Recognition of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary has been in full force throughout 2023, but writer Kiana Fitzgerald’s celebration started almost a year early, in February 2022. That’s when she began crafting Ode to Hip-Hop, out now on Running Press. Her debut book chronicles “50 albums that define 50 years of trailblazing music,” spanning nearly the entire timespan of the genre: as early as Kurtis Blow and as recent as Megan Thee Stallion (who joins Lil Wayne, Lil Kim, Missy, Tupac, and Lil Nas X on the Yay Abe-illustrated book’s cover).
Fitzgerald says putting together this book,...
Fitzgerald says putting together this book,...
- 7/30/2023
- by Andre Gee
- Rollingstone.com
Houston rapper Big Pokey was laid to rest Sunday, a week after he collapsed onstage and died during a performance.
A week ago, Big Pokey was onstage in front of an audience in Beaumont, Texas, when he suddenly collapsed. A video circulating online and on social media shows Pokey taking the microphone in front of a crowd. He takes a breath and then falls backward.
He was 48. The cause of death is not yet known; a preliminary autopsy report was inconclusive.
On Saturday, he was laid to rest following a service at Fountain of Praise church in Houston. Among the luminaries turning out to pay their respects were Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and rappers Paul Wall, Trae Tha Truth and Slim Thug, according to The Houston Chronicle.
Pokey, whose real name was Milton Powell, was a founding member of the Screwed Up Click, a...
A week ago, Big Pokey was onstage in front of an audience in Beaumont, Texas, when he suddenly collapsed. A video circulating online and on social media shows Pokey taking the microphone in front of a crowd. He takes a breath and then falls backward.
He was 48. The cause of death is not yet known; a preliminary autopsy report was inconclusive.
On Saturday, he was laid to rest following a service at Fountain of Praise church in Houston. Among the luminaries turning out to pay their respects were Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and rappers Paul Wall, Trae Tha Truth and Slim Thug, according to The Houston Chronicle.
Pokey, whose real name was Milton Powell, was a founding member of the Screwed Up Click, a...
- 7/3/2023
- by Kimberly Nordyke
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Rapper Big Pokey died at age 45 after he collapsed on stage on Sunday.
Pokey, whose real name is Milton Powell, was performing for Juneteenth at the Pour09 Bar & Rooftop in Texas. During his show, he fell backward and seemed to suffer a medical emergency. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died.
His death was announced on his Instagram page. A photo of him was posted with the caption, “It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of our beloved Milton “Big Pokey” Powell. Big Pokey passed away on June 18, 2023. He was well-loved by his family, his friends, and his loyal fans. In the coming days, we will release information about his celebration of life and how the public can pay their respects. We ask that you respect his family and their privacy during this difficult time. Big Pokey will forever be ‘The...
Pokey, whose real name is Milton Powell, was performing for Juneteenth at the Pour09 Bar & Rooftop in Texas. During his show, he fell backward and seemed to suffer a medical emergency. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died.
His death was announced on his Instagram page. A photo of him was posted with the caption, “It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of our beloved Milton “Big Pokey” Powell. Big Pokey passed away on June 18, 2023. He was well-loved by his family, his friends, and his loyal fans. In the coming days, we will release information about his celebration of life and how the public can pay their respects. We ask that you respect his family and their privacy during this difficult time. Big Pokey will forever be ‘The...
- 6/22/2023
- by Nina Hauswirth
- Uinterview
Houston rapper Big Pokey, a founding member of the Screwed Up Click collective, has died after collapsing onstage. He was 48.
A cause of death was not immediately known.
Pokey, whose real name was Milton Powell, died after collapsing during a performance in Beaumont, Texas, late Saturday night. A video circulating online and on social media shows Pokey taking the microphone in front of a crowd. He takes a breath and then falls backward.
The news of Pokey’s death was shared in a statement on his Instagram profile. His rep also told Houston Fox affiliate Kriv and said that autopsy results are pending.
“It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of our beloved Milton ‘Big Pokey’ Powell. Big Pokey passed away on June 18, 2023,” the statement read. “He was well-loved by his family, his friends, and his loyal fans. In the coming days, we will...
A cause of death was not immediately known.
Pokey, whose real name was Milton Powell, died after collapsing during a performance in Beaumont, Texas, late Saturday night. A video circulating online and on social media shows Pokey taking the microphone in front of a crowd. He takes a breath and then falls backward.
The news of Pokey’s death was shared in a statement on his Instagram profile. His rep also told Houston Fox affiliate Kriv and said that autopsy results are pending.
“It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of our beloved Milton ‘Big Pokey’ Powell. Big Pokey passed away on June 18, 2023,” the statement read. “He was well-loved by his family, his friends, and his loyal fans. In the coming days, we will...
- 6/19/2023
- by Kimberly Nordyke
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Big Pokey, a local legend on the Houston hip-hop scene and a member of the city’s influential Screwed Up Click, has died at the age of 45.
The rapper born Milton Powell reportedly collapsed at his show Saturday in Beaumont, Texas, with the Jefferson County Justice of the Peace confirming to Houston’s ABC 13 that Powell had died.
Big Pokey’s publicist, on behalf of his family, also confirmed his death in a statement, “It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of our beloved Milton ‘Big Pokey’ Powell.
The rapper born Milton Powell reportedly collapsed at his show Saturday in Beaumont, Texas, with the Jefferson County Justice of the Peace confirming to Houston’s ABC 13 that Powell had died.
Big Pokey’s publicist, on behalf of his family, also confirmed his death in a statement, “It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of our beloved Milton ‘Big Pokey’ Powell.
- 6/18/2023
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Peter Sealey, a former Columbia Pictures president of global marketing during the studio’s release of Ghostbusters, Tootsie, Stand By Me and The Karate Kid, died Dec. 15 in Palm Springs from complications following a fall. He was 82.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery Related Story Coca-Cola Uncaps 'Christmas Always Finds Its Way,' Branded Storytelling Initiative With Imagine & Amazon Related Story Rapper Travis Scott Joins Isaac Yowman As Executive Producer Of DJ Screw Biopic For Columbia Pictures
Before his studio days, Sealey was the global chief marketing officer of The Coca-Cola Company, where he produced the famous “Always Coca-Cola” campaign, the pinnacle of which were the iconic polar bear commercials. He shifted to Columbia when Coca-Cola bought the studio.
Sealey left Coca-Cola at 53 years old, reinventing himself as a global speaker, consultant, expert witness, and advisor to multiple Fortune 50 companies, including United Parcel Service, General Motors, and Sony Corporation.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery Related Story Coca-Cola Uncaps 'Christmas Always Finds Its Way,' Branded Storytelling Initiative With Imagine & Amazon Related Story Rapper Travis Scott Joins Isaac Yowman As Executive Producer Of DJ Screw Biopic For Columbia Pictures
Before his studio days, Sealey was the global chief marketing officer of The Coca-Cola Company, where he produced the famous “Always Coca-Cola” campaign, the pinnacle of which were the iconic polar bear commercials. He shifted to Columbia when Coca-Cola bought the studio.
Sealey left Coca-Cola at 53 years old, reinventing himself as a global speaker, consultant, expert witness, and advisor to multiple Fortune 50 companies, including United Parcel Service, General Motors, and Sony Corporation.
- 12/29/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Travis Scott joins Isaac Yowman to Executive Produce a DJ Screw biopic for Columbia Pictures, a subsidiary of Sony, is producing the feature length scripted film under the leadership of Vice President Maia Eyre. November 16th will mark the 22-year memorial of DJ Screw’s death.
As DJ Screw’s sister Michelle Wheeler has expressed, “continuing the legacy of my brother is most important…The process honestly has been exciting. I’m like wow, we’re really about to make a movie. Nearly a dozen film directors and producers had approached us over the years, but this was the first time I actually felt fully comfortable. I’m very thankful for Sony and Travis being on this journey with us, helping keep my brother Screw’s legacy going.”
Scott’s involvement with the project came about “When I went up to the LA office with my bro Earl, and...
As DJ Screw’s sister Michelle Wheeler has expressed, “continuing the legacy of my brother is most important…The process honestly has been exciting. I’m like wow, we’re really about to make a movie. Nearly a dozen film directors and producers had approached us over the years, but this was the first time I actually felt fully comfortable. I’m very thankful for Sony and Travis being on this journey with us, helping keep my brother Screw’s legacy going.”
Scott’s involvement with the project came about “When I went up to the LA office with my bro Earl, and...
- 11/14/2022
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Late in the first episode of Netflix’s Mo, the title character (played by Mo Amer, who also co-created the series with Ramy Youssef) gets shot while shopping for cat food. Well, grazed — he’ll be fine once he’s treated at the hospital, the paramedics reassure him. Mo panics, as freaked out by the prospect of running up a medical bill without health insurance as he is by the fact of what’s actually happened to him. Meanwhile, the jaded EMTs bicker over his gurney about whether the shooting counts as “mass” if only four people were hit, including the shooter.
The scene feel darkly funny and a touch surreal, in the way the most harrowing moments of real life often do. It’s a distinctive example of what Mo does so well. Over eight half-hour episodes, the dramedy keeps itself afloat...
Late in the first episode of Netflix’s Mo, the title character (played by Mo Amer, who also co-created the series with Ramy Youssef) gets shot while shopping for cat food. Well, grazed — he’ll be fine once he’s treated at the hospital, the paramedics reassure him. Mo panics, as freaked out by the prospect of running up a medical bill without health insurance as he is by the fact of what’s actually happened to him. Meanwhile, the jaded EMTs bicker over his gurney about whether the shooting counts as “mass” if only four people were hit, including the shooter.
The scene feel darkly funny and a touch surreal, in the way the most harrowing moments of real life often do. It’s a distinctive example of what Mo does so well. Over eight half-hour episodes, the dramedy keeps itself afloat...
- 8/23/2022
- by Angie Han
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
DJ Screw’s fingerprints are all over mainstream music, from Travis Scott’s chart-topping Astroworld album that shot the producer-rapper’s career into the stratosphere, to Solange Knowles ode to Houston, When I Get Home, to her superstar big sister’s resurgent single “Bow Down/I Been On,” that preceded her world-stopping eponymous fifth album. This music slows and stretches vocals and beats, morphing sounds into molasses in the way Screw popularized, first in Texas, then nationally. So much music finds its origins in Screw’s style, like the “slowed...
- 11/24/2021
- by Mankaprr Conteh
- Rollingstone.com
The rapper 454 talks with a respectful cool, like the zenned-out busdriver Otto from The Simpsons. On a recent Zoom call, he punctuates sentences with an enthusiastic “Yeah, man.” But while the New York-by-way-of Florida Mc makes the kind of lush, atmospheric music a stoner like Otto might appreciate, there’s nothing careless about his approach.
Born Willie Wilson, 454 matches his ethereal production with a flow that’s equally rooted in clouds of smoke and real emotion. His debut, 4Real, arrived in March and presented a fully realized vision of an artist firmly in his element.
Born Willie Wilson, 454 matches his ethereal production with a flow that’s equally rooted in clouds of smoke and real emotion. His debut, 4Real, arrived in March and presented a fully realized vision of an artist firmly in his element.
- 6/2/2021
- by Jeff Ihaza
- Rollingstone.com
Sony is developing a biopic of musician and producer DJ Screw.
Veteran commercial director Isaac Yowman developed the project and is set to executive produce.
DJ Screw, a Texas native, worked as a DJ in the ’90s and gained regional acclaim for his remix technique, know as chopped and screwed, which has gone on to influence many artists in Houston’s hip hop community. He was 29 when he died in 2000.
The project, which the working title All Screwed Up, will be made in participation with DJ Screw’s family.
All Screwed Up was a part of The Incubation Lab,...
Veteran commercial director Isaac Yowman developed the project and is set to executive produce.
DJ Screw, a Texas native, worked as a DJ in the ’90s and gained regional acclaim for his remix technique, know as chopped and screwed, which has gone on to influence many artists in Houston’s hip hop community. He was 29 when he died in 2000.
The project, which the working title All Screwed Up, will be made in participation with DJ Screw’s family.
All Screwed Up was a part of The Incubation Lab,...
- 12/18/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Sony is developing a biopic of musician and producer DJ Screw.
Veteran commercial director Isaac Yowman developed the project and is set to executive produce.
DJ Screw, a Texas native, worked as a DJ in the ’90s and gained regional acclaim for his remix technique, know as chopped and screwed, which has gone on to influence many artists in Houston’s hip hop community. He was 29 when he died in 2000.
The project, which the working title All Screwed Up, will be made in participation with DJ Screw’s family.
All Screwed Up was a part of The Incubation Lab,...
Veteran commercial director Isaac Yowman developed the project and is set to executive produce.
DJ Screw, a Texas native, worked as a DJ in the ’90s and gained regional acclaim for his remix technique, know as chopped and screwed, which has gone on to influence many artists in Houston’s hip hop community. He was 29 when he died in 2000.
The project, which the working title All Screwed Up, will be made in participation with DJ Screw’s family.
All Screwed Up was a part of The Incubation Lab,...
- 12/18/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
2020 has been a year full of people who have failed to read the room. It looks like TikToker Dev Lemons is the latest person to join the list. Dev runs a popular TikTok account called SongPsych that is dedicated to explaining the psychology behind popular songs. She recently found herself looking a little clueless when she referred to the popular remixing style, chopped and screwed, as “slowed and reverb.” She also incorrectly attributed the creation of this style to a producer named Slater. The chopped and screwed sound was originated by DJ Screw, a fact that hip-hop fans are
10 Things You Didn’t Know about Dev Lemons...
10 Things You Didn’t Know about Dev Lemons...
- 11/18/2020
- by Camille Moore
- TVovermind.com
In the 1810 Caspar David Friedrich painting “Abbey in the Oakwood,” a group of monks carries a coffin through the snow into the crumbling ruins of a gothic abbey. Beyond the abbey, a grove of bald, gnarled oak trees basks in the dim sunlight. Death lingers, but not its fresh stench, only the sense of its infinitude. I still think of this beautiful, desolate painting every time I listen to 21 Savage and Metro Boomin’s 2016 Savage Mode, arguably the greatest collaborative rapper-producer project of the last decade. Metro’s production—stark,...
- 10/7/2020
- by Danny Schwartz
- Rollingstone.com
Whenever she’s working on an essay, Jia Tolentino pretends nobody will read it. “I don’t know if it’s a self-protective impulse, or like a chip missing, but I tend to only think about making myself happy,” she says. “The reward is satisfying whatever itch made me write in the first place.”
But as an increasingly high-profile essayist for The New Yorker and the bestselling author of 2019’s Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion — a now-seminal text for millennials stumbling through late-stage capitalism and social media malaise — it’s...
But as an increasingly high-profile essayist for The New Yorker and the bestselling author of 2019’s Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion — a now-seminal text for millennials stumbling through late-stage capitalism and social media malaise — it’s...
- 3/8/2020
- by Andrea Marks
- Rollingstone.com
Two years ago, videos of a cypher on a Houston rooftop began appearing online that showed a lone 21-year-old woman among ten rappers. Her name is Megan Thee Stallion, and she arrived in gold heels, Daisy Dukes and an attitude you can feel through the screen. At the time, she had only recently begun rapping professionally, but you wouldn’t guess it based on how confidently she delivered her explicit lyrics over an instrumental version of Drake’s “4pm in Calabasas.” The comments section responded in awe. “Chick goes hard,...
- 3/16/2019
- by Jade Gomez
- Rollingstone.com
When Travis Scott failed to earn a Grammy nomination for 2016’s Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, “that was a real dark day,” says Sickamore, the rapper’s longtime A&R, who now works at Interscope Records.
Scott returned on Friday with Astroworld, an imposing LP that’s at once baroque and bludgeoning, sludgy and slick. The rapper harnessed an army of vocalists, producers and writers, more than 50 in total; guitar parts from John Mayer and harmonica riffs from Stevie Wonder; and samples from Goodie Mobb, Three Six Mafia, the Beastie...
Scott returned on Friday with Astroworld, an imposing LP that’s at once baroque and bludgeoning, sludgy and slick. The rapper harnessed an army of vocalists, producers and writers, more than 50 in total; guitar parts from John Mayer and harmonica riffs from Stevie Wonder; and samples from Goodie Mobb, Three Six Mafia, the Beastie...
- 8/7/2018
- by Elias Leight
- Rollingstone.com
Travis Scott has some of the most outsized and ambitious artistic impulses in modern rap. His album covers come courtesy of fashion icon Nick Knight, famed Rolling Stone illustrator Ralph Steadman and, on his latest, candy-coated photographer David Lachappelle. His fashion-forward eye has produced collaboration with Helmut Lang. His recent live tour featured punk rock energy and a giant robotic bird. The guest list of vocalists and producers on his third studio album includes Drake, Frank Ocean, the Weeknd, Pharrell Williams, two-thirds of Migos, John Mayer, James Blake, Tame Impala,...
- 8/7/2018
- by Christopher R. Weingarten
- Rollingstone.com
Though he may not yet have the sort of singles chart history to back it up, there’s no doubt that Travis Scott is a star. His live shows rarely fail to drop jaws with their energy, opulence, and unruliness. He recently had a baby with the Kardashian clan’s most au courant scion. His signature line of Nikes sparked a mob scene when they were released earlier this summer; these days even a scuffed-up used pair will set you back a few hundred dollars. And though there have been numerous delays in the two years since the release of his last solo album, “Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight,” when a giant gold likeness of the rapper’s head appeared atop L.A.’s Amoeba Music last month, no one under the age of 30 was confused about what it meant.
For his third proper solo release, the 26-year-old Texan...
For his third proper solo release, the 26-year-old Texan...
- 8/7/2018
- by Andrew Barker
- Variety Film + TV
In celebration of the success of his acclaimed drama “Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins has released an extended chopped-and-screwed soundtrack that includes a total of 26 remixed songs from the film, including Beyonce and Jay-z’s “Shining,” Aretha Franklin’s “One Step Ahead,” Goodie Mob’s “Cell Therapy” and a version of “Purple Haze” featuring Lloyd.
To create the mix, the filmmaker worked with Og Ron C and the Chopstars, who gave the tracks their chopped-and-screwed treatment. It’s a remixing style created by Houston’s DJ Screw in the 90’s — the sound is accomplished by slowing the tempo of the music down. The album was produced by DJ Candlestick and DJ Slim K.
Read More: ‘Moonlight’ Stars Return to Middle School After Surprise Best Picture Win: ‘It Felt Wonderful’
“Moonlight” follows the life of Chiron, a young black man growing up in a tough neighborhood of Miami. The critically acclaimed favorite won...
To create the mix, the filmmaker worked with Og Ron C and the Chopstars, who gave the tracks their chopped-and-screwed treatment. It’s a remixing style created by Houston’s DJ Screw in the 90’s — the sound is accomplished by slowing the tempo of the music down. The album was produced by DJ Candlestick and DJ Slim K.
Read More: ‘Moonlight’ Stars Return to Middle School After Surprise Best Picture Win: ‘It Felt Wonderful’
“Moonlight” follows the life of Chiron, a young black man growing up in a tough neighborhood of Miami. The critically acclaimed favorite won...
- 3/11/2017
- by Yoselin Acevedo
- Indiewire
Park City ’07 Interview | Adam Bhala Lough: “I had a dream one night. I woke up and wrote it down. T
[Editors Note: indieWIRE is publishing two interviews daily with Sundance ’07 competition filmmakers through the end of the festival later this month. Directors with films screening in the four competition section were given the opportunity to participate in an email interview, and each was sent the same set of questions.]
Filmmaker Adam Bhala Lough brings his latest work to the Sundance Film Festival this year, entitled “Weapons.” The film follows a group of teenagers who become involved in a series of seemingly random killings over the course of a weekend. “A haunted hip-hop soundtrack drenches this insightful study of teenage character and value systems in a world where everyone seems to have a gun,” writes Sundance, “but the most dangerous weapon is the one unleashed by tender things broken inside innocent hearts.” Adam Bhala Lough other recent work includes Bomb the System, Farmhouse, and music videos for Mf Doom and Joe Strummer.
Please introduce yourself. What are some of your former jobs? Where did you grow up, and where do you live now?
27 right now, 24 when I wrote “Weapons.” I’ve had some interesting former jobs. I worked at Blockbuster Video, bagged groceries at Giant Food, was a clerk at...
Filmmaker Adam Bhala Lough brings his latest work to the Sundance Film Festival this year, entitled “Weapons.” The film follows a group of teenagers who become involved in a series of seemingly random killings over the course of a weekend. “A haunted hip-hop soundtrack drenches this insightful study of teenage character and value systems in a world where everyone seems to have a gun,” writes Sundance, “but the most dangerous weapon is the one unleashed by tender things broken inside innocent hearts.” Adam Bhala Lough other recent work includes Bomb the System, Farmhouse, and music videos for Mf Doom and Joe Strummer.
Please introduce yourself. What are some of your former jobs? Where did you grow up, and where do you live now?
27 right now, 24 when I wrote “Weapons.” I’ve had some interesting former jobs. I worked at Blockbuster Video, bagged groceries at Giant Food, was a clerk at...
- 1/27/2007
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
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