Author: louie
-
songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: bone thugs-n-harmony’s “tha crossroads”
•
in the vast universe of hip-hop’s fifty-year history, certain songs stand out for their musical brilliance and place within pop culture and their profound impact on how we eulogize the lives of the loved ones we lost. among these iconic tracks include pete rock & CL smooth’s “they reminisce over…
-
O’Shae.
•
His name was O’Shae, beautiful dancer, protective friend, his heart full of love. His name was O’Shae, vogueing to the beat, taking on the rhythm’s wisdom of a Sage. His name was O’Shae, in Midwood, they conjured joy and togetherness. His name was O’Shae, and they killed him. Abdul-Aliy Muhammad…
-
One Love: A Black Reverence Chair Playlist
•
One Love: A Black Reverence Chair Playlist holds olden song and new flow, reverberates fast, and moves slow. Like molasses, may it pour joy that rhythms like a body, back and forth. May these sonic medicines feel into you as you prepare to sit in the sacred chair position. –…
-
songs that soundtracked the AIDS crisis: sinéad o’connor’s “nothing compares to you”
•
is she a skinhead or is she not? why is she bald? why is she all about? these were the questions i remember people asking upon the release of the video for sinéad o’connor’s “nothing compares 2 u.” without any historical context, these questions seem odd, but with sleekly produced…
-
DIANA ROSS
•
on july 21, 1983, diana ross staged one of the highly significant concert events of the decade. organized by the city and the parks department, with support from ross herself, the benefit concert was a free, open-air performance held at the great lawn in central park, new york city to…
-
songs that songtracked the AIDS Crisis: aqua’s “barbie girl”
•
The first time I heard the euro-pop sensation Aqua’s Barbie Girl was in the summer of 1997, at a party We The People organized in Clementon Park, New Jersey. The DJ was mixing bona fide house hits with contemporary jams. I remember this so vividly because I watched someone do…
-
louie on LATV’s “Living Y Ready” Series
•
Throughout the month of June, LATV has been celebrating Pride Month with their Queer original series, Living Y Ready, a storytelling series that reframes the narrative around HIV through candid conversations and queer expression. Thank you LATV, for providing a platform where I can share my story and express my truth. Watch…
-
Abdul-Aliy Muhammad
•
Capture me smiling running towards the possibility of you, aperture readying image in box, shuttering to light the movement of your happiness. You were caught smiling to the smile captured of you smiling to the capture of you smiling. Evocative imagery of a tender time, when you felt wind beneath…
-
Spotify Playlist: Our Pride Is A Vibe: We Been Gay!
•
happy pride month, y’all! pride is for us to define and redefine. if pride is spending time with your crew sitting back and watching youtube videos – that is a vibe. if pride is organizing and mobilizing with community – that is a vibe. if pride is dancing your ass…
-
TINA TURNER
•
i dreamed about my mother for the first time in a long time last night. waking from those all-too-real dreams used to leave me wallowing in the quicksand of regret over the loss of control over things we had no control of. but not this time. i spent the rest of…
-
SALT-N-PEPA
•
On November 28, 1993, The New York Times published journalist Jeffrey Schmalz’s last article, “Whatever Happened to AIDS?,” three weeks after his death due to AIDS complications. In the piece, Schmalz wrote, “…AIDS has become normalized, part of the landscape. It is at once everywhere and nowhere.” Although AIDS had…
-
Songs That Soundtracked The AIDS Crisis: LaTour’s “People Are Still Having Sex”
•
By 1991, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had spent over $7,000,000 on mass media public service announcements since launching their HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention campaign in 1987. However, despite these efforts, the AIDS crisis continued to escalate, with over 120,000 AIDS-related deaths reported since 1981. In this…