Melvin Van Peebles was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the early 2020s. His feature film debut, The Story of a Three-Day Pass (1967), was based on his own French-language novel La Permission and was shot in France, as it was difficult for a black American director to get work at the time. The film won an award at the San Francisco International Film Festival which gained him the interest of Hollywood studios, leading to his American feature debut Watermelon Man, in 1970. Eschewing further overtures from Hollywood, he used the successes he had so far to bankroll his work as an independent filmmaker.
Watermelon Man is a 1970 American comedy film directed by Melvin Van Peebles and starring Godfrey Cambridge, Estelle Parsons, Howard Caine, D'Urville Martin, Kay Kimberley, Mantan Moreland, and Erin Moran. Written by Herman Raucher, it tells the story of an extremely bigoted 1960s-era white insurance salesman named Jeff Gerber, who wakes up one morning to find that he has become black. The premise for the film was inspired by Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, and by John Howard Griffin's autobiographical Black Like Me.
Don't Play Us Cheap is a 1973 American musical comedy film based on the 1970 musical of the same name. The musical was written, produced, scored, edited and directed by Melvin Van Peebles. Both the original stage musical and the film adaptation are based on Van Peebles' 1967 French-language novel La fête à Harlem (1967).
What the...You Mean I Can't Sing?! is the fourth studio album by Melvin Van Peebles. Released in 1974, this album marks the first traditional music effort by Van Peebles. Previously, Van Peebles released the experimental spoken word albums Brer Soul, Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death and As Serious as a Heart-Attack.
Ghetto Gothic is the fifth studio album by Melvin Van Peebles. Released in 1995, this album marks the second traditional music effort by Van Peebles, after What the....You Mean I Can't Sing?! Previously, Van Peebles released the experimental spoken word albums Brer Soul, Ain't Supposed To Die a Natural Death and As Serious as a Heart-Attack.
Brer Soul is the debut studio album of Melvin Van Peebles. Released in 1968, the album introduced Van Peebles as a recording artist, following his work as an independent filmmaker, playwright and novelist. It is notable for its use of sprechgesang, a vocal style which lies between speaking and singing.
Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death (Tunes from Blackness) is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Melvin Van Peebles. The musical contains some material also on three of Van Peebles' albums, Brer Soul, Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death and As Serious as a Heart-Attack, some of which were yet to come out.
West Side Story is the soundtrack album to the 1961 film West Side Story, featuring music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Released in 1961, the soundtrack spent 54 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's stereo albums charts, giving it the longest run at No. 1 of any album in history, although some lists instead credit Michael Jackson's Thriller, on the grounds that this run for West Side Story was on a chart for stereo albums only at a time when many albums were recorded in mono. It did also spend 6 weeks at the top of the Billboard chart for mono albums. In 1962, it won a Grammy award for "Best Sound Track Album – Original Cast". In the United States, it was one of the best-selling albums of the 1960s, certifying three times platinum by the RIAA on November 21, 1986.
"The Apple Stretching" is a song by American recording artist Grace Jones, released as a single in 1982.
"Whatever You Like" is a song by the American rapper T.I., released as the lead single from his sixth studio album, Paper Trail (2008). The song was written by T.I. and David Siegel, alongside the song's producer Jim Jonsin. "Whatever You Like" served as the third single from Paper Trail in the United Kingdom with a release date of June 1, 2009.
Jermaine Anthony Preyan, better known by his stage name Mack Maine, is an American record executive, songwriter, and rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was appointed as the president of hometown native Lil Wayne's record label Young Money Entertainment in 2009, having known the rapper since childhood. Preyan is also known as a co-writer on many of Wayne's singles, including "How to Love", "Got Money", "No Worries" and "It's Good", among others. Furthermore, he has co-written severally for other artists or Wayne's collaborators, often in tandem with record producer Ke'noe; his credits include "Dreams and Nightmares" by Meek Mill and "So Sophisticated" by Rick Ross.
"How to Love" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne, released as the third single from his ninth studio album, Tha Carter IV. The song features production from Drum Up for Drum Up Digital with Noel "Detail" Fisher and was released as a digital download on June 13, 2011. It was later released to urban contemporary radio stations on June 24, 2011. The song also makes it his first entry on hot adult contemporary stations, as CJFM-FM Montreal began playing it a month later after the single's release. It peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it his third highest peak on the chart as the primary artist. Lil Wayne performed the song at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, and it received a nomination for "Best Video with a Message" at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards.
"Moist" Paula Henderson is a New York City based baritone saxophone player. When not touring internationally, she performs weekly in NYC with Reverend Vince Anderson and his Love Choir at Union Pool. Since 2002 she has been a member of Burnt Sugar Arkestra founded by Greg Tate. She was a member of Melvin Van Peebles' group Wid Laxative.
"Love, That's America" is a song written by Melvin Van Peebles in 1970 for his film Watermelon Man. He re-recorded it for his 1971 album As Serious as a Heart-Attack. In 2011, the song became associated with the Occupy Wall Street movement due to being used on videos featuring footage from the movement.
LaFrae Olivia Sci is a rock, jazz, and session drummer. She is also a composer, arranger, and bandleader who was musical director for Sandra Bernhard's Broadway musical Everything Bad and Beautiful. She participated in the jazz ambassadors program.
"Karate Chop" is a song by American rapper Future from his second studio album Honest. The song was produced by Metro Boomin and originally had a feature from rapper Casino. However, the remix features fellow American rapper Lil Wayne. The remix was released as the lead single of the album on February 19, 2013. It debuted at #100 on the Billboard Hot 100 and since then has peaked at #82.
"Rich As Fuck" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Lil Wayne, sent to urban radio on April 9, 2013, as the third and final single from his tenth studio album, I Am Not a Human Being II (2013). The song, produced by T-Minus and Nikhil Seetharam, features a guest appearance from fellow rapper 2 Chainz. The song has since peaked at number 38 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at number 11 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
"Beware" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Big Sean taken from his second studio album Hall of Fame (2013). "Beware" was released on June 25, 2013, as the album's third single, through GOOD and Def Jam. The song was written by Sean Anderson, Dwayne Carter, Dwane Weir II, and Alexander Izquierdo, while production was handled by frequent collaborator Key Wane and Mike Dean and features guest appearances from rapper Lil Wayne and singer Jhené Aiko.
Anderson Henderson White is a New York City-based trio featuring Reverend Vince Anderson, Paula Henderson of Burnt Sugar and Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative, and Jim White of the Dirty Three. Formed in June 2013, their debut performance was described as "an electrifying, psychedelic debut". They described their music as 'free country'. They have performed at shows with Burnt Sugar.
Melvin Van Peebles was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. Over his career he recorded several albums with various musicians, and also recorded soundtracks.
