Eileen chang

USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative released a study today examining the diversity of Netflix ’s original content. If anything the study could be summarized by Dr. Stacy L. Smith who said in a video: “Inclusion happens when women are given the keys to the kingdom.” “I rarely have anything positive to say,” said Dr. Smith said during a symposium for the unveiling of the Netflix study. “This report was a bit of a reprieve from my typical rollout of information.” Dr. Smith was joined on the virtual panel by Netflix’s Bela Bajaria , Vice President, Global Series; Scott Stuber Vice President, Global Film; as well as Tigertail director Alan Yang and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom director George C. Wolfe . The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative studies diversity in entertainment and has released numerous studies and reports when it comes to representation . Netflix commissioned Smith and initiative to study for its original, English-language series and film … [Read more...] about USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Releases Netflix Diversity Study, Finds Women Of Color Are Critical Component Of Inclusion

Before the summer 2016 release of Telefone , the debut album that launched her to a quiet kind of stardom, Noname considered quitting rap. “I used to care-give, so I probably would’ve went back to doing that,” she says. “Maybe would’ve got my nursing degree, and just become a nurse. That was the only other thing that I enjoyed doing.” Music, at that point, wasn’t paying the bills: “I was only able to pay my rent through doing little one-off college shows and maybe a feature for $300 here and there,” she adds. “I was in the financial in-between of, ‘Should I continue to try to pursue this, or should I just get a job?'” One of those one-off features, though, was for Chance The Rapper, her Chicago compatriot, on his breakout album Acid Rap in 2013. It’s a scene-stealing performance on a scene-defining full-length and, not long after, people were waiting for more from the quietly confident, rhythmically daring rapper. See Also Drakeo the Ruler Just … [Read more...] about Noname Is One of the Best Rappers Alive

The Beach Boys ‘ Mike Love unveiled a sprightly new song, “Unleash the Love,” the title track from his upcoming double LP, out November 17th via BMG. The rollicking tune boasts a busy but soulful arrangement filled with organ, piano, horns, acoustic guitar and plenty of back-up vocals and harmonies. Love’s lyrics carry a simple yet endearing message – “It’s in our power to change this planet’s destiny/ If we unleash the love” – and the musician even interpolates the Youngbloods’ famed “Come on people now” refrain from “Get Together.” “Unleash the Love” is one of 13 new songs Love wrote for his double-LP, which will also feature re-workings of 12 classic Beach Boys tunes, such as “California Girls,” “Help Me Rhonda” and “Good Vibrations.” Michael Lloyd produced the album, while Love also enlisted a slew of guests, including John Stamos, who plays drums on two originals. The actor also appears alongside Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath for a version of the Beach Boys’ “Do It Again,” … [Read more...] about Hear Mike Love’s Joyful New Song ‘Unleash the Love’

M ike Love bounds up the stairs inside his massive Lake Tahoe home (10 bedrooms in all, 12 bathrooms, two elevators, not to be believed) and into a large walk-in closet stuffed to overflowing with garish, multicolored shirts and a gazillion baseball caps, many of them emblazoned with the name of his band, the Beach Boys . A suitcase rests on the floor. Love nods at it, prods it with his foot. “A lot more shirts are in there,” he says, “because, if you must know, I haven’t unpacked.” And why should he unpack? For the past 54 years, he and various versions of the Beach Boys , which these days include only him as an original member, have toured almost constantly. On his current outing, he has 172 dates lined up, cramming 19 European shows into 22 days this past December, for instance, and shortly thereafter flying back stateside to give the 6,500 citizens of tiny Avon, Colorado, the chance to hear all about California girls. From there, it’s onward, evermore, venues big and small, … [Read more...] about The Ballad of Mike Love