Herbert Jeffrey Hancock is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the post-bop sound. In the 1970s, Hancock experimented with jazz fusion, funk, and electro styles, using a wide array of synthesizers and electronics. It was during this period that he released perhaps his best-known and most influential album, Head Hunters.
Anthony L. Ray, better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot or his CB handle Prime Minista, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 1992 hit song "Baby Got Back", which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor.
Lana Michele Moorer, better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, MC Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first female rapper to release a full solo album with 1988's critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock. The album spawned the singles "10% Dis" and "Paper Thin". In 1989, she joined the supergroup Stop the Violence Movement, and appeared on the single "Self Destruction", which was the inaugural number-one single on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart.
A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985, originally composed of rapper and main producer Q-Tip, rapper Phife Dawg, DJ and co-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and rapper Jarobi White. The group is regarded as a pioneer of alternative hip hop and merging jazz with hip hop, influencing numerous hip hop and R&B musicians.
Bruce L. Cohen is a film, television, and theater producer. He is best known for his production of the Academy Award nominated films Milk, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Beauty, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Randall Park is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Louis Huang in the ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat (2015–2020), for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in 2016.
Juno is a 2007 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Elliot Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting her unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney and J. K. Simmons also star. Filming spanned from early February to March 2007 in Vancouver, British Columbia. It premiered on September 8 at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, receiving a standing ovation.
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American singer, actress, model, producer, and dancer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984, but resigned her title amid a media controversy surrounding nude photographs of her being published in Penthouse magazine. Thirty-two years later, Williams was offered a public apology during the Miss America 2016 pageant for the events.
The Trinity International Hip Hop Festival is a free music festival that brings together Hip Hop artists from around the world. It has been held annually at Trinity College in Hartford, CT since 2006.
Sima Urale is a New Zealand filmmaker. Her films explore social and political issues and have been screened worldwide. She is one of the few Polynesian film directors in the world with more than 15 years in the industry. Her accolades include the Silver Lion for Best Short Film at the Venice Film Festival for O Tamaiti (1996).
Vanessa Nuala Kirby is a British actress. She made her professional acting debut on stage, with acclaimed performances in the plays All My Sons (2010), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2010), Women Beware Women (2011), Three Sisters (2012), and as Stella Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (2014).
Desi hip hop is a term for music and culture which combines the influences of hip hop and the Indian subcontinent; the term desi referring to the South Asian diaspora. The term has also come to be used as an alternative for rap music and even pop music which involves rappers of South Asian origins.
Roadside Ambanis is an Indian live action short film. The film's run time is approximately 19 minutes. It was written and directed by first-timer Kamal Sethu, and produced by Grape Pictures.
Thomas Lawes is an English film director, music composer, and entrepreneur. He is best known for renovating and owning The Electric cinema in Birmingham, England, the oldest known working cinema in the United Kingdom. Lawes composed the soundtrack for the BBC television series All Quiet on the Preston Front (1994–1997), co-directed the 1998 film Demagogue, and directed the 2011 documentary film The Last Projectionist.
Dope is a 2015 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Rick Famuyiwa and produced by Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi. It stars Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Kimberly Elise, Chanel Iman, Tyga, Blake Anderson, Zoë Kravitz, ASAP Rocky and Vince Staples. The film was also executive produced by Pharrell Williams and co-executive produced by Sean Combs.
Grace Latoya Hamilton, known professionally as Spice, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay and singer. Known as the Queen of Dancehall, Spice is recognised as one of the most prominent dancehall artists in the world. She is known for her aggressive flow, musical versatility and outspoken lyrics. Spice first gained recognition after performing at the annual dancehall festival Sting in 2000. She released her first single "Complain" for record producer Dave Kelly's Madhouse Records in 2003. She continued to release the singles "Right There" and "Hype", even being featured on songs with Jimmy Cliff and Beenie Man in 2004 and 2006, respectively.
Dominique Armani Jones, known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence in 2017 following the release of his mixtape Harder than Hard, which included his first Billboard Hot 100 entry with its lead single, "My Dawg." He followed up with his debut studio album Harder Than Ever (2018), which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100 top ten single "Yes Indeed". He released two additional retail projects that same year: The collaborative mixtape Drip Harder with fellow Georgia-based rapper Gunna—which saw continued success with its singles "Drip Too Hard" and "Close Friends"—and his commercial mixtape Street Gossip, which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200.
Lonzo Nzekwe is a Nigerian-Canadian filmmaker based in Toronto, Canada. He creates transnational Nigerian content, including Anchor Baby, his 2010 debut film which premiered at the 2010 Harlem International Film Festival and won the Best Film award. Anchor Baby was released on Netflix on May 20, 2020. His second film, Meet The Parents won the award for "Best Short Film" at the 2016 Africa Movies Academy Awards (AMAA).
Strive is a 2019 American independent coming-of-age drama film. Set in Harlem, the film tells the story of Kalani Johnson (JoiStaRR), a driven 18-year-old high school student who dreams of getting accepted into Yale University while facing the challenging life in the projects and streets of Harlem - with her only ally being college counselor Mr. Rose.
