A cultural portrait of the Pulitzer Prize-winning rap superstar documents his coming-of-age as an artist, his genius as a lyricist, and his profound impact on today's racially fraught America. Moore provides a definitive account of Lamar's coming-of-age as an artist, his resurrection of jazz, his profound impact on a racially fraught America, and his emergence as the bona fide King of Rap. Through his confessional poetics, his politically charged...

John Nickel is a black ex-jazz musician who only wants to be a good father. But when his son is taken away from him, he's left with nothing but the Memphis bar he manages. Then he hires Fay, a young white waitress, who has a volatile brother named Carl in tow. Nickel finds himself consumed with the idea of Taft-Fay and Carl's dead father-and begins to reconstruct the life of a man he never met. But his sympathies for these lost souls soon take him...

Presents the life of one of the bestselling artists of all time, from her start singing in front of her father's Baptist congregation to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Director Jon Brewer worked closely with the gregarious and charming musician and was given extraordinary access to his friends, family and colleagues. This is a no holds barred, powerful documentary that explores how an orphaned kid from Mississippi turned his life around, battled against all odds and against unrelenting racism to overcome even the toughest critics in the entertainment industry, to become 'King of the Blues'.

Celebrate the vibrant jazz, R&B, and soul music of African American artists who, during segregation, created the foundation of modern American music. Like many other Black Americans, they relied on Victor Hugo Green's Negro Travelers' Green Book, a directory of lodgings, restaurants, and entertainment venues where African Americans were safe and welcomed. Now explore the history of this essential guide with vocalists, musicians, historians, and others...

A personal account by the late musician and poet traces the story of his life, career, and history-making 1981 tour at the side of Stevie Wonder to raise support for the establishment of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

A look at the history of Motown focuses on the Funk Brothers, a group of studio musicians who provided the instrumental backing to most of the label's hits.

"The story of guitarist Jimi Hendrix's career told in verse"--

Presents the history of hip-hop including how it evolved from folktales, spirituals, and poetry, to the showmanship of James Brown, to the culture of graffiti art and breakdancing that formed around the art form.

Between 1955 and 1960 rhythm and blues and rock ' roll erode jazz' audiences but the music still enjoys tremendous creativity. Saxophonist Sonny Rollins and trumpeter Clifford Brown make their marks while Duke Ellington emerges stronger than ever and Miles Davis and John Coltrane make legendary albums. Louis Armstrong jeopardizes his career when he condemns the government for its failure to act on racism in Little Rock, Ark. Drummer Art Blakely and...