank my co-conspirator and co-collaborator LaFrae Sci for being the dopeness that she is. We had an amazing time at Weeksville! This is just the beginning for “The Tao” so stay tuned for the expansion in the coming year.

Finally, we had an amazing day celebrating our brotha, friend, mentor, Greg Tate on Oct. 19th. It was a gorgeous day in Harlem. If you get a chance, head on up to 135th & St. Nicholas to check out the pubic artwork in honor of Greg by Brett Cook!

Have a great week and can’t wait to see my Londoners on Friday! 🎉🎉🎉

LONDON CALLING! 
Friday November 14th
CLF Art Lounge Pop Up Launch
Feat. Inna-Most x Shelley Nicole
w/ South London Soul Train Host JAZZHEADCHRONIC
@ Mountainview
120 Peckham Til St, SE15 5JT
London, UK
Doors 5pm / Event 8pm-1am (2 live sets)
FREE for the People 
For Advance Free Tix & More info: www.eventbrite.com/CLFPopUp 
(Walk-Ins Welcome)
www.clfartlounge.com 

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TOMORROW, October 24th, I’m so excited to present The Tao of Abbey Lincoln at Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn! I will be presenting my compositions culled from the unpublished poetry and prose of Abbey Lincoln! I will be sharing the stage with synth genius, composer, educator and collaborator LaFrae Sci on this special evening. Although Abbey is best known as a jazz vocalist and songwriter, I am taking Ms. Lincoln into the future by presenting her spirit through the lens of electronic music. I’m so excited to share this work and I can’t think of a better place than Weeksville to do it! This event is FREE for the People with RSVP (but if you forget to RSVP 😉 please still come thru)! It was brought to my attention that multiple tix couldn’t be secured on Eventbrite so I fixed that issue. Come One, Come All! We can’t wait to see you!

We had a beautiful day in Harlem for our brotha Greg Tate last Sunday. If you are in NYC or plan on visiting, please take some time to go to St. Nicholas Park to see the beautiful art by Brett Cook up close and personal. It was surely a Great Day in Harlem.

See you Tomorrow Night Brooklyn!

Friday, October 24th
The Tao of Abbey Lincoln
Feat. Shelley Nicole & LaFrae Sci
@ Weeksville Heritage Center
185 Buffalo Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11213
Doors @ 6pm / Show @ 6:30pm
FREE for the People w/RSVP (If you forget to RSVP 😉 please still come thru!)
For Tix & More Info: www.TAOL.eventbrite.com  (Updated Link)
Donations Welcome

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It was my intention to send this update on Tuesday in celebration of what would have been the 68th B’earthday of my friend and brotha Greg Tate, but then, with the shocking loss of our other dear brotha Michael Eugene Archer aka D’Angelo, I couldn’t move. I’m still in shock. While I did not know D’Angelo personally, much like Prince, he penetrated my spirit and I could see him, not as a “celebrity” but as a human being and sensitive soul. He felt like a family member; a brother, a cousin, a friend and dare I say musical soul mate (which I believe many felt). Condolences to all who knew him personally; his family, his friends, his musical collaborators. D’Angelo’s glowing spirit was a light in the dark sea of an industry that he struggled to navigate. I have much more to say about our brotha and I was hoping to share in this moment, but I need more time to gather my thoughts and words. So, for now I’ll just say Thank You. Thank you Michael Eugene Archer. While I am deeply, deeply saddened by your loss, I am glad I lived on this planet at the same time as you and got to witness your majesty in real time, several times! The pain has subsided, dear brotha. Rest Well. 🙏🏽💜🕊🎶🎤🎹🎸🎧

Next Friday, October 24th, I’m so excited to present The Tao of Abbey Lincoln at Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn! As part of my NYFA Women’s Fund Grant, I will be presenting my compositions culled from the unpublished poetry and prose of Abbey Lincoln! I will be sharing the stage with synth genius, composer, educator and collaborator LaFrae Sci on this special evening. Although Abbey is best known as a jazz vocalist and songwriter, I am taking Ms. Lincoln into the future by presenting her spirit through the lens of electronic music. 🛸🛸🛸 I’m so excited to share this work and I can’t think of a better place than Weeksville to do it! This event is FREE for the People with RSVP. Can’t wait to see you!

As mentioned above, Tuesday (10/14) would have been Greg’s 68th B’earthday. In that spirit, TOMORROW, Sunday, October 19th beginning at Noon, we are celebrating Gregory Stephen “Ionman” Tate Day at St. Nicholas Park with music by the Burnt Sugar Arkesta (w/special guests) and an unveiling of a new piece of public artwork by Brett Cook entitled “Greg Tate Horus in Harlem.” As we head into the New Moon in Libra, let’s celebrate our dear brotha Greg with an energy of love in community with family and friends. See you in Harlem! 🎉🎉🎉

✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

Friday, October 24th
The Tao of Abbey Lincoln
Feat. Shelley Nicole & LaFrae Sci
@ Weeksville Heritage Center
185 Buffalo Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11213
Doors @ 6pm / Show @ 6:30pm
FREE for the People w/RSVP
For Tix & More Info: www.TAOL.eventbrite.com 
(Donations Welcome)

Sunday, October 19th
Gregory Stephen “Ionman” Tate Day
@ St. Nicholas Park (James Baldwin Lawn)
St. Nicholas Ave bw 133rd & 135th sts.
New York, NY 
12pm-5pm / FREE for the People
(2 Sets by Burnt Sugar with Special Guests) & Unveiling/Dedication of Brett Cook’s “Greg Tate Horus in Harlem.”)
FREE for the People
Artist Brett Cook on IG 
www.burntsugarindex.com 

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Greetings Fam!

Fall, my favorite season, is officially here! As many of you know, I am an autumn baby so the crisp air and the turning leaves bring me joy. As we move closer to the day I was born I have a couple of exciting announcements!

First, on Tuesday, Oct. 7th & Wednesday, Oct. 8th, Marque Gilmore Tha Inna-Most presents the Inna-Shapeshifter Sessions at Shapeshifter Lab in Brooklyn. This is part of the continuing celebration of the Black Rock Coalition’s 40th Anniversary. I will be joining the fun on Night 2 (Oct. 8th) of this event which will also feature amazing folx including Mikel Banks, Felice Rosser, Shin-Dygg, Jerome Jordan, Bruce Mack, Corey Glover and more! Come one night or both, but either way come through!

Then on October 24th I’m so excited to bring The Tao of Abbey Lincoln to Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn! I will be presenting my compositions culled from the unpublished poetry and prose of Abbey Lincoln! I will be sharing the stage with synth genius, composer, educator and collaborator LaFrae Sci on this special evening. Although Abbey is best known as a jazz vocalist and songwriter, I am taking Ms. Lincoln into the future by showcasing her indelible spirit through the lens of electronic music. I’m so excited to share this work and I can’t think of a better place than Weeksville to do it!

Finally, one week ago today we lost one of the greatest to walk this earth. A Warrior. A Freedom Fighter. A Black Woman. A Truth Teller. Mama Assata Olugbala Shakur transitioned to the high honor of ancestor on September 25th. While we have lost a great woman here on earth, we now have an even greater ancestor working for us to ensure that the victory is won. I can’t remember how Assata came into my life. Did I see her book on my mother’s bookshelf as a child? Did I find her in college as so many of us did? Was she put in my hand as I researched and searched for members of the Black Panther Party in my early days in New York? I don’t remember, but I do know that her story, her spirit has always been with me. When this government tried to bring her back to the U.S. we shouted “Hands off Assata!” and she remained untouched. She was covered by the Spirit and was never forced back to these blood stained shores. She escaped this place to be a free woman and now she is truly free. Rise in Power dear Sister/Mama Assata. Asé O! ✊🏽🕊💜

As always, Thank You to all of my new paid and free subscribers. I know we are in some wild times, but art and love are the healing force. So thank you for your support and keep supporting artists who are moving in truth, joy, resistance and most of all LOVE! See you at the shows! 🙏🏽💜

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Tuesday Oct. 7th & Wednesday Oct. 8th
Marque Gilmore Tha Inna-Most Presents: Inna-Shapeshifter Sessions
@ Shapeshifter Lab
Feat. Shelley Nicole, Mikel Banks, Felice Rosser, Shin-Dygg, Jerome Jordan, Bruce Mack, Corey Glover and more!
837 Union Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Doors @ 7pm / Two Sets at 7:30pm & 8:45pm (Pay once for both shows!)
Day 1: $25 (BRC Members $20) 
Day 2: $35 (BRC Members $30) 
Two Day Combo: $45 (BRC Members $40) 
For more info: www.shapeshifterplus.org 

Friday, October 24th
The Tao of Abbey Lincoln
Feat. Shelley Nicole & LaFrae Sci
@ Weeksville Heritage Center
185 Buffalo Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11213
Doors @ 6pm / Show @ 6:30pm
FREE for the People w/RSVP
For Tix & More Info: www.toal.eventbrite.com (Donations Welcome)

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Greetings Fam,

Happy Full Moon-ish in Pisces. Yes I missed the actual day, but today is 9-9-9! Meaning it’s the 9th day or the 9th month in a year of 9 (2+0+2+5=9)! So it’s also an auspicious day. Check the vibes!

Thank you all who came out to see me and Lafrae at the Rockaway Film Festival and at Weeksville. Big love to Nona Hendryx for inviting us to be part of such an amazing event that allowed us to rock our electronics with a string quartet! We had a blast in both spots! More from us coming soon, soon! It’s an exciting time! Also thank you to everyone who came out to support Miss Olithea on Governors Island. That night was beyond magical. Look out for Miss Olithea bringing her excellence to a venue near you and show your love!

This Saturday I’ll be rockin’ with my Black Rock Coalition fam at Lincoln Center Atrium as we celebrate 40 Years of the BRC with Rock ‘n’ Roll Reparations Live! We will be sharing songs from the various Rock N’ Roll Reparations compilations. We can’t wait to see you in the building!

There will be a few more show announcements to share as we begin to wind down 2025. What a year it has been! Whew! I’ll have a new essay for you on the New Moon in Virgo on the 21st, which will also mark the official beginning of fall, my favorite season!

Have a great rest of the week everyone and I’ll see you on Saturday!

Saturday September 13th
The Black Rock Coalition Presents:
BRC 40: Rock ‘n’ Roll Reparations Live
@ Lincoln Center Atrium
1887 Broadway
New York, NY
Feat: Shelley Nicole, Sophia Ramos, Honeychild Coleman, Kelsey Warren, Bruce Mack, V. Jeffrey Smith and more!
7:30pm/FREE for the people!
For more info: www.lincolncenter.org/BRC40 

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Greetings Fam!

As we move closer to the energy of the New Moon in Virgo (🌑♍️) on Friday there are some great things happening!

Tonight, August 20th, I’ll be doing my thing with LaFrae Sci aka Frae-Frae at the Rockaway Film Festival! We will be opening tonight's event with some sonic sounds from my Tao of Abbey Lincoln project and some new jams that we are working on. This event has now been moved indoors so come join us!

Tomorrow, Thursday, August 21st, I’m super excited to present “The ‘Ello Gov’na Future Arts Series” on Governors Island featuring Miss Olithea! The event is now FREE w/ RSVP at a secret location on the Island, so you MUST RSVP to know where to go. Miss Olithea is a vocalist, songwriter, a genius on the electronics and my Burnt Sugar sista! So come out to the Island and let’s make it a beautiful day! You can listen to and purchase her new project Fragments Vol. 1 on Bandcamp.

nally on Friday, August 22nd, I’m closing the week back with my sista LaFrae at Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn for the New Black Visionaries Closing Ceremony presented by Nona Hendryx! You know this is gonna be a good time!

All of these events are going to be Sonic Gold! Come to one or come to all, but no matter what you do, come through! I can’t wait to see you in Queens, on Governors Island and in Brooklyn! The summer is still summering. Let’s go!

Wednesday August 20th
Paper Trails, Chain Reactions (short films)
Feat. music by Blk.wav feat. Frae-Frae & Shelley Nicole 
@ The Rockaway Film Festival
Arverne Cinema (now inside)
72-02 Gouverneur Ave
Arverne, NY 11692
Music @ 7pm / Films @ 8pm / $10
For tix, directions and more information www.rockawayfilmfestival.org 

Thursday August 21st
Red Butterfly Music Presents:
The ‘Ello Gov’na Future Arts Series feat. Miss Olithea
@ Governors Island (Secret Location)
Doors @ 5pm / Show @ 7pm / Last boat leave the Island at 10:30pm
FREE w/RSVP
For tix and location information www.eventbrite.com 

Friday August 22nd
Exhibition Closing: New Black Visionaries: Weeksville Then and Now: Presented by Nona Hendryx, also feat. Shelley Nicole & LaFrae Sci of Black Sound Salon
@ Weeksville Heritage Center
158 Buffalo Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 
Doors @ 6pm / Music @ 6:30-7:30pm
Free for the People!
For more information www.weeksvillesociety.org 

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Greetings Fam!

I am excited to launch the 'Ello Gov'na Future Arts Series on Governors Island presented by Red Butterfly Music! We are kicking things off on Thursday August 21st with a very special performance by the incomparable, the magnetic, Miss Olithea! She is a vocalist, songwriter, a genius on the electronics and my Burnt Sugar sista! The event is at a secret location on the Island so when you purchase your ticket, you will receive the location! Come experience the voice that is Miss. Olithea! Don’t miss out! Get your tix NOW!

Doors at 5pm / Show at 7pm / Last ferry off the Island is at 10:30pm. Her latest release Fragments Vol. 1 is out now! Purchase her music on Bandcamp, stream on Spotify or wherever you listen to music! We can't wait to see you at the show!!

Thursday August 21st
Red Butterfly Music Presents:
The ‘Ello Gov’na Future Arts Series feat. Miss Olithea
@ Governors Island (Secret Location)
Doors @ 5pm / Show @ 7pm / Last boat leave the Island at 10:30pm
For tix and location information www.eventbrite.com 

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Greetings Fam!

I am back from the woods! It was so great to be back on The Land in Michigan and to do a proper debut of “The Tao of Abbey Lincoln.” It felt like a homecoming in so many ways. Though much has changed in the 10 years since I was last there, The Land remains the same. I feel renewed and ready to go! I can’t wait to share “The Tao” with you all closer to home. Soon, soon!

August is suddenly packed! This week I’m jumping right back onto the stage with my Burnt Sugar Arkestra family as we support our brotha Vernon Reid in residence at The Stone NYC August 6th-9th. Each night will be something different and there will be a few special guests including ambient music pioneer Laraaji! So pick one night or all four and join us at The Stone!

I’m super excited to share that I’m launching the “The ‘Ello Gov’na Future Arts Series” on Governors Island! I’m kicking off the series on Thursday, August 21st with a live performance by my girl Miss Olithea! The event is at a secret location on the Island so when you get your ticket you get the location! Miss Olithea is a vocalist, songwriter, a genius on the electronics and my Burnt Sugar sista! So come through and be a part of this new series. ‘Ello Gov’na! More artist announcements coming soon!

Also this month, Aug. 20th, Blk.wav feat. Frae-Frae and Shelley Nicole will be playing at the Rockaway Film Festival, on the 22nd I’ll be playing with LaFrae again at the New Black Visionaries Closing Ceremony with Nona Hendryx!

Finally, I’m back with a new essay! I started thinking a lot about Stockholm Syndrome around when our NYC Democratic Primary was happening and it also happens to be the name of the new Fishbone album that is out. So this week we’re getting into all of that! Remember you can read or listen to the essay on the Substack App.

We are in the middle of a moon cycle as it is waxing toward full. It’s a busy week so I’m posting now. I hope this Mercury in Retrograde has allowed you to slow down and gently receive the unexpected. Looking forward to seeing you all at the shows!

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Wednesday-Saturday, August 6th-9th
Vernon Reid in Residence w/ Burnt Sugar Arkestra Chamber
@ The Stone (Located in The New School Glass Box Theater)
55 W 13th Street
New York, NY 
8:30pm/$30 for each night (CASH ONLY at the door/Yes you have to show up to get a ticket)
For Tix and more info on each night’s program: www.thestonenyc.com 

Wednesday August 20th
Paper Trails, Chain Reactions (short films)
Feat. music by Blk.wav feat. Frae-Frae & Shelley Nicole 
@ The Rockaway Film Festival
Arverne Cinema (outside)
72-02 Gouverneur Ave
Arverne, NY 11692 (The Rockaways)
Music @ 7pm / Films @ 8pm / $10
For tix, directions and more information www.rockawayfilmfestival.org 

Thursday August 21st
Red Butterfly Music Presents (That's me!):
The ‘Ello Gov’na Future Arts Series feat. Miss Olithea
@ Governors Island (Secret Location)
Doors @ 5pm / Show @ 7pm / Last boat leave the Island at 10:30pm
$20
For tix and location information www.eventbrite.com 

Friday August 22nd
Exhibition Closing: New Black Visionaries: Weeksville Then and Now w/Nona Hendryx, also feat. Shelley Nicole & LaFrae Sci of Black Sound Salon
@ Weeksville Heritage Center
158 Buffalo Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 
Doors @ 6pm / Music @ 6:30-7:30pm
Free for the People!
For more information www.weeksvillesociety.org 

Stockholm Syndrome

Right before Zohran Mamdani won the democratic mayoral nomination in New York City I started thinking about the phenomenon known as Stockholm Syndrome because I wasn’t totally sure he was gonna win it and I thought it might be because many of us in NYC are under a spell. I know that sounds dramatic, but the more I look at this city, this nation, this world, the more I think many of us are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. I know some of you may be wondering how or why I am conflating the possible outcome of the New York City mayoral race with Stockholm Syndrome or in this case what I would also call collective amnesia; well…

Before Mr. Mamdani won the primary it wasn’t clear what would happen. After Homey D. Clown aka NYC Mayor Eric Adams suddenly became an Independent so that he wouldn’t have to compete in the primary, Andrew Cuomo decided to throw his “jimmy” hat (pun intended) into the ring in hopes of becoming the democratic nominee. So in very American fashion, the guy who after being charged with sexual harassment, the guy who had to step down as governor of New York, and then sought to subpoena one of his accusers gynecological records for his defense; was back in the race poised to possibly win. Sound like someone else we know who is currently gutting the country? Then there is the Cuomo legacy and name recognition and Islamophobia aimed at Mamdani and, and, and… there was no telling what might happen on election night. Even with #NoCuomo circulating fast, some folks with clout will try and pull a fast one on the people at any given moment. So before election day, I started thinking about how we sympathize with our abusers and sometimes willingly invite them in. To my relief and somewhat surprise Zohran won, but along the way I also saw some folks in my socials, who I know well, who were not so keen on him winning for some pretty sad and shocking reasons and that made me start thinking about how the collective “we” may be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome in a real way.

So what exactly is Stockholm Syndrome?

Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response. It occurs when hostages or abuse victims bond with their captors or abusers. This psychological connection develops over the course of the days, weeks, months, or even years of captivity or abuse.

Stockholm Syndrome can arise in (just to name a few instances):

• Abusive relationships (of all kinds)

• Sex Trafficking

• Sports Coaching

And I’m going to add based on Fishbone’s latest album and dare I say the Diddy and R. Kelly trials…

• The Music Industry/Band Culture

Fishbone’s latest album takes the name of this affliction, Stockholm Syndrome. While this is not an album review, I will say that this latest project is amazing and dare I say one of their best. The lyrics speak directly to the band's past inner conflicts and to this nation's current woes.

Last November I happened to be in Oakland at the same time that Fishbone was rehearsing for their holiday tour and putting the finishing touches on this latest project. JS Williams, my Burnt Sugar Arkestra bandmate, is now on trumpet in Fishbone so I was one of the lucky few to get an invitation. As I sat in the rehearsal room next to W. Kamau Bell, we both knew we were witnessing something special. Kamau has been a die hard fan since the beginning, I on the other hand came to know the band through my friend Mechelle, yes that Mechelle, who was also a die hard from jump.

I first saw Fishbone with Mechelle in Columbus, OH at Newport Music Hall, a club right across the street from The Ohio State University campus where I was attending college. Given the timeframe I’m gonna guess it was in support of their second album, The Reality of My Surroundings (1991). I didn’t know any Fishbone songs at that time, but Mechelle insisted that we go. I just remember seeing this WILD band of young black men who didn’t give a damn about nuthin! They rocked SO HARD while Angelo did whatever the fuck he wanted to do! He leaned over the crowd, he stage dived, he crowd surfed, he moshed, he ran around the stage and did all of it while singing in key! He played the sax and I don’t remember if he was playing the theremin at that time but there was so much going on that I was mesmerized and simultaneously scared to be anywhere near the front of that stage cuz that mosh pit was no place for amateurs. I stood in the back and couldn’t believe my eyes. By this time I was already a fan of Living Colour and my girl Kistyn had put me on to The Family Stand, but Fishbone was next level. [It still amazes me that I now know and have played with most of the members of all these bands! Wow!]

I wouldn’t see Fishbone again until 2001. I had the fortune to catch them at the iconic New York City rock club, Wetlands. By this time I had my own band and went to the show with my guitarist, Jerome Jordan. Wetlands was almost too small not to be a little bit in the fray. So while I was able to stay out of the mosh pit, I definitely had to be mindful to not get kicked in the face by someone being hoisted up to crowd surf at any moment. New York City and Fishbone were on FIRE that night and Angelo’s theremin was definitely in effect. In fact it was after that show that I added theremin to my band (yes, I played it) for a hot minute. That night was electric! Angelo Moore, Norwood Fisher, Walter Kirby aka Dirty Walt, Spacey T and John Steward were all in the building, but there was no Chris Dowd, Kendall Jones or Philip “Fish” Fisher who by that time had all been long gone from the band.

I wouldn’t see the band again until 2016 at Afropunk in Brooklyn. I happened to be there that year in my own capacity doing sound healing in a tent (believe it or not) with Gina Breedlove. Who would have ever thought deep healing could take place behind the backdrop of Marshall stacks, but it did! Anyway, that year some miracle worker was able to get Living Colour, Fishbone and Bad Brains on the same bill with a surprise appearance by George Clinton! I couldn’t believe I was actually there to witness an older, yet no less nimble, Angelo Moore, crowd surfing and still singing in perfect pitch! Breaking a sweat cuz it was summer in Brooklyn, but never losing his breath! That man is truly a unicorn.

The infighting in Fishbone was no secret. They even talked about it in their 2010 documentary Everyday Sunshine named after the hit single from their sophomore album. I would see the band a few more times between 2016 and 2024 and in spite of my long breaks between seeing the band and the many lineup changes, the three things that remained the same were Angelo Moore, Dirty Walt and Norwood Fisher; that is until 2024 when the band had what some believe to be their biggest and possibly final fallout to date with Walt and Norwood calling it…well…sort of quits? [Note: There are at least 3 or 4 sides to this story and I’m just telling one.] But now that the dust has settled and Chris Dowd (who returned in 2018), Spacey T (who returned in 2024), and new members JS Williams, Jimi Jones and Hasaan Hurd are now on board with the FOREVER Angelo Moore; this lineup seems more like a resurrection or better yet, a reclamation.

On May 25th, W. Kamau Bell interviewed Fishbone at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. When speaking of the original lineup of the band, Angelo boldly interjects, “The original lineup, that’s what the Stockholm Syndrome is all about!” The band laughs, to which Chris replies in a sly voice, “But wait, there’s more.” Angelo continues, “There was a lot of turmoil going on, [actually] that’s kind of an understatement. But it was kind of beautiful because it brought us [Chris and Angelo] back together, the music did, and it [made] our friendship stronger and for that I’m grateful.” But then Angelo gets a little more serious saying, “You know Stockholm Syndrome is praising your captors, unfortunately, but thinking of that time it was the only thing that could best describe the reason and the outcome.”

Clearly Angelo and Chris, who wrote this whole project, have done some inner work or they let the music work them. Either way, it’s clearly a clearing. But what of this thing that we are facing as a society? The small or large bit of Stockholm Syndrome that in some form or fashion lives in so many of us. Not sure what I mean?

There is a TargetFast or boycott going on right now by a large section of African- American, LGBTQ+ folx and others who are standing in solidarity that has clearly left Target taking a financial hit. Anyone who knows anything about boycotts knows that to make an impact it takes more than just a few months and everyone does not have to be on board in order for it to work, but there does need a steadfast core group. Well on July 3rd, Target decided that it was going to make a $300,000 “donation” to the National Baptist Convention (NBC), which is a Black organization and guess what? The NBC took it, going directly against the call to action by Pastor Jamal Bryant who initiated the TargetFast during the Lenten season and who is also, wait for it, a Baptist minister! In a moment when we are supposed to be standing in solidarity, the NBC took what amounted to crumbs from a multi-billion dollar corporation and for what? To try and sway Black folx back to Target? Crumbs. Essentially siding with a corporation that clearly cares nothing about Black and other so-called minorities. Crumbs. Why are we always trying to make Big Mama’s good pound cake out of crumbs?! When are we gonna learn, as Audre Lorde told us, “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master's house.” But some of us want to live in that house so bad. Some folx even believe that the house was built for us! Stockholm Syndrome.

Don’t get me started on the folx that supported Diddy before, during and after his trial after seeing all types of evidence of his madness and let us not forget the R. Kelly supporters. In a nutshell I think this all circles back to a bit of Stockholm Syndrome in those folx. No Diddy and R. Kelly may not have been abusing all of their supporters directly, but what is it saying about those who stand in solidarity with abusers? Those men who call in their manhood or women standing on being a “ride or die” as a reason for support? In my humble opinion they are praising the captors of their minds. Stockholm Syndrome.

To get out from under the snares of your oppressor and not become them in the process of your quest for freedom takes a concentrated and concerted effort, and oftentimes we fall short, conflating freedom with power over. I think it is best summed up in this passage from “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” by Paulo Freire. (Chapter 1, p. 45) He says:

“But almost always, during the initial stage of the struggle, the oppressed, instead of striving for liberation, tend themselves to become oppressors, or ‘sub-opressors.’ The very structure of their thought has been conditioned by the contradictions of the concrete, existential situation by which they were shaped. Their ideal is to be men; but for them, to be men is to be oppressors. This is their model of humanity.”

Don’t get me wrong, I know some absolutely beautiful men, but we rarely talk about the indoctrination that many of our boys and young men receive from those close to them who are abusers and oppressors, that consciously or unconsciously lead boys and young men to become abusers and oppressors in the name of “manhood.” We rarely talk about how men, especially Black men, are often not given the freedom to be their true, whole and authentic selves. We ask men to press down their feelings and then wonder why they blow up, or in the case of white men, shoot up, post offices, school rooms, college campuses, Black churches, nail salons, concert venues and movie theaters.

So how do we heal? How do we look at what we have been co-signing in our lives that doesn’t work and move through to the other side? For me, the only way through has been forgiveness first for myself because if you can forgive yourself first, the rest is, at least a bit, easier.

In the Fishbone, Grammy Museum interview, Angelo spoke about how at one point the band started to feel like “Fishbone penitentiary” to him. It is now clear to him that the music was good, they had fun times and great shows, but there was lots of dysfunction in the family.

Angelo goes on to say of the old days, “After a while you kind of feel restrictions and bars. A lot of misunderstanding and misinterpretation, jealousy, ego, pride, all that old shit that tears families and brotherhoods down. But through all the different civilizations of Fishbone I still couldn’t help but thank them; I had to thank ‘em for the music that came through. Whatever demon was sitting on our shoulder at the time or muthafuckas was retarded for a minute or maybe some Jim Crow shit took over or crabs in a muthafukin’ barrel; the music that came out even from the stress and the abuse and the misunderstanding and all of that, the music that came from a lot of that was some good ass music that would grab you by the short and curlies and sometimes that’s what you need to hear.”

Angelo continues, “Even though I was praising my captors because they helped us make all the music; we got these guys [the new band members] here to translate what we’ve done in the past and in the present now for the Fishbone legacy to continue forward. It’s like the album, the new lineup, it’s like your wife went into the hospital and came out with some brand new titties, she’s got a turbo booster in her ass now, she’s got some jets on her fuckin’ heels and shit, she’s got lasers and shit shooting out. We got the six-million-dollar Fishbone now. Motor-booty and all that shit. We were able to translate the pain and the joy and everything in between onto the record.”

Spacey T chimes in, “Hopefully with this record, we are letting go of all that baggage to move forward. You know what I’m saying?”

“And we’re doing it,” affirms Angelo. “We’re doing it now!”

Consider the things that are holding you captive and do your best to release those things now. Fear? Doubt? Worry? Are they actually serving you? No? Then release it now. The chains of relationships that don't serve you anymore, people who have treated you poorly or without regard? Release them now. We all have a song to sing so to speak. Locate what is holding you back and release it now. I understand that your captors, our captors have made it look really easy and sometimes even sexy to be on their side, but it’s time to stop trying to make cake out of crumbs just cuz our ancestors had to do it. They want better for us! It’s time to pick up your sword and shield and fight for your life. Remember who you are. Bless the past, bless it for the lessons (that’s what Chris and Angelo seem to have done) and release what isn’t serving you in an effort to create a world that is open, safe, beautiful, compassionate, prosperous, full and loving for you and all of us NOW!

Check out Fishbone’s latest album Stockholm Syndrome at www.fishbone.net. My favorite trax? I honestly love the whole project, but I’ll name four (😂). “Suckered by Sabotage,” “Secret Police,” "Adolescent Regressive Behavior,” and “Living In the Upside Down.” Support independent artists by actually purchasing the music! You can purchase vinyl and CDs on their site, digital download on Fishbone Bandcamp, and streaming on all platforms, but remember streaming ain’t paying folx so make a purchase if you can.

PS: New York City I want to see you at the polls in November voting for your life! Let us not have collective amnesia. Remember. #NoAdams #NoCuomo

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