Go-go is a subgenre of funk music with an emphasis on specific rhythmic patterns, and live audience call and response.
Charles Louis Brown was an American guitarist, bandleader and singer known as "The Godfather of Go-Go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed around the Washington, D.C., area in the mid-1970s. While its musical classification, influences, and origins are debated, Brown is regarded as the fundamental force behind the creation of go-go music.
Southwest is the southwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located south of the National Mall and west of South Capitol Street. It is the smallest quadrant of the city, and contains a small number of named neighborhoods and districts, including Bellevue, Southwest Federal Center, the Southwest Waterfront, Buzzard Point, and the military installation known as Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling.
Slam is a 1998 American independent drama film directed, co-written and co-produced by Marc Levin and starring and co-written by Saul Williams and Sonja Sohn. It tells the story of a young African-American man whose talent for poetry is hampered by his social background.
Taraji Penda Henson is an American actress. She has received several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Tony Award and four Primetime Emmy Awards.
Kingman Park is a residential neighborhood in the Northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C., the United States capital city. Kingman Park's boundaries are 15th Street NE to the west; C Street SE to the south; Benning Road to the north; and Anacostia Park to the east. The neighborhood is composed primarily of two-story brick rowhouses. Kingman Park is named after Brigadier General Dan Christie Kingman, the former head of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Barney Circle is a small residential neighborhood located between the west bank of the Anacostia River and the eastern edge of Capitol Hill in southeast Washington, D.C., in the United States. The neighborhood is characterized by its sense of community, activism, walkability, and historic feel. The neighborhood's name derives from the eponymous former traffic circle Pennsylvania Avenue SE just before it crosses the John Philip Sousa Bridge over the Anacostia. The traffic circle is named for Commodore Joshua Barney, Commander of the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla in the War of 1812.
Rare Essence is a Washington, D.C.-based go-go band formed in 1976. Rare Essence has been amongst the most prominent musicians of the D.C. music scene, producing numerous hit songs in the local D.C. market and several hits nationwide, including the charting hit "Work the Walls".
The Junk Yard Band is a Washington, D.C based go-go band, founded in the early 1980s by children playing on improvised instruments. They are best known for their songs- "Sardines" and "The Word."
Good to Go is a 1986 crime thriller film written and directed by Blaine Novak, and stars Art Garfunkel as a beat journalist pursuing a murder investigation, with the Washington, D.C. go-go-scene in the backdrop.
Talk to Me is a 2007 biographical film directed by Kasi Lemmons and starring Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Taraji P. Henson, Cedric the Entertainer, and Mike Epps. It is about Washington, D.C. radio personality Ralph "Petey" Greene, an ex-con who became a popular talk show host and community activist, and Dewey Hughes, his friend and manager. The film spans the time period May 1966 to January 1984, ending with Greene's memorial service.
Loretha "Cookie" Lyon is a fictional character from the American musical drama Empire on Fox. Portrayed by Taraji P. Henson, Cookie is one of the main characters within the series, the queen bee and the wife of former drug dealer turned hip-hop mogul, Lucious Lyon who gets released from prison and strikes out to lay claim to half of their multimillion-dollar record label, which was initially funded by her drug money.
Any Other Way To Go? is a live album released in 1987 by the Washington, D.C.-based go-go band Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers. The album was recorded live at the Crystal Skate in Temple Hills, Maryland. The album consists go-go renditions of classic jazz and swing songs performed with a go-go beat.
Straight Up Go-Go is a 1992 documentary film directed by Shuaib Muhammed Kedar and Shuaib Mitchell. The documentary was first broadcast on March 11, 1992, on WHUT-TV.
The Beat: Go-Go's Fusion of Funk and Hip-Hop is a 2001 book written by Kip Lornell and Charles C. Stephenson, Jr. In 2009, an updated second edition of the book was published and retitled The Beat! Go-Go Music from Washington, D.C.
Lanard "D.C. Scorpio" Thompson is a Washington, D.C.-based hip-hop recording artist. He is best known for the singles "Stone Cold Hustler", "Beam Me Up, Scotty", and "Stone Cold Hustler II". D.C. Scorpio is considered to be a pioneer in the D.C. hip-hop scene, and is known for infusing go-go music and culture into his songs. He also starred in the 1998 independent film Streetwise.
"Stone Cold Hustler" is the debut single released in 1987 by the Washington, D.C.-based hip-hop artist D.C. Scorpio. The song was performed live at Go Go Live at the Capital Centre in 1987, and the single was released thereafter. The song also appears on the 1988 compilation album The Go Go Posse.
The Legend of Cool "Disco" Dan is a 2013 American documentary film written and directed by Joseph Pattisall. The film was released on April 15, 2013 in conjunction with the release of the book Pump Me Up: DC Subculture in the 1980s. The documentary was narrated by Washington, D.C.-native Henry Rollins. The Legend of Cool "Disco" Dan provides a documentation of Washington, D.C. during the 1970s and 1980s from the perspective of Cool "Disco" Dan, and blends commentary by local Washingtonians combined with archival footage, forming a comprehensive portrait of this time period.
What Men Want is a 2019 American romantic comedy film directed by Adam Shankman and starring Taraji P. Henson, Aldis Hodge, Josh Brener, Erykah Badu, Richard Roundtree and Tracy Morgan. The film is a loose remake of the 2000 film What Women Want. The plot follows a woman who – after drinking a potent concoction given by a shaman – gains the ability to hear men's inner thoughts. The screenplay was written by Jas Waters and Tina Gordon Chism.
The Color Purple is a 2023 American musical period drama film directed by Blitz Bazawule. Marcus Gardley's screenplay is based on the stage musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It is the second film adaptation of the novel, following the 1985 film directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Spielberg and Quincy Jones. Spielberg and Jones return as producers for the 2023 film, along with its Broadway producers Scott Sanders and Oprah Winfrey, the latter of whom also starred in the 1985 film.
