April 2022
2nd Dayton Funk Symposium, Clubhouse, Black Portraiture[s] VII, Shirley Horn, Duke Ellington, Jon Hassell, El Debarge, Sidney Poitier, Betty Davis, Edward Kleinert, Prince, Celebration 2022
This is my very first newsletter for 2022! I’m just now able to catch my breath, pause, and take a minute to document & reflect. A lot has transpired since the beginning of the year. I’ll economize my words and simply say that I’m truly grateful and blessed. We’ve lost so many... Any day above ground is a great day!
I’ll document March’s #SexyMF30 Prince symposium in a separate, special issue once I compile a recap video. However, all of the video archives can be found on my YouTube channel in the #SexyMF30 playlist until then.
2nd Dayton Funk Symposium Video Archives have been posted (April 2022)
I am thrilled that the University of Dayton has posted its video archives from the first (2018) AND second (2021) Dayton Funk Symposia. I wish more conferences would do so.
Do NOT sleep on these archives!!! There are lot of stellar talks here including one of my favorites Dr. Scot Brown talking about Slave, a Betty Davis presentation by Danielle E. Maggio who knew Betty personally and did her PhD dissertation on Betty, and another Prince presentation by Andrea Foy.
I was honored and grateful to have presented “Pour Some Water On Me: Prince and the Ohio Players” for the 2nd Annual Dayton Funk Symposium, at the University of Ohio in Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday, 6 November 2021.
So now, you can also, specifically, watch the Q&A portion of my talk, beginning at the 43-minute mark.
James "Diamond" Williams, drummer of the Ohio Players, attended my talk AND remembered my family, vividly. What an honor & privilege! I will never ever forget that moment. FLOORED! Before the University of Dayton posted their video archives, I could only hear, but, now that the video archives have been shared, I can see him, as well. Thank you so very much, Dr. Sharon Gratto and the University of Dayton, for the opportunity and documentation!
If you want to see the talk itself at the highest resolution, you can watch it here without the Q&A portion:
Abstract:
In Prince’s incomplete and posthumous memoir, The Beautiful Ones, the Ohio Players is referenced four times. However, Prince’s love of the Ohio Players was evident, decades before the release of this book. Prince has covered Ohio Players’ classics, such as “Skin Tight,” “I Want To Be Free,” “Love Rollercoaster,” and “Heaven Must Be Like This,” in numerous rehearsals, shows, and after shows over the years. However, the Ohio Players are rarely discussed as one of Prince’s influences by music critics. This talk will attempt to deconstruct why, while also exploring Prince’s funk roots and influences.
Invited by Tonya Pendleton to Speak on Clubhouse about Prince (April 21, 2022)
@TonyaPendleton invited me 2 speak about Prince and more specifically my Prince symposia on Clubhouse on a very significant date, April 21 (the date of Prince's passing). It was my first time speaking on the platform. I’m a bit uneasy with the culture of Clubhouse. However, because I was amongst an intimate gathering of purple family and friends, it was a welcoming experience.
When friends call, I show up for them because they show up for me. I didn’t know if I could keep myself together, but I did! I was grateful that Arthur Turnbull joined me for a portion of the conversation. Arthur is yet another dear purple friend who always answers my call, particularly when it comes to being my wingman (co-host) for the online symposia.
Spoke virtually with Dr. Elliott H. Powell’s class at the University of Minnesota about Prince (April 18, 2022)
Thank you so much for the invitation, Elliott!🙏💜 Following both Zaheer Ali and Miles Marshall Lewis were hard acts to follow but I did my best! It was my honor and pleasure to talk about Lovesexy and other Prince albums with your students. My absolute favorite thing to do! Thank you, again!
Presented at Black Portraiture[s] VII (Feb 2022)
I presented at the Black Portraitures[VII] conference: Play and Performance on Feb 18, 2022, at Express Newark at Rutgers University-Newark in Newark, NJ, on the What Else Can There Be? Black Play / Cultural (Dis)Locations panel alongside my wonderful colleagues Michael Dinwiddie (NYU) and Aku Kadogo (Spelman), as well as the legendary Dyana Williams!
My presentation, “Under The Cherry Moon: Prince at Play” discussed Prince at play in his second feature film and directorial debut, Under The Cherry Moon! While the conference was in person and livestreamed, the video archives will most likely not be made available. Also, I didn’t know anyone in the audience to ask them to record it for me.
Abstract:
On the heels of the massive success of Purple Rain, most artists would have followed up with a sequel. Prince did not. Under The Cherry Moon (UTCM) was a black and white, artistic buddy film, shot in France, and released in 1986.
While UTCM is often maligned by most, the film is the ultimate public document of
Prince as his most authentic self. While Purple Rain conjures the mystique that Prince
constructed and carefully crafted for the public, UTCM reveals him as he truly was with his close friends and associates: hilariously funny and always at play.
Moreover, the most pervasive theme throughout UTCM is play. The film’s reception can shift massively if viewed through this lens. Let me guide you through a “new position” of this brilliant motion picture.
Someone else understands the power of music!
Happy Birthday, Shirley Horn!
(May 1, 1934 – October 20, 2005)
I had the honor and privilege of seeing Shirley Horn perform live several times during my lifetime. I.AM.GRATEFUL! One of the greatests of ALL TIME!🖤
Happy Birthday, Duke Ellington!
(April 29, 1899–May 24, 1974 (aged 75))
Thank you for reminding us we need to continue to dream... How beautiful!🖤
Jon Hassell’s music has been integral to my life and sanity!
I still can’t believe he’s gone.
El Debarge deserves all of his flowers now!
Thanks to Tiny Desk for recognizing his timeless greatness!
Rest in Music & Uncompromising Values, Betty Gray Davis!
(July 26, 1944, Durham, North Carolina–February 9, 2022 (aged 77)
Homestead, Pennsylvania)
She shared a middle name with my grandfather, Eddie Gray Oliver!
In February, I compiled a Betty Davis syllabus (#BettyDavisSyllabus) with some significant contributions from others such as Michael Gonzales, Danielle Amir Jackson, Emily Lordi, Nia l’man Smith, Oliver Wang, and T. Watts, for those of you who would like to do a deeper dive on this legend! She deserves it!
On Friday, May 25, 2018, I organized the Betty Davis – They Say I’m Different Symposium (#BettyDavisBK) at NYU Tandon in Brooklyn. The symposium consisted of a panel moderated by Fredara Mareva Hadley (Julliard) with talks by the symposium organizer, De Angela L. Duff (NYU Tandon), Kwami Coleman (NYU Gallatin), Emily Lordi (Vanderbilt), and the one and only Greg Tate! The talks were followed by a screening of the new documentary, Betty – They Say I’m Different, and a Q&A with the filmmaker, Phil Cox.
The Betty – They Say I’m Different documentary is still available on Amazon Prime to watch for FREE! Highly recommended!
Thank you to @Digife 4 creating this truly wonderful video excerpting talks from the Betty Davis Symposium. I 🖤 how this ends w/ Greg Tate's words "When I think of Betty, I think of a free Black woman of the South."🙏
Rest in Respect & Love, Edward Kleinert!
This one hit me hard. Honestly, I’m still in disbelief. One of my kindest and most dearest coworkers died unexpectedly on Saturday, April 16, 2022.
In early March, I asked him about this incredible jellyfish tank that he had on his desk because I wanted to buy one for my sister for her birthday on March 23rd. He told me that it was the first thing he turned on when he walked into his office. We exchanged direct messages during a Zoom meeting a few days later. This was my last communication with him.
Ed, ALWAYS, acknowledged my presence! During Zoom meetings, he’d greet me every. single. time. and ask me how I was doing (The last time, “Hi De Angela...So good to see you...my refrain...” The previous time, “Always so good to see you De Angela!”). He would often end with we need to meet in person, one day, or he would email me to remind me that we needed to do so.
Regrettably, we never got to meet in person, but we did schedule some one-on-one Zoom chats that were truly refreshing. He just wanted to get to know me personally (genuinely), my pedagogy, and have conversations about teaching with no hidden agenda or requests. I can’t tell you how rare this is. We taught at two different schools at NYU. I rarely have the kinds of conversations I had with Edward with colleagues in my own program, let alone a different school altogether. Academia can be incredibly siloed and isolating.
No one has time to have conversations anymore it seems. Everyone is so busy, but Ed valued human connection and humanity.
However, I was NOT special. He acknowledged everyone! He would greet every person individually via direct message, and make sure they were ok. He had a humans-first mentality vs. the projects or tasks at hand while still being totally dedicated to and fervent about the projects or tasks at hand. He was one of the biggest advocates of students I’ve ever come across in my twenty-plus years of teaching across three different institutions.
I’m incredibly lucky and grateful to have shared the virtual stage with Edward for an NYU TeachTalks which you can’t see unless you work at or attend NYU. If you do, you can see the talk, “The Value of Reflective Teaching: Using Observation Feedback to Support Your Teaching—TeachTalks,” recorded on November 4, 2021, on NYU Stream. I’m so thankful that this video documentation exists so that whenever I miss him I can pull this up and have his spirit radiate through the screen! I’m a firm believer in documenting everything. In moments like these, archives and documentation are so important.
Words always fail at times like these, but here goes. Edward will be sorely missed by countless family, friends, coworkers, and students. He treated everyone with respect and reverence. He was a true advocate for students. *I* will truly miss his one-of-a-kind spirit–a real loss for us all!
Rest in peace and the utmost R.E.S.P.E.C.T., Edw!
I can’t believe it’s been six years, already…
My Love is Forever!💜 #Prince4Ever
One of my absolute favorite Prince songs of my absolute favorites– the top of the top → the bar above the bar from his album debut, For You!
Prince, we see U! U stand taller than all of us, now!💜
Minneapolis representing Prince as they should, MASSIVE thanks to WCCO for sharing this footage of Prince as a kid with the world! PRICELESS! However, the real thanks goes to WCCO Production Manager Matt Liddy for recognizing Prince! “I salute you, sir!” in my best Michael Dean voice!
Saw my favorite concert film of ALL time in the theaters again–Sign O' The Times Live (April 4, 2022!)
Thank you @AlamoNYC!🙏
My first movie theater experience since COVID-19! NEVER gets old! Even though I have a Blu-Ray, it was super fun watching it with a very energetic, clapping crowd!
Can’t wait to be at Paisley Park in MPLS for Celebration 2022, this year!
We’ve all missed this important gathering the past couple of years due to COVID-19. Definitely going to Glueks for Paisley Five & Dime!
Will U B there? If so, please say howdy if you see me!💜🙏
I’ll be one of them!💜