Nas is a veteran MC at this stage of the game, he still has lots to learn. The Queensbridge artist appeared on the PBS series Finding Your Roots, and discovered plenty regarding his family’s history.
In its second season, Finding Your Roots, hosted by Harvard University scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., takes its celebrity guests on a trip to the past using DNA testing to reveal to the stars their ancestry. In a panel discussion on Wednesday, Nas spoke about what it was like to learn more about his family tree as reported by the Associated Press.
From the AP:
When Nas became the first rapper invited to trace his family tree through the PBS series “Finding Your Roots,” he welcomed the opportunity.
But it hit him hard when he saw 1859 documentation of an ancestor being sold as a slave, he said during a panel discussion Wednesday.
“First I was enraged when I looked at the bill of sale,” Nas said. “I was like, that guy that owned property owes me some cash. My people made him really wealthy, so maybe I should find his family and talk.”
Joining Nas at the panel discussion as part of the Television Critics Association Press Tour event in Beverley Hills, Ca. were actor Courtney Vance, actress Khandi Alexander, author Anna Deavere Smith, and Gates as well.
Nas says he intends to dig even deeper, but doesn’t have plans to include his discovery in his music.
The second season of Finding Your Roots debuts on PBS Sept. 23. View the preview for the show here.
Showing posts with label African American History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label African American History. Show all posts
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Nas Discovers Family Past On PBS Show Finding Your Roots
Nas is a veteran MC at this stage of the game, he still has lots to learn. The Queensbridge artist appeared on the PBS series Finding Your Roots, and discovered plenty regarding his family’s history.
In its second season, Finding Your Roots, hosted by Harvard University scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., takes its celebrity guests on a trip to the past using DNA testing to reveal to the stars their ancestry. In a panel discussion on Wednesday, Nas spoke about what it was like to learn more about his family tree as reported by the Associated Press.
From the AP:
When Nas became the first rapper invited to trace his family tree through the PBS series “Finding Your Roots,” he welcomed the opportunity.
But it hit him hard when he saw 1859 documentation of an ancestor being sold as a slave, he said during a panel discussion Wednesday.
“First I was enraged when I looked at the bill of sale,” Nas said. “I was like, that guy that owned property owes me some cash. My people made him really wealthy, so maybe I should find his family and talk.”
Joining Nas at the panel discussion as part of the Television Critics Association Press Tour event in Beverley Hills, Ca. were actor Courtney Vance, actress Khandi Alexander, author Anna Deavere Smith, and Gates as well.
Nas says he intends to dig even deeper, but doesn’t have plans to include his discovery in his music.
The second season of Finding Your Roots debuts on PBS Sept. 23. View the preview for the show here.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
J Dilla's Equipment To Be Featured At Smithsonian's National Museum Of African American History And Culture
By Dennis Lynch/IBT
Ma Dukes poses with gear used by her son, J Dilla.
The Smithsonian Institution will include two pieces of music equipment owned by revered hip-hop producer James “J Dilla” Yancey in its soon-to-be-finished National Museum of African American History and Culture, or Nmaahc.
Yancey’s Akai MPC3000 sampler and his custom-made Minimoog Voyager will be featured at the new museum. His Voyager was one of the last such machines famed synthesizer builder Robert Moog personally made for an artist.
The announcement about the equipment was made at the annual DC Loves Dilla tribute concert in Washington Thursday. The gear was donated by Yancey’s mother, Maureen Yancey, aka Ma Dukes.
“J Dilla’s body of work is a testament to creativity and innovation, the very elements on which hip-hop was founded,” said Timothy Anne Burnside, a music historian for the Nmaahc. “He was fearlessly dedicated to music, following in the footsteps of many musical greats; as a child. he first danced to James Brown, and like Duke Ellington, he was uncannily versatile. It is in the company of the greats that he belongs.”
Yancey, or Dilla, as he’s commonly known, died in 2006, but he produced a hugely influential body of work until his passing from lupus at age 32. Yancey grew up in Detroit and gained recognition for his production work as a part of Slum Village, a hip-hop trio he formed with two friends. He went on to work with A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, The Roots and more. He’s known as one of the most important hip-hop producers ever.
Yancey moved to Los Angeles from Detroit in the early 2000s. His assets were spread between the two cities, and after he became sicker and eventually succumbed to his disease, some of his massive collection of records and demo tapes were lost in the ensuing chaos. Bits and pieces turn up periodically, but this has only added to the late producer’s mystique.
Check out a tape of beats Dilla produced on his beloved MPC3000, which he used until his death:
Ma Dukes poses with gear used by her son, J Dilla.
The Smithsonian Institution will include two pieces of music equipment owned by revered hip-hop producer James “J Dilla” Yancey in its soon-to-be-finished National Museum of African American History and Culture, or Nmaahc.
Yancey’s Akai MPC3000 sampler and his custom-made Minimoog Voyager will be featured at the new museum. His Voyager was one of the last such machines famed synthesizer builder Robert Moog personally made for an artist.
The announcement about the equipment was made at the annual DC Loves Dilla tribute concert in Washington Thursday. The gear was donated by Yancey’s mother, Maureen Yancey, aka Ma Dukes.
“J Dilla’s body of work is a testament to creativity and innovation, the very elements on which hip-hop was founded,” said Timothy Anne Burnside, a music historian for the Nmaahc. “He was fearlessly dedicated to music, following in the footsteps of many musical greats; as a child. he first danced to James Brown, and like Duke Ellington, he was uncannily versatile. It is in the company of the greats that he belongs.”
Yancey, or Dilla, as he’s commonly known, died in 2006, but he produced a hugely influential body of work until his passing from lupus at age 32. Yancey grew up in Detroit and gained recognition for his production work as a part of Slum Village, a hip-hop trio he formed with two friends. He went on to work with A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, The Roots and more. He’s known as one of the most important hip-hop producers ever.
Yancey moved to Los Angeles from Detroit in the early 2000s. His assets were spread between the two cities, and after he became sicker and eventually succumbed to his disease, some of his massive collection of records and demo tapes were lost in the ensuing chaos. Bits and pieces turn up periodically, but this has only added to the late producer’s mystique.
Check out a tape of beats Dilla produced on his beloved MPC3000, which he used until his death:
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